Short-Season Williamsport CrossCutters
Williamsport didn’t have the most established prospect power this season as most of the top 2016 Gulf Coast League talent went to Lakewood rather than Williamsport. There were some strong individual performances, but it was only enough to get the CrossCutters to a .500 record this season.
The top hitting prospect on the team was outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, and he showed why this year. He tied for the team lead with eight home runs while collecting a .961 OPS. He walked 9.6 percent of the time and hit .302, both of which were improvements upon his 2016 mark.
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Last year’s third-round pick, Cole Stobbe, was the other player tied with Ortiz for eight home runs, but Stobbe hit just .203 while striking out in 307 percent of his plate appearances.
Several of this year’s draftees wound up in Williamsport, most notably first-round pick Adam Haseley for a time. He posted a .270/.350/.380 line in 37 games. Fourth-round pick Jake Scheiner and seventh-round pick Nick Maton both made their professional debuts in the New York-Penn League but had an OPS below .700.
Kyle Young led the pitching staff, posting a 2.77 ERA and 2.20 fielding-independent pitching in 13 starts. The 6’10 19-year-old struck out 27.4 percent of opposing hitters while walking just 5.7 percent. This year was a big step forward for Young and he should make his way to Lakewood next season.
Second-round pick Spencer Howard struck out 12.71 batters per nine innings but also walked 5.72 per nine. If he finds his control, he could be a dangerous pitcher. Third-round pick Connor Seabold only logged 10 innings as a reliever before being promoted to High-A Clearwater, but he never pitched for the Threshers.