prospect is seen as ‘a rising star’
the following is an excerpt from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To view the whole newsletter, click here. Also, subscribe to get it delivered to your inbox on a regular basis. Houston — Pascanel Ferreras, the final overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, came from Western Carolina. He was among the first players from the Astros’ draft class to reach Double-A Corpus Christi, where he has continued to impress with his hitting.
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Pascanel Ferreras, the final overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, came from Western Carolina. He was among the first players from the Astros’ draft class to reach Double-A Corpus Christi, where he has continued to impress with his hitting. Ferreras, who posted a.572 OPS in his professional debut at Single-A Fayetteville last year, only played 21 games in High-A Asheville, where he hit.309/.411/.457 before being promoted to Corpus Christi on May 7. In 33 games with the Hooks, the infielder owns a.246/.345/.467 batting line with four home runs and 17 RBIs, indicating an advanced approach at the plate.
We saw big jumps from him, and we believe we saw them in close to 100 plate appearances. “He did exactly what we asked while also playing pretty good defense at short,” Buffa stated. “We wanted to challenge at him next level.” Ferreras has continued to improve his hitting talents in Corpus Christi, with an average exit velocity of 91 mph and an in-zone swing rate of 73%, according to Buffa.
“That is entirely to Pascanel’s credit,” Buffa stated. “It’s difficult to teach. I think he’s so amazing at getting up there with a game plan and then being able to make adjustments during the game. We can undoubtedly supply hitters with all of the information they need, but pitchers might deviate and changes may be required, and Pascanel’s approach is extremely advanced.
Ferreras is one of four members of the Astros’ 2023 Draft class in Corpus Christi, along with first-round choice Brice Matthews (Houston’s No. 3 prospect, promoted from Asheville on Monday), infielder Jeron Williams, and right-handed pitcher Jake Bloss (No. 10). Bloss (6 1/3 innings) and Cesar Gomez combined to pitch Corpus Christi’s first no-hitter on Saturday. Bloss is 2-0 with a 0.48 ERA in three June starts, giving up one run on five hits and four walks in 18 2/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Ferreras has five triples for the Hooks, who lead the Texas League. According to Buffa, Ferreras increased his quality of contact by flattening out his swing slightly while maintaining his bat speed.
There was a little swing alteration to assist him to make higher-quality contact with some pitches, but I also believe he could be more aggressive with the right pitches,” Buffa said. “I believe it also helped him square up a bigger percentage of balls. I think it’s worth mentioning that the contact rates are same. It’s not like he’s making more contact with all pitches. He’s simply swinging at better pitches in order to cause more damage than he already does.”
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