[illeracula]

Javier Janchez is just over 20 years old and in the middle of his second year in the DelMarVa Baseball League. He was signed by the Lewes Braves as an international free-agent for just under $1 million. Depending on who you talk to this guy is either a bona fied superstar or just another minor leaguer from the Dominican Republic. After signing he went to the Braves International Complex to get ready for the road to the majors.

In 2016, he started in the International Complex and in August he was finally brought up and sent to Braves Single-A organization, which is in Norfolk. In 33 games there Janchez hit .287 with 0 HR's and 10 RBI. He finished the last week of the season in AA with the Washington Wasps where in 5 games he went 3-19. Not "blow-you-away" type stats that you would expect from a "can't miss" kid. But during his time in Norfolk Antonio Diaz spent time watching this kid.

During the off-season in 2016, during a salary purge he came over to the us, the Cavaliers, in exchange for our #2 starting pitcher Carlos Mateo. Diaz said the trade was worth it and who were we to argue. Saved us 8 million and give us a "can't miss kid" and a #2 pick. Before this season Janchez was named the #77 prospect in the Delmarva Baseball League, something that surprised everyone, but us in Norfolk.

After one so-so season, in the low minors, we felt he was ready for a shot in AAA. His poor season in A last year didn't phase us, we liked the way he looked this spring and sent him to Yokohama, where he was set to bat 3rd and play CF. All he did was play top of the line ball, and putting up solid numbers. In 98 games this year he has hit .310-18-89, stealing 24 bases putting up a .894 OPS and play a solid CF, 2 errors 6 assists.

Why the mystery? Well, everyone agrees this guy has power, but not everyone agrees how good he will be. OSA has him rated very poorly, Antonio Diaz (Favor's Ability) has him rated through the roof.

Lets compare the ratings:
OSA: Contact: 5/8, Power: 9/9, Power: 4/15, Eye: 1/5, Avoid K's 5/12
Diaz: Contact: 8/11, Power: 12/12, Power: 10/18, Eye: 6/9, Avoid K's 11/15

OSA: Speed: 18, Stealing: 14, Baserunning: 14
Diaz: Speed: 20, Stealing: 18, Baserunning: 12

OSA: Range: 16, Error: 16, Arm: 13
Diaz: Range: 17, Error: 15, Arm: 16

Other things about Janchez to note:
Leader Ability: Very High
Loyalty: Normal
Desire to Win: Normal
Greed: Very Low
Intelligence: Normal
Work Ethic: High

As you can see, OSA doesn't seem to think Javier is ready for the show. Where Antonio Diaz sees the 6'1" - 165 lbs Janchez ready. With the news that Jose Rodriquez is going to be out over a month we felt the time was now. I didn't want him up this year, but for maybe a cup of coffee in September, but with Frietas and Rodriquez out his time is now. He will be with us for the next 2 months, and he has been asking for this for the past 3 months, so lets see how it goes...

He will be put into RF and placed in the #3 hole. Hitting behind Roberto Perez and in front of Derek Campbell he should get some good pitches to hit. I know I am curious to see how this will turn out.