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Dillon Maples, righthanded pitcher, 6-2, 195
Drafted in the 14th round in 2011
Potential landing spot in 2014: Low-A Kane County
When most prospect fans get a-talking, they love to talk about upside. That the likelihood of hitting anywhere near said upside may be remote, but that often ends up in the disclaimer portion of the advert. Dillon Maples' upper-90s fastball and nearly unhittable curve have been all the rage since even before he signed his late-round record $2.5 million contract. The promise is still there. The results haven't been.
In his first full season, he was hampered by injuries, and pitched only a few times in games in Mesa. Last season was a bit of good (in Boise) and not-so-good (in Kane County). If you have velocity, and a good attitude about things, affiliated ball will give you plenty of chances. That said, one of these times, Maples will need to stick on a full-season team, or his time may run out in the system.
That said, this would be his junior season in college. If he can figure out the "throw strikes" thing well enough to not cause his team to fall behind early most of the time, there is time to move through the system. I will file Maples under "Show me". I'd have more to say, but I haven't heard him throw enough strikes to add much more.