Guardians To Add Another Potential Weapon Out Of The Pen In Flame Throwing Vargas
The Cleveland Guardians are calling up 22-year-old right-handed pitching prospect Carlos Vargas before their pivotal five game series with the Twins begins on Friday.
Vargas signed as an International Free Agent for $275,000, the largest signing bonus of the Cleveland's 2016 class. He didn't make his pro-debut until 2018 in the Arizona Rookie League after missing the 2017 with an elbow strain. In 2019 he pitched for Mahoning Valley. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled and the shortened MLB season ended, he was added to the Guardians 40-man roster despite never pitching in a full minor league season to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. Vargas injured his elbow during spring training the following year and underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2021.
Vargas made his 2022 debut June 19th for Double-A Akron against Hartford in his new role out of the bullpen throwing a scoreless inning striking out one and while touching 101 mph on the radar gun.
He made 19 appearances at Akron with mixed results posting a 4.81 ERA over 24.1 innings while striking out 21 batters. He did allow 25 hits and 12 walks in his time with the RubberDucks posting a 1.52 WHIP.
Vargas was promoted to Columbus on September 3rd and made his Triple-A debut the next night throwing two scoreless frames against Iowa striking out three batters.
He made four appearances with the Clippers which was enough apparently for the brass to see as he dominated allowing just one run on four hits and two walks over six innings striking out 12 batters while posting a 1.50 ERA.
Vargas has absolutely electric stuff when healthy. His fastball usually sits between 94-97 mph with some run and sink. He has been clocked as high as 101 mph in the past. Vargas slider might be his best pitch though sitting in the mid to upper 80s that touches low 90s with a sharp break it grades as a plus to plus plus pitch. His third pitch is a changeup that he utilizes against left-handed hitters that needs further development.
One concern is that he can struggle with the command which hopefully as he develops, he can refine over time. Part of the problem stems from the fact that he creates so much movement on his pitches. Vargas control however is average and not terrible despite struggling with location.
The Guardians will most likely continue to bring him along slowly and monitor his workload and usage as he continues to work his way back from his recent Tommy John surgery. One thing for certain is that he provides another exciting arm power arm to an already extremely deep bullpen.
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