Unusual Suspects: 8/28/23

Once more, we extoll the virtues of some less-heralded prospects.

In case you haven’t heard, Unusual Suspects is a new-ish weekly series that endeavors to identify and/or observe intriguing prospects who are not in the proverbial spotlight. Last week’s second-ever edition expanded on the inaugural edition and called attention to five intriguing pitchers.

The astute reader recalls that there will not be five new players each week. This current edition, being a clear example of this fact, exclusively features updates on (and GIFs of!) players discussed in the two previous editions. While my aim is to find compelling players, this series also serves as a space to further consider the cases of those previously featured.

Now, for anyone asking about the eligibility requirements for “Unusual Suspects,” I first say, “Welcome!” and then the following:

Aside from my own proclivities for what is or is not interesting, players are eligible for consideration if, at the time of writing, they:

• Are not on a 26-man MLB roster

• Maintain their rookie eligibility (i.e. fewer than 130 MLB at-bats or 50 MLB innings pitched)

• Were not selected in the 2023 draft

• Did not appear in any of the four pre-season Top 100 prospect lists at Baseball America, FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus, or MLB Pipeline 

These rules may occasionally be broken to provide updates on graduated players or mention those who have sky-rocketed onto mid-season lists.

Players will continue to be presented in alphabetical order until yours truly can determine a better reason to do otherwise.

With that slightly shorter preamble behind us, please enjoy this week’s “Unusual Suspects.”

Connor Cooke, RHP, Toronto (but this time with GIFs!)

When the most recent edition of Unusual Suspects was penned (fine, keyed), Cooke had been promoted to Triple-A but placed on the Injured List before seeing any game action. Although his performance in Double-A merited the promotion, it was unclear the move was a legitimate recognition of his skill and success or a run-of-the-mill Minor League roster management decision.

Well, this author is happy to report that both the promotion and Mr. Cooke appear to be legit. The 23-year-old has made two hitless appearances in Triple-A, walking two and striking out four.

He’s flummoxed right-handers across High-A, Double-A, and now Triple-A this season, with a mid-90s fastball that sets up his 3,000 RPM slider that he can start on the outer-half and run into the other batter’s box…

or start at a hitter’s face, buckling their knees, before darting in for a strike.