Each offseason, Baseball America ranks the top prospects in each minor league, and quite often former VBLers pop up on the lists; however, only one player made all the lists post-2018- Austin Gomber (Luray 2012), #19 on the Pacific Coast League list.
Gomber started 2018 at Triple-A Memphis, and bounced back and forth to St. Louis a couple times before spending the latter part of the major league season in the major leagues. In Memphis, Austin went 7-3, 3.42, with a 1.244 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, and 10.0 K/9 in 68 1/3 innings pitched.
Baseball America likes his future potential, saying that he “is difficult to pick up with his long limbs and a stab in the back to hide the ball.” He also runs his fastball up to 95 mph, and “his tight-spinning upper 70s curveball is an above-average pitch that generates swings and misses.” His writeup concluded with “he has the arsenal and deception to remain a back-end starter on a competitive team.”
Right now, rosterresource.com still has Austin outside of the Cardinals’ starting rotation for 2019, but every team needs at least a couple extra starters each season, so don’t be surprised if Gomber gets another 10+ starts in the majors this upcoming season.
