Greenville Drive update: Manuel Margot, Jamie Callahan, Myles Smith

Manuel Margot, CF

Margot's .255/.321/.451 line looks good, not great, until you realize he was born a few weeks after Bud Selig officially cancelled the remaining 1994 MLB schedule. The 19-year-old has some leeway when it comes to his performance, especially in a league where the average hitter is two-and-half-years older.

What's most intriguing about his performance thus far -- as intriguing as 14 games can be, anyway -- is that Margot has only struck out 14 percent of the time despite facing competition that is much older and more experienced. That's actually a little below his rate at short-season Lowell last summer, and if he can keep it up, will likely be a sign of good things to come from the talented, but still raw, center fielder.

Jamie Callahan, RHP

Callahan is also youthful for the level, but has not seen the same success as Margot to begin 2014. The right-hander is actually almost three years younger than the average pitcher in the Sally League, and while he's struck out 16 batters in his 12 innings, that relative lack of experience is showing as he's allowed 10 walks and runs a piece already.

There's no reason to fear, though. Callahan came into Greenville with all of 68 professional innings behind him, so seeing him tested in what is his first legitimate test is to be expected. How talented the pitcher is barely matters in instances like this, as it's all about adjustments and progress: Henry Owens didn't immediately dominate at Low-A, Cody Kukuk is just now figuring it out, and when Matt Barnes did manage the feat, he was years older than Callahan, and with college experience to his credit to boot.

Myles Smith, RHP

Speaking of college experience, Myles Smith does have some, even if he did start pitching a little later in his amateur career than most. That lack of overall experience on the mound, though, means that, despite being older than Margot and Callahan, he's in a somewhat similar situation, although not entirely analogous given the differing baseball backgrounds of the group.

Smith has already given up three homers in his 10 innings, but he's been lucky enough to avoid many runs otherwise, despite also allowing six walks to his eight strikeouts. If he did this in July -- or in a year other than his first in full-season ball -- we probably wouldn't notice all that much. Since it's all he's got on the season so far, it sticks out just a little bit, though.

The 22-year-old Smith has the velocity, repertoire, and potential to be a big-league starter, and a good one, but he's obviously far off from that goal at the moment. The 2013 fourth-round pick has plenty of time to figure things out, however, given the sheer volume of pitching prospects ahead of him both in the upper and lower minors right now.