There have been a number of minor moves from within the minor leagues over the past week:
- The Astros have promoted pitching prospect Brett Oberholtzer from Double to Triple-A, reports Farmstros.com. Oberholtzer had struggled in Double-A when he was promoted, going 1-1 with a 6.86 ERA after posting a 3.74 ERA in 21 starts there last season. His struggles came with him to Triple-A, as he gave up four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in his first start at Oklahoma City.
- The Braves promoted Evan Gattis from High-A to Double-A, after Gattis tore the Carolina League up to the tune of .385/.468/.821, notes TalkingChop.com. Gattis, a catcher by trade, will split time in Double-A in left field, DH, and behind the plate, in an attempt to possibly get the 25-year-old late-bloomer on a faster track to the majors.
- After bouts with wildness and a case of elbow tightness thrown in, the Pirates have sent 2010 second-round pick Stetson Allie back to extended spring training to work on his command, reports Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com. For Allie, professional baseball has been a roller coaster, displaying extreme talent with extreme inconsistencies bad enough that he's barely been able to stay in the field. In his first season in 2011, Allie struck out 28 batters in 26 innings, while walking 29. This year in two appearances, Allie walked eight batters while recording just two outs.
- The Rays had a ton of early picks in 2010, and with their second first-round pick, they took catcher Justin O'Conner. Now, according to RaysProspects.com, that's just hitter Justin O'Conner, and even that's a question mark right now. O'Conner had surgery on his right hip two years ago, and he's now experiencing the same pain on his left side, so he has been shut down from catching, likely for the remainder of the year. He has yet to appear in a game this season, and there is no word if he will be allowed to DH later in the year. O'Conner has hit just .183 in professional baseball.
- The Padres are tyring out third base prospect Jedd Gyorko at second base, notes Jim Shonerd of Baseball America. Gyorko was a middle infielder in college, and the Padres have an organizational backup at the hot corner.
