MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - Miller, D-Backs, Schoop, Foltynewicz

• In his first start of the 2011 season, Dodgers pitching prospect Aaron Miller struck out nine batters in six innings of work, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Phillies prospect Brody Colvin threw six innings and gave up just one earned run, but didn't factor into the decision in what turned into a 23-inning affair, reports Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Press.
• Also on the mound for the Phillies farm system was Jesse Biddle, who gave up three runs over five innings of work, says Joe Berkery of Philly.com.
• Orioles prospect Jonathan Schoop recorded the first 4-RBI night of his career, reports theshorebirds.com.
• In other prospect action...
  • Diamondbacks prospects had a big night in Visalia, as Matt Davidson and Bobby Borchering each knocked three doubles, and Chris Owings hit his 5th home run of the season.
  • Gary Brown knocked two doubles and stole two bases, and Brandon Crawford added a double and scored two runs in support of fellow Giants prospect Zack Wheeler, who struggled on the mound on Monday, giving up giving up four earned runs in four innings, and walking six batters in the process.
  • Both Trey McNutt and Wade Miley struggled facing off against one another, as the Cubs prospect McNutt gave up a home run to Diamondbacks OF prospect Marc Krauss, two of his four runs allowed, while Miley allowed four runs of his own.
  • Astros prospect Mike Foltynewicz earned his second win of the season, giving up just one earned run over seven innings of work.

 

 

Mini-Camps and Spring Training Invites

Many teams are holding winter mini-camps for their top prospects, especially those teams that play in warm weather cities or have indoor stadiums.  These mini-camps typically run around a week in length and include everything from on-field instruction to seminars on how to deal with life in the big leagues.

The Tampa Bay Rays will be holding their developmental mini-camp for the second straight year, with Tim Beckham, Alex Cobb, Derek Dietrich, Matt Moore, Alexander Torres, Alex Colome, among the more established prospects invited, as well as 2010 draftees Justin O'Conner, Josh Sale, Drew Vettleson also attending, according to Bill Chastain of MLB.com.

The Dodgers will also be holding a mini-camp in January, with prospects such as Chris Withrow, Rubby de la Rosa, Ethan Martin, Aaron Miller, Dee Gordon, Kyle Russell, Trayvon Robinson, and Jerry Sands among those invited, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Teams are also beginning to announce their non-roster invites to Spring Training.  Some we already know, others are prospects within the organization that are not on the 40-man roster (all 40-man players are already invited to Spring Training).

The Phillies have announced their invites, with Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, Freddy Galvis and Mike Stutes making the list, according to PhuturePhillies.com.  The Pirates have announced their list, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, with Rudy Owens serving as the only notable prospect invite.  The Padres list includes newly acquired prospects Anthony Rizzo and Casey Kelly, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com.  The Brewers have added Logan Schafer and Caleb Gindl to their invite list, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.

Prospect Potent Potables - Dodgers, Drabek, Myers

• Some of the Dodgers top talent spent 2010 in the low minors, particularly in A-ball, between Great Lakes and Inland Empire, says Jared Massey of DodgerTalk.com.  Particularly of note are Aaron Miller and Ethan Martin.
• For every prospect that's rushed, there's another who was allowed to take their time, and as Jessica Quiroli points out, just because Kyle Drabek falls into the latter category, doesn't mean the Blue Jays should have promoted him sooner.
• Wil Myers had been struggling in fall instructs, but the Royals catching prospect broke out in a big way on Tuesday night, with a opposite field double and a homer.
• The Padres fell to two games out of the NL West lead on Tuesday night, but if they do manage to climb back into the post-season, rookie Cory Lubeke wants to be a part of it, and will fill any role necessary to make it happen, says Corey Brock of MLB.com.
• Chase D'Arnaud has been added to the Team USA roster, in place of fellow Pirates farmhand Andrew Romaine, who was promoted to the majors instead, reports John Manuel of Baseball America.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - 8/28

• If it were purely a baseball decision, Brandon Belt would be getting a September call-up by the Giants, but as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle points out, the decision will come down to space on the 40-man roster.  Belt is not currently on the Giants' 40-man roster, and in order to promote him to San Francisco, the team would have to designate a player for assignment.
• Aaron Miller, first-round pick by the Dodgers' in 2009, took a no-hitter into the 7th inning on Friday, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.  The Dodgers are thrilled to see positive results from their young lefty after an agressive promotion to Double-A to start the season led to an inflated ERA and struggles for Miller.
• Don't read anything into the Braves' demotion of Mike Minor.  The team sent him down to the Gulf Coast League, but Minor will return in time to make his next scheduled start.  The move was made, according to TalkingChop.com, so that the Braves can add reliever Craig Kimbrel to the bullpen, and Minor will be allowed to return for his start because the GCL season ends.
• You also shouldnt read anything into the gaudy stats of Juan Urbina, says Michael Diaz of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com, who says Urbina is displaying all the tools that made him a big international signing by the Mets despite his high ERA.
• J.P. Arencibia is almost certainly going to be returning to the Blue Jays once the rosters expand, according to Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• Major League Baseball is looking into allegations that Yankees' pitchers Ivan Nova and Wilkins de la Rosa gave each other B-12 injections, reports Josh Norris of The Trentonian.  B-12 shots are not illegal, but giving them to someone if you're not a doctor certainly is.

Prospect Hot Sheet - 6/25

This week's edition of Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet looks a little different thanks to the start of the summer leagues and all-star breaks in many of the full season leagues.  Here are this week's honorees:

• Dellin Betances
• Domonic Brown
• Jedd Gyorko
• Brad Hand
• Brett Jackson
• Jason Kipnis
• Brandon Laird
• John Lamb
• Brett Lawrie
• Jordan Lyles
• Chris Marrerro
• Tyler Matzek
• Wade Miley
• Aaron Miller
• Matt Moore
• Mike Moustakas
• Michael Pineda
• Domingo Santana
• Brett Wallace
• Chris Withrow

Even during a slow week, some players struggle.  This week it was Peter Bourjos, Aaron Crow, Adeiny Hechavarria.