MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - 5/3/12

Triple-A

• Allen Webster, back in the minors after a major league spot start, earned his first win of the season, as the Red Sox prospect struck out nine over six innings of work, says Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.
• James Paxton struck out nine batters in five innings and the Mariners left-hander retired the first 13 batters he faced, reports T.J. Cotterill of The Tacoma News Tribune.
• Michael Kickham struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball on Friday, notes Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.  The Giants left-hander entered the game having allowed at least five runs in each of his previous three starts.
• Kyle Gibson's inconsistencies continued on Friday as the Twins prospect continued to alternate strong starts with poor ones, allowing five runs in 4 2/3 innings in his latest outing.
• Joey Terdoslavich continued his hot hitting this season, as the Braves prospect, playing right field on Friday, went 3-for-4 with a home run.

Double-A

• George Springer had another hot day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double and a home run, the ninth blast of the season for the Astros outfielder.  Springer is now hitting .305/.402/.638 on the season.
• A 1-for-5 day at the plate left Xander Bogaerts still hitting .303 on the season, and the Red Sox shortstop hit his second home run of the year in the game.
• Alex Wood made it just four innings before reaching his 85-pitch limit for the night, but he did strike out seven batters in the process.

High-A

• A.J. Cole tossed a gem on Friday, striking out nine over six innings of shutout baseball for his first win of the season.  Cole is back in the Nationals organization after being traded for Gio Gonzalez, but was returned in the Mike Morse three-team trade.
• Noah Syndergaard was strong again, allowing just a run over six innings while striking out five.  The Mets right-hander now sports a 2.90 ERA on the season.
• Nolan Fontana put together a four-hit night and is now hitting .384 on the season.  The Astros shortstop is hitting .514 over the past ten games and has a .515 on-base percentage on the season. 

Low-A

• Rock Shoulders, America's favorite prospect name, hit his sixth home run of the season.  The Cubs first base prospect is now hitting .366/.449/.656 on the season, his first in full-season ball.
• Joey Gallo hit his 10th home run of the season as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate.  The Rangers third baseman has now homered in back-to-back games and is now leading the South Atlantic League in home runs.

Full Coverage of Mariners, A's, Nationals 3-Way Trade for Jaso, Morse, Cole

The Facts:  The Mariners acquire 1B/OF Michael Morse from the Washington Nationals, in exchange for catcher John Jaso, who was sent to the Oakland A's.  The A's sent pitching prospects A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen to the Nationals, who will also receive a player to be named later.

The Opinions:

• Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a breakdown of all of the pieces of this trade, including a background on the pitching prospects.
• Keith Law of ESPN.com says that the trade makes "no sense" for the Mariners.  As for the prospects, he says Treinen "a live arm but has some history of injuries " 
• AthleticsFarm.com says that "the main conclusion that can be drawn from this deal though is that A’s general manager Billy Beane wants to win now."
• Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs.com says "the Nationals seem to have done pretty well. The A’s seem to have done pretty well. The Mariners seem to have balanced the equation."

My Take:  I love this deal for the Nationals, who had nothing to lose here.  As soon as they traded for Denard Span and re-signed Adam LaRoche, Morse became completely expendable.  Anything they got for him was a plus.  So many teams, once an organization gets into win-now mode, they ignore the farm system.  It would have been tempting to trade Morse for a piece for their major league roster for this season, which likely would have resulted in them taking on a less-valuable, but more specific piece that they needed.  Instead, they got maximum value for Morse and helped rebuilt a farm system that had been depleted by promotions and trades.

In Cole, they got essentially the same talented but raw arm that they traded away a year ago.  Cole struggled in High-A ball last season, something that happens to a lot of young pitchers in the California League, although his struggles weren't due as much to the hitter-friendly ballparks as much as it was a breakdown in his mechanics.  He was demoted back to Low-A ball, where he had plenty of success.  He'll attack High-A ball again this season, getting to try his hand at the much more pitcher-friendly Carolina League instead.  Assumming he's successful there, he could be in Double-A by the end of the season.

Treinen is a 24-year-old right-hander who has had an injury history but made a career high 15 starts (28 appearances) in 2012.  Given his injury history, strong arm, and lack of a good change-up, and the fact that he'll be 25 next season and in Double-A, he should end up in a relief role if he makes it to the majors with the Nationals.

 

Prospect Action - 9/6/12

Triple-A

• At least the Red Sox can beat the Yankees at something.  The Pawtucket Red Sox took a 2-0 lead on the Scranton Yankees on Thursday thanks to six strong innings from Chris Hernandez and two hits and two RBI's by outfield prospect Bryce Brentz, according to WPRI.com.
• James Paxton threw six scoreless innings, as the Mariners lefty struck out nine to earn the victory, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

Double-A

• Pirates top prospect Gerrit Cole got rocked in his first playoff start, allowing eight runs in just two innings, reports Nancy Zinni of PiratesProspects.com.
• Trevor May pitched well, allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six, but his Reading Phillies teammates took the loss on Thursday.
• Rob Rasmussen was even better, throwing seven scoreless innings, but his fellow Astros prospects couldn't get him enough run support to earn a victory.

High-A

• The Marlins affiliate in Jupiter own their Florida State League series on Thursday night, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com, holding off an impressive offensive showing by Mets prospects Daniel Muno, who went 3-for-5 with a triple, and Cesar Puello, who homered.
• 18-year-old Courtney Hawkins continues to be unfaized by his first playoff experience, as the White Sox 2012 first-rounder homered again, his second in as many nights, reports John Dell of The Winston-Salem Journal.

Low-A

• A.J. Cole lasted just four innings in his playoff start, says Kyle Lobner of BrewCrewBall.com.  The A's pitcher allowed four runs (only one earned) but did strike out five.  If it's his last start of the season, it's a disappointing end to a season in which he rebounded in Low-A after a poor start to the season in the California League.

 

Prospect Action - 8/8/12

Triple-A

• Charlie Leesman allowed one run over five innings to earn his ninth win of the season, reports The Charlotte Observer.  The White Sox left-hander is 9-9 on the season with a 2.65 ERA but a 3.97 FIP, which is much more in line with his career norms.
• Adam Warren took a no-hitter into the eighth innings, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com, as the Yankees righty struck out nine in the outing.
• New Marlins prospect Jacob Turner managed to throw six shutout innings, despite giving up eight hits and striking out just two batters, notes Tim Grubbs of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Turner was matched up against fellow pitching prospect Andrew Carraway, who threw five shutout innings before exiting the game, says T.J. Cotterill of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.  The Mariners are still limiting Carraway's innings since coming off of the disabled list just two starts ago.

Double-A

• Aaron Hicks has come on strong of late, going 3-for-5 in a double header on Tuesday, including a home run in Game 1, his 12th of the season.  Each home run Hicks hits represents a career high for the Twins prospect is putting up career numbers this season.
• Dellin Betances put together a much-needed solid start, barely out-pitching Phillies prospect Trevor May, who allowed three runs (two earned) in the loss.  May drops to 8-10 in what has become a disappointing season for the right-hander.
• James Paxton didn't pitch great on Tuesday, but he managed to earn his seventh win of the season after giving up four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

High-A

• New York Mets right-handed pitching prospect Rafael Montero threw 7 2/3 no-hit innings striking out five, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  Montero is 5-2 in eight starts since his promotion to High-A Port St. Lucie, with a 2.13 ERA and 56 strike outs in 50 2/3 innings.
• Elisaul Pimentel threw five scoreless innings on Tuesday, as the Royals prospect struck out six while scattering three hits, according to The Winson-Salem Journal.
• Adam Duvall continues his slugging ways, as the Giants third base prospect homered in his fourth straight game, writes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.  Duvall now has 25 on the season, a number that would seem to be inflated by the hitter-friendly California League had Duvall not hit 22 last season in a more difficult hitter's league, the South Atlantic League.

Low-A

• Tigers 1B prospect Aaron Westlake knocked a game-tying RBI single in the 9th inning, says MLive.com.
• A's prospect A.J. Cole took a no-decision despite throwing five strong innings, allowing just one run and fanning five.
• Eddie Rosario, now playing second base, hit his eighth home run of the season on Tuesday.  It's been a drop-off in power for Rosario who hit 21 last season in 67 short-season games, but the left-handed swinger is still having a strong season, hitting .313/.372/.502 in the Midwest League in his first taste of full-season baseball. 

Short-Season

• Two power hitting prospects put on a display in Everett on Tuesday as Mike Zunino connected for his eighth blast as part of a 5 RBI day.  Not to be outdone was Cubs 1B prospect Dan Vogelbach who homered for the second straight game.

 

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Prospect Action - 7/22/12

After a week's vacation, during which I tried to keep providing content as much as possible, we will be back to full speed, beginning this morning.

Triple-A

• Corey Kluber earned his 10th victory of the season, as the Indians prospect tossed six innings allowing two runs and striking out seven, says The Columbus Dispatch.
• Starling Marte went 3-for-5 with his 12th home run of the season.
• Cubs third baseman Josh Vitters went 3-for-5 with his 15th home run of the season as he continues to re-establish himself as a prospect this season.

Double-A

• Brandon Crumpton earned his ninth win of the season, as the Pirates prospect threw five innings, and allowing two runs (one earned), reports The Erie Times-News.
• The Orioles saw catching prospect Caleb Joseph blast a pair of home runs on Sunday, says Tucker Blair of Orioles-Nation.com.
• In a game that saw a combined 32 hits, Yankees pitching prospect Dellin Betances bore the brunt of the action, allowing seven runs on ten hits in just three innings.  Marking the offensive action were home runs by Melky Mesa and Phillies prospect Sebastian Valle.

High-A

• C.J. Cron hit a three-run homer to extend his hitting streak to 13 games in support of fellow Angels prospect Nick Maronde, who threw six scoreless innings to extend his scoreless innings streak to 18 games, says Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.
• Max Stassi is attempting to re-establish himself as a prospect after a poor 2011, as the A's catcher hit his 11th homer of the season as part of a 2-for-4 day.

Low-A

• Will Lamb dropped to 4-7 on the season after allowing six runs in four innings, thanks to five walks from the Rangers prospect, notes Mark Parker of The Hickory Daily Record.
• A.J. Cole continued his strong pitching in the Midwest League, as the A's right-hander struck out seven batters over five innings on Sunday, says Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Domingo Tapia took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, as the Mets prospect ultimately gave up just one hit and an unearned run to move to 5-2 on the season, writes Pentis.

Rookie

• Jorge Soler played right field and hit his first Arizona League home run, a 420-foot bomb, according to The Cub Reporter.