MLB Prospect Watch

Position Battles - Iglesias, Hultzen, Braves

• Jose Iglesias could play short stop in the big leagues right now, but he's not going to make the Red Sox roster this spring, predicts Alex Speier of Baseball America.  The Red Sox may have traded away incumbent short stop Marco Scutaro, but based on what we saw from Iglesias' bat last season, he's not ready to face major league pitching.
• It's a long shot for certain, but that's not stopping Mariners officials from raving about Danny Hultzen so far in camp, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  Hultzen hasn't appeared in a minor league game yet, so his odds of making the Mariners out of spring training are limited, but the Reds did make a similar move with Mike Leake a few years back, so it's not completely unheard of.
• Bill Ballew of Baseball America discusses the major league readiness of the Braves big three pitching prospects, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino and Randall Delgado.  Despite being the most talented of the three, Teheran probably has the least chance of making the team out of spring training because the Braves won't want to use him in a relief role and don't have any available starting rotation spots.  Delgado has already proven his merit in the bullpen last year in the majors, and Vizcaino could grab a bullpen spot as well this March.

Prospect Potent Potables - Nieuwenhuis, Perez, Vizcaino, d'Arnaud

• Mets OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis doesn't have much of a shot to make the Mets big-league roster this spring after missing a significant portion of last season with a torn labrum, notes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, but once he re-establishes his health, he could work his way to the majors this season.  Nieuwenhuis could take over in center field if Andres Torres doesn't regain his 2010 offensive form, or he could take over in one of the corners, where he would be an above-average defender.
• Mike Newman of FanGraphs.com breaks down the struggles of Braves lefty Carlos Perez, attributing at least some part of it to a change in body type that Perez went thorugh bewteen 2010 and 2011.  While Perez is still far from the majors, Arodys Vizcaino is a large part of the Braves future, possibly as soon as next season.  Whether that is in the rotation or out of the bullpen is still up in the air, but Ben Duronio of CapitalAvenueClub.com offers his take on Vizcaino and a response to Keith Law's evaluation of him.
• MinorLeagueBall.com has an in-depth breakdown of Blue Jays catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and how he stacks up against other prospects and other catching prospects throughout the game of baseball.

Prospect Action - Lobstein, Teheran, Corbin, Rosenbaum

• Rays prospect Kyle Lobstein faced just one batter over the minimum on Saturday, allowing just one hit in his seven innings of work, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• The Cardinals recently promoted top prospect Shelby Miller to Double-A to give him his first taste of facing advanced hitters, and as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out, Miller was effective his first time out.
• Julio Teheran allowed just one run in six innings of work, as he earned his fifth win in Triple-A, notes David Heck of MiLB.com.  Fellow Braves prospect Arodys Vizcaino earned his first win in Double-A, striking out seven batters over six innings, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Dellin Betances struggled with his command again, notes Josh Norris of The Trentonian, as the Yankees prospect walked four in 5 2/3 innings.
• Robbie Erlin struck out five batters over six innings of work, as the Rangers LHP prospect allowed just an unearned run over that span, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Pat Corbin threw seven more scoreless innings on Saturday, as the Diamondbacks LHP prospect extended his scoreless innings streak to 19 2/3 innings, reports Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Danny Rosenbaum threw his first career shutout on Saturday, as the Nationals prospect went the distance striking out six batters, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

 

Injury Update - Stoneburner, Pomeranz, Vizcaino

• The Yankees have placed RHP Graham Stoneburner on the disabled list, reports Mike Ashmore of ThunderBaseball.com.
• Braves prospect Arodys Vizcaino had to leave his start early on Monday, according to the Lynchburg Hillcats website, which was apparently a precautionary move due to tightness in his lower back.
• Indians prospect Drew Pomeranz also left his Carolina League start early, but most reports say it was due to a minor hamstring injury.

 

Prospect Action - Trout, Ranaudo, Vizcaino, Jennings

• Mike Trout ended his season-opening hitless streak with two hits, including an inside-the-park home run, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  The Angels top prospect is beginning the season in Double-A for the first time.
• After a disasterous 2010 season, Brad Holt is back in Double-A to try again, and the Mets prospect got off to a good start on Saturday, tossing five shutout innings in his season debut, reports Josh Jackson of MiLB.com.
• Red Sox prospect Anthony Ranaudo got his professional debut started on the right foot, tossing five scoreless innings, striking out four batters and reaching 95-mph on the radar gun, according to David Heck of MiLB.com.
• Joe Savery had another perfect day at the plate, and the Phillies attempt to salvage their former first-round pick as a hitter is going quite well, notes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Arodys Vizcaino had a rough first inning, but settled down and didn't allow another hit in his final four innings of work on Saturday, says David Heck of MiLB.com.  The Braves prospect is beginning the year in High-A ball.
• Other notables from around the minors:
  • Charlie Furbush was a hard luck loser, striking out six in five innings of work, giving up two runs but getting little run support from his fellow Tigers prospects.
  • Desmond Jennings hit his first home run of the season, making his case for a call up to Tampa.
  • Dodgers prospect Jerry Sands got his first home run of the season out of the way, connecting off of one of the Royals talented stable of pitchers, Danny Duffy.