MLB Prospect Watch

Blogs Track Teams - 4/21/12

• TalkingChop.com breaks down the Braves system, including yet another hot day at the plate for Joey Terdoslavich, who is now hitting .324 with 11 doubles in his first 18 games of the season.  Terdoslavich has played primarily right field this season in Triple-A, with Freddie Freeman blocking his path to the majors at first base.
• PineTarPress.com runs through the Royals organization, including a solid start for Chris Dwyer, who now has a 2.55 ERA through four starts despite dwindling strike out numbers.
• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com recaps the Reds farm system, including two more stolen bases for Billy Hamilton.  The minor league stolen base king has 13 steals in 16 games despite hitting just .230 on the season with a .299 on-base percentage.
• BlessYouBoys.com takes us through the Tigers system, including a three-hit day for first base prospect Aaron Westlake.
• Luke Erickson of NationalsProspects.com notes about the Nats organization, including another multi-hit day for Jeff Kobernus.  The Tigers returned Kobernus to the Nationals after selecting him in the Rule V draft this off-season, and the second baseman/outfielder is hitting .453 on the season.
• BrewCrewBall.com brushes us up on the Brewers system, including a home run in the professional debut of 2012 first-rounder Victor Roache.

Blogs Track Teams - 4/19/13

• TalkingChop.com breaks down the Braves organization, including a three-hit day by Joey Terdoslavich, which included two doubles.  Terdoslavich is now hitting .290/.313/.516 on the season, now with six doubles and a pair of home runs.
• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com recaps the Reds farm system, including a continued slump for top prospect Billy Hamilton, who went 0-for-4 on Thursday, but did walk and steal a base.  Hamilton is struggling of late, currently hitting just .231 in his first taste of Triple-A, but he does still have nine stolen bases.
• PineTarPress.com runs through the Royals organization, including a big offensive day for Raul (Adalberto) Mondesi, who is in his first full-season league this year.  Mondesi is hitting .263/.328/.404 thus far in the South Atlantic League.
• BlessYouBoys.com talks about the Tigers farm system, including a three-hit day for catching prospect James McCann.  McCann has returned to Erie after spending a half-season there last year, and is hitting .360 on the young season.
• AthleticsFarm.com assesses the A's organization, including the latest start from Sonny Gray.  After making one start there last season, Gray is taking on the Pacific Coast League and has a 3.94 ERA on the season, despite walking 4.5 batters per nine innings thus far.

Can Alen Hanson Stick at Short Stop?

Alen Hanson's bat has plenty of potential in it, enough that if he has to eventually move away from his current short stop position, he should still be able to be a productive major league hitter, but wouldn't it be nice if the Pirates could keep him at his natural position, where his bat would be an above-average asset?

That's what Pirates fans are hoping, but Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com isn't so sure if Hanson will be able to stay there.  Williams goes into good detail the problems that Hanson is having in the field (give the article a read for a great explanation into Hanson's struggles).  I wanted to look at the developmental decisions his defensive issues may force the Pirates to make.

As Williams points out, it's not the tools or ability that are lacking for Hanson, but the consistency, with most of his errors and miscues coming on the more routine plays.  This is a problem we see with a lot of young players.  They have the ability to make great plays, but lack the focus and consistency to make all of the routine ones.  And as a major league shortstop, you have to be able to make virtually all of the routine plays.  Hanson is still quite young, so there's plenty of time for him to outgrow his lack of focus, but depending on how his bat develops, that window could shrink.

We saw this happen recently with Billy Hamilton.  The Reds speedster played an erratic short stop for his first few years of the minors, and scouts were split on whether or not he'd ever be consistent enough to play the position in the major leagues.  As his offensive game developed more rapidly, the point became moot, as the Reds realized that even if he could eventually be a good enough defensive short stop, the process of becoming so would take much longer than they wanted to wait for his bat.  They moved him to center field after last season.

The same fate may await Hanson.  Whether or not he can eventually develop into a good short stop may be rendered moot if his bat develops quickly.  If he hits this season the way he did last year, the Pirates will want to get him to the majors soon, perhaps by the end of the 2014 season.  He'll probably need more time than that do become a good enough short stop to play there in the majors.

If the Pirates see his bat developing quickly, he has the tools to shift to second or third base.  A shift to third could coincide with current third baseman Pedro Alvarez shifting to first base, a move many see as inevitable.  He also has the athletic ability to handle the outfield, but such a move would further diminish his overall value.

Hanson won't be 21 until after this season, so there's no need to rush either his bat or his glove.  Having to move a potent hitter to another position because his bat is ready before his glove isn't the worst problem to have, but if the Pirates can be patient with Hanson, they could have the best of both worlds.  But there is the chance that there is simply too much work here to be done.

Prospect Action: 4/8/13

Triple-A

• Billy Hamilton was dominant on Monday, as the Reds top prospect went 4-for-5 and stole three bases.
• Jake Odorizzi did a good job of impressing his new organization as the Rays newest pitching prospect threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in his debut with his new team, notes Danny Wild of MiLB.com.
• Melky Mesa hit his first home run of the 2013 season after a spring training in which he was considered to take Curtis Granderson's place on the Yankees big league roster.
• Jeff Kobernus collected three more hits and is now batting .579 on the spring.  His offensive production was in support of fellow Nationals Rule V returnee Danny Rosenbaum, who threw five scoreless innings.
• Phillies prospects Cody Asche and Darin Ruf recorded a pair of hits each with Asche's being a double and a home run, both of which came off of Red Sox starter Rubby de la Rosa.
• Chris McGuiness, who had a strong Arizona Fall League season and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the Rule V draft this winter but was returned to the Texas Rangers, hit a pair of home runs on Monday night as part of a three-hit, six-RBI day.
• Mike Zunino went 3-for-4 and hit his third home run of the young season on Monday, showing the Mariners once again that he is ready for any assignment they throw at him.

Double-A

• Matt Barnes lasted just one inning in his Double-A debut, striking out three in the frame, but also allowing a pair of runs and throwing 33 pitches, which was enough to end his night early, notes Glenn Jordan of The Portland Press Herald.
• Yasiel Puig has carried his red-hot spring over to the regular season, as the Dodgers outfield prospect went 2-for-3 with a double on Monday to raise his batting average to .538 on the young season.
• George Springer reached base four times, as the Astros center fielder of the future drew a pair of walks to go along with two hits.  Much of the offense came off of Rockies pitcher Tyler Matzek, who walked five batters in four innings to carry his extreme control issues over from last season.

High-A

• Prospects Deven Marrero and Garin Cecchini led the offensive attack in Salem on Monday night, as the left side of the infield combined to reach base seven times with four doubles.
• Taylor Naquin collected two more hits to raise his batting average to .375 on the year while fellow Indians prospect Francisco Lindor reached base three more times as well.

Low-A

• Light-hitting Tigers shortstop prospect Danry Vasquez went 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored in his team's 11-run outburst on Monday.
• Power-hitting prospect Joey Gallo did what he does best on Monday, hitting his first home run of the season as part of a three-hit night.
• Converted Pirates pitcher Stetson Allie hit his second home run of the season.

 

Blogs Track Teams - 4/4/13

• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com recaps the Reds farm system, including Billy Hamilton's Triple-A debut, who had a double and made a nice sliding play in center field.
• TalkingChop.com breaks down the Braves farm system, including a solid opening day performance for Phil Gosselin.
• BlessYouBoys.com talks about the Tigers, including an opening day win for Kyle Lobstein, despite giving up three runs in five innings.
• NationalsProspects.com has notes on the Nationals organization, including a three-hit day for returned Rule V draft pick Jeff Kobernus, and Anthony Rendon, who reached base three times.
• Tim Williams of PiratesProspects. com breaks down the Buccos, including a rough day for converted pitcher Stetson Allie, who went 0-for-4 with 4 strike outs on opening day.
• BrewCrewBall.com has the Brewers organizational update, including Jed Bradley's uneven opening day start.