MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - 7/26

• The Cubs farm system may be taking a hit as prospects like Andrew Cashner and Jay Jackson join the big league team, but Chris Archer is doing his best to take their place among the top pitching prospects in the Cubs system by continuing to impress in Double-A.
• Brad Lincoln's minor league success didn't translate into productivity at the major league level, and the Pirates right-hander has been optioned back to Triple-A, reports Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com.
• J.J. Cooper of Baseball America takes a look back at some of the more impressive performances from the weekend, including Eric Hosmer, Michael Pineda, Peter Bourjos, Adrian Salcedo, and Jeremy Hellickson.
• Speaking of Hellickson, Rays' manager Joe Maddon said over the weekend that the team may use the team's top pitching prospect in a relief role similar to the way they used David Price in the 2008 playoffs, according to Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.
• J.P. Arencibia is heating up again, and is showing off the power that has put him on the prospect map in the first place, says Chris Jackson of MiLB.com.  Arencibia may never be an all-star catcher due to his free-swinging ways and fluctuating batting average, but there is a place for a solid defensive catcher with plus power in the major leagues, and that place may soon be Toronto.
• Michael Kirkman has re-established himself as a prospect thanks to refined control that was at one point bad enough to threaten his career, says Jeff Wilson for Baseball America.  While Kirkman may never be a control artist, he has refined his command enough to be effective, and could see time in the Rangers' bullpen later this year.
• Orioles' pitching prospect Nathan Moreau tossed a no-hitter in his first start after a promotion to High-A Frederick, reports Roch Kubatko for Baseball America.  The 11th round pick in 2008 has has success against younger competition to this point, but has had success in 3 starts in the Carolina League, his highest level of competition yet.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/10

It wasn't as memorable a night in Washington as the one before, but two prospects made their major league debuts Wednesday night, this time for the visiting Pirates.  Jose Tabata led off and had two hits, and Brad Lincoln started the game for the Buccos, in what was a much more traditional big league debut than the one witnessed 24 hours earlier.

• Pedro Alvarez had a monster day at the plate, perhaps attempting to prove to the Pirates that he should have been called up too.
• Another 3-hit day for Mike Trout.  Yawn.
• Twins' 3B prospect Miguel Sano hit his 2nd homerun of the season in Dominican Summer League Action.
• Don't look now, but Dustin Ackley's batting average is creeping back up towards respectability.
• The good Carlos Carrasco was on hand Wednesday night.
• And the good Randall Delgado seems to always show up.

Tabata, Lincoln Join Pirates

The Pirates will have a major league debut of their own to celebrate tonight, as they have promoted pitcher Brad Lincoln to the major league roster and he is expected to be the team's starting pitcher tonight in Washington, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.  It is also expected that OF Jose Tabata will be joining the team, although there is no indication whether he will be in tonight's lineup or not.

The moves correspond with the demotion of 1B Jeff Clement, and Tim Williams of BuccoFans.com speculates that Garrett Jones will slide into 1B and Tabata will take his place in RF.

Making Moves - Stanton and More

The NL East just keeps getting better and better.

It appears that on the same day that Stephen Strasburg will make his major league debut for the Nationals, so too will Mike Stanton for the Marlins.  The team announced that they will be promoting the power-hitting outfielder in time for their series with the Phillies on Tuesday, reports Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald.

But Stanton was hardly the only prospect on the move over the weekend...

• The Phillies have demoted Phillippe Aumont, sending the struggling right-hander back down to High-A ball, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The team plans to keep Aumont as a starter, even if he works in some long relief stints for Clearwater at first.
• Jake Arrieta could be heading to Baltimore soon, and despite his obvious future as a part of the Orioles' rotation, he could be used to help bail out a bullpen that is desperately taking on water, report Jeff Seidel and Noah Rosenstein for MLB.com.
• The Rangers have placed pitchers Tanner Scheppers and Martin Perez on the 7-day DL with minor injuries, reports William Wilkerson of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram.  Scheppers strained a hamstring while Perez has a cracked fingernail.
• Also dealing with fingernail issues is Giants' 2009 first-round pick Zach Wheeler, who has not pitched since mid-May due to a torn fingernail, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The Giants have placed Wheeler on the DL and are sure to be cautious with their young power arm.
• The Pirates appear to be preparing for Brad Lincoln's promotion to the majors, and have him lined up to start for them on Wednesday, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• After a short stint back in the minors, Craig Kimbrel is rejoining the Braves, says Evan Drellich of MLB.com.

Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet

Baseball America has released their weekly prospect hot sheet, breaking down the best prospect performances of the past week.  This week's list includes:

• Chris Archer
• Domonic Brown
• Drew Cumberland
• Nick Franklin
• Grant Green
• Reese Havens
• Jeremy Hellickson
• J.J. Hoover
• Corban Joseph
• Ryan Kalish
• Brad Lincoln
• Jake McGee
• Mike Minor
• Ty Morrison
• Elisaul Pimentel
• Robbie Ross
• Julio Teheran
• Mike Trout
• Arodys Vizcaino
• Alex White

Appearing on this week's not-hot list are Carlos Carrasco, Derrick Robinson, Trevor May, and Alex Colome.