MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Results in Early Spring Games

Despite the fact that a lot of these performances came off guys who will be bagging groceries in a couple of weeks (and some off of guys who are still in college), it's still nice to get a chance to see prospects in action during the early parts of Spring Training.

• Fernando Martinez, who already seems like he's been around forever, had an RBI Triple, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.  Brandon Hicks homered for the Braves, and Jason Heyward drew another walk (his third in 2 games) and hit an RBI double off of Eddie Kunz, whom the Mets are still waiting on, according to Marty Noble of MLB.com.  Mike Minor also appeared for the Braves and threw a scoreless inning, Bowman reports.
• Koby Clemens hit a home run off Matt Lindsrtom in an Astros' intrasquad game while playing first base, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
• Not only did Josh Bell hit two home runs against the Rays on Wednesday, but one was off of Matt Garza and the other he hit right handed, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.  The display impressed Orioles' manager Dave Trembley, notes Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
• Scott Sizemore turned a double play in the Tigers' latest spring contest without any flashbacks to his gruesome Arizona Fall League injury, notes Jason Beck of MLB.com.
• Lonnie Chisenhall homered off of Fausto Carmona in an Indians' intrasquad game, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• They may have been playing against Boston College, but it was still promising to see Red Sox short stop Jose Iglesias clear the bases with a double, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com.  He may be a professional, but the 20-year-old Iglesias is the same age (or younger) than many of the BC players he was facing.  The day before, Casey Kelly got his chance to face college hitters, mowing down 3 Northeastern hitters en route to a perfect inning.

Link: A Look at Braves in the AFL

David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution takes a look at how the Atlanta Braves prospects are performing in the Arizona Fall League this year.  Despite top prospect Jason Heyward departing the league early with a strained back, the Braves still have six players competing:

• Freddie Freeman
• Mike Minor
• Brandon Hicks
• Craig Krimbel
• Lee Hyde
• Jeff Lyman

Braves Prospects get First Glimpse of Spring Training Action vs. Tigers

The Atlanta Braves used what appeared to be pretty close to their projected Opening Day lineup (minus Chipper Jones), but manager Bobby Cox also worked in some significant playing time for many of the Braves highly touted prospects in the Braves Spring Training opener versus the Detroit Tigers.  Jordan Schafer stole the show with a solo homer in the 7th inning, but he also struck out twice on the day.  He started the game in RF and also played LF.

Also appearing for the Braves were:

• Brandon Hicks - SS (0 for 1)
• Clint Sammons - C (1 for 1) 
• Freddie Freeman - 1B (1 for 2, 2 RBI) 
• Jason Heyward - RF (0 for 2, K) 
• Diory Hernandez - 3B (0 for 2, K)  

  On the mound for the Braves, Stephen Merek (acquired from the Angels last season in the Mark Teixeira trade) threw a scoreless inning, striking out one batter.

The Detroit Tigers also found some playing time for some of their prospects, including Jeff Larish, a first baseman by trait whose bat they are trying to work into the lineup despite the presence of all-world first baseman Miguel Cabrera.  Larish went 0 for 2 with a strikeout taking over for Cabrera midway through the game, and he stranded 4 runners on base.  Also appearing for the Tigers were:

• Brent Cleven - RF (0 for 1, BB)
• Casper Wells - LF (1 for 1, RBI)
• Wilkin Ramirez (0 for 1, K) 
• Dusty Ryan - C (0 for 1, K) 
• Cale Iorg - SS (0 for 1, BB, R) 

Kyle Bloom picked up the save for the Tigers, striking out 2 batters in his lone inning of work. Bloom was taken by the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft this year (from the Pirates) and manager Jim Leyland wants to take a good look at the 26-year-old lefty to see if he can stick on the major league roster or if he will have to be sent back to Pittsburgh.