MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - Choice, Lobstein, Cowart, Lombardozzi

• A's pitching prospect Carlos Hernandez surrendered six runs in 5 1/3 innings, also allowing 11 hits in his worst start in months, notes the Sacramento Bee.  In California League action, OF prospect Michael Choice blasted his 28th home run of the season.
• Andrelton Simmons had a career night, as the Braves prospect drove in seven runs, knocked three hits, and stole a base, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Marlins prospect Dan Jennings allowed four runs out of the bullpen on Monday night, notes Tim Grubbs of NOLA.com.
• Rays lefty prospect Kyle Lobstein tossed six shutout innings, striking out six, according to ClawDigest.com.  Lobstein was supported on offense by Hak-Ju Lee, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and a steal.
• In other prospect news...
  • Red Sox SS prospect Xander Bogaerts went 4-for-5 with a home run.
  • Angels prospect Kaleb Cowart went 2-for-4 with a double and a homer, but was outdone by teammate Taylor Lindsey, who went 3-for-5 with a homer and two doubles.
  • Steve Lombardozzi continues to show why the Nationals were unwilling to part with him at the trade deadline, as the 2B prospect knocked his 4th home run of the season.  Teammate Chris Marrero blasted a homer and a double as well.
  • Astros pitching prospect Ross Seaton tossed six shutout innings, fanning six.
  • Blue Jays prospect Drew Hutchison allowed just one hit over six innings of work.

 

Prospect Acton - Hernandez, Cowgill, Brackman

• Carlos Hernandez had a rough day on the mound on Tuesday, as the Oakland A's pitching prospect allows six home runs in 3 1/3 innings reports The Sacramento Bee .
• Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Collin Cowgill hit for the cycle on Tuesday notes Daren Smith of MLB.com.
• New York Yankees pitching prospect Andrew Brackman fell apart in the sixth inning of his latest start, throwing two wild pitches and giving up four runs and walking three reports Richard Rosenblatt of the Charlotte Observer .

 

AFL Recap - 10/13

• Casey Kelly threw 4 innings and struck out three, as the Red Sox prospect picked up his first AFL win on Wednesday.  He gave up 2 unearned runs and made two of the Javelinas 6 errors himself.
• Josh Collmenter picked up right where he left off in his AFL debut, notes Danny Wild of MLB.com, as the Diamondbacks pitching prospect tossed three shutout innings in his debut for the Scottsdale Scorpions.  Stephen Lombardozzi, Charlie Culberson, and A.J. Pollock provided much of the run support with two hits apiece, but Orioles prospect Ryan Adams led the way with three hits, including a home run.
• Michael Taylor hit his second home run in as many AFL games, reports Robert Emrich of MLB.com, as part of a 3-for-4 day for the A's outfield prospect, which also included a stolen base.  Taylor's Desert Dogs were aided by fellow A's prospect Carlos Hernandez, who threw three scoreless innings in relief to help preserve the win after Yankees prospect Manny Banuelos got touched up for two runs in the first two innings.

 

Notable Prospect Performances - 7/19

• Eric Hosmer announced his presence in the Texas League with authority, homering in his first Double-A at-bat.  It will be interesting to see how Hosmer's power develops now that he's away from Wilmington's Frawley Stadium.  Danny Duffy's return to Wilmington didn't go nearly as well as he would have liked, but I'm sure the Royals are glad he's back either way.
• Matt Moore had his swing-and-miss stuff on Sunday, as the Rays' prospect fanned 11 batters in six innings of work.  Not missing many bats in that same game, however, was Brewers' pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who got tagged for 3 earned runs and 5 hits in one rough inning of work.
• Vance Worley continued his strong performance on the mound as the Phillies' pitcher tossed 8 shutout innings en route to a victory, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Still a few weeks shy of his 19th birthday, Mets' prospect Wilmer Flores' 3-hit night bumped his batting average up to .382 in the Florida State League, although his .425 BABIP may have something to do with that.
• The Padres needed some good news to come out of their minor league system, and they got it courtesy of James Darnell and Logan Forsythe, who combined for 3 doubles, a homerun, and 8 RBI's on Sunday.  The majority of the damage came off of A's pitching prospect Carlos Hernandez, who got tagged with 10 earned runs in 3 1/3 IP.

Notable Prospect Performances - 5/20

• Michael Bowden's prospect status continues to slip, as he gave up two more home runs last night, reports Jim Hodges of the Providence Journal.  That's 8 surrendered on the season for Bowden and it's looking more and more like his role will ultimately be in the Red Sox bullpen.
• A's pitcher Carlos Hernandez threw 5 perfect innings to out duel Rangers' stud prospect Martin Perez.  It wasn't exactly a duel, however, as Perez was rocked to the tune of 7 earned runs in 3 1/3 IP.
• Aroldis Chapman rebounded nicely from his roughest start as a professional, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out 7, reports Guy Curtright of MLB.com.  Chapman was forced to leave the game with a blister, but John Fay didn't seem to worried and the Reds are "hopeful" he won't have to miss a start.
• Brett Jackson has stayed hot and has displayed the skills more of a leadoff than a run producer, which isn't a bad thing.  In fact, as Matt Swain of Wrigley Bound says, it could get him to Chicago by next summer.
• I'm a little late getting on the Wynn Pelzer bandwagon, but he's making a strong case for me to join.  His latest persuasion included 5 no-hit innings, but I'm still a little skeptical.  It's not exactly a good sign when 46 of 83 pitches for a strike is noteworthy.  Sure is tough to ignore that 0.79 ERA though...
• We certainly have made notice of Julio Teheran's dominance this season, and that's not about to stop now that he's in High-A ball.  Teheran's impressive season continued in his first start after the promotion, notes Ben Badler of Baseball America, who also takes note of fellow Braves' fireballer Randall Delgado.