MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - Castro, Familia, Lake, Yankees, Royals

• The White Sox hope that newly acquired prospect Simon Castro proves to be a manageable reclamation project, notes Mark Gonzales of BaseballAmerica.com, who also notes that the Sox have made a $250,000 investment in 17-year-old RHP Luis Martinez out of Venezuela.
• Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin were acquired together by the Padres at last year's trade deadline, and Corey Brock of MLB.com suggests that both could make it to the majors this season.
• After a long 2011 season and a trip to the DL, the Mets didn't let Jeurys Familia pitch a lot in the Dominican Winter League this off-season, but as Andy McCullough points out for Baseball America, they still let him pitch a few innings to get him some experience coming out of the bullpen.
• Junior Lake may have tore up the Arizona Fall Leauge, but the Cubs' prospect's game is still largely hit or miss, says Mike Newman for FanGraphs.com.
• George King of Baseball America points out how Yankees pitching prospects Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos are actually further away from the majors than they were this time last season, despite positive development since that time.
• The Royals have an array of prospects and veterans attending camp as non-roster invitees, and Paul Thompson of KingsofKauffman.com breaks down the chances all of them have of making the team's Opening Day roster, giving pitching prospect Mike Montgomery the best chance of all.

Prospect Potent Potables - Munoz, Mitchell, Adrianza, Rays, Royals

• The Oakland A's have signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Yairo Munoz, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.
• Jared Mitchell is trying to put a lost season and another disappointing one behind him, says Scott Merkin of MLB.com.  Mitchell will be in White Sox camp this spring as a non-roster invitee.
• Giants SS prospect Ehrie Adrianza will always be a better defender than a hitter, but as Andy Baggerly points out for Baseball America, his bat closed the gap between the two last season.
• The Rays have announced their non-roster invites to Spring Training, including a pair of shortstops Tim Beckham and Hak-Ju Lee, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.
• The Royals have also announced their Spring Training invites, which include a quartet of pitchers - Mike Montgomery, Will Smith, Chris Dwyer, and Jake Odorizzi - and outfielder Wil Myers, according to Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Montero, Hutchison, White Sox, Pastornicky

• Newly acquired Seattle Mariners C Jesus Montero is going to be given "every opportunity to catch," reports Larry Stone of The Seattle Times, quoting Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik.
• Drew Hutchison, who made great strides in the Blue Jays organization last season splitting time between Low and High-A, should start this season in Double-A, according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
• The White Sox have announced their non-roster Spring Training invites, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com, a list that includes Jared Mitchell, Trayce Thompson, and Jordan Danks.
• Mark Bowman of MLB.com suggests that the Braves would have preferred to allow Tyler Pastornicky a few more months in the minors to develop, but says that the team's finances have likely forced them to go with the rookie as their starting short stop.

Prospect Potent Potables - Flores, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Petricka

• Mets SS Wilmer Flores is having a nice winter in the Venezuelan Winter League, notes Toby Hyde of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com, after having an uninspiring regular season.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks are prepared to enter spring training with an open competition for their final rotation spot, consisting of in-house candidates, according to Jack Magruder of Baseball America.  The candidates for the final spot include Wade Miley, Tyler Skaggs, Pat Corbin, Trevor Bauer, and Charles Brewer.
• The Phillies got nice contributions from rookie pitchers last season, and Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at which pitchers could follow the same path this year, including Phillippe Aumont, Justin De Fratus, Jake Diekman, Austin Hyatt, and Tyler Cloyd.
• The key to White Sox pitcher Jacob Petricka's development will be the progress of his off-speed pitches, says Mark Gonzales of Baseball America.

White Sox Acquire Simon Castro from Padres

The rebuilding process continues for the Chicago White Sox, as they traded outfielder Carlos Quentin to the San Diego Padres for two prospects, including pitcher Simon Castro, according to MLB.com.  Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a breakdown of the prospects involved, as does John Sickles.

The trade for the Padres is the second major move within the last month, having dealt ace Mat Latos a few weeks ago.  This move, however, involves the Padres sending prospects in exchange for a veteran player instead of the other way around.

Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tirbune thinks that this solidifies the center of the Padres batting order, which may be true but appears to be a change in direction for what was supposed to be a rebuilding team.

As for the White Sox, Castro is the main part of the return for Quentin, and was a highly-rated prospect in the Padres system entering the season.  He struggled mightily during 2011 season and will have to get his mechanics back on track to re-establish himself as a top prospect.