MLB Prospect Watch

Notable Prospect Performances - 7/20

• The Royals may not have much power in their big league lineup, but they have a ton down on the farm as evidenced by Kila Ka'aihue's two homer night and Eric Hosmer's third in three Double-A games, reports RoyalsProspects.com.
• Yohan Flande threw seven strong innings, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Danny Espinosa had a monster night on Monday, going 5-for-5 with 2 home runs.  The Nationals' SS prospect is hitting .316 in July and has displayed good power for an up-the-middle bat, but needs to improve his plate discipline.
• Alex White struck out 7 batters in as many innings, and continues to reward the Indians for having faith in his ability to perform like a first round pick.
• A prospect-laden game between the Scranton/Wilkes-Berre Yankees and the Gwinnett Braves showed why the Yankees are reluctant to trade Jesus Montero, why the Braves were comfortable pushing Freddie Freeman to Triple-A this year, and why Mike Minor was more than just a "safe" pick last year.
• Yonder Alonso stayed red-hot with a 4-for-5 night and has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games.  Unfortunately, the Reds still have no where to put him.
• Oh, and in case we hadn't said it in a while, Mike Trout is still really, really good, and his recent promotion to the California League is only reaffirming that.

Prospect Potent Potables - 6/26

I know us baseball fans cringe at sharing time during our season with soccer (must be something about all those youth soccer leagues stealing kids away from little league), but it's tough to argue with a good reason to head to a bar on a Saturday afternoon and cheer for your country.

• Mike Stanton is struggling in the majors thus far (as should have been initially expected) and has been dropped from 7th to 8th in the Marlins batting order, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
• The Red Sox have sent OF Josh Reddick back to the minors, reports Alden Gonzales of MLB.com.  The team needed another pitcher and was forced to demote Reddick to create a roster spot.
• Andrew Brackman was promoted to Double-A, reports Josh Norris of The Trentonian, and made his first start on Friday, pitching well but getting the loss.  Despite his ugly numbers from the Florida State League, Brackman had been pitching better of late and was showing more of the consistency the Yankees had been looking for from their former first-round draft pick.
• Brian McTaggart of MLB.com has a couple of Astros' updates for us, including Jason Castro's continued hard work on the defensive end of his game despite being in the majors, and the team's signing of 2nd round pick, RHP Vincent Velasquez.
• Jesse Biddle's professional career got started under the Florida heat on Friday afternoon, as the Phillies' first-round pick from this year threw 3 no-hit innings in the Gulf Coast League, reports Scott Purks of the Philadelphia Daily News.
• Carlos Santana left Friday's game early with pain in his thumb, but x-rays were negative, reports Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
• The Capital Avenue Club takes a look at the Braves' most noteworthy prospects currently on their GCL team, including their top selection in this year's draft (#35 overall), high school SS Matt Lipka, who is off to a 3-for-20 start to his professional career.
• Mark Trumbo still needs to show he can make more consistent contact before the Angels will believe he's ready for the majors, but as Martin Renzhofer of the Salt Lake Tribune notes, it's his tantalizing power that makes him the prospect he is.

Prospect Potent Potables - 6/24

• The Reds used Aroldis Chapman out of the bullpen in Triple-A Wednesday night, in what could be a sign of things to come, notes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.  His control may be an issue, says Alex Pedicini of The Hardball Times.
• Christian Colon, the 4th overall pick in this year's draft, has reportedly signed with the Royals and will report to Class A Wilmington, reports Michael Engel of Kings of Kauffman.
• Ryan Westmoreland remains in good spirits on his road to recovery at home in New England, notes Ian Browne of MLB.com.
• Michael Pineda was impressive in his Triple-A debut.
• Fernando Abad is back in action, reports Farmstros.com.
• Tony Sanchez will "be out for a while," according to Pirates' GM Neal Huntington, thanks to surgery to fix a the fractured bones in his face after being struck by a pitch, reports Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• A couple of Indians' prospects have run into some trouble with the law, including former first-rounder Beau Mills, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Prospect Potent Potables - 6/15

There were some strong prospect performances yesterday, but no one could quite match the show Cubs' prospect Brett Jackson put on last night, capping off a hit-for-the-cycle night with a walk-off home run, reports John Parker of MLB.com.

• Carlos Carrasco put in another reliable start, says Tony of Indians Prospect Insider, but the Indians' pitching prospect took the loss, allowing 4 ER in 7 IP, despite fanning 8 Norfolk batters in the game.  One batter unfazed by Carrasco was O's 3B prospect Josh Bell, who went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run, says Dean Jones, Jr. of the Baltimore Sun.
• Jonathan Singleton is silly-hot right now, and Jarred Cosart is becoming a very reliable arm in the Phillies' system.
• Starts like this from Andrew Brackman keep the Yankees coming back for more.
• This is more like the Jeff Kobernus the Nationals thought they were drafting last year.
• It took Dayan Viciedo a year to get his feet wet in professional ball, but it looks like he's getting the hang of it.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/12

Let's take a look at some of the best and worst performances from the guys who are allowed to use their hands...

• A pair of Angels' pitching prospects shined on Friday night, as Tyler Chatwood won his 7th straight California League game, says Daren Smith of MLB.com, and Garrett Richards allowed just one hit over 6 innings of work, reports John Parker for MLB.com.
• Orioles' 1B prospect Brandon Snyder was 2-for-3 with a homerun and two stolen bases while Zach Britton, the team's best pitching prospect still in the minors, allowed just one run in 6 innings, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.84, reports Dean Jones, Jr. of the Baltimore Sun.
• Kyle Gibson has now had two rough starts in a row, after allowing 5 ER in 5 IP on Friday night.
• Lonnie Chisenhall has been hot lately, homering in his second straight game and in three of his last four.
• Mike Moustakas hit his 14th homerun of the season in game 1 of Friday's double-header, but it is his only hit in his past 4 games.  He's still batting .345 on the season, however.
• After a hot start to the season, Padres' pitching prospect Wynn Pelzer has struggled with his command of late, walking 12 batters in his past two starts, including 5 on Friday night.
• Grant Green has been proving his 1st round worth lately, blasting his 4th home run of the season on Friday, and batting .442 over his last 10 games.