MLB Prospect Watch: Dan Cortes

Dan Cortes

With temporary closer Jose Contrares headed to the DL, the Phillies have called up reliever Mike Stutes, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Stutes will not close for the Phillies, but the 24-year-old righty who almost made the team out of spring training will joined what has become a depleted bullpen in which late innings are now up for grabs.
The Reds have promoted INF prospect Chris Valaika to the majors to take the injured Scott Rolen's place on the 25-man roster, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Despite a rash of injuries at the big league level, the Blue Jays will not be promoting 3B prospect Brett Lawrie to fill any of their current vacancies, says Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
The Seattle Mariners have sent down reliever Josh Lueke and OF Carlos Peguero, reports Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Lueke has struggled at the big league level, and Peguero was only in Seattle temporarily to fill in for Justin Smoak while Smoak was away on bereavement leave. Replacing Lueke in the Mariners bullpen, however, will be fellow prospect Dan Cortes.

Bryce Harper had a pinch-hit RBI single, but the real story for the Nationals was Danny Espinosa, who reached base safely in all four plate appearances, reports Josh Jackson of MiLB.com.
Both Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor threw well again in a "B" game as they continue to compete for the Braves final rotation spot, notes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, although Beachy did have one uncharacteristically wild inning, says Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
Jordan Lyles gave up two runs in three innings of work, but the Astros prospect pitched better than his line would suggest, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Diamondbacks OF prospect Collin Cowgill blasted a first-inning grand slam off of Randy Wolf.
Alex Liddi also hit a grand slam for the Mariners, notes Danny Wild of MiLB.com, and Dan Cortes threw a scoreless ninth inning in the victory.
Trevor Reckling gave up seven earned runs in two innings of work after entering the game for the Angels in a tie ballgame, says Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.
The Padres were led by a pair of rookies on Wednesday, as newly-acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo homered and Cory Luebke allowed just one run over 4 1/3 innings of work, reports Paige Schector of MiLB.com.

The Mariners used a trio of pitching prospects to beat the Rangers on Tuesday, as Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke, and Dan Cortes all appeared in the game, reports Greg Johns of MLB.com.
Jacob Turner was impressive in his first appearance for the Tigers against major leaguers this spring, retiring his final eight batters faced, notes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
Bryce Harper got his first spring hit, an opposite-field single to left, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
The Royals-Padres game was full of prospect action, as Aaron Crow, Mike Montgomery and Jeremy Jeffress all pitched for the Royals, and Simon Castro threw for the Padres. Mike Moustaks drove in the go-ahead run for Kansas City with an eighth inning single, reports Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
Allen Craig homered, this time appearing in the game at first base for the Cardinals, notes Rick Hummell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as did Yonder Alonso for the Reds, who hit a two-run blast.

The Mariners inter-squad game was filed with prospect appearances, and Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times has a breakdown on how Blake Beavan, Michael Pineda, Dustin Ackley, and Dan Cortes fared in their first spring action, including video of Beavan on the mound.
Patrick Leyland made his first major league spring appearance in Firday's exhibition game as a pinch-hitter, which is even more noteworthy when your father, Tigers manager Jim Leyland, is the one making the substitution, notes Jason Beck of MLB.com. The younger Leyland stayed in the game to catch the ninth inning.
Jason Kipnis hit an RBI double to help his side win in the Indians intra-squad game on Friday, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Also in the game, pitching prospect Bryce Stowell walked four straight batters.

Dan Cortes had a strong winter season, closing out games for Lara in the Venezuelan Winter league, giving the Mariners hope that he can play an integral role in their bullpen this season, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. Cortes came over to the Mariners in a trade with the Kansas City Royals in July of 2009.
The Tigers have shown a tendency to push pitchers through their system quickly, and current prospect Andy Oliver may be no exception, says Alexis Brudnicki of Baseball America. Oliver appeared in the majors in 2010 and could compete for a rotation spot entering 2011.
The Mets could get contributions from Fernando Martinez and Lucas Duda on the prospect front in 2011, says MacksMets.com, who also pinpoints Blake Forsythe, Reese Havens, Cesar Puello and Josh Satin as possible minor league breakout candidates.