MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - 4/30/13

Triple-A

• Rubby de la Rosa put together his second staight solid outing after struggling in his first three starts of the season, notes WPRI.com.  The Red Sox prospect struck out five batters in three innings without allowing a run.  He has yet to work more than three innings in an outing this season.
• After a rough start of his own, Phillies outfield prospect Darin Ruf has been red-hot lately, hitting another home run on Tuesday night, giving him three in as many games.  He's now eight for his last 13 with three doubles and three home runs.
• Wil Myers hit his third home run of the season in support of fellow Rays prospect Chris Archer, who struck out seven over six scoreless innings.
• Astros prospect Jarred Cosart out-pitched Brewers prospect Johnny Hellweg on Tuesday.  Cosart struck out six while allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings while Hellweg battled his control, walking four over six innings, but did strike out seven.

Double-A

• Alex Meyer showed flashes of dominance, striking out eight batters over six innings, but the Twins prospect allowed four runs over that stretch.
• Yordano Ventura was dominant on Tuesday, as the Royals prospect struck out 10 batters over five innings while allowing just a single hit.

High-A

• Garin Cecchini turned in one of the biggest offensive days of his career, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a home run.
• Following the lead of his major league counterparts on Tuesday, Indians top prospect Francisco Lindor went 3-for-3 with a home run in game two of a double-header.

Low-A

• Byron Buxton homered on Tuesday, his fourth home run of the season.  The second overall pick from last year's draft is now hitting .392/.510/.684 on the season.
• Cubs slugger Dan Vogelbach continues to show off his power, hitting his fifth home run of the season on Tuesday as part of a four-hit day.

Prospect Action - 4/28/13

Triple-A

• Darin Ruf broke out at the plate on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs, notes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.  The Phillies outfielder has gotten off to a slow start, and even with his big game is hitting just .244/.302/.462 on the season.
• Brett Oberholtzer picked up a win in five innings of work thanks to a pair of hits and a home run from fellow Astros prospect Jonathan Villar, says Tim Grubbs of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Jacob Turner took the loss, but the Marlins right-hander allowed only three runs in six innings, which is an improvement on his struggles this season.
• Nick Franklin homered in support of his Mariners teammate James Paxton, who struck out five in 4 2/3 innings, reports Todd Dewey of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.
• Brett Jackson hit his first home run of the year, and the Cubs outfielder didn't strike out in the game.

Double-A

• Red Sox prospect Drake Britton battled through some early trouble to strike out nine on Sunday, reports Mike Ashmore of ThunderBaseball.com.
• Jesse Biddle didn't strike out 16 batters this time out, but he did reach double-digits again, as the left-hander fanned 10 on Sunday, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Kevin Gausman took a hard-luck loss as the Orioles right-hander struck out eight batters over 7 2/3 innings of work, allowing just one run.

High-A

• Pirates right-hander Nick Kingham struck out a career-hith 13 batters on Sunday over six scoreless innings of work, says Jake Seiner of MiLB.com.
• The Lakeland Tigers were led to victory by a two-run single by first baseman Aaron Westlake, reports The Lakeland Ledger.
• Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard struck out seven batters in as many innings in the longest outing of his professional career, reports Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.

Low-A

• Bubba Starling hit his third home run of the season, but perhaps more impressively, the Royals prospect drew a pair of walks.  The 2011 first-rounder has been painfully over-aggressive at the plate in his career and has just seven walks to 31 strikeouts on the season.
• Joey Gallo has many of the same strike out issues as does Starling, and they showed on Sunday as the Rangers prospect went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts, now giving him 35 in 24 games.

 

Prospect Action: 4/8/13

Triple-A

• Billy Hamilton was dominant on Monday, as the Reds top prospect went 4-for-5 and stole three bases.
• Jake Odorizzi did a good job of impressing his new organization as the Rays newest pitching prospect threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in his debut with his new team, notes Danny Wild of MiLB.com.
• Melky Mesa hit his first home run of the 2013 season after a spring training in which he was considered to take Curtis Granderson's place on the Yankees big league roster.
• Jeff Kobernus collected three more hits and is now batting .579 on the spring.  His offensive production was in support of fellow Nationals Rule V returnee Danny Rosenbaum, who threw five scoreless innings.
• Phillies prospects Cody Asche and Darin Ruf recorded a pair of hits each with Asche's being a double and a home run, both of which came off of Red Sox starter Rubby de la Rosa.
• Chris McGuiness, who had a strong Arizona Fall League season and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the Rule V draft this winter but was returned to the Texas Rangers, hit a pair of home runs on Monday night as part of a three-hit, six-RBI day.
• Mike Zunino went 3-for-4 and hit his third home run of the young season on Monday, showing the Mariners once again that he is ready for any assignment they throw at him.

Double-A

• Matt Barnes lasted just one inning in his Double-A debut, striking out three in the frame, but also allowing a pair of runs and throwing 33 pitches, which was enough to end his night early, notes Glenn Jordan of The Portland Press Herald.
• Yasiel Puig has carried his red-hot spring over to the regular season, as the Dodgers outfield prospect went 2-for-3 with a double on Monday to raise his batting average to .538 on the young season.
• George Springer reached base four times, as the Astros center fielder of the future drew a pair of walks to go along with two hits.  Much of the offense came off of Rockies pitcher Tyler Matzek, who walked five batters in four innings to carry his extreme control issues over from last season.

High-A

• Prospects Deven Marrero and Garin Cecchini led the offensive attack in Salem on Monday night, as the left side of the infield combined to reach base seven times with four doubles.
• Taylor Naquin collected two more hits to raise his batting average to .375 on the year while fellow Indians prospect Francisco Lindor reached base three more times as well.

Low-A

• Light-hitting Tigers shortstop prospect Danry Vasquez went 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored in his team's 11-run outburst on Monday.
• Power-hitting prospect Joey Gallo did what he does best on Monday, hitting his first home run of the season as part of a three-hit night.
• Converted Pirates pitcher Stetson Allie hit his second home run of the season.

 

International League Preview

Buffalo (TOR)

Instead of getting to watch Travis d'Arnaud, Buffalo fans will get Anthony Gose, who returns to Triple-A.  He can be very exciting to watch, but the reason he's back there is to work on hitting lefties.

Charlotte (CWS)

Simon Castro, Andre Rienzo, and Charlie Leesman make for an interesting rotation, and Jared Mitchell can be exciting in the outfield.  Trayce Thompson will provide some power, but will have to cut down on the swins and misses if he wants to be able to use it in the majors.

Columbus (CLE)

Perhaps no prospect in the IL will be more polarizing than Trevor Bauer, who is working on new mechanics.  How much time he spends in Columbus will depend on how well he takes to the changes.

Durham (TB)

The Bulls feature a starting rotation that may actually be better than some of the bottom-end major league rotations, including prospects Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Alex Colome.  They also feature Wil Myers in the outfield, one of the best hitting prospects in the minors, and former first overall pick Tim Beckham.

Gwinett (ATL)

Despite graduations to the majors and trades, the Braves still have some talent in Triple-A.  Former first-rounder Sean Gilmartin headlines the rotation while Joey Terdoslavich should be the team's most potent hitter while learning to play the outfield.

Indianapolis (PIT)

The best player in the IL, and certainly the best pitcher, should be Gerrit Cole, who won't be in the league too long after Memorial Day.  Tony Sanchez will get one more chance to prove he's more than a backup catcher and Kyle McPherson will stay ready for when the Pirates need pitching depth in the majors.

Lehigh Valley (PHI)

Darin Ruf will try to back up his breakout 2012 season while also trying to learn how to play a non-disastrous outfield.  Ethan Martin has an exciting arm and will try to stick as a starter, and Tommy Joseph has leaped over Sebastian Valle on the organizational depth chart behind the plate.  Plus they have video game urinals in the men's rooms.

Louisville Bats (CIN)

The Reds say that Billy Hamilton will spend the entire season in Louisville so he can learn the nuances of center field, but we'll all believe it when we see it.  Tony Cingrani will work as a starter in the minors, but he'll get called up to bolster the Reds bullpen at some point in the season.

Norfolk (BAL)

This team is all about Jonathan Schoop for the time being, at least until Dylan Bundy gets promoted and Shoop gets overshadowed within his own organization once again.

Pawtucket (BOS)

Allen Webster would have been the talk of Red Sox spring training had it not been for Jackie Bradley, and he should be the talk of Pawtucket with his power arm.  It will also be interesting to see how Bryce Brentz comes back from shooting himself in the leg, literally.

Rochester (MIN)

Kyle Gibson will get his arm in shape and work on regain his command post-Tommy John surgery until he gets the call from the Twins.  Oswaldo Arcia is a talented but still raw outfielder who factors into the Twins rebuilding plans.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NYY)

Beware of errant fastballs from Dellin Betances, who returns to Triple-A after a disastrous stretch there last season.  Melky Mesa was in the running to fill in for Curtis Granderson but needs to refine his offensive game.

Syracuse (WAS)

No Bryce Harpers heading north this year, but the Nationals did get Rule V draft picks Danny Rosenbaum and Jeff Kobernus back, so yeah.

Toledo (DET)

I give Nick Castellanos a hard time, but he's still the Tigers best prospect.  He'll be working on his outfield defense.  Bruce Rondon will be closing games for the Mud Hens and working on his command in hopes he can close games in the majors this fall.

Notable Roster Cuts: Yelich, Benson, Ruf

Marlins Make Expected Move with Yelich

Despite a hot spring that saw him hit .364/.481/.818 with five home runs, the Miami Marlins have made the decision they were expected to make all along, sending top hitting prospect Christian Yelich back to the minors, reports Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Press.

Yelich may be the Marlins top position prospect, but having yet to appear above A-ball, a jump to the majors would have been premature and detrimental to his development, no matter how well he hit this spring.  As their center fielder of the ever-nearing future, Yelich projects as a potential 20-20 player with solid plate discipline.  Depending on how his power develops, he could be anywhere from a number three hitter to slide in front of Giancarlo Stanton to a dynamic leadoff hitter in a more-potent lineup.

Yelich will begin this season in Double-A.  If he continues to have the same level of success that he has experienced thus far in the minors, he could receive a mid-season promotion to Triple-A to set the stage for a potential September call-up, giving what should by then be a desperate Marlin fan base a glimmer of hope for the future.

 

Benson Eliminated from Twins CF Battle

The Minnesota Twins have essentially had an open competition this spring for their starting center fielder, and on Friday, that competition lost a competitor when the team sent prospect Joe Benson back down to Triple-A, notes La Velle E. Neal III of The Minnesota Star-Tribune.

Benson was a long-shot in the competition anyway, trailing behind Darin Mastroianni, who has the most major league experience of the three candidates, and Aaron Hicks, a fellow prospect who is simply more talented than Benson.  But Benson did not help himself by hitting .151 this spring after coming off a season that saw him struggle in Triple-A and receive a mid-year demotion.

Benson will head back to Triple-A, but with Hicks leading the competition at this point, he could soon find himself blocked for the foreseeable future.  That may be a recipe for success for Benson, however, who profiles as a fourth outfielder who can fill in at all three outfield positions.

 

Ruf Leaves Camp with a Blast

For much of the off-season, Darin Ruf was considered, at the very least, to be a part of a platoon in the Phillies major league outfield plans for the 2013 season.  But after the team's off-season signing of Delmon Young and a March that has seen Ruf hit just .226 and look bad in the outfield, the Phillies have elected to send Ruf to Triple-A to being the season, despite his walk-off home run on Friday, says Corey Seidman of Beerleaguer.com.

The decision appears to have been made based mainly on Ruf's defense in the outfield, a new position he was being asked to learn and was doing so with some amount of difficulty this spring.  He will play primarily left field in Triple-A in order to quickly get caught up to speed.  This will also give the Phillies a chance to see if Ruf's 2012 38-home run outburst was as legitimate as they hope without having to do so in the major league spotlight.

In the majors, Ruf's demotion could allow the Phillies to keep Rule V draft pick Ender Inciarte who they will lose if they don't keep on the major league roster all season.  Inciarte would be making the jump straight from A-ball, where he hit a combined .307/.376/.421 between the Midwest and California Leagues last year.  He'd almost certainly be an offensive liability trying to make that kind of jump, but his speed and defense in center field are major league ready and could fill a need for the Phillies if they decide to keep him.