MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - Goldschmidt, Colome, Crosby

• Paul Goldschmidt blasted a home run for the second straight night, giving the Diamondbacks 1B prospect 29 on the season, reports Bruce Genrty of AL.com.
• Dodgers prospect Trayvon Robinson slugged another home run, notes Tim Grubbs of NOLA.com.
• Cardinals pitching prospect Arquimedes Nieto gave up just one hit in his start on Saturday, and that was a triple to Cubs prospect Matt Szczur, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Alex Colome gave up just one run over 5 1/3 innings in his first start since the Rays promoted him to Double-A, notes Emrich.
• The White Sox affiliate in Triple-A was led offensively by Dayan Viciedo and Jordan Danks, who each had RBI singles, reports The Charlotte Observer.
• Casey Crosby battled control issues, as the TIgers prospect lasted only 3 2/3 innings, according to Mike Copper of the Erie Times-News.

 

Prospect Action - Ackley, Harper, Ranaudo

• Gary Brown recorded the first 5-hit day of his career, and the Giants outfield prospect drove in six runs as well, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Dustin Ackley homered on Friday night, reports The Seattle Times.  It's the fourth homer of the year for the Mariners top prospect, and his second in three games.
• Robbie Erlin turned in another strong start, as the Rangers left-hander struck out eight batters in seven innings of work, and gave up just one run, notes Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Bryce Harper slugged two more doubles on Friday, extending his hit streak to 10 games, reports David Heck of MiLB.com.  The Nationals top prospect also recorded his first two outfield assists.
• Mets OF prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis doubled, homered, and scored three runs, notes BisonsBlog.com.
• Anthony Ranaudo bounced back from his only bad start of the season by throwing six scoreless innings on Friday night, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com, as the Red Sox prospect lowered his Sally League ERA to 2.30 on the season.
• Dayan Viciedo knocked three more hits on Friday, notes Scott Merkin of MLB.com, who points out that the White Sox may be forced to call up the slugging prospect if he continues to hit this way.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Royals, Belt, Dykstra, Tulsa

• Now that the dust has settled, it appears the Royals will support All-Star closer Joakim Soria with four rookie relievers, notes Michael Engel of KingsofKauffman.com.  Tim Collins, Jeremy Jeffress, Nathan Adcock and Aaron Crow will all begin the year in relief, with Crow being the only one of the quartet that may develop into a starter down the road.
• The Giants still have yet to make a decision regarding top prospect Brandon Belt, but are leaning toward making him their starting first baseman, says John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• In a swap of disappointing former prospects, the Padres have sent former first round pick Allan Dykstra to the Mets for former first round pick Eddie Kunz, reports Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Dykstra, a first baseman, has not performed up to his billing and has fallen on the depth chart behind Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Blanks, while Kunz, a reliever, has not progressed into the late-inning pitcher the Mets had hoped and has yet to stay in the major leagues.
• The Rockies will have a prospect-laden team taking the field in Tulsa this year, says Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.  The season-opening roster will include Christian Friedrich, Casey Weathers, Wilin Rosario, Hector Gomez, and Tim Wheeler.
• Matt Harvey is ready to start the season, and the Mets prospect is throwing as hard as ever, says David Lennon of Newsday.com.
• The Diamondbacks plan to move Bobby Borchering along slowly, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, and also plan to give him some time at first base this season.
• Dayan Viciedo is progressing as planned in his recovery from a broken thumb suffered when he was hit by a spring training pitch, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com.  The White Sox will keep Viciedo in extended spring training for a few extra days at the start of the season.

 

Viciedo Out 3-4 Weeks with Broken Thumb

Dayan Viciedo, the White Sox power-hitting third base prospect, broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch on Thursday, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com.  Viciedo is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks to recover.

The loss comes as a blow to the White Sox, who had been using Viciedo at a number of different positions this spring.  The 22-year-old former Cuban defector has been primarily a third baseman in the minors, but the White Sox already have fellow prospect Brent Morel battling for the starting role at the hot corner with veteran Mark Teahan, and Morel is the far superior defender.  Viciedo had been been seeing significant time in right field this spring, and had been getting good reviews defensively.

Depending on his recovery time, Viciedo could still be in the running for a roster spot, put only if his recovery timetable is significantly shorter than expected.  More likely, he will head to the minors upon his return to get a few at-bats, but Viciedo could still play a role on the White Sox this season as a valuable utility man.

 

Prospect Performances - Viciedo, A's, Dominguez, Indians

• Dayan Viciedo paced the White Sox with three hits on Tuesday, and catching prospect Tyler Flowers added a home run.
• Michael Taylor hit his second homer of the spring for the A's, one of two hits on the day for the OF prospect, raising his batting average to just .150, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  Short stop prospect Grant Green singled in his only at-bat, while 2010 first-rounder Michael Choice went 1-for-2.  Anthony Rizzo doubled in the game for the Padres.
• Matt Dominguez hit his second homer of the spring, showing the Marlins that his bat is catching up with his glove, says Jason Beck of MLB.com.
• Ryan Lavarnway hit a two-run homer to help the Red Sox win a split-squad game on Tuesday, says Josh Jackson of MiLB.com.
• Cory Vaughn hit a game-tying two-run homer in the 9th inning, but the Mets lost in extras, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
• It was good news and bad news for the Indians on Tuesday, as third base prospect Lonnie Chisenhall continued to hit everything in sight, knocking four more hits and raising his batting average to .550 for the spring, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  Unfortunately, fellow prospect Alex White struggled mightily on the mound for the Tribe, giving up four runs and seven hits in two innings of work.  Corey Kluber was even worse, allowing four runs in one-third of an inning.