MLB Prospect Watch

Moving On Up - June 18-24

Hello Baseball fanatics, once again it is Jeffrey Snedden here to update you on the call-ups and rookie status changes of the week in Major League Baseball.  Welcome to “Moving On Up” for June 18 – June 24. 

The Milwaukee Brewers called up RHP Tyler Thornburg from AA-Huntsville of the Southern League.  Thornburg started his first game for the Brew Crew on June 19 against Toronto.  Through 5.1 IP, he has an ERA of 8.44.  Thornburg was sent back to the minors the next day.

The Tampa Bay Rays called up RHP Chris Archer from AAA-Durham of the International League on June 20.  He started on June 20 against Washington and gave up three earned runs in a loss.  Thru 6.0 IP he has an ERA of 1.50.  Archer will replace the injured Jeremy Hellickson in the rotation.

The Oakland Athletics called up C Derek Norris from AAA-Sacramento of the PCL on June 21.  He made his ML debut that night and through three games has a .250 BA and four RBI.  His 3-run walk off homer to beat the Giants on June 24 was the biggest rookie moment of the week.  The A’s will use Norris to spell starter Kurt Suzuki, however he could earn more playing time if he continues to hit well.

Oakland also called up RHP A.J. Griffin from AAA-Sacramento on June 24.  He started against the Giants on June 24 and pitched 6.0 innings, giving up two ER, and sports a current ERA of 3.00.  Griffin will take the spot of injured starter Brandon McCarthy, who was placed on the 15-day DL.

No Longer Prospects, Welcome to Your Rookie Season

These players have reached the MLB thresholds to be considered a rookie, and thus are no longer prospects.  This is your Rookie of the Year pool for 2012:

NYM OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis has 255 PA on the season.

PHL 2B Freddy Galvis has 200 PA on the season.

WAS OF Bryce Harper has 215 PA on the season. 

OAK OF Yoenis Cespedes has 168 PA on the season.

MIL OF Norichika Aoki has 203 PA on the season.

MIN SS Brian Dozier has 178 PA on the season.

BOS 3B Will Middlebrooks has 156 PA on the season.

LAD UTIL Elian Herrera has 144 PA on the season.

 

TEX SP Yu Darvish has 88.2 IP on the season.

BAL SP Wei-Yin Chen has 85.1 IP on the season.

DET SP Drew Smyly has 63.2 IP on the season. 

TOR SP Drew Hutchison has 58.2 IP on the season.

COL SP Christian Friedrich has 51.0 IP on the season.

 

The next group of prospects who will be coming up on the change-over to their rookie campaigns are as follows.  These players are anywhere from a few days to a few weeks away from crossing over into rookie status, but appear to be en route. 

*A player needs 130 PA to be considered a rookie and a pitcher must accrue 50 IP.

 

DET OF Quintin Berry has 112 PA on the season.

BAL UTIL Ryan Flaherty has 80 PA on the season.

STL 1B Matt Adams has 91 PA on the season.

HOU SS Marwin Gonzalez has 72 PA on the season.

PIT 1B Matt Hague has 71 PA on the season.

ATL SS Andrelton Simmons has 76 PA on the season.

 

TEX RP Robbie Ross has 40.0 IP on the season.

CWS SP Jose Quintana has 43.1 IP on the season.

NYY P David Phelps has 33.2 IP on the season.

CWS RP Nate Jones has 34.2 IP on the season.

SDP SP Joe Wieland has 27.2 IP on the season.

 

That’s it for the Week of June 18 – June 24. 

 

Get all of your prospect information right here at www.mlbprospectwatch.com. 

 

You can follow Jeff Snedden on Twitter @jeffsnedden 

 

 

Making Moves - Norris, Hultzen, Thornburg, Cowart, Flores

• Derek Norris got called up to the majors on Thursday, reports Jane Lee of MLB.com, and immediately got to face last year's NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, against whom he went 0-for-3.  The A's plan to split time behind the plate between Norris and current starter Kurt Suzuki.
• The Mariners have promoted left-hander Danny Hultzen and shortstop Nick Franklin from Double to Triple-A, says Tyler Emerick of MLB.com.  Hultzen was the team's top draft pick in 2011 and has dominated Double-A this season, going 8-3 with a 1.19 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings.  Franklin was the team's first round pick in 2009 out of high school, and broke out in 2010 before missing a large portion of last season due to various injuries.  Franklin has bounced back this season and was hitting .322/.394/.502 at the time of the promotion.
• After just one start, the Brewers have sent Tyler Thornburg back down to the minors, but rather than return him to Double-A, the right-hander will join Triple-A Nashville and remain just a short stop from a return to the majors, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
• The Angels have promoted Kaleb Cowart from Low to High-A, says HalosHeaven.com.  The third base prospect was hitting .293/.348/.479 and should see even more improvement now that he's heading to the California League.
• The Mets have sent a number of players form their Florida State League affiliate in Port St. Lucie to Double-A Binghamton, including third base prospect Wilmer Flores and 2011 second-rounder Cory Mazzoni, who had a 3.25 ERA at his previous level, reports MetsBlog.com.

 

Prospect Action - 5/23/12

Triple-A

• Trevor Bauer allowed just one run over five innings of work, but the Diamondbacks top prospect also walked five during the outing, reports Tim Grubbs of NOLA.com.
• Wil Myers hit his second home run in as many games, blasting a bomb that is believed to be the longest in the history of the Royals Triple-A affiliate's stadium in Omaha, according to Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com. 
• Andrew Carraway tossed six innings allowing three runs to improve to 2-0 since his promotion to Triple-A, and continuing to improve his status as a prospect, says Mike Curto of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.
• Derek Norris hit his sixth home runs of the season, a three-run blast for the A's catcher prospect, notes The Sacramento Bee.
• In a weak Giants system, Roger Kieschnick is seperating himself from the pack, and did so further on Wednesday bu hitting two more home runs, writes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

Double-A

• Danny Hultzen put together his best start as a professional on Wednesday, as the Mariners 2011 first-rounder fanned 12 batters over six innings, and more importantly, walked a season-low one batter, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• After a rough start to the season offensively, Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons has turned it around at the plate and continued to do so on Wednesday, goint 4-for-4 with a homer and two doubles, reports Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.
• Cody Johnson continues his turn-around from his struggles at the plate in past years, as the Yankees slugger collected two more hits, upping his average to .292, says Josh Norris of Minor Matters.
• Jurickson Profar's 29-game hitting streak ended over the weekend, but the Rangers shortstop still has a 40-game reaching base streak that included a 3-hit day yesterday, raising his batting average to .300, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
• Zack Wheeler was dominant in his latest start, a two-hit outing that lasted eight innings, including seven strikeouts for the Mets pitching prospect, writes Paul Doyle of The Hartford Courant.

High-A

• Gerrit Cole earned his third straight victory, as the Pirates top prospect tossed five scoreless innings, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Cody Buckel got stuck with a loss despite allowing just two runs over seven innings.
• Brewers prospect Jimmy Nelson allowed just an unearned run over seven innings of work, striking out seven, notes Kirsten Karbach of the Charlotte StoneCrabs.

Low-A

• Tigers 1B prospect Aaron Westlake hit a 3-run homer, reports Dean Holzwarth of MLive.com.
• Phillies prospect Kelly Dugan went 4-for-5 with a double and a homer, both coming off of Orioles pitcher Parker Bridwell, who allowed just two runs over six innings.

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - A's, Hanson, Meyer, Krauss

• The A's made a ton of moves this off-season, most of which focused on re-stocking their farm system, and AthleticsFarm.com has a two-part interview with A's Assistant GM David Frost about many of their off-season moves and the development of prospects Miles Head, Derek Norris, and many more.
• For all of Alen Hanson's success at the plate this season, he still has a lot of work to do with his glove, writes Jim Shonerd of Baseball America.  The Pirates shortstop prospect has already made 17 errors on the season, and questions are there about his focus in the field, meaning he probably won't be receiving a promotion to the Florida State League any time soon despite his .358/.397/.617 line so far this season.
• The Nationals knew they had a project on their hands when they took Alex Meyer at the end of the first round last season, but as Mike Newman of FanGraphs.com points out, his inconsistencies may ultimately keep him out of big league rotations down the road.
• Marc Krauss has bounced back after a rough 2011 season, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, who profiles the Diamondbacks outfielder and his return to form as a hitter this season.

 

Prospect Action - 5/9/12

Triple-A

• Orioles prospects Joe Mahoney and Xavier Avery each doubled in their victory Wednesday evening, reports The Virginian-Pilot.
• Yankees pitching prospect Dellin Betances threw a career high eight innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven, according to Danny Wild of MiLB.com.
• Mariners relief prospect Chance Ruffin blew another save and watched his ERA balloon to 9.00, costing his team a game despite a home run from Carlos Triunfel reports Meg Wochnick of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.
• Derek Norris hit a walk-off two-run homer, giving the A's catching prospect four on the season, notes The Sacramento Bee.

Double-A

• Jonathan Pettibone went 8 2/3 strong innings until the Phillies catching prospect four on the pitcher gave up a solo homer to Yankees outfielder Melky Mesa, says Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Simon Castro put together another strong start, as the White Sox off-season acquisition improved to 3-1 on the season with seven solid innings, according to Doug Segrest of The Birmingham News.

High-A

• Jenrry Mejia threw five innings on Wednesday, marking the first regular season appearance for the Mets pitching prospect since having Tommy John surgery last year, says MetsBlog.com.
• Christian Yelich blasted two home runs, as the Marlins top prospect continued his torrid start to the season, now giving him five homers on the season notes David Heck of MiLB.com.

Low-A

• 2010 first-rounder Kaleb Cowart went 3-for-5 with a double and a homer, notes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com, giving the Angels infielder five bombs on the season.
• Adys Portillo took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, as the Padres pitching prospect earned his second win of the season says Danny Wild of MiLB.com.