MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - Montero, Allie, Jennings

• Elih Villanueva threw six innings but the Marlins pitching prospect took the loss on Monday night, reports Tim Grubbs of NOLA.com.
• Yankees top prospect Jesus Montero knocked two more hits, says The Virginian-Pilot.
• Stetson Allie made his professional debut for the Pirates affiliate in State College, allowing three runs in 2 1/3 IP, striking out three batters and walking the same amount, reports John Parker of MiLB.com.
• Rockies lefty Christian Friedrich tossed six scoreless innings on Monday night, fanning three hitters, notes Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Rays OF prospect Desmond Jennings homered, reports BisonsBlog.com.

 

Prospect Action - Trout, Ranaudo, Vizcaino, Jennings

• Mike Trout ended his season-opening hitless streak with two hits, including an inside-the-park home run, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  The Angels top prospect is beginning the season in Double-A for the first time.
• After a disasterous 2010 season, Brad Holt is back in Double-A to try again, and the Mets prospect got off to a good start on Saturday, tossing five shutout innings in his season debut, reports Josh Jackson of MiLB.com.
• Red Sox prospect Anthony Ranaudo got his professional debut started on the right foot, tossing five scoreless innings, striking out four batters and reaching 95-mph on the radar gun, according to David Heck of MiLB.com.
• Joe Savery had another perfect day at the plate, and the Phillies attempt to salvage their former first-round pick as a hitter is going quite well, notes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Arodys Vizcaino had a rough first inning, but settled down and didn't allow another hit in his final four innings of work on Saturday, says David Heck of MiLB.com.  The Braves prospect is beginning the year in High-A ball.
• Other notables from around the minors:
  • Charlie Furbush was a hard luck loser, striking out six in five innings of work, giving up two runs but getting little run support from his fellow Tigers prospects.
  • Desmond Jennings hit his first home run of the season, making his case for a call up to Tampa.
  • Dodgers prospect Jerry Sands got his first home run of the season out of the way, connecting off of one of the Royals talented stable of pitchers, Danny Duffy.

   

More Roster Cuts - Rays, Cubs, Kelly, Mejia

• The Tampa Bay Rays optioned Chris Archer, Desmond Jennings and Alex Cobb to Triple-A and re-assigned Tim Beckham to minor league camp, says RaysProspects.com.
• The Chicago Cubs optioned Rafael Dolis to Double-A and re-assigned Josh Vitters, Brett Jackson, Jay Jackson, Chris Carpenter, and Trey McNutt to minor league camp, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
• The Milwaukee Brewers optioned Mark Rogers to Triple-A, says Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, despite the fact that Rogers was a candidate to take the open starts in place of injured ace Zack Greinke.  The Brewers felt that Rogers would not have his pitch count up high enough by Opening Day to take the spot in the rotation.
• The Colorado Rockies optioned Chris Nelson to Triple-A, reports Steve Foster of InsidetheRockies.com.  Nelson was competing for a utility spot.
• The San Diego Padres optioned Cedric Hunter to Triple-A and re-assigned top pitching prospect Casey Kelly to minor league camp, says Corey Brock of MLB.com.
• The Mets have optioned Jenrry Mejia to Triple-A, says Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Viciedo, Mets, Cortes

• The White Sox have a log jam at 3B entering next season, with 2 years left on veteran Mark Teahen's deal, highly-regarded Cuban prospect Dayan Viciedo, and Brent Morel, but according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com, manager Ozzie Guillen is impressed by Morel and think Viciedo needs more time in the minors.  Morel is the best defensive option of the three and has hit better than expected since being promoted to Chicago, so if the team decides to go a different direction than Teahen, Morel may be the skipper's first choice.
• The Rays are going to continue to use Desmond Jennings as a situational pinch-runner, despite getting picked off in a crucial situation on Friday, says Bill Chastain of MLB.com.  If they feel like they can afford the roster spot, Jennings could be a valuable weapon during the playoffs, along the same lines as how the Angels used Chone Figgins during the 2002 playoffs.
• Michael Baron of MetsBlog.com has updates on Dillon Gee and Lucas Dada in regards to their potential roles with the Mets next season.
• The Orioles are high on Joe Mahoney thanks to a monster season, notes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun, but Jim Callis of Baseball America is less impressed.
• The Phillies Sally League affiliate in Lakewood took home the championship behind the bat of Sebastian Valle and the pitching of Jonathan Pettibone, reports Josh Jackson of MLB.com.
• The Mariners brought Justin Smoak back to the majors after the Pacific Coast League playoffs were over, and they promoted Dan Cortes with him, says Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times.
• Giants top draft pick Gary Brown was in San Francisco with the big league club over the weekend, not playing, but learning from his future teammates, says Cash Kruth of MLB.com.
• The A's are going to continue to let Chris Carter get his at-bats for now, no matter what his hit-less streak climbs to, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com.

Call-Ups and Other Prospect Movement

Notable prospects promoted today...

• Jenrry Mejia (NYM)
• Carlos Carrasco (CLE)
• Yonder Alonso (CIN)
• Jeremy Jeffress (MIL)
• Mat Gamel (MIL)
• J.P. Arencibia (TOR)
• Brandon Snyder (BAL)
• Freddie Freeman (ATL)
• Desmond Jennings (TB)
• Jeremy Hellickson (TB)
• Tyler Flowers (CWS)
• Brandon Allen (ARI)
• Cory Luebke (SD)
• Chris Nelson (COL)

In other news...

• Pat Vindette, the Yankees switch-pitching prospect, has been promoted to Triple-A, reports Mike Ashmore of The Trentonian.
• Dillon Gee should be joining the Mets this week, says Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com.
• Mike Moustakas will not be called up by the Royals this month, says Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star, as the team is choosing to keep its prospects where they will be playing every day rather than have them sit the bench in the majors.
• No one is doubting Aroldis Chapman's abilities at this point, but Jack Moore of FanGraphs.com examines what his stint in the Reds bullpen this fall could do to his contract, and the amount of money he's owed, in the future.

And finally, MLB Prospect Watch would like to welcome Ryan Westmoreland back to the baseball diamond, as the Red Sox top prospect, who has missed the entire 2010 season due to brain surgery this spring.  Westmoreland is going to join the Red Sox Rookie-level affiliate in Lowell to re-acclimate himself to baseball life, says Pete Kerzel of MLB.com.