MLB Prospect Watch

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 - 4/26/13

Triple-A

• Mariners prospect Andrew Carraway took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Friday night, reports Todd Dewey of The [Tacoma] News Tribune, striking out five in the outing and lowering his ERA to 3.38 on the season.
• Andre Rienzo allowed six runs (five earned) in 5 1/3 innings, notes the Charlotte Observer.  For the White Sox right-hander from Brazil, the rough outing raises his ERA to 7.71 on the season.
• Sean Gilmartin threw eight innings of one-run baseball as the Braves left-hander advanced to 2-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.40.
• Nick Castellanos went 3-for-5 with a home run and the Tigers top prospect is now six for his last 12 and has homered in three of his past four games.

Double-A

• Despite taking a loss on the night, Mets right-hander Rafael Montero was strong once again, allowing two runs in five innings but striking out eight in the process.
• No matter where Marcell Ozuna plays, he hits for power.  The Marlins outfield prospect added another home run on Friday night, his fourth in his last three games, and he's now hitting .345 in his first seven games since being promoted to Double-A.
• Tyler Matzek showed just how dominant he can be if he keeps his control in check, as the Rockies left-hander walked just one batter over five strong innings, striking out six and allowing just three hits.

High-A

• Maikel Franco had a huge night at the plate, hitting a pair of home runs en route to a seven-RBI day.  The Phillies third base prospect is now hitting .300/.351/.544 on the season.  
• Twins prospect Miguel Sano hit his 9th home run of the season.
• Angel Villalona is still getting re-acclimated to professional baseball, hitting just .193 on the season, but the Giants slugger did hit his fifth home run of the season on Friday, showing that the power is still there.

Low-A

• Rangers slugger Joey Gallo homered again, his 8th of the season, and has his batting average up to .228.
• Robert Stephenson didn't pitch terribly, but the Reds prospect still dropped to 0-3 after allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Rondon Back in Detroit, Not as Closer

After essentially being handed the Tigers closer's role before spring training, Bruce Rondon was unable to snag the de fact title in March and was sent down to Triple-A Toledo to get his command under control.  Now, Rondon is back in Detroit, taking the place of the injured Octavio Dotel in the Tigers bullpen, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com.  In a related topic, Beck also reports that the Tigers have also re-signed last year's closer Jose Valverde to a major league contract, and they plan to immediately use him as their closer.

For Rondon, this means a chance to work in the big leagues in low-leverage situations, at least for the time being.  The biggest knock on Rondon, who has 100-plus-mph stuff, has been his ability to throw strikes, averaging 4.4 BB/9 last season and 7.6 the year prior to that.  In his brief time in Triple-A this year, however, Rondon walked just two batters in 7 2/3 innings, a marked improvement.

It remains to be seen, of course, how he handles major league hitters, but he will now get that opportunity, and will do so without the pressure that comes with holding a lead in the ninth inning.  That opportunity may present itself to Rondon once he gets his feet wet, if he proves to be the Tigers best reliever, something he is wholly capable of, talent-wise.  There is a reason, after all, that the Tigers waited until now to re-sign Valverde, and only a portion of that has anything to do with Rondon's presence in the organization.

The Tigers don't know what they will get out of Valverde, but they know they need more talent in their bullpen in any way, shape or form.  Valverde has proved to be effective in the past, and Rondon is clearly talented.  The question for Rondon will be whether or not he can effectively use that talent against major league hitters.

If he proves himself, and Valverde proves to be closer to the version of himself that the Tigers chose not to re-sign, then there's no reason that Rondon can't be the Tigers closer by playoff time.  There's a lot that has to happen between now and then, however, and electing to give him some major league experience in the 6th and 7th innings is a good plan by the Tigers.

Blogs Track Teams - 4/21/12

• TalkingChop.com breaks down the Braves system, including yet another hot day at the plate for Joey Terdoslavich, who is now hitting .324 with 11 doubles in his first 18 games of the season.  Terdoslavich has played primarily right field this season in Triple-A, with Freddie Freeman blocking his path to the majors at first base.
• PineTarPress.com runs through the Royals organization, including a solid start for Chris Dwyer, who now has a 2.55 ERA through four starts despite dwindling strike out numbers.
• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com recaps the Reds farm system, including two more stolen bases for Billy Hamilton.  The minor league stolen base king has 13 steals in 16 games despite hitting just .230 on the season with a .299 on-base percentage.
• BlessYouBoys.com takes us through the Tigers system, including a three-hit day for first base prospect Aaron Westlake.
• Luke Erickson of NationalsProspects.com notes about the Nats organization, including another multi-hit day for Jeff Kobernus.  The Tigers returned Kobernus to the Nationals after selecting him in the Rule V draft this off-season, and the second baseman/outfielder is hitting .453 on the season.
• BrewCrewBall.com brushes us up on the Brewers system, including a home run in the professional debut of 2012 first-rounder Victor Roache.

Prospect Action: 4/21/12

Triple-A

• Jurickson Profar hit a grand slam on Sunday, says Jake Seiner of MiLB.com, just the second of the season for the Rangers top prospect.  Profar has, however, continued to control the strike zone at the Triple-A level, drawing 10 walks in 13 games against 13 strike outs.
• Kyle Gibson continues to alternate strong starts with poor ones.  This time out, he struggled, allowing three runs in five innings while walking four.
• Despite his struggles this spring, Bruce Rondon is pitching well in Triple-A, recording his third save of the season on Sunday.  The Tigers reliever has yet to allow an earned run on the season and has walked just two batters in 7 2/3 innings.
• Gerrit Cole managed to throw four scoreless innings despite walking five and striking out just two in the outing.  It's the second time this season that the Pirates top prospect has had to leave a start early because of a high pitch count.

Double-A

• Braves lefty Alex Wood threw seven scoreless innings on Sunday, writes Danny Wild of MiLB.com.  Wood now has a 1.12 ERA over his first three starts, with 17 strike outs in 16 innings and just a pair of walks.
• Kevin Gausman wasn't great again, allowing three runs (just one earned) in five innings in his latest start.  The Orioles' 2012 first-rounder has allowed at least three runs in three of his four starts, including six each in two of them, but has struck out 21 batters in as many innings.
• Dodgers lefty Chris Reed tossed seven scoreless innings on Sunday, lowering his ERA to 3.13 on the season.  Reed's strike out rate has dropped to just 5.48 K/9 this season, but he's also lowered his BB/9 rate to a career low 2.74 in the early going this season.

High-A

• Miguel Sano hit a home run on Sunday, his sixth of the season, but was ejected while rounding the bases for taunting the opposing team, notes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.  The Twins top prospect his hitting .375/.438/.734 on the season and likely won't be in the Florida State League for long.
• Robbie Ray struck out 10 batters in six innings of work, but the Nationals lefty also walked four batters in the outing, says Luke Erickson of NationalsProspects.com.
• Perci Garner continues to pitch well, but the Phillies right-hander had to navigate around four walks in six scoreless innings.
• After a slow start, Alen Hanson broke out with a 4-for-5 game on Sunday to bring his batting average up to .242 on the season.

Low-A

• Bubba Starling blasted his second home run of the season as part of a 2-for-5 day that saw the Royals prospect raise his batting average to .156 on the season.  Starling has struggled to make contact in his first taste of full-season ball, striking out 26 times in his first 18 games.
• Josh Bell also hit his second home run of the season as part of a 4-hit day and is now hitting .288/.325/.493 on the season.
• Carlos Correa, last year's top overall draft pick by the Houston Astros, hit a pair of home runs on Sunday as part of a three-hit day and his first multi-homer game of his professional career.