MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Notes: Gattis, Wacha, Wheeler

Braves Warming on Gattis as Catcher?

The general opinion at the start of the spring was that Evan Gattis was ready to hit at the major league level at least enough to serve as the Braves back up catcher, but that his defense wasn't far enough along to allow it to happen.  It seemed to be a shame too, as the right-handed hitting Gattis would serve as the perfect complement to the left-handed hitting Brian McCann, once McCann returns to action.

But the tide appears to be turning on the possibility of Gattis serving as the Braves backup catcher, writes Mark Smith of Capital Avenue Club, who says that Gattis' defense may be good enough to allow him to catch part-time.  He has his concerns about Gattis, but they're not enough to rule him out just yet.

Gattis is still in the running for the backup job, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com, and it's down to him and Matt Pagnozzi for the role.  Gattis has had a great spring, hitting .358/.375/.736 and is clearly the better offensive option, but the decision will come down to whether or not Gattis can handle the responsibilities behind the plate.

 

Wacha to Start Season in Memphis

Despite an impressive spring, Michael Wacha was wisely sent to minor league camp by the Cardinals a few weeks ago.  Now, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, we know that Wacha will make his 2013 debut at Triple-A Memphis as a member of the Redbirds' starting rotation.

It's a big jump for Wacha, who threw just 21 innings in the minors last season and only eight in Double-A as a reliever, but he's been as dominant as you could ask for in both his minor league and spring training appearances and the Cardinals clearly feel he is ready for the test.  More importantly, however, it means he will be just one step from the majors if the Cardinals find themselves in need of another arm.

Should the Cardinals need another starter, Wacha isn't necessarily the next option in line, even if he proves to be dominant in Triple-A this year.  With Joe Kelly and Trevor Rosenthal in the major league bullpen, the Cardinals have plenty options already in place in the majors that are ready to go.  

But what is likely, however, is the possibility of Wacha working as a starter for the majority of the 2013 season in Triple-A, then joining the Cardinals major league bullpen for a run at the post-season, where his power arm could be an incredible weapon.

 

Wheeler Up When He's Ready, Not When Mets Need Him

If the decisions was based on the needs of the Mets right now, Zack Wheeler would already be in the major leagues.  There is little argument that he is one of the five best pitchers in the organization.  But he's not quite ready to be the best pitcher he can be just yet, and Andy Martino of The New York Daily News says that the Mets are going to wait until he's ready to call him up despite their desperate pitching situation.

If so, that's the right decision, and the Mets should be applauded for making it.  It's easier said than done, as Mets starting pitchers are dropping like flies lately, but given that they are unlikely to compete for anything significant this year, filling in rotation spots with Quad-A-type pitchers isn't really costing them anything, especially compared to the potential gain of allowing Wheeler to properly develop.  

Prospect Action: Benson, Taveras, Gattis

• The Minnesota Twins got home runs from prospects Joe Benson and Eddie Rosario on Tuesday, reports Phil Miller of the Minnesota Star Tribune.  While Rosario is still quite far from the majors and has no chance to make the Twins roster this spring, Benson could be a contributor this season.  After a strong 2011 season in Double-A, the outfield prospect got a late-season call-up and hit .239 in 74 major league plate appearances.  He was sent back to Triple-A to begin the 2012 season with the thought being that he would be called up to contribute in the majors at some point during the summer.  Instead he struggled mightily in Triple-A, was demoted back to Double-A, then had his season end early after late-August surgery on his knee cap.  Healthy once again, Benson should head to Triple-A to master the level, but assuming he does, he could get the mid-season call-up this year that the Twins were expecting to give him last year.
• Oscar Taveras played a full game for the Cardinals on Tuesday and got three more hits, notes Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  No matter the level of competition, Taveras just seems to hit, and in most organizations, he would be making a case for a jump straight to the majors despite not turning 21 until June and having yet to play above Double-A.  But the Cardinals, with Matt Holliday, John Jay and Carlos Beltran in the outfield, have the luxury of waiting on Taveras, and he's almost certainly heading to Triple-A to being the season, no matter how many hits he collects this spring.  With Beltran in the final year of his contract, there will be a nice, clean opening for Taveras to fill next season, and he'll be up even sooner if any of the Cardinals outfielders misses an extended period of time this year.
• Given his advanced age (for a prospect) and serendipitous path back into organized baseball, the Braves likely weren't sure how much time Evan Gattis would need in the minors, but with two more hits on Tuesday, it's looking more and more like Gattis can help in the lineup this year, notes Scott Coleman of TalkingChop.com.  Gattis' place on the Braves roster, of course, hinges on his ability to play somewhere in the field.  The Braves have said that they don't see him as a catcher for any significant period of time, and if they want to use him off their bench, then he can't serve as their back-up behind the plate.  Gattis is playing left field this spring.

Prospect Spring Training Action - Rondon, Gattis, Wheeler, Rosenthal, Wacha

• Apparent Tigers closer Bruce Rondon made his spring debut on Saturday, giving up a walk and a hit in a scoreless inning of work, notes John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press.  It should be noted that Rondon threw exclusively fastballs in the outing, a standard practice early in spring training, especially for relievers.
• Evan Gattis homered and doubled in the Braves first spring game on Saturday, says Mark Bowman of MLB.com.  Gattis, a former catcher, is playing some first base and outfield this spring and could be a part of the Braves bench.  He has good power from the right side and his versatility, including being able to serve as the team's third catcher, could be the deciding factor.  With left-handed hitters at first base and right field and the sporadic inter-league schedule this season creating opportunities for a DH all season, Gattis should be able to find plenty of at-bats if he makes the Braves roster this spring.
• In his Mets spring debut, top prospect Zack Wheeler struck out two batters in as many innings in an outing that in no way increases his chances of making the big league roster out of spring training, reports Kristie Ackert of The NY Daily News.  The Mets have expressed their intention of sending Wheeler down to Triple-A to begin the season and it appears that his performance this spring will do nothing to chance that.
• The Cardinals got mixed reviews from two of their top pitching prospects, as Trevor Rosenthal got hit hard while trying to overthrow but 2012 first round pick Michael Wacha dominated in his two inning spring debut, according to Rick Hummel of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Wacha threw 19 of 22 pitches for strikes and was very effective while Rosenthal allowed four runs in his two innings.

Prospect News: Braves, Campos, Arnett

• No matter how established it appears a roster already is entering spring training, there are always position battles going on, typically involving prospects. Mark Smith of CapitalAvenueClub.com takes a look at some of the ones that will be taking place at the back end of the Braves roster, including Joe Leonard at third base, Sean Gilmartin and J.R. Graham at the back end of the rotation, and Christian Bethancourt and Evan Gattis as the team's backup catcher. The best chance for an opening comes behind the plate, where Brian McCann's health is a question mark. Additionally, Gattis has come on very strong as a prospect in the last 12 months and after a strong winter to follow him his strong 2012 season, he has a decent chance of making the Braves roster. The question will be whether or not he can catch enough to be considered the team's backup or if he'll be more of a backup outfielder and third catcher, in which case he will probably head back to the minors for a little more work.
• Jose Campos, the hard-throwing right-hander the Yankees acquired as part of the Jesus Montero/Michael Pineda trade last spring, will be ready for the start of spring training after missing most of the season with a bone bruise in his throwing elbow, says George King of Baseball America. He was very good in five starts before getting hurt, going 3-0 with a 4.01 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning during his brief stint. He could head back to Low-A Charleston to begin the 2013 season but could move on from there quickly if he has success.
• Milwaukee Brewers former first-rounder Eric Arnett could miss most of the 2013 season after tearing his ACL, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. For Arnett, it's a devistating blow to what has been a disappointing career thus far for the right-hander out of the University of Indiana who has struggled as a starter in his career but had some success for the first time in 2012 while working as a reliever.

Prospects in a Potential Justin Upton to the Braves Deal

Nothing is happening yet, just like it hasn't happened all winter, but the constant rumor mill that has been swirling around Justin Upton and the Arizona Diamondbacks this entire off-season has picked up steam of late with reports of some serious talks happening with the Atlanta Braves.

We don't know which prospects will be involved, but we know which ones have been mentioned (at least by credible sources, not commenters on Braves websites).

From most reports, the prospect that his deal centers around is top pitching prospect Julio Teheran.  This makes sense, given that he's the best the Braves have to offer, and the closest thing the Braves have to Taijuan Walker, the centerpiece of the deal with the Mariners that Upton rejected.  

But Teheran is not Walker, although he is closer to being major league ready.  Teheran's change-up is better than any off-speed pitch Walker has to offer, but the lack of development in his breaking ball leaves reason for concern.

Ken Rosenthal tweeted Wednesday night that the Diamondbacks are also interested in C/OF Evan Gattis and SS Nick Ahmed.  Both are nice players, but a package of those three would signify a major step down from the package the Mariners offered.

Gattis is coming on strong in the prospect world now that he's gotten his act together and is focused on baseball, but he'll be 27 next season and spent just a partial season at Double-A.  Gattis has tremendous power and tore it up in winter ball this off-season, but if the Diamondbacks want him to get to the majors anytime soon, and give their age they should, then it will be as an outfielder.  

Getting rid of outfielders, not acquiring them, was the whole point of this trade in the first place.

As for Ahmed, well, it seems the Diamondbacks made a rule this winter that every trade they make has to include a shortstop.  The problem is whether or not Ahmed can stick there defensively.  He makes the plays, but nothing looks smooth.  There are also some serious questions about whether or not he has an every day bat.  It seems like a utility role is his most likely destination.

Considering the offer the Mariners and Diamondbacks had in place - Walker, 2B Nick Franklin, LHP Charlie Furbush and RHP Stephen Pryor - a trade for just those three prospects would signify a significant change in the opinion in Upton's value from just two weeks ago.  More likely, however, is that there are others involved.

Multiple reports confirm that the Braves will not move starting shortstop Andrelton Simmons in a deal to get Upton, and I'm sure that's been the hang-up for the D-Backs all along.

Even with their trading off of Trevor Bauer earlier this winter, he Diamondbacks have as much pitching depth as any organization in baseball, but that hasn't stopped them from inquiring on Teheran in this deal, so it probably wouldn't stop them from asking about J.R. Graham in the deal as well.  For the Braves, however, trading their two top pitching prospects may be too high of a price.

Catching prospect Christian Bethancourt could be intriguing, even with the presence of Miguel Montero, because there's no guarantee that Bethancourt will ever hit enough to be a regular.  His defense is strong enough, however, that he'll absolutely have a career in the majors, and his bat could be a nice lottery ticket for the Diamondbacks.  With the questions about Brian McCann's long-term health, however, the Braves may not want to move Bethancourt either, especially if they move Gattis or see him as an OF long-term.

The main problem with the Braves and Diamondbacks matching up on a deal of this magnitude is that the Diamondbacks don't need pitching (one of the few teams that can say that), even in their minor league system, and the Braves don't have much in the way of impact position players.  Without their willingness to include Simmons, the Braves won't be able to offer the same type of package the Diamondbacks had lined up with the Mariners.

If the Diamondbacks are willing to add value in the form of more pitching, a strategy that few have regretted, then a deal could be reached, but if not, then the Diamondbacks will have to come down significantly from their previous deal in order to move Upton to Atlanta.