MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - Aumont, Harvey, Swagerty, Peguero

• Phillippe Aumont bounced back from a horrendous 2010 season to regain his status as an elite bullpen prospect, and as Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer points out, could complete his reclamation this spring by winning a spot in the Phillies bullpen.
• Mets pitching prospect Matt Harvey has added a two-seam fastball, reports MetsBlog.com.
• After moving to the bullpen last season to limit his innings, and having been a reliever in college, the Cardinals are planning to give Jordan Swagerty a chance to start this season, says Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• Want to see the swing that was worth trading Michael Pineda for?  Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times has video of Jesus Montero taking cuts at Mariners spring training.
• Francisco Peguero should start the season in Triple-A, where he'll be manning right field instead of center, notes Andy Baggerly for Baseball America.  Peguero still needs to drastically improve his plate discipline and the Giants are still waiting for him to tap into his power in games.

Prospect Action - 10/19/11

Arizona Fall League

• After going homerless until Tuesday in the AFL, Twins OF Aaron Hicks homered for the second straight game, helping his Solor Sox to a 6-5 victory.  Cubs P Trey McNutt, perhaps distracted by the rumors that he might be heading to Boston as compensation for new GM Theo Epstein, pitched poorly, allowing four runs in an inning and two-thirds.
• Brewers 2B Scooter Gennett had three of the Javelinas 13 hits and scored two of their six runs on Wednesday.  Mariners P Danny Hultzen threw four no-hit innings, allowing just one baserunner, notes Andrew Pentis of MLB.com.
• The Saguaros hammered out 13 hits, including a home run by Rangers OF Leonys Martin, and held the Rafters to just two in their 6-0 victory.

Dominican Winter League

• Pirates OF Starling Marte went 3-for-4 and scored three runs in his Leones del Escogido's 13-3 victory.  Rockies C Wilin Rosario went 0-for-2 with an error and a passed ball in the loss.
• Giants OF Francisco Peguero went 0-for-4 in his Gigantes del Ciabo 6-5 victory.

Mexican Pacific League

• Yankees P Pat Venditte threw another scoreless relief inning for Aguilas de Mexicali, keeping his winter ERA at 0.00.

Venezuelan Winter League

• Mariners 3B Francisco Martinez went 4-for-5 and scored three runs in his Navegantes del Magallanes 13-4 drubbing.
• Fellow Mariners 3B, Alex Liddi, hit a two-run homer for the Cardenales de Lara in their 7-3 victory, while Padres P Adys Portillo threw two scoreless innings in the loss.
• Caleb Gindl's 3-for-5 day helped propel the Leones del Caracas to a 12-3 victory.

 

 

Roster Cuts - Cards, Reds, Giants, Montgomery

• The Cardinals optioned Tony Cruz to Triple-A and re-assigned Lance Lynn to minor league camp, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but as Goold wrote in Baseball America, Lynn could be back in St. Louis at the first sign of trouble.
• The Reds have optioned Yonder Alonso, Todd Frazier and Zack Cosart to Triple-A, says Mark Bowman of MLB.com.  Last week they also optioned Yasmani Grandal to High-A and Phillippe Valiquette to Double-A.
• The Giants optioned Darren Ford to Triple-A and re-assigned Jackson Williams to minor league camp, says Chris Haft of MLB.com.  Last week they optioned Thomas Neal and Conor Gillaspie to Triple-A and Ehire Adrianza and Francisco Peguero to Double-A.
• Mike Montgomery was re-assigned to minor league camp, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com, and will start the season in Triple-A.  Last week, the Royals re-assigned fellow top prospects Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy and catching prospect Salvador Perez.
• The White Sox optioned Tyler Flowers to Triple-A and re-assigned Jordan Danks to minor league camp, says Tom Singer of MLB.com.

 

Winter League Recap - Oct. 29-30

Friday, October 29th

 

Arizona Fall League

• Dustin Ackley continues to be an on-base machine out of the 3-hole for the Javelinas, reaching base three more times and helping propel his team to an 11-4 victory.
• Brad Holt hit his first speed bump in what had been a thus far successful attempt to redeem himself after what many, including Steve Popper of Baseball America, are calling a lost season for the Mets right-hander.  Giants prospects Brandon Belt and Charlie Culberson each had two hits in the game and Diamondbacks prospect Marc Krauss hit his second AFL home run.
• Mike Montgomery put together five strong innings and got enough run support to earn the win, despite fellow Royals pitching prospect Danny Duffy giving three of those runs back in 1 2/3 innings of relief work.  Alex Cobb, the Rays righty who had been among the best pitchers thus far in the AFL, got tagged for six earned runs in just three innings of work to take the loss.

 

Venezuelan Winter League

• Mark Trumbo continues to secure his place in the heart of the Navegantes order, although his 1-for-3 day at the plate wasn't nearly enough to overcome the 18 runs surrendered by his team's pitching.

 

Dominican Winter League

• Josh Reddick and Francisco Peguero combined to go 0-for-7 as their Gigantes fell 4-3.

 

Puerto Rican Winter League

• Dee Gordon flashed his all-around game, going 4-for-5 at the plate with a triple, while also scoring three runs and stealing two bases, leading his Gigantes de Carolina team to an 11-10 victory.

 

Saturday, October 30th

 

Arizona Fall League

• Kyle Skipworth hit a pair of home runs to lead his Desert Dogs team to a 12-6 victory, reports Ashley Marshall of MLB.com.  Opposing catcher Tony Sanchez of the Pirates also homered in the game.
• Chance Ruffin, drafted by the Tigers just this year, recorded his third save for the Rafters, who took advantage of another rough outing by Casey Kelly, whose fall league ERA now sits at 6.75.
• In a game that featured 35 combined hits and 22 combined runs, the star was undoubtedly Bryce Harper, who homered in the second inning en route to a 3-for-5 day that saw him come up just a triple short of the cycle.  Once again, the ultra-aggressive Harper did his damage on the first pitch of the at-bat, says Robert Emrich of MLB.com.

 

Venezuelan Winter League

• Alex Liddi wasn't spared from a rough offensive day all around for the Cardenales, as the Mariners prospect went 0-for-4 with two strike outs in his team's 3-0 loss.
• Freddy Galvis is doing little to shed his all-glove, no-hit reputation, as another 0-fer day dropped his VWL batting average to .139.

 

Dominican Winter League

• Phillies prospect Yohan Flande took the loss for the Toros del Este as he surrendered four earned runs in three innings of work.  Peguero hit a home run for the Tigres in the victory.

 

Sunday, October 31st

 

Venezuelan Winter League

• Wilson Ramos picked a good day to hit for his first VWL game, as the Nationals catching prospect went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, as his Tigres de Arague bashed their way to a 20-15 victory.

 

Winter League Recap - 10/26

Arizona Fall League

• An 18-run, 22-hit offensive outburst by the Solar Sox provided more than enough run support, as everyone in the starting lineup had a hit and four players had three hits or more.
• It took the Rafters 10 innings to dispose of the Desert Dogs, as Surprise scored two runs in the top of the 10th of of George Kontos to help Chance Ruffin earn his first AFL win and allow Danny Duffy to pick up his first AFL save.
• Dustin Ackley continued to be an on-base machine in the Javelinas 7-4 victory over the Scorpions Tuesday as he reached three times in five plate appearances, raising his AFL on-base percentage to .563.  The game also saw Brandon Belt's first game action since fouling a ball off his foot on October 22nd.  Belt went 1-for-5 and struck out three times in the game.

Venezuelan League

• The Tigres del Licey posted 16 hits and seven runs, including a 2-for-3 day by Red Sox short stop prospect Yamico Navarro, who started at third base on Tuesday.
• The Toros del Este put up 11 runs behind a 4-for-4 day at the plate by Bradley Emaus, which included two doubles.  On the losing side, the Gigantes del Cibao featured Josh Reddick who went 3-for-4 and Francisco Peguero, who went 0-for-5.