MLB Prospect Watch

Notable Prospect Performances - 7/20

• The Royals may not have much power in their big league lineup, but they have a ton down on the farm as evidenced by Kila Ka'aihue's two homer night and Eric Hosmer's third in three Double-A games, reports RoyalsProspects.com.
• Yohan Flande threw seven strong innings, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Danny Espinosa had a monster night on Monday, going 5-for-5 with 2 home runs.  The Nationals' SS prospect is hitting .316 in July and has displayed good power for an up-the-middle bat, but needs to improve his plate discipline.
• Alex White struck out 7 batters in as many innings, and continues to reward the Indians for having faith in his ability to perform like a first round pick.
• A prospect-laden game between the Scranton/Wilkes-Berre Yankees and the Gwinnett Braves showed why the Yankees are reluctant to trade Jesus Montero, why the Braves were comfortable pushing Freddie Freeman to Triple-A this year, and why Mike Minor was more than just a "safe" pick last year.
• Yonder Alonso stayed red-hot with a 4-for-5 night and has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games.  Unfortunately, the Reds still have no where to put him.
• Oh, and in case we hadn't said it in a while, Mike Trout is still really, really good, and his recent promotion to the California League is only reaffirming that.

Prospect Potent Potables - 7/6

• Jeremy Jeffress is determined to stay clean, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and is on the comeback trail as a reliever, a role that ultimately suits his arsenal of pitches better than starting ever did.  He's also been added to the Brewers' 40-man roster, which means he no longer receive a lifetime ban if he's caught with marijuana again.
• Blake Beavan has transformed from a fire-balling Texan into a strike-throwing innings-eater the Rangers may be able to rely on in their rotation very soon, reports Drew Davison of the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram.
• Michael Pineda has made the transition to Triple-A without issues thus far, and according to Mike McCall of MLB.com, could be in Seattle before too long.  Speculating further, it does seem that Pineda has little left to prove in the minors and is at the very least a realistic candidate to assume the open rotation spot that will eventually be vacated when Cliff Lee moves on.
• If the Yankees' farm system suddenly seems to be rich with pitching prospects, it's due in large part to the resurgence of prospects Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances, says Bubba Brown for Baseball America.
• Freddie Freeman has rebounded from a horrible month of April that left many questioning the Braves' decision to have their future 1B make the jump to Triple-A despite just 41 games at the previous level, notes John Wagner for MLB.com.
• Kyle Drabek feels like he's ready to move up from Double-A, reports Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star, and cites his recent no-hitter as verification.  He's probably right, and despite the Blue Jays' logjam of arms at the higher levels, he's logged plenty of innings in Double-A and needs to be pushed further.
• Mike Moustakas is making his case for minor league player of the year, but it's nights like he had on Monday that make the argument for him, to which Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star and John Parker of MLB.com can both attest.

Prospect Potent Potables - 5/4

Today's links circled their calendar last night as the Red Sox turned their season around...

• Freddie Freeman and Cody Johnson both struggled mightily to begin the 2010 season, but both of the Braves' top hitting prospects have begun to make adjustments to their advanced levels of competition, reports Bill Ballew of Baseball America.com.
• The Nationals still haven't decided if they are going to promote Stephen Strasburg before his next start, or at least they're not telling anybody, says Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
• Madison Bumgarner's velocity problems have been well documented, but Andrew Baggarly of Baseball America says that Bumgarner's arm is regaining its strength, and that the Giants' top pitching prospect could be on the rebound.
• Ted Berg of SNY.tv has a little background information on how Mets' INF prospect Wilmer Flores is progressing in the minors.
• Mike Stutes is getting used to his new role as a reliever, a move the Phillies made during Spring Training, according to Jim Salisbury for Baseball America.  The Phillies also sent two pitchers to the DL, including Mike Cisco, reports PhuturePhillies.com.
• It's tough to hit while looking over your shoulder, but Indians' C Lou Marson is figuring it out, says Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.  Marson has the job for now, but has top prospect Carlos Santana right behind him on the depth chart.
• The Red Sox are still hopeful for prospect Michael Almanzar after some mechanical adjustments to his batting stance, reports Alex Speier of Baseball America.com.
• Brendon Desrochers of MiLB.com has his minor league hitters and pitchers of the week, lists which include Mike Stanton, Bobby Borchering, and Kyle Gibson.
• Chris Heisey was promoted to Cincinnati to replaced the injured Chris Dickerson and got his first start last night, reports Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Heisey struggled, going 0-for-5 in the game, but got to celebrate walk-off style with his Reds' teammates anyway.
• Andrew Cashner has been dominant as a starter this season, but his background as a relief pitcher (in college) may be too much temptation for the Cubs to avoid, says Jeff Vorva of Baseball America.

Notable Prospect Performances - 4/22

• Despite his struggles this spring, Braves' 1B prospect Freddie Freeman hit his first home run of 2010 on Wednesday night, and got his batting average back to .200, reports Talking Chop.com.
• It's a good thing the Nationals have Stephen Strasburg's dominance to keep their mind off of the struggles of their former top pitching prospects.  Once the top prospect in the system, Collin Balester continues to get rocked in Triple-A, while current prospect Jack McGeary, a 7th round prep pick in 2007 who was given a huge bonus to go pro, continues to get hit hard.  McGeary's latest start went 3 innings in which he gave up 6 runs, reports the Nationals Farm Authority, bringing the pitcher's ERA to 6.43 as a 21-year-old in Low-A ball.
• On the other hand, the stories that dads will tell their sons about Ike Davis are continuing to form, as the prospect finds new ways to increase his popularity in New York, notes Marty Noble of MLB.com.  Despite the Mets' continuing struggles, Davis impressed the tough Citi Field crowd with a catch along the first base dugout Wednesday night that ended with him over the railing and on his head.  His popularity is nothing a 1-for-27 skid at the plate won't destroy, but for now, Ike Davis is the toast of New York.
• Other performances of note from Wednesday:
• • Mariners' 2B Dustin Ackley went 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, raising his batting average to .143 on the young season.  Despite his acumen as an advanced hitter, the second overall pick in last year's draft entered the game in a 5-for-46 slump to start the season.
  • Pirates' P Tim Alderson had his second bad start in a row, giving up 5 ER and 7 hits in 4 2/3 IP, and raising his ERA to 5.52 on the season.  Alderson, acquired from the Giants last season in exchange for Freddy Sanchez, is clearly not the same pitcher he was in 2007 and 2008 when he was drafted in the first round and dominated the lower levels of the minors.
  • Cardinals' SP Shelby Miller, the team's top prospect and first round pick in 2009, struck out 7 and walked only one in his four innings of work.  Miller has made 3 starts and has not thrown more than 4 innings in any of them, but has struck out 7 batters in each.

Notable Prospect Performances - 4/16

• Matt Hobgood turned in a positive start after a rough outing in his 2010 debut, reports Robert Emrich of MLB.com.  The Orioles' first round pick in 2009 (5th overall), Hobgood was thought to be a reach that high in the first round, and the Orioles were accused of making the pick for financial reasons.  The team insists Hobgood was the player they wanted all along, and they have a lot riding on his performance in his first full season.
• Tim Beckham made his 2010 debut, going 1-4 with a SB and 2 K's, notes Kevin Gengler of Rays Prospects.com.
• Kyle Drabek and Phillippe Aumont faced off on Wednesday for the first time since their off-season's were intertwined with the Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee trades.  But, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, the outing didn't quite live up to it's anticipated billing for two of the top pitching prospects in the Phillies' and Blue Jays' organizations.
• Jon Niese pitched in Colorado for the first time in his career on Wednesday, and according to Matthew Cerrone of Mets Blog.com, the Mets' pitching prospect let the altitude get to his head.
• Freddie Freeman continues his struggles in Triple-A, Talking Chop.com points out, as the Braves' first baseman of the future still has just one extra-base hit on the season.