MLB Prospect Watch

Winter Ball Recap: 11/10/12

Venezuelan Winter League

• Darin Ruf went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI's, and the Phillies prospect is hitting .244 with nine home runs for the winter, although he hasn't hit one in his past seven games.
• Tigers flame-thrower Bruce Rondon struck out the side for a perfect 9th inning, and now has 11 strike outs in 8 innings of relief this winter.
• Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia went 2-for-5 on Sunday and has hit .343 over has last ten games.

Dominican Winter League

• Chicago Cubs infield prospect Junior Lake went 3-for-5 with a double in the first game of a double-header and is now hitting .382 on the DWL season.  Prospects Gary Sanchez and Gregory Polanco, of the Yankees and Pirates respectively, each had a hit on Saturday and are receiving regular playing time this winter, but both are struggling at the plate.  Sanchez is hitting .238 with just two extra-base hits in seven games while Polanco is hitting .217 with one double and no walks in eight games.
• Jurickson Profar went 0-for-3 on Saturday after going 3-for-4 in his DWL debut the night before.  The Rangers shortstop prospect appears to now be getting regular playing time for the Tigres del Licey, along side fellow Rangers prospect Mike Olt, who is hitting .290/.476/.516 this winter.

Puerto Rican Winter League

• The Atenienses de Manati got a home run each from Mets prospect Cory Vaughn and Diamondbacks prospect Yazy Arbelo, the first of the young PRWL season for each.
• Eddie Rosario went 2-for-4 on Saturday and is now hitting .455 through his first three games of the winter ball season.

 

Winter League Recap: 11/4/12

Dominican Winter League

• Miami Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna added to his stellar winter ball season, blasting a pair of home runs, giving him seven on the season, and is now hitting .309 for the winter.  Red Sox pitching prospect Stolmy Pimentel got hit around in the game, allowing four runs in three innings to bring his winter ERA to 7.36.
• The Leones del Escogido put forth a prospect-laden lineup on Sunday that struggled and ultimately got 3-hit for the game.  Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun, Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, and Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco all took 0-fers on the night.

Venezuelan Winter League

• Darin Ruf went 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs in an 8-3 victory and has his batting average back up to .264 for the winter.  The Phillies prospect has just one home run over his past six games, but is hitting .364 during that stretch.
• After starting hot, both Twins outfield prospects playing in the VWL, Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia, have struggled of late.  Hicks went 1-for-4 on Sunday but has been dropped down in the Bravos lineup with his batting average dropping down to .204, and was pinch-hit for late in his latest game.  Arcia went 0-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his winter batting average down to .250.

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Joseph, Sanchez, Gyorko

• Tommy Joseph joined the Phillies at the trade deadline with a reputation for being an offensive catcher with borderline defensive skills, but his time at Reading has produced the opposite result, according to Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Joseph has hit just .237 in 26 games since the trade, but actually has a higher OPs thanks to 10 extra base hits during that span.
  
• Gary Sanchez has a firm grasp on the title of "catcher of the future" in the Yankees farm system, largely in part to the progress he's made behind the plate this season, writes Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News. Sanchez has combined to hit .292/.347/.490 with 18 home runs between Low and High-A this year. He still doesn't walk enough and needs to refine his plate discipline, but with his power he still profiles as an above-average offensive catcher even if he never gets on base a ton.
• The Padres did not promote third base prospect Jedd Gyorko mainly because he is not on the 40-man roster, says Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. After a mediocre start to the season in Double-A, Gyorko went off at Triple-A Tucson, where he hit .331 with 24 home runs in 94 games.

 

 

Making Moves - Mahoney, Yankees, Tropeano, Wacha, Skole

• The Orioles have called up prospect Joe Mahoney, reports Eduarco Encina of The Baltimore Sun.  The move is likely a temporary one for Mahoney, who replaced Chris Tillman on the roster, who the team sent back down after his stellar start on Wednesday so that he won't be idle during the major league all-star break.  Tillman is expected to rejoin the major league team after the break, meaning Mahoney's time with the big league club could be just a week or so.  Mahoney is primarily a first baseman, but has also seen some time in left field, and was hitting just .256/.312/.355 at Triple-A this season, but has posted an OPS over .860 each of the past two seasons.
• The Yankees made a number of internal promotions this week, bumping three of their top hitting prospects, outfielders Tyler Austin and Mason Williams and catcher Gary Sanchez, up from Charleston to Tampa, according to Josh Norris of Minor Matters.
• Having seen him dominate inferior competition for long enough, the Astros promoted Nick Tropeano to High-A Lancaster earlier this week, says FarmStros.com.  Tropeano used his plus-changeup to tear up the South Atlantic League, going 6-4 with a 2.78 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings.  In his first start in the hitter-dominated California League, Tropeano didn't miss a beat, throwing eight strong innings and allowing just one unearned run while striking out nine.
• Michael Wacha, the Cardinals first-round pick (19th overall) in this year's draft, has been working out with the organization's Gulf Coast League team since signing, but once the Cardinals decide he's back in game shape, he should jump directly up to the Florida State League, writes Derrick Gould of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cardinals are simply monitoring his innings this season after he threw 113 1/3 innings during his college season.
• Jake Skole has been suspended for 50 games due to amphetamine use, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  The Rangers former 2010 draftee has struggled this season, hitting just .185 this season, and has yet to live up to his first-round billing during his professional career.

 

Prospect Action - 5/31/12

Triple-A

• Mike Montgomery has struggled this season, but his latest start on Thrusday showed us why the Royals consider him to be such a big part of their future, notes Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com, as the lefty threw no-hit baseball into the sixth inning before getting tagged for a solo homer by Cubs prospect Brett Jackson.  Wil Myers also homered in the game in support of Montgomery.
• Tom Koehler threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings, picking up his sixth win of the season, says Alex Cassara of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Koehler has now turned in a quality start in six of his last seven starts.
• Mariners 3B prospect Vinny Catricala hit a home run off of Diamondbacks prospect Pat Corbin, reports Mike Curto of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.  After a hot spring, Catricala has struggled in Triple-A this season, batting just .223 and now with just three home runs on the season.

Double-A

• Bryce Brentz went 5-for-5 with three doubles on Thursday, says Andrew Pentis of MilB.com, as the Red Sox prospect brought his batting average above the .300 mark to .306.  Brentz continues to hit, still stikes out too much and continues to display no control over the strike zone.  Much like his first-half last season when he batted .359 in Low-A ball, Brentz is once again benefiting from an unsustainable BABIP that's sitting over .400.
• Yankees OF prospect Cody Johnson hit his 14th home run of the season, which leads the Eastern League, notes The Erie Times-News.  Johnson continues to strike out, with 61 whiffs in 45 games, 
• Zack Wheeler threw seven innings, allowing just one run and striking out eight, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.  The Mets prospect improved to 5-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.88.

High-A

• Brandon Workman continues to go deep into games (by minor league standards), throwing six innings for the second straight start, according to Danny Wild of MiLB.com, this time allowing just two hits and fanning six.
• Bobby Borchering and Chris Owings both homered in support of David Holmberg, who struck out 10 batters in seven strong innings, but it wasn't enough of a cushion for their bullpen, who blew his lead and ultimately the game.

Low-A

• Not known for his speed, Tigers first base prospect Aaron Westlake ripped a game-tying triple on Thursday, notes MLive.com.
• Jose Fernandez continued his dominance of the South Atlantic League, as the Marlins prospect struck out eight batters in six more scoreless innings, writes David Heck of MiLB.com.
• Gary Sanchez continues to make his case for a promotion, blasting two more home runs on Thursday, adds Heck.