MLB Prospect Watch

Potent Potables - Halman, Rockies, Stephenson

Sad news on all accounts today, with the report of the murder of Mariners OF prospect Greg Halman.  Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times has more perspective as additional information comes to light.

On the baseball front...

• Ty Wigginton's trade to the Phillies opens up a potential spot for Rockies 3B prospect Nolan Arenado, says Doug Miller of MLB.com, although as ESPN's Buster Olney points out, Wiggington's at-bats may go to Jordan Pacheco for the immediate future.
• The Reds were pleased with how first round pick Robert Stephenson looked in the instructional league, especially given that he didn't sign until the August 15 deadline, notes John Fay for Baseball America.

 

 

Prospect Action - Profar, Hendriks, Gray

• Jurickson Profar's two-run double helped lead his fellow Rangers prospects to victory in the first game of their double-header on Wednesday, reports The Hickory Daily Record.
• Twins pitching prospect Liam Hendriks threw eight strong innings, out-dueling Red Sox prospect Kyle Weiland, according to WPRI.com.
• A bases-loaded single by Greg Halman provided all the offense his Mariners teammates needed on Wednesday, notes Don Ruiz of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.
• Josh Donaldson broke a tie game open with a solo home run, notes The Sacramento Bee.  In Double-A, fellow A's prospect and the team's first-round pick in this year's draft, Sonny Gray, earned his first professional win, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Pirates OF prospect Andrew Lambo hit a two-run homer, says PiratesProspects.com.

 

 

Trout, Chisenhall, Turner Among Victims on Roster Cutdown Day

• The Pirates sent ten players away from major league camp on Monday, including prospects Daniel Moskos and Gorkys Hernandez who were optioned to Triple-A, prospect Jeff Locke who was optioned to Double-A, and Andrew Lambo and Chase D'Arnaud who were not on the 40-man roster and were re-assigned to minor league camp, but both of whom will also begin the season in Triple-A, according to Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com.
• The Angels made a round of cuts on Monday that included top prospect Mike Trout and pitchers Trevor Reckling and Loek Van Mil, reports Owen Perkins of MLB.com.
• Greg Halman was optioned to Triple-A by the Mariners on Monday, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.
• The Royals optioned both second base prospect Jeff Bianchi and outfield prospect Derrick Robinson to Double-A, says Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
• The Indians re-assigned Lonnie Chisenhall, Alex White, and Jason Kipnis to minor league camp, as well as optioned Nick Weglarz and Zach McAllister to Triple-A, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• The Astros re-assigned Koby Clemens, Jiovanni Mier, Doug Arguello, Jon Gaston and J.D. Martinez, to minor league camp on Monday, says Farmstros.com.
• The Tigers have re-assigned catchers Patrick Leyland and Bryan Holaday to minor league camp, and have optioned Cale Iorg, Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner to Double-A, says DetroitTigerTales.com.
• The Orioles optioned first base prospect Joe Mahoney to Triple-A, says Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.

 

Spring Prospect Action - Harper, Yankees, Belt, and more

This is why there's nothing that's not awesome about Spring Training...

• Bryce Harper made his spring debut on Monday, entering the game for the Nationals as a pinch-runner and eventually striking out twice in two at-bats, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
• The Yankees got some impressive pitching performances from two of their young arms, as Ivan Nova threw two perfect innings on Sunday, says Erik Boland of Newsday, and Dellin Betances struck out the side in his one inning of work, touching 97-MPH on the radar gun, reports Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
• Mike Minor got off on the right foot towards claiming the Braves final rotation spot, says Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
• Phillies manager Charlie Manuel chalked up the poor performances of relief prospects Justin De Fratus and Michael Schwimer to trying to do too much in their first spring training performance, notes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
• Jarrod Parker walked the bases loaded in his first appearance in a Diamondbacks spring training game, but he also was able to work out of the jam, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
• Brandon Belt got a start in the Giants split squad game on Monday and responded with three hits, notes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
• Aroldis Champan hit triple-digits repeatedly, but struggled mightily with his command, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
• Bryan Morris threw a one-two-three inning for the Pirates, including retiring Johnny Damon and Evan Longoria, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• And the following prospects put their power on display, homering during spring training action:
  • Matt Dominguez dropped a two-run bomb in his effort to show the Marlins that his bat is as far along as his much-heralded glove, says Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
  • Tim Wheeler homered off of Rockies teammate Christian Friedrich in Sunday's intra-squad game, notes Thomas Harding of MLB.com.
  • A's OF prospect Michael Taylor displayed the power that abandoned him for much of last year, says Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.
  • A number of Mariners prospects have been going deep, including Carlos Peguero on Sunday and Johermyn Chavez and Greg Halman on Monday
  • The future of the Royals offense was on display on Monday, as Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas both homered.

   

  
  
  

   

Position Battles - Alonso, Halman, Brown,

• Yonder Alonso is seeing time in left field this spring, but it will be tough to get at-bats in a crowded Reds outfield competition, says John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Reds outfield coach Billy Hatcher has noticed an improvement in Alonso's defense in the outfield, however, making the transition more of a possibility.
• Greg Halman is battling for a spot on the Mariners bench as a 4th outfielder, but the raw 23-year-old must cut down on his strikeouts before he can serve as a servicable major leaguer, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  Given Halman's power potential and high ceiling, he would likely be better served heading back to Triple-A and working on refining his approach at the plate and trimming down his high strikeout numbers.
• Phillies manager Charlie Manuel reiterated his stance on top prospect Domonic Brown, saying that he'd like to see the young outfielder get 350-400 at-bats this season, but that the job is not necessarily his, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• This time next year, you can expect Kirk Nieuwenhuis to be competing for a job in the Mets outfield, but with one more year left on Carlos Beltran's contract, Nieuwenhuis has little chance of making the team this spring, says Steve Popper for Baseball America.