MLB Prospect Watch

Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced

The rosters for the 2011 Arizona Fall League season were announced yesterday, and as usual, the rosters included a plethora of big name prospects.  Below are the prospects you need to know, broken down by team:

Mesa Solar Sox

Cubs - Trey McNutt, Chris Carpenter

Orioles - Chorye Spoone, Joe Mahoney, Xavier Avery

Twins - Aaron Hicks

Pirates - Robbie Grossman

 

Peoria Javelinas

Padres - Jedd Gyorko, James Darnell

Brewers - Jed Bradley, Cody Scarpetta, Kentrail Davis, Logan Schafer

Cardinals - Oscar Taveras

Mariners - Danny Hultzen, Nick Franklin, Chih-Hsien Chiang

Mets - Reese Havens, Jefry Marte

 

Phoenix Desert Dogs

Indians - T.J. McFarland

Reds - Brad Boxberger, Yasmani Grandal

Blue Jays - Adeiny Hechavarria, Anthony Gose

A's - Michael Choice, Grant Green

Yankees - Corban Joseph, David Phelps

 

Salt River Rafters

Dodgers - Jake Lemmerman

Diamondbacks - Eric Smith, Ryan Wheeler

Tigers - Casey Crosby

Astros - Jay Austin

Rockies - Nolan Arenado, Tim Wheeler

 

Scottsdale Scorpions

Angels - Mike Trout, Hank Conger

Phillies - Tyson Gillies, B.J. Rosenberg

Red Sox - Brock Huntzinger, Will Middlebrooks

Nationals - Sammy Solis, Derek Norris, Bryce Harper

Giants - Brandon Crawford

 

Surprise Saguaros

Royals - Nathan Adcock, Wil Myers, Jeremy Jeffress, Christian Colon

Braves - Erik Cordier, Sean Gilmartin, J.J Hoover, Christian Bethancourt, Phil Gosslein, Todd Cunningham

Rangers - Neil Ramirez, Michael Olt

Rays - Tim Beckham

Marlins - Kyle Skipworth, Dan Jennings, Matt Dominguez

 

 

 

Prospect Action in the Majors

As the first week of major league action winds down, we're starting to see many of the prospects who made big league rosters take their turns on the field.

• Michael Pineda made his first major league start on Tuesday, and the Mariners were pleased with the results, says Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times.  Pineda was one of a number of surprise prospects to stay in the majors after the spring, notes Keith Law of ESPN.com, who questioned the M's decision to keep the young right-hander.
• The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have elevated hard-throwing rookie Jordan Walden into the closer's role at the back of the bullpen after incumbent Fernando Rodney's early season struggles, reports Kevin Baxter of The Los Angeles Times, who also notes the successful relationship rookie catcher Hank Conger has molded with team ace Jared Weaver.  Conger caught Weaver in two late-season starts in 2010 and Weaver praised the prospect's work behind the plate.  Conger made his first start on Tuesday, receiving another Weaver gem, and perhaps adding to the confidence manager Mike Scioscia has in him behind the plate.
• Brandon Belt has struggled at the plate to start the season, and Aubrey Huff has been an adventure in right field, where he's playing to accommodate Belt's arrival in the lineup, but despite these struggles, Giants manager Bruce Bochy says he has no intention of sitting Belt down anytime soon, says Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Mike Minor will make his first start of the season for the Braves on Wednesday, taking the rotation spot of the injured Jair Jurrjens, says Doug Miller of MLB.com.  Minor will try to get the ball to Craig Kimbrel, the Braves closer who has continued his string of dominance from last season, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
• Jeremy Hellickson will make his 2011 debut for the Rays, getting the start opposite Dan Haren against the Angels on Wednesday, says Spencer Fordin of MLB.com.
• The Washington Nationals plan to move rookie second baseman Danny Espinosa up to the leadoff spot in their batting order, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Performances - Drabek, Britton, Angels, Taillon

• Kyle Drabek gave up just one run in five innings of work in his final spring start before assuming his role as the Blue Jays number two starter, says Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
• Zach Britton gave up two runs over six innings of work in his last bit of proof that he's ready for the majors, despite the fact that the Orioles will start him in Triple-A, says Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun.
• The Angels young prospects showed they weren't fazed by the big stage, as Mike Trout and Hank Conger led the offensive attack in a comeback win against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, notes Quinn Roberts of MLB.com.
• Jameson Taillon threw three innings on the Pirates back fields against A-ball competition, and was dominant, needing just 31 pitches to get threw his outing, according to Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com.  Williams also has a video posted of Taillon's outing.

 

Prospect Performances - Moustakas, Britton, Parker

FRIDAY

• In a possible glimpse of their future, the Angels were led by the bats of catching prospect Hank Conger and first base prospect Mark Trumbo on Friday, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com.
• Mike Moustakas made two errors in the 10th inning on Friday, essentially costing the Royals the game, notes Thomas Harding of MLB.com.

SATURDAY

• Zach Britton threw four scoreless innings for the Orioles, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
• Blake Beavan made his first spring start for the Mariners, and gave up just one earned run over three innings of work, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.
• Both Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver were impressive against one another in a simulated game, reports Jacon Beck of MLB.com.  The Tigers are stretching both out for their roles as starters in the minors this season, but no longer have the innings to go around to do so in major league spring training games.
• Jarrod Parker threw two hitless innings for the Diamondbacks, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.

SUNDAY

• Charlie Furbush gave up one run over three innings of relief work for the Tigers, says Josh Jackson of MiLB.com.
• Elih Villanueva tossed four scoreless innings in relief for the Marlins, allowing just two hits.

 

Position Battles - Duffy, Conger

• Virtually the entire Royals pitching staff is up in the air at the moment, and Dick Kaegel of MLB.com says that Danny Duffy could grab a spot at the back end of the rotation or one of two or three left-handed relief spots in the major league bullpen this spring.
• The longer Hank Conger is in camp and gets seen, the better chance he has of nabbing the Angels starting catching job, notes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  Conger is by far the most talented of the three catchers competing for the position, but also the one with the least major league experience.  If he can't land the starting gig, he will head back to Triple-A rather than stay in the majors as a backup.