MLB Prospect Watch

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.

Best and Worst from 5/28

BEST

• Dusty Ryan (DET) - 4-5, 2 2B, HR, batting .257
• Jesus Montero (NYY) - 3-4, 3 R, 2 HR, batting .338
• Anthony Gose (PHI) - 3-4, 2B, 3 SB, batting .243
• Junichi Tazawa (BOS) - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 7 K/2 BB, 2.82 ERA
• Corey Kluber (SD) - 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K/0 BB, 3.84 ERA

WORST

• Michael Main (TEX) - 4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 6 K/5 BB, 7.05 ERA
• Jack McGeary (WAS) - 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 6 K/2 BB, 6.53 ERA

Best and Worst from 5/17

BEST

• Josh Vitters (CHC) - 3-5, 2 2B, HR, batting .352
• Kila Ka'aihue (KC) - 3-5, 2B, HR, batting .270
• Dominic Brown (PHI) - 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, SB, batting .328
• Alex Liddi (SEA) - 2-5, HR, batting .361
• Michael Bowden (BOS) - 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K/4 BB, 0.86 ERA
• Jeremy Bleich (NYY) - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 5 K/2 BB, 3.13 ERA
• Will Inman (SD) - 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 K/1 BB, 3.05 ERA
• David Price (TB) - 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 9 K/2 BB, 3.93 ERA

WORST

• Ryan Kalish (BOS) - 0-4, batting .077 in Double-A
• Jeremy Jeffress (MIL) - 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 3 K/6 BB, 7.57 ERA
• Jack McGeary (WAS) - 1 2/3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 K/2 BB, 7.11 ERA

Link: Nats' Prospect McGeary Ready to Play Baseball Full-Time?

When the Washington Nationals drafted Jack McGeary in the 6th round in 2007 and gave him first round money ($1.8 million), they knew they would have to wait a while before they saw any returns on their investment.  But as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Times reports, McGeary appears to have reorganized his arrangement to prevent him from having to miss any time with the Nationals in 2009.