MLB Prospect Watch

Position Battles - Belt, Pineda, Montgomery

• Brandon Belt hasn't made the Giants roster yet, but they have a spot in the lineup all set for him if he does, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• The Mariners are giving Michael Pineda every legitimate chance to crack their starting rotation, says Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times.
• The Royals are still looking at Mike Montgomery and haven't ruled him out for a rotation spot, says Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
• Jake McGee is going to be a reliever for the Rays, and he may get some save opportunities, notes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Position Battles - Collins, McGee, Chapman

• Tim Collins was traded twice last season, but he appears to have found a home in Kansas City, and a chance to make the Royals bullpen, says manager Ned Yost in a video interview posted by KansasCity.com.
• Jake McGee, one of the Rays top pitching prospects and a career starter in the minor leagues, will be used exclusively as a relief pitcher this spring, according to Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay.com.  Also competing for a bullpen role is fellow prospect Alex Colome.
• We assumed he would, but John Fay of Cincinnati.com reports that the Reds have no intention of working Aroldis Chapman into their starting rotation at the beginning of the year, instead relying on him to fill a late-inning need in their bullpen thanks to the departure of Arthur Rhodes.

 

 

McGee Promoted to Tampa

The Tampa Bay Rays will promote hard-throwing LHP Jake McGee to the majors on Tuesday, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

Primarily a starter in the minors, McGee will join the Rays bullpen upon his arrival with the team.  While not the dominating physical presence that David Price was, McGee's role could ultimately be similar if his power arsenal of pitches translates to the majors as anticipated.  After making 19 starts in Double-A this season, he was used in relief in Triple-A, both to prepare him for an eventual call-up, and also to limit his workload.  

McGee had Tommy John surgery in 2008.

More Call-up Updates

• The Rays would like to add a power left-handed reliever to replace the injured J.P. Howell, and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs.com suggests that prospect Jake McGee may be just the pitcher to take his place.
• Craig Kimbrel and Mike Minor have been flip-flopping roster spots this week, but Kimbrel will be back in Atlanta on September 7th (once his mandatory 10-day stint in the minors is over), notes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Chris Carter was an obvious call-up candidate for the A's until he sprained his left thumb diving for a ball on Friday.  Carter is now on the DL and a September promotion is up in the air, says John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Not only have the Mets promoted Jenrry Mejia to Triple-A, but they have him on the same starting schedule as Pat Misch, likely setting Mejia up to take Misch's spot in the big league rotation sometime in the next few weeks, suggests the NY Daily News.
• Michael Kirkman's time in the majors so far has been so successful that Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram thinks he may have a better chance than Derek Holland of making the Rangers post-season roster.
• The Mariners could have had a number of noteworthy call-ups, but the team has shut down top pitching prospect Michael Pineda as a preemptive move as he has reached his innings limit, reports Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.  The team is also leaning towards not calling-up 2B prospect Dustin Ackley and instead letting him rest before heading to the Arizona Fall League, according to Doug Miller of MLB.com.  A final decision on Ackley has not yet been made.

Making Moves - 8/6

Oh the transaction madness...

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis has been promoted to Triple-A and Jenrry Mejia has moved back up to Double-A, this time as a starter, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  Mejia, however, could be called back up to the majors as a reliever for the Mets down the stretch, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, which would continue the club's complete disregard for the development of one of the best arms in the minors.
• Blue Jays' fans are excited for the start of the J.P. Arencibia era, even though it comes at the expense of all-star catcher John Buck, reports Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star Tribune.
• Already young for the Texas League, Jordan Lyles will be even younger for the Pacific Coast League when he joins the Astros' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
• Also heading to Triple-A is Nationals' SS prospect Danny Espinosa, according to the Nationals Farm Authority, Rays' P prospect Jake McGee, according to Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com, and Phillies' 1B prospect Matt Rizzotti, according to PhuturePhillies.com.
• Aroldis Chapman isn't heading to Cincinnati just yet, but he could be as soon as the Reds have an opening in their bullpen, says Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.  Chapman has adjusted well to his relief role and has not given up an earned run in his last 10 appearances.
• Also ready for the majors whenever the call is made are Chris Carter and Michael Taylor, says Alex Espinoza of MLB.com.  The A's envision the duo as the middle of their lineup of the future and will likely call the pair up for a September cameo.