MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - 6/26

I know us baseball fans cringe at sharing time during our season with soccer (must be something about all those youth soccer leagues stealing kids away from little league), but it's tough to argue with a good reason to head to a bar on a Saturday afternoon and cheer for your country.

• Mike Stanton is struggling in the majors thus far (as should have been initially expected) and has been dropped from 7th to 8th in the Marlins batting order, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
• The Red Sox have sent OF Josh Reddick back to the minors, reports Alden Gonzales of MLB.com.  The team needed another pitcher and was forced to demote Reddick to create a roster spot.
• Andrew Brackman was promoted to Double-A, reports Josh Norris of The Trentonian, and made his first start on Friday, pitching well but getting the loss.  Despite his ugly numbers from the Florida State League, Brackman had been pitching better of late and was showing more of the consistency the Yankees had been looking for from their former first-round draft pick.
• Brian McTaggart of MLB.com has a couple of Astros' updates for us, including Jason Castro's continued hard work on the defensive end of his game despite being in the majors, and the team's signing of 2nd round pick, RHP Vincent Velasquez.
• Jesse Biddle's professional career got started under the Florida heat on Friday afternoon, as the Phillies' first-round pick from this year threw 3 no-hit innings in the Gulf Coast League, reports Scott Purks of the Philadelphia Daily News.
• Carlos Santana left Friday's game early with pain in his thumb, but x-rays were negative, reports Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
• The Capital Avenue Club takes a look at the Braves' most noteworthy prospects currently on their GCL team, including their top selection in this year's draft (#35 overall), high school SS Matt Lipka, who is off to a 3-for-20 start to his professional career.
• Mark Trumbo still needs to show he can make more consistent contact before the Angels will believe he's ready for the majors, but as Martin Renzhofer of the Salt Lake Tribune notes, it's his tantalizing power that makes him the prospect he is.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/23

• It may have been an all-star game, but that didn't stop Jerry Sands from putting on a show for the fans, homering in the first inning and taking home MVP honors in the Midwest League All-Star Game, reports Matthew Linder of MiLB.com.  Sands' three-run shot in the first inning came off Cubs' pitching prospect Trey McNutt.
• Jason Castro's major league debut couldn't have gone much better, says Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle, as the Astro catcher singled off of Tim Lincecum in his first major league at-bat, and threw out two base runners during the game.
• Domonic Brown went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, leading the Reading Phillies to victory.  Teammate Cody Overbeck, recently promoted from Clearwater after tearing up the Florida State League for the first part of the season, collected just his 3rd hit in 8 games in Double-A.
• Mike Moustakas continued his hot hitting, with a 3-for-5 night, including a double and a home run.  The Royals' 3B now has 39 extra-base hits in 53 games on the season.
• Rays' first-round pick Justin O'Conner made his professional debut on Tuesday with a 1-for-4 game for the GCL Rays.

Astros Promote Castro

The Houston Astros have promoted top prospect Jason Castro, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  Castro, a catcher, was the team's first round pick in the 2008 draft and is one of the only impact bats in a weak Houston farm system

Castro will handle the majority of the team's catching duties, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  Castro was hitting just .265 with only 11 extra-base hits on the season, but displayed above-average power in 2009 (.446 SLG) and controls the strike zone well (32 BB's to 34 K's this season).  He should be an upgrade offensively over Astros catchers who have hit .230/.269/.353 on the 2010 season.

Making Moves - 5/28

• Arizona Diamondbacks' top prospect Jarrod Parker is back on the mound on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.  Parker had surgery last October and is just beginning to throw.
• Also on the long road back from injury is Jared Mitchell, but the White Sox' prospect is ahead of schedule, says Jeff Buchanan of Future Sox.com.
• Jason Castro should be in Houston at some point this season, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
• Mike Stanton is coming, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, whether the Marlins' outfielders are ready or not.  Joe Frisaro of MLB.com goes over the Marlins' options for getting everyone enough at-bats.
• Orioles' prospect Kieron Pope is back in action after recovering from a broken leg, writes Noah Rosenstein of MLB.com.
• Jack Moore of FanGraphs.com makes the latest case for Buster Posey's promotion to San Francisco.
• The Cubs have put Andrew Cashner in their Triple-A bullpen in order to get him ready for a relief role in the majors later in the season, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times adds his input as well.  The Cubs made a similar move with fellow prospect Jay Jackson earlier this season, and either or both could be at Wrigley this year.
• Basebal America has their weekly transaction report, which includes a few moves that slipped under the radar, including:
• • Lonnie Chisenhall (CLE) to the 7-day DL (shoulder)
  • Zack Wheeler (SF) to the 7-day DL (fingernail...seriously)
  • Zach Braddock (MIL) added to the 40-man roster and could be in line for a call up

Prospect Potent Potables - 4/5

Happy Opening Day!

• The two-time defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies will feature three rookies in their bullpen, Matt Gelb points out in the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Antonio Bastardo, Andrew Carpenter, and Rule V draft pick David Herndon all made the team, due in large part to injuries to Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero.
• The Colorado Rockies are having four of their prospects skip a level, reports Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies, with the biggest name of the bunch being Tim Wheeler.  The Rockies' second of two first round picks in 2009, Wheeler will jump to High-A Modesto after having played in rookie level Tri-City last year after signing.
• Prospects will be on the forefront for the Detroit Tigers this year, as the team will feature two in their ever-day lineup to start the season.  Austin Jackson will be in the lead-off spot, and as Jason Beck reports, the former Yankee farmhand is excited about the challenge.  Joining Jackson in the lineup will be 2B Scott Sizemore, and the team recently announced that the former VCU Ram will be batting in the 8th spot.
• Tommy Manzella says he feels a little behind at the plate after having missed a week of spring games with a quadriceps injury, reports the Houston Chronicle, but given that the rookie was given the starting job primarily for his defensive abilities, the Astros should be satisfied as long as he can effectively field his position.  Also of note in the article were the assignments of the team's top two prospects - C Jason Castro (Triple-A Round Rock) and SS Jiovanni Mier (Low-A Lexington).