MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - Miller, Mets, Westmoreland, Pimentel

• Everyone in St. Louis wants to know when top prospect Shelby Miller will make it to the majors, and the writers from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch do their best to answer that question.
• The Mets have been in numerous talks during the winter meetings, which puts their top prospects on alert, but Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com wonders what the value really is of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, and Jenrry Mejia.
• Excellent news for Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland, who has finally been cleared for game action after a full year away, and is slated to face live pitching soon, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.
• The Oakland A's have signed 17-year-old OF Sanber Pimentel, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.
• Padres SS prospect Drew Cumberland, whose career was thought to be over after sitting out all of 2011, is going to try to play again this season, says Corey Brock of MLB.com.

Mets Mejia has Torn MCL

Jenrry Mejia, the New York Mets top prospect, has a completely torn MCL in his right elbow, reports Cash Kruth of MLB.com.  The hard-throwing righty is seeking a second opinion, but, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports, Mejia will likely need surgery.

For more on Mejia, there's David Lennon of Newsday.com, Dan Martin of the New York Post, and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, who notes that Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen was wary of such an injury when he pushed for Mejia to remain a reliever during spring training.

If Mejia has surgery, he will likely be out for a full year.

 

 

More Roster Cuts - Rays, Cubs, Kelly, Mejia

• The Tampa Bay Rays optioned Chris Archer, Desmond Jennings and Alex Cobb to Triple-A and re-assigned Tim Beckham to minor league camp, says RaysProspects.com.
• The Chicago Cubs optioned Rafael Dolis to Double-A and re-assigned Josh Vitters, Brett Jackson, Jay Jackson, Chris Carpenter, and Trey McNutt to minor league camp, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
• The Milwaukee Brewers optioned Mark Rogers to Triple-A, says Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, despite the fact that Rogers was a candidate to take the open starts in place of injured ace Zack Greinke.  The Brewers felt that Rogers would not have his pitch count up high enough by Opening Day to take the spot in the rotation.
• The Colorado Rockies optioned Chris Nelson to Triple-A, reports Steve Foster of InsidetheRockies.com.  Nelson was competing for a utility spot.
• The San Diego Padres optioned Cedric Hunter to Triple-A and re-assigned top pitching prospect Casey Kelly to minor league camp, says Corey Brock of MLB.com.
• The Mets have optioned Jenrry Mejia to Triple-A, says Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com.

 

Prospect Spring Action - Goldschmidt, Martinez, Mejia, McGuire

• Paul Goldschmidt dropped a three-run game-tying bomb in his first spring game, prompting the standard knee-jerk post-game questions regarding the prospect's chances of making the team, notes Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, do which Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson provided the standard cliche response that everyone has a chance and "stranger things have happened."  Goldschmidt, who has not played above Class-A and put himself on the prospect map thanks to a breakout year in a hitter-friendly park, remains a long shot to make the major league roster.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic agrees that Goldschmidt making the jump to the majors would be a stretch, especially given the team's options at first base, but notes that Gibson is encouraging competition within camp, so look for Goldschmidt to get more looks.  Goldschmidt's heroics went for naught, however, when in the top of the 10th inning, Rockies OF prospect Charlie Blackmon hit a solo homer to put his team up for good, notes Thomas Harding of MLB.com.
• Carlos Martinez may not pitch in any official spring games, but that didn't stop him from putting on a show during his first bullpen in Cardinals camp, reports Matthew Leach of MLB.com.  Martinez, formerly Carlos Matias, was the Cardinals biggest catch of last year's international signing period, and is scheduled to pitch stateside this year for the first time in his pro career.  This bullpen was not a part big league camp during, notes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but rather was a part of a mini-camp designed for young prospects still years away from the majors. 
• Jenrry Mejia was his usual impressive self in his first spring start for the Mets, displaying an explosive moving fastball and inconsistent off-speed pitches dripping with potential, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
• First-round pick Deck McGuire made his first appearance in a Blue Jays uniform in the team's "B" game on Saturday, throwing two innings and allowing an earned run against the Phillies "B" squad, reports Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
• It's not easy to impress a veteran manager like Jim Leyland with a ground out, but that's exactly what Avisail Garcia was able to do in Tigers camp, says Jason Beck of MLB.com.

 

 

Position Battles - Arencibia, Drabek, Hosmer, Craig, Mejia

• J.P. Arencibia entered camp with a good chance at winning the Blue Jays starting catcher job, and he has impressed enough thus far in camp to imply that he's heading in that direction, says Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.  The Jays rotation also has two spots up for grabs and Kyle Drabek is an early favorite for one of them, according to J. Weitzel of Beerleaguer.com, while Larry Millson of Baseball America argues that Drabek should win one of the spots.
• Eric Hosmer was impressive in the Royals inter-squad game on Thursday, but manager Ned Yost said the first baseman has virtually no chance of making the team, according to Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.  Third base prospect Mike Moustakas does have a chance though.
• The Cardinals have a hole at third base to fill and Allen Craig is a prospect with a major league ready bat who moved from third base to the outfield and is now moving back.  He could be the answer to the Cards problems at the hot corner if his defense can catch up to his bat, says Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• And from the "Is it last year again?" department, Jenrry Mejia looks impressive in Mets camp and could crack the Mets rotation, says Steve Popper of the Bergen County Record, but the player development side of manager Terry Collins should prevail and allow Mejia to head to Triple-A to continue his development.