MLB Prospect Watch

Yankees' Bleich Out for Season

New York Yankees' LHP prospect Jeremy Bleich will be out for roughly a year with a torn labrum, reports John Nalbone.  The injury will require surgery and recovery time for this type of injury typically runs between 10-12 months.

Bleich was a supplemental 1st round pick by the Yankees in 2008 and was their only pick in the top-100 to actually sign with the team.  Bleich is one of the top left-handed pitching prospects in the Yankees farm system and before injury was the closest to the majors.

Prospect Potent Potables - 5/22

• The Indians promoted Nick Weglarz to Triple-A Columbus, reports Indians Prospect Insider.
• Depressed Kansas City residents should start watching the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Royals' Double-A affiliate, featuring Aaron Crow, Mike Moustakas, Mike Montgomery, and the rest of your 2013 Kansas City Royals.
• There are a lot of question marks about Kyle Russell as a potential major leaguer, but production isn't one of them.  The Dodgers' outfielder continues to produce and will continue to be challenged to see if scout's doubts are warranted.
• The Cubs need a reliever and Andrew Cashner used to be one, but if he continues to have dominant starts like he did on Saturday night, it will be tough to justify such a move.  No longer relying on pure velocity, Cashner is now locating his fastball with more precision, says Robert Emerich of MLB.com.  If the Cubs need his power arm in their bullpen in 2010, the move will be only temporary until Cashner proves he can't start at the big league level.
• Bad news for Yankees' prospect watchers, as it looks like Jeremy Bleich's issues this year may be due to injury and will need surgery to fix the problem, according to Tim Bontemps of the NY Post.  No official announcement from the team has been made, but the Bleich continues to get tests on his balky throwing shoulder.  The news isn't all bad for Yankees' fans though, says EJ Fagan of The Yankee U, who tells Bombers' fans not to worry about the concern surrounding Zach McAllister.
• Tim Kurkjian (via SportsCenter) predicts that Stephen Strasburg will be called up to Washington during the first week in June, and on Baseball Tonight Buster Olney predicted June 4th specifically.  Kurkjian also mentioned June 8th as a possibility.

Making Moves - 5/19

• Jason Donald has been promoted to Cleveland to replace the injured Asdrubal Cabrera, and will be the team's starting shortstop, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• Hector Noesi, one of the only remaining high-potential arms in the Yankees' farm system, has been promoted to Double-A, reports The Trentonian.  The team has also apparently but LHP Jeremy Bleich on the DL, according to Mike Ashmore of ThunderBaseball.com, although Ashmore speculates that it may be an excuse to have the struggling Bleich go back to the instructional league to work out his problems.
• Guillermo Moscoso has joined the Rangers' bullpen, reports Anthony Andro of the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram.  Moscoso was acquired by Texas in exchange for Gerald Laird.
• Mets' INF prospect Reese Havens has not only switched to the other side of the second base bag, but he has also been promoted to Double-A Binghamton and had 3 hits in his first game.

Notable Prospect Performances - 5/17

• Jay Jackson made his third appearance out of the bullpen in Triple-A, and has given up just one run so far in his new role, says Matt Swain from Wrigley Bound.com.  Jackson's relief success could lead to a role in the Cubs' bullpen later this season.
• Reymond Fuentes had a 4-hit night for the Greenville Drive and was a homer shy of the cycle, SoxProspects.com points out.
• Phillies' pitching prospect Nick Hernandez lost a no-hit bid in the 8th inning, reports Alex Raskin of MLB.com.  Hernandez lowered his ERA to 1.61 on the season.
• Mike Minor struck out 11 batters over 8 innings on Sunday to increase his already impressive strike out totals.  The Braves' first round pick in last year's draft is leading the minor leagues in batters fanned.
• Mike Moustakas hit his 7th home run in his short time in Double-A.  Fellow Royals' prospect Mike Montgomery got the start in the game, but was limited to 3 IP because of rain.
• Angels' OF prospect Mike Trout had a double and a homer, reached base 4 times, and is now batting .372 on the season.  Pitching for Trout's Ceder Rapids team was Fabio Martinez, who struck out 12 batters.  Former scout Frankie Piliere of mlb.FanHouse.com has a full scouting report on Martinez.  In the same game, Mariners' SS prospect Nick Franklin hit two homers of his own. 
• Tigers' pitcher Jacob Turner threw 5 1/3 IP in his longest start since returning from the DL.
• A couple of lefties, Jeremy Bleich (NYY) and Jake McGee (TB) had rough outings on Sunday.  Bleich gave up 6 runs in 5 IP, but managed to get a win, while McGee was not as fortunate, taking the loss after surrendering 8 earned runs in only 3 2/3 IP.

Best and Worst from 7/26

BEST

• Ryan Westmorland (BOS) - 2-4, HR, SB, batting .271
• Derrik Gibson (BOS) - 3-6, 2 2B, SB, batting .241
• Tyson Gilles (SEA) - 3-5, HR, batting .342
• Alex Liddi (SEA) - 2-4, HR, batting .351
• Joaquin Arias (TEX) - 3-4, 3B, HR, batting .268
• Casey Crosby (DET) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7 K/1 BB, 2.92 ERA

WORST

• Kevin Mulvey (MIN) - 5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 9 ER, 7 K/3 BB, 4.40 ERA
• Jeremy Bleich (NYY) - 6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 K/3 BB, 6.48 ERA
• Jake McGee (TB) - 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 K/0 BB, 10.80 ERA

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Matt Angle (BAL) - 4-5, 2B, SB, batting .285
• Quintin Berry (PHI) - 2-3, 2B, SB, batting .276
• Mike Montogmery (KC) - 4 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 K/4 BB, 1.93 ERA in High-A