MLB Prospect Watch

Injury News - Lamb, Lawrie, Scheppers, Rizzo

• John Lamb saw an elbow specialist yesterday, reports the Kansas City Star, and the Royals pitching prospect may be facing Tommy John Surgery, notes Michael Engel of KingsofKaufmann.com.
• Blue Jays top prospect Brett Lawrie will miss a few games after being hit on the hand by a pitch, reports Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.  Lawrie is listed as day-to-day.
• Tanner Scheppers, the Rangers pitching prospect who was sidelined in spring training with decreased velocity due to back problems, is back throwing off a mound again in extended spring training, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• Padres 1B prospect Anthony Rizzo missed last night's game after re-aggravating his bruised left hand, tweets Sarah Trotto of the Arizona Daily Star.

 

Big Day of Cuts - Harper, Rizzo, Pomeranz

Saturday saw a number of teams make significant roster cut downs as all teams approach the March 15th roster cut-down deadline (the last date a team has to assign an injured player to a minor league club - meaning that if a player is still in camp after that date and gets injured, the team can't send him to the minors, which is a risk teams are rarely willing to take for a few extra spring at-bats).  

Among the most notable moves was the Nationals re-assignment of Bryce Harper to Class-A Hagerstown, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  The move itself is not surprising, as it had already been reported that Harper was slated to begin his first full season in the South Atlantic League, but it does bring an end to an impressive two-week stretch from the 18-year-old Harper, who this time next year, could be legitimately competing for a roster spot.

As always, you can keep up-to-date on all the prospects who were in big league camp, and who still remain, on our spring training prospect page, Below is a list of the other prospects who were sent away from big league camp on Saturday:

• The Kansas City Royals re-assigned LHP's Chris Dwyer, John Lamb, and Will Smith to minor league camp, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  None of the three were on the 40-man roster.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned RHP Bryan Morris to Triple-A and re-assigned LHP Rudy Owens to minor league camp, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• The Philadelphia Phillies optioned RHP Justin De Fratus, 2B Harold Garcia, 1B Matt Rizzotti and RHP J.C. Ramirez to Double-A and re-assigned Michael Schwimer to minor league camp, reports David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.  Surviving the cuts for now, however, was reliever Mike Stutes.
• The San Diego Padres optioned RHP Simon Castro to Triple-A and re-assigned 1B Anthony Rizzo and 3B James Darnell to minor league camp, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com.
• The Baltimore Orioles optioned RHP's Brandon Erbe and Chorye Spoone to Triple-A and re-assigned catcher Caleb Joseph to minor league camp, reports Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
• The Cleveland Indians have optioned RHP Corey Kluber to Triple-A and have re-assigned RHP Nick Hagadone, LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Hector Rondon, LHP Kelvin de la Cruz, and RHP Bryce Stowell to minor league camp, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• The Tampa Bay Rays optioned LHP Alex Torres to Triple-A, says RaysProspects.com.
• The Seattle Mariners have optioned 3B Alex Liddi and OF Carlos Peguero to Triple-A and OF Johermyn Chavez to Double-A, reports Larry Stone of The Seattle Times.
• The Boston Red Sox optioned RHP Stolmy Pimentel and SS Oscar Tejada to Double-A, and have re-assigned RHP Alex Wilson, C's Ryan Lavarnway and Tim Federowicz, and OF Che-Hsuan Lin to minor league camp, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Pomeranz, Royals, Elbert

• Drew Pomeranz made it look easy pitching for the Indians in relief on Sunday, striking out three batters in two perfect innings of work, notes Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• John Lamb and Will Smith are impressing people in Royals camp this spring, says Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
• Scott Elbert was held out of game action over the weekend while he works on some mechanical issues by throwing batting practice to Dodgers hitters, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
• Andrew Brackman is trying to prove to the Yankees that he can be a part of their pitching solution, says Caulton Tudor in the Boston Herald.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Pirates, Royals, Kimbrel, Trout

• The Pirates top prospects aren't far enough along to be in spring training just yet, but that didn't stop Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, and Luis Heredia from sneaking over from minor league camp to catch a glimpse of the big leage action, says Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• Spring Training is always a time to see young players who may be a few years away, but the Royals are taking that to a whole new level with eight pitchers in camp who are 22-years-old or younger, including prospects John Lamb (20), Noel Arguelles, Mike Montgomery, and Tim Collins (21), and Nathan Adcock, Danny Duffy and Chris Dwyer (22), reports Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
• Even if he's not the Braves closer on Opening Day, Craig Kimbrel will be at some point this season, a notion it seems everyone but the team is ready to admit, says Paul Newberry of the Associated Press.   But don't expect him to match his ridiculous strike out totals from last season, says Davie O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  After all, no one ever has.
• For all of the tools that scouts rave about when discussing Mike Trout, it's his makeup that has the Angels really excited to have the game's top prospect in camp, notes Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.
• The Rays farm system is so deep that they have some legitimate pitching prospects that get overlooked, says John Sickles of MinorLeagueBall.com, who mentions Nick Barnese, Alex Cobb and Kyle Lobstein among others.
• The Yankees are hoping to see more contact from Kelvin De Leon to go with his massive power, notes George King of Baseball America.

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Royals, Sanchez, Havens

• The Kansas City Royals have extended invites to Spring Training to a number of the top prospects in their stacked farm system, including Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, Danny Duffy, Tim Collins, Chris Dwyer and others, according to Michael Engel of KingsofKauffman.com.  MLB Prospect Watch will have a complete listing of all of the prospects in Spring Training posted on our homepage as more teams begin to announce their invites.
• The St. Louis Cardinals farm system isn't exceptionally deep, but there are a few intriguing prospects, including Eduardo Sanchez, who FutureRedbirds.com breaks down.
• Reese Havens could be a sleeper to contribute to the Mets in 2011, says Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com, but the big caveat is whether or not the 2B prospect can stay healthy for a full season.