MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - Lueke, Gilmartin, Alonso

• The Rays added hard-throwing right-hander Josh Lueke from the Mariners in exchange for catcher John Jaso, reports Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times.
• Sean Gilmartin had a long season, pitching in college, the minors and the Arizona Fall League, but as David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out, it could lead to a quick path to Atlanta.
• The Reds have not hid the fact that they are shopping 1B prospect Yonder Alonso around for pitching help, and Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com wonders whether the intra-division Buccos would be a good fit.

Making Moves - Stutes, Valaika, Lawrie, Mariners

• With temporary closer Jose Contrares headed to the DL, the Phillies have called up reliever Mike Stutes, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Stutes will not close for the Phillies, but the 24-year-old righty who almost made the team out of spring training will joined what has become a depleted bullpen in which late innings are now up for grabs.
• The Reds have promoted INF prospect Chris Valaika to the majors to take the injured Scott Rolen's place on the 25-man roster, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
• Despite a rash of injuries at the big league level, the Blue Jays will not be promoting 3B prospect Brett Lawrie to fill any of their current vacancies, says Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
• The Seattle Mariners have sent down reliever Josh Lueke and OF Carlos Peguero, reports Larry Stone of The Seattle Times.  Lueke has struggled at the big league level, and Peguero was only in Seattle temporarily to fill in for Justin Smoak while Smoak was away on bereavement leave.  Replacing Lueke in the Mariners bullpen, however, will be fellow prospect Dan Cortes.

 

Prospect Performances - Pineda, Harper, Teheran, Britton

• It was a good day to hit for White Sox and Indians prospects, as Stefan Gartrell homered and had an RBI single and Jared Mitchell had an RBI single of his own in the game, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.  For the Indians, second base prospect Cord Phelps drove in a run, and Nick Weglarz hit a two-run bomb.
• Michael Pineda gave up just a hit and a walk in two scoreless of innings of work, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  Josh Lueke also threw two shutout innings for the Mariners and third base prospect Alex Liddi went 1-for-2 in the contest.
• Bryce Harper went 2-for-2 with two RBI's in his best game yet this spring for the Nationals, despite some heckling from one loud fan, says Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  Jiovanni Mier went 2-for-2 for the Astros in the game, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com.
• Jerry Sands homered on Monday and continues to make his case for a promotion to Los Angeles sooner rather than later, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Julio Teheran threw a scoreless inning in his first appearance for the Braves this spring, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.  Also appearing for the Braves was fellow prospect Randall Delgado, who threw a perfect ninth, notes Josh Jackson of MiLB.com, while the Marlins saw prospect Tom Koehler blow a save in the ninth but earn the win in extras.  
• Mark Trumbo continued his quest for an Angles roster spot on Monday with a 4-for-4 performance that included his third home run of the spring, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Zach Britton threw three scoreless innings for the Orioles on Monday, says Emrich.

Prospects scheduled to make pitching appearances today are Rubby de la Rosa (LAD), Garrett Richards (LAA), and Alex White (CLE).

 

Prospect Action - Mariners, Turner, Royals

• The Mariners used a trio of pitching prospects to beat the Rangers on Tuesday, as Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke, and Dan Cortes all appeared in the game, reports Greg Johns of MLB.com.
• Jacob Turner was impressive in his first appearance for the Tigers against major leaguers this spring, retiring his final eight batters faced, notes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
• Bryce Harper got his first spring hit, an opposite-field single to left, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
• The Royals-Padres game was full of prospect action, as Aaron Crow, Mike Montgomery and Jeremy Jeffress all pitched for the Royals, and Simon Castro threw for the Padres.  Mike Moustaks drove in the go-ahead run for Kansas City with an eighth inning single, reports Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
• Allen Craig homered, this time appearing in the game at first base for the Cardinals, notes Rick Hummell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as did Yonder Alonso for the Reds, who hit a two-run blast.

 

 

Spring Training Battles - Lueke, Gee, Brown

• Josh Lueke is trying to put his past behind him and has a change to grab a spot in the Mariners bullpen this spring, says Greg Johns of MLB.com.
• The makeup of the Mets rotation hinges on Dillon Gee, according to Mike Silva of NY Baseball Digest, who lists the rookie right-hander as the wild card on the Mets' staff.
• The concensous is that the Phillies right field job is Domonic Brown's to lose, but manager Charlie Manuel said that regardless of who the job belongs to, brown is likely to see around 350-400 at-bats this season, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.