MLB Prospect Watch

Position Battles - Iglesias, Hultzen, Braves

• Jose Iglesias could play short stop in the big leagues right now, but he's not going to make the Red Sox roster this spring, predicts Alex Speier of Baseball America.  The Red Sox may have traded away incumbent short stop Marco Scutaro, but based on what we saw from Iglesias' bat last season, he's not ready to face major league pitching.
• It's a long shot for certain, but that's not stopping Mariners officials from raving about Danny Hultzen so far in camp, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  Hultzen hasn't appeared in a minor league game yet, so his odds of making the Mariners out of spring training are limited, but the Reds did make a similar move with Mike Leake a few years back, so it's not completely unheard of.
• Bill Ballew of Baseball America discusses the major league readiness of the Braves big three pitching prospects, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino and Randall Delgado.  Despite being the most talented of the three, Teheran probably has the least chance of making the team out of spring training because the Braves won't want to use him in a relief role and don't have any available starting rotation spots.  Delgado has already proven his merit in the bullpen last year in the majors, and Vizcaino could grab a bullpen spot as well this March.

Prospect Action - Gomez, Robles, Crosby

• Red Sox C prospect Ryan Lavarnway doubled and homered as part of his Pawtucket team's 4-1 victory, reports WPRI.com.
• Alex Colome picked up his 9th win of the Florida State League season, as the Rays prospect gave up just one run in six innings of work, according to ClawDigest.com.
• Rockies prospect Hector Gomez broke out of his season-long slump on Monday night, blasting two home runs as part of a 4-hit day, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Mariners LHP Mauricio Robles returned to Triple-A after spending the on the DL with elbow problems by tossing six shutout innings, says Mike Curto of The Tacoma News Tribune.
• Casey Crosby turned in an inconsistent outing on Monday, as the Tigers pitching prospect allowed three earned runs in five innings, and striking out five, but walking five in the process and allowing ten hits, notes The Eire Times-News.
• Julio Teheran earned his International League-leading 10th win by tossing five innings and allowing just one unearned run, reports Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com, who also notes that the Braves pitching prospect recorded two hits in the game.

 

Prospect Action - Castellanos, Myers, Martinez, Trout

• Nick Castellanos homered on Tuesday night, his fourth of the season, reports Josh Slagter of The Grand Rapids Press.  Fellow Tigers prospect Casey Crosby started off strong in Erie, facing the minimum through four, but fell apart late, according to Mike Copper of the Erie Times-News.
• Julio Teheran threw seven scoreless innings, notes John Parker of MiLB.com, as the Braves top prospect extended his scoreless streak to 20 innings.
• Pirates pitching prospect Bryan Morris struggled through four innings, giving up nine hits and seven earned runs, reports The Hartford Courant.
• Fellow Royals prospects Wil Myers and Christian Colon each had huge offensive days on Tuesday, as Myers laced three hits and scored four times while Colon reached base safely five times and scored four runs of his own, says John Parker of MiLB.com.
• Dustin Ackley drove in two more runs, reports The Seattle Times.
• Cardinals RHP prospect Carlos Martinez struck out eight batters over six scoreless innings, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• A's prospect Chris Carter blasted two home runs, reports The Sacramento Bee.
• Mike Trout homered and stole a base, giving the Angels OF prospect four straight multi-hit games, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

 

Prospect Action - Lobstein, Teheran, Corbin, Rosenbaum

• Rays prospect Kyle Lobstein faced just one batter over the minimum on Saturday, allowing just one hit in his seven innings of work, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• The Cardinals recently promoted top prospect Shelby Miller to Double-A to give him his first taste of facing advanced hitters, and as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out, Miller was effective his first time out.
• Julio Teheran allowed just one run in six innings of work, as he earned his fifth win in Triple-A, notes David Heck of MiLB.com.  Fellow Braves prospect Arodys Vizcaino earned his first win in Double-A, striking out seven batters over six innings, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Dellin Betances struggled with his command again, notes Josh Norris of The Trentonian, as the Yankees prospect walked four in 5 2/3 innings.
• Robbie Erlin struck out five batters over six innings of work, as the Rangers LHP prospect allowed just an unearned run over that span, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Pat Corbin threw seven more scoreless innings on Saturday, as the Diamondbacks LHP prospect extended his scoreless innings streak to 19 2/3 innings, reports Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Danny Rosenbaum threw his first career shutout on Saturday, as the Nationals prospect went the distance striking out six batters, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

 

Prospect Action - Ackley, Teheran, Kelly

• St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect promoting Joe Kelly took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, reports John Parker of MiLB.com.
• Pirates prospect Brett Lorin took a no-hit bid of his own into the fifth innings, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Julio Teheran struck out six batters in as many innings in his first start back from Atlanta, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com.
• Mariners top prospect Dustin Ackley knocked two more extra-base hits, reports The Seattle Times.
• In other prospect action...
  • Mets SS prospect Wilmer Flores homered and doubled on Tuesday night.
  • Blue Jays C prospect Travis d'Arnaud had two doubles and a home run, raising his batting average to .337 on the season.