MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - 7/13

• Chris Nelson has gone from highly touted prospect within the Rockies' organization to a player labeled as injury-prone on the verge of being a bust, but the 2004 first-round pick.  Finally healthy again, Nelson is back on the Rockies' radar and is having a bounce back season that has seen him improve his patience at the plate, reports Chris Jackson of MLB.com.
• Justin Smoak was undoubtedly the key piece received by the Mariners in return for Cliff Lee.  But given the reports that the Yankees had offered top prospect Jesus Montero, Bryan Smith of FanGraphs.com explains why the Mariners chose Smoak instead.
• Also mentioned among the Lee rumors was Brett Lawrie, who was drafted by Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik when he ran the Brewers' drafts.  The Brewers managed to hold on to their future second baseman who is elevating his prospect status despite being among the youngest players in the Southern League, says Guy Curtright for MLB.com.
• Despite the small sample sizes from the Futures Game, Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times couldn't help but take advantage of a rare chance to see prospects through the Pitch f/x microscope.  Pavlidis begins his analysis with the left-handed pitchers who participated in the game, including Christian Friedrich, Zach Britton, Mike Minor, Alexander Torres, and Phillippe Valiquette.
• Trevor Reckling is back in Double-A after a horrid start in Salt Lake City this season, and the Angels' hope is that being back in a pitchers' park will help the young lefty get back to pitching rather than throwing, reports Todd Traub of MLB.com.
• There are prospects galore on display at minor league all-star games, but Marlins' 3B prospect Matt Dominguez shined the brightest at the Southern League All-Star Game, says Matt Eddy of Baseball America.

Prospect Potent Potables - 4/24

• Adeiny Hechavarria made his first appearance in Toronto Blue Jays extended spring training, reports Chris Girandola of MLB.com, and impressed not only with his play, but also his maturity.
• Justin Smoak discusses his call-up with Drew Davison of MLB.com before his first game, which the Rangers won 5-4.
• Also making his major league debut in that game was OF prospect Brennan Boesch, who was promoted by the Tigers to take Carlos Guillen's place on the 25-man roster, reports Todd WIlls for MLB.com.  Boesch went 2-for-4 as the Tigers' designated hitter.
• Kyle Skipworth is repeating Low-A ball after a horrendous season in 2009, and as Jim Shonerd of Baseball America reports, the Marlins' prospect needs a good season in 2010 to avoid the "bust" label that is beginning to surround his name.

Baseball America Hot Sheet

Baseball America has released their weekly Hot Sheet (which they do every Friday) and there are some of the same names as there were last week.  This week's prospects recognized for their efforts include:

• Lars Anderson
• Simon Castro
• Starlin Castro
• Jarred Cosart
• Wilmer Flores
• Grant Green
• Jay Jackson
• Andrew Lambo
• Jordan Lyles
• Eduardo Nunez
• Jake Odorizzi
• Dennis Raben
• Wilking Rodriguez
• Tony Sanchez
• Jerry Sands
• Justin Smoak
• Stephen Strasburg
• Trayce Thompson
• Josh Vitters

Unfortunately, there has to be a bad part of the list each week, and this week's members are Hector Rondon, Corey Brown, Matt Sweeney and Eric Arnett.

Rangers Promote Smoak

The Texas Rangers have run out of patience with their unproductive first basemen, and have purchased the contract of prospect Justin Smoak, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  Smoak, the 11th overall pick in the 2008 draft, will take the place of Chris Davis in the Rangers' lineup.

A switch-hitter, Smoak will draw the obvious if not unfair comparisons to Mark Teixeira as he takes over first base for the Rangers, but Smoak has displayed many of the same qualities of the former Ranger slugger, including an impressive eye at the plate.  Smoak has walked 96 times in his minor league career versus 99 strike outs.  In his only full season in the minors, Smoak posted a line of .290/.410/.443 splitting time between Double and Triple-A.

Making Moves - 4/19

After a great baseball weekend, we're having an action packed Monday with prospects on the move having a major league impact.

• Reports began to trickle out over the weekend, and fuel was added to the fire when Mike Jacobs was DFA'd, but now we know for sure that Ike Davis has been called up to join the New York Mets.  The report has been tweeted by Brad Como of SNY and confirmed by Peter Botte of the NY Daily News.  Of course, some Mets fans are never happy, while John Harper of the NY Daily News offers some more constructive criticism.
• In Cleveland, the prospect is heading in the other direction.  The Indians have reinstated Russell Branyan from the disabled list, and he will be taking the place of Michael Brantley on the 25-man roster, tweets the Tribe Insider.  The report is confirmed by Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com.  Brantley is hitting just .156 on the year.
• Sticking with the theme of promoting first baseman, Luke Adams of MLB Trade Rumors a the question regarding when the Rangers should promote top hitting prospect Justin Smoak to take over for Chris Davis at first base, and breaks down both sides of the argument.