MLB Prospect Watch

Notable Prospect Performances - 7/20

• The Royals may not have much power in their big league lineup, but they have a ton down on the farm as evidenced by Kila Ka'aihue's two homer night and Eric Hosmer's third in three Double-A games, reports RoyalsProspects.com.
• Yohan Flande threw seven strong innings, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Danny Espinosa had a monster night on Monday, going 5-for-5 with 2 home runs.  The Nationals' SS prospect is hitting .316 in July and has displayed good power for an up-the-middle bat, but needs to improve his plate discipline.
• Alex White struck out 7 batters in as many innings, and continues to reward the Indians for having faith in his ability to perform like a first round pick.
• A prospect-laden game between the Scranton/Wilkes-Berre Yankees and the Gwinnett Braves showed why the Yankees are reluctant to trade Jesus Montero, why the Braves were comfortable pushing Freddie Freeman to Triple-A this year, and why Mike Minor was more than just a "safe" pick last year.
• Yonder Alonso stayed red-hot with a 4-for-5 night and has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games.  Unfortunately, the Reds still have no where to put him.
• Oh, and in case we hadn't said it in a while, Mike Trout is still really, really good, and his recent promotion to the California League is only reaffirming that.

Prospect Potent Potables - 5/5

Today's links know the real meaning behind Cinco de Mayo, but are perfectly OK with it being a good excuse to have a special on Dos Equis...

• Some of the names we expected to heat up are doing just that, reports J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, including Bobby Borchering, Jose Tabata, and Dan Hudson, to name a few.
• For two high school outfielders drafted in back-to-back picks by the same team, Angels' prospects Mike Trout and Randal Grichuk couldn't be more different in terms of their games, writes Jeff Johnson of the Eastern Iowa Gazette.
• We're familiar with the pitching depth at the top of the Rays' farm system, but it's time we get to know some of the impressive arms they have in the low minors like Alex Colome, Kyle Lobstein, and Wilking Rodriguez, says Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
• Starlin Castro has moved quickly through the Cubs' system and is in Double-A as a 20-year-old this season, but even that may not be enough to slow him down, according to Guy Curtright of MLB.com.  Castro is batting .356 and playing solid defense so far this season.
• Dee Gordon is in the discussion with Castro for top shortstop prospects in all of baseball, and as Jared Massey of LADodgertalk.com breaks down, what Gordon lacks in experience he makes up for in pure talent.
• The Royals have finally promoted Kila Ka'aihue to the majors, but as Sem Mellinger of the Kansas City Star points out, how is he going to get any at-bats?

Best and Worst from 7/8

BEST

• Kila Ka'aihue (KC) - 2-4, 2B, HR, batting .268
• Desmond Jennings (TB) - 3-5, 3B, HR, 2 SB, batting .315
• Chris Tillman (BAL) - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 6 K/0 BB, 2.50 ERA
• Andrew Carpenter (PHI) - 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 9 K/1 BB, 2.85 ERA
• Luke Hughes (MIN) - 4-4, 3 2B, batting .455 in Double-A

WORST

• Billy Buckner (ARI) - 5 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 2 K/6 BB, 4.81 ERA
• Bryan Price (BOS) - 4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K/1 BB, 7.18 ERA

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Juan Duran (CIN) - 2-4, 2 2B, batting .152
• Anthony Hewitt (PHI) - 3-4, 3B, batting .222
• Junichi Tazawa (BOS) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K/0 BB, 2.79 ERA
• Madison Bumgarner (SF) - 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 K/1 BB, 1.74 ERA

Hawaiian Winter League Update

Honolulu Sharks
• Philadelphia Phillies OF prospect Dominic Brown, who just turned 21-years old, is hitting everything in sight in Hawaii to the tune of .435/.519/.609.
• The New York Mets may have found a gem in the 13th round of the 2008 draft in SP Scott Shaw, who earned himself a trip to Hawaii this winter with a strong showing in the New-York Penn League, and he’s getting his money’s worth in Honolulu. Shaw is still far from the majors and has yet to pitch in a full-season league, but that’s a good start towards getting some return on investment for a 13th round pick.

North Shore Honu
• If Padres pitcher Jake Peavy decides to include the Boston Red Sox among his teams of acceptable trade destinations, consider Red Sox OF prospect Ryan Kalish on their radar as one of the possible returning players. Kalish appears to be using his time on the island to fine-tune his game, as he has gone 10 for 10 in stolen bases and has increased his walk rate. If the Padres believe his line drive power will develop into hitting homeruns, then his power/speed game could play well in PetCo Park, but for the player Kalish is right now, his game plays better in Fenway where those line drives will bang off the Green Monster.
• If Kalish is working on his game, then Oakland A’s 1B prospect Chris Carter appears to be taking the opposite approach. Carter has always had a reputation of being an all or nothing hitter, but he seems to be taking that to a new level on the North Shore, and while in Hawaii, it has been less all and more nothing. He is still striking out at a rate of over 1 per game (18 K’s in 16 games), but has only 3 homeruns and 3 doubles to show for it.

Waikiki Beach Boys
• The Beach Boys appear to be the high publicity team of the Hawaiian Winter League, featuring well-known names like Buster Posey, Yonder Alonso, Todd Frazier and Andrew Brackman.
• Brackman may be a bigger (no pun intended) name in the New York Yankees organization, but so far more results have come from the top pick the Yankees were able to sign out of their 2008 draft class, supplemental 1st rounder Jeremy Bleich. Bleich is showing why the Yankees took him so high despite missing most of his collegiate season with an injury. He barely pitched during the regular season, so this is the first chance for the Yankees to see what they are working with for the future.
• The Chicago Cubs were probably hoping to see a version of 2007 3rd round pick 2B prospect Tony Thomas, that they saw last year than the one that displayed mixed results in his first full season this year in the Florida State League, where he finished 7th in the league in doubles, but also 9th in strikeouts. He showed a lack of plate discipline against more advanced pitching that had not been there in short-season ball, and he stole bases at a much less successful rate, and those struggles have carried over to Waikiki.

West Oahu Cane Fires
• Milwaukee Brewers 2008 3rd round pick, OF Logan Schafer, has shown better plate discipline while in Hawaii, having drawn 8 walks in 14 games after drawing the same amount in 43 Sally League games. Unfortunately for the Brewers, he is not hitting along with it.