MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - 7/3/12

Happy 4th of July!  I hope everyone enjoys their day off, which should be filled with fireworks, picnics, pools, and lots of baseball action.

 

Triple-A

• Danny Hultzen hasn't been good since being promoted to Triple-A, and despite earning his first win on Tuesday, still wasn't sharp, giving up two runs (one earned) but only getting through five innings because of his high pitch count, reports T.J. Cotterill of The [Tacoma] News Tribune.
• Bryan Holaday had a three-hit night, including a two-run double, leading his Tigers prospects to a 4-2 victory, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Double-A

• Keyvius Sampson turned in what has become a rare good start this season for the Padres right-hander, throwing six scoreless innings and giving up just one hit, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Rangers right-hander Barret Loux earned his minor league-leading 12th win of the season, allowing just an unearned run over seven innings of work, reports David Heck of MiLB.com.
• In his first start after missing five weeks with a knee injury, the Mariners kept James Paxton on a 55-pitch limit, but he still managed to throw four shutout innings in the outing, writes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

High-A

• Matt Barnes turned in the worst start of his professional career, as the Red Sox 2011 first-rounder got touched up for six runs in 3 2/3 innings, and taking his second Carolina League loss.
• Marlins left-hander Adam Conley took a no-decision, giving up three runs in five innings while striking out five.

Low-A

• The Royals have been waiting for 2011 third-rounder Bryan Brickhouse to pitch like he did on Tuesday, as the right-hander allowed just an unearned run over six innings of work, says Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.
• Clayton Blackburn was sharp on Tuesday, as the Giants continued his domination of the South Atlantic League, tossing eight innings of one-hit ball while striking out nine, and lowered his ERA to 2.95.
• Noah Snydergaard outpitched J.R. Bradley on Tuesday, as the Blue Jays prospect earned his fifth win of the season by striking out six over five innings to defeat the Diamondbacks prospect, who gave up six runs in five innings of his own.

Short-Season

• Rockies 2010 first-rounder Peter Tago put forth the best start of his brief professional career, striking out five batters in as many innings while allowing just a single run, earning his first career victory.  Jeimer Candelario collected two more hits in the game, and the Cubs prospect is now hitting .352 on the season.

Rookie

• Bubba Starling collected two more hits, giving him a four-game hitting streak and raising his batting average to .333 on the brief season.

 

Prospect Action - 6/12/12

Triple-A

• Travis d'Arnaud can't be too far from Toronto, as the Blue Jays prospect went 4-for-5 with a double and a homer, and is now hitting .343 on the season, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• With the Giants offensive struggles in the infield, games like Nick Noonan had on Tuesday would be a welcome occurance in the majors.  Noonan collected five hits, including two doubles, and raised his batting average to .312 on the season, notes David Heck of MiLB.com.

Double-A

• Even when Deck McGuire keeps his team in the game, he can't get a win, as the former Blue Jays first-rounder allowed three runs in five innings - one of his better starts of the rough season - but still took his eighth loss of the year.
• Brett Oberholtzer outpitched Keyvius Sampson on Tuesday, as the Astros lefty allowed just one run in 7 2/3 innings, striking out eight and earning his fifth win of the season, handing the loss to the Padres righty, who gave up four runs in six innings.

High-A

• Cody Buckel got back to his dominating ways, as the Rangers righty tossed six shutout innings, striking out five.
• Max Stassi and Miles Head both homered to help lead their Stockton teammates to victory.

Low-A

• The A's sent A.J. Cole back to Low-A ball after he posted an 0-7 record and a 7.82 ERA in the California League to start the season, but he's seemed to have turned it around recently, allowing just a run over six innings, notes J.J. Cooper of Baseball America.
• Nationals 2011 first-rounder Alex Meyer threw his first career shutout in a rain-shortened six inning outing in which Meyer struck out five, according to David Heck.

 

Prospect Action - 6/7/12

Triple-A

• Paul Clemens continues to earn victories despite pitching poorly, as the right-hander allowed four runs over five innings and watched his ERA rise to 6.10, but picked up his seventh win of the season.
• Jake Odorizzi struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings to pick up his third victory of Triple-A this season, getting run support from fellow Royals prospect Wil Myers, who hit a grand slam off of the rehabbing Roy Oswalt.

Double-A

• Zack Wheeler continues to dominate Double-A, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com, as the Mets top prospect struck out seven in as many innings, allowing just an unearned run.  Danny Rosenbaum was on the losing end of the anticipated pitcher's duel, as the Nationals lefty fell to 7-2 on the season after giving up four runs (three earned) over seven innings.
• Tigers C James McCann wasn't good in his first taste of Double-A, struggling devensively and on the bases, according to Mike Copper of The Erie Times-News.
• Blue Jays 2010 first-rounder Deck McGuire continues to struggle at the Double-A level, dropping to 2-7 on the season after allowing six runs in five innings.  McGuire now has a 6.83 ERA on the season and has stuck out just 40 batters in 59 1/3 innings, and has yet to finish the seventh inning in any of his 12 starts.
• Taijuan Walker suffered his worst outing of the season, as the Mariners phenom gave up four runs (three earned) while lasting just three innings.  The young right-hander has allowed four runs in back-to-back starts after having not allowed more than two in any of his first nine of the season.
• Barret Loux threw five more shutout innings, advancing to 11-0 on the season, out-pitching Keyvius Sampson, who continues to struggle in Double-A, giving up four runs in six innings to lower his ERA to 6.19.

High-A

• Jacob Petricka threw just three innings thanks to a rain delay, but the White Sox prospect gave up two runs during the short stint, says The Winston-Salem Journal.
• Angels 1B prospect C.J. Cron went 3-for-4 with a home run, notes Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.  It was the 10th of the season for the 2011 first-rounder.
• Cody Buckel pitched well again, but two runs in 5 2/3 innings was too much, as the right-hander dropped to 5-2 on the season.

Low-A

• Adys Portillo couldn't get out of the second inning, as the Padres right-hander allowed five runs in 1-plus innings, but it wasn't all his fault, as only one of the runs was earned, notes Peter Wallner of MLive.com.
• Nick Tropeano earned his fifth win of the season, reports The Lexington Herald-Ledger, as the Astros right-hander struck out six in as many innings.
• Kyle Crick turned in perhaps the strongest start of his young career, as the Giants righty fanned 10 batters over seven innings of shutout baseball, according to Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.  Despite getting hit hard in two of his previous four starts, the 2011 supplemental first-rounder is sporting an ERA of 3.45 this season, and has struck out 61 batters in 47 innings.
• Luke Jackson navigated through a potent Charleston River Dogs lineup to pick up a win, scattering five hits in as many innings, as the Rangers prospect picked up his fifth win of the season, reports The Hickory Daily Record.  Jackson got a home run from catching prospect Kellin Deglan in support of the victory.

 

Prospect Action - 4/23/12

Triple-A

• Will Middlebrooks blasted a three-run homer on Monday, the eighth homer of the season for the Red Sox top prospect, says Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.
• Rays pitching prospect Chris Archer took another loss, falling to 1-3 on the season, after giving up two runs in 5 1/3 innings, but lowering his ERA to 8.00.

Double-A

• Royals prospect Jake Odorizzi bounced back from a rough start to the season by fanning 11 batters on Monday night, says Jim Shonerd of Baseball America.
• Nick Franklin went 3-for-5 while fellow Mariners prospect Francisco Martinez had three hits, including a triple, and three RBI's, according to Chris Wells of The [Tacoma] Tribune.
• Padres prospect Keyvius Sampson took his first loss of the season, despite giving up just two runs in six innings pitched.

High-A

• Cody Buckel struck out eight and gave up just one hit over 6 1/3 innings of work, allowing the Rangers prospect to advance to 2-0 on the season, says David Heck of MiLB.com.
• Andre Rienzo didn't let his hot start fade, as the White Sox prospect turned in another strong start, throwing seven strong innings, allowing just one run and fanning eight, reports Jay Spivey of The Winston-Salem Journal.
• Jonathan Singleton made news on Monday night by stealing home on the back end of a double steal, but the more notable news for the Astros prospect was that he smacked two doubles and is now batting .333 on the season, notes Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Jacob Turner, making a rehab start on the way back to Detroit, threw four scoreless innings without giving up a hit, says Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.

Low-A

• Aaron Westlake went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI's en route to his fellow Tigers prospects to victory, reports Dean Holzwarth of MLive.com.
• Francisco Lindor, the Indians top pick from last year's draft, hit his first home run as a professional.

 

Blogs Track Teams - 4/13/12

• Keyvius Sampson put together a strong start, allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings, says Bill Center of The San Diego Union Tribune, who has a rundown of the entire Padres system from Friday night.
• Shelby Miller was hit hard, allowing four runs in five innings, along with two long balls, notes FutureRedBirds.net, who breaks down the rest of the Cardinals system.
• Orioles-Nation.com breaks down the Birds, including five innings from Parker Bridwell and some run support from Jason Esposito.
• Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com has the Pirates results, including a solid outing by Jameson Taillon, who was finally allowed to go five innings into a game.
• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com recaps the Reds results, including a multi-hit day from Ryan LaMarre.    
• TalkingChop.com discusses the Braves system, including a three-hit game from Andrelton Simmons.
• Offseason acquisition Brad Peacock put together a strong start, says AthleticsFarm.com, who recaps the entire A's system.