MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - Harper, Kipnis, Machado

• Bryce Harper homered for the third time in four games, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com, as the Nationals prospect is beginning to heat up at the plate.
• Koby Clemens hit two home runs on Tuesday, giving the Astros prospect five on the season, according to Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Indians 2B prospect Jason Kipnis hit his first home run of the year, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• Rockies OF prospect Charlie Blackmon slugged two home runs on Wednesday night, notes David Heck of MiLB.com.
• Darren Ford, recently called up to the majors by the San Francisco Giants, won a game solely with his legs on Tuesday night, says Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Manny Machado homered for the second straight game, reports Danny Wild of MiLB.com, and the Orioles top prospect is now batting .303 on the season.
• Jarek Cunningham homered as part of a 10-run first inning on Wednesday, and the Pirates prospect now leads the Florida State League with six homers, notes John Parker of MiLB.com.

 

Trout, Chisenhall, Turner Among Victims on Roster Cutdown Day

• The Pirates sent ten players away from major league camp on Monday, including prospects Daniel Moskos and Gorkys Hernandez who were optioned to Triple-A, prospect Jeff Locke who was optioned to Double-A, and Andrew Lambo and Chase D'Arnaud who were not on the 40-man roster and were re-assigned to minor league camp, but both of whom will also begin the season in Triple-A, according to Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com.
• The Angels made a round of cuts on Monday that included top prospect Mike Trout and pitchers Trevor Reckling and Loek Van Mil, reports Owen Perkins of MLB.com.
• Greg Halman was optioned to Triple-A by the Mariners on Monday, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.
• The Royals optioned both second base prospect Jeff Bianchi and outfield prospect Derrick Robinson to Double-A, says Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
• The Indians re-assigned Lonnie Chisenhall, Alex White, and Jason Kipnis to minor league camp, as well as optioned Nick Weglarz and Zach McAllister to Triple-A, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• The Astros re-assigned Koby Clemens, Jiovanni Mier, Doug Arguello, Jon Gaston and J.D. Martinez, to minor league camp on Monday, says Farmstros.com.
• The Tigers have re-assigned catchers Patrick Leyland and Bryan Holaday to minor league camp, and have optioned Cale Iorg, Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner to Double-A, says DetroitTigerTales.com.
• The Orioles optioned first base prospect Joe Mahoney to Triple-A, says Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Collmenter, Clemens, Nelson

• Josh Collmenter is having success with a unique delivery, brought on by an even stranger story, notes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
• Charlie Furbush continues to turn heads, and now he's doing it in Tigers camp, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com, where young prospects like Nick Castellanos are getting a chance to fill in as well.
• Koby Clemens has a fan in former Astros great Jeff Bagwell, says Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle.
• Chris Nelson is in Rockies camp attempting to show his defensive skills all over the infield, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com.

 

 

Position Battles - Oliver, Scheppers, Teheran and more

• The Detroit Tigers rotation is all but set entering Spring Training, so Andy Oliver will likely start the season back in Triple-A, says John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press, but that doesn't mean we won't see him in the majors at some point this season.
• Tanner Scheppers received a non-roster invite to Texas Rangers camp, where they will continue to stretch him out as a starting pitcher, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, who also adds the stipulation that Scheppers could be used as bullpen help should the Rangers feel they have the need.
• Julio Teheran received his first big-league camp invite this year as well, but has virtually no chance of making the club this spring as the Braves will be very patient with their top pitching prospect, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
• Lucas Duda is competing for a spot on the Mets major league roster, but according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, Duda is destined for Triple-A where he will split time between first base and the outfield.
• White Sox GM Ken Williams sees pitching prospect Chris Sale in the team's bullpen this season due to need, but is having prepare as a starter nonetheless, says Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
• Despite being invited to Astros camp, Koby Clemens has been told he'll likely start the season in Triple-A, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
• The Orioles plan to develop Wynn Pelzer as a reliever, says Roch Kubatko for Baseball America.

 

 

Spring Training Battles - Belt, Arencibia, Brown, Astros, Indians

• Yesterday, we discussed the buzz surrounding top prospect Brandon Belt in Giants camp, but today we have some more details of Belt's chances of making the team this spring.  According to GM Brian Sabean, Belt will head back to the minors unless he wins a starting job, reports Chris Haft of MLB.com.  Essentially, the Giants don't want to stunt Belt's development by trapping him in a part-time role, so if he can't crack the starting lineup, he'll head back to Triple-A until he can.  Considering the team's handling of Buster Posey last season, it's reasonable to think that Belt will be heading back to Triple-A until June unless he has an incredible spring.
• J.P. Arencibia enters Spring Training with the Toronto Blue Jays as the favorite to take over the starting catcher duties, according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
• The more we hear from Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, the further it sounds like Domonic Brown is from being the team's starting right fielder on Opening Day, notes Jim Salisbury for Baseball America.
• Joining Jordan Lyles in Houston Astros Spring Training will be J.D. Martinez, Koby Clemens, Jiovanni Mier, and others, reports Brian Mctaggart of MLB.com.
• The Cleveland Indians announced their non-roster invitees today as well, with big prospect names such as Alex White, Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Drew Pomeranz among the notables, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.