MLB Prospect Watch

Links: Lots of Braves News

On a busy day for the Atlanta Braves, which saw them release a 300-game winner, here are some links to keep you up to speed:

• Part of the reason for the surprising release of Tom Glavine may have been to save some money for Nate McLouth.  In order to get the Pirates center fielder, the Braves were forced to give up Charlie Morton and two prospects (which were the centerpiece of the deal), pitcher Jeff Locke and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez.  David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution has all the details.  Locke is a solid but a superstar pitching prospect in the same fashion that McLouth is a solid but not a superstar outfielder.  Hernandez was the other half of the return for the Braves in the deal in which they sent Edgar Renteria to the Detroit Tigers and also received Jair Jurrjens.  In the end, the Braves have to be happy they received a player like McLouth (who automatically becomes their best hitting outfielder and third best hitter behind Chipper Jones and Brian McCann) without giving up either of their top two pitching prospects (Tommy Hanson or Kris Medlen) or their top hitting prospect (Jason Heyward).  That alone makes it a slight victory for the Braves, even though the Pirates will enjoy Hernandez and probably Locke as well.
• Speaking of Hanson, someone had to be called up to start right?  Well not necessarily.  Even though Glavine was released, he was not yet penciled in to make any starts.  It fact, it was just yesterday that we reported that Kris Medlen would be making Saturday's start for the Braves against the Milwaukee Brewers.  Now, David O'Brien is reporting that Hanson will in fact be making that start.  Kris Medlen will move to the bullpen for the time being.
• For the Pirates, now that McLouth is out of the way in center field, look soon for a call up of their top prospect Andrew McCutchen to fill the void.

Links: Prospects Sticking in Majors?

• Fernando Martinez was initially called up to the New York Mets as an injury fill-in, but as Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News reports, that might also be what keeps him there for a while.
• Sometimes one good start is all it takes to earn another one.  That seems to be the case for the Atlanta Braves and prospect Kris Medlen, who was given one more chance this past weekend after two poor starts to open his major league career.  Medlen responded with his first career win against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Medlen earned himself at least one more start, this one coming Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
• The Oakland A's have shown no fear running rookie starting pitchers out to the mound this year, and, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Tuesday was no different.  Vin Mazzaro got a win in his first career start, and if the trend continues in Oakland, there is no reason to think he won't be back on the bump in 5 days.

Links: Medlen, Beckham, F-Mart

• Despite a couple of shaky performances and bouts with his typically solid control, Atlanta Braves rookie pitcher Kris Medlen will still get another big league start, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Braves' manager Bobby Cox verified that Medlen will start on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• The Chicago White Sox have promoted their top pick from 2008, middle-infield prospect Gordon Beckham, to Triple-A, reports both Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times and Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The White Sox offensive problems in the middle of the diamond and the top of the order have been well documented, and the South Side appears to be putting their hope in the hands of Beckham.
• Fernando Martinez, the New York Mets' top prospect who is filling in for  a disabeled Ryan Church, found out the hard way how fickle the Mets' faithful can be, after he was booed for not running out an infield pop-up, reports Michael Obernauer of the New York Daily News.  The pop-up, of course, fell to the ground and Martinez was thrown out at first, allowing the Baseball Gods to complete their lesson.

Links: Swarzak, Zavada, Medlen

• The Minnesota Twins have produced what appears to be another solid big league arm out of their farm system, as Anthony Swarzak threw seven shutout innings in his big league debut, reports Joe Christensen of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
• Probably known better for his mustache than his pitching, Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Clay Zavada is off to a nice start in his big league career, notes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
• Despite his surprising lack of command during his big league debut, it appears that Atlanta Braves rookie pitcher Kris Medlen will get another start, this time pitching against the San Francisco Giants this Tuesday, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The move is not yet definite.

Links: Medlen, Ramirez, Jeffress, Detwiler

• Kris Medlen is slated to start tonight for the Atlanta Braves, but as David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution notes, this wasn't what most people expected.
• Called up by the Detroit Tigers to take the place of Magglio Ordonez, Wilkin Ramirez homered in his first major league game, reports John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
• Jeremy Jeffress, the top pitching prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, changed levels yesterday, but as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal notes, he's moving the wrong way.
• Ross Detwiler still doesn't have a perminant home in the Washington Nationals rotation, but as Chico Harlan of the Washington Post tells us, he pitched well enough to get at least one more start, this Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.