MLB Prospect Watch

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/12

Let's take a look at some of the best and worst performances from the guys who are allowed to use their hands...

• A pair of Angels' pitching prospects shined on Friday night, as Tyler Chatwood won his 7th straight California League game, says Daren Smith of MLB.com, and Garrett Richards allowed just one hit over 6 innings of work, reports John Parker for MLB.com.
• Orioles' 1B prospect Brandon Snyder was 2-for-3 with a homerun and two stolen bases while Zach Britton, the team's best pitching prospect still in the minors, allowed just one run in 6 innings, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.84, reports Dean Jones, Jr. of the Baltimore Sun.
• Kyle Gibson has now had two rough starts in a row, after allowing 5 ER in 5 IP on Friday night.
• Lonnie Chisenhall has been hot lately, homering in his second straight game and in three of his last four.
• Mike Moustakas hit his 14th homerun of the season in game 1 of Friday's double-header, but it is his only hit in his past 4 games.  He's still batting .345 on the season, however.
• After a hot start to the season, Padres' pitching prospect Wynn Pelzer has struggled with his command of late, walking 12 batters in his past two starts, including 5 on Friday night.
• Grant Green has been proving his 1st round worth lately, blasting his 4th home run of the season on Friday, and batting .442 over his last 10 games.

Prospect Hot Sheet

Baseball America once again has released their weekly prospect hot sheet, a breakdown of the past week's hottest prospects.  This week's list includes:

• Pedro Alvarez
• Chris Archer
• Brandon Belt
• Eric Berger
• Carlos Carrasco
• Lonnie Chisenhall
• Allen Craig
• Randall Delgado
• Tyler Flowers
• Todd Frazier
• Brad Hand
• Eric Hosmer
• Dan Hudson
• Brett Jackson
• Michael Kirkman
• Alex Liddi
• Wil Myers
• Jonathan Singleton
• John Tolisano
• Arodys Vizcaino

And of course, the flailing foursome this week, which includes Aroldis Chapman, Beau Mills, Phillippe Aumont, and Jefry Marte.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/9

Thank you, Stephen Strasburg, for reminding us again how much fun baseball can be.  You should probably, however, apologize to Mike Stanton for completely overshadowing his 3-hit debut.

In other action...

• It was a big night for Indians' prospects, as Carlos Santana hit his 12 home run of the season and Lonnie Chisenhall homered for Double-A Akron in support of Alex White, who gave up only one hit over six innings, but walked five.
• Brandon Erbe had another rough outing, reports Dean Jones, Jr. of the Baltimore Sun, but there's some good offensive news for the O's from the game, as Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell each had two hits and an RBI.
• Mike Minor has been racking up major strikeout numbers, but he's also had a couple of clunkers tossed in, like the 7 ER's he gave up Tuesday night.
• Yesterday made back-to-back 3-hit nights for Desmond Jennings.  When he gets hot, look out.
• There were some impressive strikeout totals recorded in places other than Washington on Tuesday night, including those by Dan Hudson, who punched out 10 over 7 IP, Brody Colvin who K'd 8 in 7 IP, and Chad James, who set down 9 batters in 5 innings of work.

Making Moves - 5/28

• Arizona Diamondbacks' top prospect Jarrod Parker is back on the mound on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.  Parker had surgery last October and is just beginning to throw.
• Also on the long road back from injury is Jared Mitchell, but the White Sox' prospect is ahead of schedule, says Jeff Buchanan of Future Sox.com.
• Jason Castro should be in Houston at some point this season, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
• Mike Stanton is coming, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, whether the Marlins' outfielders are ready or not.  Joe Frisaro of MLB.com goes over the Marlins' options for getting everyone enough at-bats.
• Orioles' prospect Kieron Pope is back in action after recovering from a broken leg, writes Noah Rosenstein of MLB.com.
• Jack Moore of FanGraphs.com makes the latest case for Buster Posey's promotion to San Francisco.
• The Cubs have put Andrew Cashner in their Triple-A bullpen in order to get him ready for a relief role in the majors later in the season, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times adds his input as well.  The Cubs made a similar move with fellow prospect Jay Jackson earlier this season, and either or both could be at Wrigley this year.
• Basebal America has their weekly transaction report, which includes a few moves that slipped under the radar, including:
• • Lonnie Chisenhall (CLE) to the 7-day DL (shoulder)
  • Zack Wheeler (SF) to the 7-day DL (fingernail...seriously)
  • Zach Braddock (MIL) added to the 40-man roster and could be in line for a call up

Catching Up on Prospect News

This is real simple.  Just the meat and potatoes of what you need to know.

• Kyle Gibson has been great so far, and Bryan Smith of Fan Graphs explains why.
• Matt Hagen of Hardball Times has a brief update on a random group of prospects including:
• • Brett Lawrie
  • Jaff Decker
  • Lars Anderson
  • Casey Kelly
  • Jordan Lyles
  • Jiovanni Mier
  • Lonnie Chisenhall
• Shelby Miller showed off his first-round arm en route to his first win.
• Ben Badler of Baseball America updates us on some surprisingly good performances from prospects, including L.J. Hoes, Devin Mesoraco, and Koby Clemens.
• Anderson may be the 1B of the future in Boston, but Anthony Rizzo is nipping on his heels, says Michael SIlverman of the Boston Herald.
• It seems like a long time ago that Tim Alderson was one of the highest rated pitching prospects in the minors, but as Tim WIlliams of BuccoFans.com points out, he's certainly not any more.
• Cuban defector and new Blue Jay prospect Adeiny Hechavarria made his professional debut Friday with a 1-5 effort at the plate.
• Oft-injured Mets' prospect Fernando Martinez is on the DL again, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.  This time it's a hamstring strain.
• If Jeremy Hellickson was in any other organization, he'd already be in the majors.  The Rays just don't need him, but it's hard to ignore what he's doing in Triple-A.
• Carlos Santana continues to rake.
• The Braves continue to move their prospects along, and Julio Teheran is the latest promotion as he heads to High-A Myrtle Beach, reports TalkingChop.com.