MLB Prospect Watch

Bumgarner to Start for Giants Tonight

Madison Bumgarner will make his 2010 major league debut tonight for the San Francisco Giants, reports John Schlegel of MLB.com.  Bumgarner, who made one start in the majors last season, leaves Triple-A with a 7-1 record and a 3.16 ERA.

Bumgarner has been the Giants' top pitching prospect since being selected by the team in the 1st round (10th overall) in 2007 out of high school.  The 20-year-old lefty has watched his strikeout numbers drop over the past 12 months, which last season and early this year could be attributed to a drop in velocity.  Bumgarner's velocity has returned in the past few months, as have the positive results, even if they are without the same frequency of swings and misses.

No news yet on whether or not Bumgarner's promotion is a permanent move or a spot start.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/16

• Jordan Lyles struck out 11 batters in 7 shutout innings of work in a rare relief appearance, reports Dan Tomasino of MLB.com.
• Madison Bumgarner was solid in his first start back from suspension, says Alex Raskin of MLB.com.  Bumgarner could be promoted to San Francisco the next time the Giants need a 5th starter.
• Ivan Nova was his usual consistent self, says Donnie Collins of The Times-Tribune, throwing 8 strong innings.
• Matt Moore gave up just 3 base runners and struck out 9 batters in 6 innings of work Tuesday night.
• A's short stop prospect Grant Green had 4 hits, raising his batting average above .300.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/8

Before we get too excited about this year's new crop of incoming prospects, let's be sure not to forget about the guys we've already been following...

• Fernando Martinez appeared in a rehab game for the Mets' A-ball affiliate in Port St. Lucie on Monday night, playing 5 innings and recording two hits, reports Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com.  Martinez is coming back from a hamstring injury.
• Cory Luebke may be the next in a long list of Padres' draft picks who have battled injuries but have fought through to become major leaguers.  Outings like he had on Monday certainly help, as Luebke tossed 6 scoreless innings, striking out 5, reports Robert Emrich for MLB.com.
• Mark Trumbo led a 14-hit attack with 2 home runs on Monday night, and got help from fellow Angels' prospect Peter Bourjos.
• Desmond Jennings appears to be healthy once again, as demonstrated by his 3 hit - 3 stolen base game.
• Madison Bumgarner hit a bump on his road to San Francisco, giving up 5 ER and 9 hits, before getting tossed in the 7th inning.
• Arodys Vizcaino stayed hot, striking out 7 batters over 5 innings and lowering his ERA on the season to 2.34.  The Braves will have a hard time keeping him in the Sally League much longer.

Notable Prospect Performances - 5/29

• Madison Bumgarner tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings Friday night to move to 4-1 on the season and further cement his future spot in the Giants' rotation.
• Things continue to be a mess for Phillippe Aumont as he surrendered 6 runs without getting out of the 5th inning on Friday, increasing his ERA to 6.85 as a Phillie.
• Indians' pitching prospect Alex White made his second consecutive quality start as a Double-A pitcher, but this time was on the losing end despite giving up only one earned run over 6 innings.  White has made two strong starts, but has only struck out 4 batters in 13 innings since his promotion.
• Koby Clemens continues to defy opinion, this time blasting two home runs as part of a 4-for-4 performance for the Astros' Double-A affiliate in Corpus Christi.
• Rays' prospect Jake McGee turned in his best performance of what has turned out to be a rough comeback season from Tommy John surgery.  On Friday night, McGee struck out 11 batters over 7 scoreless innings, walking only 1 and picking up his first win of 2010.
• It seems like every day there's another dominant pitching performance to report on by a Braves' prospect.  Today it's Arodys Vizcaino's turn to show off, as he did Friday night with a 8-inning scoreless performance, striking out 7.

Notable Prospect Performances - 5/24

There was a lot of action over the weekend.  Some of it was good, some not so much...

• Alex White made his Double-A debut and the Indians have to be pleased with their decision to make him a starter.
• It was a good news/bad news weekend for the Phillies who got a strong start out of Brody Colvin but another bad performance from Phillippe Aumont, complete with a new arm slot and a drop in velocity.
• The D-Backs saw two of their first round picks from last year homer in the same game as both Matt Davidson and Bobby Borchering both went yard for South Bend.  The only problem is that both are third baseman, so one they have to take turns DHing while the other plays the field.
• The Reds have to hope that Todd Frazier's two-home run outburst is a sign of him coming out of his season-long funk.
• Dan Hudson was lights out, striking out 11 batters over 8 scoreless innings, which is a positive sign for a pitcher surprisingly struggling despite almost making the White Sox pitching staff out of Spring Training.
• Jordan Lyles managed to settle down despite giving up a four spot in the first inning and still was able to give his team six innings of work.  This was his first real speed bump in Double-A and the Astros will be interested to see how the 19-year-old responds in his next start.
• Madison Bumgarner's up-and-down season continued on Sunday, and this time it was all in one start.  The Giants' prospect managed to give up just one unearned run over 6 2/3 innings, despite allowing 12 hits.