MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - Walker, Odorizzi, Parker

• Taijuan Walker turned in his most dominating performance as a professional, as the Mariners RHP prospect fanned 11 batters over six innings of shutout ball, reports John Parker of MiLB.com.
• Catching prospect Gary Sanchez blasted a home run to help ignite his fellow Yankee prospects to victory, says Corbin Ensminger of The Post and Courier.
• Jake Odorizzi battled himself in his first Double-A start, but the Royals prospect gave his team a chance to win, and earned his first victory at his new level, notes Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Marlins 3B prospect Matt Dominguez hit a walk-off homer on Thrusday night, reports Bob Fortus of the Times-Picayune.
• Jarrod Parker threw five scoreless innings as the Diamondbacks top prospect picked up the victory, according to Daniel Paulling of The Birmingham News.  Marc Krauss provided Parker with all the offense he would need, driving in three runs on the night.

 

 

Prospect Action - Miller, D-Backs, Schoop, Foltynewicz

• In his first start of the 2011 season, Dodgers pitching prospect Aaron Miller struck out nine batters in six innings of work, reports Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Phillies prospect Brody Colvin threw six innings and gave up just one earned run, but didn't factor into the decision in what turned into a 23-inning affair, reports Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Press.
• Also on the mound for the Phillies farm system was Jesse Biddle, who gave up three runs over five innings of work, says Joe Berkery of Philly.com.
• Orioles prospect Jonathan Schoop recorded the first 4-RBI night of his career, reports theshorebirds.com.
• In other prospect action...
  • Diamondbacks prospects had a big night in Visalia, as Matt Davidson and Bobby Borchering each knocked three doubles, and Chris Owings hit his 5th home run of the season.
  • Gary Brown knocked two doubles and stole two bases, and Brandon Crawford added a double and scored two runs in support of fellow Giants prospect Zack Wheeler, who struggled on the mound on Monday, giving up giving up four earned runs in four innings, and walking six batters in the process.
  • Both Trey McNutt and Wade Miley struggled facing off against one another, as the Cubs prospect McNutt gave up a home run to Diamondbacks OF prospect Marc Krauss, two of his four runs allowed, while Miley allowed four runs of his own.
  • Astros prospect Mike Foltynewicz earned his second win of the season, giving up just one earned run over seven innings of work.

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Orioles, Havens, Liddi

The Orioles system has been depleted recently thanks to graduations to the majors, but there are still some intriguing names in their system and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has an update on how their top ten is performing so far this season.

Reese Havens has yet to play this season while recovering from off-season rib surgery, but Toby Hyde of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com reports that Havens is at the Mets spring traning facility in Port St. Lucie where he is taking ground balls but has yet to swing a bat.

John Sickles of MinorLeagueBlog.com checks in with updates on some specific prospects, including Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Marc Krauss, Alex Liddi, and Matt Moore.

 

Winter League Recap - Oct. 29-30

Friday, October 29th

 

Arizona Fall League

• Dustin Ackley continues to be an on-base machine out of the 3-hole for the Javelinas, reaching base three more times and helping propel his team to an 11-4 victory.
• Brad Holt hit his first speed bump in what had been a thus far successful attempt to redeem himself after what many, including Steve Popper of Baseball America, are calling a lost season for the Mets right-hander.  Giants prospects Brandon Belt and Charlie Culberson each had two hits in the game and Diamondbacks prospect Marc Krauss hit his second AFL home run.
• Mike Montgomery put together five strong innings and got enough run support to earn the win, despite fellow Royals pitching prospect Danny Duffy giving three of those runs back in 1 2/3 innings of relief work.  Alex Cobb, the Rays righty who had been among the best pitchers thus far in the AFL, got tagged for six earned runs in just three innings of work to take the loss.

 

Venezuelan Winter League

• Mark Trumbo continues to secure his place in the heart of the Navegantes order, although his 1-for-3 day at the plate wasn't nearly enough to overcome the 18 runs surrendered by his team's pitching.

 

Dominican Winter League

• Josh Reddick and Francisco Peguero combined to go 0-for-7 as their Gigantes fell 4-3.

 

Puerto Rican Winter League

• Dee Gordon flashed his all-around game, going 4-for-5 at the plate with a triple, while also scoring three runs and stealing two bases, leading his Gigantes de Carolina team to an 11-10 victory.

 

Saturday, October 30th

 

Arizona Fall League

• Kyle Skipworth hit a pair of home runs to lead his Desert Dogs team to a 12-6 victory, reports Ashley Marshall of MLB.com.  Opposing catcher Tony Sanchez of the Pirates also homered in the game.
• Chance Ruffin, drafted by the Tigers just this year, recorded his third save for the Rafters, who took advantage of another rough outing by Casey Kelly, whose fall league ERA now sits at 6.75.
• In a game that featured 35 combined hits and 22 combined runs, the star was undoubtedly Bryce Harper, who homered in the second inning en route to a 3-for-5 day that saw him come up just a triple short of the cycle.  Once again, the ultra-aggressive Harper did his damage on the first pitch of the at-bat, says Robert Emrich of MLB.com.

 

Venezuelan Winter League

• Alex Liddi wasn't spared from a rough offensive day all around for the Cardenales, as the Mariners prospect went 0-for-4 with two strike outs in his team's 3-0 loss.
• Freddy Galvis is doing little to shed his all-glove, no-hit reputation, as another 0-fer day dropped his VWL batting average to .139.

 

Dominican Winter League

• Phillies prospect Yohan Flande took the loss for the Toros del Este as he surrendered four earned runs in three innings of work.  Peguero hit a home run for the Tigres in the victory.

 

Sunday, October 31st

 

Venezuelan Winter League

• Wilson Ramos picked a good day to hit for his first VWL game, as the Nationals catching prospect went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, as his Tigres de Arague bashed their way to a 20-15 victory.

 

AFL Weekend Wrap Up - Oct 22-23

Friday, October 22nd

• A balanced Saguaros attack posted 13 hits en route to a 6-2 victory, led by the second AFL home run by White Sox prospect Eduardo Escobar.
• Johnny Giavotella led the Rafters to a 7-6 victory with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including a double and a home run, and as Danny Wild of MLB.com reports, also took over the AFL batting lead.
• Marc Krauss drove in seven of the Scorpions 12 runs, including his first professional grand slam, according to Ashley Marshall of MLB.com.

Saturday, October 23rd

• Bryce Harper's second game in the AFL included two singles and his first strike out, as his Scorpions took down the Desert Dogs, 6 to 1.
• Alex Cobb continued to pitch scoreless baseball, but his effort was wasted by the Saguaros bullpen, as they lost to the Javelinas 7 to 2.
• Mike Montgomery got shelled, giving up five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched, but on the other side, Brad Holt led his Solar Sox to victory with three more scoreless innings of work.