MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - 6/26

I know us baseball fans cringe at sharing time during our season with soccer (must be something about all those youth soccer leagues stealing kids away from little league), but it's tough to argue with a good reason to head to a bar on a Saturday afternoon and cheer for your country.

• Mike Stanton is struggling in the majors thus far (as should have been initially expected) and has been dropped from 7th to 8th in the Marlins batting order, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
• The Red Sox have sent OF Josh Reddick back to the minors, reports Alden Gonzales of MLB.com.  The team needed another pitcher and was forced to demote Reddick to create a roster spot.
• Andrew Brackman was promoted to Double-A, reports Josh Norris of The Trentonian, and made his first start on Friday, pitching well but getting the loss.  Despite his ugly numbers from the Florida State League, Brackman had been pitching better of late and was showing more of the consistency the Yankees had been looking for from their former first-round draft pick.
• Brian McTaggart of MLB.com has a couple of Astros' updates for us, including Jason Castro's continued hard work on the defensive end of his game despite being in the majors, and the team's signing of 2nd round pick, RHP Vincent Velasquez.
• Jesse Biddle's professional career got started under the Florida heat on Friday afternoon, as the Phillies' first-round pick from this year threw 3 no-hit innings in the Gulf Coast League, reports Scott Purks of the Philadelphia Daily News.
• Carlos Santana left Friday's game early with pain in his thumb, but x-rays were negative, reports Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
• The Capital Avenue Club takes a look at the Braves' most noteworthy prospects currently on their GCL team, including their top selection in this year's draft (#35 overall), high school SS Matt Lipka, who is off to a 3-for-20 start to his professional career.
• Mark Trumbo still needs to show he can make more consistent contact before the Angels will believe he's ready for the majors, but as Martin Renzhofer of the Salt Lake Tribune notes, it's his tantalizing power that makes him the prospect he is.

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 - Stanton and More

The NL East just keeps getting better and better.

It appears that on the same day that Stephen Strasburg will make his major league debut for the Nationals, so too will Mike Stanton for the Marlins.  The team announced that they will be promoting the power-hitting outfielder in time for their series with the Phillies on Tuesday, reports Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald.

But Stanton was hardly the only prospect on the move over the weekend...

• The Phillies have demoted Phillippe Aumont, sending the struggling right-hander back down to High-A ball, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The team plans to keep Aumont as a starter, even if he works in some long relief stints for Clearwater at first.
• Jake Arrieta could be heading to Baltimore soon, and despite his obvious future as a part of the Orioles' rotation, he could be used to help bail out a bullpen that is desperately taking on water, report Jeff Seidel and Noah Rosenstein for MLB.com.
• The Rangers have placed pitchers Tanner Scheppers and Martin Perez on the 7-day DL with minor injuries, reports William Wilkerson of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram.  Scheppers strained a hamstring while Perez has a cracked fingernail.
• Also dealing with fingernail issues is Giants' 2009 first-round pick Zach Wheeler, who has not pitched since mid-May due to a torn fingernail, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The Giants have placed Wheeler on the DL and are sure to be cautious with their young power arm.
• The Pirates appear to be preparing for Brad Lincoln's promotion to the majors, and have him lined up to start for them on Wednesday, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• After a short stint back in the minors, Craig Kimbrel is rejoining the Braves, says Evan Drellich of MLB.com.

Organizational Update - Florida Marlins

The Marlins' organization is more than Mike Stanton...but not that much more.

Matt Dominguez - Stats

Dominguez is a prime example that the jump from A to AA is the most difficult of all, and has a line of .231/.316/.401 to prove it.  In his defense, his .717 OPS is actually the exact average of the league, but it has been an unimpressive showing for the former first-rounder this season.  His line drive rates are significantly lower in Double-A than they have been throughout his professional career, indicating that he just can't seem to square up the more advanced pitching.

Isaac Galloway - Stats

Each year and each promotion to a new level for Galloway leads to less contact and less production.  After a 12/89 BB/K ratio last season in Low-A ball, the Marlins decided to send Galloway to the Florida State League anyway.  Should we be surprised then by his .549 OPS?

Brad Hand - Stats

As Hand has advanced to the higher levels of the minors, he hasn't induced nearly as many ground balls.  Those ground balls have turned in to line drives, this he is giving up significantly more hits.  Sometimes it's just that simple.  He misses enough bats (more than one per innings this year) and has enough control that he could be effective, but he needs to force more ground balls to get his ERA back below 4.00.

Chad James - Stats

We have only a small sample size for last year's first round pick, but James is off to a decent enough start.  He's striking out a batter an inning, but 15 BB's in 26 innings is too many.  If he can limit the free passes, however, he should progress nicely but will also need to continue to induce ground balls at a high rate.

Logan Morrison - Stats

Morrison has continued to prove his merit as a top prospect despite losing the 1B battle to Gaby Sanchez in Spring Training.  He continues to improve his control of the strike zone, as evidenced by his 13/11 BB/K ratio, and his .291/.394/.519 line in Triple-A should merit him a promotion this fall.  He's the Marlins' best prospect not named Stanton.

Kyle Skipworth - Stats

The Marlins' first round pick in 2008 is rebounding nicely from a brutal 2009 season, and is at least showing off the power that made him sigh a high pick.  The Marlins would certainly like to see some more plate control, but .256/.318/.494 is at least a signal that Skipworth does have the talent to continue to progress.

Mike Stanton - Stats

Words and numbers don't really begin to describe the legend that is becoming Mike Stanton, but we'll try anyway.  .300/.429/.706 shows you the kind of power Stanton has, but it's his plate discipline this year that has been most impressive (40/51 BB/K ratio).  The only knock on Stanton is the strikeout rates, which have always been incredibly high.  Typically that much swinging and missing doesn't translate well to major league success, but Stanton may be the exception to the rule.

Ryan Tucker - Stats

The Marlins are desperately trying to get something out of their 2005 1st round pick, but Tucker's Triple-A numbers don't give them much hope.  His 19/17 K/BB ratio is an indication of a complete lack of command.  

Making Moves - 6/3

• The Red Sox have promoted OF Ryan Kalish to Triple-A, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com.
• The Orioles have ended the season of RP Luis Lebron, who will have Tommy John surgery, according to Roch Kubatko of Baseball America.
• Despite their relevance in the NL Central pennant race and his ability to dominate for short stretches, the Reds have no immediate plans to use Aroldis Chapman as a reliever, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
• Mike Stanton could be a Marlin by next week, says Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.  It still seems, given his troubles at each new level and his strikeout rates, that Stanton would be better served with a month or two in Triple-A.
• The Yankees have placed 2009 first round draft pick Slade Heathcott in Low-A ball after having spent the first part of the season in extended spring training, reports The Trentonian.

And finally, Danny Duffy has returned to the Royals after having hung up his spikes during Spring Training, reports Danny Wild of MLB.com.  Duffy was originally scheduled to report to Double-A at the start of the season, but his hiatus might prompt a return to High-A ball once he gets his arm back in shape.