MLB Prospect Watch

Making Moves - 7/23

• Lorenzo Cain impressed the Brewers in his week with the team, but that didn't keep them from sending him back to Triple-A when they needed his roster spot, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
• The minors' strike out leader, Charlie Fairbush, is now in Triple-A, and he's still striking batters out by the bunches.
• Yankees' fans may begin calling for Jesus Montero's promotion if their DH situation doesn't improve, but Matt Imbrogno of TYU warns against that, reminding everyone that Montero is still just a prospect.

Notable Prospect Performances - 7/19

• Eric Hosmer announced his presence in the Texas League with authority, homering in his first Double-A at-bat.  It will be interesting to see how Hosmer's power develops now that he's away from Wilmington's Frawley Stadium.  Danny Duffy's return to Wilmington didn't go nearly as well as he would have liked, but I'm sure the Royals are glad he's back either way.
• Matt Moore had his swing-and-miss stuff on Sunday, as the Rays' prospect fanned 11 batters in six innings of work.  Not missing many bats in that same game, however, was Brewers' pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who got tagged for 3 earned runs and 5 hits in one rough inning of work.
• Vance Worley continued his strong performance on the mound as the Phillies' pitcher tossed 8 shutout innings en route to a victory, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Still a few weeks shy of his 19th birthday, Mets' prospect Wilmer Flores' 3-hit night bumped his batting average up to .382 in the Florida State League, although his .425 BABIP may have something to do with that.
• The Padres needed some good news to come out of their minor league system, and they got it courtesy of James Darnell and Logan Forsythe, who combined for 3 doubles, a homerun, and 8 RBI's on Sunday.  The majority of the damage came off of A's pitching prospect Carlos Hernandez, who got tagged with 10 earned runs in 3 1/3 IP.

Prospect Potent Potables - 7/13

• Chris Nelson has gone from highly touted prospect within the Rockies' organization to a player labeled as injury-prone on the verge of being a bust, but the 2004 first-round pick.  Finally healthy again, Nelson is back on the Rockies' radar and is having a bounce back season that has seen him improve his patience at the plate, reports Chris Jackson of MLB.com.
• Justin Smoak was undoubtedly the key piece received by the Mariners in return for Cliff Lee.  But given the reports that the Yankees had offered top prospect Jesus Montero, Bryan Smith of FanGraphs.com explains why the Mariners chose Smoak instead.
• Also mentioned among the Lee rumors was Brett Lawrie, who was drafted by Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik when he ran the Brewers' drafts.  The Brewers managed to hold on to their future second baseman who is elevating his prospect status despite being among the youngest players in the Southern League, says Guy Curtright for MLB.com.
• Despite the small sample sizes from the Futures Game, Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times couldn't help but take advantage of a rare chance to see prospects through the Pitch f/x microscope.  Pavlidis begins his analysis with the left-handed pitchers who participated in the game, including Christian Friedrich, Zach Britton, Mike Minor, Alexander Torres, and Phillippe Valiquette.
• Trevor Reckling is back in Double-A after a horrid start in Salt Lake City this season, and the Angels' hope is that being back in a pitchers' park will help the young lefty get back to pitching rather than throwing, reports Todd Traub of MLB.com.
• There are prospects galore on display at minor league all-star games, but Marlins' 3B prospect Matt Dominguez shined the brightest at the Southern League All-Star Game, says Matt Eddy of Baseball America.

Futures Game Reactions

The Futures Game always elicits attention from around the baseball world, and this year is was no different as each team's fans try to catch a glimpse into their future.

• The game itself was dominated by prospects from the home-town Angels, as C Hank Conger took home MVP honors and OF Mike Trout was among the more impressive players in the game, reports Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.  Trout, whose prospect stock has been skyrocketing this season, was the player who stood out more than any other, noted Keith Law of ESPN.com.
• The only player who seems to rank higher than Trout these days is Domonic Brown, but fans and scouts got only a brief glimpse of the Phillies' OF prospect before he was removed from the game with hamstring tightness.  The move was precautionary, reports Robyn Norwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Even more brief of an appearance was made by Cardinals' RHP prospect Shelby Miller, who faced only two batters.  As a 2009 prep draft pick, however, Miller was just thrilled to be in a big league atmosphere, says Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• While the future is still distant for prospects like Miller, the future could be sometime this summer for prospects like Rangers' P Tanner Scheppers, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  Also on the fast track to the majors is Brewers' 2B prospect Brett Lawrie, despite being the second-youngest player in the Southern League (Double-A), says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Royals need the future to come quickly, but they had two of the more impressive prospects on display at the Futures Game in Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.

Notable Prospect Performances - 7/9

• Christian Friedrich struck out 12 batters as the Rockies' top pitching prospect celebrated his 23rd birthday.
• Giants' pitching prospect Eric Surkamp did two better, fanning 14 batters in his latest California League start.
• Nationals' OF Michael Burgess was 4-for-5 with a home run and a double.
• Cody Scarpetta struck out 11 batters over 7 scoreless innings, dropping the Brewers' prospect's ERA to 3.94 on the season.
• Devin Mesoraco continued his hot hitting this season with a 3-for-4 performance that left him just a single short of the cycle.
• Phillippe Aumont gave up 4 runs in his first start since his demotion to High-A ball, but only two of them were earned, and he struck out 13 batters.