MLB Prospect Watch

Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced

The rosters for the 2011 Arizona Fall League season were announced yesterday, and as usual, the rosters included a plethora of big name prospects.  Below are the prospects you need to know, broken down by team:

Mesa Solar Sox

Cubs - Trey McNutt, Chris Carpenter

Orioles - Chorye Spoone, Joe Mahoney, Xavier Avery

Twins - Aaron Hicks

Pirates - Robbie Grossman

 

Peoria Javelinas

Padres - Jedd Gyorko, James Darnell

Brewers - Jed Bradley, Cody Scarpetta, Kentrail Davis, Logan Schafer

Cardinals - Oscar Taveras

Mariners - Danny Hultzen, Nick Franklin, Chih-Hsien Chiang

Mets - Reese Havens, Jefry Marte

 

Phoenix Desert Dogs

Indians - T.J. McFarland

Reds - Brad Boxberger, Yasmani Grandal

Blue Jays - Adeiny Hechavarria, Anthony Gose

A's - Michael Choice, Grant Green

Yankees - Corban Joseph, David Phelps

 

Salt River Rafters

Dodgers - Jake Lemmerman

Diamondbacks - Eric Smith, Ryan Wheeler

Tigers - Casey Crosby

Astros - Jay Austin

Rockies - Nolan Arenado, Tim Wheeler

 

Scottsdale Scorpions

Angels - Mike Trout, Hank Conger

Phillies - Tyson Gillies, B.J. Rosenberg

Red Sox - Brock Huntzinger, Will Middlebrooks

Nationals - Sammy Solis, Derek Norris, Bryce Harper

Giants - Brandon Crawford

 

Surprise Saguaros

Royals - Nathan Adcock, Wil Myers, Jeremy Jeffress, Christian Colon

Braves - Erik Cordier, Sean Gilmartin, J.J Hoover, Christian Bethancourt, Phil Gosslein, Todd Cunningham

Rangers - Neil Ramirez, Michael Olt

Rays - Tim Beckham

Marlins - Kyle Skipworth, Dan Jennings, Matt Dominguez

 

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Indians, Royals, Escobar

• In a change from their rich hitting history, the current version of the Indians farm system is instead loaded with arms, says Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• Aaron Crow, Tim Collins and Nathan Adcock, all making their major league debuts, threw scoreless innings coming out of the Royals bullpen on Thursday, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.
• Eduardo Escobar made a good impression on White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen this spring, says Mark Gonzales of Baseball America.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Royals, Belt, Dykstra, Tulsa

• Now that the dust has settled, it appears the Royals will support All-Star closer Joakim Soria with four rookie relievers, notes Michael Engel of KingsofKauffman.com.  Tim Collins, Jeremy Jeffress, Nathan Adcock and Aaron Crow will all begin the year in relief, with Crow being the only one of the quartet that may develop into a starter down the road.
• The Giants still have yet to make a decision regarding top prospect Brandon Belt, but are leaning toward making him their starting first baseman, says John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• In a swap of disappointing former prospects, the Padres have sent former first round pick Allan Dykstra to the Mets for former first round pick Eddie Kunz, reports Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Dykstra, a first baseman, has not performed up to his billing and has fallen on the depth chart behind Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Blanks, while Kunz, a reliever, has not progressed into the late-inning pitcher the Mets had hoped and has yet to stay in the major leagues.
• The Rockies will have a prospect-laden team taking the field in Tulsa this year, says Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies.  The season-opening roster will include Christian Friedrich, Casey Weathers, Wilin Rosario, Hector Gomez, and Tim Wheeler.
• Matt Harvey is ready to start the season, and the Mets prospect is throwing as hard as ever, says David Lennon of Newsday.com.
• The Diamondbacks plan to move Bobby Borchering along slowly, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, and also plan to give him some time at first base this season.
• Dayan Viciedo is progressing as planned in his recovery from a broken thumb suffered when he was hit by a spring training pitch, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com.  The White Sox will keep Viciedo in extended spring training for a few extra days at the start of the season.

 

Position Battles - Pineda, Cousins, Monterop, Adcock, Trumbo, Stutes

• In a long-expected move, the Mariners have officially announced that Michael Pineda will open the season in their starting rotation, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.
• Scott Cousins will open the season as a part of the Marlins bench, says Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
• Neither Jesus Montero nor Austin Romine were able to secure the Yankees back-up catcher job, as the team optioned the former to Triple-A and the latter to Double-A to start the season, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
• The Royals have confirmed that Nathan Adcock will begin the season in their major league bullpen, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
• Mark Trumbo will break camp with the Angels, but despite his torrid spring and the team's vacancy at first base, Trumbo will not necessarily play every day, says Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
• Mike Stutes was sent down to minor league camp almost two weeks ago, but he will head north with the Phillies and still has a chance to make their Opening Day roster, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

Position Battles - Royals, DeJesus, Francisco, Craig, Minor

• It appears that Tim Collins and Aaron Crow have secured spots in the Royals bullpen, according to Michael Engel of KingsofKauffman.com.  Engel also suggests that Nathan Adcock has an above-average chance of claiming a spot on the staff as well.
• Ivan DeJesus, Jr. is in the lead to be the Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day second baseman, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
• Juan Francisco is battling with Fred Lewis for the last spot in the Cincinnati Reds bench, says John Fay of the Cincinnati Enqurier.
• The only thing keeping Allen Craig off the Cardinals Opening Day roster would be the team's ability to give him enough at-bats, says Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• Mike Minor lost his spring training battle with Brandon Beachy for the final spot in the Braves starting rotation, but if Jair Jurrjens can't make his first scheduled start, it will be Minor that takes his place, says David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.