MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Action - 8/19/12

Triple-A

• Nick Franklin homered in support of fellow Mariners pitching prospect Danny Hultzen, who didn't give up a hit in five innings, but walked three batters, all in the first inning, says The [Tacoma] News Tribune.
• Jeff Locke struck out five batters in six innings but allowed three runs, all in the first in his first start back in Triple-A after his stint in the Pirates major league bullpen, writes Nancy Zinni of PiratesProspects.com.
• Jose Iglesias put together a 3-for-3 day to raise his batting average to .269 on the season, reports WPRI.com.  The Red Sox defensive phenom still hits for no power and doesn't get on base enough, but with his average climbing, he has his on-base percentage up to .321, which borders on being acceptable enough given his defensive prowess.

Double-A

• Andre Rienzo retired the first ten batters he faced, but the White Sox blew up in the sixth inning, allowing five runs without getting out of what would become an eight-run inning, reports Doug Segrest of The Birmingham News.
• Neil Ramirez threw five innings of one-hit baseball on Sunday, as the Rangers prospect turned in his second straight scoreless start, according to Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• The Cardinals are pushing 2012 first-rounder Michael Wacha by having him pitch in Double-A, but are holding him back by limiting his innings, as evidenced by his performance on Sunday, in which he struck out six over three no-hit innings, notes Marshall.  Wacha didn't give up a run in eight innings in the Florida State League and is now off to the same start at Springfield.

High-A

• Dean Green blasted a solo shot, says David Yates of The Lakeland Ledger, giving the Tigers first base prospect 12 home runs on the season, and three since his promotion to the Florida State League.
• Rockies outfield prospect Kyle Parker hit his 20th home run of the season and his seventh in the last 10 games, a three run shot that proved to be the difference in his team's 11-10 victory.  Diamondbacks outfield prospect Keon Broxton went 3-for-4 with a home run in the defeat.

Low-A

• Rays former first-round picks Jake Hager and Drew Vittleson both doubled and homered in their 6-5 loss.  It was the eighth homer of the season for the shortstop Hager and the 14th of the season for the outfielder Vittleson.
• Miguel Sano hit his 26th home run of the season as part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate.  The Twins third-baseman is hitting .264/.383/.532 on the season, but has struck out 137 times in the process.

Short-Season

• After torching the Arizona Rookie League for 18 home runs in 43 games, Rangers 2012 first-rounder Joey Gallo hit his first two Northwest League home runs on Sunday as part of a seven-RBI day, says Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.

Rookie

• Astros 2012 draft pick Lance McCullers got hit around, allowing five runs (three earned) in three innings while striking out six.

 

 

Making Moves - Fernandez, Conley, Cole, Ramirez

• The Miami Marlins have promoted both of their top pitching prospects, Jose Fernandez and Adam Conley, from Low-A Greensboro to High-A Jupiter, reports Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.  Fernandez, the teams first-round pick in 2011 (14th overall), has emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in all of the minor leagues, posting a 1.59 ERA and a 1.78 FIP in the South Atlantic League while striking out 11.28 batters per nine innings.  Conley, the team's second round pick last year, wasn't quite as overpowering as Fernandez, but was almost as effective, as the left-hander posted a 2.78 ERA and 2.69 FIP at the level.
• A.J. Cole and Neil Ramirez both struggled mightily at their new level to start this season, so the A's and Rangers, respectively, sent their pitchers down a level in hopes of getting them straightened out, says Jim Shonerd of Baseball America.  The move has paid off for both, as Cole has dropped his ERA by over four runs and Ramirez by over six.  For Ramirez, his struggles in Triple-A came as a surprise, as he had success in 18 starts at the level last season.  He shouldn't be in Double-A too long if he can continue to pitch well there.  Cole, on the other hand, was in his first taste of High-A ball, and the California League got the best of him, as it has done to many pitchers before him.  The A's have not announced their plan for Cole, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them leave Cole in Low-A ball until they feel he is ready to jump straight to Double-A next season and avoid returning to the hitter friendly parks of the California League.

 

Prospect Action - 5/15/12

Triple-A

• Shelby Miller looked good on Tuesday night, throwing six scoreless innings to get the win, notes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.  The Cardinals future ace is now 4-2 on the season.
• Jeff Locke allowed three runs over seven innings, but got stuck with a loss, writes Nancy Zinni of PiratesProspects.com.
• Tom Koehler won his fourth consecutive start, as the Marlins righty tossed six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) to earn his fourth win of the season, according to Lyons Yellin of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
• Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias homered for just the second time in his professional career, writes WPRI.com.
• The Rangers watched a pitching prospect get rocked in Triple-A for the second straight night, as Neil Ramirez allowed eight runs in three-plus innings, says Todd Milles of The [Tacoma] News-Tribune.

Double-A

• Former top prospect Tim Alderson, who is trying to re-establish himself as a starter, out-pitched Orioles pitcher Bobby Bundy on Tuesday, as the Pirates righty threw five innings, allowing three runs, says PiratesProspects.com.  Alderson's velocity reportedly fluctuated throughout the game, which has been his biggest problem over the years.
• Phillies catcher Sebastian Valle welcomed Anthony Ranaudo to Double-A with a home run, writes Mike Drago of The Portland Press Herald.
• Jurickson Profar got three hits to extend his hit streak to 25 games in support of Barret Loux, who became the first eight game winner in the minor leagues, notes John Parker of MiLB.com.
• The Cardinals got a strong start in Double-A as well, as Trevor Rosenthal threw six innings, allowing just an unearned run, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com.

High-A

• In an eventful game, Pat Doyle made a spot start and retired 16 straight at one point, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com,  to defeat Ian Krol, as the A's prospect allowed five runs in four innings, although only one was earned.  Doyle was suppored offensively by Reds top prospect Billy Hamilton, who went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple.
• Garrett Gould dropped to 0-4 on the season, as the Dodgers prospect gave up five runs (four earned) over six innings to raise his ERA on the season to 5.08.
• David Holmberg gave up nine runs (seven earned) in 5 1/3 innings but still got the win because his Diamondbacks teammates scored 26 runs in support of him in a crazy California League game.

Low-A

• Matt Skole went 4-for-4 with two home runs, says Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com, giving the Nationals third base prospect eight on the season.
• Adam Conley advanced to 4-0, tossing five strong innings and striking out six.

 

Prospect Action - 5/3/12

Triple-A

• Rudy Owens allowed just two earned runs in eight innings of work, but the Pirates lefty did not factor into the decision in the extra inning game, notes Nancy Zini of PiratesProspects.com.  Xavier Avery won the game with a single in the 13th for the Orioles affiliate in Norfolk, says Rich Radford of The Virginian-Pilot.
• Vinnie Catricala had a career day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double and a three run homer, reports The Seattle Times.  Fellow Mariners prospect Carlos Triunfel also added a homer of his own.
• Rangers pitching prospect Neil Ramirez tossed seven innings, allowing two runs on just three hits, writes Tim Grubbs of NOLA.com.

Double-A

• Jedd Gyorko has been red-hot of late, going 3-for-3 with a home run on Thursday, as the Padres prospect is now hitting .419 over his past eight games, according to Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.
• James Paxton earned his third win of the season in the first game of a doubleheader, tossing 5 1/3 innings and giving up just one unearned run, lowering his ERA to 2.51 on the season.  In game two, Taijuan Walker went an extra third of an inning with the same run-scoring result, but took the loss, as he was outpitched by Reds prospect Daniel Corcino, who tossed six shutout innings.
• Sean Gilmartin gave up just two runs in six innings and lowered his ERA to 3.55 on the season, but the Braves prospect still dropped to 0-4.

High-A

• Cody Buckel threw seven scoreless innings, striking out eight, and lowering his ERA to 1.31 on the season, notes Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.
• Nationals prospect Robbie Ray made his 2012 debut on Thursday, and got hit around, giving up five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, says Luke Erickson of NationalsProspects.com.
• The California League got a solid prospect pitching matchup on Thursday, as Diamondbacks lefty David Holmberg picked up a win, giving up two runs in 6 2/3 innings, outpitching Rockies lefty Tyler Matzek, whose control issues are still not behind him, as the former first-rounder walked eight batters in three hitless innings. 

Low-A

• Archie Bradley battled himself on Thursday night, as the Diamondbacks 2011 first-rounder walked five batters in as many innings, but he still allowed just one run on one hit, writes Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com.
• Aaron Westlake hit a walkoff home run in the 11th inning, as the Tigers first base prospect helped his team overcome a dominant start by Padres prospect Adys Portillo, who retired 21 of the 24 batters he faced in seven innings, according to MLive.com.

 

40-man Roster Additions

40-man rosters were set this weekend in preperation for the upcoming Rule V draft.  The players listed below are now protected by their organizations and can't be selected.  This is not the complete list, but rather the list of notable prospects.  Teams with no players listed still protected players, just not any notable prospects.

 

Baltimore - Oliver Drake

Boston - Will Middlebrooks, Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin

New York (AL) - D.J. Mitchell, Corban Joseph

Tampa Bay - Alex Colome, WIlking Rodriguez, Steven Vogt

Toronto - Travis d'Arnaud

 

Chicago (AL) - Charlie Leesman

Cleveland - 

Detroit - Casey Crosby

Kansas City - 

Minnesota - Oswaldo Arcia, Carlos Gutierrez, David Bromberg

 

Los Angeles (A) - Fabio Martinez, Jean Segura

Oakland - 

Seattle - Francisco Martinez, Carlos Triunfel, Chih-Hsien Chiang

Texas - Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez

 

Atlanta - J.J. Hoover

Miami - Dan Jennings

New York (N) - Robert Carson, Jeurys Familia, Wilmer Flores, Juan Lagares, Cesar Puello, Reese Havens, Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Philadelphia - Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, Sebastian Valle

Washington - Tyler Moore, Eury Perez, Derek Norris

 

Chicago (N) - Junior Lake, Josh Vitters, Matt Szczur

Cincinnati - Didi Gregorius, Kyle Lotzkar

Houston - Paul Clemens

Milwaukee - Caleb Gindl, Zealous Wheeler

Pittsburgh - Starling Marte, Rudy Owens

St. Louis - 

 

Arizona - 

Colorado - Christian Friedrich

Los Angeles (N) - Mike Antonini, Chris Withrow

San Diego - Rymer Liriano

San Francisco - Angel Villalona, Charlie Culberson