MLB Prospect Watch

Blogs Track Teams - 4/27

• IndiansProspectInsider.com reports in on another strong start for Nick Hagadone and other Indians prospect action.
• Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com updates us on a number of Pirates prospects who homered on Tuesday, including Andrew Lambo.
• BlueBirdBanter.com has all the Blue Jays action, including a strong start from Zach Stewart.
• FutureRedBirds.com mentions another solid outing by Lance Lynn and other recaps of other Cardinals prospects.
• PineTarPress.com raves about Chris Dwyer's tough-luck loss and other Royals results.
• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com mentions Zack Cosart's multi-hit day and two more steals for Billy Hamilton, among other Reds prospect reports.
• RaysProspects.com discusses a rough outing by Alex Torres and other Rays results.
• Jared Massey of LAdodgerTalk.com points out a pair of multi-hit days for Dee Gordon and Trayvon Robinson, on what was a busy day for Dodgers prospects.
• Orioles-Nation.com points out a perfect night for pitcher Dan Klein, and other Orioles updates.

 

Big Day of Cuts - Harper, Rizzo, Pomeranz

Saturday saw a number of teams make significant roster cut downs as all teams approach the March 15th roster cut-down deadline (the last date a team has to assign an injured player to a minor league club - meaning that if a player is still in camp after that date and gets injured, the team can't send him to the minors, which is a risk teams are rarely willing to take for a few extra spring at-bats).  

Among the most notable moves was the Nationals re-assignment of Bryce Harper to Class-A Hagerstown, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  The move itself is not surprising, as it had already been reported that Harper was slated to begin his first full season in the South Atlantic League, but it does bring an end to an impressive two-week stretch from the 18-year-old Harper, who this time next year, could be legitimately competing for a roster spot.

As always, you can keep up-to-date on all the prospects who were in big league camp, and who still remain, on our spring training prospect page, Below is a list of the other prospects who were sent away from big league camp on Saturday:

• The Kansas City Royals re-assigned LHP's Chris Dwyer, John Lamb, and Will Smith to minor league camp, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  None of the three were on the 40-man roster.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned RHP Bryan Morris to Triple-A and re-assigned LHP Rudy Owens to minor league camp, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
• The Philadelphia Phillies optioned RHP Justin De Fratus, 2B Harold Garcia, 1B Matt Rizzotti and RHP J.C. Ramirez to Double-A and re-assigned Michael Schwimer to minor league camp, reports David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.  Surviving the cuts for now, however, was reliever Mike Stutes.
• The San Diego Padres optioned RHP Simon Castro to Triple-A and re-assigned 1B Anthony Rizzo and 3B James Darnell to minor league camp, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com.
• The Baltimore Orioles optioned RHP's Brandon Erbe and Chorye Spoone to Triple-A and re-assigned catcher Caleb Joseph to minor league camp, reports Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.
• The Cleveland Indians have optioned RHP Corey Kluber to Triple-A and have re-assigned RHP Nick Hagadone, LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Hector Rondon, LHP Kelvin de la Cruz, and RHP Bryce Stowell to minor league camp, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• The Tampa Bay Rays optioned LHP Alex Torres to Triple-A, says RaysProspects.com.
• The Seattle Mariners have optioned 3B Alex Liddi and OF Carlos Peguero to Triple-A and OF Johermyn Chavez to Double-A, reports Larry Stone of The Seattle Times.
• The Boston Red Sox optioned RHP Stolmy Pimentel and SS Oscar Tejada to Double-A, and have re-assigned RHP Alex Wilson, C's Ryan Lavarnway and Tim Federowicz, and OF Che-Hsuan Lin to minor league camp, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Perez, Tribe, Miller, Reckling

• With Wil Myers moving to the outfield and out of the way, Salvador Perez appears to be next in line for the title of Royals "catcher-of-the-future," a role he appears to be taking by the horns thus far in spring training, notes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
• Most of the Indians pitching help is still at least a year away from the majors, but the quartet of Alex White, Drew Pomeranz, Nick Hagadone, and Bryce Stowell has manager Manny Acta excited this spring, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• In Cardinals camp, veteran ace Chris Carpenter helped top prospect Shelby Miller when he thought Miller was tipping his pitches, reports Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, while the positional debate of Zack Cox's future continues over at FutureRedbirds.com.
• Trevor Reckling is trying to regain his prospect status after a disastrous 2010 season, but if he bounces back successfully, could end 2011 in the Angels bullpen, notes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - 9/7

• The Reds had a lot of reasons to give Devin Mesoraco every chance to succeed (both monetary and draft-pick commitment), but as John Fay of Baseball America puts it, their patience was rewarded this season.
• The Indians have been pleased with the progress of Nick Hagadone, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Hagadone finished the season in Double-A and should be slated for Triple-A at some point in 2011, if not from the start.
• After a respectable first career start (coupled with the general ineffectiveness of Kyle Kendrick), Phillies pitcher Vance Worley may have earned himself another start this September, says Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  If nothing else, he's auditioning for next year.
• The Mariners are clearly building for the future, and that future looks a lot brighter thanks to the progression of prospects Dustin Ackley and Michael Pineda, as discussed by Chris Crawford of ProspectInsider.com.
• Brandon Beachy was as unlikely of a candidate to lead the minor leagues in ERA as you would find, but it appears that's exactly what he's done, says Matt Eddy of Baseball America.  If you haven't already, you can now add Beachy to the long list Braves pitching prospects.
• And because nothing in Baltimore is OK unless he says so, it's a good thing that Cal Ripken, Jr. says he likes Manny Machado, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Making Moves - 6/1

There was a lot of noteworthy prospect movement over the long Memorial Day Weekend...

• There's no way you could have missed it, but in case you did, the Nationals announced that the Stephen Strasburg Era will officially begin on June 8th, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  He'll make his last minor league start on June 3rd.  We'll miss talking about him here at MLBPW, and something tells me he won't be back to the minors.
• Somehow, we can't say the same thing about Buster Posey with any confidence.  As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle points out, the Giants have a decision to make once Mark DeRosa comes off the DL, and moving Posey back to the minors is still on the table.  So is having him catch more regularly.  Fellow Chronicle writer Bruce Jenkins explains just how stupid it would be to send Posey back to the minors.
• The Cubs called Andrew Cashner up to the majors and used him in their bullpen right away, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of Inside the Cubs.  Casher needed only one pitch to record his first and only major league out in his debut.
• The Pirates won't be promoting their triumvirate of prospects anytime soon, according to Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Quoting Pirates' GM Neal Huntington, Finder offers an explanation why Brad Lincoln, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata will remain in the minors for the time being, and frankly, all three explanations make sense.  Recent call-up Neil Walker is proving he belongs, however, and appears to be taking over at second base full-time, says Gazette writer Dejan Kovacevic.
• Scott Elbert is back in the minors after an uninspiring performance out of the Dodgers' bullpen over the weekend.
• Tyler Flowers could get a promotion despite his struggles at the plate, thanks to the White Sox desire to avoid A.J. Pierzynski's approaching 10-and-5 rights, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
• The Indians have promoted hard-throwing lefty Nick Hagadone to Double-A, reports Tony of Indians Prospect Insider.