MLB Prospect Watch

Making Moves - 7/2

• Braves' LHP prospect Mike Minor has been promoted to Triple-A and was dominant in his first start.
• Only recently activated after his 100-game suspension, Jeremy Jeffress has been promoted to the Florida State League by the Milwaukee Brewers, reports Michael Bleach of MLB.com.
• The Pirates have shifted Pedro Alvarez up to the two-hole in their lineup, balancing the top of their order, says Matt Fortuna of MLB.com.
• The Chicago Cubs have signed Dominican shortstop Daniel Sanchez, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.

Prospect Potent Potables - 6/28

• Jenrry Mejia, back in Double-A as the Mets try to re-convert him back into a starter, left his game on Sunday with "right shoulder stiffness," according to Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com.
• Austin Romaine's election to the Future's Game is yet another sign that the Yankees' catching prospect is close to the majors, says Mike Ashmore of ThunderBaseball.com.  The Yankees have as much catching depth as any system in baseball, making the 4-year deal they gave Jorge Posada that much more perplexing.
• Michael Taylor hasn't played like the player the A's thought they were getting this off-season, but he's been red-hot of late and is starting to make his case for a call-up, says Jane Lee of MLB.com.
• There's no minor-league rotation more talented than that of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, let by Julio Teheran, reports Bill Ballew of Baseball America.
• The Cubs promoted a number of prospects to the next appropriate level, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, including Brett Jackson to Double-A, Rafael Dolis to Double-A, and Trey McNutt to High-A.
• Pedro Alvarez is still making adjustments at the plate in the majors, but his once shaky defense has looked solid, says Alex Espinoza of MLB.com.

Alvarez Promoted to Pittsburgh

Pirates' GM Neal Huntington fired his biggest and last prospect bullet yesterday when it was announced that the team would be promoting top prospect Pedro Alvarez, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The move was a long time coming, as speculation and suggestion had building throughout the week, as had encouragement from Pirates' players.

Alvarez is as excited for the move as most Pirates' fans, but as Gene Collier points out, Alvarez's arrival won't fix the Pirates other issues.  Regardless, the 23-year-old third baseman instantly becomes the team's biggest power threat and interjects more youth into a lineup that now features three rookies playing regularly (along with Neil Walker and Jose Tabata).

Prospect Hot Sheet

Baseball America once again has released their weekly prospect hot sheet, a breakdown of the past week's hottest prospects.  This week's list includes:

• Pedro Alvarez
• Chris Archer
• Brandon Belt
• Eric Berger
• Carlos Carrasco
• Lonnie Chisenhall
• Allen Craig
• Randall Delgado
• Tyler Flowers
• Todd Frazier
• Brad Hand
• Eric Hosmer
• Dan Hudson
• Brett Jackson
• Michael Kirkman
• Alex Liddi
• Wil Myers
• Jonathan Singleton
• John Tolisano
• Arodys Vizcaino

And of course, the flailing foursome this week, which includes Aroldis Chapman, Beau Mills, Phillippe Aumont, and Jefry Marte.

Notable Prospect Performances - 6/10

It wasn't as memorable a night in Washington as the one before, but two prospects made their major league debuts Wednesday night, this time for the visiting Pirates.  Jose Tabata led off and had two hits, and Brad Lincoln started the game for the Buccos, in what was a much more traditional big league debut than the one witnessed 24 hours earlier.

• Pedro Alvarez had a monster day at the plate, perhaps attempting to prove to the Pirates that he should have been called up too.
• Another 3-hit day for Mike Trout.  Yawn.
• Twins' 3B prospect Miguel Sano hit his 2nd homerun of the season in Dominican Summer League Action.
• Don't look now, but Dustin Ackley's batting average is creeping back up towards respectability.
• The good Carlos Carrasco was on hand Wednesday night.
• And the good Randall Delgado seems to always show up.