MLB Prospect Watch

Prospects Shine on Opening Day

Even though these prospects made their organizations' big league clubs, they are still technically prospects (we use the MLB rookie standards) so we at MLBPW will still keep you up to date on them.  Here's how they fared on Opening Day:

• Elvis Andrus (TEX) - 1-4, R, K
• Brett Gardner (NYY) - 1-3, R
• Phil Coke (NYY) - 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 K/1 BB, HR (Izturis, C)
• Cameron Maybin (FLA) - 1-4, R, 2 K 
• Jason Motte (STL) - 1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, K, BS 
• David Freese (STL) - 0-1, RBI (did not start) 
• Travis Snider (TOR) - 2-4, HR (off Verlander), RBI, R, K 

Links: Coke, Samardzija, Perry, and Decker

• Bill Madden of the NY Daily News comments on a possible role for prospect Phil Coke in the Yankees bullpen.
• Jeff Samardzija got rocked on Monday which, as Colin Fly of the Associated Press reports, should eliminate any possibility of him making the Cubs' rotation out of Spring Training.
• Detroit Tigers' first-round pick from 2008, Ryan Perry, has opened some eyes this spring while competing for a spot in the Tigers' bullpen, but as Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free-Press reports, he demonstrated something on Monday that he had not shown in previous outings - movement on his 98-mph fastball.
• Tom Krasovic of the San-Diego Union Tribune compares Padres prospect Jaff Decker to Tony Gwynn and John Kruk, simply because of their trio of comparable traits:  left-handedness, hitting ability, and girth.