MLB Prospect Watch

Rob Rasmussen Traded Again

Just months after he was traded to the Houston Astros, left-hander Rob Rasmussen is on the move again, now heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for right-hander John Ely.

The 26-year-old Ely is no longer a prospect, but did have a monster season in Triple-A in 2012, winning the Pacific Coast League pitcher's Triple Crown.

As for Rasmussen, he continues to be desired by organizations because he's a lefty with a plus breaking ball. He's been expendable, however, because he's just 5'9" 165 lbs. and not everyone believes he can remain a starter.

I'm in that group, but not because of his diminutive size. He's actually been a relatively durable pitcher despite his non-traditional pitcher's frame. But his ceiling as a starter isn't terribly high because he doesn't miss a ton of bats (7.3 K/9 in the minors) and because he walks too many batters (3.8 career BB/9). In the bullpen, however, control can be more easily overcome and he could strike out more batters if his velocity goes up a tick as it does with some pitchers when they work in relief.

Most importantly, his ability to spin a quality breaking ball could make him more than just a middle reliever. It could give him a chance to be a lights-out relief option against left-handed hitters and if he does see his velocity increase by a MPH or two, he could even be a quality set-up man.

The Dodgers have not announced how they will use him, but just 23-years-old, it's not necessary that they give up on him as a starter just yet. Even if he ends up in the bullpen, the extra innings of experience will do Rasmussen good.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Prospect Action - 9/6/12

Triple-A

• At least the Red Sox can beat the Yankees at something.  The Pawtucket Red Sox took a 2-0 lead on the Scranton Yankees on Thursday thanks to six strong innings from Chris Hernandez and two hits and two RBI's by outfield prospect Bryce Brentz, according to WPRI.com.
• James Paxton threw six scoreless innings, as the Mariners lefty struck out nine to earn the victory, says Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.

Double-A

• Pirates top prospect Gerrit Cole got rocked in his first playoff start, allowing eight runs in just two innings, reports Nancy Zinni of PiratesProspects.com.
• Trevor May pitched well, allowing just one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six, but his Reading Phillies teammates took the loss on Thursday.
• Rob Rasmussen was even better, throwing seven scoreless innings, but his fellow Astros prospects couldn't get him enough run support to earn a victory.

High-A

• The Marlins affiliate in Jupiter own their Florida State League series on Thursday night, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com, holding off an impressive offensive showing by Mets prospects Daniel Muno, who went 3-for-5 with a triple, and Cesar Puello, who homered.
• 18-year-old Courtney Hawkins continues to be unfaized by his first playoff experience, as the White Sox 2012 first-rounder homered again, his second in as many nights, reports John Dell of The Winston-Salem Journal.

Low-A

• A.J. Cole lasted just four innings in his playoff start, says Kyle Lobner of BrewCrewBall.com.  The A's pitcher allowed four runs (only one earned) but did strike out five.  If it's his last start of the season, it's a disappointing end to a season in which he rebounded in Low-A after a poor start to the season in the California League.

 

Prospect Action - 8/29/12

Triple-A

• The bad version of Danny Hultzen showed up on Wednesday, as the Mariners left-hander walked five batters in two innings and allowed six runs, notes The [Tacoma] News Tribune.  Hultzen has now allowed ten runs in his last two starts while throwing a total of just three innings.
• Royals prospect Jake Odorizzi threw five shutout innings despite walking five batters while striking out six.

Double-A

• Sonny Gray threw eight strong innings, allowing just one run, reports Robert Emrich of MiLB.com.  The A's pitching prospect has struggled this season, but has turned it on of late, posting a 2.97 ERA over his last-10 starts.
• Brandon Workman got hit around, as the Red Sox prospect turned in his worst Double-A start of the season, allowing eight hits and six runs in two-plus innings, according to Allen Lessels of The Portland Press Herald.
• Adam Morgan took his first Double-A loss after the Phillies left-hander allowed three runs in six innings while walking four.
• Cody Buckel out-pitched Rob Rasumssen, as the Rangers prospect threw five shutout innings while striking out seven to defeat the Astros left-hander, who allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings for the loss.
• The Springfield Cardinals took a 6-5 loss despite home runs from Kolten Wong and Oscar Taveras.

High-A

• Edward Salcedo hit a double and a home run to help lead his Braves teammates to an extra inning victory, notes Jay Spivey of The Winston-Salem Journal.
• Jesse Biddle took a complete-game loss in a 7-inning double-header, allowing four runs in six innings.
• Florida State League hitter-of-the-year Alex Dickerson hit his 13th home run of the season, but was outdone by fellow Pirates prospect Mel Rojas, Jr., who went 4-for-5 with a triple and a home run.

Low-A

• The Rangers affiliate in Hickory got an extra-inning victory thanks to a 10th inning home run by second base prospect Rougned Odor, says Paul Fogleman of The Hickory Daily Record.

Short-Season

• The Cubs affiliate in Boise put together a 10-hit day, including multiple-hits by Rock Shoulders and Albert Almora and the 10th home run of the season by Dan Vogelbach.

Rookie

• Jose Berrios, the Twins second first-rounder from this year's draft, threw six shutout innings and struck out seven while allowing just one hit, says Danny Wild of MiLB.com.  Berrios' outing was supported by 2012 third-rounder Adam Walker, who hit his first home run of the Appalachian League playoffs after hitting 14 bombs during the season.

 

Prospect Action - 8/12/12

Triple-A

• In his second start at Triple-A, Zack Wheeler threw six strong innings, allowing just one run, reports Zack Cox of MiLB.com.  The Mets right-hander allowed just two hits.
• Christian Colon hit his first Triple-A home run of the season, just three games after the Royals promoted him to the new level, says Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.
• Shelby Miller continued his bounce-back from a rough season, as the Cardinals top prospect struck out ten batters in 5 2/3 innings on Saturday, writes Mike Curto of The [Tacoma] Tribune.  He did give up three runs in the outing, however, but earned his eighth win.
• Kevin Mattison stayed hot, hitting another home run in support of fellow Marlins prospect Tom Koehler, who struck out nine batters in six innings, reports Bob Fortus of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
• Sean Gilmartin earned his first Triple-A win, allowing two runs in seven innings in his third start since the Braves promoted him, says Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com.

Double-A

• Daniel Fields stole the show with a game-winning home run on Saturday, but it was a three-run home run by fellow Tigers prospect Avisail Garcia that kept them close, according to The Erie Times-News.  Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts collected three hits in the loss.
• White Sox prospect Jacob Petricka threw 7 2/3 strong innings, reports Doug Segrest of The Birmingham News.  The outing was the first win for Petricka in six starts since being promoted to Double-A.
• The Corpus Christi Hooks got big days from a number of their new additions, as outfielder Robbie Grossman collected three hits and Bobby Borchering hit a three-run home run in support of left-hander Rob Rasmussen, who threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs.  All three prospects were acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline.

High-A

• Phillies pitcher Perci Garner earned his fifth win of the season despite allowing four runs in six innings and a 3-for-4 day to Dean Green, reports The Lakeland Ledger.
• Tyler Matzek had another brutal outing, allowing seven runs in just two innings while walking five.  The Rockies prospect has now walked 90 batters in 121 2/3 innings on the season.

Low-A

• Aaron Westlake hit a pair of doubles in a loss, giving him the Midwest League lead with 34 on the season, says MLive.com.
• Bryan Brickhouse threw seven strong innings, allowing three runs and lowering his ERA to 5.61 on the season.  It was the third win for the Royals prospect since being promoted to Kane County.
• Austin Brice threw five scoreless innings, striking out eight and earning his eighth win of the season.  The outing got his ERA below the 4.00 mark, lowering it to 3.98 on the year.

Short-Season

• Mike Zunino hit his 9th home run in 28 games, as the Mariners 2012 first-rounder went 4-for-5 and collected his fifth consecutive multi-hit game, according to Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com.
• Luis Heredia turned in a solid outing, allowing two runs over five innings to earn his third win of the season.  The recently turned 18-year-old Pirates prospect is more than holding his own in short-season ball, and is now 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA.

Rookie

• Bubba Starling hit his eighth home run in just his 37th game, in what has become a standard line for the Royals prospect, with a 1-for-5 day with a home run and two strike outs.  He's now hitting .286 but has 49 strikeouts in 147 at-bats.
• Carlos Correa went 1-for-2 in his first Appalachian League game.
• In an offensive shootout, Rockies 2012 first-rounder David Dahl went 3-for-6 while Dodgers first-rounder Corey Seager went 4-for-5 with his fourth home run of the season.

 

Don't forget, you can follow us on Twitter @mlbpw or Facebook for instant updates when new posts are made.

Astros Acquire Dominguez, Rasmussen for Lee

The Miami Marlins have traded two prospects, third baseman Matt Dominguez and left-handed pitcher Rob Rasmussen, to the Houston Astros, in exchange for 1B Carlos Lee, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  It has also been reported that the Astros will pay the majority of what is still owed to Lee.

Dominguez was a first round pick back in 2007, and is back in Triple-A for the second straight season.  He was expected to compete for a starting spot with the Marlins before the 2011 season, but was sent back to the minors, then this off-season was blocked at the hot corner by Hanley Ramirez and became expendable.  Dominguez is one of the best defensive third basemen in the minors, with the only question being about the development of his bat.  He's never hit more than 18 home runs in a season, giving him below-average power for a corner position, and has just a .252 career batting average in the minors.  Still, his defensive abilities at third base are good enough that he should be able to hold on to a starting spot during the prime of his career, as long as he can be a league-average hitter.  Dominguez will be added directly to the Astros major league roster, tweets Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle.

Rasmussen was a second round pick in 2010 out of UCLA, and has been steady, but not spectacular, in his professional career.  In his first full season as a professional in 2011, Rasmussen went 12-10 for High-A Jupiter, with a 3.64 ERA.  The Marlins sent him back to the level this season, however, likely due to a his below average control, which resulted in 4.3 walks per nine innings.  Back in Jupiter this season, Rasmussen is 4-7 with a 3.90 ERA, although his FIP has dropped from 4.10 to 3.64 this season and his walks are down by over half a walk per nine innings, suggesting that he's actually pitching better this season.  As a left-hander with a good curveball but below-average command, he appears to be heading towards a relief career, and at age 23, the Astros could choose to make that move to expedite his arrival in the majors.

We discussed the Marlins options for Dominguez earlier this season, and a trade for a bat makes sense for the Marlins to spend their most obvious trade chip on.  If the reports are true that the Marlins are basically getting Lee for free (salary-wise), then that explains the additional prospect, but my immediate question was whether or not Lee was the best bat they could have obtained.  

Lee has played no outfield this season, making him a bad first baseman with a .748 OPS.  He's been a 0.2 WAR player this season, and there's no reason to believe that he's going to hit better in Miami than he did in Houston.  The Marlins clearly have issues at first base with the struggles of Gaby Sanchez, but Logan Morrison's versatility means that the Marlins could look for a first baseman or left fielder to join their lineup.  Better options would have included Alfonso Soriano, Josh Willingham, or Carlos Quentin.

Unfortunately, none of those players' teams represent a good fit for Dominguez and the Marlins as a trading partner.

The Cubs have reportedy been asking for significant return for most of their veterans, and Dominguez and Rasmussen might not have gotten the job done.  Additionally, the Cubs have Josh Vitters in Triple-A, who is having his best offensive season yet and is finally playing like a former 3rd overall pick.  I had the Twins pegged as a potential trade partner for the Marlins a month ago, but since then Trevor Plouffe has hit an obscene 14 home runs and has turned himself into one of the better third basemen in the American League.  The Padres have had a backlog of third basemen in their farm system for the past few years, with Chase Headley blocking the likes of Jedd Gyorko, James Darnell and Logan Forsythe.  Third base is one of the few positions the Padres have covered long term.

So despite the marginal upgrade that Lee provides for the Marlins, he does appear to be about the best move the team could have made in a deal that involved Dominguez.  The bigger question for the Marlins is whether or not they should held on to Dominguez in hopes that he hit better and increased his value rather than trade one of their best barganing chips for a player that provides little value.