MLB Prospect Watch

Making Moves - 7/13

• In separate but somewhat related moves, the Pirates have promoted pitcher Jeff Locke to Double-A Altoona, reports Tim Williams of BuccoFans.com.  Corresponding with that move is the demotion of Tim Alderson from Double-A to High-A Bradenton, as reported by Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Alderson has struggled with the Pirates since coming over from San Francisco in the Freddy Sanchez trade, and has been rocked of late.  The organization hopes a refresher in A-ball will help Alderson restore his prospect status.
• New York Yankees' prospect Brandon Laird was forced to exit his game early on Monday night after fouling a pitch off of his foot, according to Josh Harris of The Trentonian.
• The Phillies have had to shut down pitching prospect Jarred Cosart for 2-3 weeks due to an elbow strain, but the hard-throwing righty received a clean bill of health from Dr. James Andrews, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
• Justin Smoak may have been the biggest name the Mariners got in return for Cliff Lee, but Blake Beavan is also a legitimate prospect in his own right, and Josh Lueke and Matt Lawson could be big-leaguers at one point.  Bryan Smith of FanGraphs.com has more on all three.

Notable Prospect Performances - 5/25

The news flash that Stephen Strasburg gave up his first earned run in Triple-A isn't nearly as interesting as why he was taken out after only 52 pitches.  It could be that the Nationals wanted to limit his pitch count and chose a start where he was merely good but not dominant to do it.  It could be that he'll be in Washington sooner than expected.  Or perhaps they're just babying him.  Only time will tell...

• Speaking of guys who probably shouldn't be in Triple-A, Jeremy Hellickson retired the first 18 batters he faced en route to 8 scoreless innings of one-hit ball, reports Robert Emrich of MLB.com.  Hellickson would probably be in the majors for 29 other teams, but not the Rays.
• Someone needs to get Kyle Russell out of the California League before he hurts someone and into a more hitter-neutral league so we can properly gauge his abilities.  The Dodgers' OF prospect hit two more home runs on Monday to bring his 2010 Cal League totals to .341/12/41.  Dee Gordon, the team's top prospect, collected 4 hits in his Double-A game on Monday night to get his batting average back up to .291.  After a red-hot April in which he hit .345, Gordon is still hitting just .239 in May.
• Buster Posey put together a 4-hit game bring his average to .344 on the season, continuing to prompt speculation like this and rebuttals like this.
• Tyler Skaggs turned in a nice performance, striking out 6 over 5 innings while giving up just one earned run as part of an Angels' system that is becoming increasingly deep in the low minors.
• Tim Alderson (PIT) responded with a solid outing, tossing 7 strong innings while striking out 5 and walking none, lowering his ERA to 5.17 on the season.

Catching Up on Prospect News

This is real simple.  Just the meat and potatoes of what you need to know.

• Kyle Gibson has been great so far, and Bryan Smith of Fan Graphs explains why.
• Matt Hagen of Hardball Times has a brief update on a random group of prospects including:
• • Brett Lawrie
  • Jaff Decker
  • Lars Anderson
  • Casey Kelly
  • Jordan Lyles
  • Jiovanni Mier
  • Lonnie Chisenhall
• Shelby Miller showed off his first-round arm en route to his first win.
• Ben Badler of Baseball America updates us on some surprisingly good performances from prospects, including L.J. Hoes, Devin Mesoraco, and Koby Clemens.
• Anderson may be the 1B of the future in Boston, but Anthony Rizzo is nipping on his heels, says Michael SIlverman of the Boston Herald.
• It seems like a long time ago that Tim Alderson was one of the highest rated pitching prospects in the minors, but as Tim WIlliams of BuccoFans.com points out, he's certainly not any more.
• Cuban defector and new Blue Jay prospect Adeiny Hechavarria made his professional debut Friday with a 1-5 effort at the plate.
• Oft-injured Mets' prospect Fernando Martinez is on the DL again, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.  This time it's a hamstring strain.
• If Jeremy Hellickson was in any other organization, he'd already be in the majors.  The Rays just don't need him, but it's hard to ignore what he's doing in Triple-A.
• Carlos Santana continues to rake.
• The Braves continue to move their prospects along, and Julio Teheran is the latest promotion as he heads to High-A Myrtle Beach, reports TalkingChop.com.

Notable Prospect Performances - 4/22

• Despite his struggles this spring, Braves' 1B prospect Freddie Freeman hit his first home run of 2010 on Wednesday night, and got his batting average back to .200, reports Talking Chop.com.
• It's a good thing the Nationals have Stephen Strasburg's dominance to keep their mind off of the struggles of their former top pitching prospects.  Once the top prospect in the system, Collin Balester continues to get rocked in Triple-A, while current prospect Jack McGeary, a 7th round prep pick in 2007 who was given a huge bonus to go pro, continues to get hit hard.  McGeary's latest start went 3 innings in which he gave up 6 runs, reports the Nationals Farm Authority, bringing the pitcher's ERA to 6.43 as a 21-year-old in Low-A ball.
• On the other hand, the stories that dads will tell their sons about Ike Davis are continuing to form, as the prospect finds new ways to increase his popularity in New York, notes Marty Noble of MLB.com.  Despite the Mets' continuing struggles, Davis impressed the tough Citi Field crowd with a catch along the first base dugout Wednesday night that ended with him over the railing and on his head.  His popularity is nothing a 1-for-27 skid at the plate won't destroy, but for now, Ike Davis is the toast of New York.
• Other performances of note from Wednesday:
• • Mariners' 2B Dustin Ackley went 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, raising his batting average to .143 on the young season.  Despite his acumen as an advanced hitter, the second overall pick in last year's draft entered the game in a 5-for-46 slump to start the season.
  • Pirates' P Tim Alderson had his second bad start in a row, giving up 5 ER and 7 hits in 4 2/3 IP, and raising his ERA to 5.52 on the season.  Alderson, acquired from the Giants last season in exchange for Freddy Sanchez, is clearly not the same pitcher he was in 2007 and 2008 when he was drafted in the first round and dominated the lower levels of the minors.
  • Cardinals' SP Shelby Miller, the team's top prospect and first round pick in 2009, struck out 7 and walked only one in his four innings of work.  Miller has made 3 starts and has not thrown more than 4 innings in any of them, but has struck out 7 batters in each.

Starting Point for Alderson

Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette answers a reader's question regarding where Pirates pitching prospect Tim Alderson will start the 2010 season.  Finder suggests that Double-A is the best option, considering that the Pirates Triple-A rotation will be filled with Spring Training leftovers.  

Alderson made 20 starts at the Double-A level last season, but he is working on changing his mechanics back to the way they were in his first two professional seasons after a drop in velocity last year, so perhaps a repeat of a level is a good idea for the young righty.