MLB Prospect Watch

Blogs Track Teams - 4/9/11

• Tim WIlliams of PiratesProspects.com discusses the solid start by Jeff Locke, good relief performance by Tim Alderson, and other Pirate prospect action.
• TalkingChop.com discusses the solid 2011 debut of Brett Oberholtzer and Tyler Pastornicky's hot bat, and other Braves prospect highlights.
• Josh Norris of MinorMatters.com points out the rough day behind the plate for Yankees catching prospects Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez, among other highlights.
• Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com mentions Billy Hamilton's up-and-down day between the plate and field and Yasmani Grandal having to leave the game due to injury, plus other Reds updates.
• Jared Massey of ladodgertalk.com has more on Zach Lee's debut as well as updates on other Dodger prospects like Jerry Sands and Jake Lemmerman.
• Jack Dempsey of PineTarPress.com has a ton of updates on the Royals deep farm system, including good nights at the plate for Eric Hosmer, Derrick Robinson, and Johnny Giavotella.

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Frazier, Parker, Alderson, Vitters

• Todd Frazier has seen time at four positions - first base, third base, left field and right field - in his attempt to crack the Reds 25-man roster this spring, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
• The Diamondbacks continue to get good reports on Jarrod Parker's progress on the long road back from Tommy John surgery, reports Jack Magruder of Baseball America.
• Tim Alderson was once a highly-touted prospect and was the Pirates return for former batting champion Freddy Sanchez a few years back, but now Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com questions what the future holds for the young righty.
• Joe Mahoney was the Orioles minor league player of the year in 2010 and made a positive impression during his time in big league camp this spring, says Roch Kubatko for Baseball America.
• Josh Vitters was one of a number of prospects cut by the Cubs this week, but that doesn't mean the third baseman, who enters 2011 at a pivotal juncture in his career, didn't leave a positive impression on the club this spring, says Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - 8/11

• Jordan Lyles is slated to make his Triple-A debut tonight, but as Bryan Smith of FanGraphs.com argues, this should be his last promotion for the season.  Meanwhile, J.D. Martinez has been a nice surprise for the Astros after they selected the OF in the 20th round in 2009, and he continues to succeed in his first test against advanced pitching, batting .326/.404/.489 in 92 AB's in Double-A, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
• The Braves have demoted OF prospect Cody Johnson back to High-A after 233 AB's and a .613 OPS in Double-A, reports TalkingChop.com.
• The Mariners are having a disappointing season at the major league level, but they have seen some positive performances at the lower levels of the minors from Latin American players like George Mieses, Richard Vargas, and Ramon Morla, says Conor Glassey of Baseball America (subscription required).
• Tim Alderson still has a long road ahead of him in trying to work out his mechanical flaws before the Pirates can even consider him as a part of their future, says Dejan Kovacevic for Baseball America.  Meanwhile, Tim WIlliams of PiratesProspects.com asks whether or not Chase D'Arnaud is the team's shortstop of the future.
• Vance Worley may have been sent down by the Phillies, but he was only sent to Triple-A rather than back to Double-A where he was promoted from, so the final result felt like a promotion, says Jim Salisbury for Baseball America.
• Ray Parrillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer breaks down the long journey of Angels' prospect Mike Trout, from South Jersey high school star to top prospect in all of baseball.

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.