Yasiel Puig has been placed on the 7-day minor league disabled list with a sprained thumb, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, who also notes that the injury may have cost Puig a chance to DH for the Dodgers over the weekend when the team as in Baltimore.
Puig, who was as hot this spring as a hitter can be, is was hitting .333/.385/.625 in Double-A before the injury. No one has questioned his hitting ability, but the Dodgers are hoping Puig can make some improvements in his plate discipline. Thus far, however, Puig has walked just four times in 13 games, for a 7.7 percent walk rate even lower than his previous minor league rates.
Puig is not expected to be out long.
Surgery Not Needed for d'Arnaud
Travis d'Arnaud broke his foot on Wednesday, but after visiting doctors, it was determined that surgery was not needed to repair the break, says Michael Baron of MetsBlog.com. d'Arnaud is expected to miss about eight weeks.
This isn't a long-term concern for the Mets top hitting prospect, and essentially, the only real effect of this injury should be the delay of his arrival in the majors by about a month or so. Assuming there are no setbacks, d'Arnaud should still be in the majors this summer, it just could be towards the end of it rather than at it's start.
Molina to Miss a Couple of Starts
Nestor Molina, who the White Sox acquired in exchange for Sergio Santos last off-season, will miss a few starts after having an MRI on his elbow, reports Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune. It was not disclosed whether there is a structural issue, an actual injury, or whether this is a response to soreness or a precautionary measure.
Molina returned to Double-A Birmingham this season after getting hit hard there last year, but wasn't having much more success before going on the DL, with a 7.30 ERA and 20 hits allowed in 12 1/3 innings.
If that's the case, this changes the Mets' timetable for d'Arnaud's promotion. The end of May/early June time period was speculated as when d'Arnaud may be called up to the majors, delaying his arrival long enough to avoid his reaching "Super 2" status in a few years. If he misses six weeks with the injury, that will take him right up to that time without having returned to action and rehabbed at all. Before promoting him to the majors, the Mets will likely want to give him some more minor league at-bats upon return from injury.
Luckily for the Mets, current catcher John Buck has been the team's best hitter so far this season. Buck's success was leaving the Mets with an enviable problem for when to promote d'Arnaud, that is now effected by d'Arnaud's timetable. If there is a silver lining to the injury, however, it's that it happened while d'Arnaud was in the minors, thus not running his service clock while on the disabled list.
Crick Exits Early
Kyle Crick, the top prospect of the San Francisco Giants, left his start on Thursday after just two innings with what is being reported as an oblique injury, accordng to Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com. There is no time table for Crick's return, but the right-hander is being evaluated today by team doctors.
Crick was off to a great start this season, pitching in the California League for the first time. Including his shortened third start from Thursday, Crick has a 0.93 ERA with 12 strike outs in 9 2/3 innings, although he has walked nine batters over that time. His ability to overcome wildness by missing bats is becoming a trend for Crick, who posted a 2.51 ERA in the South Atlantic League last season despite a 5.4 BB/9 rate.
Twins outfield prospect Oswaldo Arcia may have had the best all-around game of the night, going 2-for-4 with a double and a home run at the plate and also throwing out two runners at second base.
Diamondbacks prospect Matt Davidson did on Thursday night what Matt Davidson does best, hitting a ninth-inning two-run home run to lead Reno to a 5-4 victory, despite a home run earlier in the game from fellow hot-corner man and Rockies top prospect Nolan Arenado.
Zack Wheeler struggled in his Pacific Coast League deubt as the Mets top prospect allowed two earned runs and walking three while taking 86 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings. He got plenty of run support from Travis d'Arnaud, who collected a pair of doubles in the game.
Danny Hultzen had no such trouble in his 2013 debut, as the Mariners lefty fanned seven batters over six innings of work. His control issues, which plagued him after his call-up to Triple-A last season, were no where to be found, as Hultzen walked just 2 batters.
Double-A
The Double-A debut of Mets pitching prospect Rafael Montero couldn't have gone much better, as the right-hander struck out eight over 5 2/3 innings of one-run baseball.
Taijuan Walker wasn't as sharp in his 2013 debut, striking out eight batters of his own over five innings of work, but also walking four and allowing four earned runs and a pair of home runs to Marlins prospects J.T. Realmuto and Derek Dietrich.
After emerging as a prospect last season, Aaron Northcraft was able to carry his success over to his first start of 2013, also striking out eight over six innings of shutout baseball.
Tigers first base prospect Aaron Westlake hit his first home run of the season as part of a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Yankees catching prospect Gary Sanchez went 2-for-4 in the victory.
The A's jumped Addison Russell all the way to the California League in his first full season but the 2012 first-rounder struck out three times in his debut. He also singled and walked.
Low-A
After posting a 6.26 ERA in the Midwest League last season, Padres pitching prospect Joe Ross got off to a much better start to the 2013 season, throwing five scoreless innings on Thursday night while striking out four.
Reds prospect Robert Stephenson was dominant at times but erratic at others en route to racking up six strikeouts over five innings, but also allowing three runs.
Byron Buxton did his job as a leadoff hitter in his full-season debut, getting two hits, scoring two runs and stealing a base for the Twins new affiliate in Cedar Rapids.
Yasiel Puig is the big name but keep an eye on Chris Withrow as a potential bullpen arm who could be in the majors by the end of the season. Watch Puig's plate discipline (not just walks, but his BB/K ratio) to see how ready he is for the majors.
Just like in the majors, it's all about offense in the Rockies Triple-A affiliate, with Nolan Arenado pushing Ryan Wheeler over to first base. Arenado was beat out in spring training by Chris Nelson, but if he returns to his 2011 form, he should force his way to the majors by mid-season, no matter what Nelson is doing.
Gary Brown could be up for a big offensive season, much like he had in the offensively similar California League in 2011. The center fielder struggled last season as Richmond and has one last chance to prove that he's an everyday player and not a fourth outfielder. Left-hander Mike Kickham leads the pitching staff after a strong season in Richmond in 2012. He skipped the Cal League on his way through the Giants system, so this will be his first test in an extreme hittter's environment.
Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters are the names everyone knows and this is their final chance in the minors to prove they should be a part of the Cubs rebuilding process. Both should be in the majors at some point this season, but both need to give the Cubs some reason to believe they can be regular players at the next level.
The new Mets affiliate are headlined by pitching phenom Zack Wheeler, who won't be in the desert for too long. He should be in the majors by June. The 51's also feature Travis d'Arnaud and Wilmer Flores, giving them the best collection of top prospects in the PCL.
Oscar Taveras will be the best player in the PCL and will only be there as long as the Cardinals still have him blocked in the majors. 2012 first-rounder Michael Wacha could be close behind him, and should be the PCL's best pitcher once Wheeler joins the Mets.
The Brewers system isn't deep, but Johnny Hellweg, who came over in last summer's Zack Greinke trade, is a flame thrower and almost made the Brewers bullpen out of spring training. He'll work as a starter in the minors.
The Zephyrs thought they were getting Jose Fernandez at some point this season, but instead will have to settle for Jacob Turner and Kyle Skipworth, which is not a close consolation prize. Christian Yelich will join them eventually, but not yet.
Jarred Cosart, Rudy Owens and Paul Clemens highlight a rotation of prospects the Astros have acquired over the past two seasons, while the lineup is led by Robbie Grossman, Marc Krauss and Jonathan Villar. None of these players were drafted by the Astros, a testament to their rebuilding process, but none are high-end prospects.
The headliner is Jurickson Profar, but he'll be flanked by Mike Olt in the lineup and Justin Grimm on the mound. Profar could also be spending the majority of his time at second base now that the Rangers have locked Elvis Andrus up long term.
Sonny Gray and Grant Green give the RIver Cats a pair of first rounders still trying to gain some traction within the A's organization. Either could move quick if they have success or they could spend the whole season in the PCL.
Jaff Decker continues to try to defy expectations, but needs to bounce back from an injury-riddled 2012 season. Brad Boxberger will stay sharp in the bullpen until he's needed in the majors.
Alderson goes on to say that the odds are not equal, with Travis d'Arnaud having a better chance to break camp with the team than Zack Wheeler, and also says that d'Arnaud is not being handed the job, but will have to win it this spring.
It wouldn't shock me to see d'Arnaud make the Mets roster out of spring training, simply because it's always tempting to get caught up in new talent in the spring, the Mets have shown to be especially susceptible to this (the Jenrry Mejia fiasco from 2010), and d'Arnaud is flat out a better baseball player than John Buck.
But d'Arnaud should probably head to Triple-A. Thanks to injuries, he played just 67 games there last season. But he'll be 24 this spring and has over 2,000 minor league plate appearances. If he jumps straight to the majors, it won't kill him. And he is the Mets best option.
It would shock me, however, to see Wheeler make the Mets roster this spring. Wheeler has just six Triple-A starts to his credit and could use at least a half-season there to work on his off-speed pitches, most specifically his change-up. Additionally, the Mets have to be considering his service clock and would like to hold him off long enough to get an extra season of team control.
There's no doubt that he is among the Mets five best starting pitchers, but with the Mets desire to give Mejia one more chance to start, and Jeremy Hefner in the fold to keep the fifth spot warm for Wheeler if Mejia can't handle the task, there's little need to rush Wheeler.
