MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - Reckling, Pastornicky, Flores

• With his prospect status being a fraction of what it once was, it's easy to overlook the strong half-season Trevor Reckling had in Double-A in 2011 before going on the shelf with a sore elbow.  But as Andrew Pentis of MiLB.com points out, Reckling did show improvement, and is spending this off-season working with former Angels lefty Mark Langston, in hopes of fully re-gaining his status as a top prospect.
• Tyler Pastornicky is the front-runner to win the Braves starting shortstop job this spring, and as Bill Ballew points out for Baseball America, the Braves tend to have no fear of letting a rookie start on Opening Day.
• Wilmer Flores' bat has become something of a disappointment, and his prospect stock will only drop further when he makes his eventual move off of shortstop, but Michael Baron of MetsBlog.com discusses the posibility of Flores moving to second base, as well as the immense pressure that has been put on him since the Mets signed him and the borderline ridiculous comparisons to Miguel Cabrera that Flores has had to endure.

Trout, Chisenhall, Turner Among Victims on Roster Cutdown Day

• The Pirates sent ten players away from major league camp on Monday, including prospects Daniel Moskos and Gorkys Hernandez who were optioned to Triple-A, prospect Jeff Locke who was optioned to Double-A, and Andrew Lambo and Chase D'Arnaud who were not on the 40-man roster and were re-assigned to minor league camp, but both of whom will also begin the season in Triple-A, according to Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com.
• The Angels made a round of cuts on Monday that included top prospect Mike Trout and pitchers Trevor Reckling and Loek Van Mil, reports Owen Perkins of MLB.com.
• Greg Halman was optioned to Triple-A by the Mariners on Monday, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com.
• The Royals optioned both second base prospect Jeff Bianchi and outfield prospect Derrick Robinson to Double-A, says Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.
• The Indians re-assigned Lonnie Chisenhall, Alex White, and Jason Kipnis to minor league camp, as well as optioned Nick Weglarz and Zach McAllister to Triple-A, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• The Astros re-assigned Koby Clemens, Jiovanni Mier, Doug Arguello, Jon Gaston and J.D. Martinez, to minor league camp on Monday, says Farmstros.com.
• The Tigers have re-assigned catchers Patrick Leyland and Bryan Holaday to minor league camp, and have optioned Cale Iorg, Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner to Double-A, says DetroitTigerTales.com.
• The Orioles optioned first base prospect Joe Mahoney to Triple-A, says Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.

 

Prospect Performances - Nats, Braves, Lyles, Rizzo

• Bryce Harper had a pinch-hit RBI single, but the real story for the Nationals was Danny Espinosa, who reached base safely in all four plate appearances, reports Josh Jackson of MiLB.com.
• Both Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor threw well again in a "B" game as they continue to compete for the Braves final rotation spot, notes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, although Beachy did have one uncharacteristically wild inning, says Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
• Jordan Lyles gave up two runs in three innings of work, but the Astros prospect pitched better than his line would suggest, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
• Diamondbacks OF prospect Collin Cowgill blasted a first-inning grand slam off of Randy Wolf.
• Alex Liddi also hit a grand slam for the Mariners, notes Danny Wild of MiLB.com, and Dan Cortes threw a scoreless ninth inning in the victory.
• Trevor Reckling gave up seven earned runs in two innings of work after entering the game for the Angels in a tie ballgame, says Lyle Spencer of MLB.com.
• The Padres were led by a pair of rookies on Wednesday, as newly-acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo homered and Cory Luebke allowed just one run over 4 1/3 innings of work, reports Paige Schector of MiLB.com.

 

Prospect Action - Trumbo, Parker, Nats, Cox, Scheppers

• The Angels had their prospects on display on Thursday, as Mark Trumbo homered for the second time this spring, but Garrett Richards gave up three runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief work, and Trevor Reckling gave up three more in his two innings.
• Jarrod Parker tossed two scoreless innings in his second appearance for the Diamondbacks, and showed much better command than he had in his first outing, notes Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.
• The Nationals have some depth at catcher in their farm system, and their top two backstop prospects, Wilson Ramos and Derek Norris, both had solid days at the plate, with Ramos collecting two hits, and Norris hitting a home run off of Cardinals pitching prospect Maikel Cleto, reports Danny Wild of MiLB.com.  Zack Cox collected two hits in the game for the Cardinals, including a double, notes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• Brad Lincoln retired all nine batters he faced for the Pirates on Thursday, reports John Parker of MiLB.com.
• Aroldis Chapman struck out two batters in his one inning of work for the Reds, needing only seven pitches to complete the feat, including getting Dodgers prospect Trayvon Robinson to ground out on one pitch.  On the Dodgers side, Jerry Sands knocked two more hits, and Rubby De La Rosa threw two shutout innings, striking out three, and continuing to impress new skipper Don Mattingly.
• Tanner Scheppers couldn't get through his scheduled inning of work for the Rangers, walking two batters and complaining of back stiffness afterward, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

 

 

Prospect Potent Potables - Perez, Tribe, Miller, Reckling

• With Wil Myers moving to the outfield and out of the way, Salvador Perez appears to be next in line for the title of Royals "catcher-of-the-future," a role he appears to be taking by the horns thus far in spring training, notes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
• Most of the Indians pitching help is still at least a year away from the majors, but the quartet of Alex White, Drew Pomeranz, Nick Hagadone, and Bryce Stowell has manager Manny Acta excited this spring, reports Jordan Bastain of MLB.com.
• In Cardinals camp, veteran ace Chris Carpenter helped top prospect Shelby Miller when he thought Miller was tipping his pitches, reports Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, while the positional debate of Zack Cox's future continues over at FutureRedbirds.com.
• Trevor Reckling is trying to regain his prospect status after a disastrous 2010 season, but if he bounces back successfully, could end 2011 in the Angels bullpen, notes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.