MLB Prospect Watch

Prospect Potent Potables - 3/29

Today's links are dressed in their Sunday best...

• Trevor Reckling has impressed recently in Angels camp, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
• Sergio Santos has had a long road to the majors, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, and that includes a number of years as a hitter.  Santos was originally drafted as a short stop in the Diamondbacks' organization but has resurrected his career as a pitcher and now has a chance to be a part of the White Sox pitching staff.
• The St. Louis Cardinals sent down a couple of young players that may not be the most highly touted in the prospect world but had a chance to make the team nonetheless, says Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Those players were Tyler Greene and John Jay, both of whom will probably seem time in the Gateway City at some point during the 2010 season.
• The Reds are still letting their prospects duke it out for the final spot in their rotation, according to Tom Singer of MLB.com.  With Aroldis Chapman out of the mix, it's now down to Mike Leake and Travis Wood.

Link: A Big Year for Cards' Greene?

Is this the year Cardinals' shortstop Tyler Greene carves out a permanent spot on the big league roster?  Well, the guys over at Future Redbirds think so. 

"If you decide to look down the road a year or so, it’s well within reason to think that something did click offensively.  To think that maybe he could get the OBP into a tolerable rante (.320-.330) for the majors and offset that with secondary skills like baserunning, defense and power.

--snip--

The upside, given the diversity of Greene’s skillset, is significant.  Don’t be surprised if he supplants Brendan Ryan as the Cardinals’ shortstop in the future."

While it is probable for Greene to stick with the big club this year (depending on what the Cardinals do in free agency), any assent to the starting spot by Greene will be caused as much by a lack of production by Ryan and a lack of patience from manager Tony LaRussa as anything else.  Greene can stillbe a nice player, but it is unlikely to think that his .291/.369/.482 line in his second stint in Triple-A is a reason think that something "clicked" for for the 25-year-old Greene.

For Greene to really enhance his value to the Cardinals, he should pack a bunch of different gloves for Spring Training.

Cards Greene with a Chance to Stick with Big Club

Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports on the possibility of Tyler Greene, the Cardinals other 1st round draft pick in 2005 (along with Colby Rasmus), making the club out of Spring Training.  Greene has not had the success throughout the minor leagues that was hoped when the Cardinals spent the 30th overall pick on him that year, but he ended last year strong, played in the Arizona Fall League, and has shown he is able to handle all three infield positions this spring, further enhancing his value to manager Tony LaRussa.

40-Man Roster Additions: National League

With the Rule 5 draft approaching during the Winter Meetings, the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster has come and gone.  Players added to their team's 40-man roster are safe from being taken in the Rule 5 Draft.

Other players safe from the Rule 5 draft include any players signed at age 19 or older (who are protected for three years and players drafted or signed at age 18 or younger, who are protected for four years.

Here is a list of 40-man roster additions for National League teams this off-season, who now can not be taken in the Rule 5 Draft:

Atlanta Braves

• Stephen Marek (P), Todd Redmond (P), Luis Valdez (P) and Diory Hernandez (3B). 

New York Mets

• Mike Carp (1B)
  

Philadelphia Phillies

• Joel Naughton (C), Sergio Escalona (P), John Mayberry Jr. (OF), Carlos Carrasco (P) and Drew Naylor (P)
  

Florida Marlins

• Brett Hayes (C), Chris Leroux (P), Dallas Trahern (P) and Tim Wood (P).

Washington Nationals

• Luis Atilano (P), Ian Desmond (SS) and Leonard Davis (OF)
  

Chicago Cubs

• Mitch Atkins (P), Justin Berg (P), and Marcos Mateo (P)
  

Milwaukee Brewers

• Omar Aguilar (P), Alex Periard (P), Mark Rogers (P), and Cody Scarpetta (P)
  

St. Louis Cardinals

• Tyler Greene (SS) and Matt Scherer (P)
  

Houston Astros

• Drew Sutton (2B), Tommy Manzella (SS), Brian Bogusevic (OF), and Polin Trinidad (P).

Pittsburgh Pirates

• Neil Walker (3B), Steve Lerud (C), Jose Tabata (OF), Ronald Uviedo (P), Jeff Sues (P), and Evan Meek (P)

Cincinnati Reds

• Juan Francisco (3B), Matt Maloney (P), Carlos Fisher (P), Sam LeCure (P) and Robert Manuel (P).
  

Los Angeles Dodgers

• Brent Leach (P), Victor Garate (P), Travis Schlichting (P), Jesus Castillo (P), and Jaime Hoffman (OF)
  

San Francisco Giants

• Jesse English (P), Waldis Joaquin (P), Joseph Martinez (P) and Henry Sosa (P)
  

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Pedro Ciriaco (SS), Jose Marte (P), Kyler Newby (P), Cesar Valdez (P), Leyson Septimo (P) and Clay Zavada (P).
  

Colorado Rockies

• Eric Young Jr. (2B), Ryan Mattheus (P), Samuel Deduno (P), Shane Lindsay (P), Hector Gomez (SS) and Chris Nelson (SS)
  

San Diego Padres

• Matt Bush (P), Cesar Carrillo (P), Jackson Quezada (P), Cesar Ramos (P), Jose Lobaton (C) and Luis Durango (OF).