MLB Prospect Watch

Making Moves - 5/28

• Arizona Diamondbacks' top prospect Jarrod Parker is back on the mound on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.  Parker had surgery last October and is just beginning to throw.
• Also on the long road back from injury is Jared Mitchell, but the White Sox' prospect is ahead of schedule, says Jeff Buchanan of Future Sox.com.
• Jason Castro should be in Houston at some point this season, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
• Mike Stanton is coming, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, whether the Marlins' outfielders are ready or not.  Joe Frisaro of MLB.com goes over the Marlins' options for getting everyone enough at-bats.
• Orioles' prospect Kieron Pope is back in action after recovering from a broken leg, writes Noah Rosenstein of MLB.com.
• Jack Moore of FanGraphs.com makes the latest case for Buster Posey's promotion to San Francisco.
• The Cubs have put Andrew Cashner in their Triple-A bullpen in order to get him ready for a relief role in the majors later in the season, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times adds his input as well.  The Cubs made a similar move with fellow prospect Jay Jackson earlier this season, and either or both could be at Wrigley this year.
• Basebal America has their weekly transaction report, which includes a few moves that slipped under the radar, including:
• • Lonnie Chisenhall (CLE) to the 7-day DL (shoulder)
  • Zack Wheeler (SF) to the 7-day DL (fingernail...seriously)
  • Zach Braddock (MIL) added to the 40-man roster and could be in line for a call up

Making Moves - 5/24

• Derek Norris of the Washington Nationals will be about a week with a concussion, tweets Bill Ladson.
• We already told you about Nick Weglarz promotion to Triple-A.  Taking his place on the Akron roster in Double-A will be Alex White, the Indians
• ' first-round draft pick from 2009, reports Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
• Donavan Tate is playing every day in Padres' extended spring training and will begin his professional career officially when the Northwest League starts in June, says Corey Brock of MLB.com.
• Zach Braddock was promoted to Milwaukee one day after his minor league teammate Jonathan Lucroy got the call, report Adam McCalvy and Jordan Schelling of MLB.com.
• Arodis Chapman's next start has been pushed back, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, but the Reds have not announced when that start will be.  His next start was originally scheduled for today.
• Marlins' fans want to know when Mike Stanton will be called-up, and Joe Frisaro of MLB.com suggests that it will be at least until June, but could be longer as Stanton is just 20-years old and still has less than a full year of Double-A under his belt.
• Daniel Moskos is having success in his new role as a closer, reports Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The money quote - "I think the bullpen is a good fit for him" courtesy of Altoona pitching coach Tim Filer.  It's not Filer's fault, but news flash for the Pirates...Clemson thought so too.

Braddock Makes Permanent Move to Bullpen

Pitching prospect Zach Braddock had been in a relief role last year as the Milwaukee Brewers monitored his pitch count as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, but the 22-year-old lefty pitched so well in the role that the team has decided to keep him there, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

Braddock had a great 2009 season and followed it up with a strong spring, turning the Brewers into believers that he could be an impact reliever for the major league club sometime in the near future.  With that in mind, the Brewers have sent Braddock to Triple-A in a relief role with an eye on a mid-season call-up to bolster the big league bullpen during the season.

The Brewers have said that many of their minor league relievers will work in multi-inning relief stints to avoid trapping them into inflexible one-inning roles once they get to the majors.