AL minor league samples (May, 2014)
|
HITTERS |
Players in bold have appeared in the majors
this year. |
PITCHERS |
|
1 Byron Buxton, OF (MIN) 1st rounder 3 Carlos Correa, SS (HOU) 1st 4 Miguel Sano, 3B (MIN) (out for season) 5 Francisco Lindor
SS (CLE) 1st 6 George
Springer, OF (HOU) 1st 7 Nick
Castellanos, 3B (DET) 1st 8 Clint
Frazier, OF (CLE) 1st 9
Rougned Odor, SS (TEX) 10 Gary Sanchez, C (NY)
11 Raúl Mondesi, SS (KC) 12 D.J. Peterson, 3B (SEA) 1st 13 Mookie
Betts, 2B (BOS) 5th 14 Garin
Cecchini, 3B (BOS)
4th 15 Jonathan Singleton, 1B (HOU) 8th 16 Joey Gallo, 3B
(TEX) 1st 17 Blake Swihart,
C (BOS) 1st 18 Hunter Dozier, SS (KC) 1st 19 Tim Anderson, SS (CHI) 1st 20 Domingo Santana,
OF (HOU) |
Hak Ju-Lee, SS (TB) --Billy McKinney, OF
(OAK) 1st --Matt Davidson, 3B (CHI) 1st Mitch Nay, 3B (TOR) Jorge Alfaro, C
(TEX) Eddie Rosario, 2B-OF (MIN) 4th (susp.) Greg Bird, 1B (NY)
5th Micah Johnson, 2B (CHI) 9th Eric Jagielo,
3B (NY) 1st C.J. Cron, 1B (LA) 1st Marcus Semien, SS (CHI) 6th Josmil Pinto, C (MIN) Michael Choice,
OF (OAK) 1st Jonathan Schoop, 2B-3B (BAL) Delino
DeShields, 2B-OF (HOU)
1st Aaron Judge, OF (NY) 1st Taylor Lindsey, 2B (LA) 1st Rio Ruiz, 3B (HOU) 4th
--Jorge Bonifacio,
OF (KC) --Henry Urrutia,
OF (BAL) (hernia) Jorge Polanco, INF (MIN) Gabriel Guerrero, OF (SEA) Adam Walker II, OF (MIN) 3rd Bubba Starling, OF (KC) 1st Andrew Toles,
CF (TB) 4th Nick Williams, OF (TEX) Devon Travis, 2B, (DET) 13th Tyler Austin, OF (NY) Luis Sardinas,
SS (TEX) Dariel
Alvarez, OF (BAL) CUBAN Mason Williams, CF (NY) 4th |
Sonny Gray, RHP
(OAK) 1st Taijuan Walker, RHP (SEA) 1st Trevor Bauer, RHP
(CLE) 1st Aaron Sanchez, RHP, (TOR) 1st Alex Meyer, RHP (MIN) 1st Marcus Stroman, RHP (TOR) 1st Mike Foltynewicz, RHP (HOU) 1st Lance
McCullers, RHP (HOU) 1st Kohl Stewart, RHP (MIN)
1st Erik Johnson,
RHP (CHI) 2nd Jake Odorizzi, RHP (TB) Henry Owens, LHP (BOS) 1st --Miguel Almonte,
RHP (KC) Rafael DePaula,
RHP (NY) Mike Montgomery, LHP (KC) --Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (BAL) --Vincent Velasquez, RHP (HOU) Matt Barnes, RHP (BOS) 1st Taylor Guerrieri,
RHP (TB) suspended |
BALTIMORE
ORIOLES
Kevin Gausman is off to
a good starts for AAA Norfolk but they are monitoring his pitch counts. He was
3-5 with a 5.66 ERA in 20 games with the Orioles last year, five of them starts. “It looks
like they're holding him to 75 pitches,” Buck Showalter said. He pitched 130
innings in the majors and minors last year. “So the potential is there for him
to pitch in October, September, get a head of it and not wait until late and
have to shut him down. Trying
to get where we don’t have that issue if we get to where we're trying to get.
Don't want to wait until August,” Showalter said.
Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Henry Urrutia
had sports hernia surgery and will miss two months. He was batting .220 with no
homers in 20 games this season.
Dylan Bundy (elbow) is pitching in extended spring games, and his fastball
averaged in the low-90s. Buck Showalter said: "I can say ahead (of his
rehab), definitely not behind, but I'm not going to. He's just right in the
progression. It's kind of like [Johan] Santana -- you got to make sure you
don't get ahead of it." The 21-year-old had Tommy John surgery last June
and is hoping to be activated at midseason.
BOSTON RED
SOX
2B Mookie Betts is off
to a hot start for AA Portland.
3B Garin Cecchini has drawn walks at lower
levels but is having a bit of trouble at AAA even though he’s batting over
.300. “The umpires get better when you get up here on what their zone is. It’s
not that it’s tightening up, but they’re more consistent. They don’t miss as
many calls — and pitchers up here are a little bit more consistent at throwing
strikes. It’s the same type of process as far as learning the pitchers,”PawSox manager Kevin Boles said.
“But he’s ahead of the curve. He may not agree with everything that’s called
against him. Most hitters don’t. He’ll learn.”
CHICAGO
WHITE SOX
3B Matt Davidson is really struggling at AAA Charlotte, batting under .200 with a
terrible k/bb ratio. He was acquired
from Arizona for Addison Reed last winter. "Solid actions, strong
arms, good hands," GM Rick Hahn said at the time. "The question
you'll hear from time to time with scouts and has been written about publicly
is about the lateral movement. We think it has improved. We think it's going to
continue to improve. We see him over there for the long term once the
development is finished."
The Sox patience with former top prospect Courtney Hawkins might be paying
off. Coming off a dismal season last year, the 19-year-old is leading the
Carolina league in RBIs while hitting over .300. They still believe he has
40-homer, 130-RBI potential. He has a long swing and strikes out a lot though.
2B Micah Johnson is off to a hot start for AA Birmingham and is worth
watching despite a relatively low ranking on most prospect sheets. His .472
on-base percentage is second in the league and he is fourth with a .557
slugging percentage. He was taken in the ninth round of the 2012 draft after
falling because of an elbow injury.
Erik Johnson was sent down to AAA Charlotte to work on his
command. He is 1-3 with a 6.46 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. “He just needs to go and
get his stuff back, get that competitive stuff that we’ve seen before,” Robin
Ventura said. “He can work on it down there. He’s a good pitcher. He’s young.
You don’t expect not to see him for a while. I would expect to see him again
pretty soon.” Johnson has walked 15 batters. “It’s just something where I have
to go down and refine my stuff and get it back to where it was and hopefully
come back up and help the team as best as I can,” he said. “No one expects to
go down. I think it’s definitely a privilege to be in the big leagues and it’s
a privilege to play here and you’ve got to bring it every day. Right now what
I’m doing is not what they, or not what gets results out there.”
Matt Davidson is showing signs of breaking out of his slump. He battled
through a deep hand bruise but is healthy again. "Prior to the hand
bruise, which is now behind him, it was more a matter of timing for the most
part," GM Rick Hahn said. "It's not entirely rare where you see a guy
who performs really well in the spring, he gets reassigned and then all of a
sudden he gets off to a poor start at his Minor League affiliate. Matt wasn't
quite where he was when he left camp, from a timing standpoint, offensively.
We've been real pleased with the defense, but he wasn't able to carry over in
the early part of the Minor League season what he was doing for us in Glendale.
He then had the hand thing and now that the hand thing seems to be behind him,
I think he's turning a corner."
Micah Johnson was placed on the disabled list by AAA Charlotte with a left
hamstring injury. Johnson, 23, hit .329 with 10 stolen bases in 37 games for AA
Birmingham before being promoted to Charlotte. He has a .273 average in 10
games for the Knights.
CLEVELAND
INDIANS
SS Francisco Lindor, 20,
is holding his own at AA Akron while playing excellent defense. He could be the
Tribe’s starting shortstop next year if Asdrubal
Cabrera leaves via free agency.
OF Clint Frazier is playing for Class-A Lake County. The
19-year-old played in the Rookie-level Arizona League last year, batting
.297/.362/.506 with 11 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 28 RBI in 44
games. “I've been impressed overall, for a young kid,'' manager Mark Budzinski said. “It took me four
years of college ball as an outfielder before I felt like I knew what I was
doing. He's very athletic. He has quick feet.''
RHP Trevor Bauer is pitching well for AAA Columbus topping out at 96-mph
placing him back in the top prospect mix. “He is attacking hitters with his
fastball and throwing his off-speed pitches for both strikes and swing and
miss. In the early going, this is allowing him to work more efficiently on the
mound and pitch deeper into games,'' said Ross Atkins, vice president of player
development.
Veteran RHP Josh Tomlin is also looking good in the Clippers rotation
although he’s been a bit wild. A year removed from Tommy John surgery. “Josh
Tomlin is an experienced starter with an incredible feel to pitch,'' Atkins
said. “He is showing more arm strength than he did pre-injury. He does
everything to help himself on the mound. He attacks the strike zone, holds
runners and fields his position well. It’s beyond impressive to hear his
thoughts on how he reads hitters in the box and develops a plan of attack.''
Ross Atkins, director of player development, said 1B Jesus Aguilar will
continue to play third base about once every 10 days at AAA Columbus.
"There are two variables," Atkins said. "He's done it (in winter
ball) and we want to keep that as part of his game to make sure we're not
eliminating it. The other component is we want to make sure we're making him
the best first baseman that he can be. The plan is to keep it as part of
something he does once every 10 days."
Aguilar is hitting .361 (30-for-93) with seven homers but is not
considered a top prospect.
DETROIT
TIGERS
2B Devon Travis was placed on the minor league disabled list with a strained
pectoral muscle.
RHP Corey Knebel, a
relief pitcher drafted in the second round last year, was promoted to AAA
Toledo. The 22-year-old posted a 1.20 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 15 innings for
AA Erie. He throws in the mid-90s with a good curveball and could see the
majors in the second half.
HOUSTON
ASTROS
SS Carlos Correa is off to a good start for Class-A Lancaster, a great
hitter’s park due to the ballpark's altitude and jet stream winds, particularly
to right field. That could be part of the reason Mark Appel is struggling so far. Appel (appendectomy) missed part of spring training
and has been hittable although his k/bb ratio remains strong.
Mark Appel, the top
overall pick in 2013, was sent down to extended spring training in Kissimmee,
Fla., after struggling at Class-A Lancaster. “Mark pitched four years at
Stanford and was very used to a seven-day routine,” GM Jeff Luhnow said. “Even last year when he was in short-season
with us and (then Class A) Quad-Cities he was pitching about every seven days.
He missed almost all spring training with the appendicitis issue, so he never
got a chance to really get into the routine of pro ball either last year or
this year at spring training. We thought he could catch up by going to
Lancaster and jumping right into the rotation there. The feeling was after I
spoke to him a couple of nights ago and speaking to the pitching coach there,
we’re going to take half a step back and send him to Florida and have him pitch
in some extended (spring training) games and get him more used to the pro
routine because he’s not really used to it. It’s a little unsettling but the
results aren’t what he’s capable of at this point.” Appel isn’t the first top Astros prospect to
struggle with the tandem-pitching structure.
Mike Foltynewicz
suffered elbow discomfort last year at AA Corpus Christi after he was asked to
pitch in the four-day tandem for the first time in his life. And the
22-year-old is off to a rough start this year as they want him to throw more
upper-90s 4-seamers. “The people who throw sinkers are people that can’t throw
fastballs,” pitching coach
Brent Strom said. “Foltynewicz
throws 98-mph. A lot of the Tommy John (surgeries) that you’re reading about,
and one of the things that we’re going to address with the minor league
pitching coaches in Houston, is we have to keep our hand inside our elbow as
we’re driving a ball in a straight line.” The slider was allowed again last
year after they told him not to throw his breaking stuff, but midseason elbow
soreness put the kibosh on that. “My whole life has been on a five day rotation
and that’s all it was, that’s all it’s been,” he said. “Throwing in a
piggy-back system and throwing one more day of rest, I couldn’t tell you what
the issue was, but I definitely was a little sore. I feel good now, I feel
great.” Foltynewicz is also
revising his curveball calling it a spike curve which is similar to a knuckle
curve. He also need
to work on his location. Said
Strom: “This kid might be special. Very very special.”
OF Delino DeShields was activated from the
DL. He was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his right cheekbone after
being hit by a pitch three weeks ago.
1B Jon Singleton is still slugging at AAA Oklahoma City and GM Jeff Luhnow said he would be up soon.
"Singleton's progressing," Luhnow
said. "We see him as a guy who's close to being able to contribute at the
Major League level. We're excited. We've all seen the reaction the fans had at
bringing up prospects like [George] Springer and last year with [Jarred] Cosart and we have more coming. I
would say Singleton is on deck. We have our own process for determining when a
player is ready to come up," he said. "I'm not going to disclose what
that is or the details, but just suffice it to say we're doing our homework and
when the time is right, he'll be here." The Astros could wait until mid to
late June so Singleton doesn't quality for Super Two status.
Mark Appel is set to
rejoin Class-A Lancaster. He had an appendectomy two weeks before spring
training, so GM Jeff Luhnow
conceded he made a mistake sending him to Lancaster in the first place without
enough time to build up strength. He had soreness and made four appearances
with a 6.23 ERA.
KANSAS
CITY ROYALS
SS Raul Mondesi is off
to a hot start for AA Wilmington, not
bad for one of the youngest players in the league (19). He is also
showing strong defensive improvement at shortstop.
RHP Kyle Zimmer (shoulder) will remain in extended spring training until the
third week of May. He will then be assigned to AA Northwest Arkansas, where he
posted a 1.93 ERA in four starts in 2013 before being shut down with biceps
tendinitis. The team projects him to pitch 130-150 innings. He threw 108 last season. “If he
factors in with our big-league club, he’s probably going to be more at the 150
mark,” assistant GM J.J. Picollo
said. They want him to compete for a rotation spot next spring – and maybe in
September.
LHP Mike Montgomery is off to a good start at AAA Durham after a few years
of struggles so the team likely wants to rebuild his confidence. He still has
three above-average pitches (he’s also working on a curveball) but he sometimes
falls in love with his fastball too much. He needs to work on commanding that
pitch better, as his walks are still a little too high. So he needs to mix his
other pitches, learning how to set up hitters so they don't always know what's
coming. "The biggest thing that stands out to me is pitch selection, what
to throw in different moments," Joe Maddon
said. "I just think to me, he seems to be pigeon holed into throwing his
fastball when he might be behind in the count. He has all the ingredients, he just
doesn't know what to do with them yet. As he learns how to pitch better and is
less predictable, I think you're going to see the results become better."
He probably is not going to develop into an ace starter like they thought after
taking him in the sandwich round in 2008, but he should be a decent
mid-rotation guy eventually.
Bubba Starling, the No. 5 overall pick in 2011, is finally starting to hit a
little. “A lot of people tried to work on this or that with me,” he said.
“Change my hands, put them in a different spot or change my feet or whatever it
is. It seemed like every time I turned around, it was an oh-for-four, an
oh-for-five, two or three punchouts
and you know, it kind of took a toll on me. I was trying to do way too much at
the plate. I feel like with my hands, they were just stiff and I wasn’t getting
my hands through the zone. I wasn’t seeing the ball when it was released,” he
continued. “A little herky-jerky, I guess.” Wilmington hitting coach Milt
Thompson just told him to relax. He is hitting .321 in the last two weeks since
then. “Up at the plate I kind of had a different stance and stuff. Now I’m just
in a comfortable spot for me and kind of going back to what I did in high
school. That’s what I’m doing now,” Starling said. “It’s very close to what I
did in high school. I just feel really comfortable. Milt does a great job of
not putting too much stuff in my head. He just tells me to keep it simple and
go get my work in. Milt said if I can take the confidence I have in center
field up to the plate, I’ll be a pretty good player. I just feel like any ball hit
to left- or right-center, I’m going to track it down and catch it. It may not
always be the case, but I’m just competitive out there. And I think sooner or
later, when I get more and more at-bats and get comfortable in the box, the
hitting will come.”
Kyle Zimmer, still in extended spring training, has been shut down for 6-8
weeks due to a lat strain.
"My guess is, it'll more on the side of eight weeks," assistant GM
J.J. Picollo said.
"Then he'll start on a throwing program again. Really, he's starting over
again -- it's
spring training again."
MINNESOTA
TWINS
2B Eddie Rosario is serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for
recreational drug use. It's the second time he has violated the minor league
drug policy.
Miguel Sano is out for the season following Tommy John surgery. "Thank
God, everything went well," he said. "I think I'll be playing
baseball in the fall, but I'm between playing in the Arizona Fall League or
winter ball in the Dominican Republic."
RHP Alex Meyer is making great strides with his
changeup at AAA Rochester. “I thought that was very
encouraging,” said Rob Antony, assistant general
manager. “We told him, ‘Too many guys are getting good swings off your
98-mile-an-hour fastball.’ That’s the difference between being a good major
league pitcher and really good major league pitcher. He has the fastball and he
has a breaking ball. Now if you can change speeds and slow it down, he’s got
all the pitches to be successful.” 24-year-old Meyer, like most AAA phenoms, won’t be recalled until
at least mid-June when he is no longer a "Super-2" player (he won't
be able to accumulate enough service time to become arbitration-eligible a year
early). He also missed several weeks
last season due to shoulder problems so they want to be careful with him.
2B Levi Michael, a first-round
pick in 2011, has battled injuries and inconsistency but is getting it back
together at Class-A Fort Myers. “Levi Michael is playing as well as he has in a
long time,” Steil said.
“That’s encouraging. He’s being aggressive, playing solid in the field,
swinging the bat pretty good.”
OF Byron Buxton (sprained left wrist)
was finally activated and assigned to AA New Britain. "He joined the
Miracle today because he passed everything he needed to do in extended,"
assistant GM Rob Antony said. "Now we'll get him in over there with the
Miracle and get him going. If he gets rolling and it looks like he's in
midseason form and ready to go, we'll move him up to New Britain where we
planned to have him be. He played his way out of this league last year, but
we'll give him enough time here to get going."
Byron Buxton had a setback with his left wrist and will
undergo an MRI exam. “He will have an MRI this week to compare it to his MRI
from the spring,” director of minor leagues Brad Steil said. He first injured his wrist on March 16
while diving for a ball during a minor league spring training game. He then
reinjured it on a slide. Originally they had hoped he would make his major
league debut this season. The wrist injury has put that in doubt for a player
who was the consensus pick as the top prospect in baseball.
NEW YORK
YANKEES
1B Greg Bird was activated May 5 after beginning the season on the DL with a
back injury. The 21-year-old sleeper prospect is coming off and
nice season
in A-ball (.288 with 20 homers and a 132/107 k/bb ratio) last year. Good
power potential. Draws
walks.
OAKLAND
ATHLETICS
OF Billy McKinney is struggling with his average and strikeout rate at
Class-A Stockton but is hitting for power and is expected to improve as the
season wears on.
The 19-year-old is making the tough transition from the New
York-Penn League.
SS Addison Russell (right hamstring) is playing in an extended spring
training games in Arizona. "We won't have any other updates on his
progress or expected return to action until he is ready to leave the extended
program and join a full-season club," assistant GM David Forst said. Russell, 20, has a
.306 average through 167 games in the minors so far.
SEATTLE
MARINERS
1B Jesus Montero is hitting .300 with six home runs for AAA Tacoma and could
be recalled soon. The former top catching prospect is still just 24 so keep an
eye on him. He is a lifetime .258
hitter with a poor k/bb ratio in the majors.
OF Gabriel Guerrero is off to a big start for Class-A High Desert and is
worth watching. The 20-year-old is a pretty raw prospect who strikers out a lot
but he has power potential and the fast start is an encouraging sign – even in
a hitter’s league.
James Paxton (lat) has
been shut down after an MRI revealed shoulder inflammation. He felt tightness
in his left triceps after throwing three innings for AAA Tacoma. "He's
been throwing and he's built up," Lloyd McClendon said. "I wouldn't
suspect it'll take him more than 10 days to get back to where he was. But
without a doubt, he'd need at least one or two rehab starts."
TAMPA BAY
RAYS
SS Hak-Ju Lee
was activated after suffering a spring
training left calf strain. He missed most of last season with torn ligaments in
his left knee.
TEXAS
RANGERS
2B Rougned Odor
(ROOG-ned O-Door) and SS Luis Sardinas
are two 20-year-old Venezuelans who have played together for three years and
are currently at AA Frisco. “I don’t think [Odor’s] quite ready yet,” manager
Jason Wood said. “But by no means, if something drastic happened and he had to
go up there, he’d do just fine. I think the best thing for him and [Sardinas] would be to be down
here, probably most of the season and really get comfortable and tune their
game up here.” Odor said he’s just been
focusing on improving his defense.
C Jorge Alfaro is hitting well of late at Class A Myrtle Beach after a slow start but still
needs to draw more walks. He has just three for the season. Also at Myrtle
Beach, 3B Joey Gallo leads the Carolina League in homers and is second in RBIs.
He also leads the league in slugging (.750) and OPS (1.171). Most scouts don’t
think he’ll hit for average in the majors though. Gallo, 20, hit 40 homers
between Class-A Hickory and the Arizona Rookie League last year.
3B Joey Gallo is off to a great start for Class-A Myrtle Beach as one of the
younger players in the league and is moving up our charts. Gallo, 20, hit 40
homers last year but hit just .260. the
difference is being more selective at the plate so far. “Huge power,” said Mike
Daly, senior director of minor league operations. “We want Joey Gallo to be known as a hitter
with power. Not just as Joey Gallo, the power hitter.” Gallo struck out 165
times last season but has cut that number about 6%. “I’ve really focused on
shortening up my swing with two strikes and I think about half my hits have
come with two strikes,” he said. “I’ve gotten more comfortable with that
approach and really have taken it upon myself to be better in those
situations.” He is projected to hit for power in the majors but not batting
average.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
RHP Marcus Stroman, 23, is off to a good start for AAA Louisville and we
hear they he could be called up soon to join the rotation. Dustin McGowan is
struggling and could be sent to the bullpen.