Results tagged ‘ top prospects ’
Top April prospect performers
The first month of the season is in the books, so it’s time to take a look at which prospects performed the best over the opening weeks of the season. Small sample size? Sure, but it’s fun to see who broke out of the gates well among the prospects on the Top 100 list.
Hitters (It’s good to be a Twins fan)
OPS
Byron Buxton, Twins (No. 19 overall, No. 2 on Twins Top 20) — 1.194
Miguel Sano, Twins (No. 12 overall, No. 1 on Twins Top 20) — 1.183
Nick Franklin, Mariners (No. 45 overall, No. 4 on Mariners Top 20) — 1.1161
Nolan Arenado, Rockies (No. 60 overall, No. 2 on Rockies Top 20) — 1.059
George Springer, Astros (No. 55 overall, No. 3 on Astros Top 20) — 1.056
Home runs
Sano — 9
Springer — 8
Courtney Hawkins, White Sox (No. 65 overall, No. 1 on White Sox Top 20) — 7
Joc Pederson, Dodgers (No. 81 overall, No. 3 on Dodgers Top 20) — 6
Javier Baez, Cubs (No. 16 overall, No. 1 on Cubs Top 20) — 5
RBIs
Mike Zunino, Mariners (No. 23 overall, No. 3 on Mariners Top 20) — 26
Sano — 24
Arenado — 21
Buxton — 21
Springer — 20
Stolen bases
Billy Hamilton, Reds (No. 11 overall, No. 1 on Reds Top 20) — 15
Buxton — 9
Gregory Polanco, Pirates (No. 62 overall, No. 4 on Pirates Top 20) — 9
Luis Sardinas, Rangers (No. 80 overall, No. 3 on Rangers Top 20) — 8
Francisco Lindor, Indians (No. 14 overall, No. 1 on Indians Top 20) — 7
Pederson — 7
Pitchers
ERA
Archie Bradley, Diamondbacks (No. 24 overall, No. 2 on D-backs Top 20) — 1.26
Taijuan Walker, Mariners (No. 5 overall, No. 1 on Mariners Top 20) — 1.55
Jesse Biddle, Phillies (No. 58 overall, No. 1 on Phillies Top 20) — 1.74
Michael Wacha, Cardinals (No. 79 overall, No. 5 on Cardinals Top 20) — 1.86
Gerrit Cole, Pirates (No. 9 overall, No. 1 on Pirates Top 20) — 2.32
Strikeouts
A Bradley — 43
Biddle — 40
Jake Odorizzi, Rays (No. 43 overall, No. 3 on Rays Top 20)– 36
Zack Wheeler, Mets (No. 8 overall, No. 2 on Mets Top 20)– 36
Chris Archer, Rays — 35 (No. 44 overall, No. 4 on Rays Top 20) — 35
Batting average against
Biddle — .114
Walker — .150
Aaron Sanchez, Blue Jays (No. 34 overall, No. 1 on Blue Jays Top 20)– .170
Wacha — .184
Jarred Cosart, Astros (No. 85 overall, No. 4 on Astros Top 20) — .190
Top Prospects Weekly Leaders
Greetings all prospect fans. I’ve been using this space to run down top performances by our top prospects. Typically, that’s meant the Top 100.
Today, I’m going to expand it a bit, taking a look at the week that was (April 8-14) and who excelled across not just the Top 100, but the Top 20s for each team as well. Always remember to check out for news/updates on your favorite prospects over on MLBPipeline.com.
First, the hitters (rank by OPS for the week in parentheses). It was a good week in the Rockies system.
Rosell Herrera, SS/3B, No. 12 Rockies prospect (5th): 1.538 OPS
Andrew Susac, C, No. 16 Giants prospect (9th): 1.438 OPS
Charlie Culberson, 2B, No. 14 Rockies prospect (12th): 1.429 OPS
James Ramsey, OF, No. 17 Cardinals prospect (22nd): 1.338 OPS
Corey Dickerson, OF, No. 16 Rockies prospect (26th): 1.318 OPS
Michael Taylor, OF, No. 12 A’s prospect (27th): 1.318 OPS
Jeff Kobernus, 2B/OF, No. 15 Nationals prospect (30th): 1.308
It’s a little tougher with pitching, with no OPS for the week at the ready for them. So I picked out some (definitely not all — I used only guys who gave up no runs of any sort) of the top performers from the week instead.
Archie Bradley, RHP, No. 2 D-backs prospect (No. 24 overall): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K
Aaron Sanchez, RHP, No. 1 Blue Jays prospect (No. 35 overall): 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, No. 2 Rays prospect (No. 44 overall): 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Max Fried, LHP, No. 2 Padres prospect (No. 53 overall): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Yordano Ventura, RHP, No. 3 Royals prospect (No. 59 overall): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K
Tony Cingrani, LHP, No. 3 Reds prospect (No. 66 overall): 8.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K
Jarred Cosart, RHP, No. 4 Astros prospect (No. 88 overall): 5 IP 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K
Erik Johnson, RHP, No. 3 White Sox prospect: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Adam Morgan, LHP, No. 7 Phillies prospect: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
John Gast, LHP, No. 10 Cardinals prospect: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Alex Colome, LHP, No. 12 Rays prospect: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Sam Selman, LHP, No. 12 Royals prospect: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
Luke Jackson, RHP, No. 13 Rangers prospect: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Austin Wood, RHP, No. 14 Angels prospect: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Asher Wojciechowski, RHP, No. 15 Astros prospect: 9 IP, 1 H, o R, 3 BB, 7 K
A conglomorate Top 100, part deux
Back in February, I posted a conglomorate Top 100 that averaged out the Top 100 prospects lists from Baseball America, Keith Law at ESPN and yours truly.
Ready for some more? It would be easy to go crazy with including lists, but I don’t want to water it down too much. Besides, the names are more or less the names. But to pad it out a bit, I’ve added in two more Top 100 lists: Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs.
I’m not going to get into deep analysis here in terms of names on those lists not on others, etc., but simply wanted to post the ranked (by average) list. There are 133 names on it now and Jurickson Profar is still the unanimous No. 1. Here’s the list (remember, any player not on a specific top 100 got a ranking of 101 for the sake of averaging):
| 1.00 | Jurickson Profar | SS | TEX |
| 2.40 | Oscar Taveras | OF | STL |
| 2.80 | Dylan Bundy | RHP | BAL |
| 4.60 | Wil Myers | OF | TB |
| 6.60 | Gerrit Cole | RHP | PIT |
| 8.40 | Jose Fernandez | RHP | MIA |
| 9.20 | Zack Wheeler | RHP | NYM |
| 10.00 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS |
| 10.80 | Taijuan Walker | RHP | SEA |
| 11.60 | Tyler Skaggs | LHP | ARI |
| 13.40 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIA |
| 13.80 | Travis d’Arnaud | C | NYM |
| 14.00 | Miguel Sano | 3B | MIN |
| 15.00 | Byron Buxton | OF | MIN |
| 15.80 | Jameson Taillon | RHP | PIT |
| 15.80 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE |
| 18.60 | Shelby Miller | RHP | STL |
| 20.00 | Mike Zunino | C | SEA |
| 21.00 | Javier Baez | SS | CHI |
| 21.00 | Billy Hamilton | OF | CIN |
| 21.60 | Trevor Bauer | RHP | CLE |
| 23.40 | Kevin Gausman | RHP | BAL |
| 25.40 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU |
| 27.00 | Archie Bradley | RHP | ARI |
| 27.60 | Nick Castellanos | OF | DET |
| 28.00 | Jonathan Singleton | 1B | HOU |
| 28.80 | Kyle Zimmer | RHP | KC |
| 29.80 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | WAS |
| 34.20 | Addison Russell | SS | OAK |
| 34.80 | Julio Teheran | RHP | ATL |
| 34.80 | Aaron Sanchez | RHP | TOR |
| 34.80 | Albert Almora | OF | CHI |
| 36.80 | Jackie Bradley | OF | BOS |
| 37.60 | Carlos Martinez | RHP | STL |
| 38.20 | Chris Archer | RHP | TB |
| 38.40 | Mike Olt | 3B | TEX |
| 39.00 | Mason Williams | OF | NYY |
| 40.00 | Gary Sanchez | C | NYY |
| 40.80 | Jorge Soler | OF | CHI |
| 41.40 | Danny Hultzen | LHP | SEA |
| 43.40 | Austin Hedges | C | SD |
| 47.20 | Matt Barnes | RHP | BOS |
| 47.80 | Bubba Starling | OF | KC |
| 48.20 | Taylor Guerrieri | RHP | TB |
| 48.80 | Trevor Rosenthal | RHP | STL |
| 49.00 | David Dahl | OF | COL |
| 49.20 | George Springer | OF | HOU |
| 49.60 | Alen Hanson | SS | PIT |
| 50.80 | Noah Syndergaard | RHP | NYM |
| 53.00 | Robert Stephenson | RHP | CIN |
| 53.40 | Kaleb Cowart | 3B | LAA |
| 55.00 | Gregory Polanco | OF | PIT |
| 55.60 | Brian Goodwin | OF | WAS |
| 55.80 | Max Fried | LHP | SD |
| 59.80 | Kyle Gibson | RHP | MIN |
| 61.40 | Allen Webster | RHP | BOS |
| 63.80 | Oswaldo Arcia | OF | MIN |
| 64.00 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL |
| 65.20 | Alex Meyer | RHP | MIN |
| 66.00 | Aaron Hicks | OF | MIN |
| 67.20 | Hak-Ju Lee | SS | TB |
| 67.60 | Kyle Crick | RHP | SF |
| 68.00 | Michael Wacha | RHP | STL |
| 68.00 | Casey Kelly | RHP | SD |
| 68.20 | Nick Franklin | SS | SEA |
| 68.40 | Jedd Gyorko | 2B | SD |
| 68.40 | Rymer Liriano | OF | SD |
| 71.60 | Lucas Giolito | RHP | WAS |
| 72.20 | Courtney Hawkins | OF | CWS |
| 72.60 | Trevor Story | SS | COL |
| 74.40 | Justin Nicolino | LHP | MIA |
| 74.80 | Jake Odorizzi | RHP | TB |
| 75.00 | Wily Peralta | RHP | MIL |
| 75.40 | Jake Marisnick | OF | MIA |
| 75.60 | Luis Heredia | RHP | PIT |
| 77.80 | Jonathan Schoop | 2B | BAL |
| 78.00 | Matt Davidson | 3B | ARI |
| 78.20 | Yordano Ventura | RHP | KC |
| 79.60 | Andrew Heaney | LHP | MIA |
| 80.00 | Jesse Biddle | LHP | PHI |
| 80.20 | Martin Perez | LHP | TEX |
| 80.40 | Yasiel Puig | OF | LAD |
| 80.60 | Arodys Vizcaino | RHP | CHI |
| 81.20 | Tyler Austin | OF | NYY |
| 81.20 | Tony Cingrani | LHP | CIN |
| 81.40 | Kolten Wong | 2B | STL |
| 81.80 | Slade Heathcott | OF | NYY |
| 84.80 | Zach Lee | RHP | LAD |
| 86.00 | Dorssys Paulino | SS | CLE |
| 86.20 | J.R. Graham | RHP | ATL |
| 87.20 | Delino DeShields | 2B | HOU |
| 87.60 | James Paxton | LHP | SEA |
| 87.80 | Daniel Corcino | RHP | CIN |
| 88.60 | DiDi Gregorius | SS | ARI |
| 89.20 | Corey Seager | 3B | LAD |
| 90.80 | Lance McCullers | RHP | HOU |
| 92.00 | Roberto Osuna | RHP | TOR |
| 92.40 | Adalberto Mondesi | SS | KC |
| 92.40 | Adam Eaton | OF | ARI |
| 93.40 | Jorge Alfaro | C | TEX |
| 93.40 | Luis Sardinas | SS | TEX |
| 93.60 | Carlos Sanchez | 2B | CWS |
| 93.80 | Eddie Rosario | 2B | MIN |
| 93.80 | Alex Colome | RHP | TB |
| 94.80 | A.J. Cole | RHP | WAS |
| 95.60 | Avisail Garcia | OF | DET |
| 95.60 | Jarred Cosart | RHP | HOU |
| 95.60 | Clayton Blackburn | RHP | SF |
| 95.80 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | MIA |
| 96.00 | Cody Buckel | RHP | TEX |
| 96.80 | Ethan Martin | RHP | PHI |
| 97.00 | Chris Owings | SS | ARI |
| 97.20 | Adeiny Hechavarria | SS | MIA |
| 97.20 | Michael Choice | OF | OAK |
| 97.60 | Henry Owens | LHP | BOS |
| 97.80 | Joc Pederson | OF | LAD |
| 97.80 | Dan Straily | RHP | OAK |
| 98.00 | Bruce Rondon | RHP | DET |
| 98.40 | Joe Ross | RHP | SD |
| 99.20 | Adam Morgan | RHP | PHI |
| 99.40 | Christian Bethancourt | C | ATL |
| 99.40 | Tyler Thornburg | RHP | MIL |
| 99.60 | Tyrell Jenkins | RHP | STL |
| 100.00 | Jose Iglesias | SS | BOS |
| 100.00 | Chris Reed | LHP | LAD |
| 100.20 | Sean Nolin | LHP | TOR |
| 100.40 | Marcus Stroman | RHP | TOR |
| 100.40 | Michael Fulmer | RHP | NYM |
| 100.60 | Nathan Karns | RHP | WAS |
| 100.60 | Lewis Brinson | OF | TEX |
| 100.80 | Roman Quinn | SS | PHI |
| 100.80 | Eduardo Rodriguez | LHP | BAL |
| 100.80 | Gary Brown | OF | SF |
A conglomorate Top 100
By now many top prospect lists are out there. And while I’m confident in my abilities as a prospect reporter and feel that MLB.com’s Top 100 is pretty darn good, I also don’t pretend to think that it’s the only list worth looking at.
I like to comparison shop, too, and see what other people are doing. Such an exercise could go on endlessly as it seems more and more Top 100 type lists are popping up all over the interwebs. For the purposes of this post, I’m taking MLB.com’s, Keith Law’s at ESPN and, of course, Baseball America’s. (Warning: You’ll need subscriptions to access some of that stuff). Now, before you get all miffed that I didn’t include one list or another — this isn’t meant as a slight towards anyone’s list. These are simply the other two lists that I, personally, look forward to seeing the most each year and I like to see how we compare. I’ve dumped the rankings into a spreadsheet and came up with an average rank for each player that we’ve listed. For any player that wasn’t listed in one of the top 100 lists, I gave him a 101 ranking for that list. Make sense?
Before I get to the averages, a couple of notes:
- A total of 78 players appeared on all three Top 100s. Shows you we’re all dealing with the same names, more or less.
- Including the threepeats mentioned above, 95 total players were mentioned on two of the three lists.
- A grand total of 121 players appeared on at least one list.
- The highest ranking player on the MLB.com list not to appear on all three is Rymer Liriano of the Padres. The highest player on Keith Law’s list not to appear on all three is Corey Seager of the Dodgers. Andrew Heaney of the Marlins is the first player on the BA list not to appear on all three.
- The first player to appear only on MLB.com’s list and not the other two is Ethan Martin of the Phillies. On Keith’s list, it’s Seager. And on the BA list, it’s Lance McCullers.
OK, with that context, here’s how the prospects would rank by their averages (Jurickson Profar is the consensus No. 1):
| 1 | Jurickson Profar | SS | TEX |
| 2.33 | Dylan Bundy | RHP | BAL |
| 2.67 | Oscar Taveras | OF | STL |
| 4 | Wil Myers | OF | TB |
| 8 | Gerrit Cole | RHP | PIT |
| 9.33 | Jose Fernandez | RHP | MIA |
| 10.67 | Miguel Sano | 3B | MIN |
| 10.67 | Zack Wheeler | RHP | NYM |
| 10.67 | Taijuan Walker | RHP | SEA |
| 11 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS |
| 11.33 | Tyler Skaggs | LHP | ARI |
| 11.33 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIA |
| 14.33 | Travis d’Arnaud | C | NYM |
| 16.33 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE |
| 17 | Byron Buxton | OF | MIN |
| 17.33 | Shelby Miller | RHP | STL |
| 18 | Jameson Taillon | RHP | PIT |
| 18.33 | Mike Zunino | C | SEA |
| 18.67 | Trevor Bauer | RHP | CLE |
| 20.33 | Billy Hamilton | OF | CIN |
| 21 | Javier Baez | SS | CHI |
| 22.33 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU |
| 25 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | WAS |
| 26 | Archie Bradley | RHP | ARI |
| 26.67 | Nick Castellanos | OF | DET |
| 28.33 | Kyle Zimmer | RHP | KC |
| 28.67 | Jonathan Singleton | 1B | HOU |
| 29.67 | Kevin Gausman | RHP | BAL |
| 34.33 | Jackie Bradley | OF | BOS |
| 34.33 | Julio Teheran | RHP | ATL |
| 35 | Albert Almora | OF | CHI |
| 35.33 | Bubba Starling | OF | KC |
| 35.33 | Addison Russell | SS | OAK |
| 36 | Mason Williams | OF | NYY |
| 36.67 | Carlos Martinez | RHP | STL |
| 37 | Gary Sanchez | C | NYY |
| 37.67 | Danny Hultzen | LHP | SEA |
| 38.33 | Mike Olt | 3B | TEX |
| 39.33 | Jorge Soler | OF | CHI |
| 39.67 | Aaron Sanchez | RHP | TOR |
| 45 | Chris Archer | RHP | TB |
| 46 | George Springer | OF | HOU |
| 46.67 | Trevor Rosenthal | RHP | STL |
| 49.67 | David Dahl | OF | COL |
| 49.67 | Alen Hanson | SS | PIT |
| 50 | Max Fried | LHP | SD |
| 50 | Kaleb Cowart | 3B | LAA |
| 51 | Taylor Guerrieri | RHP | TB |
| 51.67 | Robert Stephenson | RHP | CIN |
| 52.33 | Matt Barnes | RHP | BOS |
| 52.67 | Kyle Gibson | RHP | MIN |
| 53.33 | Alex Meyer | RHP | MIN |
| 55.33 | Brian Goodwin | OF | WAS |
| 55.67 | Austin Hedges | C | SD |
| 57 | Gregory Polanco | OF | PIT |
| 58 | Casey Kelly | RHP | SD |
| 60 | Noah Syndergaard | RHP | NYM |
| 61 | Allen Webster | RHP | BOS |
| 63.67 | Jedd Gyorko | 2B | SD |
| 64.33 | Oswaldo Arcia | OF | MIN |
| 65 | Nick Franklin | SS | SEA |
| 65.67 | Courtney Hawkins | OF | CWS |
| 68 | Tyler Austin | OF | NYY |
| 68.33 | Jake Odorizzi | RHP | TB |
| 68.67 | Wily Peralta | RHP | MIL |
| 70 | Rymer Liriano | OF | SD |
| 71.67 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL |
| 72 | Jake Marisnick | OF | MIA |
| 72.67 | Lucas Giolito | RHP | WAS |
| 73 | Aaron Hicks | OF | MIN |
| 73.33 | Justin Nicolino | LHP | MIA |
| 73.67 | Slade Heathcott | OF | NYY |
| 74.67 | Yasiel Puig | OF | LAD |
| 74.67 | Hak-Ju Lee | SS | TB |
| 75 | Andrew Heaney | LHP | MIA |
| 76 | Kyle Crick | RHP | SF |
| 80 | Matt Davidson | 3B | ARI |
| 81.33 | DiDi Gregorius | SS | ARI |
| 81.67 | James Paxton | LHP | SEA |
| 81.67 | Jesse Biddle | LHP | PHI |
| 82 | Tony Cingrani | LHP | CIN |
| 82 | Yordano Ventura | RHP | KC |
| 82 | Zach Lee | RHP | LAD |
| 82.67 | Arodys Vizcaino | RHP | CHI |
| 82.67 | Corey Seager | 3B | LAD |
| 84 | Lance McCullers | RHP | HOU |
| 84 | Jonathan Schoop | 2B | BAL |
| 86 | Dorssys Paulino | SS | CLE |
| 86.33 | Kolten Wong | 2B | STL |
| 86.67 | Michael Wacha | RHP | STL |
| 87 | Adam Eaton | OF | ARI |
| 87.67 | Luis Heredia | RHP | PIT |
| 89 | Daniel Corcino | RHP | CIN |
| 89 | Eddie Rosario | 2B | MIN |
| 89.67 | Martin Perez | LHP | TEX |
| 92 | Avisail Garcia | OF | DET |
| 92 | Jarred Cosart | RHP | HOU |
| 92.33 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | MIA |
| 92.67 | Roberto Osuna | RHP | TOR |
| 92.67 | Cody Buckel | RHP | TEX |
| 93.33 | Trevor Story | SS | COL |
| 93.67 | A.J. Cole | RHP | WAS |
| 94 | Clayton Blackburn | RHP | SF |
| 94 | Ethan Martin | RHP | PHI |
| 94.33 | Delino DeShields | 2B | HOU |
| 94.33 | Alex Colome | RHP | TB |
| 94.67 | Adeiny Hechavarria | SS | MIA |
| 95.33 | Henry Owens | LHP | BOS |
| 95.33 | Luis Sardinas | SS | TEX |
| 95.67 | Joc Pederson | OF | LAD |
| 96 | J.R. Graham | RHP | ATL |
| 96 | Bruce Rondon | RHP | DET |
| 96.67 | Joe Ross | RHP | SD |
| 96.67 | Jorge Alfaro | C | TEX |
| 98 | Adam Morgan | RHP | PHI |
| 99.33 | Jose Iglesias | SS | BOS |
| 100 | Marcus Stroman | RHP | TOR |
| 100.33 | Nathan Karns | RHP | WAS |
| 100.67 | Roman Quinn | SS | PHI |
| 100.67 | Eduardo Rodriguez | LHP | BAL |
| 100.67 | Gary Brown | OF | SF |
Beyond the Top 100
After any Top 100 prospects list comes out, there’s going to be outrage, disbelief, dismay (there’s also some triumph, jubilation, celebration, but that doesn’t fit into the subject of today’s post). The list gets pored over and complaints about snubs come pouring in. You thought people were upset that Ben Affleck didn’t get a Best Director nod for “Argo”? You should talk to Astros fans about Delino DeShields Jr. Sheesh.
So, I thought it a good idea to throw out a Nos. 101-110 list. Yes, this could open a pandora’s box if guys aren’t on that list who you think should’ve been on the Top 100 to begin with. But I can deal with that. I’m happy to keep the conversation going. And keep in mind, the team Top 20s start rolling out on Monday, so there’ll be more fuel for the fire soon enough. Keep in mind, this next 10 isn’t a guaranteed list of who’ll be the first to move in when guys graduate as 2013 gets started, but clearly some names will come from this list onto the top 100 during the season. No time for expanding on this list, so here it is:
101. Dan Straily, RHP, A’s
102. Delino DeShields Jr., 2B, Astros
103. Luis Heredia, RHP, Pirates
104. Daniel Corcino, RHP, Reds
105. Brett Jackson, OF, Cubs
106. Marcell Ozuna, OF, Marlins
107. Michael Choice, OF, A’s
108. Tyler Thornburg, RHP, Brewers
109. Corey Seager, 3B/SS, Dodgers
110. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Cubs
Top Prospect Transaction Report
Now that the dust has settled from the Trade Deadline, we can focus on good old fashioned transactions. You know, promotions, demotions, DL moves, activations. Here’s a rundown of the transactions (non-trade) from July 30-Aug. 6.
John Stilson (TOR, No. 19): Placed on the disabled list on July 30.
Miles Head (OAK, No. 19): Placed on the disabled list on July 30 after being hit by a pitch in the head.
Nick Maronde (LAA, No. 4): Promoted to Double-A Arkansas on July 31.
Nick Mutz (LAA, No. 7): Promoted to Class A Cedar Rapids on July 31.
Charles Leesman (CWS, No. 10): Placed on the disabled list on July 31.
Stephen Pryor (SEA, No. 9): Called up to the big leagues again on July 31.
Carter Capps (SEA, No. 8): Got his first Major League callup on July 31.
Moises Sierra (TOR, No. 15): Got his first Major League callup on July 31.
Aaron Sanchez (TOR, No. 7): Placed on the disabled list on July 31.
Cory Spangenberg (SD, No. 5): Returned on July 31 after missing a week with concussion-like symptoms.
Justin Bianco (ARI, No. 17): Sent to the Arizona League on August 1.
John Leonard (ARI, No. 18): Sent to the Arizona League on August 1.
Cesar Hernandez (PHI, No. 16): Promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on August 1.
Sebastian Valle (PHI, No. 8): Promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on August 1.
Blake Swihart (BOS, No. 11): Placed on the disabled list on August 1 with a strained hip flexor.
Alexander Torres (TB, No. 6): Placed on the disabled list on August 1.
Ryan Lavarnway (BOS, No. 3): Called up on August 1 when Daniel Nava was placed on the disabled list.
Kent Matthes (COL, No. 17): Placed on the disabled list on August 1 with a strained oblique.
Patrick Corbin (ARI, No. 8): Called up again on August 2.
Daniel Fields (DET, No. 5): Promoted to Double-A Erie on August 2.
Robbie Erlin (SD, No. 6): Began a rehab assignment on August 2.
Jabari Blash (SEA, No. 12): Returned from the DL on August 2.
Trevor Rosenthal (STL, No. 6): Returned to Triple-A Memphis on August 2 after a stint in the big leagues.
Seth Blair (STL, No. 14): Returned to action on August 2 after spending much of the season on the DL.
Alex Colome (TB, No. 13): Promoted to Triple-A Durham on August 2.
Martin Perez (TEX, No. 2): Sent down again on August 2.
Mike Olt (TEX, No. 3): Made his Major League debut on August 2.
Destin Hood (WSH, No. 6): Placed on the DL again with a groin injury on August 3.
Zach Walters (WSH, No. 12): Promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on August 3.
Yordy Cabrera (OAK, No. 7): Returned from the DL on August 3 after missing time with a lower back injury.
Ryan Wright (CIN, No. 9): Promoted to Class A Advanced Bakersfield on August 3.
Cesar Puello (NYM, No. 5): Returned to action on August 4 after missing a week and a half with a hamstring injury.
Michael Blazek (STL, No. 13): Returned to Double-A Springfield on August 4 after making two appearances in Triple-A.
Zack Wheeler (NYM, No. 1): Promoted to Triple-A Buffalo on August 4.
Adeiny Hechavarria (TOR, No. 12): Called up for the first time on August 4.
Javier Baez (CHC, No. 2): Promoted to Class-A Advanced Daytona on August 4.
Marcus Semien (CWS, No. 9): Returned to action on August 4 after missing time with a knee injury.
Keenyn Walker (CWS, No. 5): Returned to action on August 4 after missing a week with a left shoulder injury.
Tim Federowicz (LAD, No. 12): Called up for the first time on August 4.
Sandy Leon (WSH, No. 19): Returned to the Minors after the Nationals acquired Kurt Suzuki from Oakland.
Derek Norris (OAK, No. 6): Called up for the second time in 2012 after the A’s traded Kurt Suzuki to the Nationals.
Nick Delmonico (BAL, No. 4): Placed on the disabled list for the second time this season with a knee injury on August 5.
A.J. Griffin (OAK, No. 12): Placed on the disabled list on August 5 with a strained right shoulder.
Brett Jackson (CHC, No. 1): Made his Major League debut on August 5.
Josh Vitters (CHC, No. 11): Made his Major League debut on August 5.
Telvin Nash (HOU, No. 14): Returned on August 5 after a DL stint with an ankle injury.
Brandon Short (CWS, No. 18): Returned to the field on August 6 with Class A Advanced Winston-Salem, after missing 5 months with a torn labrum.
Jean Segura (MIL, No. 1): Called up for the second time this year (and first time with the Brewers) on August 6.
Top performers at Prospect Classic
Quick turnaround for us here at B3. Home quickly from North Carolina, turn around and head to Kansas City for the All-Star Game festivities (In B3 land, that’s the Futures Game and then that other stuff on Monday and Tuesday).
But I wanted to take a quick minute to provide a top prospects kind of list from the recently completed Prospect Classic, run by USA Baseball. The four-game event was extremely well attended by scouts, with a good amount of high-end talent from the high school and college ranks on the same field at the same time.
Overall, the scouting community has not been overwhelmed to date about the Class of 2013. That’s not to say there’s no talent or that some guys haven’t performed, but the overall evaluation of the group this summer has been so-so, at best. After talking with a few scouts, here are some of the better performers from the Prospect Classic, broken into college and high school groups.
Also, for your reading pleasure, there are features on Arkansas right-hander Ryne Stanek and Mater Dei high school catcher Jeremy Martinez.
College
Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego
Marco Gonzales, LHP/1B, Gonzaga
D.J. Peterson, 1B/OF, New Mexico
Ryne Stanek, RHP, Arkansas
Trea Turner, 2B, NC State (2014)
Bobby Wahl, RHP, Mississippi State
High School
Willie Abreu, OF, Hialeah, Fla.
Cavan Biggio, IF/OF, Houston, Texas
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, San Marcos, Calif.
Robert Kaminsky, LHP, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Christian Martinek, LHP, Portland, Ore. (2014)
Annnnd, we’re back
If you’ve been over on Prospect Watch the last couple of weeks, I’m hoping you’ll understand why I haven’t been on here in a while. We’ve provided quite a bit of prospect-related content over there:
- Top 10 by position
- Top 100 overall
- Top 20 per organzation
That’s at least 600 player profiles for your perusal. Needless to say, this took a while to put together. It was largely a labor of love (at least that’s what I tell myself). I’d also like to say that every effort like this has unsung heroes, those who do all the heavy lifting but don’t get any credit. For Prospect Watch, that person is Jason Ratliff, who’d likely get annoyed I mentioned him in this capacity. But without him, Prospect Watch doesn’t exist. Plain and simple.
Please look around PW (as we like to call it) and let me know what you like, don’t like, etc. I’ll leave you with 2 questions and with a promise to start blogging more consistently again.
1. Who is the best prospect not listed on a team Top 20? Give a few nominees if you’d like in comments.
2. What else would you like to see on PW? Some things we might have in the works include an international amateur Top 20 and a Draft Top 100… so keep coming back.
What to do about Yu?
Now that Yu Darvish is officially a Ranger (nice job by our intrepid Rangers beat writer T.R. Sullivan on that crazy deadline. Be sure to read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields and follow him on Twitter at @Sullivan_Ranger), the question is: How to deal with the Japanese right-hander on the prospect front.
It’s not an easy question to answer. In the past, our requirement was rookie status. If a player was eligible for Rookie of the Year voting, he belonged on a prospect ranking. Last year, for instance, we added Tsuyoshi Nishioka to the Twins’ top 10 after he signed, coming in at No. 7.
Darvish, of course, would rank much higher, both on his new organization’s list and on the overall Top 100 (Coming on Jan. 25 if you hadn’t heard). But here’s the thing. I’ve never been all that comfortable with including a player like Darvish on a prospect list. To me, he’s not a prospect. He’s a big leaguer and already an established star in another high-level league. Deciding on what the line is for rankings is always arbitrary, but I adhered to the (admittedly self-imposed) rookie status rule in the past.
I suppose the argument could be made that since the league Darvish is coming from isn’t at the same level as MLB (most put it at a Triple-A-ish level), he should count the same as, say, Matt Moore, also coming up from Triple-A. I just don’t see it that way and the Rangers didn’t just shell out all that cash to get anything but a finished product who will produce right away.
So, in 2012, we’ve decided to take our cue from the newly bargained CBA, as it pertains to international signings. They put particular rules in place about which international players will fall under the international player pool each team will be allotted. More advanced players like Darvish can be signed in the future without it counting against a team’s pool. Neither, by the way, would Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes.
If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us. So here’s the new rule as it pertains to such international acquisitions:
Not all international players will qualify for these rankings. Prospect Watch will follow the guidelines laid out by the new CBA: Players in leagues deemed to be professional (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba) and are at least 23 years old and have played a certain number of years in those leagues will not be considered.
So, Mr. Darvish (and Mr. Cespedes eventually), you might qualify to be ROY, but you won’t show up on Prospect Watch.
Billy Hamilton: Man of Steal
I wrote about another cool Minor League statistical feat a few days ago, Matt Moore’s second straight 200-strikeout season. That one hadn’t been accomplished since 1982-83, when Sid Fernandez did it.
The last time someone stole 100 bases in a Minor League season wasn’t that far back — it was in 2001, when Chris Morris did it (he swiped a Midwest League record 111 bags). It’s still impressive, though, that Billy Hamilton (No. 3 on the Reds Top 10 prospects list) hit the century mark on Saturday. He’s now got 103 stolen bases on the year and has been caught just 20 times. He also leads the Midwest League in runs scored. And keep in mind this comes in the 140-game Minor League season, not over 162.
Having Delino DeShields as a manager this year clearly helped. DeShields stole 463 bases over the course of his big-league career. His career high in the Minors, though, was just 59. This brings up an interesting point. Take a look at the list of the previous 100-steal guys in the Minor Leagues:
Chris Morris (2001), 111
Esix Snead (2000), 109
Marcus Lawton (1985), 111
Donell Nixon (1984), 102
Vince Coleman (1984) 101
Vince Coleman (1983), 145
Donell Nixon (1983), 144
Lenny Dykstra (1983), 105
Otis Nixon (1982), 107
Jeff Stone (1981), 123
Alan Wiggins (1980), 120
Albert Hall (1980), 100
Aside from how much fun the early ’80s must’ve been in terms of base-stealing, this list is a bit of a mixed bag, isn’t it? The two most recent guys to get 100 steals, Morris and Snead, have 13 combined Major League at-bats. All of them are by Snead. Morris was out of baseball at age 25, never having gotten above Double-A ball. Snead stole over 500 bases in his Minor League career and some might put that in the Crash Davis “dubious honor” category. Marcus Lawton (Matt’s brother), had 14 big league at-bats and stole 379 bases in the Minors.
Donell Nixon, who did it twice, is Otis’ brother. Donell managed 396 ABs in the big leagues over parts of four seasons. Big bro, who topped 100 in the Minors the one time, played 17 seasons and swiped 620 career Major League bags. He, Coleman and Dykstra had the most successful careers on this list. The others I haven’t mentioned — Stone, Wiggins, Hall — had big-league time, but only Wiggins was an every-day player in that trio.
What does all of this mean? Nothing just yet. Hamilton is just turning 21 this week and this was his first taste of full-season ball. It was encouraging to see him start to hit better as the season wore on after starting off the year struggling. Minor League history is littered with speed guys who never make it because they don’t hit enough. I don’t think Hamilton is one of those guys, but here’s hoping he’s more Otis and Donell when all is said and done.
Jonathan Mayo
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