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Saturday 21 May 2011

Minor Watch


As the 2011 season began MLB listed there top 50 prospects - http://t.co/KKJ9V59, and some of the top prospects have been called up or started in the show this year (Chapman, Drabek, Brown, Hosmer) However, there are many prospects still either just starting their career in the minors or knocking on the door to the bigs. Cans is taking a quick look at 10 of the top 20 remaining on MLB's pre-season list.



1) Mike Trout - AA Arkansas
6HR / 17RBI / 9SB in 12 attempts / .311 BAA / .405OBP / 42H in 135 AB

Trout already being compared to a "young Mickey Mantle" has had a great start to his AA career, and is every bit deserving of the accolades thrown at him. Many folks thought he'd be called up when Wells went down, however I think that with Wells injury a 15 day thing, why bring up a kid to play for just 15 days or so? When the Angels bring Trout up, it's for keeps and I'm sure he'd rather it that way also.

2) Brett Lawrie - AAA Las Vegas
9HR / 32RBI / 9SB in 10 attempts / .337 BAA / .395 OBP / 60H in 178 AB

Many thought Lawrie would break camp with the Jays, turning in an impressive spring training. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos certainly isn't disappointed in Lawrie's production thus far but he would like to see Lawrie be more selective at the plate, speaking to Lawrie's plate approach of going after either the first or second pitch he sees."The advance scouts and the guys up here will pick that up very fast, and you won’t get anything to hit," said Anthopoulos. "You’re going to get yourself out." That being said, I imagine Lawrie will make the adjustment and we'll see him in the show before the year's out.

3)Bryce Harper - A Hagerstown
10HR / 34RBI / 7SB in 10 attempts / .364 BAA / .447 OBP / 51H in 140 AB

I've been reading that the Nationals may just bring up Harper this summer, making him the first 18 year old to play in the show since A Rod did it for the Mariners in 94. Harper has been tearing up pitching in A and has adjusted pretty well to the OF. I'm not too sure it would be a good idea to bring Harper up now - the only real benefit would be butts in the seats. However, given his immediate dominance in a league where the average player is 4 years older than him, I could see Harper getting a shot at AAA for sure.

4) Dustin Ackley - AAA Tacoma
6HR / 21RBI / 6SB in 9 attempts / .270 BAA / .385 OBP / 47H in 174 AB

The Mariners prize 2nd overall draft pick from the '09 draft, is all but guaranteed the 2nd Baseman position for years to come if he could just get his defense in check. Ackley is hitting AAA pitching very well and will most likely be called up sometime in June, so the M's can maximize his arbitration years. Yet I believe the only reason they have not called him up thus far (other than the arbitration thing) is that he wouldn't be a huge upgrade at 2nd base and why rush him if he can keep practicing his defense in AAA? The Mariners are a ways away from competing so they are likely to show patience until the player proves he is 100% ready (see Pineda).

5) Mike Moustakas - AAA Omaha
8HR / 33RBI / 1SB in 2 attempts / .265 BAA / .347 OBP / 39H in 147 AB

For a guy that can flat out hit (his career 52HR are a California prep record) and he holds the AAA record for his 3HR 11RBI performance last Aug 30th. However Moustakas just hasn't shown the same numbers thus far in 2011. With all the young Royals enjoying quality seasons this year, there's no reason for the Royals to bring this kid up, just let him find his swing and work out his issues in AAA, otherwise they'll likely become magnified in the bigs, which could really slow his development (see Gordon).

6) Jesus Montero - AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
2HR / 15RBI / 0SB in 0 attempts / .316 BAA / .419 OBP / 43H in 136 AB

Montero is the Yankees precious catching prospect, that other teams tried desperately to pry away when the Yankees came looking for a trade. Montero is having a great season so far in 2011 and I can't say I'm surprised, he tore it up in '10 as well. Yet with Martin working out just fine, there's no need to bring Montero up. The Yankee's will probably bring him up in September with the rest of the call-ups (barring any injuries)and give him a good look.

7) Desmond Jennings - AAA Durham
6HR / 18RBI / 9SB in 9 attempts / .289 BAA / .398 OBP / 44H in 152 AB

Jennings started 2010 as Baseball America's #6 rated prospect, but a sub-par season had him slip to #22 heading into 2011. Jenning's has put up pretty solid numbers so far and I can't see the Rays keeping him down in AAA too much longer, he's already 24 years old. How much more work could he need before you give him an honest chance to prove himself?

8) Julio Teheran - AAA Gwinnett
3-0 record / 1.91 ERA / 32k in 37.2 IP / 1.062 WHIP

With just 6 starts in AAA, there's just no point in bringing this kid up. With all the young arms already up in the show, I imagine they'll have Teheran finish the year at AAA, barring any injuries of course.

9) Jameson Taillon - A West Virginia
1-1 record / 2.84 ERA / 18K in 19 IP / 1.158 WHIP

The #2 overall selection from last year's draft has had a pretty decent start to his young career, however not amazing. With the Pirates being loaded with talent and a few years away from having the potential to make some serious noise, I imagine they'll show good patience with Taillon. He's had just 5 starts but his walks are already too high, and will be the Pirates focus for sure. However, having given up just 6ER in those 5 starts, don't forget the name Taillon.

10) Casey Kelly - AA San Antonio
4-1 record / 4.29 ERA / 38K in 50.1 IP / 1.371 WHIP

Kelly was the key piece of the A-Gon deal and has pitched well for the Padre's AA team which is good considering Kelly has struggled in AA (7-6) compared to his A record of (6-1). However with an ERA above 4, Kelly will likely stay in AA. Keep in mind he's just 21 years old and has some good experience under his belt that will only help him get better.

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