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Charlie Furbush, LHP, Tigers (Triple-A Toledo): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K

When you thought about the players who would potentially lead the minors in strikeouts this year, chances are good that Furbush didn't make the list.  A fourth-round pick in 2007, Furbush missed the entire 2008 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and was merely average as a 23-year-old in the Florida State League last year, but in 2010 he's now reached Triple-A while striking out 153 in just 116 1/3 innings.  It's far more deception and command than stuff, as the tall southpaw sits at 90-92 mph with his fastball while feature a good curveball and average-at-best change, but as he keeps proving himself at every level, at some point he'll get a chance to see if it works in the big leagues.

Wilin Rosario, C, Rockies (Double-A Tulsa): 2-for-4, 2 HR (17), 2 R, 3 RBI, K

When talk turns to the best catching prospects in the minors, Rosario now has to be in the discussion.  The 21-year-old Dominican has slugged six home run in his last seven games while batting .283/.336/.558 overall to go with one of the better catcher arms in the minors.

Others Of Note:

  • Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Twins (Rookie-level Elizabethton): 3-for-4, 2B, HR (9), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.  Few short-season players making more noise; 19-year-old Venezuelan up to .388/.436/.777 in 30 games with 25 of 47 hits going for extra bases.
  • Blake Beavan, RHP, Mariners (Double-A West Tenn): 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K.  Second start for Mariners org; going to eat up innings in the big leagues.
  • Peter Bourjos, OF, Angels (Triple-A Salt Lake): 3-for-6, 2B, R, CS.  15-for-34 in last seven games and .301/.355/.455 overall; just fourth caught stealing in 31 attempts.
  • Louis Coleman, RHP, Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.  Nice sleeper in Royals system as future bullpen piece.
  • Christian Colon, SS, Royals (High-A Wilmington): 3-for-5, RBI.  Clearly adjusting to pro life; 10-for-26 (.385) in last six games.
  • Danny Duffy, LHP, Royals (High-A Wilmington): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K.  With Montgomery, Lamb and Dyson, the Royals group of top-tier lefties grows to four now that Duffy as un-retired.
  • Todd Glaesmann, OF, Rays (Rookie-level Princeton): 4-for-4, 3B, 2 HR (3), 4 R, 3 RBI, SB.  Monster game for 2009 third-round pick that has otherwise struggled; Big and ultra-athletic with overall line of .196/.281/.363.
  • Dee Gordon, SS, Dodgers (Double-A Chattanooga): 3-for-3, BB, SB, CS.  11-for-18 in last four games; still little power or patience.
  • Grant Green, SS, Athletics (High-A Stockton): 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, SB.  Batting .415/.437/.662 in July and clearly needs a new challenge, at least offensively.
  • Jedd Gyorko, 3B, Padres (Low-A Fort Wayne): 2-for-4, 2 2B, R, K.  First two Midwest League hits for last month's draftee who crushed the Northwest League.
  • Junior Lake, SS, Cubs (High-A Daytona): 2-for-4, 3B, R, 3 RBI.  Still a prospect; highly athletic, just 20 and hitting .299/.347/.582 in July.
  • Ryan Lavarnway, C, Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K.  12-for-27 in first seven Double-A games; he can hit, but can he catch?
  • Alex Liddi, 3B, Mariners (Double-A West Tenn): 2-for-4, HR (10), R, 2 RBI, K.  Home runs in four straight games has lifted slugging by nearly 50 points; .275/.344/.471 overall.
  • Matt Lipka, SS, Braves (Rookie-level GCL Braves): 3-for-4, 2B, HR (1), 3 R, RBI, BB, 2 SB.  First pro home run for top Braves pick; up to .347/.407/.459 and has stolen six bases in his last three games.
  • Devin Mesoraco, C, Reds (Double-A Carolina): 4-for-6, 2 R; Double-A line stands at .315/.370/.646; with only five weeks left in the season it's not like we can call this just a fluke.
  • Matt Moore, LHP, Rays (High-A Charlotte): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K.  Last year's minor league strikeout leader only trails Furbush this year; 143 whiffs in just 104 innings.
  • Will Myers, C, Royals (High-A Wilmington): 3-for-4, 2 2B, R.  Like Trout, another top Midwest League hitter showing no signs of slowing down in High-A; .357/.446/.471 in 20 Carolina League games.
  • Chris Nelson, INF, Rockies (Triple-A Colorado Springs): 3-for-5, HR (11), 3 R, RBI.  Batting .408/.438/.724 in 18 July games; deserves a better shot at the big leagues, like at second base.
  • Joseph Ortiz, LHP, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K.  It's hard to get too worked about a 5-foot-7 lefty, but Ortiz has crazy great command and a good slider, thus 38 strikeouts and four walks in 25.1 innings.
  • Stephen Parker, 3B, Athletics (High-A Stockton): 3-for-5, HR (13), R, 2 RBI, K. Bit of a sleeper as a third baseman with power and patience; up to .296/.394/.468.
  • Francisco Peguero, OF, Giants (High-A San Jose): 3-for-5, 3B, HR (6), R, RBI, K.  Ten hits in last three games and 40-for-92 (.435) in last 22 contests; .312/.345/.475 overall.
  • Garrett Richards, RHP, Angels (Low-A Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K.  Still bafflingly inconsistent; has the stuff to do this every night, but also gets hammered once over three or four starts.
  • Mel Rojas, OF, Pirates (Short-season State College): 4-for-5, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, SB.  Third-round pick has plenty of tools; only position player Pirates took in first ten rounds.
  • Yorman Rodriguez, OF, Reds (Rookie-level Billings): 17-year-old Venezuelan starting to show signs of life with .375/.378/.500 line; one walk in 17 games.
  • Miguel Sano, 3B/SS, Twins (Rookie-level GCL Twins): 2-for-4, HR (2), R, RBI, K.  17-year-old is up to .300/.345/.520 in 13 state-side games; the sky is the limit.
  • Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 2-for-4, HR (4), R, 6 RBI, 2 K. Can I come back to the big leagues now?
  • Michael Taylor, OF, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento): 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI, K, SB.  Batting .373 (25-for-67) during 17-game hitting streak; even season numbers don't look so bad at this point (.275/.350/.411)
  • Julio Teheran, RHP, Braves (High-A Myrtle Beach): 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K.  2.98 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 63.1 High-A innings; 19-year-olds next start might be at Double-A.
  • Mike Trout, OF, Angels (High-A Rancho Cucamonga): 2-for-5, R, RBI, K.  .314/.400/.514 in nine High-A games.
  • Chris Valaika, 2B/SS, Reds (Triple-A Louisville): 3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, K.  9-for-18 in last four games and .299/.328/.393 overall; future utilityman.
  • Brett Wallace, 1B, Blue Jays (Triple-A Las Vegas): 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI.  Three straight multi-hit games and .296/.359/.497 overall; where did his reputation as an on-base machine come from? 93 career walks in 1230 plate appearances.
  • Adam Warren, RHP, Yankees (Double-A Trenton): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K.  Second Double-A start; many scouts project as solid-but-unspectacular big league starter.

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georgeforeman03
7/23
Word on the street is Teheran and Randall Delgado both headed to AA.
kgoldstein
7/23
Braves made a lot of moves:

Brandon Beachy to AAA
Teheran and Delgado to AA
Cory Rasmus to A+
juice133
7/23
Furbush sat 88-90 last night (touched 92 6 times, and 93 once), and has been there much of this year, and his command was well below average. His CB looked like a potential above-average pitch, and out of 102 pitches, he threw just two change-ups; both quite poor. He's a two-pitch guy right now, and with his lack of athleticism and his arm action, I'm not sure one can really expect his command to improve appreciably.
fantasy
7/23
Count me as one who would love to see Nelson start at 2B in COL.
afh409
7/23
I thought today was the day for Weglarz...
Olinkapo
7/23
Well, he did only have one hit (a solo dinger) on July 22, so I can understand why he didn't crack the list.

Nick Weglarz, "OF", Indians (Triple-A Columbus): 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI. The 22-year-old is hitting .425/.477/.825 over his last ten games to bring his overall Triple-A line up to .288/.385/.503 in 188 plate appearances. One scout* says his floor rests somewhere between Babe Ruth's peak and what Mickey Mantle would have done had he been sober and completely healthy.

* Special thanks to Nick Weglarz for passing on info from an anonymous scout.
tdees40
7/23
Matt Lipka is the poor man's Mike Trout. True or false?
kringent
7/23
At the risk of being a jerk, what would an answer to this question really tell you one way or the other?
kgoldstein
7/23
You really want to compare someone to one of the top players in baseball?
dwachtell
7/23
Re: Beavan. What does it mean really that he'll be an innings eater in the big leagues? That he's a #3? That he is unlikely to get hurt? It seems to me like "innings eaters" are good but not great pitchers who have a knack for staying healthy. It seems like an odd thing to label someone before the fact.
ramjam36
7/23
He has a big, durable frame, throws strikes, puts the ball in play...therefore, should project to eat a lot of innings...
FalcoT
7/24
Half empty, that's Braden Looper. Half full and it's Joe Blanton.
msurell
7/23
Kevin

Curious as to what you and scouts believe is Wilin Rosario's timeline for reaching the big leagues with the Rockies?
klipzlskim
7/23
Re: Grant Green. Does it make sense to hold him at Hi-A for defensive purposes? I would think that defense is more comparable across levels than hitting, and thus he could just as well take reps at Midland. But perhaps I'm wrong - does defense improve significantly from A+ to AA?
pobothecat
7/27
interesting point
oneofthem
7/23
where does furbush rank on the all time great names list
Olinkapo
7/23
There is some very heavy competition, even if we just look at the last few seasons:

https://secure.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/fans/moniker_madness/y2010/moniker_madness.jsp

Olinkapo
7/23
Further info:

The 2007 winner was Houston Summers: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/fans/moniker_madness/y2007/moniker_madness.jsp

2008 went to Will Startup:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/fans/moniker_madness/y2008/moniker_madness.jsp

2009 was the year of Dusty Napoleon:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/fans/moniker_madness/y2009/moniker_madness.jsp

I must admit, I was crushed when Jorge Poo Tang didn't make the finals in 2007.
oneofthem
7/24
well, i think furbush has more projectable upside based on current cultural trends.
pobothecat
7/27
With Trevor Plouffe a very distant second.
dbthewise1313
7/24
Dwyer not Dyson, right? That's not even including Arguelles ... Royal's system is ridiculous.