May 19, 2011

Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of May 18

by Kevin Goldstein

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Jordan Henry, OF, Indians (Double-A Akron): 3-for-6, 3B, 3 R, K.

I'm featuring this player simply because it seems like he's not on many radars out there. What he can do is hit line drives, draw a fair share of walks, and bring plus-plus speed to the stable. All that is evidenced by a .305/.397/.356 line with 15 stolen bases in 16 attempts. What that line also shows you is that he has no power, as he's yet to go deep in 213 games as a pro with 87% of his hits going for singles. Still, there's big league value to this combination of tools and abilities.

Others Of Note:

• Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros (High-A Lancaster); 4-for-4, R, RBI. See what being on the podcast can do for a guy? .383/.428/.556 in 40 games.
• Lars Anderson, 1B, Red Sox (Triple-A Pawtucket): 2-for-3, HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K; 1-for-3, HR (2), R, RBI. Home runs in both ends of a double-header after failing to go deep in first 36 games; .273/.405/.379 overall.
• Tim Beckham, SS, Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K. Hitting .404 in his last 12 games and .306/.380/.415 overall; rumors of his demise were premature.
• Jesse Biddle, LHP, Phillies (Low-A Lakewood): 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 8 K. Best start of the year for last year's first-round pick who has not shown the velocity he did at the end of last year.
• Gary Brown, OF, Giants (High-A San Jose): 2-for-5, 2 R, K. 27-for-56 (.482) during 12-game hitting streak; .375/.445/.518 in 39 games.
• Michael Choice, OF, Athletics (High-A Stockton); 2-for-2, HR (7), R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, SB. On base 16 times in last six games and up to .257/.370/.493 overall; secondary skills could make up for low average all the way up the ladder.
• Chase D'Arnaud, SS, Pirates (Double-A Indianapolis): 3-for-4, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Finally an answer at shortstop in Pittsburgh? 16-for-30 during eight-game hitting streak and .285/.358/.444 on the year; solid but unspectacular.
• Travis D'Arnaud, C, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 3-for-3, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI. 12-for-26 in May and .284/.361/.459 overall; just needs to stay healthy to be one of the better catching prospects in the game.
• Jordan Danks, OF, White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI. .258/.343/.558 line is a big surprise, and White Sox need help offensively.
• Chris Dwyer, LHP, Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K. Best start of the year; ERA still at 5.82 in eight outings.
• Robbie Erlin, LHP, Rangers (High-A Myrtle Beach): 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K. ERA goes up to 2.22 but K/BB ratio increases to a remarkable 56/5 in 48.2 innings.
• Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks (Double-A Mobile): 4-for-6, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. .338/.465/.706 in 38 games; greatly reduced strikeout rate has him looking like the real deal.
• Anthony Gose, OF, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 1-for-2, HR (2), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K. Nine of his 16 RBI on the season have come in his last four games; .271/.360/.368 has been bolstered by an 882 OPS in May.
• Jedd Gyorko, 3B, Padres (High-A Lake Elsinore): 4-for-5, 2B, HR (10), 3 R, 5 RBI. Starting to move into crazy-hot mode; 27-for-64 (.422) during 15-game hitting streak that includes eight doubles and five home runs; .389/.460/.691 in 40 games overall.
• Jae-Hoon Ha, OF, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, K, CS. 5-for-14 (.357) in first three Double-A games; combines hitting skills with solid speed and good defense.
• Billy Hamilton, SS, Reds (Low-A Dayton): 2-for-3, 3B, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB; 1-for-3, R, 3 SB, CS. Hopefully snapping out of slump despite a .281 OBP he steal leads the minors with 29 stolen bases.
• Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 2-for-4, HR (1), R, 2 RBI. Needless to say, he looked fine.
• Aaron Hicks, OF, Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB, K, SB. Has reached base 20 times in last 10 games; .244/.352/.370 overall and surging.
• A.J. Jimenez, C, Blue Jays (High-A Dunedin): 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI. 17-for-43 (.395) during 11-game hitting streak and .367/.402/.517 overall; has thrown out 43 percent of opposing base stealers.
• Mike Leake, RHP, Reds (Triple-A Louisville): 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Minor league debut, which seems weird.
• Hak-Ju Lee, SS, Rays (High-A Charlotte): 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, SB. Has cooled off a bit (how could he not?), but still at .383/.454/.539 in 28 games.
• Brad Lincoln, RHP, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. 1.80 ERA in last four starts after poor start; should get another big league audition at some point.
• Matt Lipka, SS/2B, Braves (Low-A Rome): 2-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI; 2-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI. Zero extra base hits in first 36 games but then four doubles in a day; .252/.308/.277 overall.
• Jermaine Mitchell, OF, Athletics (Double-A Midland): 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, HR (6), 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB. 26-year-old old and past his prospect window, but hitting .363/.486/.678 in 38 games with 11 triples.
• Matt Rizzotti, 1B, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 3-for-5, 2 HR (8), 2 R, 4 RBI. Sure he's a bat-only guy, but he leads the Eastern League in hits, doubles, slugging, extra-base hits, and total bases while ranking among the top five in batting, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage and runs.
• Aderlin Rodriguez, 3B, Mets (Low-A Savannah): 2-for-4, 2 HR (9), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB. Huge power, but big questions about hitting ability and can't play third base; .208/.255/.429 in 38 games.
• Adrelton Simmons, SS, Braves (High-A Lynchburg): 2-for-4, 2 RBI, SB. .326/.380/.388 line in 34 games is massive surprise; scout says, “He has an 'S' on his chest defensively.”
• Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 4 K. Stuff has been good as expected, command has not.
• LeVon Washington, OF, Indians (Low-A Lake County): 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB. First mutli-hit game of since arriving from extended; .258/.343/.323 in eight games.

Kevin Goldstein is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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