March 28, 2013

Minor League Update

Games of Wednesday, March 27

by Zach Mortimer

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Prospect of the Day: Evan Gattis, C, Braves (will be on Atlanta’s Opening Day roster): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB. Gattis has shown the Braves enough ability on both sides of the ball to convince them to keep him on the roster as the backup catcher, at least until Brian McCann returns; .357/.383/.768 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in 56 spring at-bats.

Other notable prospect performances from March 27:

• Nick Ahmed, SS, Diamondbacks (anticipated to start the season in Double-A Mobile): 1-2, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB. Ahmed, acquired in the Justin Upton deal, is an above-average runner with solid bat-to-ball ability and has enough defensive chops to hold his own at short at the big-league level; .280/.357/.580 in 25 spring at-bats.
• Byron Buxton, CF, Twins (anticipated to start the season in Low-A Cedar Rapids): 1-4, 3 R, K, BB, 2 SB. Buxton, the second overall selection in 2012, has the talent to be the next darling five-tool outfield prospect. Chris Mellen wrote more about Buxton today.
• Orlando Calixte, SS, Royals (anticipated to start the season in Double-A NW Arkansas): 0-1. Calixte, a personal favorite of mine, has an extremely violent swing with big-league bat speed. He has been comped to Alfonso Soriano because of his batting stance and swagger on the diamond.
• Carlos Correa, SS, Astros (anticipated to start the season in Low-A Quad Cities): 1-4, RBI, 2 K. Correa, last year’s first overall pick, has all the tools and an excellent work ethic; two hits in six spring at-bats.
• Brandon Erbe, RHP, Phillies (anticipated to start the season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K. Erbe, a former top prospect in the Orioles system, once had a surefire major-league future, but 2010 labrum surgery put a big bump in the road. He’s still trying to regain the fastball velocity and command he’d need to scratch out some sort of career in the big leagues.
• Jose Iglesias, SS, Red Sox (still in contention to start the season with the Red Sox): 1-2, BB. Iglesias, an elite defender, has made the most contact of his career this spring. The reports on him at the plate are improving, but the sample size has to be taken into account; .283/.317/.450 with seven extra-base hits in 60 spring at-bats.
• Ender Inciarte, OF, Phillies (Rule 5 selection still battling to stay on big-league roster): 2-4, R, RBI. Inciarte, a Rule 5 selection from the Diamondbacks, shows plus running ability as well as the capacity to play center field. However, he is still raw and may not have enough bat to make it on a big-league bench; .286/.375/.321 in 28 spring at-bats.
• Leonys Martin, CF, Rangers (will start the season as a part-time center fielder for the Rangers): 2-4, K. I believe my colleague Jason Cole put it best: “nice solid-average across the board regular”; .350/.397/.483 with 11 runs scored and 12 RBIs in 60 spring at-bats.
• Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers (anticipated to start the season in Double-A Chattanooga): 0-3, RBI. Pederson, the son of former major leaguer Stu Pederson, has average tools both at the plate and in the field that play up due to plus baseball instincts; one hit in 10 spring at-bats.
• Michael Taylor, CF, Nationals (anticipated to start the season in Double-A Harrisburg): 0-4, 3 K. Taylor, a plus defender in center, comes with plenty of questions about how much contact he’ll make against quality pitching; two hits and three strikeouts in 10 spring at-bats.
• Tony Wolters, 2B, Indians (anticipated to start the season in Double-A Akron): 0-1, R. Wolters lacks physical projection and has had to move off of shortstop, which lowers his ceiling; one hit in nine spring at-bats.

Zach Mortimer is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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