August 14, 2013

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, August 13

by Chris King

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Pitching Prospect of the Day: Anthony DeSclafani, RHP, Marlins (Double-A Jacksonville): 7 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. DeSclafani still possesses a plus-plus fastball, and after a rough July, he has turned the corner in August, allowing only one earned run and striking out 19 in 20 1/3 innings.

Position Prospect of the Day: Gabe Jacobo, 1B, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI. Jacobo's two-homer game tonight gives him five since being promoted to Double-A 26 games ago. He had been highly regarded for his defense in the past, and he’s now batting .346/.403/.495 in 106 at-bats with New Hampshire.

Other notable prospect performances on August 13:

"The Good"

• Zach Walters, SS, Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K. The Nationals really like Walters' bat, and with 27 HR and 31 2B in his first full season at Triple-A, it's easy to see why.
• Sebastian Valle, C, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 3-5, 2 2B, 2 R. It has been a rough season for Valle, who came into tonight hitting just .208/.248/.381. He has hit 12 HR, but he's struck out 74 times and walked just 16. A game like this has to make him feel good.
• Zach Collier, OF, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 2-3, 2 3B, 2 RBI, BB. Collier has been a fringe prospect all year and has really struggled to get his bat going in Reading. However, in his last 10 games, he's been hot, posting a .371/.463/.486 triple-slash line.
• Jesse Biddle, LHP, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 9 K's. Biddle has given up only 2 ER in his last 12 innings despite walking an alarming 10 batters in that span. The potential is still there, but the command has got to start improving.
• Andrew Burns, 3B, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire) 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI. Burns was an All-Star for High-A Dunedin before his promotion. His performance in Dunedin got him back on the prospect radar, but his bat has cooled off in New Hampshire.
• Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs (High-A Daytona) 1-3, HR, R, RBI, K. It might not be the best line you've seen on the MLU, but it's notable since Bryant needed just two at-bats before connecting on his first HR in the Florida State League.
• Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Cubs (High-A Daytona) 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Like Bryant, Vogelbach hit his first HR at the High-A level tonight. He's now 2-for-6 since his promotion and will be part of a nice one-two punch with Bryant for the first-place Daytona Cubs.
• Addison Russell, SS, A's (High-A Stockton) 2-6, HR, R, 4 RBI, K. The grand slam tonight was Russell's 14th HR of the season. The stud shortstop is hitting .263/.417/.474 in his last 10 games.

"The Bad"

• Jason Martinson, SS, Nationals (Double-A Harrisburg) 0-4, 3 K. Martinson has faced questions about his ability to make contact. Tonight is another example.
• Blake Taylor, LHP, Pirates (GCL Pirates) 1/3 IP, H, 4 ER, 3 BB. The Pirates second-round pick came into today sporting a 1.32 ERA over five starts. After today's rough outing, he saw that ERA jump to 3.86.

Chris King is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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