August 28, 2013

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, August 27

by Zach Mortimer

Printer-friendly

Contact Author

“The Good”

• William Argo, OF, Rays (High-A Charlotte): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Argo is a plus runner who normally relies on his speed offensively. The power is limited and he may not make enough contact against quality pitching. He has put together a very solid season and can put himself on the back end of a deep Rays prospect list; .306/.359/.583 with 4 2B and 2 HR in last 36 at-bats.
• Clayton Blackburn, RHP, Giants (High-A San Jose): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Blackburn offers a mature arsenal. He features a fastball and a curveball, both of which grade out as plus, and also throws a developing changeup. Blackburn should be able to move into Double-A seamlessly in 2014 and put himself in line to contribute at the major-league level in 2015.
• Jeimer Candelario, 3B, Cubs (Low-A Kane County): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, RBI. Candelario relies on his bat to keep himself on the prospect radar. He has plus bat speed and plus power potential. The rest of his game is not exactly glowing, and if he wants to ever be a real prospect, he will have to make hard contact regularly.
• Derek Dietrich, 2B, Marlins (Double-A Jacksonville): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, K. After returning from his stint in the majors, Dietrich was told to work on his plate discipline. Dietrich is a second baseman all the way and can provide plus power. Dietrich should receive another opportunity to handle the keystone in Miami in 2014; 14-for-36 with 6 R, 10 RBI, 3 2B, and 3 HR in last 10 games.
• Josh Elander, OF, Braves (High-A Lynchburg): 5-5, 2B, HR, 4 R, 5 RBI. Elander has the potential to be a solid-average hitter with solid-average power. However, he is an average runner and may be stuck with a left-field profile and his bat will have to reach its ceiling for him to be prospect-relevant;.450/.452/.575 with 2 2B and 1 HR in his last 40 at-bats.
• Sean Gilmartin, LHP, Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Gilmartin never had the sexiest of arsenals, but everyone felt it was very complete and that he had a relatively high floor. He offers an average fastball, average slider, and solid-average changeup. Gilmartin struggled before going on the disabled list, but he has pitched much better in his three starts since returning; 15.0 IP, 13 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 14 K in three August starts.
• Brian Goodwin, CF, Nationals (Double-A Harrisburg): 3-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI, BB. The Arizona Fall League announced its rosters today, and in 2012 Goodwin, lit the AFL on fire. He showed the ability to hit, hit for power, run, throw, and basically do anything he wanted. The 2013 season has been a lackluster one for Goodwin, but it is a good sign to see that he is finishing strong; .324/.444/.529 with 5 2B, 2 3B, and 1 HR in last 37 at-bats.
• Hobbs Johnson, LHP, Brewers (Low-A Wisconsin): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. The Brewers were able to sign Johnson for $100,000. Johnson offers a low-90s fastball, potential solid-average changeup, average slider, and show-me curveball. I spoke with once source who hinted that he would rather have Johnson than Kent Emmanuel ; 11.0 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 21 K in six appearances.
• Henry Owens, LHP, Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Over the weekend, while scouting a Portland at Trenton series, Henry and I caught each other’s eye. It was not the normal catching of one’s eye; it was more intimate, like he had read the scouting report I wrote on him and enjoyed my work. In the scouting report I said that Owens may be able to add velocity if he spent some time adding additional strength to his legs. I still believe this, but since I saw him and now cannot get the image of Sunshine from Remember the Titans out of my head, I’m not as sold he will be able to add weight. I’m not sure why I get that feeling, but after seeing him in street clothes, I feel a bit uneasy about my assumption; 24.2 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 14 BB, 38 K in five Double-A starts.
• Nik Turley, LHP, Yankees (Double-A Trenton): 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. Turley is a pitcher that I have seen many times. He offers a fastball that works in the low 90s, a potential plus curveball that works in the mid 70s with hard 1-7 break, and a changeup that shows some fade but is not a bat-missing offering. Turley has a bit of cleaning up to do mechanically, and it causes his command to waver at times. I believe Turley is a back-of-the-rotation starter and could be pitching in the Bronx at some point in 2014; 53.0 IP, 43 H, 19 ER, 29 BB, and 45 K in last 10 starts.

“The Bad”

• Alex Liddi, 1B, Orioles (Triple-A Norfolk): 0-5, 3 K. Obviously, Liddi is still upset over Team Italy’s performance in the World Baseball Classic.
• Matt Olson, 1B, Athletics (Low-A Beloit): 0-4, 3 K. Olson offers some pop, but he also has some swing and miss in his game.
• James Ramsey, OF, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 0-4, 3 K. The former Florida State product is ready for college football to start, and Jameis Winston to take the field as the, you heard it here first, most underrated QB in the country.

“The Gallo”

Joey Gallo, 3B, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 1-4, HR, R, RBI, BB, 3 K. I think I’ve just gotten used to Gallo putting up numbers like this. He offers as much raw power as anyone in the game. However, his swing can be exploited and he may always struggle to make consistent contact. If Gallo could improve his contact rate, even marginally, the numbers would be even more outstanding than they already are; .235/.325/.565 with 19 2B, 5 3B, 32 HR, 158 K, and 12 SB in 370 Low-A at-bats.

Zach Mortimer is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Zach's other articles. You can contact Zach by clicking here