August 30, 2013

Minor League Update

Games of Thursday, August 29

by Zach Mortimer

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“The Good”

• Matt Barnes, RHP, Red Sox (Triple-A Pawtucket): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. I have teased my write-up on Barnes for awhile. Of course, I forgot to send it in because I went to the game without sending the email. So, next week, the Barnes report will be in. The fastball is a quality offering, the changeup flashes, but I’m not in love with the curveball. I believe Barnes can be a starter, but I’m thinking it’s more of a very good back-of-the-rotation starter.
• Kyle Crick, RHP, Giants (High-A San Jose): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K. Crick offers a fastball that works in the mid 90s and can touch 96, a curveball with plus potential that works in the low 80s, and he's still working on developing a changeup. Crick has the potential to be an impact starting pitcher.
• C.J. Cron, 1B, Angels (Double-A Arkansas): 2-4, R, HR, R, 3 RBI, K. Cron offers major power, but he will have to continue to make consistent hard contact if he is going to be a valuable major-league asset. Cron provides little defensive value, so he will have to really hit to be a contributor.
• Kyle Gaedele, OF, Padres (High-A Lake Elsinore): 4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, K. Gaedele offers potential plus power, but will have to make a lot more consistent contact if he is going to be a prospect. Gaedele may be more of a guy who enjoys a nice minor-league career, but never develops into a major-league quality bat.
• Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez, RHP, Rangers (High-A Myrtle Beach): 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. I was at Gonzalez’s start tonight and to say he was filthy would be an understatement. Gonzalez offers a fastball that works 94-96 with cut, sink, and run. He throws a true cutter at 88-91 with late darting action that is a potential plus pitch. He also throws a slider at 86-88 that has a larger break, but is not as consistent as the cutter. Finally Gonzalez throws a changeup at 86-88 with armside fade. This is a very small sample size, but Gonzalez looks like a potential impact arm; 19.0 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 9 BB, 15 K in five High-A starts.
• Alen Hanson, SS, Pirates (Double-A Altoona): 3-4, 2 3B, R. Hanson is a plus runner with plus bat speed. He has plus power potential, but he can be exploited by quality pitching. I’ve never been the biggest Hanson fan, and I think he is a second baseman all the way. He is much more of a steady regular than a potential impact bat for me.
• Erik Johnson, RHP, White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Johnson may very well be the top prospect in the White Sox system. He offers a plus fastball, plus slider, average curveball, and usable changeup. Johnson should be in the majors in 2014; 57.1 IP, 43 H, 10 ER, 19 BB, 57 K in 10 starts.
• Daniel Oliver, RHP, Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 12 K. Oliver may not be much of a prospect, but on this night he really had it going.
• Sam Selman, LHP, Royals (High-A Wilmington): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. Selman has found a groove late in the season. He shows a potential plus-plus fastball and plus slider. His delivery will never lead to a high level of command, but he could be a very useful piece in the bullpen; 31.2 IP, 13 H, 7 ER, 18 BB, 40 K in six August starts.

“The Bad”

• Jason Esposito, 3B, Orioles (High-A Frederick): 0-4, 3 K. The Orioles paid Esposito a lot of money, and he is not a prospect.
• Kevin Keyes, 1B, Nationals (High-A Potomac): 0-4, 3 K. Well, Mr. Keyes, you lucked into "The Good" so it is your turn to wear it in "The Bad."
• Victor Roache, RF, Brewers (Low-A Wisconsin): 0-4, BB, 3 K. I’ve been told to be very leery about Roache’s ability going forward.
• Jake Skole, CF, Rangers (High-A Myrtle Beach): 0-3, 3 K. Skole can play center field, but he will struggle to hit and may never be able to contribute at the upper levels.
• Kyle Smith, RHP, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 2.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Smith put up gaudy numbers in the Carolina League, but he has had some struggles in the California League. The curveball is an easy plus pitch, but I struggle to see any other pitch in his arsenal being very effective.
• Nick Williams, OF, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 0-4, 4 K. Williams is a natural hitter, but he’s struggled a bit down the stretch.

“The End”

Well, everyone, this is it. The MLU goes on hiatus until next year. I want to thank all of you who left excellent comments all summer long. I will not lie: When I started this task in March, I was not sure how successful I would be, because I could never claim to be a writer. But I love the game and everything to do with it. Daniel Rathman deserves a ton of credit for helping my work to be readable on a daily basis. As always, if any of you ever have any questions at any point, feel free to shoot me an email or a tweet or anything. The prospect rankings are going to be top notch, so I hope all of you look forward to them coming out in the near future. Thank you all again!

Zach Mortimer is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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