December 11, 2013

Minor League Update

International Winter League Games of December 10

by Jeff Moore

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Prospect of the Day: Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Indians (Leones del Caracas, VWL): 3-4, 3 R, 2 HR, K. Well, it’s officially in Venezuela this winter. Aguilar was already putting on an impressive power performance, then he went off and hit his 15^th and 16^th home runs on Tuesday. As we’ve seen this winter, right-handed power is at a premium in baseball right now, so if his hit tool can play at all, the Indians will find a spot for him.

The Good

• Francisco Peguero, CF, Orioles (Gigantes del Cibao, DWL): 3-5, 2 R, HR. The Orioles are excited about their newest outfielder, signed just this offseason after being DFA’d by the Giants. The O’s shouldn’t expect a ton of power like this from him, however, as he’s been more tools and athleticism to this point than actual production and doesn’t project to have much power anyway.
• Rudy Owens, LHP, Astros (Gigantes del Cibao, DWL): 5 IP, H, 3 BB, 4 K. The Astros left-hander added another chapter to his strong winter, as he continues to limit hard-hit balls. Owens has historically limited hits well in his career despite less-than-premium velocity, but still profiles as a back-end starter. On the Astros, however, that’s enough to get a shot.
• Luis Cruz, LHP, Astros (Criollos de Caguas, PRWL): 5 IP, H, R, BB, 3 K. Cruz is a 5-foot-9 lefty without a lot of projection, but his strikeout numbers jumped up this year to over a batter per inning for the first time in his career. He just turned 23 and spent some time in Double-A this season, and is having a nice winter for the Criollos. He’s worked both as a starter and in relief in the minors, but as an undersized left-hander, it’s hard to project him anywhere but in a bullpen in the major leagues, and even that would be in a middle-relief role at best.
• Jonathan Singleton, 1B, Astros (Cangrejeros de Santurce, PRWL): 2-5, 2 K. After a red-hot stretch last week, Singleton has come back down to Earth slightly, at least in the power department, but has still been getting on base.

The Bad

• C.J. Cron, 1B, Angels (Leones del Escogido, DWL): 0-5, 2 K. Cron had carried over his strong AFL into winter ball but has played sparingly. The recent trade of Mark Trumbo opens up a spot for Cron to play out of position, as he’s also blocked by Albert Pujols at first base. He’ll make his Triple-A debut next season and will look to build on his solid winter season to make up for a disappointing regular season.
• Nestor Molina, RHP, White Sox (Cardenales de Lara, VWL): 1 IP, 2 H, ER. Molina is best known in prospect circles as the player traded for Sergio Santos, but he hasn’t done a whole lot since. He struggled in 2012 then missed most of 2013, so he’s making up for lost time. He got off to a strong start working exclusively in relief this winter, but he’s allowed runs in his past three appearances.