July 23, 2014

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, July 22

by Jeff Moore

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Hitter of the Night: Eddie Rosario, OF, Twins (New Britain, AA): 3-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR.
Rosario has had trouble getting going after missing the first 50 games of the year with a suspension. His bat will have to carry him, but if he continues to slide down the defensive spectrum (he’s playing some left field now), it may not be enough. There’s enough in the bat for a major league role, though perhaps not an everyday spot.

Pitcher of the Night: Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pirates (Bradenton, A+): 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K.
I’ve been getting questions for a while now asking whether or not Glasnow should be promoted to Double-A. It’s a common question any time a player is having success at a level, and Glasnow’s success does prompt such inquiries. In Glasnow’s case, however, my answer was that we need to see him throw more strikes before he can move up. As a general philosophy, I don’t like promoting prospects until they’ve mastered a level, and walking a batter every other inning falls just short of that in my book, even if the rest of the production has been as good as Glasnow’s. Plus, he’s young, so there’s no rush.

Well, Tuesday’s outing marked the fourth start in a row in which Glasnow’s walked two or fewer batters and his third straight scoreless start. This is the improvement I wanted to see before considering a promotion, but now it’s something we can begin to discuss. Another start or two like this with good control, and the Pirates could let him spend August in Altoona.

Best of the Rest

Vincent Velasquez, RHP, Astros (GCL, R): 4 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 10 K. Huge grain of salt here as Velazquez was on a rehab assignment against far inferior competition, but it’s still nice to see a guy go out and dominate players he’s supposed to dominate. It doesn’t always happen.

Dalton Pompey, OF, Blue Jays (New Hampshire, AA): 2-4, 2B, K, SB. Pompey has struggled since his promotion to Double-A, but so do many prospects in their first taste of the upper minors. He still has impact talent as an up-the-middle player with potential above-average pop.

Albert Almora, OF, Cubs (Daytona, A+): 2-3, R, HR. In what turned out to be his last game for Daytona, Almora showed off the power that comes with natural bat speed and a tremendous feel for the barrel. He’s going to have issues in Double-A laying off quality breaking stuff, which gave him problems in the lower levels of the minors as well, but his ability to get the good part of the bat on the baseball has outweighed the bad thus far.

Eloy Jimenez, OF, Cubs (AZL, R): 2-4, R, HR, SB. Jimenez was considered one of the top talents in the 2013 international signing class, and the Cubs nabbed him for $2.8 million. They got him onto their complex and into a domestic league as soon as possible, and he’s holding his own as a 17-year-old.

Corey Seager, SS, Dodgers (Chattanooga, AA): 3-5, R, 2B. This is the kind of thing we needed to see from Seager, whose performances were getting discounted by the hitting environments of the California League by around Memorial Day. He’s off to a hot start in Double-A, further legitimizing his progress as a prospect.

Andrew Heaney, LHP, Marlins (New Orleans, AAA): 7 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 8 K. Heaney had some struggles in the majors, but he’s back on track in Triple-A. He was on a very fast track to the majors, and things got a little quick for him at the highest level, but it won’t be long before he’s back and very good.

Dilson Herrera, 2B, Mets (Binghamton, AA): 3-4, R, 3B, HR. Herrera made noticeable improvements over the course of the first half of the season while in A-ball, shortening his swing and making strides towards becoming a potential everyday player rather than just a plus athlete. Rather than getting challenged by Double-A, Herrera continues to make improvements, already matching his power production from A-ball (in less than half as many games) and showing much better control of the strike zone.

Matt Wisler, RHP, Padres (El Paso, AAA): 7 IP, 4 H, R, 0 BB, 7 K. Wisler has had a rough go of things in Triple-A after dominating his way out of Double-A early this season. Pitching in El Paso hasn’t proved to be any easier than anywhere else in the PCL, but Wisler is still quite young for the advanced league. There’s still no reason to believe he can’t be a mid-rotation starter.

Joey Gallo, 3B, Rangers (Frisco, AA): 3-4 (Game 1), 1-3, R, HR, 2 K (Game 2). It’s been a while since we’ve talked about Gallo in detail. His time in Double-A hasn’t been as dominant as his time in the Carolina League, but that’s to be expected. He’s shown more of the contact issues that we saw last year, but remember, he’s still a 20-year-old facing very advanced competition. More importantly, even with 65 strikeouts in 36 games, his power production hasn’t suffered. The batting average has dropped because of fewer balls in play, but not to a worrisome level. We grew accustomed to video game numbers, but you can argue that what he’s doing in Double-A at his age is even more impressive than what he did to start the season. I won’t argue it, but you can. Either way, even the increased strikeouts don’t appear to be a major reason for concern.

Notable Pitching Performances

• Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Brewers (AZL, R): 2 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R (3 ER), 3 BB, K.
• Marco Gonzales, LHP, Cardinals (Memphis, AAA): 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K.
• Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Mets (Las Vegas, AAA): 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K.
• Dylan Bundy, RHP, Orioles (Frederick, A+): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, K.
• Matt Barnes, RHP, Red Sox (Pawtucket, AAA): 6 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K.
• Jonathan Gray, RHP, Rockies (Tulsa, AA): 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, BB, 3 K.
• Sean Manaea, LHP, Royals (Wilmington, A+): 7 IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 6 K.
• Carlos Rodon, LHP, White Sox (AZL, R): 1 IP, 2 H, R, 0 BB, K.