May 19, 2015

Minor League Update

Games of Monday, May 18, 2015

by Jeff Moore

the archives are now free. All Baseball Prospectus Premium and Fantasy articles more than a year old are now free as a thank you to the entire Internet for making our work possible. Not a subscriber? Get exclusive content like this delivered hot to your inbox every weekday. Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get instant access to the best baseball content on the web.

Subscribe for $4.95 per month Recurring subscription - cancel anytime. Subscribe for $39.95 for one year a 33% savings over the monthly price! Purchase a $39.95 gift subscription a 33% savings over the monthly price! Already a subscriber? Click here and use the blue login bar to log in.

Hitter of the Day: Franklin Barreto, SS, A’s (Stockton, A+): 2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, K. The A’s acquired Barreto in the offseason and immediately challenged him with an assignment to High-A Stockton, his first attempt at a full-season league. The results haven’t been great thus far, but that’s to be expected to a certain extent. Glimpses like we got on Monday night bode well for his future, especially if we are to believe that the power is going to come one day. Barreto may need that power if he ends up having to move off shortstop as many scouts believe.

Pitcher of the Day: Manny Banuelos, LHP, Braves (Gwinnett, AAA): 6 IP, 5 H, R, BB, 6 K. No longer is Banuelos the bat-missing fireballer of his younger days with the Yankees, but now 31 months removed from Tommy John surgery, he’s learning how to pitch all over again. Banuelos has gotten by thus far with a slightly elevated walk rate and fewer strikeouts than at any point in his career, which is concerning, but having success with diminished stuff is an important learning point for a young pitcher, so it’s a positive sign to see him handing it well.

Best of the Rest

Tim Anderson, 2B, White Sox (Birmingham, AA): 3-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB (!) I’m not sure I know the adjective to describe Tim Anderson walking twice in one game, but I’ll bet Michael Bay wants to make a movie about what happens to the planet after it happens. We’re talking about a player who had walked just twice in over 200 Double-A plate appearances entering Monday. It’s an approach that I believe will catch up with him eventually, yet he continues to hit in spite of it. Two walks today hardly signals a changing of the guard, and he’ll never be anything close to resembling a patient hitter, but he doesn’t need to be. With his talent, he just has to show pitchers enough of an idea of the strike zone to let them know he won’t chase everything once he faces pitchers good enough to execute such a plan.

Blake Snell, LHP, Rays (Montgomery, AA): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K. Seven appearances and 40 innings into the minor league season, Snell has yet to give up an earned run. Obviously there’s some luck that goes into that, but striking out more than a batter per inning certainly helps, as does throwing strikes at an all-time best rate after being promoted to Double-A. His plus changeup, which was far too much for A-ball hitters to handle, has proved to be equally as challenging for Double-A hitters, a common result on change-of-pace pitches when a pitcher is around the strike zone more frequently.

Robert Gsellman, RHP, Mets (St. Lucie, A+): 7 IP, 6 H, R, 2 BB, 5 K. There’s not much left for me to say about Gsellman without being creepy. Just read this. Or this.

Daniel Robertson, SS, Rays (Montgomery, AA): 2-4, R, 2B. Robertson appeared on the top-10 shortstop lists of both Tucker Blair and C.J. Wittmann in the latest edition of the Raw Projection Prospect Podcast. While I agree with them both on their assessment of Robertson as a top-flight prospect, I wouldn’t have even considered him because I believe he’s destined for third base. Much of the scouting industry is split on Robertson, much like we are, so there’s no wrong or right here, at least not yet. More importantly, Robertson’s bat should be able to play at either position. What’s most likely, given the Rays propensity for using guys all over the diamond, is that Robertson sees time at multiple infield positions while finding himself somewhere in the lineup every day.

Fight Another Day

Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins (Chattanooga, AA): 0-4, 3 K. These are things that come with the re-emergence into the game that I discussed yesterday. After a year off, there are going to be timing issues. Some days Sano will have it and hit monstrous home runs. Other days he won’t and he’ll strike out a lot. Heck, even when he’s back at full strength, he’ll still have days like this because he’s a power hitter with a big swing, but in the meantime, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt because going a year without facing live pitching is incredibly hard. But for those calling for him to come to the majors right now, please stop.

Jake Gatewood, SS, Brewers (Wisconsin, A-): 0-3, 3 K. Gatewood has 32 strikeouts in 72 plate appearances, for a 44 percent strike out rate. My goodness that’s a lot of strike outs. Time to make an adjustment, son.

Nick Williams, OF, Rangers (Frisco, AA): 0-4, 4 K. This is what I get for saying nice things about Nick Williams. In all seriousness though, despite showing improvements in his approach and patience this season, Williams is always going to be susceptible to these types of games because he’s an aggressive hitter by nature. The hope is simply that the good outweighs the bad by enough to be effective.

Notable Debut

Yoan Moncada, 2B, Red Sox (Greenville, A-): 0-3, 2 R, BB. Moncada didn’t do anything particularly noteworthy on Monday, other than play in a professional baseball game for the first time. Still, it wouldn’t be a legitimate update on prospects and the minor leagues if I didn’t mention it. Plus, Moncada helps fill out an infield that also includes Michael Chavis, Rafael Devers, and Javier Guerra on any given night, which makes for one of the toolsiest infields in all of minor league baseball.

Notable Prospect Starters

• Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP, Red Sox (Pawtucket, AAA): 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K.
• Zach Lee, RHP, Dodgers (Oklahoma City, AAA): 6 2/3 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
• Jose Berrios, RHP, Twins (Chattanooga, AA): 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, BB, 5 K.
• Robert Stephenson, RHP, Reds (Pensacola, AA): 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
• Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Brewers (Wisconsin, A-): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K.
• Kevin Ziomek, LHP, Tigers (Lakeland, A+): 7 1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
• Nick Travieso, RHP, Reds (Daytona, A+): 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, BB, 5 K.