April 11, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of April 8-10

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Weekend:
Tyler Jay, LHP, Minnesota Twins (High-A Fort Myers) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Jay was a somewhat controversial selection last year because of how limited his experience as a starter was, but there’s no question that he has starter stuff. There are two pitches that flash plus-plus in his fastball and slider, and, for good measure, he has a workable curve and change in his arsenal, as well. The command wasn’t great on Saturday, but he’s generally in the strike zone, and that arsenal suggests he can pitch near—or even at—the top of the Minnesota rotation someday.

Others of Note:

Friday:

Trea Turner, SS, Washington Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 SB (Doubleheader). Turner is in Triple-A to start the season because (stupid) reasons, but he’ll be hitting at the top of the Nationals lineup soon.

Jorge Polanco, SS/2B, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 3-for-4, 2 3B, 2 R. Polanco has the perfect skillset to be a “super-utility” player, but with a 55 hit tool, he could be an everyday guy, too.

A.J. Reed, 1B, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno): 2-for-5, 2 2B, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K. As fun as the Tyler White story is, this guy is the future at first base for the Astros.

Jharel Cotton, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. Cotton shows a plus-plus change and plus fastball, which means that if the curveball can be even average, he’s a mid-rotation starter.

Clint Frazier, OF, Cleveland (Double-A Akron): 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, K. He’s no longer THE outfield prospect in the system (that’s Bradley Zimmer), but he’s still pretty darn good.

Jarlin Garcia, LHP, Miami Marlins (Double-A Jacksonville): 4 IP, 3 H 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. With Tyler Kolek lost to Tommy John surgery, Garcia is now the best pitching prospect in the Marlins system.

Billy McKinney, OF, Chicago Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 2-for-4, R, 2B. McKinney has fringe-average power and a fringe-average arm, and he’s below-average defender. Man, oh man, can he hit, though.

Chris Ellis, RHP, Atlanta Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. He’s the “other” arm acquired in the Andrelton Simmons deal, but two 55 pitches and average command give him a chance as a starter.

Mike Papi, OF, Cleveland (High-A Lynchburg): 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 BB. That’s a lot of twos.

Ian Clarkin, LHP, New York Yankees (High-A Tampa): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. It’s nice to see the 2013 first-rounder: 1) healthy and 2) throwing strikes to begin the season.

Kohl Stewart, RHP, Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. The complaint with Stewart last year was that he wasn’t missing enough bats. This is a promising way to begin remedying that.

Travis Demeritte, 2B, Texas Rangers (High-A High Desert): 3-for-5, 2 HR (4), 2B, 2 R, 2 K. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the friendliest of friendly confines, Demeritte still slugged four homers in two games.

Victor Robles, OF, Washington Nationals (Low-A Hagerstown): 2-for-4, 2B, R. As good as Turner is, in terms of tools, Robles is the best hitting prospect in the Nationals system.

Phil Bickford, RHP, San Francisco Giants (Low-A Augusta) 4.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. It’s one of the weirder box-score lines you’ll see this year, but it shows you why the Giants are so high on Bickford’s right arm.

Derek Hill, OF,Detroit Tigers(Low-A West Michigan): 1-for-3, 3 R, 1 SB, 1 K. Hill is a double-plus runner who can go get it in center field, and the bat is starting to really come along.

Saturday:

Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, Kansas City Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 4-for-5, 2B.He’s blocked by Moustakas and Hosmer, but solid-average offensive tools give him a chance to play on a corner if everything goes right.

Joey Gallo, 3B, Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock): 2-for-5, 2 HR, R, K. Dingers.

Jeff Hoffman, RHP, Colorado Rockies (Triple-A Albuquerque): 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. Troy Tulowitzki is really good, but Hoffman has a chance to make Colorado fans “forget” him quickly.

David Dahl, OF, Rockies (Double-A Hartford): 2-for-3, HR, R, K. Everyone knew that Dahl could hit, but they weren’t so sure about whether or not he could hit for power. It’s coming.

Ozzie Albies, SS, Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 3-for-7, R. He’s likely going to move to second base as a pro because of that Dansby guy—but, with a plus hit tool and arm, and double-plus speed, that kind of seems like a waste.

Francis Martes, RHP, Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. You’ll see a few more starts where Martes doesn’t give up many runs; you won’t see many more where he only strikes out one guy.

Mike Gerber, OF, Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 3-for-4 ,2 R, 2B, HR. Gerber’s an AFL standout who can do a little bit of everything. He’s far too old for this level, but he’s also one of the few potential regulars in the Tigers system.

Scott Kingery, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies (High-A Clearwater): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B. He was overshadowed at Arizona by Kevin Newman, but his feel for hitting is nearly as good, and there’s plus speed here, too.

Matthew Grimes, RHP, Baltimore Orioles (High-A Frederick): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 7 K. Anytime you shut out a lineup as talented as South Bend’s is, you deserve some kudos.

Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros (Low-A Quad Cities): 2-for-4. Tucker’s swing is one of the more hotly debated among prospect nerds. It works just fine for me.

Thomas McIlraith, RHP, New York Mets (Low-A Columbia): 6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Hey, a no-no (kinda)! McIlraith’s a 20^th-round pick out of Oklahoma who now has a career 1.51 ERA in 64 innings.

Lucius Fox, SS, Giants (Low-A Augusta): 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, SB, K. No Batman jokes. Fox boasts the highest ceiling of any prospect in the San Francisco system—and it isn’t close.

Sunday:

Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. Glasnow struggled with his command early, but he settled in and missed plenty of bats in the shortened affair.

Orlando Arcia, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A Colorado Springs): 3-for-5, 2 R. Maybe the most complete shortstop at the upper levels. Maybe the most complete shortstop prospect period.

Jose Berrios, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K. I’d say he’s ready now, but he’s been ready for a while.

Eric Jagielo, 3B, Cincinnati Reds (Double-A Pensacola): 2-for-4, HR. The “big” prospect in the Aroldis Chapman trade has a chance for plus power from the left side.

Bubba Starling, CF, Royals (Double-A NW Arkansas): 2-for-4, 3 R, 2 HR. If there’s ever been proof that you can’t give up on talent, it’s this guy.

Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves (High-A Carolina): 2-for-3, BB. The southern senator has had no issue adjusting to professional pitching yet.

Nick Gordon, SS, Twins (High-A Ft. Myers): 4-for-6, 3 2B, SB, K. He gets lost in the shuffle because of all the quality shortstop prospects, but he’s as talented as almost any of them.

Kevin Newman, SS, Pirates (High-A Bradenton): 2-for-5, 2 R. It’s an all-shortstop High-A showcase, and Newman has the best hit tool (potentially) of them all.

Grayson Long, RHP, Los Angeles Angels (Low-A Burlington): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. The Angels third-round pick has two above-average pitches in his fastball and change.

Joe McCarthy, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays (Low-A Bowling Green): 3-for-5. No communism jokes. McCarthy has a chance to develop a plus hit tool and above-average pop from the left side.

Austin Allen, C, Padres (Low-A Fort Wayne): His .800/.800/1.300 line probably isn’t sustainable, but Allen is an offense-first catcher who could be a regular if the receiving skills improve.

Christopher Crawford is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @CVCrawfordBP
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