April 12, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Monday, April 11th

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Day:

Sean Manaea, LHP, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville): 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
Ben Zobrist is a tremendous player, and he was a huge part of the Royals’ championship run. Oakland fans shouldn’t feel too bad about losing him and getting this kind of talent, though. Manaea has two legit swing-and-miss pitches in his fastball and slider, both of which grade out as plus, along with a change that’s certainly good enough to keep hitters honest. The command keeps getting better, and more results like Monday night’s will see him in Oakland this summer.

Others of Note:

Willson Contreras, C, Chicago Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 4-for-5, 2B. As good as the Cubs lineup is, you have to wonder if they’ll be “forced” to find a place for this guy soon.

Julio Urias, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. Remember when people were panicking about his struggles at the end of last year? That was cute.

Christian Walker, LF, Baltimore Orioles (Triple-A Norfolk): 1-for-3, HR (2), BB, K. Walker’s bat is considerably more valuable with the move to the outfield.

Brian Johnson, LHP, Boston Red Sox (Triple-A Pawtucket): 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Twitter tells me Joe Kelly has “great stuff.” Logic tells me that Brian Johnson is a better starting pitcher.

Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 K. Because of the size, everyone talks about the power, but the feel for hitting is the real selling point here.

Alex Bregman, SS, Houston Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, K. Look out, Carlos Correa! Bregman’s second homer was a walkoff bomb in the bottom of the 12th.

David Dahl, OF, Colorado Rockies (Double-A Hartford): 1-for-3, HR (3), 1 BB, 2 K. The sample size is small, but it looks like the added strength is paying off in terms of game power.

Rob Kaminsky, LHP, Cleveland (Double-A Akron): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. The former Cardinals first-round pick could be a fast-mover because of his advanced feel.

Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland (Double-A Akron): 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 BB. There is no weakness in this young man’s game.

Rowdy Tellez, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hamshire): 1-for-3, HR, BB. Tellez carries Vogelbach-ian concerns about his position, but he also boasts a similar offensive profile.

Bubba Derby, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers (High-A Brevard County): 5.2 IP, 5 H 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Not just a fantastic name, Derby shows two 55-grade pitches in his fastball and change, with an average slider for good measure.

Andrew Benintendi, OF, Red Sox (High-A Salem): 2-for-3, 3B (3), R. No one could keep up this triples pace, but as a plus runner who can put the ball in the gaps, he’s going to hit a lot of them.

James Kaprielian, RHP, Yankees (High-A Tampa): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. The UCLA product dominated one of the best lineups in High-A (Bradenton) while touching 97 mph and showing a wipeout slider.

Ryan Castellani, RHP, Rockies (High-A Modesto): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. The Rockies’ 2014 second-rounder has been coddled, but he shows a plus fastball and two useable secondaries.

Dansby Swanson, SS, Atlanta Braves (High-A Carolina): 2-for-4, R, 2 2B (4, K). Swanson is on pace to be featured in every MLU this year. We’re gonna run out of superlatives.

Eddy Martinez, OF, Cubs (Low-A South Bend): 2-for-4, HR, 2 K. The first of many professional homers this young man will be hitting. His upside is immense.

Austin Allen, C, San Diego Padres (Low-A Ft. Wayne): 3-for-4, BB. When you get three hits and a walk, and your batting average DROPS, that’s how you know you’re off to a good start.

Mitch Keller, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. It was important for the former second-round pick to get off to a strong start. He certainly did that.

Andy Ibanez, 2B, Texas Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 3-for-4, 2 4, 2 2B (4) K. As a 23-year-old, he has no business being at such a low level, but it’s nice to see he’s dominating it (.571/.625/1.000 over his first five games).

Francisco Mejia, C, Cleveland (Low-A Lake County): 3-for-4, R, 3B, BB. It’s super early, but it’s awesome to see the results starting to show just how talented he is.

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