April 26, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Monday, April 25th

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Day:

Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 4-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 K.
Anderson hasn’t enjoyed strongest start to the season (hitting .190 with zero walks coming into the game), but it’s games like this that remind you why the industry is so darn high on the 2013 first-rounder. He’s still one of the most athletic shortstops in baseball—minors or majors—and on top of the plus-plus speed, he has a plus arm and flashes a plus hit tool. He has to start taking more pitches, but keep in mind he’s only 22, and it’s not unheard of to see the plate discipline develop late.

Others of Note:

Joey Gallo, 3B, Texas Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock): 2-for-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 2 BB, 1 K. Dingers and walks. Walks and dingers.

Mike Clevinger, RHP, Cleveland (Triple-A Columbus): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. With Carlos Carrasco out for the next month or so, don’t be surprised if Cleveland gives this talented righty a chance to pitch every fifth day at some point.

Charlie Tilson, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis): 2-for-3, SB. With all due respect to Randal Grichuk, I think I’d rather have Tilson playing center field right now.

Max Moroff, 2B, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 3-for-5, 2 R, HR, K. Moroff is a switch-hitting second baseman who can do a little bit of everything, and he could be a nifty little utility player.

Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Chicago Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K. Keep on hitting, big man. I’d love nothing more than to be wrong about you becoming an everyday player.

Chad Kuhl, RHP, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Kuhl would be in the top 10 of most systems, and he doesn’t even make my Pirates top 15. Their depth is ridiculous.

Amir Garrett, LHP, Cincinnati Reds (Double-A Pensacola): 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. He’s dominated over the first month, and he’s done it in part due to strong command, which is a very fun surprise.

Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 2-for-4, 2B, BB, K. No, I don’t feel pressure to bring up everything good he does because of the limb I’m on, and please stop calling this number.

Albert Almora, OF, Chicago Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B. He’s now hitting .333/.392/.500. Put that in your “defense-first outfielder” pipe and smoke it.

Roemon Fields, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 3-for-5, R, K. Not only is he one of the best stories in baseball, he’s also an 80 runner who has just enough elsewhere to give him a chance to play at the big-league level.

Austin Slater, 2B, San Francisco Giants (Double-A Richmond): 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB. Slater’s a super-smart (Stanford) player who like Moroff can do a little bit of everything. I’d feel comfortable seeing him play anywhere on the diamond but catcher and shortstop.

Matt Strahm, LHP, Kansas City Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. One scout called him the best pitching prospect in the Royals system, and with two above-average pitches and an acceptable third, he might be right.

Ryne Stanek, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays: (Double-A Montgomery): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. He’s no longer a potential ace, but with a plus fastball and above-average slider, Stanek can be useful—if he can stay healthy.

Rob Whalen, RHP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. John Gant gets most of the attention from the Juan Uribe deal, but Whalen has a chance to start with four competent pitches.

Kendry Flores, RHP, Miami Marlins (Triple-A New Orleans): 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Typically not a statline good enough to highlight in my updates, but since the lower levels didn’t play tonight, he gets here on a quantity-over-quality basis. That sounds terrible. Sorry, Kendry.

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