April 27, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, April 26th

by Wilson Karaman

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Prospect of the Day:

Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 6 IP, 2 H, BB, 11 K.
Glasnow has left little doubt about his readiness to jump into a big-league rotation through four International League outings this April. He reportedly worked in some 91-mph changeups, and has now limited his walk total to just seven through 21 innings. All systems certainly appear go here.

Others of Note:

Braden Shipley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 7 IP, 3 H, BB, 8 K. Shipley returned to his college town in style, blanking the Mets’ affiliate for seven strong. The swing-and-miss stuff had been missing in his first three outings, but he had everything working today in reaching a hundred pitches for the first time in a year-and-a-half.

Orlando Arcia, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A Colorado Springs): 3-6, R, HR, 4 RBI, 3 SB. All that was missing from Arcia’s early-season performance was a stolen base (or three) on which to hang his plus run grade. Now that that’s out of the way Brewers’ fans can get back to Montgomery Burnsing at the thought of Arcia infusing their future infield with awesome.

Bobby Bradley, 1B, Cleveland Indians (High-A Lynchburg): 3-4, BB, 4 R, HR, 2 RBI. Perhaps the most impressive part of Bradley’s line is the rare goose egg in his strikeout column. His dizzying swing-and-miss totals threaten to seriously challenge his light-tower power’s in-game utility as he moves up the ladder, and even affording some age-to-level looks the other way, the 40 percent whiff rate he’s posted thus far hasn’t been an encouraging sign of adjustment.

Ozzie Albies, SS, Atlanta Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 3-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI. The Braves skipped Albies over High-A after acquiring some guy named Dansby Swanson, and he has responded with a sweet start at the plate (.351/.412/.494) despite being the youngest position player in the Southern League by almost a year-and-a-half.

Joe Musgrove, RHP, Houston Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 5 IP, R (0 ER), 5 H, 7 K. Musgrove hasn’t missed a beat this April, picking up in the Texas League right where he left off after a second-half promotion last summer. 21 whiffs to two walks in his first 17-plus innings. Ho hum.

Andrew Stevenson, CF, Washington Nationals (High-A Potomac): 4-5, R, 2B, RBI, SB. Stevenson’s electric speed and defensive profile in center got him drafted in the second round last summer, and the initial tweaks Washington instituted with his swing appear to be paying early dividends with a very strong performance thus far in the Carolina League.

Drew Ward, 3B, Washington Nationals (High-A Potomac): 3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, K, E. Not to be outdone by his teammate, Ward continued his quest to bring more of his prodigious raw power into games. He’ll need to keep it up while limiting the “E” column to maintain his track as one of the top infield prospects in the Nats’ system.

Jake Bauers, RF, Tampa Bay Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 3-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, K. Bauers’ ongoing transition to majority-time outfielder hasn’t inhibited his bat in the least thus far in a return engagement with Southern League pitching, and he’s hitting with more pop in the early going.

Yohander Mendez, LHP, Texas Rangers (High-A High Desert): 5 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 9 K, HRA. Unfortunately High Desert has a population roughly the size of Guam filling out their starting rotation and Mendez didn’t pitch in my first looks at the squad. He’s been dealing thus far though, currently leading the Cal League in whiffs through four starts.

Adam Walker, DH, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 4-7, 2 R, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 K. That’s a pretty picture-perfect “good” line for Walker, who currently sports 16 strikeouts to just two walks across his first 43 plate appearances. He’s been spending the majority of his time in the DH role thus far, and despite the clear flaws it’s certainly possible the offense-starved Twins give him a shot sooner than later.

Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets (High-A St. Lucie): 3-5, R, 3B, HR, K, CS, E. Rosario has come out swinging in the offensively-challenged Florida State League, and that’s a welcome early development for a prospect who’d previously worn a “glove-first” tag.

Cody Reed, LHP, Cincinnati Reds (Triple-A Louisville): 5 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K. Reed logged some quick DL time and missed his last start due to a finger laceration on his pitching hand, but returned looking no worse for the wear.

Daniel Palka, RF, Minnesota Twins (Double-A Chattanooga): 3-4, BB, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, K. That’s 13 times on base in his last 15 plate appearances if you’re scoring at home. I was mildly intrigued by Palka last year as he was in the process of leading the Cal League in whiffs. There’s plenty of strength and sneaky quickness in Palka’s game to be sure, though his average-at-best bat speed, noisy load, and inconsistent trigger made for quite the swing-and-miss recipe. The performance has continued to silence the critics thus far.

Fight Another Day:

Brandon Nimmo, CF, New York Mets (Triple-A Las Vegas): 0-4, 4 K. It’s been an ugly start to the year for Nimmo, who bottomed it out yesterday with the golden sombrero. He tore a foot muscle in the offseason, and you have to wonder whether the lost training time in recovery has taken its toll on his April.

Wilson Karaman is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @vocaljavelins
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