April 29, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Thursday, April 28th

by Mark Anderson

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Prospect of the Day:

Lucas Sims, RHP, Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 7 IP, 5 H, R/ER, 2 BB, 11 K.
We’ve said it before on this site, but player development is not linear, and Sims has epitomized that mantra. There have been ups and downs and discussion of him as a reliever or starter. There is so much potential here as a starter, I hope the Braves are patient and give him a chance for it to come together.

Others of Note:

Andrew Suarez, LHP, Giants (High-A San Jose): 6.2 IP, 5 H, R/ER, 0 BB, 10 K. Suarez is a polished strike-thrower with a broad arsenal who should move to Double-A quickly this season. What he lacks in ceiling he makes up for with his high floor as a potential back-end starter.

Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 7 IP, 5 H, R/ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Much has already been made of Taillon’s return to the bump, and this start is just going to continue ramping up the hype train.

Byron Buxton, OF, Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 2-5, R, 2B, 3B. Back down in the minor leagues for some polishing and he suddenly looks like Byron Buxton again. Still so, so talented.

Wuilmer Becerra, OF, Mets (High-A St. Lucie): 2-2, R, 2B, 2 BB. Becerra earned a ton of unexpected playing time later into the winter leagues last year, and while there’s a ton of pressure on the bat, there has been progress in his development.

Trey Ball, LHP, Red Sox (High-A Salem): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Season debut for a prospect that’s been developing slowly, but could open some eyes if he can stay on the mound and perform.

Franklin Barreto, SS, Athletics (Double-A Midland): 3-4, R, 2 SB, CS. It hasn’t been the best start to the season for Barreto, but we can all hope this is the start of him coming to life.

Ozhaino Albies, SS, Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 3-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB. I think it’s safe to say he’s handling the jump from Low-A to Double-A just fine. If you’re not on this bandwagon already, then it’s too late.

Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Cardinals (Low-A Peoria): 5 IP, 2 H, R/ER, 5 BB, 6 K. The blazing fastball is worthy of attention, but one must remember that Alcantara has to transition from thrower to pitcher as he works through his developmental arc.

Lucius Fox, SS, Giants (Low-A Augusta): 2-2, R, 2 BB, SB. So incredibly young and so incredibly talented. Ignore the numbers and focus on what he can do and how he projects.

Archie Bradley, RHP, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 6 IP, 2 H, R/ER, 4 BB, 8 K. Everybody knows that Bradley needs to refine his control and command, and he didn’t really do that in this start, but it’s nice to see him overwhelm Triple-A hitters in and around his walks.

Brendan Rodgers, SS, Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 2-3, R. A mild night by Rodgers’ standards, but he didn’t even get to finish his efforts because the game was suspended due to darkness. I like Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, and I actually like a lot of guys drafted in 2015, but Rodgers was the best talent in that draft class.

Mark Anderson is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @ProspectMark
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