May 4, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, May 3rd

by Wilson Karaman

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Prospect of the Day:

Steven Moya, RF, Detroit Tigers (Triple-A Toledo): 4-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI.
Moya followed up a three-hit night on Monday (noted yesterday by moon-howling booster Mark Anderson) with this monster effort last night to seize the International League lead in home runs and slugging. The approach remains extremely aggressive, but perhaps most encouragingly in the early going he’s whiffed just 20 times in his first 100 plate appearances. He’s never likely to threaten for a batting title, but even if the contact gains don’t stick around it’s worth remembering that Mark Reynolds is a decade and $25-some-odd million into his career and still kicking it on a 25-man roster.

Others of Note:

Ryan Castellani, RHP, Colorado Rockies (High-A Modesto): 8 IP, H, BB, 10 K. Colorado’s second-rounder in 2014 has been brought along with kid gloves as he matures physically, and the approach has borne fruit to the tune of a Cal League-leading whiff total in the early going. He shows 6-5-5 ingredients highlighted by a heater with plane that’ll work to 95, and has shown as one of the more interesting arms in the league thus far.

Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 11 K. Bradley has continued to battle his control at Triple-A, though his wildness has largely been of the effective variety, at least results-wise. He’ll figure to be the next man up if and when an opening comes in the currently full-up Diamondbacks rotation.

Yoan Moncada, 2B, Boston Red Sox (High-A Salem): 3-6, 2 BB, 5 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, SB, K. Promote this man!

Jose De Leon, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 9 K. De Leon’s season was delayed by an ankle injury, but his Triple-A debut was worth the wait. I’m not exactly going out on a limb in saying this, but he was one of the best pitchers I saw in the Cal League last season. Outstanding extension helps his stuff play up with a late pickup, and his advanced pitchability with an above-average three-pitch mix has devastated the minors for a reason. Health permitting he should make his way to Chavez Ravine at some point this summer.

Chris Shaw, 1B, San Francisco Giants (High-A San Jose): 2-4, 2 BB, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI. If ever there were a prospect tailor-made for his current league context it is Shaw, and sure enough the Giants’ first-rounder of a year ago has pounded Cal League pitching to start the season. He’s now hit in 10 straight, with five homers during the stretch. There’s enough underlying skill with the bat that it’s unlikely we’ll learn all that much about his big-league projection until he gets a look at Double-A pitching, which at this rate will be sooner than later.

Jorge Mateo, SS, New York Yankees (High-A Tampa): 2-4, BB, 2 R, HR, RBI, SB, CS. Mateo’s had kind of a weird start to his season: Last night’s dinger was his third already on the young season, but the bag was his first in 11 games. After stealing 146 bags at an 83 percent clip to start his career, he’s just 8-for-14 in the early going.

Miguel Andujar, 3B, New York Yankees (High-A Tampa): 4-5, R, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, E. Mateo’s mate on the left side, Andujar spent all of last season as one of the youngest regulars in the Florida State League, struggling mightily at first before showing some signs of life down the stretch. He’s built off those second-half gains in the early going of a return engagement, dramatically improving his contact rate and consistently bringing his plus raw power into games.

Brent Honeywell, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (High-A Charlotte): 6 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 9 K, HRA. If you haven’t yet I’d strongly urge you to read Jessica Quiroli’s profile of Honeywell. The Rays’ no. 3 prospect heading into the year is off to a tremendous start and doesn’t look long for the Florida State League.

Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 3-6, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI. A month into the season and Smith is already two-thirds of the way to his 2015 home run total. Mets fans are getting awfully greedy if you ask me.

Andrew Moore, RHP, Seattle Mariners (High-A Bakersfield Blaze): 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 9 K. The strikeouts are an A-ball mirage for Moore, but in his previous start at Lancaster he put his average-at-best fastball wherever he wanted it and backed it up with a decent-enough supporting cast of secondaries. It’s not a particularly sexy profile, but he can move quickly and fight in the big leagues as a command guy who stays off barrels in a pitchers’ park.

Jairo Beras, RF, Texas Rangers (High-A High Desert): 3-4, R, 3B. I got my first look at Beras last weekend, and he was more raw than peak Eddie Murphy. There’s a metric ton of physical projection in his borderline-gangly frame, but little sign of an approach to tap into what looks to be above-average raw power at present. The three-hit night gives him five over his last two contests, which is a welcome sign after a slow start to the season.

Jake Thompson, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley): 7 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K. As if enough hasn’t gone right for Philadelphia’s young arms this year, a positive start from the heretofore inconsistent Thompson. He doesn’t possess nearly the upside of some of his cohorts on account of trouble consistently keeping his large frame in rhythm. But there’s big-league rotation value here, and he’s more or less ready for a trial run.

Domingo Leyba, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (High-A Visalia): 0-1, R, 4 BB. I wrote up Leyba in last week’s Ten Pack, and if you’d asked me last summer I’d have probably taken the odds of a Trump nomination over the odds of Leyba posting a four-walk game before his 21^st birthday.

Lucas Sims, RHP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 4 IP, 8 R (6 ER), 8 H, 4 K, 3 HRA. Mama said there’d be days like this. Sims has whiffed 46 batters in his 30-plus innings this year, but he’s a pitcher who induces his share of flyball contact, and sometimes a few of those balls happen to fly over the fence in a given start. It happens.

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