June 7, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Monday, June 6th

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Day:

Jose Berrios, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 11 K.
Simply put, 2016 has been a disappointment for Berrios. He struggled in the big leagues, and he’s struggled (for the most part) in Triple-A. If you’re giving up on a talent like this based on a month of struggles, though, we can’t be friends. There’s still so much talent here, and he should still contribute to the Twins rotation—in a good way—this year. It just wasn’t the easy transition we all predicted.

Others of Note:

Jaime Schultz, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (Triple-A Durham): 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. He hit a little rough patch where he wasn’t throwing strikes, but because Schultz wields two swing-and-miss pitches, these sorts of efforts are always possible.

Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Today wasn’t a super example, but an underrated part of Glasnow’s 2016 campaign is that he’s getting ahead of hitters so much more effectively. He’s gonna be fun.

Trea Turner, SS, Washington Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 2-for-3, BB, SB. I’m as disappointed—and confused—to see him here as any of you.

Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte):2-for-5, 3 R, HR. The hit tool and the speed are the selling points, but there’s a smidgen of pop here, too.

Jesse Winker, OF, Cincinnati Reds (Triple-A Louisville):2-for-4. It seems like he goes 2-for-4 every night. I know that’s not true because of math and stuff, but it sure seems that way.

Josh Hader, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers (Double-A Biloxi): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Take what I said about Winker and apply it to Hader’s statline. What a dominant start to the year.

Adam Engel, OF, White Sox (Double-A Birmingham): 2-for-4, 3 R, HR, BB, K, CS. It’s good to see him back in Double-A. It was ridiculous that he was sent down in the first place.

Amir Garrett, LHP, Reds (Double-A Pensacola): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Electric. Garrett’s stuff is electric.

Wendell Rijo, 2B, Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 2-for-3, R, 2 2B, CS. Rijo has four average tools at his disposal (his power being the only below-average tool), though that hasn’t really been obvious in 2016.

Duane Underwood, RHP, Chicago Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K. Love the strikeouts. Hate the walks. This will be on the Duane Underwood prospect tombstone, I’m afraid.

Brandon Brennan, RHP, Chicago White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): 9 IP, 9 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. That’s Brennan’s second straight complete game, which is extremely rare at any level, but particularly in the minor leagues. That’s interesting stuff right there, I tell ya what.

Bobby Bradley, 1B, Cleveland (High-A Lynchburg): 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 K. You can’t spell three true outcomes without Bobby Bradley. Don’t look that up.

D.J. Stewart, OF, Baltimore Orioles (High-A Delmarva): 3-for-6, R, 2B, K, 3 SB. Stewart is a below-average runner, but scouts have raved about his instincts since he was a Seminole, so it isn’t too surprising to see him pile up the stolen bases (10 for the year).

Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox (High-A Salem): 0-for-2, R, 3 BB, K. When you get flustered by the low batting average, remember that he’s drawing walks and that he’s young for the league. He’ll be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.

Pedro Payano, RHP, Texas Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 6 IP, 4, H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. With his above-average stuff and ability to locate all three of his pitches, it’s no surprise that Payano’s been dominating Low-A hitters.

Ryan Mountcastle, SS, Orioles(Low-A Delmarva): 4-for-6, 2 R, 2B, HR, K. The Orioles system does not have offer much in terms of offensive upside, and if that view is going to change, they’re gonna need to see more games like this from Stewart and Mountcastle.

Chris Paddack, RHP, Miami Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Paddack has the best changeup in the Marlins system, and he also has an above-average fastball. The slider isn’t up to par, but if he ends up in relief, he won’t need that as much.

Kevin Gutierrez, 3B, Nationals (Low-A Hagerstown): 5-for-11, 3 R, 2 B, 3 K, SB. “Wow, what a game, and how many innings did that go?” is what I said until I figured out they played a doubleheader. That’s still a pretty nice doubleheader, though.

Jose Pujols, OF, Phillies (Low-A Lakewood): 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, 2 K. That makes 10 homers on the year, which is pretty good. That also makes 80 strikeouts on the year, which is just not gonna work. We’ll focus on the positives, though, and Pujols remains one of the most talented outfielders in the Philadelphia system.

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