June 15, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, June 14th

by Wilson Karaman

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Prospect of the Day:

Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies (Double-A Reading): 3-4, BB, R, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, K.
Six RBI, whatever. But Hoskins is on some kind of a streak right now. Over his last 11 he’s hitting .447 with eight dingers powering a 1.064 slugging percentage. The power comes with some aggressiveness and swing-and-miss, but it’s looked awfully legit in the Eastern League.

Others of Note:

Andrew Stevenson, CF, Washington Nationals (High-A Potomac): 1-2, 4 BB, 4 R, 3B, 3 SB. The Nats’ top pick last year, Stevenson’s speed and defense have continued to flourish in the Carolina League, and though he’s tailed off some of late he’s shown the makings of a solid-average hit tool as well.

Osvaldo Abreu, SS, Washington Nationals (High-A Potomac): 2-5, BB, 4 R, 2B, HR, SB. How’s that for a filled-out line? Abreu has made some adjustments at the dish of late to steady the ship after an ugly May, and after splitting time on both sides of the bag last year, he’s held down the six spot exclusively this season, with above-average potential there.

Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K. Guerrieri has had an okay, alright, pretty good, sure-kind-of season to date, doing well to keep the ball in the ballpark and on the ground (as is his want) but struggling to develop his command and control or miss all that many bats.

Gage Hinsz, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 9 K, HRA. Hinsz rebounded in his third start of the season from a rough go of it in outing number two. The former (well) over-slot 11^th round prep arm still has a long road ahead, but the frame has started to fill out some and there’s ample projection remaining for a durable, workhorse future starter.

Andrew Benintendi, CF, Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 2-4, BB, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI. The Eastern League has cuffed Benintendi around a bit after he did unspeakable things at High-A to open the season, but he appears to be finding some footing in the box with three multi-hit games in his last four. Somehow this was only his third dinger of the year.

Mike Clevinger, RHP, Cleveland Indians (Triple-A Columbus): 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K. Still biding his time…

Ryan Cordell, CF, Texas Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI. Cordell had been struggling something fierce at the dish lately, but all in all he’s in the midst of posting a fine campaign at Double-A, and as Kit House recently noted, there isn’t a ton more developing to be done for the glove or the wheels. His athleticism offers rare can-hack-it versatility around the diamond, and if this gets the bat back on track there’s a chance the 24-year-old can help Texas as soon as this summer.

Jharel Cotton, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 7 IP, ER (3 R), 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K. Short right-handers can struggle to gain respect, especially when they’re drop-and-drive guys without great breaking balls. Cotton’s doing his best to break down the wall, however, as he’s been deadly in five turns since returning to the rotation in May, with yesterday’s seven-inning stint his longest in 11 months.

Marcos Diplan, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers (Low-A Wisconsin): 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 8 K. Speaking of smaller right-handers out to prove the doubters wrong, Diplan is having himself a season in the Midwest League. The Brewers continue to limit him to around 70 to 80 pitches each outing, and he in turn continues to make the most of them.

Mark Zagunis, LF, Chicago Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 3-6, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI, K. I get it, he’s a corner outfielder with a rigid swing and little over-the-fence power. But he’s also got a .411 OBP in over a thousand career plate appearances, and the early Triple-A returns are more of the same.

Dan Vogelbach, “1B,” Chicago Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 1-4, 2 BB, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, K. [Muscle flex emoji] Tyler Cravy apparently didn’t take too kindly to Vogelbach going boom to a first-inning pitch, as he drilled the big man in his next at-bat and got himself tossed. Vogelbach’s .955 OPS barely cracks the PCL’s top ten. That league is something, man.

Kohl Stewart, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Double-A Chattanooga): 6.2 IP, ER (3 R), 7 H, BB, K, HRA. I wrote up Stewart’s first competitive Double-A start last week, and again he was pretty good yesterday. The ingredients are all there for a sustained breakout, he just has to execute and miss bats consistently at this point. Easy enough, right?

Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets (High-A St. Lucie): 3-4, 2 2B, RBI. Feel free to promote him any time now, Mets, so I can stop talking about his abuse of FSL pitching on the regular.

Kent Emanuel, LHP, Houston Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 K. Emanuel was one of the first prospects I wrote about here at BP, and his elbow ligament gave out like five starts later. He’s beginning the endurance-building slog back from Tommy John surgery now, and he’s a guy to keep an eye on in the Houston system. This is a sturdy-framed southpaw with command for days.

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