June 30, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Wednesday, June 29th

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Day: Tyler Beede, RHP, San Francisco Giants (Double-A Richmond): 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K.
Beede has frustrated many ever since he was a senior in high school with inconsistent stuff and results over his career. That has not been an issue in 2016. Not only is he missing bats with a plus fastball and change, but he’s throwing his solid-average curve for strikes, and he’s keeping the ball in the park. Maybe he’s not a future ace, but if he can continue to hit his spots—especially with the curveball—he could help the Giants rotation at some point next season.

Others of Note:

Jacob May, OF, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 2-for-4, R, BB, K, 3 SB. There’s no power and the hit tool is never going to be good enough for May to be an everyday guy, but boy can he run and go get it in the outfield. Also, with Coastal Carolina playing for a championship while I’m typing this, he deserved a mention.

J.P. Crawford, SS, Philadelphia Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley): 2-for-4, K. Is Crawford the new best prospect in baseball? You’ll find out in a couple of weeks.

Josh Bell, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 3-for-3, R, BB. Bell continues to rake, and you have to wonder if the Pirates will find a place for his bat in the lineup sooner than later.

Michael Clevinger, RHP, Cleveland (Triple-A Columbus): 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. With Cleveland in prime position to compete for a championship and their rotation being stupid good, you have to wonder if Clevinger is a potential trade candidate. I don’t like telling you what to do, but you have to.

Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre): 2-for-5, BB, 2 K. No homer today, but he’s still tearing the cover off the baseball in June.

Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 3-for-6, 2 R, 2 2B. You think I’ve stopped believing? My adoration knows no boundaries.

Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. With his stuff he should be missing more bats, but considering how much he’s struggled this year, beggars can’t be choosers.

Rob Kaminsky, LHP, Cleveland (Double-A Akron): 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Everything said about Guerrieri applies to Kaminsky, just drop the anticipation down by a smidgen or two.

Dwight Smith, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 HR. Dwight Smith: Power hitter. Smith was considered a bust by many, but a solid—if not spectacular—2016 campaign has his stock back on the rise, even if it’ll never be what it was four years ago.

Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 1-for-3, HR, BB, SB. Someone recently called Benintendi the best OF prospect in baseball to me, and as good as Austin Meadows is, maybe they’re right.

Felix Jorge, RHP, Minnesota Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. This is one of Jorge’s worst starts this season. Seriously.

Ian Clarkin, LHP, Yankees (High-A Tampa): 5 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. When you consider how much time he’s missed, you can’t say this is anything but a successful campaign for Clarkin. The stuff has backed up slightly, but he still has two pitches that flash plus and he’s throwing them for strikes.

Drew Jackson, SS, Seattle Mariners (High-A Bakersfield): 3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 SB. The numbers pale in comparison to the ridiculousness he put up in Short-Season Everett last year, but he has shown flashes of offensive potential, and he’s a standout with the glove who can also make an impact with his speed.

Wuilmer Becerra, OF, New York Mets (High-A St. Lucie): 5-for-5, 3 R, 2B. Becerra has shown more feel for the barrel than even his strongest proponents believed, and as he fills out his frame, some of those doubles (14) should turn into homers (1).

Jordan Stephens, RHP, White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Stephens has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the White Sox system, showing four pitches he can throw for strikes and missing bats with a 60-grade curveball.

Max Fried, LHP, Atlanta Braves (Low-A Rome): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. If you’re wondering if you’ll ever see an update without one of these darn Braves prospects, the answer is: probably not. When he’s throwing strikes, Fried looks like a future no. 3 starter.

Derek Hill, OF, Detroit Tigers (Low-A Lakeland): 4-for-5, R, 2B, 2 3B. Hill was one of my picks to break out in 2016. That hasn’t happened, but he’s held his own in the Midwest League, and the value he adds on the bases and with the glove is worth the frustrations with the bat.

Gregory Guerrero, SS, Mets (Short-Season DSL Mets1): 4-for-4, 2B, BB. Guerrero was the Mets big get in last July’s IFA class, and while he’s light years away from making a contribution, all the tools are here for him to become a first-division shortstop.

Hunter Harvey, RHP, Orioles (Short-season Gulf Coast): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that Harvey is dominating hitters in the Gulf Coast League, but it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

Taylor Hearn, LHP, Nationals (Short-season Gulf Coast): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Hearn has a lot of work to do before he’ll show it on a consistent basis, but if you see him on the right day, you’ll see a plus-plus fastball and a wipeout slider.

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