July 1, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Thursday, June 30th

by Mark Anderson

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Prospect of the Day:

Yefrey Ramirez, RHP, Yankees (High-A Tampa): 7 IP, 3 H, R/ER, 0 BB, 11 K. Picked up in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft last offseason, Ramirez was signed as a shortstop by the Diamondbacks and quickly converted to the mound after hitting just .169 in his pro debut in 2011. Thankfully, he had an opportunity to take to pitching thanks to serious arm strength as an infielder, and now’s he’s working in the 90s with ease. He’s locating his fastball better this season in his first taste of full-season ball and the results have been impressive through 12 starts.

Others of Note:

Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 4-5, R, 3B, RBI. There’s no reason to be down on Swanson as he continues to adjust to Double-A pitching. He’s really talented and the results will consistently catch up with that fact. Oh, and his buddy Ozhaino Albies ripped off three hits as his middle-infield partner in Mississippi last night, too.

Kolby Allard, RHP, Braves (Rookie Danville): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, BB, 5 K. In just his second start in the Appy League this season, Allard continued to impress with a dominating outing. There’s serious potential here and a chance that Allard cements himself as a name to watch in full-season ball in 2017.

Marcos Diplan, RHP, Brewers (Low-A Wisconsin): 6.1 IP, 3 H, R/ER, BB, 6 K. Diplan has been absolutely filthy this summer with a strikeout rate north of 30 percent and a walk rate of just 10 percent as a teenager in the Midwest League. His prospect stock is gaining even more steam than it already had entering the season, and he could be a household name by the end of the season.

Ronnie Williams, RHP, Cardinals (Short-Season State College): 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R/ER, BB, 10 K. Williams has taken his time moving through the short-season leagues since the Cardinals drafted him, but this outing in the NYPL could mark a bit of his coming out party, particularly if he can sustain the slight uptick in velocity seen last night. He was bumping 93-94 instead of sticking around 89-91 where he was in 2015.

Oscar Hernandez, C, Diamondbacks (Double-A Mobile): 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K. Recently promoted to Double-A after a solid start in the California League, Hernandez popped his second and third home runs in less than 20 at-bats at his new level.

Jose De Leon, RHP, Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 5 IP, 4 H, R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Coming back from injury, De Leon’s stuff is reportedly down just a bit, but the results sure weren’t last night.

Amed Rosario, SS, Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 2-4, 2 R, K. Just two singles for Rosario last night, but he’s off to a roaring start in Double-A, and his stock is soaring overall.

Dylan Cozens, OF, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB. Cozens’ breakout season continues with yet another bomb on Thursday night. There are still skeptical folks throughout the industry, myself included, but it’s getting harder and harder to dismiss what Cozens is doing.

Austin Meadows, OF, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 2-5, R, HR, RBI, 2 K. There has been some interesting dialogue within the virtual halls of BP over the last week or two, and most of that dialogue has resulted in Meadows carrying an impressive ranking in the upcoming Mid-Season Top 50 update.

Brett Honeywell, RHP, Rays (High-A Charlotte): 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, BB, 8 K. Back from injury and Honeywell doesn’t looked like he’s missed a beat, fanning eight more hitters in just five innings. If he stays on the mound in the second half, there’s an opportunity for Honeywell to head into 2017 as one of the game’s more intriguing arms.

Raul Mondesi, SS, Royals (High-A Wilmington): 2-5, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K, SB. It would be kind to say Mondesi hasn’t had the type of season he or the Royals would like, but maybe there are some signs of life with two extra-base hits and a stolen base last night.

Joe Jimenez, RHP, Tigers (Double-A Erie): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 K. At this point, Jimenez’s 2016 numbers are just silly, and the stuff is legitimate. He needs to find some consistency with his slider and control, and those two factors may hold him back from contributing in Detroit this season, but this is still a future MLB closer.

Alex Bregman, SS, Astros (Triple-A Fresno): 4-5, 5 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K. Bregman was among three players with at least four hits in last night’s Fresno game (including a three-homer night from Preston Tucker), and this was his Triple-A debut. Yeah, he’s going to be in Houston soon.

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