July 25, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of July 22-24

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Weekend: Isan Diaz, IF, Milwaukee Brewers (Single-A Wisconsin): 3-for-4, 2 R, 3B, 2 HR, BB, K
We generally try to spread out the prospect of the day/weekend, but I’m pretty sure this is the second or third time Diaz has won it, and for good reason. He’s torn the cover off the baseball for the month of July, hitting .333/.417/.726 with seven homers. That’s good. Whether it’s at shortstop, second base, or whatever position he plays, Diaz can be a regular there. The offensive upside is that high.

Others of Note

Friday:

Jose Berrios, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. What a waste.

Mason Williams, OF, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre): 3-for-5, 2 R, K, SB. Remember him? You’d be forgiven if you forgot he was still in the system. He’s no longer likely to ever be anything more than a bench player, but you still can’t help but be intrigued by the athleticism.

Harold Ramirez, OF, Pittsburgh PIrates (Double-A Altoona): 3-for-3, CS. In many systems, he’d be the best offensive prospect. In Pittsburgh’s, he’s like fourth.

Josh Staumont, RHP, Kansas City Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K. Whether it’s as a starter (probably not) or a reliever, Staumont is gonna miss a ton of bats.

Jordan Stephens, RHP, Chicago White Sox (HIgh-A Winston-Salem): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. With Carson Fulmer in the big leagues, Stephens just might be the best starting pitching prospect in the system, with apologies to Spencer Adams.

Anthony Alford, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (High-A Dunedin): 2-for-3, HR, BB. Call it positive regression to the mean or a blind squirrel finding a nut. Either way, Alford has had himself a heck of a week.

Magneuris Sierra, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (Low-A Peoria): 4-for-9, R, 2B, CS. Would you like more power here? Sure. But Sierra has flashed a plus hit tool all spring, and he just might be plus with the glove and arm, too.

Luiz Gohara, LHP, Seattle Mariners (Low-A Clinton): Gohard has been in the Mariners system since 2012 but is still only 19 years old, and his plus fastball and above-average slider have given hitters in both the Northwest and Midwest Leagues.

Mike Nikorak, RHP, Colorado Rockies (Short-Season Grand Junction): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Nikorak is still walking too many guys (19in 28 innings), but compared to last year’s disaster? He’s Greg flipping Maddux.

Gilberto Celestino, OF, Houston Astros (Short-Season DSL): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B. If you’re in one of those massive dynasty leagues that lets you roster a bunch of guys and keep them for a long time, pick up Celestino. The upside is huge, and he can do a little bit of everything.

Saturday:

David Dahl, OF, Colorado Rockies (Triple-A Albuquerque): 4-for-5, 2 R, 2B. How about a .484/.529/.887 line in the PCL. Does that do anything for ya? If not, who hurt you?

Zach Lee, RHP, Seattle Mariners (Triple-A Tacoma) 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Lee has really struggled since coming to the Seattle organization, so he was due for a start like this. The upside is gone, but he still has a chance to pitch every fifth day.

Dinelson Lamet, RHP, San Diego Padres (Triple-A El Paso): 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. The Padres system has not only improved because of acquisitions but also because of some pitchers taking a big step forward. Lamet qualifies as the latter.

Kevin Newman, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (Double-A Altoona): 4-for-4, 2 R. It’s not too late to jump on board, folks. Come on in. The water’s fine.

Francisco Mejia, C, Cleveland (High-A Lynchburg): 1-for-2, R, HR, 2 K. Outside of Dominic Smith, I don’t think there’s a name I have more pleasure mentioning in these updates.

Fernando Romero, RHP, Minnesota Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. Those three runs saw his ERA inflate all the way to 2.50. Hope he doesn’t suffer a loss of confidence.

Patrick Weigel, RHP, Atlanta Braves (Low-A Rome): 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. The Braves seventh-round pick last June, Weigel has a plus fastball and three other pitches that flash average. If the command comes, he has a chance to pitch in the middle of a rotation.

Austin Riley, 3B, Braves (Low-A Rome): 3-for-4, R, 2 2B, K. Yep, the Braves had a good draft last year.

D.J. Wilson, OF, Chicago Cubs (Short-Season Eugene): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 K. Wilson is diminutive (listed at 5-foot-8), but he can fly, and he’s already an above-average defender in center field.

Luis Escobar, RHP, Pirates (Short-Season West Virginia): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Escobar has a plus fastball and an above-average curveball, but needs to throw more strikes. When he does throw strikes, results like Saturday happen.

Sunday:

Reynaldo Lopez, RHP, Washington Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. That’s a pretty good response to the “struggles” he had against the Dodgers.

Casey Gillaspie, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays (Triple-A Durham): 2-for-3, 2 R, BB. He just keeps getting on base, and even if he doesn’t have the power you’re looking for from a first-division first baseman, the OBP might make up for it.

Mauricio Dubon, 2B, Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 4-for-4, 2 2B. It sounds like the Red Sox aren’t done making improvements. Could this be one of the next prospects on the move?

Josh Turley, LHP, Detroit Tigers (Double-A Erie): 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: If you throw a knuckleball and are left-handed, you’re a good person.

Jeremy Rhoades, RHP, Los Angeles Angels (High-A Inland Empire): 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Rhoades has struggled in the worst of pitching conditions, but on the right day you’ll see an above-average fastball and slider, and he generally throws them for strikes.

Aristides Aquino, OF, Cincinnati Reds (High-A Daytona): 4-for-8, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, K. Yes, this was a doubleheader. Aquino has developed into the outfield prospect with the highest ceiling in the Reds system. There’s just a ton of volatility here, too.

Brendan Rodgers, SS, Colorado Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 2-for-5, R, 2B. With Alex Bregman in the bigs and also not really a shortstop anymore, this is the best prospect at the position. Congrats. No cash prize.

Alberto Tirado, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (Low-A Reading): 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Acquired in the original Ben Revere trade, Tirado has a big-time fastball and will show a competent slider, but the command... well, it isn’t there. It just isn’t there.

Oscar De La Cruz, RHP, Cubs (Short-Season Eugene): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. He’s far too advanced for Short-Season ball, as De La Cruz shows two plus pitches and occasionally an average change.

Garrett Whitley, OF, Rays (Short-Season Hudson Valley): 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B. The numbers as a professional have been ugly, but keep in mind how raw he was and that he was facing vastly superior competition as a prep. There’s gonna be a learning period, but in the long run, he should be a darn good center fielder.

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