July 26, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Monday, July 25th

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Day: Peter Lambert, RHP, Colorado Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K.
Lambert’s ERA by month: 3.20, 2.05, 1.96, 12.18. One of these things is not like the other; one of these things is July. Much of that damage was done in a start where he gave up 10 runs and didn’t make it out of the second inning, which always puts a damper on the ERA. My point is, Lambert has been great for most of the year, and his overall ERA of 4.43 doesn’t come close to telling the story of how impressive he’s been for the bulk of 2016. It’s a good stat, but it’s a flawed one. Lambert is one of the best pitching prospects in a loaded Colorado system.

Others of Note:

Jose De Leon, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma CIty): 1.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. Well, that won’t do much for the ol’ trade value, will it? In all seriousness, this is a name that has been discussed a lot over the past couple of weeks, and he’ll be forgiven for one awful start. One really, really awful start.

Anthony Garcia, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis): 3-for-4, R, HR, SB. Garcia hasn’t tapped into his plus raw power this summer, but it’s there, and for an ex-catcher he’s a pretty good athlete.

Hunter Dozier, 3B, Kansas City Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 2-for-3, 2 HR, BB. That’s now 32 extra-base hits in just under 70 games in the PCL. There are significant flaws here, but he’s bounced back pretty impressively from last year’s not-so-goodness.

Adam Walker, OF, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, BB. If he could cut down the strikeouts a smidgen or two (he’s already struck out 143 (!) times in 2016), he’d have a chance to be a regular. The power is legit.

Nick Torres, OF, San Diego Padres (Double-A El Paso): 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, K. The Padres fourth-round pick in 2014, Torres flashes average tools everywhere but speed, with a good-enough arm to allow him to handle either corner outfield position.

Artie Lewicki, RHP, Detroit Tigers (Double-A Erie): 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. This seems to be a pretty typical Lewicki start: a good amount of strikeouts, a low amount of walks, and lots of hits. Guessing the defense isn’t helping him out too much.

Lewis Brinson, OF, Texas Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 3-for-5, R, 2B. Statistically, Brinson is having one of the most disappointing seasons of any hitting prospect in baseball. He’s particularly struggled against right-handers in 2016, posting a .655 OPS against them in 256 PA. We’ll have to keep an eye on that moving forward.

Enyel De Los Santos, RHP, San Diego Padres (High-A Lake Elsinore): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Jerry Dipoto has done a pretty solid job in his first year as Seattle GM, but De Los Santos for Joaquin Benoit might be a move he regrets long term.

Austin Gomber, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals (High-A Palm Beach): 7.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. One of the reasons I was willing to trade Jack Flaherty and Luke Weaver in that prospect-for-prospect trade article last week was because of the development of Gomber. He’s legit.

Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox (High-A Salem): 2-for-5, R, 2 K. I’m getting a lot fewer “what’s wrong with Rafael Devers?” questions lately. Probably coincidental.

Justin Jacome, LHP, Miami Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. The Marlins fifth-round selection out of UC Santa Barbara, Jacome has excellent control, and he’ll show three average pitches, giving him a chance to pitch in the back of a rotation someday.

Austin Allen, C, Padres (Low-A Fort Wayne): 3-for-6. There have been ups and downs over Allen’s first professional season, but it’s, like, his first professional season. That’s to be expected. If Allen can catch, he has a chance to be a regular.

Triston McKenzie, RHP, Cleveland (Short-Season Mahoning Valley): 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. He’s been flat out dominant in the NYPL, which shouldn’t be a surprise. His body isn’t ready for full-season ball, but the arsenal is.

Antonio Santillan, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (Short-Season Billings): 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Santillan’s body is certainly ready to handle the rigors of a full season. The stuff isn’t quite there yet, but man oh man is the upside big here.

Travis Blankenhorn, 3B, Minnesota Twins (Short-Season Elizabethton): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 HR. Blankenhorn hasn’t come out of nowhere—he was a top-100 pick last year, after all—but even his biggest pre-draft supporters have to be impressed with just how advanced the bat has looked this summer.

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