August 5, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Thursday, August 4th

by Wilson Karaman

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Prospect of the Day:

Dylan Cozens, OF, Philadelphia Phillies (Double-A Reading): 3-4, BB, 3 R, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI.
So nice, let’s do it twice. If you can explain the physiological click that happens sometimes to set hitters off on rampages like Cozens’ current run, well, you’re probably better at science than I am. After leaving the yard thrice on Wednesday, he hit two more dingers yesterday, mixing in a triple for good measure. That’ll do, yeah. Scouts remain skeptical it translates, and my one live look revealed can-see-it holes in the swing. But all I really know is that homeboy has legit power and he really, really likes hitting in Reading.

Others of Note:

Tony Kemp, 2B, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno): 4-5, BB, 3 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, CS. I was tempted to make Kemp the player of the day, since any time he goes yard it’s a celebration. But this dinger came at Vegas, so it should really only count as half a homer at best. Kemp’s on-base skills have continued to translate in the high minors (and majors, for that matter), though he’s struggled some on the bases this year. He hasn’t struggled to hold a little piece of my heart in his hands, however, and I still see one of the more solid utility players around when I look his way.

Adalberto Mejia, LHP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 8 K. A round left-hander with advanced pitchability. Bring him to me.

Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Seattle Mariners (Triple-A Tacoma): 3-5, BB, R, 2B, 3 RBI, K. Mejia’s offensive doppelganger had struggled mightily since The Trade, raising the specter of a Seattle curse on his bat. But yesterday’s outburst is a reminder that he is a bad, bad man (muscle flex emoji).

Hunter Renfroe, OF, San Diego Padres (Triple-A El Paso): 3-5, 4 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI. There really isn’t much left to do at this point except see whether Renfroe’s aggressive approach and contact issues can stand up to big-league pitching or not.

Tyler Beede, RHP, San Francisco Giants (Double-A Richmond): 7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 9 K. Interestingly both Beede’s whiff and walk numbers—he’s walked at least three in seven of his last eight starts—have climbed at a decent clip lately as his arsenal has started to crystalize. He still probably doesn’t get talked about enough, but he’s a damn good pitching prospect with the pedigree and enough production to back it up. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here, and specifically whether he can tamp down the free passes again now that he’s expanding the zone and missing more bats.

Brian Anderson, 3B, Miami Marlins (Double-A Jacksonville): 3-4, 2 R, 3B, K. Anderson is one of those rare guys whose game is as boring as his name, but I mean that in a semi-good way. It’s been largely a struggle for the former third-rounder since he moved up to Double-A a couple months ago, but scouts still see a solid-if-unspectacular hitter, though the glove work remains iffy at the hot corner. He’s a good athlete with potential to move around a bit, though, and remains one of the better prospects in a shallow Miami system.

Paul DeJong, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 3-5, R, 2B. The Cardinals got aggressive with DeJong this year, skipping him over High-A after he looked every bit the part of yet another sleuth pick from the college bat ranks in his pro debut. It’s been an up-and-down campaign, with more down than up of late, but he’s managed to produce a strong power output in the face of obscene swing-and-miss. The contact issues aren’t necessarily a core component of the profile, however, and he remains a moderately intriguing guy in that system—especially because it’s that system.

Sean Newcomb, LHP, Atlanta Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 6.2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 10 K. I remain puzzled by Newcomb’s ongoing struggles, as the pitcher I saw in the California League looked like he was a few tweaks and a season or two of reps away from developing into a potentially dominant left-handed force. He has remained tough to square this year, but the command just hasn’t progressed as anticipated. That’s a couple strong starts in a row, though, so who knows, maybe he’s found a corner to turn.

Michael Mader, LHP, Miami Marlins (High-A Jupiter): 7 IP, R (0 ER), 6 H, BB, 6 K. Miami overhauled Mader’s mechanics around this time last season, and he has ridden the changes to a calendar year’s worth of solid, steady development. The gas and hook play together, though plenty of work remains in fine-tuning the command.

Eric Jenkins, CF, Texas Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 3-5, BB, 3 R, 2 3B, HR, 4 RBI, SB. Hickory hung a 19-spot on Lexington yesterday, and Jenkins was right in the middle of it hitting leadoff. He’s got a quality glove in center and all of the speed, and the bursts of pop he’s shown in full-season ball are interesting given the swing structure and thin frame.

Milton Ramos, SS, New York Mets (Low-A Columbia): 3-5, 2 BB, 2 R, 2B, 2 SB, K. The Mets could field an entire league with just their shortstop prospects at this point. Ramos is among the more notable as an athletic kid with quality actions at short, though the bat and general game play remain extremely raw. The gap between present and future is long and rocky here.

Cal Quantrill, RHP, San Diego Padres (Short-Season Tri-City): 2.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K. Nice and easy thus far for the eighth-overall pick. The Padres had him on a 50-pitch leash after bumping him from complex ball to the Northwest League this week, and he looked loose out of the gate.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., 3B, Toronto Blue Jays (Rookie Bluefield): 2-4, 2 BB, R, RBI, 4 SB. The speed isn’t going to play like this forever—he already rates as a 40 runner before even thinking about starting to fill into his man body—but it speaks to his advanced baseball acumen and approach that he’s working his way on base and taking extras for his trouble at this kind of clip already.

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