August 18, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of Wednesday, August 17th

by Christopher Crawford

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Prospect of the Day:

Antonio Santillan, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (Low-A Dayton): 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
The Reds took Santillian with the 49th pick of last year’s draft, and despite the high ERA in Dayton (6.41 coming into the game), he’s been very impressive. The fastball touches 98, and he complements that 70-grade heater with a hammer curve that flashes plus. He’s also shown some improvement with the change, and that pitch should be good enough to allow him to start when he’s ready. When exactly he’s ready will depend on when/if the command improves (drastically), but Santillan has the type of stuff to pitch in the middle of a rotation, or potentially dominate as a reliever.

Others of Note:

Christian Walker, 1B, Baltimore Orioles (Triple-A Norfolk): 2-for-5, 2 HR. He’s running out of time, but Walker does have the talent to be a platoon guy at first. Not sexy, but can be useful.

Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. In my humble estimation, Lucas Giolito is better than a platoon bat. Christopher “out on a limb” Crawford, they call me.

Jose De Leon, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. The Dodgers are now in first place. De Leon should be part of the pitching staff to ensure that they stay in first place.

Kevin Newman, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (Double-A Altoona): 4-for-8, 2 R, HR, SB. Newman doesn’t have a ton of power, but there is enough bat speed to occasionally put the ball over the wall. It’s the hit tool that makes him (potentially) special.

Ryan O’Hearn, 1B, Kansas City Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas):3-for-4, 3 R, 2 HR, BB, K. O’Hearn’s power is plus, and while there’s a ton of swing and miss here he could draw enough walks/hit enough dingers to make up for it.

Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, K. They fear you, Dom. They do not want to see you succeed. Don’t give in to their fear.

Tyler Beede, RHP, San Francisco Giants (Double-A Richmond): 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. With Phil Bickford now in the Milwaukee organization, Beede is now easily the best pitching prospect in the San Francisco system. He might have been even with Bickford.

Luis Castillo, RHP, Miami Marlins (High-A Jupiter): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Castillo doesn’t have the third pitch to be more than a fourth starter—or possibly a reliever—but with two out pitches, he was a welcomed (re)addition to the system.

A.J. Simcox, SS, Detroit Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, BB, K. Simcox is better with the glove, but in spurts, he’s shown enough offensive ability to possibly become an everyday shortstop. It’s much more likely he’s a utility player, but considering this was a 14th-round selection, you can do a heck of a lot worse.

Brendan Rodgers, SS, Colorado Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3 E. Too many errors, Brendan. Too many errors. Keep up the hits, the hits are fine. We don’t like the errors.

Jesus Tinoco, RHP, Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. The third piece of the Troy Tulowitzki deal, Tinoco shows two pitches that flash plus, and the change occasionally shows average. He also throws strikes with all three pitches, but missing bats has been a problem in 2016.

Jake Gatewood, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Low-A Wisconsin): 3-for-6, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 K. The talent here is so good that it gets frustrating to see him not apply himself. I imagine this is how high school teachers in bad movies feel.

Preston Palmeiro, 1B, Baltimore Orioles (Short-Season Aberdeen): 2-for-4, K. One of the last players to sign in the 2016 draft, Palmeiro doesn’t have his dad’s skills, but he’s a good defender at first, and both the hit and power tools could be average.

Merandy Gonzalez, RHP, New York Mets (Short-Season Brooklyn): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. He has been overshadowed by some of the other short-season arms, but Gonzalez is interesting, with a plus fastball and two average secondary offerings. He just needs to throw them for strikes more often.

Brady Aiken, LHP, Cleveland Indians (Short-Season Mahoning Valley): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. I am stunned with Aiken’s struggles with control, but maybe I shouldn’t be. He missed so much time, and he’s still just 20. There’s plenty of time for him to become what he was, which is one of the most advanced left-handed pitching prospects I’ve ever seen.

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