April 7, 2017

Minor League Update

Games of April 6

by Wilson Karaman

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Ahhhhh, it feels good to be back, baby!

Prospect of the Day:

Brent Honeywell, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 HBP, 12 K. The Rays’ number two prospect combined what he dubbed “absolutely terrible” fastball command with “off-speed stuff [that] was probably the best it’s ever been in [his] whole career” to punch out seven of the first 11 hitters he faced on the new season. There’s a touch of violence in his delivery that has contributed to past struggles putting the fastball where he wants it, so that’ll be a developmental point of emphasis to keep tabs on this year.

Others of Note:

Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox (Double-A Charlotte): 3-6, BB, 2 R, 2 K, SB. In case anyone forgot, this kid’s got some It, and he showed some off by getting on base four times on Opening Day. It is unlikely his time in Charlotte lasts especially long.

Josh Hader, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers (Triple-A Colorado Springs): 5 IP, H, 5 BB, 6 K. Hader was touching 95 and cruising early. But he lost his rhythm in the middle of this outing, falling behind and walking four in a 10-hitter stretch at one point en route to throwing barely half his pitches for strikes.

Cody Bellinger, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 3-3, BB, 2 2B. It remains unclear where there’ll be room on the roster for Bellinger to play in Los Angeles, but a couple months of this might just force the Dodgers to figure it out.

Matt Chapman, 3B, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville): 0-5, 4 K. Yeah, that’ll happen with Chapman. After flirting with some time at short at the end of last season, Chapman figures to keep mostly to the hot corner alongside Franklin Barreto this spring, which is all well and good because he projects as a plus-or-better glove there.

Jack Flaherty, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 6.2 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K. Jack Flaherty doin’ Jack Flaherty things yesterday: attacking the zone, forcing uncomfortable contact early, ripping dudes with advanced sequencing for strikeouts in the middle innings, then getting efficient again late. He needed just 82 pitches to record 20 outs in this one.

Connor Sadzeck, RHP, Texas Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 0 IP, H, 4 BB, 4 ER. Sadzeck started this game and, uh, he did not finish it. When asked what happened to the poor guy on Slack, our colleague and game attendee Kate Morrison replied with simple wisdom and insight: “He was Bad tonight.”

Cedric Mullins, CF, Baltimore Orioles (Double-A Bowie): 4-5, 4 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI. Mullins filled out many a box score like this last year, to where he so impressed the organization that they jumped him to Double-A straight from the Sally. He’s got plus speed, though the rest of the tools great out more in the fringe-average to average range. And while that kind of package isn’t going to make anyone’s jaw drop, he lacks for a real deficit in his game. There’s sneaky power that belies his smaller frame, decent contact skills, and a glove that can hang in center.

Andrew Moore, RHP, Seattle Mariners (Double-A Arkansas): 6 IP, H, 2 BB, 7 K. Moore just continues to produce in the face of doubts about the viability of his average fastball against good hitters. He has excellent command, a good change, and enough feel for spin to keep guys honest, and the combination has been too tough for minor league hitters at pretty much every stop so far.

Ryan Castellani, RHP, Colorado Rockies (Double-A Hartford): 6 IP, 9 R (4 ER), 8 H, 8 K, HRA. How’s that for a line? Chris Shaw got him for a long dinger in the first, and then he contributed to his own demise with an error that ignited a six-run third. But otherwise he was kind of good? The ingredients are there for Castellani, who’ll need to gain consistency in his execution this year while still exceedingly young for his level.

Zack Collins, C, Chicago White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): 3-4, BB, 2 R, 2 2B, K. I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, this kid can hit.

Travis Lakins, RHP, Boston Red Sox (High-A Salem): 5.1 IP, 4 H, 9 K. If he can stay healthy, Lakins might just end up the top pitching prospect in this system by the time 2017 is in the can. He’s got a four-pitch arsenal built around gas that can push 96, two breakers that can both flash average or better utility, and a cambio that’ll whisper plus. He rarely had everything on the same page in any of his 91 innings at Salem last year, but yesterday’s debut was an encouraging new beginning.

Brendan Rodgers, SS, Colorado Rockies (High-A Lancaster): DNP. I waited all winter for this. :(

Jordan Montgomery, LHP, New York Yankees (High-A Tampa): 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 9 K. The darling of Spring Training, Montgomery kept right on truckin’ in a debut start that got moved to High-A instead of Triple-A on account of monsoonal conditions across the northeast. He’s a case study an advanced pitchability and plane, as he’ll leverage all of his 6-foot-6 frame to bully the ball to the lower quadrants and just keep attacking. He should be up in the Bronx as soon as there’s a need after just missing out on a rotation spot.

Khalil Lee, RF, Kansas City Royals (Low-A Lexington): 3-4, BB, 2 R, HR, RBI, SB. An over-slot third-rounder last summer, Lee showed off an intriguing little power-and-speed combination in Arizona after signing, and he picked up right where he left off in his full-season debut yesterday. Despite a compact frame, he’s athletic and strong as all get out, and there are average or better tools across the board. He’s a guy to watch in the Sally this spring.

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