May 18, 2012

Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of May 17

by Kevin Goldstein

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Cody Buckel, RHP, Rangers (High-A Myrtle Beach): 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

Buckel has been fantastic all year, and after his best start of the season he has a 1.14 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 47.1 innings and just 23 hits allowed. Those are some of the loudest numbers in the minors, but this is not a pitcher with a profile that screams ace. He's undersized, but extremely athletic, and his fastball, which sits at
90-92 mph and touches 93-94 is noted more for it's movement than it's velocity. What he does have is a complete arsenal, with a curveball that is a tick above-average and a true plus changeup, the kind of combination that will give A-ball hitters fits. He's an excellent pitching prospect to be sure, but one with more assurances of being a good starter down the road than a future ace.

Others Of Note:

• Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Twins (High-A Ft. Myers): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI. .972 OPS in May and .304/.360/.472 overall. Needs to hit as other tools are a bit flat.
• Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies (Double-A Tulsa): 3-for-4. Starting to heat up again, which could get him closer to the big leagues; .302/.355/.423 in 40 games.
• Tyler Austin, OF, Yankees (Low-A Charleston): 1-for-2, HR (13), R, 2 RBI, BB, K. Home runs in back-to-back games and .291/.350/.702 overall; hitting just .193 in May, but eight of 11 hits have gone for extra bases.
• Matt Barnes, RHP, Red Sox (High-A Salem): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. And one could argue that this is his least dominant start of the year.
• Jesse Biddle, LHP, Phillies (High-A Clearwater): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K. Third straight quality start; 3.47 ERA with 40 Ks in 36.1 innings.
• Clayton Blackburn, RHP, Giants (Low-A Augusta): 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 10 K. Strike-throwing, ground ball machine with outstanding sinker; 4.94 ERA but 41 Ks in 31 innings and GB rate of nearly 3-to-1.
• Julio Borbon, OF, Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock): 2-for-5, 2 HR (4), 2 R, 4 RBI. Not doing enough to get back to the big leagues; .258/.318/.380 in 38 games.
• Corey Brown, OF, Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, K, CS. Arguably the hottest hitter in the International League by going 12-for-26 with three home runs over the last week; .286/.402/.500 in 41 games.
• Chris Carter, 1B/DH, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento): 3-for-5, 2 HR (6), 4 R, 6 RBI. Six home runs but has gone deep in just three different games; .283/.358/.474 in 38 games.
• Nick Castellanos, 3B, Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 2-for-3, R, 2 BB, CS. A ridiculous 31-for-72 (.431) during 18-game hitting streak, but ridiculous all year at .411/.462/.556.
• Matt Den Decker, OF, Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K. Continues to surprise with the bat and one of the best defensive outfielders in the minors; .305/.363/.543 in 37 games.
• Adam Eaton, OF, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, SB. An impatient hitter with no power, but also a line drive machine with plus speed; .403/.466/.538 in 28 games.
• Wilmer Flores, 3B, Mets (High-A St. Lucie): Hitting .368 in May and .324/.359/.504 overall as prospect status is bouncing back.
• J.R. Graham, RHP, Braves (High-A Lynchburg): 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 6 K. Short righty with outstanding slider and 12-to-1 ground ball ratio last night; 2.50 ERA in eight starts.
• Grant Green, OF, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento): 3-for-6, 3B, 4 R, K. 18-for-40 in last ten games and .303/.340/.472 overall; reviews of outfield play are improving.
• Jedd Gyorko, 2B, Padres (Triple-A Tucson): 2-for-3, 2B, 3 R, 2 BB. Triple-A debut.
• Miles Head, 3B/1B, Athletics (High-A Stockton): 4-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB. At .366/.415/.648 he can really hit, but as a short, wide-bodied bad defender who is R-R and maybe limited to first base, it's a weird profile.
• Danny Hultzen, LHP, Mariners (Double-A Jackson): 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Has reeled off best two starts of season; 1.81 ERA with 20 hits allowed in 44.2 innings.
• Brett Jackson, OF, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 3-for-4, 3B, HR (4), 2 R, RBI. Snaps out of ugly 2-for-25, 11 K slump; .241/.341/.447 in 36 games.
• Brandon Jacobs, OF, Red Sox (High-A Salem): 3-for-4, K, 2 CS. 14-for-29 in last seven games and up to .308/.354/.421 overall; key to future will be power development, as he's limited to left field.
• Francisco Lindor, SS, Indians (Low-A Lake County): 2-for-4, R, K. Sixth straight two-hit game and on 29-for-72 (.403) run; .327/.372/.490 in 35 games.
• Jefry Marte, 3B, Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 2-for-4, 2B, HR (2), 3 R, RBI, BB. 20-year-old has shown more consistent defense while breaking out with the bat; .311/.370/.434 in 33 games.
• Fernando Martinez, OF, Astros (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 2-for-6, HR (7), 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 K. Might get back to the big leagues with .318/.374/.520 line in 38 games and it's hard to imagine that he's still just 23.
• Deck McGuire, RHP, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Bounces back from worst start of career, but still at a 6.75 ERA with the Eastern Legaue hitting .312 against him.
• Anthony Meo, RHP, Diamondbacks (High-A Visalia): 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K. Missings bats but also having command issues; 3.95 ERA with 50 Ks in 41 innings.
• Bryan Mitchell, RHP, Yankees (Low-A Charleston): 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K. 2009 pick finally might be harnessing stuff that has always been there; 2.63 ERA with 39 Ks in 37.2 IP.
• Wil Myers, OF, Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 2-for-5, RBI. Triple-A debut.
• Derek Norris, C, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento): 3-for-5, 2B, 4 RBI. .305/.343/.500 in 34 games and worth watching if Kurt Suzuki goes on the trade market in July.
• Chris Owings, SS, Diamondbacks (High-A Visalia): 3-for-5, 2B, 3B, R. 22 total bases in last three games have numbers up to suddenly stunning .339/.371/.589.
• Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga): 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, K. Intriguing bat with solid all-around tools; .333/.397/.435 in 18 games.
• Tyson Perez, RHP, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB 2 K. A bit of a sleeper with a low-90s fastball, plus curve and outstanding location; scouts wonder how many bats he'll miss down the road.
• Jurickson Profar, SS, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K. Hitting streak up to 27 games; .292/.349/.494 overall.
• Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 1-for-3, HR (14), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB. Home runs in three straight games and seven in last nine games; .359/.422/.717 in 38 games and it's time for the Cubs to start figuring out how to shoehorn him into the lineup.
• Daniel Rosenbaum, LHP, Nationals (Double-A Harrisburg): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K. 0.62 ERA in eight starts with zero earned runs in five of them; needs to move up to see if this is for real, as the pure stuff is far from inspiring.
• Josh Sale, OF, Rays (Low-A Bowling Green): 2-for-4, HR (4), R, 3 RBI, K. Suddenly looking like the offensive beast from the 2010 draft; on-base 20 times in 11 games with 23 total bases (.333/.475/.767).
• Domingo Santano, OF, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 2-for-5, 2B, HR (5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Three home run in last five games and up to .254/.315/.500 in 29 games.
• Jake Smolinkski, OF, Marlins (Double-A Jacksonville): 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, BB. No home runs but 11 doubles and 19 walks in 107 at-bats; .318/.434/.458 in 29 games.
• Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Best outing of year as inning count has gone from three to four; 1.88 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.
• Michael Taylor, OF, Nationals (High-A Potomac): 3-for-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, SB. Has failed to build on last year's big step forward; .254/.371/.390 in 35 games.
• Julio Teheran, RHP, Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 2.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 2 K. Baffling season as he seems to crap the bad once a month; 3.31 ERA in 35.1 innings.
• Yordano Ventura, RHP, Royals (High-A Wilmington): 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K. Has shown more command and better secondaries to go with plus-plus fastball; 2.97 ERA with 49 Ks in 39.1 innings.
• Zach Wheeler, RHP, Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 7 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 8 K. Lapses in control have been the only ding; 2.15 ERA with 45 Ks, 19 BB in 37.2 innings.
• Kolten Wong, 2B, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 4-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB. 10-for-20 in last four games and .331/.400/.459 overall; In line for September look?
• Christian Yelich, OF, Marlins (High-A Jupiter): 3-for-4, 2B, HR (7), R, RBI, K. Power growth continues; .283/.367/.566 in 31 games.

Kevin Goldstein is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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