July 3, 2012

Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of July 2

by Kevin Goldstein

Printer-friendly

Contact Author

Bubba Starling, OF, Royals (Rookie-level Burlington): 3-for-6, 2 HR (2), 3 R, 6 RBI, 3 K.

It's weird how many people seem to have written off Starling before his career even began. Maybe it's his age, and maybe it's the generally miserable state of Royals fans these days, but Starling still has jaw-dropping tools and while he started this year in Rookie-ball instead of Low-A, he'll still
be young for the Midwest League in 2013. There's nothing to be down on Starling about, as he's barely played yet, and maybe Monday night's performance will calm everyone down for a bit.

Others Of Note:

• Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Indians (High-A Carolina) 4-for-5, 2B, 2 HR (11), 2 R, 6 RBI, K. Futures game first baseman is starting to earn some believers; .312/.390/.531 in 76 games.
• Chris Bostick, 2B, Athletics (Short-season Vermont): 3-for-4, 3B, R, 3 RBI, K. Compact athlete is outstanding sleeper prospect; .306/.382/.449 in 12 games.
• Gary Brown, OF, Giants (Double-A Richmond): 2-for-5, 2B, 3 R, BB, 2 K. Starting to show signs of life; 22-for-52 (.423) in last 12 games and up to .269/.344/.352 overall.
• Garin Cecchini, 3B, Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 2-for-5, HR (4), R, 3 RBI. Eleven-game hitting streak has him up to .308/.387/.444 in 70 games with scouts believing the power will come.
• Tony Cingrani, LHP, Reds (Double-A Pensacola): 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K. Has a 1.75 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 36 Southern League innings; starting to get taken more seriously.
• Dylan Cozens, OF, Phillies (Rookie-level GCL Phillies): 2-for-4, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI. Second-round pick of physical monster at 6-6, 235; .313/.405/.594 in first nine pro games.
• D.J. Davis, OF, Blue Jays (Rookie-level GCL Jays): 2-for-5, HR (1), R, RBI. First pro home run for first-round pick; .293/.356/.366 in ten games.
• Delino Deshields, 2B, Astros (Low-A Lexington): 2-for-4, 2B, HR (6), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Coming on strong and starting to show some power to go with plus-plus speed and good approach; .278/.385/.405 overall.
• Brian Goodwin, OF, Nationals (Low-A Hagerstown): 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 BB, SB. Supplemental first-round pick has shown tools and skills in debut; .323/.449/.524 in 45 games.
• Billy Hamilton, SS, Reds (High-A Bakersfield): 1-for-3, R, BB, 2 K, 2 SB (100). ONE HUNDRED.
• Adeiny Hechavarria, SS, Blue Jays (Triple-A Las Vegas): 3-for-5, 2 HR (6), 2 R, 2 RBI. There's a lot of park effect in his .314/.361/.449 line, but a lot of real progress as well.
• Kuo-Hua Lo, RHP, Twins (Rookie-level GCL Twins): 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. 19-year-old Taiwan native is short righty with plus velocity and control; has retired 34 of 39 hitters faced.
• Manny Machado, SS, Orioles (Double-A Bowie): 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB. RBIs don't matter but he has 20 in his last 13 games while lifting batting line to .264/.347/.405.
• Jake Marisnick, OF, Blue Jays (High-A Dunedin): 2-for-2, R, 2 BB, CS. Starting to come on strong with .377 OBP and .600 SLG in last 12 games; .264/.351/.456 overall.
• Starling Marte, OF, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis): 3-for-6, 2B, RBI, BB, K, SB. Eighth straight multi-hit game (18-for-37) and up to .291/.349/.491; coming to Pittsburgh soon. Very soon.
• Gerson Montilla, 2B, Diamondbacks (High-A Visalia): 3-for-6, 2 HR (3), 2 R, 6 RBI. Midwest League All-Star showed contact ability and gap power; .356/.356/.578 in 10 games since promotion.
• Jose Munoz, SS, Diamondbacks (Rookie-level AZL Diamondbacks): 2-for-4, 2 HR (2), 2 R, 4 RBI, K. Surprising second-round pick is known more for bat than glove; .235/.297/.471 in first eight pro games.
• Mike Olt, 3B, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 2-for-5, HR (22), 2 R, 2 RBI. Has begun to play a little bit of right field and first base to enhance flexibility; .302/.408/.600 in 73 games.
• Guillermo Pimentel, OF, Mariners (Low-A Clinton): 2-for-4, 2 HR (6), 2 R, 4 RBI. K. Full-season debut has been a disaster due to horrible approach; three home runs in last two games but just .244/.282/.371 overall.
• James Ramsey, OF, Cardinals (High-A Palm Beach): 3-for-5, 2B, R, K, SB. Pro debut for first-round pick; insane college numbers and solid but unspectacular tools across the board.
• Andre Rienzo, RHP, White Sox (Double-A Birmingham): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 10 K. Brazilian righty is old for the level, but has a good fastball and some relief possibilities.
• Jonathan Singleton, 1B, Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR (12), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Still recovering from miserable (.148 in 25 games) June; .269/.389/.481 overall.
• Donn Roach, RHP, Padres (Double-A San Antonio): 6 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 2 K. Righty acquired in Ernesto Frieri deal is absolute ground ball machine and moving quickly through system.
• Addison Russel, SS, Athletics (Rookie-level AZL Athletics): 2-for-5, 3B, RBI, K, 2 SB. First-round pick is 10-for-25 (.400) with 18 total bases in first eight pro games.
• Domingo Santana, OF, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K. 15-for-38 (.395) during nine-game hitting streak; .296/.367/.530.
• George Springer, OF, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 4-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. 15 hits in last seven games to lift season line to .314/.391/.558; still a lot of strikeouts and a lot of Lancaster in that line.
• Trayce Thompson, OF, White Sox (High-A Winston-Salem): 2-for-3, 2 HR (16), 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, K; 1-for-3, 2B, R, K. Spectacular power, but will he ever hit? .232/.315/.495 in 79 games.
• Danry Vasquez, OF, Tigers (Short-season Connecticut): 2-for-4, R; 2-for-3, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2 K. 18-year-old Venezuelan crashed and burned in Midwest League but is hitting .404/.456/.538 in 14 NYP games.
• Josh Vitters, 3B, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI. Hitting .314 and slugging .602 since the calendar flipped to June; .301/.352/.514 overall.
• Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Cubs (Rookie-level AZL Cubs): 2-for-5, HR (2), R, 2 RBI, K. Hone runs in back-to-back games to go with seven doubles in nine; beefy first baseman is hitting .462/.500/.846.
• Christian Yelich, OF, Marlins (High-A Jupiter): 2-for-4, HR (10), R, RBI, SB. Streaky hitter is on another roll; 12-for-21 with 21 total bases in last five games to lift OPS 87 points; .307/.381/.559 overall.
• Kolten Wong, 2B, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 3-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB. 11-for-17 with six walks in last five games; up to .317/.390/.453 and lining himself up to battle for an opening day job next spring.

Kevin Goldstein is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Kevin's other articles. You can contact Kevin by clicking here