July 29, 2011

Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of July 28

by Kevin Goldstein

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Taylor Green, 3B, Brewers (Triple-A Nashville): 4-for-4, 2B, 2 HR (17), 5 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB.

He's not especially athletic as much as he's a gamer who gets the most out of limited tools, but can't the same be said of the current third baseman in Milwaukee who is doing nothing? Now batting .395 in 52 games since the calendars flipped to June and .333/.414/.579 overall, there is simply no more excuse in Milwaukee to not address the left side of the infield from within.

Others Of Note:

• Jordan Akins, OF, Rangers (Rookie-level AZL): 3-for-5, 3 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB. Jason Parks' toolsy special in a recent piece on the AZL; hitting .338 in July and .297/.325/.450 overall.
• Stetson Allie, RHP, Pirates (Short-season State College): 0 IP, 1 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 0 K. Double, error, walk, hit batter, hit batter and done; 7.78 ERA with 17 walks, seven hit batters and five wild pitches in 19.2 innings being cause for plenty of concern.
• Joe Benson, OF, Twins (Double-A New Britain): 2-for-4, R, K, SB. 10-for-16 in last four games to life batting average by 22 points; .292/.386/.477 in 73 games.
• Chris Carter, 1B, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento): 3-for-4, 3B, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, SB. 9-for-20 in last five games but numbers still a disappointing .238/.329/.469 overall.
• Jarred Coasrt, RHP, Phillies (High-A Clearwater): 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K. Best start in two months; 3.92 ERA and somehow only 6.6 strikeouts per nine despite killer stuff.
• Zack Cox, 3B, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 2-for-3, HR (5), 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB. Three straight multi-hit games and 1026 OPS in 29 July games have Texas League line up to .286/.355/.415.
• Brandon Drury, 3B, Braves (Rookie-level Danville): 2-for-2, 2 HR (6), 2 R, 3 RBI. Sleeper Alert! 2010 13th-round pick has plus raw power and ability to make contact; .362/.385/.583 in 32 games.
• Freddy Galvis, SS, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 3-for-4, HR (8), R, 2 RBI, K, SB. Venezuelan shortstop entered the year with a career line of .233/.281/.294, so .270/.325/.400 numbers at Double-A are a bigger step forward than they seem at first glance.
• Billy Hamilton, SS, Reds (Low-A Dayton): 2-for-4, 3B, R, 2 K, SB (75). Up to .337 in July and .256/.320/.344 overall; chase for 100 stolen bases is going to be a close one.
• Matt Harvey, RHP, Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 10 K. First dominant Eastern League start in six tries; even with 5.76 ERA he's struck out 38 in 29.2 innings.
• Marco Hernandez, SS, Cubs (Rookie-level AZL): 3-for-4, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI. 18-year-old Dominican has legitimate shortstop tools; .342/.390/.450 in 30 games.
• Brandon Jacobs, OF, Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB. Massively athlete outfielder is having a breakthrough year in translating the tools into skills; .323/.399/.563 with 14 home runs and 26 stolen bases in 86 games.
• Lastings Milledge, OF, White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 2-for-3, RBI, 2 SB. Hitting .339 in his last 50 games and .299/.361/.465 overall; just sayin'...
• Tyler Pastornicky, SS, Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 2-for-4, K, CS. Now 17-for-38 (.447) in nine games since promotion; should be ready at some point in 2012, likely in the early part of the season.
• Carlos Perez, C, Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing): 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI. Hitting .364 in July to raise season averages to .276/.337/.377; solid catching prospect, but neither bat nor glove has lived up to expectations.
• David Perez, RHP, Rangers (Short-season Spokane): 0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 0 K. Second outing in last three in which he has failed to retire a batter; 26 IP, 23 H, 22 BB, 36 K shows everything right and wrong with him.
• Cesar Puello, OF, Mets (High-A St. Lucie): 2-for-3, 3B, R, RBI, K, SB. Had an OPS of 667 or lower in each of the first three months but hitting .300/.337/.575 in July; tools are certainly impressive.
• Eddie Rosario, OF, Twins (Rookie-level Elizabethton): 3-for-4, HR (11), R, RBI. Short-season breakout player of the year? 9-for-17 in last four games, home runs in five of last nine and .324/.395/.662 overall.
• Gary Sanchez, C, Yankees (Low-A Charleston): 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2RBI, 2 K. Five hits and 12 total bases in last three games; .243/.323/.426 overall.
• Johan Santana, LHP, Mets (High-A St. Lucie): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Could be back just in time for the meaningless end of the season for the Mets.
• Ruben Sierra, OF, Rangers (Short-season Spokane): 3-for-4, 2 HR (3), 3 R, 6 RBI, BB, SB, CS. Was in 6-for-45 slump before last night; just .244/.292/.444 overall.
• Angelo Songco, OF, Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga): 2-for-5, 2B, HR (21), 2 R, 3 RBI, K. Has plenty of hitting ability but as a bat-only type he'll need to prove it at upper levels; .295/.354/.548 in 100 games with 57 extra-base hits.
• Neftali Soto, 1B, Reds (Double-A Carolina): 2-for-4, HR (19), 2 R, RBI, BB. Has slugged at least .543 in each month of the year; .277/.332/.577 in 71 games.
• Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Blue Jays (Short-season Bluefield): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Highly projectable 2010 draftee is limiting Appy League hitters to a .198 average to go with his 1.41 ERA, so how much projection do you need?
• Drew Vettleson, OF, Rays (Rookie-level Princeton): 3-for-3, HR (5), 2 R, RBI, BB, SB. On a team leaded with high 2010 draft picks, Vettleson has been the star, with a .313/.377/.539 line in 33 games.
• Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Has struck out five of the nine Triple-A batters he faced; don't be shocked if he's added to the big leagues in time for playoff eligibility.
• Allen Webster, RHP, Dodgers (Double-A Chattanooga): 9 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. First career complete game (and therefore shutout); 20-year-old righty with 3.31 ERA at Double-A and three average-to-plus pitches.
• Tony Wolters, SS, Indians (Short-season Mahoning Valley): 2-for-5, 2 R, K, SB. 16-for-33 during eight-game hitting streak to raise averages to .313/.407/.429; might profile better as a second baseman, but the bat will play.
• Robinson Yambati, RHP, Royals (Rookie-level Burlington): 0.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 1 K. From stuff, to command, to delivery, everything has been a complete disaster. 18.85 ERA in seven starts while allowing 44 hits in 17.2 innings (.458 opponent's average).
• Christian Yelich, OF, Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 3-for-4, RBI, K, SB. 2010 first-round pick is hitting .377 in 27 games since the All-Star break and .305/.370/.464 overall.

Kevin Goldstein is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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