2014 Regular Season Divisional Prospect News

[TheCrew07]

Offensive Players of the Week

For the week ending Aug. 17

 

Pacific Coast League

Xavier Scruggs, Memphis

(.458/.519/1.000, 6 G, 11-for-24, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 9 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP)

The Redbirds have owned this spot lately. Scruggs' selection makes it three straight weeks in which a Memphis player has won this weekly award. Personally, this is the 26-year-old first baseman's fifth Player of the Week award and first in his first Triple-A season. The right-handed slugger is riding a 12-game hitting streak that's driven his season line up to .283/.366/.489 with 18 homers and 81 RBIs in 120 games.

 

 

 

Pitchers of the Week

For the week ending Aug. 17

 

Florida State League

Tyler Glasnow, Bradenton

(2-0, 0.68 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 18 K)

Glasnow turns 21 in five days, meaning he's three years younger than the average Florida State League hurler. Nevertheless, there doesn't seem to be much left to prove in Class A Advanced for the 6-foot-7 right-hander. Last week he claimed his second straight league Pitcher of the Week award with two more wins. In four August starts, Glasnow is 4-0 with a 0.36 ERA, having allowed one run on 10 hits while striking out 34 and walking 10 over 25 1/3 innings. For the season, he's holding FSL hitters to a .167 average -- .122 in August.

 

Midwest League

Amir Garrett, Dayton

(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 12 K)

A college basketball player for St. John's and Cal State-Northridge (though he say as a transfer at the latter and never played), Garrett recently announced he was giving up his hoops career to concentrate on baseball. It's been a good decision so far. After tossing a three-hit, seven-inning shutout Wednesday, the 22-year-old southpaw is 5-2 with a 1.82 ERA and .167 batting average against in the second half of the season. Garrett has won three straight games for the Dragons while fanning 21 over 17 scoreless innings.

 

Pioneer League

Jorge Ortega, Helena

(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 3 K)

On August 7, Ortega was ripped for six runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits over five innings in an 8-4 loss at Idaho Falls. Six days later, the 21-year-old right-hander held the same Chukars club to three hits in seven scoreless innings for his finest game of the season. Ortega's command has been splendid, though his strikeout total, with 29 in 59 innings has been underwhelming. One key to his recent success has been keeping the ball in the park -- after yielding eight home runs over a four-start stretch in late July, Ortega has gone 12 innings without issuing a gopher ball.

[TheCrew07]

Exactly what you would expect, this is the MLB version looking back at their minor league days... plenty of divisional talk.

 

How 2014 Best Tools Winners Fared In Minors

August 20, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

[TheCrew07]

Smokies' Russell finishing on high note

Cubs' No. 3 prospect slugs second slam of season on five-RBI night

[TheCrew07]

Pipeline Perspectives: Outfielder Bell has bright future

Pirates prospect's quick development at plate puts him ahead of Mariners' Jackson

[TheCrew07]

Kyle Schwarber the only divisional mention.

 

 

Ten 2014 Draft picks who have been quick to click

By Jonathan Mayo

[narwhalattack]

A bit about Medeiros. Behind the paywall, but may be an interesting read for subscribers:

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24447

[TheCrew07]

A bit about Medeiros. Behind the paywall, but may be an interesting read for subscribers:

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24447

 

Good, bad, or in the middle?

[narwhalattack]

A bit about Medeiros. Behind the paywall, but may be an interesting read for subscribers:

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24447

 

Good, bad, or in the middle?

 

I have no idea. I'm not a subscriber. Just putting this in here in case someone is a subscriber and wants to read it.

[TheCrew07]

Ahh me neither... thanks.

[TheCrew07]

Prospect Hot Sheet (Aug. 22): A Jays Prospect Flies High

 

3. Kyle Schwarber, lf/c, Cubs

Team: high Class A Daytona (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .407/.467/.889 (11-for-27), 7 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 8 SO, 1-for-1 SB

 

The Scoop: Hitting just .242 at Daytona entering this Hot Sheet period, Schwarber broke out in a big way this week with eight extra-base hits. The Cubs identified the Indiana standout as the best bat in the 2014 draft, and so far Schwarber has not disappointed, hitting .339/.437/.603 with 13 homers in 63 games (at three levels) since turning pro as the No. 4 overall pick.

7. Tyler Glasnow, rhp, Pirates

Team: high Class A Brandenton (Florida State)

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO

 

The Scoop: Glasnow saw an 18-inning scoreless streak end in his previous start. So he began a new one this week. Armed with a mid-90s heater and a power curve, the 6-foot-7 righthander has torn through the Florida State League like a rhinoceros, going 11-5, 1.43, but has saved his best for the final month of the season, going 4-0, 0.36 in August with 34 whiffs and 10 walks in 25 1/3 innings and only 10 hits.

8. Yorman Rodriguez, of, Reds

Team: Double-A Pensacola (Southern)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .393/.471/.750 (11-for-28), 8 R, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBIs, 5 BB, 6 SO, 2-for-2 SB

 

The Scoop: Not coincidentally, the bulk of Rodriguez’s big week came when the Blue Wahoos went on the road. All of his extra-base hits—a double and three homers—this week came at Mobile. That kind of trend is right in line with Rodriguez’s season numbers. Away from Bayfront Stadium, he’s hitting .307/.356/.445 this year with six of his eight homers. All three slash categories are at least 75 points better than the same marks at home.

9. Addison Russell, ss, Cubs

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .281/.303/.688 (9-for-32), 9 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBIs, 1 BB, 2 SO

 

The Scoop: Russell has stung the ball like never before after coming over to the Cubs from the Athletics in the Jeff Samardzija trade. He’s slugging .556 at Tennessee (with a career-best .261 isolated slugging percentage), and seven of his nine hits this week went for extra bases. Many scouts see plus power production for Russell down the line, which obviously will play at whichever infield post at which he settles in Chicago.

 

In The Team Photo

 

Taylor Jungmann, rhp, Brewers. The 2011 first-rounder turned in a pair of fine starts at Triple-A Nashville this week, logging 12 innings while allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out 14 and walked five. With 11 groundouts and four airouts, Jungmann continued a season-long trend of keeping the ball on the ground with a solid three-pitch mix.

[TheCrew07]

Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet Chat (Aug. 22) With Josh Norris

 

JP Starkey (Rection, CT): As the season is coming to a close, who is your favorite to win MILB player of the year?

 

Josh Norris: For me, it’s Kris Bryant. Joey Gallo has an argument, but Bryant has been outstanding for Day One to Day One Hundred.

Susan Grantham (UHA): What do you think of Baez's first crack of chicago, what we predicted? High Strikeout, High Power?

 

Josh Norris: Oh yeah. He’s gonna swing and miss a lot, and hit a lot of balls very hard. This is the Javier Baez playbook for sure.

Jake L. (The Gateway Arch): Should I be worried about the Cubs in a year or two, as a Cardinals fan?

 

Josh Norris: Very much so. Their collection of talent is unrivaled throughout the sport.

Sean (Mass): Of all the top prospects , who can you see opening 2015 in the majors and contributing the most consistently?

 

Josh Norris: I could see Kris Bryant filling this role.

Yahtzee! (Levine, NY): What prospect on this week's list has the loudest hit tool?

 

Josh Norris: Addison Russell

[TheCrew07]

Schwarber heating up near end of season

Cubs prospect figures out swing, hits another homer for Daytona

[TheCrew07]

Schwarber homers in fifth straight game

Cubs' No. 7 prospect goes yard twice in Daytona's win over Lakeland

[TheCrew07]

Gonzales beats heat, puts up zeros

St. Louis' No. 3 prospect goes six in scorching temps for Memphis

[TheCrew07]

Subscriber content.

 

Reds’ Perez Thriving In New Surroundings

August 24, 2014 by C. Trent Rosecrans

[TheCrew07]

Subscriber content.

 

Change Did Bucs’ Sampson Good

August 24, 2014 by John Perrotto

[TheCrew07]

Subscriber Content.

 

Command Performance For Cards’ Trio

August 23, 2014 by Derrick Goold

[TheCrew07]

I intentionally didn't post this yesterday because once again TH writes the easy story about the player on the MLB roster when every other beat writer is actually digging into prospect stories. However if I don't post his stories then perhaps no one will notice how useless this "reporting" is. I have no problem with JJ, but seriously anyone on this forum could have written this story with the information at hand. Hey Tom how about actually digging into Devin Williams or Tucker Neuhaus? What about the 3 top picks from this year's draft? What about an ascending prospect like Orlando Arcia?

 

Jeffress Happy To Be Back Home

August 23, 2014 by Tom Haudricourt

 

Wang was actually bumped to A+ the day this story was posted by BA. The lack of effort and research into anything prospect related is appalling. Just put a back dated start of the rehab from 3 weeks ago into the story because that's what people really care about.

 

MICROBREWS

 

• Third baseman Nicky Delmonico and righthander Mark Williams were suspended for 50 games each a few days apart for use of an amphetamine while playing at Class A Brevard County.

 

• Lefthander Wei-Chung Wang, the Rule 5 draft pick who went on the DL in July with shoulder tightness, was assigned to the Arizona Rookie League on rehab assignment on Aug. 3.

 

Yet somehow he gets pissy every year in the Brewer Top 10 prospect chat when people challenge his actual knowledge of the minor leagues, well maybe if he would actually write about a subject that wasn't already common knowledge among the Brewer faithful...

[TheCrew07]

Baseball America Prospect Report (Aug. 25)

 

PITCHER OF THE DAY: Marco Gonzales, lhp — Triple-A Memphis (Cardinals)

 

The Cardinals’ No. 4 prospect as of our midseason update has continued to impress in the minors, and did so Sunday despite stifling heat in Memphis. The former Gonzaga star—who struggled in a brief major league stint—delivered six shutout innings to beat Fresno 8-0 and is 9-5, 2.43 overall in the minors this season, including 4-1, 3.35 in the PCL. Gonzales doesn’t have knockout velocity, but has a clean, repeatable delivery, good movement and a solid changeup

.

[Fear The Chorizo]

so I guess we can put Polanco back on the daily list for this thread, now that he's been sent back down to AAA after stinking up the joint since the ASB.

 

Polanco and Taveras have talent, no doubt...but it's comical how much was made into them being the next Mike Trout caliber impact player once they were called up to the bigs. Their early struggles are alot more commonplace than instantly being the best player in the league like Trout was a month after he came up to the show.

 

Maybe there was more to Super 2 status timeframes holding these guys in the minors earlier this season...

[TheCrew07]

Clint Coulter is the only Brewer prospect to make the list, too bad Buck Farmer didn't sign.

 

Farmer, Velazquez named MWL All-Stars

Tigers right-hander, D-backs shortstop headline postseason honors

[TheCrew07]

Reds, MLB Open Cincinnati Youth Academy

[TheCrew07]

Offensive Players of the Week

For the week ending Aug. 24

 

Pacific Coast League

Matt Clark, Nashville

(.536/.581/.964, 7 G, 15-for-28, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R, 2 BB, 5 K)

Fighting with Memphis for the PCL's American Southern title -- the two teams are currently tied for first with identical 74-61 records -- Nashville got a huge boost from slugger Matt Clark last week. The 27-year-old LSU product collected at least two hits in each of his seven games, adding three homers total to lift his season total to 23. In 45 games since coming over from the Mets organization, Clark is batting .333/.392/.624 with 13 long balls and 33 RBIs. If the Sounds can bring the playoffs back in Greer Stadium's final season, it will be in no small part due to Clark.

 

Eastern League

Keon Broxton, Altoona

(.500/.625/1.167, 6 G, 9-for-18, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K, 2 SB)

Broxton has taken a big step forward in his first season in the Pirates organization, raising his OPS from .655 in the Southern League last year to .832 with the Curve in 2014. Much of the 24-year-old's production last week was crammed into a pair of games at Akron on Tuesday and Wednesday in which he went 6-for-7 with three homers and seven RBIs. Broxton is finishing the season strong, batting .328/.434/.594 in August and bashing 10 of his 14 homers since July 1.

 

Southern League

Kyle Waldrop, Pensacola

(.533/.545/.900, 7 G, 16-for-30, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 7 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 SB)

Waldrop began the season by tearing up the California League to the tune of .359/.409/.516 in 65 games with Bakersfield and has barely experienced a dropoff since a promotion to Double-A. After racking up 16 hits last week, the 22-year-old Florida native is hitting .310/.360/.498 for the Blue Wahoos. Not only did Waldrop collect multiple hits in six of seven games last week, he's also driven in at least one run in each of his last six.

 

Florida State League

Kyle Schwarber, Daytona

(.500/.529/1.333, 8 G, 15-for-30, 4 2B, 7 HR, 13 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 SB)

Not many Minor Leaguers capture Player of the Week honors in three different leagues in one season. Schwarber, after going deep in five straight games last week, is one of them. The fourth overall pick in June's Draft, Schwarber owns a .671 slugging percentage -- second in the Minors only to fellow Cubs prospect Kris Bryant. The University of Indiana product is also just the second Florida State League slugger since 2005 to go deep in five consecutive games. In all, an outstanding professional debut for Schwarber keeps becoming more and more impressive.

 

New York-Penn League

Jake Stone, State College

(.381/.458/.714, 5 G, 8-for-21, 4 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K)

Stone began the season with Peoria in the Midwest League, batting just .194 before being reassigned in mid-May. Starting up with the Spikes a month later, his NYPL campaign has been up-and-down, with last week very much belonging in the former category. The Tennessee Wesleyan product had seven hits and nine RBIs over a three-game stretch from Thursday through Saturday, helping State College lock up its second consecutive Pinckney Division crown.

 

Pitchers of the Week

For the week ending Aug. 24

[TheCrew07]

so I guess we can put Polanco back on the daily list for this thread, now that he's been sent back down to AAA after stinking up the joint since the ASB.

 

Polanco and Taveras have talent, no doubt...but it's comical how much was made into them being the next Mike Trout caliber impact player once they were called up to the bigs. Their early struggles are alot more commonplace than instantly being the best player in the league like Trout was a month after he came up to the show.

 

Maybe there was more to Super 2 status timeframes holding these guys in the minors earlier this season...

 

Yes anytime a prospect doesn't set the world on fire in his first big league test the player was vastly overrated. Who ever claimed either guy would be the next Mike Trout? I said they will be impact players and talked about Polanco's athleticism, but how many people ever compare a prospect to a HOF type player?

 

I would argue the Pirates would have been better served letting him work through his issues. However if you google Polanco you'll find a ton of Clint Hurdl comments about Polanco's swing and how they can't afford him to underperform and so on... but only because Schnider got hot in limited opportunities and kept it going. This is no different than what happened to Gamel with McGehee... however the Brewers are doing just fine with Segura in the line-up everyday and a terrible 1B platoon. I think the effect of one struggling player on the offense is greatly exaggerated by fans, media, and people around baseball.

 

Is it ever ideal for a player to struggle? Certainly not, but every team should expect young players to be up and down early in their career... Gennett, Escobar, and Braun have been the only Brewer prospects who hit the ground running out of the gate and when Alcides struggled the following year Macha sat him every time he didn't hit well over a 3 game span.

 

Every team has both cold and hot hitters in the line-up every single day, given enough time both Polanco and Taveras will likely turn it around and be a thorn in our side for years to come.

[TheCrew07]

Pipeline Perspectives: Bryant ready to help Cubs

Third-base prospect's performance in Triple-A worthy of September callup to Chicago

By Jonathan Mayo 8/27/2014 10:00 A.M. ET