Prospects of the Week: July 8 – July 14

July 15, 2019 Jake Berry General, MiLB, Prospects of the Week 2

Chicago White Sox prospect Luis Robert, July 7, 2019, Futures Game, Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH. Photo credit - Scott Greene, @Scotty_Ballgame on Twitter
Tweet
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Each week during the Minor League Baseball season we pick the hitting and pitching prospects from each level (AAA, AA, A+, A, A- (Short Season) and Rookie ball who, in our opinion, had the best week. We’re always on the lookout for candidates, so tweet us (@Prospects1500, @berrys_baseball and @Scotty_Ballgame) when you see a great performance.

Jake Berry and Scott Greene award their Prospects of the Week hitters and pitchers for each level, while also presenting other names at each level that are just as deserving of POTW honors. Enjoy, and make sure you’re keeping an eye out for these prospects in your dynasty leagues.


Triple-A

Hitter: Luis Robert, OF (Chicago White Sox #3 Pre-Season)
Charlotte Knights (4 G, .438/.500/.938, 7 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 HBP, SF, SB)
We think it’s safe to assume Robert is comfortable in Triple-A. Fresh off his Futures Game weekend, the 21-year-old has a hit in each of his first four games since the All-Star break including a three hit, two homer debut at the level.


Honorable Mentions:
Alex Jackson, C (Atlanta Braves #20)
Gwinnett Stripers (3 G, .429/.429/1.143, 6 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Jackson came off of the Triple-A All Star break with a four hit, two homer game to start off the second half hot.


Jared Walsh, 1B (Los Angeles Angels #25)
Salt Lake Bees (4 G, .471/.526/1.118, 8 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI)

Pitcher: Mitch Keller, RHP (Pittsburgh Pirates #1)
Indianapolis Indians (W, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K)
Perhaps we have come to expect this from Keller as he is certainly no stranger to POTW honors. The 23-year-old got a 17% swinging strike rate in last week’s start and while he allowed more balls in the air than on the ground, he still induced weak contact for the most part.


Honorable Mentions:
Thomas Jankins, RHP (Milwaukee Brewers, NR)
San Antonio Missions (W, 7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)

Rogelio Armenteros, RHP (Houston Astros #21)
Round Rock Express (W, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)

 

Double-A

Hitter: Kevin Smith, 3B (Toronto Blue Jays #4)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (4 G, .400/.389/1.267, 6 H, 1 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SF)
Four homers in four games for the Blue Jays preseason number four prospect. Scott Greene saw two of them Friday night in Hartford. One was an upper deck oppo shot, and the other was over everything in left.


Honorable Mention:
Kyle Lewis, OF (Seattle Mariners #8)
Arkansas Travelers (7 G, .333/.379/.815, 7 R, 9 H, 4 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI)

Yariel Gonzalez, 1B (St. Louis Cardinals #22)
Springfield Cardinals (7 G, .448/.500/.690, 13 H, 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB, only 1 SO in 32 PA)

Jo Adell, OF (Los Angeles Angels #1)
Mobile BayBears (4 G, .429/.529/1.000, 6 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, SB)

Pitcher: Nabil Crismatt, RHP (Seattle Mariners, NR preseason)
Arkansas Travelers (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K)
I giggled when I saw the statline from this game and yes, that was just one game. Crismatt faced just one batter over the minimum in this complete game gem. He was living in the strike zone in this outing, but it clearly didn’t hurt the young righty. The big question here is, where do he slot in Joe Rush’s upcoming Mariners midseason Top 50?


Honorable Mentions:
Michael Baumann, RHP (Baltimore Orioles #25)
Bowie Baysox (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)

Rony Garcia, RHP (New York Yankees, NR)
Trenton Thunder (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K)
After losing 8 of his last 10 starts, this was a huge game for Garcia. In this 108 pitch outing, 73 of them were strikes.

 

High-A

Hitter: Cal Raleigh, C (Seattle Mariners #16)
Modesto Nuts (6 G, .350/.480/1.100, 6 R, 7 H, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 5 BB)
Seattle’s 3rd round pick in 2018 had a tremendous week, powered by a 3-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI game on Wednesday. Back on June 7th he was hitting .223 and he’s raised his average to .261 since then. Another great week has now earned Raleigh a promotion to Double-A Arkansas.


Honorable Mentions:
Cole Freeman, OF/2B (Washington Nationals #44)
Potomac Nationals (6 G, .500/.520/.667, 12 H, 2 2B, 3B, 5 RBI and 5 SB)

Yanio Perez, OF (Texas Rangers, NR)
Down East Wood Ducks (7 G, .407/.407/.815, 11 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI)
The furthest faller in our Rangers Top 50 put together a solid week and showed flashes of the upside we talked about a year ago.

Pitcher: Leo Crawford, LHP (Los Angeles Dodgers, NR)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (2 GS, 14 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 18 K)
Crawford entered the season having dropped off Jonathan Tripp’s preseason Dodgers Top 50 list. In his 22-year-old season, he’s making a case to make it back onto the list, pitching well for High-A Rancho Cucamonga. In his first start this week he dominated through 9 complete innings, giving up only 3 hits, without walking anyone and striking out 10.


Honorable Mentions:
Spencer Howard, RHP (Philadelphia Phillies #11)
Clearwater Threshers (2 GS, 9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 14 K)
Since returning from injury, the Phillies are taking it slow with Howard and slowly building up his innings. His two games this week were 4 IP and 5 IP, and he was lights out, giving up only 1 hit and fanning 7 per game.


Kris Bubic, LHP (Kansas City Royals #15)
Wilmington Blue Rocks (1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K)

Brenan Hanifee, RHP (Baltimore Orioles #29)
Frederick Keys (2 GS, W, 16 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, including a 9 IP, 5 H, complete game shutout on Sunday)

Ian McKinney, LHP (Seattle Mariners, NR)
Modesto Nuts (1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K), second straight week on the POTW list.

 

Single-A

Hitter: Connor Scott, OF (Miami Marlins #8)
Clinton Lumberkings (5 G, .524/.524/.810, 11 H, 4 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, SB)
Miami’s 1st round pick from last season hit safely in all 5 games he played in this past week, tallying at least 2 hits in each contest. He’s raised his average from .213 on June 20th to .249, as he’s currently in the middle of a 7-game hitting steak.


Honorable Mentions:
Griffin Benson, 1B (Atlanta Braves, NR)
Rome Braves (6 G, .400/.556/.950, 5 R, 8 H, 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB)

John Jones, C (Oakland A’s, NR)
Beloit Snappers (6 G, .483/.500/.552, 7 R, 14 H (most in MiLB), 2 2B, 7 RBI, including a 5-6 game last Monday)

Pitcher: Brayan Bello, RHP (Boston Red Sox #27)
Greenville Drive (1 GS, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 K)
An absolutely dominant outing! Bello was one of Scott Greene’s sleeper Sox prospects heading into 2019. Boston didn’t even start him in Short Season Lowell this year, but challenged the 20-year-old in full season Single-A. Here’s the blurb from Greene’s preseason Red Sox Top 50:
SLEEPER ALERT! Bello will likely not be on many others’ radar, so click that “watch player” option on your dynasty league’s website. He posted sick numbers last summer and was in contention for Rookie ball Pitcher Prospect of the Week of several occasions. I’m really excited to see what’s in store for the 19-year-old Dominican right-hander, although we’ll probably see him go another season in the GCL.
Well he’s not in the Gulf Coast rookie league anymore. But keep a close watch. He has had several poor outings so far and his overall ERA sits in the high 6’s.


Honorable Mentions:
Ryan Wilson, LHP (Baltimore Orioles, NR)
Delmarva Shorebirds (1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K)

Daison Acosta, RHP (New York Mets, NR)
Columbia Fireflies (1 GS, W, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K)

Luis Medina, RHP (New York Yankees #9)
Charleston River Dogs (1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K)

 

Short Season-A

Hitter: Sean Reynolds, 1B (Miami Marlins #50)
Batavia Muckdogs (5 G, .467/.600/1.000, 7 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, SB)
Reynolds began the season with Single-A Clinton, but was assigned to Short Season ball on June 20th. His first 5 games with Batavia this year were this past week and he got the ball rolling again in hopes of climbing up the Marlins farm system ladder. In his first game action since June 16 he went 3-4 with 2 HR and 5 RBI vs. Lowell on Wednesday and followed that up with 4 more hits in the next 3 games.


Honorable Mention:
Chase Strumpf, 2B (Chicago Cubs, NR)
Eugene Emeralds (6 G, .435/.448/.826, 8 R, 10 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI)

Pitcher: Zack Trageton, RHP (Tampa Bay Rays, NR)
Hudson Valley Renegades (2 GS, 2 W, 11.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Two solid starts for the 20-year-old who may not be on many prospect ranking lists. The 6th round 2016 pick picked up two wins on the road this week in Vermont and Mahoning Valley, limiting the opposing hitters to .228 and .221 averages against respectively.

Honorable Mentions:
Jaison Vilera, RHP (New York Mets #22)
Brooklyn Cyclones (1 GS, W, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K)

Adam Stauffer, RHP (Baltimore Orioles, NR)
Aberdeen Ironbirds (1 GS, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), but then promoted to Class-A Delmarva and tossed 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 4 K in his debut there.

Julio Frias, LHP (Miami Marlins, NR)
Batavia Muckdogs (2 GS, W, 11 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 10 K)

Leonardo Rodriguez, RHP (Baltimore Orioles #47)
Aberdeen Ironbirds (2 GS, 11 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 12 K)

 

Rookie

Hitter: CJ Abrams, SS (San Diego Padres, preseason NR – midseason rank coming shortly)
AZL Padres 1 (5 G, .500/.520/.955, 11 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, SF, 3 SB)
The Padres‘ 2019 1st round pick keeps hitting!  His crazy slash is .446/.470/.717/1.187 after his first 20 professional games. It’ll be interesting to see if the organization promotes him to the Tri-City Dust Devils Short Season team before the end of the year. Or could they surprise us and jump him to Fort Wayne in the MWL?


Honorable Mentions:
Diowill Burgos, OF (St. Louis Cardinals, NR)
DSL Cardinals Red (4 G, .583/.688/1.583, 7 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, SH)


Bryce Ball, 1B (Atlanta Braves, NR)
Danville Braves (5 G, .350/.381/.900, 5 R, 7 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI)

Pitcher: Brandom Sanchez, LHP (New York Yankees, NR)
GCL Yankees East (1 GS, W, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 77% SwStr%!)
If you look at swinging strike percentages each week you’re usually going to find all of the highest numbers in Rookie ball. That’s just the way that stat works. Not a lot of innings pitched. Young hitters that can’t catch up to the heaters some of these youngsters are throwing. But to see one this high (77%) in 5 full innings is almost unprecedented. It was an awesome game for Brandom, but let’s keep an eye on this 19-year-old to see how he follows it up this week and next.

Honorable Mention:
Luis D. Garcia, RHP (Cleveland Indians, NR)
AZL Indians Blue (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)
Not to be confused with Luis C. Garcia on the same Indians rookie ball squad.

If there’s any player we missed who you think should be honored or mentioned as a Prospect of the Week, please comment below or hit us up on Twitter to let us know. Until next week, thanks for reading and keep prospecting!

Jake Berry

I reside in Carrollton, Georgia and love everything baseball. I graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management. I have a passion for the minor leagues and have high hopes of visiting as many minor league parks as I can. I enjoy the statistical side of the game, especially sabermetrics. I am also an avid baseball card collector and fantasy baseball player.

Tweet
Share
Pin
0 Shares




2 Comments

    • Thanks. We had Marlins next to his name but mistakenly listed Mets in the blurb. That’s fixed now. Appreciate you reading and reaching out.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*