- Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 3-for-5, 2 2B, HR (5), R, 3 RBI, K. 15 total bases in last four games have raised slugging 59 points; .268/.290/.464 in 37 games.
- Trevor Bauer, RHP, Diamondbacks (High-A Visalia): 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K. With 17 strikeouts in his first nine innings, he'll likely move to the upper levels with a shot at reaching the big leagues in September.
- Jorge Bonifacio, OF, Royals (Rookie-level Burlington): 3-for-5, 2B, HR (5), 2 R, 3 RBI. 18-year-old Dominican has big offensive ceiling if he can temper approach; .293/.324/.483 in 44 games.
- Tony Cingrani, LHP, Reds (Rookie-level Billings): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. Third-round pick has well above-average velocity and command; 36 strikeouts and just two walks in 25.1 innings.
- Alexander Colome, RHP, Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. 2.25 ERA in four Southern League starts, but 14 walks and 13 strikeouts in 24 innings points to future regression.
- Casey Crosby, LHP, Tigers (Double-A Erie): First scoreless outing since late June; 3.84 ERA in 20 starts.
- Travis D'Arnaud, C, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 3-for-4, 2B, HR (16), 2 R, RBI, K. Numbers are crossing into crazy-great land with 1018 OPS since All-Star break; .329/.397/.564 overall in 93 games.
- Tim Federowicz, C, Dodgers (Triple-A Albuquerque): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI. BB, K. First three-hit game for Dodgers after going deep in three straight games.
- Jae-Hoon Ha, OF, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI; 2-for-4, CS. 20-year-old Korean was hitting .241 entering August, but 16-for-32 run in last nine games have him up to .300/.336/.457 in 37 games.
- Destin Hood, OF, Nationals (High-A Potomac): 3-for-4, 2 HR (11), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Corner outfielder has solid tools across the board with double-digit home run and stolen base potential; .279/.366/.463 in 105 games.
- Brett Jackson, OF, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 3-for-5, 2 R, BB, K, SB. Up to .313/.407/.615 in 26 Triple-A games; hard to see him not spending most of 2012 in the big leagues.
- Duanel Jones, 3B, Padres (Rookie-level AZL): 1-for-5, HR (8), 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 K. 18-year-old Dominican has real power and huge defensive issues; .270/.352/.496 in 34 games.
- Hak-Ju Lee, SS, Rays (High-A Charlotte): 2-for-5, R, K. Three straight multi-hit games for the first time in over a month; .317/.389/.442 overall.
- Jake Marisnick, OF, Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing): 3-for-4, R, K, SB. 11-for-17 in last four games with 19 total bases; .322/.394/.497 in 95 games with 29 stolen bases as he's rocketing up prospect lists.
- Kevin Matthews, LHP, Rangers (Short-season Spokane): 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K. Northwest League debut for first round pick who had 1.50 ERA in seven AZL games.
- Tyler Pastornicky, SS, Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 1-for-3; 3-for-3, SB; Hitting .412/.446/.471 in 21 Triple-A games.
- Jerry Sands, OF, Dodgers (Triple-A Albuquerque): 2-for-6, 2B, HR (21), 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K. Eight home runs in 105 at-bats since All-Star break, but hitting just .200 during that time; .272/.343/.575 overall.
- Ravel Santana, OF, Yankees (Rookie-level GCL): 3-for-4, 2B, R, K, SB. 19-year-old Dominican is a high-ceiling tools machine with above-average power and speed; .281/.345/.548 in 36 games.
- Jonathan Schoop, 2B, Orioles (High-A Frederick): 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, K. Finally finding his swing in High-A; six-game hitting streak has slash line up to .243/.308/.332 in 52 games.
- Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays (Triple-A Las Vegas): 4-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 SB. Your guess on him is as good as mine at this point.
- Josh Vitters, 3B, Cubs (Double-A Mississippi): 2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI, CS; 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 K. Hitting .406 in August in .287/.322/.463 overall; there is progress here, but is it enough?
- Kolten Wong, 2B, Cardinals (Low-A Quad Cities): 3-for-4, 2B, RBI, K; 3-for-4, 2B, HR (4), 2 R, 2 RBI. 10-for-17 in last four games and up to .327/.385/.497; quick start to career could get him to Double-A by the end of 2012.
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Sure his ERA will regress if his peripherals stay lousy, but the hope would be that his peripherals will also "regress" to a more appropriate level for his stuff. That is assuming his stuff in AA is pretty good. Presumably the conservative Rays wouldn't have promoted him if they thought he'd only be able to generate middle peripherals.
But I think, in order to support your view that the Cardinals are solely college stat focused, you have to ignore the Shelby Miller selection, as well as Tyrell Jenkins (and, to a lesser extent the Carlos Martinez signing and the would-have-been Wagner Mateo signing). The Cardinals are not intentionally shying away from upside. I think it's more likely that the Cardinals have a list of amateur players they like, some polished some raw, and they draft the ones still available when they pick. They might prefer college hitters more than other teams, but I don't think they're afraid to draft upside guys either.
The Cox and Wong selections are better explained, in my mind, by the fact that they both played well in the Cape Cod league, where the hitters use wood bats. The aluminum-wood bat transition does not go well for every college hitter, and I think the Cardinals organization weighs wood bat performance heavily. Wallace was named a Cape Cod All-Star too.
Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I'm a bad person.
Despite the likes of Miller, Martinez, Tavares, Jenkins, Cox leading the pack, Wong and Ryan Jackson most excite me. Looking forward to the day the Cards field a league average or better middle infield. It's been way too long.
Looking forward to the next podcast!
If both Hak-Ju Lee and Beckham reach the majors, do you envision (or do you believe that the Tampa organization envisions) a middle of the infield with Lee at SS and Bekcham at 2B?