Pitching Prospect of the Day: Jake Arrieta, RHP, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K. This has to be a very positive sign for the Cubs. Arrieta was acquired from the Orioles for Scott Feldman with the thought that he may benefit from a change of scenery, and performances like this one keep that hope alive.
Position Prospect of the Day: Victor Roache, RF, Brewers (Low-A Wisconsin): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI. Roache has the raw power and arm strength to handle right field. The problem that scouts keep noting in conversations is that his hit tool may not be major-league quality.
Other notable prospect performances on August 4:
“The Good”
- Alec Asher, RHP, Rangers (High-A Myrtle Beach): 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 10 K. Asher has a usable four-pitch mix with a plus fastball. His secondary offerings, curveball/slider/changeup, have taken steps forward in 2013 and grade out as future major-league offerings. Asher profiles as a back-end starter.
- Eddie Butler, RHP, Rockies (Double-A Tulsa): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Butler’s prospect stock has taken leaps forward in 2013. He started the year in Low-A and is now throwing in Double-A. The fastball can touch the upper 90s when needed, and he adds a potential plus-plus changeup with great life, and a potential plus slider. Some scouts wonder if Butler’s mechanics will allow him to remain a starter, but if he is able to, he has a front-of-the-rotation ceiling.
- David Holmberg, LHP, Diamondbacks (Double-A Mobile): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Holmberg has a four-pitch mix featuring a solid-average changeup. The fastball/curveball/slider all grade around average and he profiles as a solid backe-nd starter; 17.0 IP, 15 H, 3 ER, 9 BB, 13 K in last three starts.
- Drew Hutchison, RHP, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Hutchison is building up his arm strength after having Tommy John surgery last year. The stuff is there for him to be a quality starting pitcher, and this is all part of the recovery process. It has been a disappointing season for the Blue Jays at the major-league level, so I would not expect a promotion this month.
- Steven Moya, RF, Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Moya has plenty of tools, but the hit tool has always been a question mark. Moya’s power is top-of-the-scale, but if the quality of the hit tool does not develop he won’t have enough in-game pop to profile as a regular.
- Daniel Norris, LHP, Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. I’ve always been a big fan of Norris, who has the potential for three plus pitches (fastball/curveball/changeup). I understand the numbers aren’t exactly glowing, but the strikeout percentage has always been good. Norris has the mid-rotation potential.
“The Bad”
- Brandon Nimmo, CF, Mets (Low-A Savannah): 0-5, 4 K. Nimmo stuck out, in a negative way, during the Futures Game batting practice. I understand Nimmo is still a very raw prospect, but he was selected before some high-level prospects in the 2011 draft. The pressure is on going forward and Nimmo will need to generate more hard contact.
- Mitch Walding, 3B, Phillies (Low-A Lakewood): 0-4, 3 K. Walding received a large bonus and has not had much success in his first season in Low-A. He has been getting caught on his front foot and will need to make adjustments going forward.
- Sebastian Valle, C, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 1-4, 3 K. Entering the 2013 season, it looked like the Phillies had a plethora of good catching prospects. However, the trio (Tommy Joseph, Sebastian Valle, Cameron Rupp) has not broken through this year.
“The Thank You”
I really appreciate Chris Rodriguez picking me up last week. This was my first experience at a National Showcase, and it was a great one. Nick Faleris took tons of video and at some point in the near future I imagine our thoughts about the players will appear in a piece here at BP.
“The Anticipation”
Tuesday and Wednesday’s MLU will be a little different than the usual format. I believe it will draw a good amount of interest, so look forward to that in the next couple of days.
Thank you for reading
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Hand injuries tend to linger and can mess up swings. And the production did drop off the instant he got injured. Coincidence ? The League learning about his weaknesses ? A flukishly hot start ?
Of course, the longer away the injury, the less likely it is the reason for his struggles.
Nimmo is barely 20, so he'd be the equivalent to a draft pick out of College next spring. 2014 will be huge for him. Is he going to be closer to Grady Sizemore or closer to Donovan Tate ?
Being a Cubs fan, I have noticed that there are long stretches where Cubs prospects don't appear on minor league updates (the past week or so not withstanding). Could be coincidence, could be circumstantial, could be an error in my judgement (I am not running a statistical analysis here). I wouldn't find this odd if the Cubs had a poor farm system, however, given that the Cubs have a top 5 farm system in the vast majority of (if not all) major publications, I do find it surprising that sometimes long stretches pass (I think I counted over a week recently) with no Cubs making the good parts of these lists (when Baez has a high K game, he usually gets a crap call out). Again, this is just me using the eye test, and I have not kept an eye out for other teams.
On a side not, as for Arrieta, I believe this is a minor league update used to report the happenings across the minor leagues, not necessarily a "prospect" update. I think the moniker "Pitching Prospect of the Day" is just being used for simplicity. It could just as easily read "Minor League Pitching Performance of the Day". Then again, I could be wrong about this whole paragraph.
If you want to check for yourself, here are the times of his plate appearances from yesterday's game on milb.tv
1st PA: 0:48
2nd PA: 30:50
3rd PA: 1:14:10
4rd PA: 1:46:18
5th PA: 2:30:30