As many 2015 first-rounders continue their ascent up the organizational ladder, a 2014 first-round pick had his halted by surgery. Here’s this week’s wrap:
On The Shelf
2014 first-round pick Cole Tucker underwent shoulder surgery, which could knock him out for the majority of the 2016 season, as the timetable to return is typically 10-12 months.
Congrats on Your New Job
Early round picks Thomas Eshelman (Astros, second round) and Taylor Ward (Angels, first round) were both promoted to Low-A following short stints in short-season.
The Dodgers promoted a troika of players to Triple-A, sending former first-rounder Chris Anderson, pop-up-prospect-with-a-nasty-changeup Jharel Cotton, and tertiary-piece-of-the-trade-sending-Juan Uribe-to-Atlanta Juan Jaime to Oklahoma City.
Pirates first-round pick Ke’Bryan Hayes was sent to short-season ball after spending some time in the GCL. Similarly, Rays’ first-rounder Garrett Whitley was promoted to Hudson Valley.
Though the Astros proverbially emptied the farm to acquire Scott Kazmir, Carlos Gomez, and Mike Fiers, in reality they have plenty of guys worth mentioning. One such guy is Frances Martes, who received a quick promotion to Double-A Corpus Christi.
While he made much bigger news earlier in August, David Denson, along with former first-round pick Jacob Gatewood both received promotions to Low-A Wisconsin. The Brewers didn’t let Helena stay unstocked for long, as international splash Gilbert Lara and 2015 first-round pick Trenton Clark were transferred to short-season ball.
Back in Action
The Asheville Tourists (Rockies) received Wes Rogers back from the DL today. He had been out since June 30.
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In short, it can sometimes help get a player's feet wet for his assignment for next year, or reward him for his progress that season. Sometimes it's because the team he's been promoted to will be playing in the post-season, thus giving him more games. It could be any number of reasons, but typically it's for some form of additional experience that can't be had by remaining stagnant.