Prospect of the Day:
Tyler Jay, LHP, Minnesota Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 8 IP, 2 H, BB, 11 K
We could reasonably rename this column “Tyler Jay Update” every fifth day at this point. He’s been forcing the issue of consistent spotlight all month, with yesterday’s May capper his best effort in a professional uniform. Both hits were singles, and he didn’t so much as go to a two-ball count in recording his final 15 outs. Not a bad day at the office.
Other Prospects of Note:
Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing): 8 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 10 K. Reid-Foley has completed seven innings in a start exactly twice in his 40 professional turns to date, and those two starts have been his most recent two starts. He should earn himself a rematch with High-A hitters in short order.
Andrew Moore, RHP, Seattle Mariners (Double-A Jackson): 7 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 5 H, 5 K, HRA. Moore’s second start at Double-A went considerably better than his first one, in which he lasted just three innings. The raw stuff isn’t top shelf, but his sum-of-parts package impressed in the Cal League and can hold up as long as his command does against higher-level hitters.
Mitch Keller, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 6 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 6 K. From one advanced-command top-75 pick to another, Keller bounced back from his first “poor” start of the season and now sits on 64 strikeouts and just five walks through 57 innings. Adam McInturff enjoyed what he saw two starts ago, and if you live in the Bradenton area you just may be able to soon as well.
Jake Bauers, RF, Tampa Bay Rays (Double-A Montgomery): 3-4, R, HR, 3 RBI. Bauers’ production has slowed considerably in May, though he’s continued to take plenty of walks. He continues to work out in right field, though it remains an unlikely eventual landing spot for him, and days like yesterday’ll need to happen with some frequency if he’s going to develop into a starter down the line.
Adam Engel, CF, Chicago White Sox (Double-A Birmingham): 2-4, R, 2B. Engel’s demotion to High-A was short-lived, and this was the reigning MVP of the Arizona Fall League’s third multi-hit effort in six starts since returning to Birmingham. He’s got the glove and the wheels, and if the bat holds up better in his second go at Double-A pitching, the 24-year-old can make a push towards the South Side by September.
Marc Brakeman, RHP, Boston Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 6 IP, ER, 5 H, BB, 9 K. I saw Brakeman and his glorious changeup baffle a solid Falmouth lineup on the Cape a couple of summers ago, but pro hitters had been much less impressed with his stuff until this start.
Christian Walker, 1B, Baltimore Orioles (Triple-A Norfolk): 4-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, K. It’s been all struggle most of the time for Walker lately, with 33 strikeouts to just eight walks lowlighting a .209 month of May. The 25-year-old is now a thousand plate appearances into his Triple-A career and hasn’t quite ever been able to translate his low-minors game to the top levels.
Rowdy Tellez, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 3-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI. Tellez had been working on a soft six-game hitting streak before extending it in style yesterday. He continues to hold his own solidly if unspectacularly at a tender young age for Double-A.
Dan Vogelbach, (DH), Chicago Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 3-4, BB, R, HR, 2 RBI, K. Pleeeeaaaase trade him to an AL team immediately, thank you Theo.
Josh Ockimey, 1B, Boston Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 3-4, BB, 3 RBI. All of the first-base prospects. That’s what you get in my updates. Boston’s fifth-rounder in 2014 has been on a tear lately and now leads the Sally in OBP and SLG.
Junior Fernandez, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (Low-A Peoria): 6 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K. Fernandez possesses an electric fastball, but it takes a lot of effort to generate his elite velocity, and the secondary development is going to take some time. Still, this is yet another exciting, high-ceiling arm in the St. Louis system.
Malquin Canelo, SS, Philadelphia Phillies (High-A Clearwater): 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI. Canelo has shown some early signs of improving his approach, though it hasn’t yet translated to steady production. That’s okay, as he remains well young for High-A and the possessor of a plus glove at the six-spot. The ingredients are there for enough bat to compliment the leather.
Jeff Brigham, RHP, Miami Marlins (High-A Jupiter): 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K. One of the return pieces from the Dodgers in last summer’s Mat Latos trade, Brigham showed flashes of high-leverage potential thanks to a high-octane fastball that touched 99 and a slider with late bite in the low-80s. He has struggled mightily since changing addresses, though on the strength of this outing he no longer sits in the ERA basement of the FSL.
Jose Berrios, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 5 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HRA. Jose Berrios is not broken Jose Berrios is not broken Jose Berrios is not broken Jose Berrios is…
Austin Barnes, C/2B/3B, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 1-4, K. I include Barnes only because I don’t think his athleticism and versatility gets quite as much attention as it should. By our catching metrics he’s been an all-world elite pitch-framer and defender behind the dish in each of the past two seasons for which we have high-minors data, and last night he played third base. He’s seen time at second and in center as well this year.
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