Minor League Update: Games of July 10th

Hitter of the Day:

Anderson Franco, 3B, Washington Nationals (Low-A, Hagerstown): 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, K
While big and strong, Franco has missed lots of time to injuries (such as a back injury that limited him to 24 games last year) but still showcases potential. Still 19 years of age, Franco has a lean 6-foot-3, 190-pound body that can add to his already above-average raw power. But he still struggles with recognizing off-speed and has an overall aggressive approach.

Pitcher of the Day:

Justin Dunn, RHP, New York Mets (High-A, St. Lucie): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 K
It has been an up-and-down season for Dunn, mostly down but here is an up! I still believe in him, and there is lots to like. This is his first season working full-time as a starter, and there are issues with his overall consistency, but let’s not put him in a bullpen role quite yet.

Other Notable Performances:

Zack Collins, C, Chicago White Sox (High-A, Winston-Salem): 3-5, 2 R, HR, 5 RBI
Collins is doing what most expected him to do thus far, work counts, get on base, hit home runs, show some skills to stick behind the plate. He won’t ever be a high-average hitter, but the bar for catchers is low, especially when they have his kind of power.

D.J. Wilson, OF, Chicago Cubs (Low-A, South Bend): 4-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, K
While he has not progressed as fast as hoped, the former fourth-rounder still shows a lot of promise and potential. A 70 runner, Wilson plays a mean center field and could be an above-average defender there. His compact swing is short and quick to the ball, has struggled recognizing off-speed to this point.

Austin Dean, OF, Miami Marlins (Double-A, Jacksonville): 3-5, 2 R, HR, RBI
While only a high prospect by the Marlins standpoint (it only gets worse from here), Dean does some things well enough to look like a fourth outfielder. He can play both corner spots, he has above-average raw power, and has shown a feel to hit in his career.

Ryan Mountcastle, SS, Baltimore Orioles (High-A, Frederick): 3-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB
Mountcastle is most likely not a SS. Don’t believe me? Read what Victor Filoromo says about him in our last MMTP.

Kevin Maitan, SS, Atlanta Braves (Rookie, Gulf Coast): 2-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI
After missing most of XST and some of GCL with an undisclosed injury, Maitan has hit the ground running thus far. The bat is the calling card as he shows the tools to be a plus hitter with at least above-average pop. Oh yeah, he’s 17 and born in the year 2000.

Austin Allen, C, San Diego Padres (High-A, Lake Elsinore): 1-4, R, HR, RBI, K
The good news, Allen has big power and has hit in games with it. The bad news? He isn’t a catcher, he has a well-below-average arm with a slow transfer, which is why he has only thrown out 22 percent of runners this year.

Garrett Stubbs, C, Houston Astros (Double-A, Corpus Christi): 4-4, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI
The third love-child of Wilson Karaman (behind Edwin Rios and Luis Urias), we had a lot of discussion about Stubbs on our Astros top 10 list. We ultimately said, “The Guy We Wish Was, Like, Two Inches Taller and 30 Pounds Bigger”. He has caught more this year, which was a big question mark heading into the year.

Royce Lewis, SS, Minnesota Twins (Rookie, Gulf Coast): 3-5, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI
Safe to say he is getting comfortable in pro ball, which means he might get an assignment outside of the complex soon.

Jeff Brigham, RHP, Miami Marlins (High-A, Jupiter): 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K
I have never been big on Brigham due to a flat fastball and a lack of a usable change. But Javier Barragan talked about him in a recent Ten Pack here.

Jesus Luzardo, LHP, Washington Nationals (Rookie, Gulf Coast): 5 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Speaking of Javier, here he is talking about Luzardo during XST. Luzardo was considered a first-round talent in the 2016 draft, but fell to the third round because he underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2016. Now healthy, Luzardo likewise might not be long for GCL.

Matthew Jones, LHP, Minnesota Twins (Rookie, Gulf Coast): 4 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 3 K, SV
The score in this contest was 13-1, Jones entered the game when it was 6-0 but because of these little quirks, Jones gets the save. As for the pitcher himself, Jones was a 28^th rounder in 2016, he is rail thin (6-foot-2, 150 pounds) and is all projection as he is mainly a high-80s FB arm.

Fight Another Day:

Estevan Florial, OF, New York Yankees (Low-A, Charleston): 0-5, 4 K
Sometimes, when you are watching the home run derby and trying to be like Aaron Judge, you forget that baseball isn’t batting practice.

Carlos Rincon, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (Low-A, Great Lakes): 0-4, 3 K
Do you like big power? Then look right at Rincon and the impressive shows he puts on during batting practice. The other stuff? Hey see how far that ball was hit?