Minor League Ball - All Posts

Minor League Ball Gameday, May 22

2013-05-22T18:32:17Z

Good afternoon prospect watchers. I spent the morning working on draft research and am behind the eight-ball with my schedule right now. My son's 8th grade graduation ceremony is this afternoon and I have to get going, but you guys need a gameday thread, so here it is.

***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday thread has the normal highlights and boxscore notes.

***Tomorrow's Prospect of the Day will be Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles, who as you likely know is scheduled to make his first major league start. Fridays' Prospect of the Day will be Sean Nolin of the Toronto Blue Jays. Jarred Cosart of the Astros has been pushed back to Monday.

I am also planning a piece on Chris Colabello of the Minnesota Twins, who found his way into the major league lineup. I'm also working on something about Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect Joc Pederson and New York Mets outfield prospect Cesar Puello. I think I also need to look at Tony Sanchez of the Pirates. Plus all the draft stuff on the task list. Busy busy.

***Texas Rangers prospect Martin Perez had a good game yesterday, throwing seven shutout innings for Triple-A, fanning seven, walking nobody, and allowing just three hits. His previous outing on May 16th was decent enough but before that he got hammered in two Double-A starts and his composite ERA on the season is 6.05 in 19.1 innings. albeit with a pleasant 14/3 K/BB.

I have given up trying to figure out what Perez will do. He's still just 22 and all the talent scouts have seen is still in there, but he's so god-damn erratic from start to start that I don't know what to think.

***Today's slate of minor league contests.

College Baseball Roadtrip: San Marcos Edition

2013-05-22T17:12:01Z

Good afternoon everyone, I would like to start with an apology for my lack of recent material. School caught up with me and I had to focus on that. Luckily there's been plenty of great stuff by everyone else. Below I have a few notes on two games at Texas State in San Marcos, TX. The first game saw the Bobcats host Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday April 27. The second was Texas State-Rice on May 14.

Coming up I will have some thoughts from this past weekend, during which I caught five games in three days in the Washington, D.C. area. Shortly thereafter, I'll have coverage of the first two days of the C-USA Tournament in Houston, TX, and possibly a look at the Southland Tournament in nearby Sugarland, TX.

Back to San Marcos. Only two real thoughts from these games. The first is that Texas State looked horrible defensively both times that I saw them, making one error against CSU Bakersfield and six (!) against Rice. The second is that it looks like Rice has a gem of a third baseman again. He's not getting the attention that Rendon did, but Shane Hoelscher is having another great season at the plate and is making web gems look easy. Since I started really following Rice around 1999-2000, they've had a string of fantastic glove/bat combinations at the hot corner: Hunter Brown (22nd Round), Craig Stansberry (5th Round), Adam Morris (47th Round), Diego Seastrunk (14th Round, as a catcher), Josh Rodriguez (2nd Round, as a shortstop), and Anthony Rendon (1st Round).

	Michael Aquino, OF (Jr)


Stat Line:	.335 BA, 7 HR, 36 RBI, .398 OBP, .528 SLG
Notes:	"Aquino is a better fit for a corner outfield spot, but it remains to be seen if he’s got the foot speed to make a position switch work. If so, his draft stock will get a nice bounce: his hit tool ranks up there among the best in the conference." - Baseball Draft Report
My Take:	2-5, 2B; Good bat that has spent most of this season as the DH.
	Cael Brockmeyer, C (Jr)


Stat Line:	.333 BA, 4 HR, 4 3B, .478 SLG, .413 OBP
Notes:	Cape Cod Video - Interview - #7 Prospect in WAC (Baseball America) - "Brockmeyer’s size (6-5, 220 pounds) may necessitate a permanent move to first at some point, but his defense at present is good enough to stick for the foreseeable future. It goes without saying that he’s a better prospect the longer he can catch, but it is also worth mentioning that his bat is interesting enough that he’d also be the top first base prospect in the conference if that’s where you think he’ll eventually wind up." - Baseball Draft Report
My Take:	2-3, BB, RBI; Huge. I first noticed his size when there was a meeting at the mound and he was a head taller than the rest of the infield. First time I can remember seeing that.
	Leon Byrd, OF (Fr)


Stat Line:	.241 BA, 1 HR, .394 OBP
Notes:	Mets 25th Round Pick in 2012 - #3 Conference USA Newcomer (Baseball America)
My Take:	1-3, 1R, 1RBI; Missed a cutoff man that allowed a Texas State runner to take second base and score on the next hit. Made up for it with an RBI single to right in the bottom half of the inning.
	Keenan Cook, OF (Jr)


Stat Line:	.308 BA, .386 OBP
Notes:
My Take:	0 - 5
	Kyle Finnegan, RHP (Jr)


Stat Line:	4-3, 4.87 ERA, 61 IP (17 app, 10 starts), 59 K, 34 BB, 71 H
Notes:	#1 Prospect in the WAC (Baseball America) - Profile by Baseball Draft Report - Draft Profile
My Take:	Vs. Rice: 2 IP, 2 K, 2 H, 1 ER, Loss; Had good velocity.
	Scott Grist, RHP (Jr)


Stat Line:	5-2, 4.70 ERA
Notes:	#10 Prospect in the WAC (Baseball America)
My Take:	Game 1: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 0 R, W; Game 2: Started against Rice: 2 IP, 5 H, 1 K, 2 ER.
	Shane Hoelscher, 3B (Jr)


Stat Line:	.343 BA, .389 SLG, .398 OBP
Notes:	Broke his hand earlier this year punching the ground in anger. - On this list of top 120 college players last year
My Take:	As I mentioned earlier, this kid can play. Not much power this year (7 career HR) but good contact hitter. Team leading 11 errors, but saw nothing short of stellar defense (of the game-saving variety) in San Marcos. Perfectly executed sac bunt in the 9th. 1-4, RBI, R.
	Mylz Jones, 3B (Fr)


Stat Line:	.333 BA, .388 SLG, .396 OBP
Notes:	#3 Newcomer to the WAC (Baseball America)
My Take:	0-4; Looked very comfortable at third and at the plate. I would keep an eye on this kid over the next couple of years.
	Hunter Lemke, RHP (Jr)


Stat Line:	2-3, 46 IP (34 App), 2.35 ERA, 44 K, 13 BB
Notes:
My Take:	Pitched a scoreless ninth against both CSU-Bakersfield and Rice, allowing a total of 1 BB and 1 H. Submarine-style delivery with good movement.
	Garrett Mattlage, IF (Soph)


Stat Line:	.311 BA, .440 SLG, .404 OBP, 2 HR
Notes:	#8 Prospect in the WAC (Baseball America) - Drafted in 35th Round in 2011 by the Royals
My Take:	Switch hitter. Game 1: 0-3, K, BB; Game 2: 2-4, 2 R
	Kevin McCanna, RHP (Fr)


Stat Line:	4.54 ERA, 3-1, 39.2 IP, 18 K, 17 BB, 30 H
Notes:	#1 Newcomer to C-USA (Baseball America)
My Take:	Stated against Texas State: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1K.
	Chase McDowell, RHP (JR)


Stat Line:	53 IP, 4.25 ERA, 4-2, 26 K, 20 BB
Notes:
My Take:	4 IP, Win, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 WP. Hard thrower with occasional command problems.
	Morgan Mickan, OF (Sr)


Stat Line:	.243 BA, .384 OBP, 3 HR, 29 RBI
Notes:
My Take:	Game 1: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 1 BB, 2 R; Game 2: 0-3, 1 BB. 36 BB on the season.
	Michael Ratterree, OF/IF (Sr)


Stat Line:	.290 BA, 9 HR, .478 Slg, .412 OBP, 39 RBI
Notes:	Nationals 45th Round Pick in 2009 - #13 Prospect in C-USA (Baseball America)
My Take:	2-5, 2 RBI; Had a major early season slump, but rebounded nicely in the second half.
	Oscar Sanay, 2B (Jr)


Stat Line:	.352 BA, 1 HR, 5 3B, .474 Slg, .441 OBP, 42 RBI
Notes:
My Take:	2-4; Solid line drive hitter, but makes some plays in the field that make you scratch your head. Had an error, and set up behind second base to take a throwdown on an attempted steal. Has a little bit of attitude when he plays.
	Nick Smelser, SS (Sr)


Stat Line:	.259 BA, 1 HR, .331 OBP
Notes:	#22 on "College Shortstops to Know"
My Take:	Game 1: 0-4, BB; Game 2: 1-3, 2 RBI
	Christian Stringer, INF (Sr)


Stat Line:	.288 BA, 1 HR, 4 3B, .399 Slg, .398 OBP
Notes:
My Take:	1-4, R
	Andrew Stumph, C/1B (Sr)


Stat Line:	.307 BA, 2 HR, .411 SLG, .391 OBP
Notes:
My Take:	Game 1: 1-3, BB; Game 2: 1-3, R; Its never good when I can compare an athlete's body type to my own.

Just a few more notes:

The Rice weekend rotation of Austin Kubitza, John Simms, and Jordan Stephens has been phenomenal this year. I'll write more about them after seeing them live in the C-USA Tournament.
Cal State Bakersfield ace Jeff McKenzie hasn't been on any draft lists I've seen, but he was put on the watch list for college pitcher of the year. His line: 12-2, 1.79 ERA, 85 K, 24 BB in 105.2 IP.
Rice Catcher Geoff Perrott is having a solid season. He's athletic with a strong arm, and is hitting .291.
Rice Closer Zech Lemond recently picked up his 13th save of the season, moving him past David Aardsma and Tony Cingrani for the top single season save number in school history.

Just in case I don't post again before NCAA tournament selection day (May 27th), good luck everyone.

Prospect of the Day: Tyler Lyons, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals

2013-05-22T12:00:16Z

Tyler Lyons is expected to make his first major league start for the St. Louis Cardinals today, replacing the injured Jamie Garcia. This is probably just for one start and Lyons isn't in the same category of prospect as other exciting young Cardinal arms like Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha or Trevor Rosenthal. Still, Lyons is an interesting prospect, at least if you like sleepers. He is our topic for today's Prospect of the Day.

Tyler Lyons pitched four years of college baseball at Oklahoma State University. After pitching 17 innings of relief as a freshman in '07, he moved into the starting rotation as a sophomore in '08 and thrived, going 12-2, 3.31 ERA with a 92/19 K/BB in 109 innings. His junior year in '09 was decent (4.07 ERA with a 77/25 K/BB in 97 innings), but his senior campaign in '10 resulted in an ugly 6.06 ERA. He still posted a solid 80/18 K/BB in 85 innings, and showed scouts enough stuff to be drafted in the ninth round by the Cardinals.

Making his pro debut in 2011, Lyons was used as both a starter and reliever for High-A Palm Beach in the Florida State League. He posted a 4.50 ERA in 94 innings, with a 79/29 K/BB ratio and 93 hits allowed. His FIP was considerably better than his ERA at 3.68. Moved up to Double-A Springfield to open 2012, he posted a 3.92 ERA with a 54/19 K/BB in 64 innings with a 3.67 ERA. He then moved up to Triple-A Memphis, posting a 4.28 ERA (3.19 FIP) with an 89/18 K/BB in 88 innings.

So far in 2013, he has a 4.47 ERA (3.31 FIP) with a 38/9 K/BB in 46 innings with 56 hits allowed. Note the persistent pattern in his career: his FIP marks are consistently better than his ERAs. The same pattern held back in college in '09 and '10.

Lyons is a 6-4, 200 pound lefty born February 21, 1988. His fastball has been reported in the 87-90 range for most of his career, although reports from Memphis have him in the 90-93 area more frequently this spring. Any velocity boost helps of course. He has a change-up, but his best pitch is his curveball, a key bread-and-butter offering since his days at Oklahoma State. His control is usually solid and he locates all three of his pitches well, maintaining solid K/BB and K/IP ratios.

Many scouts see him as a reliever and in St. Louis that is probably his best long-term role, especially given the other prospects available to the Cardinals, but he's performed well enough in a starting role over the last year to merit at least a brief look in the rotation.

I think the most intriguing thing about Lyons is the persistent tendency for his ERA to under-perform compared to his component ratios. Is this a matter of poor defense behind him, bad luck with runners on-base, a legitimate skill issue, or some combination of all those factors? Generally speaking, we should expect either his ERA to improve and get closer to the FIPs, or the FIPs to slip and get closer to the ERAs.

I've had a positive hunch about Lyons since seeing him in college and rated him as a sleeper in the 2013 Baseball Prospect Book. Perhaps pitching with a major league team behind him will unlock his full potential.

Minor League Ball Gameday, May 21

2013-05-21T20:48:00Z

Good afternoon prospect watchers. Let's get right to it.

***Prospect of the Day tomorrow will be Tyler Lyons of the St. Louis Cardinals. Thursday will probably be Jarred Cosart of the Astros. With the Paul Goldschmidt Prospect Retrospective done today, I will be shifting back to 2013 MLB Draft work.

***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday thread

***St. Louis Cardinals prospect Kolten Wong went 2-for-5 for Triple-A Memphis last night. He's been on a hot streak lately and is now hitting .317/.345/.472. Also note his 1.089 OPS against left-handed pitching.

***Colorado Rockies outfield prospect Kyle Parker went 2-for-4 with two runs a walk and a double for Double-A Tulsa. He's been decent but not excellent this spring with a .263/.317/.455 line through 42 games, showing power but not lighting it up yet in the BA/OBP departments. I expect he will heat up soon.

***Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Keon Broxton hit two homers for Double-A Mobile yesterday, though his season line is an ,176/.208/.373 through 15 games. He has two walks and 15 strikeouts in 51 at-bats, which fits his past reputation perfectly: he's a free swinger with substantial power but problems with pitch recognition and strike zone judgment.

***A similar talent is Seattle Mariners outfield prospect Jabari Blash, currently on a hot streak at High-A High Desert, 6-for-10 in his last three games. He's hitting .310/.366/.680 on the season with nine walks and 31 strikeouts in 100 at-bats. Like Broxton, Blash is a right-handed hitter with plenty of raw power but problems laying off breaking stuff. He's getting away with this in the Cal League, but higher levels will be more difficult.

***Good start last night from Phillies Double-A Reading prospect Seth Rosin: eight inning, three hits, two runs, eight strikeouts. On the season he has a 3.68 ERA with a 37/11 K/BB in 51 innings. Acquired from the Giants in the Hunter Pence deal last year, he's got a shot as a back-end starter or (more probably) a relief pitcher.

***There was some talk in the thread yesterday about why I've been starting the Gameday Discussion this year. Just to clarify, the whole point of the Gameday Discussion is community interaction and community involvement. Melotticus in particular has been doing sterling work with boxscore updates this year, and lots of other people have provided timely information and analysis.

The Gameday thread doesn't happen and it doesn't work without you guys. I took over the actual POSTING of the thread this year since making it an actual front-page POST, rather than a fanpost on the sidebar, dramatically increases the number of people who see the Gameday thread. But the emphasis is still on community involvement and discussion and that won't change.

***Today's minor league game slate.

***Allan Simpson at Perfect Game posted his Top 100 Prospects for the 2013 MLB Draft list today, with 400 more prospects upcoming the rest of the week. I think this is behind their subscriber wall.

***Our own Matt Garrioch now has his 2013 MLB Draft Book available.

2013 MLB Draft: Indiana State Lefty Sean Manaea Injured

2013-05-21T20:25:44Z

Multiple sources including ESPN's Keith Law are reporting that Indiana State University southpaw Sean Manaea was injured this afternoon and removed from today's game without throwing an official pitch. Although the initial word was that Manaea had tweaked the sore hip that bothered him earlier this spring, the Indiana State University Athletic Department reports that Manaea felt shoulder tightness while warming up. The Sycamores went on to defeat the Creighton Blue Jays by a 4-3 score in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament action.

The 6-3, 235-pound lefty is a potential early first-round pick in the upcoming 2013 MLB Draft. He shot to the top of the prospect charts following an outstanding performance in the 2012 Cape Cod League, but his stock slumped a little this spring. His statistical performance for the Sycamores has still been excellent. . . he has a 1.47 ERA in 73 innings with a 93/27 K/BB ratio. . .but his velocity and command have been inconsistent, and he's been hampered a bit by a sore hip.

At his best, he has a mid-to-upper-90s fastball and a promising slider and change-up, making him a rare three-pitch power lefty. Even with some mixed opinions this spring he was a lock for the upper half of the first round, but the shoulder issue may scramble that. We will monitor the situation closely.

Prospect Retrospective: Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks

2013-05-21T16:34:08Z

A reader recently asked me to do a Prospect Retrospective for Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. As you know, Goldschmidt is having an outstanding season so far in 2013, hitting .329/.408/.622 through 45 games, with 12 homers, 36 RBI, and a 174 wRC+. His WAR currently stands at 2.2, which ranks as fourth-overall in the National League. Goldy was something of a controversial prospect a couple of years ago, so let's take a look at his development path.

Goldschmidt was drafted in the eighth round in 2009 from Texas State University, where he holds the school record for career home runs. He was quite successful in college, hitting .352/.487/.685 as a junior with 18 homers and 54 walks against 29 strikeouts in 219 at-bats.His power was respected by scouts, but they worried about his 6-3, 245 pound body. Some felt he would strike out too much against pro pitching, plus right-handed hitting first baseman have to really impress scouts to rank highly on draft day. He signed for $95,000 as an eighth-round pick by Arizona.

He murdered pitching in the Pioneer League (.334/.408/.638), but skeptics pointed out that the Pioneer League is a great place to hit. Many college sluggers have performed well there but failed to repeat at higher levels. I noted his impressive performance in the 2010 Baseball Prospect Book, but went with a cautious Grade C pending some exposure to better pitching, having been burned by gaudy rookie ball numbers from college hitters before.

Moved up to the High-A California League in '10, he responded with a .314/.384/.606 mark, with 35 homers and 57 walks, for Visalia. However, doubters pointed out that he struck out 161 times in 525 at-bats, a very high ratio, and some scouts weren't convinced he could handle advanced pitching in a less-friendly environment. There were still some grumbles about his defense.

I raised his rating to a Grade B- in the 2011 book. I felt that the contact issue would likely harm his batting average and OBP against better pitching and that Double-A would seriously test him, but also wrote that "even as a low batting average with power guy, he should still have value."

Such fears were unnecessary. Goldschmidt had no problems adapting to Double-A, hitting .306/.435/.626 with 30 homers, 82 walks, and 92 strikeouts in 457 plate appearances over 103 games for Mobile in the Southern League in 2011. He still struck out quite a bit, but not as much, his whiff rate dropping to 20% compared to 27% in '10. His walk rate took a large spike upward, he maintained a good batting average, and scouting reports about his ability to handle breaking pitches as well as inside fastballs were positive.

Promoted to the majors for the stretch run, he hit .250/.333/.474 in 177 plate appearances with a 117 OPS+. In 2012 he took over as the full-time first baseman with a .286/.359/.490 line in 587 PA, with 43 doubles, 20 homers, 60 walks and 139 strikeouts. He even stole 18 bases in 21 attempts, and his defense has turned out to be better than expected.

Overall, through 238 major league games Goldschmidt has a .288/.364/.513 line. He currently leads the National League in SLG, OPS, and OPS+, and at age 25 he is just entering his peak seasons.

So what happened here?

It was never a matter of performance for Goldschmidt: he mashed in college and mashed in the low minors. His power and strength were never doubted. However, his strikeout rates were a caution flag from both a sabermetric and scouting perspective, and many hitters with similar profiles have failed to adapt at higher levels.

I don't think even the most optimistic observers saw Goldschmidt as a potential .280-.300 hitter; even people who liked him saw him more as a .250-.260 guy, albeit one who would produce power. That was my take on him, and even that proved to be an underestimate of his ability.

By all accounts, Goldschmidt has worked very hard to improve his defense and mobility through better conditioning. Although his height/weight data is the same as when he entered pro ball, he's in notably better physical condition compared to his college days. His baseball instincts are sound, and he's even turned into an efficient stealer (26 for 30 in his big league career) despite his size and lack of plus running speed.

What separated Goldschmidt was his ability to adapt and remedy his weaknesses, even as he faced better and better competition. Figuring out which players will do that and which won't involves the intersection of player tools/talent, baseball skills, and human/makeup factors. . .that's what scouting is all about. Goldschmidt is a good example of how much we still have to learn.

Prospect of the Day: Jurickson Profar, SS, Texas Rangers

2013-05-21T12:00:14Z

The Texas Rangers promoted infielder Jurickson Profar to the major league roster yesterday to replace the injured Ian Kinsler. Profar is one of the absolute best prospects in baseball right now and is the logical topic for today's Prospect of the Day.

Profar was well-known to scouts as an amateur, having starred for in amateur international play for Curacao. He was a very successful pitcher and many teams saw him as a top-notch mound prospect, but Profar preferred to hit and the Rangers loved his overall athleticism, seeing him as a classic shortstop with a strong bat. Signed for $1,550,000 in 2009, he made his pro debut with a .250/.323/.373 mark in 63 games in the Northwest League in '10. That might not sound great, but he was only 17 years old and scouts loved him.

Moved up to Low-A Hickory in 2011, Profar hit .286/.390/.493 (note the huge boost in SLG) with 37 doubles, 12 homers, 23 steals, and a sharp 65/63 BB/K ratio in 430 at-bats. Promoted to Double-A Frisco in 2012, he hit .281/.368./.452 with 14 homers, 16 steals, 66 walks, and 79 strikeouts in 480 at-bats. He got a cup-of-coffee in the majors, going 3-for-17 (.176) with a homer. He was hitting .278/.370/.438 with 21 walks and 24 strikeouts in 144 at-bats. This includes a .415 mark in his last 10 games.

Profar is a 6-0, 165 pound switch-hitter, born February 20, 1993. Despite his lack of classic size, he has good pop in his bat and should hit plenty of doubles, with more home runs coming as he matures. His running speed is above average but he's an instinctive stealer who should produce double-digits in that department as well. His plate discipline is sound and he does a good job making contact and drawing walks.

His range, hands, arm strength, and instincts all rate as strong; combine that with excellent instincts and he will be at least an above-average defender at shortstop. He would be outstanding at second base. Profar's makeup is considered off the charts, with an excellent work ethic, intelligence, confidence, and grace under pressure.

He may not have as huge home run power right now or be a .300+ hitter in the short run, but he's already a solid player. In the medium and long runs, Profar will contribute in every category, and at age 20 he is still six or seven years away from the classic age peak. He is the very definition of a Grade A prospect.

Minor League Ball Gameday, May 20

2013-05-20T21:53:00Z

Good afternoon prospect watchers. We dodged the worst weather here in Lawrence last night...just some rain and thunder and a little wind...but several spots in Oklahoma and southern Kansas took significant blows as you've probably heard.

On tap for this week:

***Paul Goldschmidt Prospect Retrospective tomorrow.

***Prospect of the Day tomorrow will be the just-promoted Jurickson Profar of the Texas Rangers (of course). On Wednesday it will be Tyler Lyons of the St. Louis Cardinals, who is projected to be promoted from Triple-A Memphis and make his first major league start. Thursday will probably be Jarred Cosart of the Houston Astros.

***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday thread.

***There was some discussion in the comments yesterday about St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect Mike O'Neill. I quoted a scout about O'Neill yesterday ("That guy breaks our methods. No real tools, no power or speed or arm, but he just keeps getting on base. I think he's an organization guy or a fringe reserve but I'd love to have him on my Triple-A team"). Just to clear up any confusion, the scout was not intending to insult O'Neill. He seemed pretty impressed with his feel for the game, and felt that O'Neill's success so far was testimony to his work ethic and excellent instincts helping him play way above his organic tools.

***Kevin Gausman gets all the press, but keep an eye on Baltimore Orioles prospect Josh Hader. He threw six strong innings for Low-A Delmarva yesterday and now has a 1.96 ERA in 36.2 innings with a 39/18 K/BB. He is a highly-projectable 6-3 lefty drafted in the 19th round from high school in Millersville, Maryland, last year. He's gained 5-7 MPH on his fastball since signing and flashes a slider and changeup.

***Toronto Blue Jays prospect Marcus Stroman threw five shutout innings in his 2013 debut for Double-A New Hampshire yesterday, fanning six. Missing 50 games due to a PED suspension has cost him some publicity time, but the stuff that made him a first-round pick last year is fully intact and he didn't have problems throwing strikes yesterday. We could see him in the majors later this year.

***I always pair Cincinnati Reds prospect Robert Stephenson and Tampa Bay Rays prospect Taylor Guerrieri in my mind, since both were hard-throwing right-handed high school pitchers drafted in 2011. Stephenson threw seven innings for Low-A Dayton yesterday, giving up four hits and three runs, fanning nine. He now has a 4.02 ERA in 47 innings, with a 60/13 K/BB with 42 hits: note the excellent K/IP ratio. Guerrieri threw six shutout innings for Low-A Bowling Green yesterday and now has a 1.64 ERA with a 28/7 K/BB in 33 innings. He's not whiffing as many guys at Stephenson but Guerrieri features an excellent 3.40 GO/AO.

***Today's slate of minor league games.

***Ryan Potter at Beyond the Boxscore looks at Burch Smith's fastball and worries that he won't have enough stamina to be a long-term starter.

***Grant Brisbee laments the demotion of Cincinnati Reds lefty Tony Cingrani.

Minor League Ball - All Posts

Minor League Ball Gameday, May 22

College Baseball Roadtrip: San Marcos Edition

Michael Aquino, OF (Jr)

Cael Brockmeyer, C (Jr)

Leon Byrd, OF (Fr)

Keenan Cook, OF (Jr)

Kyle Finnegan, RHP (Jr)

Scott Grist, RHP (Jr)

Shane Hoelscher, 3B (Jr)

Mylz Jones, 3B (Fr)

Hunter Lemke, RHP (Jr)

Garrett Mattlage, IF (Soph)

Kevin McCanna, RHP (Fr)

Chase McDowell, RHP (JR)

Morgan Mickan, OF (Sr)

Michael Ratterree, OF/IF (Sr)

Oscar Sanay, 2B (Jr)

Nick Smelser, SS (Sr)