| By Rick Randall |  | By 03-13-2011 |
Each week here at Prospect Insider we will take a look around the minor and major leagues at some intriguing prospects and their performances from the past week of action. This first installment takes a look at some of the prospects making noise in Spring Training for their clubs.Freddie Freeman, 1B -- Atlanta Braves
Reportedly showed up to camp with 20 added pounds of muscle and a very easy road to an everyday job for the Braves, but he hasn't been taking it easy on the competition and resting on those laurels. He is stinging the ball and showing an approach that is far more advanced than his age would suggest. Some scouts initially questioned the power for Freeman, but with his 6-foot-5 frame starting to fill out quickly it looks like the power could be there right out of the gate for the 21-year old.
A.J. Pollock, CF -- Arizona Diamondbacks
Pollock was a first-round pick in 2009 and had moderate results and a good approach that first season in the Midwest League that had him fast tracking, but he suffered a pretty severe and freak elbow injury last spring that required surgery, and ended up missing all of the 2010 season. He's come to camp for the Diamondbacks to show off his skills but also to show he has recovered from that injury, and he's gotten off to a fast start so far. Good for him, as the kid is still considered one of Arizona's top prospects and could start in Double-A this season with a 2012 MLB roster spot likely.
Oscar Tejeda, 2B -- Boston Red Sox
Tejada was a big International signing for the Red Sox back in 2006, but he struggled offensively and defensively at shortstop for two years before being switched to second base last season. That seemed to allow him to focus on his hitting and it paid off with an All-Star season. He has continued to hit this spring showing a line-drive approach. The bat will be key to his future as he may not stick at second, either. He's one to watch in the Red Sox organization and should be in Double-A for them this season.
Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B -- Cleveland Indians
Third base for the Indians will eventually belong to Chisenhall, the question is when. He’s hitting the ball very well this spring and handling the strike zone in the process. The results have been tough to ignore thus far, but with that said, the Indians are likely to send him back to Triple-A to avoid starting his service clock and allow for some final seasoning. He should see the big leagues in the second half to get a jump start on the 2012 campaign.
Drew Pomeranz, LHP -- Cleveland Indians
The left-hander, who has a five to one K/BB ratio in two appearances this spring, is showing an overpowering fastball and a very good curveball this month. Pomeranz was taken No. 5 overall by the Indians in last June's draft. While he is likely ticketed for the middle of the minors this season, the showing against big-league bats is encouraging for his future. He’ll need better command of his arsenal and more consistent control to succeed.
Matt Dominguez, 3B -- Florida Marlins
Dominguez is basically being handed the job at the hot corner for the Marlins, and by all accounts he's a premium defender right now -- but the bat lags behind. He has hit well this spring, however, and he is a patient enough hitter that strikeouts shouldn't plague him too much, even though the major leagues straight out of spring this year might be considered a bit of a rush job. He's the odds-on favorite, so he'll likely get tested right away.
Jordan Lyles, RHP -- Houston Astros
Lyles just turned 20 last October and he's only had six starts above Double-A, but the Astros are saying that he has a chance to win the 5th starters job this spring. He's pitched well in his two spring appearances, including one start, but it really makes more sense for Houston -- who is going nowhere in 2011 -- to have him start back in Triple-A. That said, he is certainly one of their five best options right now, so his situation is one to watch the rest of this spring.
Eric Hosmer, 1B -- Kansas City Royals
Hosmer isn't breaking camp with the big club in Kansas City, but that isn’t stopping him from having an eye-popping spring. The 21-year old has already homered twice and stolen a base and is avoiding the strike out despite maintaining his patience (four walks) -- basically repeating what he did at two minor league levels last season. The Royals system is already famous for its top-end depth, and Hosmer may get a cup of coffee this September along with a few of his highly touted organization mates to show the world what the fuss is all about.
Mark Trumbo, 1B -- Los Angeles Angels
One prospect having some issues making contact is the Angels' Mark Trumbo. The strikeouts will always be there for Trumbo but he does have very good power that has shown regularly this spring, and that power could prove useful as a bench bat for LA if he can prove to them that he can handle the outfield and make enough contact to warrant a roster spot as a backup there and at 1B/DH.
Also in Spring Training with the Angels is their No. 2 prospect and top pitcher Tyler Chatwood. Churchill and I watched his appearance against the Reds earlier this month and the results were promising (2 IP, 0 hits, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP) but neither of us like the hitchy arm action or the command. He also telegraphed his curveball quite a bit. Jason's take, which I happen to agree with: "He's a reliever without significant improvement."
Jesus Montero, C -- New York Yankees
Montero has always been hit first catcher, with doubts surrounding his ability to handle the catching duties. When Francisco Cervelli went down for a month or so with a foot injury, Montero's likelihood of landing a spot on the 25-man roster increased. Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman have sounded like they are impressed with Montero’s catching in various interviews this spring, with Cashman saying, "we think he's better than people think", and the backstop has thrown out two would-be base stealers already this spring.
Other clubs' scouts have not been so optimistic, saying Montero is marginally better than mid-season a year ago but isn't going to be a good defender not matter how many times the Yankees' brass says so.
Domonic Brown, RF -- Philadelphia Phillies
Brown has had his swing tinkered with a bit this spring by first-year hitting coach Greg Gross, who thought he saw an obvious misstep during Brown's ML stint last season, by dropping Jayson Werth's replacement's hands to chest level during his setup. Well ... it has backfired.
Brown is swinging at everything and not making contact with anything. The number three prospect on Keith Law's Top 100 list started the spring 0-for-15 with nine punchouts, and his hands were raised up a bit to make the right fielder more comfortable. That comfort went out the window last week when he broke the hamate bone in his right hand on a swing (getting his first hit in the process) and now he will be out up t six weeks. So now former M's draft pick John Mayberry, Jr. may have a shot at a roster spot. Mayberry has already slugged four homers this spring and has only fanned out four times in 37 PAs, a good sign for the free-swinger.
Brandon Belt, 1B/RF -- San Francisco Giants
One breakout minor league season and Belt quickly went from little known prospect to knocking on the door of a big league job. He's been stinging the ball all over the ballpark and showing a patient, advanced approach and is among the spring leaders in plate appearances as the Giants give him a long look to see if it makes sense to start the soon to be 23-year old in the majors this season.
J.P. Arencibia, C – Toronto Blue Jays
Arencibia had a monster campaign in the PCL last season, hitting 32 long balls and 36 doubles as a catcher for Triple-A Las Vegas before getting a cup of coffee in Toronto late last season, which included a monster debut (four hits and two bombs). He entered spring as the favorite to win the starting catcher job, and although he hasn't been hitting well, he is showing increased patience by working counts better and has drawn five walks. Since the Jays let John Buck, Miguel Olivo and Mike Napoli go this offseason, Jose Molina is his only real competition in camp as the other Jays' catching prospects are still a few seasons away. If J.P. can increase his plate discipline and continue to show the power this season and next, he will have a better shot at holding onto the catching job once those other prospects are ready.
Bryce Harper, C -- Washington Nationals
Harper was demoted following the Nationals game on Saturday, but everyone that got a chance to see him has to be very impressed with how the 18-year old performed in big league camp. He started out slow statistically, and was getting tested with breaking balls, but he showed a very good ability to adjust to the way he was getting attacked early and showed that he is a special talent. Harper said he hopes to be back up in the majors this season, which may be rushing things, but he certainly has a lot of promise to go along with the hype.
Rick Randall serves as a scouting analyst for Prospect Insider, and specializes in smart-alec remarks and does a great impression of Steve Pool. You can contact Rick at Randall@ProspectInsider.com, and follow him on Twitter at @RandallBallPI.
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Comments
The following 11 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: VikingArthur on 03-13-2011 23:31:10 It must be exciting to be a Nationals fan knowing that Harper is coming and coming quickly (not to mention Strasburg returning in 2012). Am I the only one who thinks he could be a legit star next year at age 19? Awesome! Would be a HUGE story if he got called up this year. This column is great... as much as I love reading about Ackley, Pineda and Franklin it is fun to read about other teams young guns. Baseball season is almost upon us! Love it. |
| 2. By: Rick Randall on 03-14-2011 17:07:55 Thanks VikingArthur, these kinds of pieces are great to do. I think there is a chance that 2012 is when Harper's big league career gets rolling -- probably after the service time issue clears itself up, and I think the hype will always make him a star, even if the talent isn't quite polished at that point. |
| 3. By: Slack on 03-14-2011 19:37:08 Brett Lawrie is another prospect to keep an eye on. How realistic a shot does he have of making the Blue Jays 25 man roster out of spring training? If I were the Blue Jays, I would wait but he hasn't made that an easy choice for them. |
| 4. By: FWBrodie on 03-14-2011 20:48:40 Question for whoever wants to answer: Freeman vs. Belt, who will have a better 2011 ML season and who do you take long term? Also, Baker is reporting the 5th spot in the rotation is "Pineda's to lose." Are you buying it? |
| 5. By: Rick Randall on 03-15-2011 09:57:54 FWBrodie, Freeman is going to play every day, Belt -- if he makes the team -- will share time in some capacity, so Freeman is the easy choice for 2011 for me. Freeman has a bit more of a track record, too, but Belt's 2010 and his ST this season are very promising. I'll defer to Jason on the Pineda question. |
| 6. By: maqman on 03-15-2011 13:56:40 It's going to be interesting to find out if we are glad or sad that we didn't Montero. |
| 7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-15-2011 17:03:59 Belt has a better future. I buy that Pineda has the job unless he loses it. They aren't concerned with service time with him and ,a href="http://prospectinsider.com/view/ackley,-pineda-and-service-time/" target=new>as I wrote a few weeks back, neither am I. He has stuff to work on before he appears as a finished product, but he can polish off that development in the big leagues. And since they are in a rebuilding year, they can pull him from games and from the rotation whenever is necessary to avoid overworking him. |
| 8. By: baseballman on 03-15-2011 17:43:24 I know this has gotten discussed quite a bit, but since he wrote it just yesterday and it includes Montero, JAC (or anyone) have you read Ken Rosenthal's article about trading Felix to the yanks? A 5 for 1 deal where Montero, Banuelos/Betances, Nova, Nunez and Noesi/Adams were the names he discussed. What I got out of it was that Rosenthal believes Jack is in the wrong for not even taking phone calls on Felix. |
| 9. By: rjfrik on 03-15-2011 18:09:08 If Yanks really want to talk Felix they have to lead with Cano Montero Banuelos and Betances Then they have to throw in Nova Nunez Noesi and Adams That is the only way Felix sniffs NY. They have to literally blow our socks off and including Cano with all of the prospects is the only way it gets done. |
| 10. By: rocketdawg31 on 03-15-2011 18:11:02 I wouldn't worry about it much, baseballman. When it's reported that Zduriencik "won't even listen to overtures", that's just GM posturing for the public. As a good GM, yes, Z WILL listen to everything proposed. Doesn't mean he'd do it. And I don't think he trades Felix unless it was the kind of deal that just simply couldn't be passed up. If I were a GM, sure...Montero/Banuelos/Nova/Nunez and Noesi would at least get me thinking about the possibilities. But Yankees GM Brian Cashman would have to *offer* that first: the idea that he would is just speculation on Rosenthal's part. Although I wouldn't put it past Cashman to offer something like that. Cashman's keen, he knows his team has severe weaknesses and that the fans know it. More than that, the BoSox flat-out whupped their asses in moves during the off-season. The main issue I had with Rosenthal's issue was with how readily he thinks Felix would just sign a long-term extension, how money would just buy him into being a Yankee. From what I've seen, Felix likes money enough, but doesn't live for it. And he seems to have a REAL distaste for the Yankees. |
| 11. By: Timberwolf on 03-15-2011 23:18:53 Trading Felix sends the message that we are a lame, second tier franchise that will never compete. We may not have the Yankee/Red Sox ability to keep ALL of our players, but we have to hang on to #1 unless he really wanted to leave. Any Mariner executive who even considers trading Felix should be tarred and feathered before he gets fired. |
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