Today’s quick rundown of yesterday’s minor league actions
Rhys White handled High-A and the rest of the uncreative blurbs belong to me.
Taylor Trammell, OF SEA (Triple-A) 3-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
It’s almost like Trammell has been seeing MLB pitching leading up to his demotion to Tacoma. Okay, I’ve just been informed that he indeed has seen MLB pitching for a month. The power has come around for Trammell this year which adds another dimension to his game.
Brandon Marsh, OF LAA (Triple-A) 1-for-3, 3 R, 2 BB
Marsh is racing with Adell for a call-up with the Angels. Marsh’s shoulder injury that kept him in he IL and limited him to first base this spring is hopefully behind him. One of my most anticipated call-ups.
Ryan Jeffers, C MIN (Triple-A) 2-for-4, HR
Jeffers is ready to try his hand against MLB pitching again and should be called up once Minnesota needs a bat. He’s been raking this year for St. Paul.
Thairo Estrada, SS SF (Triple-A) 3-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
The former Yankees prospect is off to a great start with his new organization. Estrada can pick it and would likely be the guy called upon if Brandon Crawford has to miss time.
Yonny Hernandez, SS TEX (Triple-A) 3-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, SB
The 23-year old switch-hitter can do a bit of everything expect hit for power. He has walked more than he struck out in his minor league career while also putting hitting for average and stealing bases. He can pick it at second base but his size (only 5’8”) limits his power upside and likely prevents him from playing shortstop or long stretches of time. Remember Luis Castillo, the Marlins and Mets infielder? That’s the type of profile we have here.
Alec Bettinger, RHP MIL (Triple-A) 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 8 K
Bettinger bounced back after giving up a Major League record 11 earned runs in his four inning debut. The changeup artist should get another shot in Milwaukee soon.
Jackson Kowar, RHP KC (Triple-A) 5.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Speaking of changeups, Kowar has a beauty and is the next in line for a debut with the Royals. Not much else he needs to do in Triple-A.
Vidal Brujan, OF TB (Triple-A) 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, SB
Brujan should be in the majors right now. Nothing else to say at this point, it's just the Rays being too cute. Vidal has found a serious power stroke this year and he’s kept up the plate skills and is still stealing bases. The Rays centerfielder of the future is ready now.
Wander Franco, SS TB (Triple-A) 1-for-6, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Imagine going to the World Series last year and not having this guy on the roster. I’m still baffled by what Tampa did there, as he’s their best infielder right now and likely was one of their top four last fall. Wander hit a grand slam in this one, but for him it’s not really about the results at this point, just when the Rays decide they want to actually deploy their best 26.
Taylor Walls, 3B TB (Triple-A) 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
This dude has been one of my favorite prospects for a while, and he’s also big league ready with no place to play. He’s a true big league shortstop and unlike Wander is already on the 40-man. Could be any day now.
Bo Takahashi, RHP CIN (Triple-A) 6 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 5 K
The Brazilian righty was a Diamondbacks prospect but signed with the Reds as a minor league free agent this past December. Nothing sexy about the profile but its a big league ready backend rotation piece.
Orlando Arcia, SS ATL (Triple-A) 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
I have no idea what’s gotten into Arcia but this dude is on fire in Gwinnett. Good depth piece for the Braves or a nice trade chip as we get closer to the deadline.
Jeter Downs, 2B BOS (Triple-A) 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, SB
It’s been a little bit of a slow start for Jeetah to start the year, but he should still make his big league debut sometime in the second half.
Jarren Duran, OF BOS (Triple-A) 1-for-4, RBI, R, BB, SB
Duran has 4 homers and 3 steals in 43 at-bats, giving you a glimpse of his all-around game for the Woo Sox. I have a hard time seeing how he isn’t one of the Red Sox top three outfielders right now.
Bubba Thompson, OF TEX (Double-A) 2-for-5, RBI
Nobody questions the secondary skills here as Bubba certainly can run and will hit for power. The question here is the hit tool, and if he can get that to a 40 or 45 his plus speed and raw power will make him a dynamic player. So far, so good. Need to keep seeing more of it.
Davis Wendzel, SS TEX (Double-A) 2-for-4, R
Don’t judge books by their covers. Wendzel looks like he shouldn’t be playing shortstop, but he plays the position really damn well. He moves around better than his size says he should. He should be in Texas soon.
Ryan Dorow, 3B TEX (Double-A) 2-for-3, 3 R, 2 RBI
The 25-year old Dorow was drafted in the 30th round out of Adrian College in 2017. He’s still striking out too much but Dorow has found an extra gear offensively these first couple weeks. Good watch list candidate.
C.J. Abrams, SS SD (Double-A) 2-for-4, RBI
Abrams has proven to be more advanced than I thought as he’s one of the youngest players in Double-A. I’d like to see him start playing CF or 2B more regularly, and when that happens that’s your clue to a call-up coming soon.
Reiss Knehr, RHP SD (Double-A) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Reiss was a 20th round pick by the Padres out of Oyster Bay, New York, a prominent location in Ian Kahn’s Turn television series. Knehr projects as a swingman type that could be up soon and pitch out of the Padres pen.
Ethan Small, LHP MIL (Double-A) 5 IP, 5 BB, 6 K
Small fought his control in this one and forgot the ole matra, “Aim small, miss small.” Small is one of the top prospects in the Brewers system and could throw a few innings for them this year.
Orlando Martinez, OF LAA (Double-A) 3-for-5, 2 RBI, R
Martinez is a potential fourth outfielder. He can hit. The ceiling isn’t that large but he’s a big league piece.
Bryson Stott, SS/2B PHI (High-A) 1-for-2, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 BB
Sent to play second base which is starting to become a thing or as they say on the Jersey Shore(probably) a Situation. He was able to grab himself a hat-trick of walks, oh and he hit himself a homer. Playing second more regularly is interesting though because it’s not as if the Phillies have a long-term option at short.
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP BAL (High-A) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K
This is what happens when you get a fairly conservative assignment, GrayRod makes a mockery of the opposing lineup. We will give him a pass for giving up a homer to Oswald Peraza because no one is able to stop that dude.
Oswald Peraza, SS NYY (High-A) 3-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
Women want to be with him, men want to be him, pitchers fear him. That’s probably what opposing players think when they see a blue octopus deposit balls over the outfield fence the way Oswald has to start this season. Incredibly impressive that he was able to take Grayson Rodriguez deep just to assert his dominance early in the game.
Jake Mangum, OF NYM (High-A) 2-for-3, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI
Woah, Jake Mangum hits homers? This is weird, I don’t know what to do with myself.
Brayan Rocchio, 2B CLE (High-A) 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI
Cleveland does a few things really well, drive away star players, squeeze the most out of their pitchers and load up on middle-infielders who can make quality contact. Rocchio just continues that trend, and it’s good to see him perform especially with him technically being young for the level.
Clayton Beeter, RHP LAD (High-A) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K
I hardly knew ‘er. I feel like he ultimately gets phased into the bullpen but Beeter’s stuff is no $#%@$ stuff. The Dodgers dude, they just casually pick up Pujols, Blakenhorn, and Tsutsugo just because they can and have one of the better minor league systems in the game.
Greg Jones, SS TB (High-A) 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB
LETTTTS GOOOOOO! A walk-off grand slam is one hell of a way to end a game. Early in the game Jones also showed off the wheels and when you pair that with the power he can exhibit you get one hell of a prospect. Old Greg.
Blake Hunt, C TB (High-A) 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI
Catchers who can hit and stay behind the plate are worth their weight in gold and Hunt just might be becoming that before our very eyes. Some don’t dig catching prospects but if you do and are in a deep league Hunt is worth a flier if you can make it happen.
Malcom Nunez, 3B, STL (High-A) 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI
Nunez decided to get his first homer of the season early in the game with a blast in the first inning. After that was a quiet night for Nunez but he clearly inspired Burleson to get in the action with a homer for Alec later.
Alec Burleson, OF STL (High-A) 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
The second round pick of the Cardinals in the 2020 draft just continues to be solid, drawing a walk and grabbing himself a homer.
Matt Canterino, RHP MIN (High-A) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Canterino had a lot of hype going into the season with a velocity bump and he now generates plenty of swings and misses with his improved arsenal. Maybe the velo bump has something to do with him possibly being part of the Genovese crime family *eye emoji*
Julio Rodriguez, OF SEA (High-A) 1-for-4, 1 HR, 2 R , 1 RBI
So uhh yeah, Julio has hit a homer in three straight games that’ll do donkey that’ll do. Julio Rodriguez is just #good, he has the charisma you look for in a possible face of the franchise type talent oh and he can hit the ball really freaking hard.
Brandon Williamson, LHP SEA (High-A) 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
Zion’s long lost brother. He will be one worth monitoring because Seattle has been working wonders with their pitchers, although the four walks over 4 innings is not what you love to see.
Slade Cecconi, RHP ARI (High-A) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K
I like to think he was named after the 1970’s English rock band Slade, known for such bangers as Cum on Feel the Noize. Cecconi was making his professional debut with a quality 4 innings of work, punching out 5. He made light work of a lineup with a few quality prospects, which is encouraging.
Patrick Bailey, C SF (High-A) 1-for-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
Doing research for this, you come across people asking on Google if you can drink Baileys straight, the answer is yes but why and who hurt you? The Giants catching prospect has spent his fair share of games DHing, so that will be worth monitoring going forward, but it’s nice to see him hit and hit for power. You wanna drink Baileys out of a shoe with me?
Will Wilson, SS SF (High-A) 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
Fancy seeing you around these parts Will, looks like you brought a friend. Wilson just keeps continuing to hit, leaving me stumped with what to put here. He’s got a compact swing, and just routinely squares up the ball, hard to believe the Angels gave him up just to dump Zack Cosart.
Anthony Volpe, SS NYY (Low-A) 2-for-4, BB, SB
Volpe swiped his fifth bag in this one. The kid from Delbarton can play.
Joe Gray Jr., OF MIL (Low-A) 2-for-4, HR
Gray profiles similarly to Bubba Thompson above. Has pop and speed, just some hit tool questions make the profile wobbly.
Gilberto Jimenez, OF BOS (Low-A) 2-for-4, SB
One of the most exciting minor leaguers to watch with absolute game changing speed. He’s hitting .366 to start the season.
Anthony Servideo, SS BAL (Low-A) 2-for-4, 2 BB, SB
Whomever is in this shortstop spot in the lineup, Servideo, Gunnar, Westburg, etc, always goes off. The former SEC middle infielder has gotten off to a slow start with the bat, but it’s coming along now.
Gunnar Henderson, 3B BAL (Low-A) 3-for-5, 2B, SB
Gunnar has been in these writeups everyday. You missed your chance to scoop him up. He’s hitting .341 with an OPS north of 1.000.
Michael Baumann, RHP BAL (Low-A) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Baumann was making his 2021 debut here. One of the most underrated Orioles arms, he could reach Triple-A by season's end.
Jose Maldonado, Cameron Junker, Brennan Malone, Wandi Mounout, PIT (Low-A)
This quartet combined to no-hit the Dunedin Blue Jays while issuing six walks and eleven strikeouts.
Nick Trogrlic-Iverson, RHP STL (Low-A) 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
The undrafted FA out of Gonzaga goes seven innings by mixing his fastball and changeup. His changeup draws a ton of weak contact and that’s a recipe for success in the low minors. NTI has shown some interesting skills so far this year and is worth an extended look as a prospect.
Alexander Ovalles, OF TB (Low-A) 5-for-6, 3 HR, 10 RBI, SB
So this is the minor league stat line of the year. Ovalles was absolutely dominant and popped three homers with a good week’s worth of RBI’s in one game. The former Rangers prospect came over to Tampa in the Nate Lowe deal.
Diego Infante, OF TB (Low-A) 3-for-4 SB
Infante and Nick Schnell, (2-for-4, 2 BB) combined with Ovalles to maybe have the most productive trio of outfielders ever in the same game.
Casey Martin, SS PHI (Low-A) 1-for-4, 2 BB, 3 SB
A three steal game for Martin, but he also had two walks which is quite the feat for him as well.
D.J. Stewart, 1B PHI (Low-A) 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2B
Stewart just keeps hitting. I love these late round picks having success.
Abraham Gutierrez, C PHI (Low-A) 2-for-4, 3 RBI, BB
Gutierrez is most famous for getting all wrapped up in the Braves illegal doings on the international market. He was declared a free agent after all of that and the Phillies scooped him up. Really strong start here, hitting .414. With a 1.127 OPS.
Alex McGarry, LF CIN (Low-A) 2-for-4, HR, 2B
McGarry was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020 out of Oregon State. The Reds did very well on the undrafted free agent market.
Tyler Callihan, 2B CIN (Low-A) 2-for-4
Callihan keeps hitting. The man without a position defensively sure is comfortable in the box.
Noelvi Marte, SS SEA (Low-A) 2-for-5, BB, SB
He just needs his own section at this point. He’s absolutely on fire.
Cade Marlowe, LF SEA (Low-A) 2-for-5, 2B, HR, SB
He hits second, after Marte in this lineup and has been red hot all season, hitting .375 with a 1.206 OPS. He’s worth an add at this point in deep leagues. Three homers and four steals already.
Sam Carlson, RHP SEA (Low-A) 4 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
Carlson was strong overall despite command that was a tad shaky. He did give up three runs, but zero were earned. Good to see him healthy.
Jeremiah Jackson, 2B LAA (Low-A) 2-for-5, 2 2B
Jackson can hit for power but today’s game was a good microcosm of what the issues are. He also struck out three times.
Kyren Paris, SS LAA (Low-A) 2-for-2, 3 BB
He was also CS in this one. Paris is fun to watch on the basepaths and in the box but has had his issues defensively so far.
Zac Veen, OF COL (Low-A) 2-for-3, 2B
It’s been a slow start for Veen, but he’s as tooled up as any of the prep prospects taken in the first round last season. He’s hitting .206 with a .664 OPS so far.