Minor League Prospect Wrap--April

Last year I did "Player and Pitcher of the Month" awards for the minors, which were fun for me but probably not very instructive.  The problem is that it just didn't matter if Micah Hoffpauir or Josh Kroeger had the best month for a minor league team, they're not prospects.  Nobody, not even the Oneri Fleita, cares if the teams in the minors win or lose.  If you've ever been to a minor league game, you know that most people in the stands don't care what the score is, unless it's free hamburgers if the home team scores ten runs or something.

So what I'm going to do here is give a summary of the teams and the prospects at each level.  I'm going to use the format of Newsweek's "Conventional Wisdom" feature:  prospects are up, they're down or they're steady.  The only caveat is that it's all relative.  A highly-touted prospect like Tony Thomas being listed as "Steady" is a good thing. Someone like Josh Donaldson being listed as "Down" does not mean that he's no longer a good prospect, only that he's not living up to expectations so far.

The hardest thing is to keep people informed without getting people to overreact to a good or bad game or even a good or bad month.  So remember that. 

Consider anyone I missed (who's actually a prospect) as "steady."

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs are currently at 11-15 and in second place, 3.5 games behind the Omaha Royals in the Pacific Coast League American North division.

Stock UP:

Sean Gallager is striking out more than a batter an inning and holding PCL hitters under the Mendoza Line.  His K/BB ratio is good too.  Jose Ascanio has been solid in the pen, recording six saves.  He's not a prospect, but Neal Cotts has pitched well.

Stock STEADY:

Eric Patterson got called up to the majors, barely played and then got hurt back in Iowa.  I'm outspoken in my belief that he's a better player than Mike Fontenot right now, but as long as he's hurt, he's not going to be playing at Wrigley

Stock DOWN:

Not a lot as there really aren't any great prospects at Iowa this season.  But everything Carmen Pignatiello has done since spring training has been a disappointment, and his ERA now stands at 11.05.  Casey McGehee has done nothing.  Scouts have always said that hitters on the higher levels would eventually catch up to the junk that Mark Holliman throws.  Maybe they're finally right.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies record stands at 11-16, in last place in the Southern League North Division, eight games behind Huntsville.

Stock UP:

Yes, he still walks too many batters.  But Donnie Veal is putting last year's bad season behind him and living up to at least some of his promise with a 1.82 ERA.  He's also given up a grand total of one earned run in his last four starts, encompassing 23.1 innings.

Third baseman Kyle Reynolds was my choice as a sleeper prospect at the start of the season.  He's played himself onto the radar. Matt Camp is a potential utility guy with zero power but who can get on base and run.  He's handled every challenge thrown at him.

Stock STEADY:

Jeff Samardzija has pitched well some times, he's pitched poorly on occasion and he hasn't changed anyone's mind about him.

Stock DOWN:

The good news is that Tyler Colvin is walking more and striking out less.  The bad news is he isn't hitting, with a batting average at .229.  Rocky Roquet blew through the minors last season, but hitters are catching up to him this year, and he's still old for his level.

Daytona Cubs

Daytona is 14-13, in fourth place in the Florida State League East Division, four games behind the Palm Beach Cardinals.

Stock UP:

No one's stock has risen more in the Cubs organization so far this season than "The Intern" James Russell. He's already been promoted to Tennessee.  I don't consider right fielder Jim Adduci to be a prospect, but if he's still hitting like this in July, then I will.

Stock STEADY:

The decision to make Jose Ceda and Alex Maestri starters in Daytona has neither been a failure nor a success.  I expect both eventually make their way back to the bullpen, but both are doing well enough right now to continue the experiment.

Tony Thomas started out strong and then slumped, missed some time with a minor injury and is now back and is now hitting well again.  Thomas is still a top prospect in the organization.  Jeremy Papelbon will never be as good as his brother, but he's doing OK.

Stock DOWN:

Even though I've been down on him for a long time, it gives me no pleasure to say that Josh Lansford is struggling.  Hitting only .200 with an OPS of .510, he needs to put it together quickly.  Darwin Barney may have been promoted too aggressively.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs are 9-17 and in last place in the Midwest League West Division, 10.5 games behind the Clinton Lumberjacks.

Stock UP:

No one, really.  Maybe reliever Marcos Mateo, whom we got from Cincinnati for Buck Coats and has already been promoted to Daytona.  But he's one of those "long way up to go" guys.

Stock STEADY:

Korean phenom Dae-Eun Rhee would be the big "Stock up" guy, as he was dominating in his first three professional starts.  However, he got hurt in his fourth start, and while it's not expected to be serious, it's got to be a strong reminder that there's no such thing as a pitching prospect. Starting pitcher Ryan Acosta has pretty much met expectations.

Stock DOWN:

Nothing like a 50 game suspension for steroids to send your stock down.  Just ask Robert Hernandez. Catcher Josh Donaldson and right fielder Kyler Burke are both off to bad starts.  I'm more worried about Burke, because this is the second season in a row that he's struggled in the Midwest League.  Infielder Marquez Smith is too old and not a good enough prospect to struggle like this for very long.  Dylan Johnston has just about run out of chances to live up to his hype.