Nearly every team has signed players from the international signing period, which began on July 2 and ends next month. Baseball America has learned of a few key signings, though these updates are not comprehensive.

The Braves signed Dominican lefty Carlos Perez for a bonus believed to be $600,000. Perez was frequently showcased with righthander Michel Inoa, who signed with the A’s for a record $4.25 million. Perez, who is 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, showed an 88-91 mph fastball, a changeup and some feel for a curveball.

Atlanta also signed a pair of players from Taiwan: catcher Meng-Hsiu Tsai and righthander Wei-Cheng Huang. Both bonuses are believed to be low six-figure deals.

The Mets signed a few international players this year, the most notable of whom is Dominican third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez, who signed for $600,000.

The Pirates signed Colombian shortstop Yhonathan Barrios, who has a projectable bat but will likely move to third base. The Pirates also landed outfielder Exidardo Cayones for what scouts say was a $400,000 bonus. Cayones is athletic, has good mobility and a 45 arm on the 20-80 scouting scale.

Kellen Kulbacki makes a habit out of reaching base, Jake Arrieta throws a gem and Scott Cousins breaks out of a mini-slump.

California League

Prospect Of The Day

Kellen Kulbacki is enjoying the hitter-friendly confines of the Cal League this season, as the Lake Elsinore (Padres) right fielder is now batting .326 on the year after going 4-for-5 in a win over Lancaster (Red Sox) yesterday. He blasted his 15th home run of the season in the fifth inning, a two-run shot off JetHawks’ righthander Christopher Jones, and scored three of Lake Elsinore’s 11 total runs. Kulbacki has hit safely in 24 of his last 25 games, boosting his average by 47 points since the month of July began. [...] Continue Reading »

The of the best pitching prospects in baseball showed why they are held in such high regard, Carlos Carrasco impressed an opposing manager and Brandon Allen continued to destroy Southern League pitching since his recent promotion.

TEXAS LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Dan Haren is pitching well for the Diamondbacks, but trading Haren may end up bringing back plenty in return for Oakland. Lefthander Brett Anderson, one of the players the Athletics netted in return for Haren, has emerged as one of the game’s best prospects with his advanced command and three quality pitches. Yesterday Anderson had eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings for Midland, limiting Frisco to three runs (two earned). Through five starts with Midland since his promotion from high Class A Stockton, Anderson now has a 29-8 K-BB ratio and a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings. [...] Continue Reading »

Former Double-A Huntsville Stars teammates Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta were reunited on the U.S. roster at the Futures Game. LaPorta found out he was selected to participate in the Futures Game when he received a text message from Cardinals center field prospect Jon Jay, but that was before the Brewers traded LaPorta to the Indians, thus inundating LaPorta’s phone with a slew of messages.

While LaPorta was swarmed by media and went 1-for-3 with a groundball single and a walk in the Futures Game, Gamel arguably had the most impressive offensive performance of any U.S. player, and that’s without even recording a hit. The lefty-hitting Gamel didn’t register an official at-bat, but he worked the count for a pair of walks

“He does a lot of things well,” said Huntsville manager Don Money. “He uses all fields. He’s got good power to left and right. He stays in there against lefties, does very good job against lefties. He’s a line-drive hitter with power.”

While Gamel struggled early last year keeping his hitting mechanics in check, he’s had few problems at the plate this season en route to a .366/.425/.591 line in 399 at-bats.

[...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

First baseman Shane Peterson (Cardinals) continues to show gap power with Batavia. He went 1-for-3 with his ninth double and four RBIs on Wednesday. The second-rounder from Long Beach State is hitting .340/.443/.430 on the year, so his slugging is a bit disappointing given his other numbers, albeit in just 94 at-bats.

Prospect Nuggets

Ryan Flaherty (Cubs) returned to action for Boise and played shortstop. The supplemental first-rounder went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks. . . First baseman Phil Disher (Astros), a 15th-round pick, continues to stay hot and went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. . . A couple of leading pitchers in the New York-Penn League and Northwest League got rocked on Wednesday. Tri-City (Northwest League) righthander Brad McAtee (Rockies) made his own mistakes, walking five in three innings. The 45th-round pick allowed three runs. Meanwhile, Nick Barnese (Rays) also struggled with free passes. He allowed six runs – four earned – on five hits and walked four. Barnese continues to lead short-season ball with 47 strikeouts, including six on Wednesday.

What To Watch For Today

Kyle Weiland (Red Sox), a third round pick out of Notre Dame, tests his 1.88 ERA for Lowell, but the righthander is still looking for his first win.

Prospect Of The Day

Left fielder Rashun Dixon (Athletics) was a 10th round selection, but he has flashed speed while running the bases in the Arizona League. Two triples on Wednesday gave Dixon seven triples on the season. The amazing thing is that he still doesn’t have a double in 90 at-bats.

Prospect Nuggets

Cutter Dykstra, the Brewers’ second-round pick in June, debuted in the Arizona League and went 0-for-2. . . Shortstop Tim Beckham (Rays) went 1-for-3 and picked up two RBIs, one on a double and another on a sacrifice fly. . . Kingsport shortstop Wilmer Flores (Mets) hit a solo home run, his sixth of the season, in four at-bats. . . Casey Kelly (Red Sox) got his first hit, a double. The bad news: the first-round pick struck out twice in four at-bats and is hitting 1-for-20. . . Righthander Evan Hildenbrandt (Reds) was roughed up in the Gulf Coast League, allowing five runs on seven hits in four innings. . . Brett Oberholzer (Braves), a lefthander from New Castle, Delaware, threw six shutout innings in GCL ball and lowered his ERA to 1.90. However, he had just one strikeout. . . Burlington’s John Flanagan (Royals), a 13th-round pick, threw 4 2/3 scorelss innings. The 20-year-old lefthander gave up six hits, but walked just one and struck out five.

What To Watch For Today

Flores and Kingsport ride a five-game winning streak into tonight’s game against Princeton. The Mets now sit just one game out of first and could move into a tie with a win tonight.

Bruce Billings no-hit Lakewood, Mike Moustakas had three hits and Jemile Weeks extended his hitting streak.

South Atlantic League

Prospect Of The Day

Not much of a contest for today’s honors. Asheville (Rockies) righthander Bruce Billings threw the SAL’s first no-hitter since 2005 in a 10-0 rout over Lakewood (Phillies). After issuing a two-out walk in the top of the first, Billings retired the next 23 hitters in a row before committing a fielding error himself that allowed a man to reach with one out in the ninth. Billings struck out eight and completed the game on 112 pitches. [...] Continue Reading »

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Rochester center fielder Jason Pridie (Twins) didn’t begin garnering attention last season until July, when he hit .333 with power to help lead the surging Durham Bulls on a playoff run. It looks as if history is repeating itself—except Rochester would have to leapfrog three teams to win the Northern Division. The 24-year-old Pridie went 3-for-5 yesterday, with two home runs (11), three RBIs but also a caught stealing, in the Red Wings’ 9-6 win against Toledo. In 71 July at-bats he’s hitting .338/.347/.746.

Prospect Nuggets

Toledo SS Michael Hollimon (Tigers) has been seeing time at both middle infield positions since rejoining the Mud Hens on July 7. He’s a more natural fit at second base, because of a fringy arm, but the Tigers may be looking for alternatives to Edgar Renteria, who has been a giant disappointment in Detroit and whose 2009 option the Tigers could decline. Hollimon went 2-for-4 yesterday with a double (14). [...] Continue Reading »

USA Baseball added Giants Triple-A right fielder Nate Schierholtz to the Olympic roster today, replacing injured Cardinals Triple-A center fielder Colby Rasmus.

Rasmus suffered a left knee injury yesterday while at-bat for Memphis, which is being reported as a Grade I MCL sprain that will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Schierholtz, who played in the Futures Game but did not make the original Olympic roster, is the beneficiary, replacing Rasmus’ lefthanded bat with another lefty bat on a roster filled with righthanded hitters. [...] Continue Reading »

California League

Prospect Of The Day

Since being promoted to high Class A, Modesto (Rockies) righthander Jhoulys Chacin has continued to dominate. He tossed five one-hit innings with four strikeouts to improve to 5-0 last night against Visalia (Diamondbacks). Chacin now has 15 wins between two levels on the season, becoming the first minor leaguer to reach that mark.

[...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

Danville righthander David Francis (Braves) turned in one of the better performances you’ll see at any level on Tuesday when he threw six no-hit innings, walked two and struck out 16. Let’s put it another way; of the 18 outs Francis made, only three of them were not strikeouts. (Francis struck out four in one inning, but one batter reached base on a third strike wild pitch.) Francis had given up just one run over his last 16 innings since making his professional debut before Tuesday’s performance.

Prospect Nuggets

Jon Leiber and Scott Eyre (Cubs) made rehab appearances in the Arizona League. Lieber allowed four hits in three innings, but pitched shutout ball, while Eyre walked one in a scoreless inning of relief. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

Joel Carreno (Blue Jays) turned in six shutout innings and struck out 11 for Auburn. The righthander allowed three hits, walked two and lowered his ERA to 1.80. Carreno’s 40 strikeouts are one off the league lead in the New York-Penn League.

Prospect Nuggets

Wilfredo Boscan (Giants) left after 2/3 inning with an ankle injury. He had already allowed a run and walked one, but both of the outs the Salem-Keizer righthander had recorder were of the strikeout variety. . . Catcher Jason Castro (Astros) had his first multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 (both singles) for Tri-City. . . Spokane centerfielder David Paisano (Rangers) went 3-for-5 with a double and a solo home run.

What To Watch For Today

Tri-City righthander Brad McAtee (Rockies) may qualify for the Northwest League lead in ERA (1.44 heading into tonight) after tonight’s game, when he takes the mound against Eugene.

Pablo Sandoval is starting to answer some of the questions about his Cal League performance, a pack of Fisher Cats performed well, Allen Craig kept his hitting streaks going and there’s a huge pitching prospect duel in the Texas League tonight.

EASTERN LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Pablo Sandoval didn’t rank among the Giants’ top 30 prospects entering the season, but he should rank prominently in the 2009 version of the Prospect Handbook. After batting .359/.412/.597 in 273 at-bats with high Class A San Jose in the California League, Sandoval earned a promotion to Connecticut. There’s always skepticism of a guy putting up those kinds of enormous numbers in the hitter-friendly Cal League, but through 24 games in the Eastern League, Sandoval is batting .343/.368/.578 in 102 at-bats. That includes yesterday’s outburst, as Sandoval went 3-for-7 with a home run, a double and six RBIs, extending his hitting streak to 13 games.

Prospect Nuggets

Reading catcher and 2008 Olympian Lou Marson (Phillies) went 2-for-4 with a walk, bringing the 22-year-old’s season line to .322/.438/.432 with 62 walks and 64 strikeouts … New Hampshire (Blue Jays) second baseman Scott Campbell reached base five times, drawing three walks and hitting a double and a single, while his Fisher Cats teammate Travis Snider went 1-for-3 with two walks and his 17th double. Fisher Cats lefty Brett Cecil had success on the mound, posting a 6-0 K-BB mark in 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run. But perhaps the most noteworthy accomplishment of the night for the Fisher Cats came when J.P. Arencibia drew a walk, his first walk in 30 games with New Hampshire. Without the luxury of a minor league Retrosheet, we don’t know how many times it’s taken a player that long to draw his first walk, but it’s nonetheless an impressive streak.

[...] Continue Reading »

Angel Villalona punctuated an eventful evening, Madison Bumgarner dominated for seven innings and Zach Britton won his 10th game.

South Atlantic League

Prospect Of The Day

It was a bit of an up-and-down night for Augusta (Giants) first baseman Angel Villalona, but it ended a high note. He went 2-for-5 on the night in the GreenJackets’ 5-4 win over Lake County (Indians). He doubled and later came around to score in the bottom of the sixth, but he also committed a critical fielding error in the top of the eighth that helped Lake County erase a 4-0 deficit and tie the game. The 17-year-old didn’t take long to redeem himself. With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Villalona launched a 2-0 pitch from Lake County’s Dallas Cawiezell over the left field wall, the first walk-off home run of his pro career.

"Earlier in the season if Villalona makes an error like that he may have not been able focus and concentrate enough to come back and redeem himself," Augusta manager Andy Skeels told the Augusta Chronicle. "These are the times that are turning points in a guy’s career. You can see the development taking place."

For the season, Villalona raised his line to .250/.299/.424 in 328 at-bats. [...] Continue Reading »

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Most famous for his World Baseball Classic seven-inning no-hitter for the Dutch team, Columbus righthander Shairon Martis (Nationals) set another personal milestone Tuesday in striking out a career-high 12 batters. The 21-year-old Curacao native allowed only one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings in the Clippers’ 4-1 victory against Pawtucket. Martis has an impressive feel for pitching and he commands an 89-91 mph fastball and a plus changeup, but his curveball and slider often lag behind.

Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson told the Providence Journal:

“I like (Martis). He had some good offspeed pitches and was aggressive. It took about five or six innings for us to make adjustments. We could have done a better job identifying what we were seeing. We were chasing a lot of offspeed stuff outside of the zone. . . . Sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the opposition.”

Prospect Nuggets

Rochester LHP Francisco Liriano (Twins) pitched seven shutout, two-hit innings in the Red Wings’ 13-0 win against Toledo. He struck out a season-high 10 and walked two. Liriano, 24, has been all but untouchable in July, going 4-0, 0.32 with 33 strikeouts, four walks and 15 hits allowed (no homers) in 28 innings. [...] Continue Reading »

This week’s installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between July 12 and July 20 The previous installment is available here.

Draft pick signings are in full swing, and the numbers in parentheses below refer to draft rounds. Nondrafted free agents (with schools) also are included. Check out the 2008 Draft Database for draft picks in chronological order.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Draft pick signed: LHP Daniel Schlereth (1)
Traded: RHP Evan Scribner to Padres for 1B Tony Clark
Recalled: RHP Billy Buckner
Optioned to Triple-A: C Robby Hammock
Reinstated from DL: RHP Sean Morgan, RHP Max Scherzer

Atlanta Braves
Signed: C Matt Kramer (Harlingen (United))
Released: C Javier Dominguez
Placed on 7-day DL: LHP Jose Ortegano, LHP Chad Rodgers

Baltimore Orioles
Released: RHP Esteban Yan
Traded: 2B Mike McCoy to Rockies for SS Juan Castro
Added to 40-man roster: SS Juan Castro
Outrighted off 40-man roster: SS Freddie Bynum
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Josh Tamba, C Zach Dillon, 3B Scott Moore, OF Bobby Andrews
Reinstated from DL: RHP Luis Gustavo, C Justin Johnson, 1B Ryan Finan [...] Continue Reading »

Throughout the rest of the season, we’ll occasionally give a closer look at minor leaguers who are putting up outstanding stats to get an idea on whether their success will carry over as they move on to higher levels. The first installment is on Blue Jays’ lefthander Tim Collins.

At first glance, Tim Collins doesn’t look like a prospect. At 5-foot-7, 155-pounds, Collins isn’t exactly an intimidating presence on the mound.

But when you watch him throw, and when you take a look at his results, Collins makes it clear that there are some reasons to pay attention to the 18-year-old lefty. Signed by Blue Jays general manager J.P. Riccardi as an undrafted free agent last year, Collins didn’t make the Lansing roster coming out of spring training. But when he finally got a chance to pitch in low Class A, he quickly made it clear that he belonged.

Collins is 3-0, 0.91 with 71 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings. He’s held hitters to a .133 average, pitching off an 89-91 mph fastball, an average breaking ball and an average changeup. [...] Continue Reading »

Rays minor league righthander Matt Walker was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for an amphetamine, a banned performance-enhancing substance. The suspension takes effect immediately.

A 10th-round pick in 2004 out of Central High in Baton Rouge, Walker continued to be plagued by control problems this season at high Class A Vero Beach. The 21-year-old righthander went 4-7, 4.86 with 48 strikeouts, 47 walks and eight home runs allowed in 66 2/3 innings, and his wildness forced a move to the bullpen in late May.

Prospect Of The Day

Vancouver lefthander Carlos Hernandez (Athletics) has dominated the Northwest League in his first seven starts this season. Though he sports just a 1-0 record (including another no-decision yesterday), Hernandez has a 1.82 ERA in 39 2/3 innings to lead the league. Hernandez went seven shutout innings on Monday and allowed three hits, walked none and struck out five. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

Miguel Mendez (Pirates) is a 20-year-old catcher from the Dominican Republic who has owned the Gulf Coast League. In 47 at-bats, Mendez has five home runs and 12 RBIs to compliment a line of .447/.526/.809. Mendez went 3-for-3 with a double and a home run yesterday. [...] Continue Reading »