Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period July 10-18.

Any player listed with an asterisk (*) signed a minor league contract with the organization after being removed from the 40-man roster and clearing waivers.

Please see the Baseball America Draft Database for much more detailed information on draft picks, including scouting reports (for subscribers) and select signing bonuses.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: RHP Chase Brewer (NDFA—UCLA)
Released: LHP Taylor Sinclair, OF Alan Santiago
Optioned to Triple-A: LHP Pat Corbin
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Eric Smith

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP Mike Lee (Rockford (Frontier)), 3B Terry Tiffee (Lancaster (Atlantic))
Draft pick signed: RHP Matt Kimbrel (31)
Released: LHP Chad Rodgers, LHP Matt Talley, SS Greg Paiml
Recalled: C J.C. Boscan, SS Tyler Pastornicky
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Ben Sheets
Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Randall Delgado, C J.C. Boscan
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Dave Filak, RHP Cory Gearrin, LHP Chris Masters, 2B Tommy La Stella
Reinstated from DL: RHP Peter Moylan, LHP Chad Rodgers, C Chad Comer, SS Fernando de los Santos

The Braves came to terms with 31st-round righty Matt Kimbrel the day before the signing deadline, one year after failing to sign him as a 32nd-rounder out of Shelton State (Ala.) CC. He's the younger brother of Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, who like Matt also attended community college in Alabama. Craig signed with Atlanta as a third-rounder in ’08 out of Wallace State (Ala.) CC. [...] Continue Reading »

The White Sox have agreed to terms with Dominican corner outfielder Hanlet Otano.

Otano, who turned 16 on Monday, stands out for his size (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) and raw power from the right side. The White Sox have been much busier than usual during the international signing period, which opened on July 2. The White Sox also agreed to terms with Dominican third baseman Luis Castillo for $450,000 and Dominican shortstop Johan Cruz.

One of the great stories of the 2011 season was Neil Ramirez's rise from slow-developing pitcher to top prospect. Ramirez jumped from high Class A to Triple-A for a spot start and pitched so well that he got to spend most of the season at the higher level.

Ramirez won't remember 2012 so fondly. He pitched poorly enough in a return to Round Rock that he was demoted back to Double-A Frisco recently. Then he was limited to roughly 60 pitches in two recent starts because of shoulder fatigue. The pitch limit wasn't an issue on Tuesday, general ineffectiveness was. Ramirez gave up six runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings while walking two and striking out one. In a rough season for Ramirez this was the third time he's failed to get out of the third.

Ramirez's velocity is down and his control this year has generally not been as sharp was it was in 2011, so there are some explanations for his struggles. But for a pitcher who has battled some injury issues in the past, it's not necessarily a comforting explanation.

Ramirez's struggles masked what was another nice day for the Frisco lineup. First baseman/third baseman Mike Olt hit his 23rd home run of the season and Jurickson Profar doubled. Profar started the game at second while normal second baseman Leury Garcia got a chance to start at shortstop, but Profar had to return to his normal spot after Garcia left the game with a foot injury after being hit by a pitch.

Luis Castillo, a third baseman from the Dominican Republic, has agreed to sign with the White Sox for $450,000.

Castillo, 16, is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds with a sound righthanded swing and plus power. Castillo played in the Dominican Prospect League and trained with Carlos Hernandez, who is known as "Cambo."

Earlier this month the White Sox also signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Johan Cruz, who some scouts considered one of the better shortstops on the island for July 2.

Presented here are the top 10 runs created tallies for position-player prospects from weekend series.

• The 26th pick in the 2010 draft, Kyle Parker missed most of April after being struck in the hand by an errant pitch. He returned to the field for high Class A Modesto in May, though the right fielder didn't return to form until June. In fact, since June 2 Parker has batted .338/.459/.534 (50-for-138) with seven homers, eight doubles and a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 30-to-35.

• If he sticks around the Arizona League long enough, Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo has a real shot at the league's home run record of 16, which was established by Wladimir Balentien in 2003. Drafted out of high school 39th overall in June, Gallo is batting .349/.528/.952 with 10 homers through his first 20 pro games. [...] Continue Reading »

Presented here are the top 10 pitcher game scores from weekend series.

• While an Indians minor leaguer threw a no-hitter at the Double-A level (see below), righthander Cody Martin's start for high Class A Lynchburg on Friday was arguably more masterful. He allowed the same number of baserunners (three) but struck out more than twice as many batters and didn't allow a run. In fact, Martin's 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout—which he won 1-0 for an added degree of difficulty—was so dominant that he registered the highest game score of the minor league season, a 96.

So what kind of prospect is Martin, a 22-year-old whom the Braves drafted out of Gonzaga in the seventh round last year? In short: a modest one, though his overall command and above-average curveball make him a prospect with a real chance to pitch in the big leagues as middle reliever or back-of-the-rotation starter. Martin sits at a modest 89-90 mph, but he works his fastball effectively in and out, up and down, and he expertly mixes in an average changeup and an out-pitch curve. With 101 strikeouts, he trails only Hillcats teammate Aaron Northcraft for the Carolina League lead. [...] Continue Reading »

In his first week in Double-A, we've received another example of just how fast Billy Hamilton is.

Playing against the Jacksonville Suns on Sunday, Hamilton hit one of the fastest inside-the-park home runs anyone has ever seen. Hamilton hit a line drive that Suns right fielder Kyle Jensen dove and couldn't catch. Center fielder Donnie Webb came over quite quickly to back up the play, but a couple of bobbles handling the ball were all Hamilton needed to round the bases. He scored standing up without even a real throw home.

Timing the play, Hamilton rounded the bases in 13.8 seconds. The fastest home run in the past couple of years in the big leagues is a 14-second round trip by Angels outfielder Peter Bourjos.

Hamilton was held without a stolen base on Sunday, which means he still sits at 109 steals for the season. Here's the home run if you want to see it yourself.

Dominican shortstop Sergio Alcantara, the No. 18 international prospect for July 2, has signed with the Diamondbacks.

Alcantara, who is 5-foot-11, 155 pounds, turned 16 on July 10. He's a switch-hitter with smooth hands, a plus arm and good instincts, which is why some teams considered him one of the best defensive shortstops in Latin America. He is the nephew of former big leaguer Anderson Hernandez, a 29-year-old second baseman now with the Pirates in Triple-A. 

Baseball America subscribers can read a complete scouting report on Alcantara.

See also: Top 20 International Prospects Tracker.

By Everett Merrill

READING, Pa.—Mets righthander Zack Wheeler began his first season in Double-A in fine fashion, going 6-3, 1.88 with a strikeout per inning through 12 starts for Binghamton. He hit the proverbial wall soon after, allowing 12 runs and 17 hits in his next two outings, totaling 13 2/3 innings.

The 22-year-old Wheeler didn't dwell on the bad performances or let them fester. He had the maturity to put the drubbings in proper perspective.

"Sometimes you can get away with throwing hard and missing your spots," he said, reflecting on those two starts in late June. "But in those games I was missing my spots, and they were hitting me. That reminded me of what would happen if I was in the big leagues. It was a good learning experience, so actually I'm glad it happened."

Wheeler responded with one of his finest starts of the season on July 5, a six-hitter with six strikeouts and one run allowed over 7 1/3 innings in a win against Richmond. [...] Continue Reading »

The top four prospects in baseball entering the season—Bryce Harper, Matt Moore, Mike Trout and Yu Darvish—all have spent the majority of 2012 in the big leagues. All but Moore appear on the midseason all-rookie team, and his exclusion might be the most unexpected given the lefty’s dominance for the Rays last September and October.

Despite the extreme youth of Harper and Trout—their combined age of 39 is younger than 12 active big leaguers—both the batting and pitching rookies skew older at an average age of 24 years old. The Athletics, Rangers and Reds each placed multiple rookies on the midseason team, including Oakland No. 1 prospect Jarrod Parker, Texas No. 1 Darvish and Cincinnati No. 5 Zack Cozart.

Statistics here capture a snapshot of each player's performance at the end of the day July 8, the final Sunday prior to the all-star break. Rookies are organized into four groups so that performances can be compared more directly. Players are divided into starting pitchers, relief pitchers, up-the-middle defenders and corner players, because no one ought to expect a middle infielder's raw offensive production to look like a corner outfielder's.

For rookie rundowns going back five years, check out the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 or 2011 midseason lists.

An asterisk (*) denotes a lefthanded batter or thrower and a pound sign (#) signifies a switch-hitter.

UP-THE-MIDDLE ROOKIES
Catcher, Second Base, Shortstop & Center Field

• The Mariners' Jesus Montero and the Reds' Devin Mesoraco entered the season with more rookie fanfare (and attendant No. 1 prospect status in their organizations), but the Rockies' Wilin Rosario wrested the starting job away from veteran Ramon Hernandez in May and hasn't looked back. Rosario belted 14 homers in the first half to lead all rookies, so despite an acute on-base deficiency (eight walks, 53 walks and a .279 OBP) he gets the nod at catcher—at least for now. [...] Continue Reading »

Here we present official minor league transactions, conveyed to us by Major League Baseball, for the period July 3-9.

Please see the Baseball America Draft Database for much more detailed information on draft picks, including scouting reports (for subscribers), select signing bonuses and a running tally of team spending.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: RHP Chris Thomas (NDFA—Lander (S.C.))
Draft picks signed: OF Evan Marzilli (8), OF Damion Smith (27)
Released: RHP Chris Jakubauskas, C Jae Yun Kim, C Mark Reed
Placed on 7-day DL: LHP John Pedrotty, C Fidel Pena
Reinstated from DL: RHP Mike Bolsinger, C Mark Reed, 3B Carter Bell, OF Alfredo Marte

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP Ben Sheets
Released: RHP D.J. Carrasco, OF Cory Harrilchak
Recalled: LHP Luis Avilan
Reinstated from DL: OF Jordan Parraz

Baltimore Orioles
Signed: OF Henry Urrutia
Draft picks signed: RHP Matt Price (7), 1B Christian Walker (4)
Recalled: RHP Chris Tillman, 1B Joe Mahoney, 2B Steven Tolleson, OF Xavier Avery
Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Jake Arrieta, RHP Steve Johnson, 1B Joe Mahoney
Optioned to Double-A: RHP Chris Tillman
Removed from 40-man: LHP Zach Phillips (outrighted to Triple-A)
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Brandon Erbe, RHP Jaime Esquivel, LHP Dustin Ward, C Cameron Edman, C Pedro Perez, OF Austin Knight, OF Ronnie Welty
Reinstated from DL: C Michael Ohlman, 2B Nicky Delmonico, OF Ronnie Welty

The Orioles signed Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia for $778,500, and his bonus will not count against Baltimore's international signing budget. [...] Continue Reading »

Baseball America's major league correspondents file 25 prospect reports a year, providing essential information on the up and coming players in every organization. Yet a steady flow of content on our site sometimes buries their Organization Reports at the foot of the mountain, beneath an avalanche of words.

To make sure you don't miss our midseason prospect reports, we're unveiling them 10 at a time this week—we've rolled out the East and the Central, and we're wrapping up with the West today. For each organization, we selected the best overall player (among those who have spent most of the season in the minors), the prospect who has taken the biggest leap forward, and the one who has been the biggest disappointment.

Our Organization Reports are a subscriber-only feature, so if you'd like to read them you can find your various subscription options here. But for everyone we present below a handy index to all nine of the reports from the West, with an overview of the category winners for Best Player, Biggest Leap Forward and Biggest Disappointment of the first half. The team name links you to the complete report, which includes an explanation of why each player won his respective category. You can find the overall Organization Reports index for 2012 here.

BY JAMES BAILEY

BUFFALO—Sometimes, as they say, the third time is the charm. That's certainly proven true for John Ely, who was on the receiving end of more than his share of poundings for Triple-A Albuquerque during his first two seasons in the Dodgers organization.

In 38 Pacific Coast League starts in 2010-11, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound righthander surrendered 248 hits in 212 1/3 innings while posting a 6.06 ERA. That wasn't what the Dodgers had envisioned when they acquired him from the White Sox in 2009 as part of the return for outfielder Juan Pierre.

Ely started fresh this season, determined not to give in to the conditions in the PCL, particularly in Albuquerque, where the scoreboard operator always gets a good workout. [...] Continue Reading »

The Orioles have signed Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia to a minor league contract with a bonus of $778,500.

Since Urrutia turned 25 in February and has played at least three seasons in Cuba's top league, his bonus will not count against Baltimore's $2.9 million bonus pool for the 2012-13 international signing period.

Here is Baseball America's scouting report on Urrutia from January:

"Urrutia, 24, is the son of Ermidelio Urrutia, a former Cuban national team outfielder who played in the 1992 Olympics and several other international competitions. From 2006-2010, Ermidelio was a manager in Serie Nacional for Las Tunas, the team Henry played for from his debut season in 2005-06 until his final season in 2009-10. Henry Urrutia batted .397/.461/.597 in 305 at-bats with 12 home runs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (23) his last year in Cuba, tying for ninth in the league in OBP.

A 6-foot-3, 180-pound switch-hitter, Urrutia is a corner outfielder with a solid, level stroke that produces line drives, with a better swing plane from the left side. He has solid bat-to-ball ability and average power. While there's not much projection remaining, Urrutia's body does have some room to fill out, so he could add more pop, but he doesn't have prototypical power for a corner outfielder. He's a good athlete for a corner outfielder and just around an average runner. He could begin his career in Double-A."

Urrutia was represented by Bart Hernandez.

The Pirates have signed Dominican center fielder Michael de la Cruz for $700,000.

The bonus came as a surprise to some teams. De la Cruz, who turned 16 yesterday, is a lefty with a lean, medium frame at 6 feet, 175 pounds. De la Cruz ran average times in the 60-yard dash earlier in the year but he cut his time down to 6.7 seconds in recent months (though not showing that well home to first) for other teams and ran close to 6.5 seconds for the Pirates. Scouts have said de la Cruz gets good jumps off the bat and shows good instincts in center field. The Pirates have called his arm above-average, though other teams before July 2 graded his arm out at a 45-50 on the 20-80 scale with a long, slow release.

At the plate, de la Cruz has a wide setup and a quick, handsy swing, though he doesn't have much power right now. He is from Santo Domingo and trained with Raul Valera, who is known in the Dominican Republic as "Banana." Last year Valera's shortstop, Eliezer Alvarez, signed with the Cardinals for $425,000 when Pirates Latin American supervisor Juan Mercado was with St. Louis.

When the international signing period opened last week, the Pirates also signed Dominican third baseman Julio de la Cruz (no relation to Michael), the No. 16 international prospect for July 2, for $700,000.

Baseball America's major league correspondents file 25 prospect reports a year, providing essential information on the up and coming players in every organization. Yet a steady flow of content on our site sometimes buries their Organization Reports at the foot of the mountain, beneath an avalanche of words.

To make sure you don't miss our midseason prospect reports, we're unveiling them 10 at a time this week—we started with the East organizations yesterday, have the Central today and will post the West on Thursday. For each organization, we selected the best overall player (among those who have spent most of the season in the minors), the prospect who has taken the biggest leap forward, and the one who has been the biggest disappointment.

Our Organization Reports are a subscriber-only feature, so if you'd like to read them you can find your various subscription options here. But for everyone we present below a handy index to all 11 of the reports from the Central, with an overview of the category winners for Best Player, Biggest Leap Forward and Biggest Disappointment of the first half. The team name links you to the complete report, which includes an explanation of why each player won his respective category. You can find the overall Organization Reports index for 2012 here.

The Blue Jays were among the most aggressive teams when the international signing period opened on July 2, signing three of the top 20 international prospects to put them slightly over their $2.9 million international bonus pool.

Toronto signed Venezuelan shortstop Franklin Barreto ($1.45 million), Venezuelan shortstop Luis Castro ($800,000) and Dominican shortstop Richard Urena ($725,000), putting their international amateur spending for the 2012-13 signing period at $2,975,000. That means the Blue Jays are 2.6 percent over their international bonus pool, so for their $75,000 overage they will have to pay a 75 percent tax, which comes to $56,250.

The Blue Jays won't face any penalties beyond the tax unless they choose to spend more than five percent above the $2.9 million pool ($3,045,000), after which they would have to pay a 75 percent tax on the overage and would be prohibited from signing more than one player for a bonus greater than $500,000 during the 2013-14 international signing period that begins next year on July 2.

While the Blue Jays are probably done for the next 11 months in terms of six-figure international amateur signings, the Collective Bargaining Agreement does have some exemptions that will allow them to still sign players without having to face any further penalties. Each club gets six exemptions on signings of up to $50,000, so the Blue Jays still have up to $300,000 to spread across six players if they want for the rest of the signing period. Teams can also sign unlimited players for $7,500 or less and they won't count against their pool space.

During the 2011 calendar year, the Blue Jays ranked second in international amateur spending with estimated bonus expenditures of $7.57 million.

The Diamondbacks have signed catcher Oswaldo Garcia, a player some scouts considered the top prospect this year from Colombia.

Garcia, 16, has a large frame (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and offers intriguing power from the right side. Garcia is a former pitcher with a strong arm, though as a bigger catcher he will have to continue working on his lateral agility behind the plate.

"The tools are there," said one scout. "He's going to be a guy who, in the next two years, you might have a a really good guy behind the plate with a chance to hit for power. It's a good swing and he hits in games. He's pretty good."

Arizona also signed Fernery Ozuna, a 16-year-old Dominican shortstop. At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, Ozuna is undersized but he's a switch-hitter who is better from the left side and shows sneaky power. He's not a burner but he's a high-energy player with good instincts who flashes an above-average arm.

Baseball America's major league correspondents file 25 prospect reports a year, providing essential information on the up and coming players in every organization. Yet a steady flow of content on our site sometimes buries their Organization Reports at the foot of the mountain, beneath an avalanche of words.

To make sure you don't miss our midseason prospect reports, we're unveiling them 10 at a time this week—the East organizations today, the Central tomorrow and the West on Thursday. For each organization, we selected the best overall player (among those who have spent most of the season in the minors), the prospect who has taken the biggest leap forward, and the one who has been the biggest disappointment.

Our Organization Reports are a subscriber-only feature, so if you'd like to read them you can find your various subscription options here. But for everyone we present below a handy index to all 10 of the reports from the East, with an overview of the category winners for Best Player, Biggest Leap Forward and Biggest Disappointment of the first half. The team name links you to the complete report, which includes an explanation of why each player won his respective category. You can find the overall Organization Reports index for 2012 here.

The Royals have signed a pair of 16-year-old Venezuelan pitchers, righthander Julio Pinto and lefthander Junior Reyes.

Pinto, who signed for $375,000, is a projection arm who throws 88-92 mph with developing secondary stuff that includes a curveball and a changeup. He trained with Luis Blasini, who also represented Samir Duenez, the third baseman the Royals signed for $425,000. Pinto and Duenez both also traveled to the Dominican Republic last month for the Dominican Prospect League's Perfect Game International Series, where Pinto was named the pitching MVP during the showcase's all-tournament game.

Reyes, who signed for $155,000, is 5-foot-11, 165 pounds and has good control of an 87-89 mph fastball. He doesn't throw as hard as Pinto but he has earned praise from scouts for his pitchability. He trained with Alex Quiroz.