First baseman Brandon Allen switches team, but keeps hitting

Staff Report
July 24, 2009

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See also: Previous Prospect Hot Sheets

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Sometimes, it's worth remembering that one bad year does not mean a player is no longer a prospect. There are few better examples of that than this week's No. 1 Brandon Allen. Back in 2006, Allen his .213/.257/.380 for low Class A Kannapolis. As a first baseman who's best position may be as a DH, that would seem to be a death sentence. Instead, here he is three years later on the cusp of the big leagues and at the top of this week's Prospect Hot Sheet.

Remember as always, this is not a re-ranking of our Top 100 Prospects list. Instead, it's a snapshot of who are the hottest prospects in baseball right now, with stats taken from the past week of games (July 17-23).

Contributing: Ben Badler, Dan Budreika, J.J. Cooper, Matt Eddy, Matt Forman, Conor Glassey, Jim Shonerd.

No. 1 BRANDON ALLEN, 1B	DIAMONDBACKS
Team: Triple-A Reno (Pacific Coast) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .385/.500/1.000 (10-for-26), 5 HR, 1 2B, 10 RBIs, 8 R, 6 BB, 3 SO, 3-for-3 SB The Scoop: Making a positive first impression on a new employer is always important. No need to tell that to Allen, though, as the Diamondbacks' newly acquired first baseman smacked five home runs on the week, catapulting himself to the top of this week's Prospect Hot Sheet. Allen needed time to adjust to pro ball after the White Sox made him a fifth-round pick in 2004, but he broke out last year, hitting 29 home runs between high Class A and Double-A, and he's continued that trend into 2009. Allen is up to 15 home runs for the season, having hit eight before being traded and seven already in 12 games with Reno. He hit three homers in four games against Sacramento, one of the PCL's better pitching staffs, then homered in back-to-back games against Portland, including a two-homer game Wednesday. Allen's hit tool has been coming around as well. A .256 lifetime hitter coming into the season, he's hitting .296 in 338 at-bats between stops at Double-A and Triple-A this year. He's registered hits in 11 of his 12 games since joining the Aces, and his strikeout rate has fallen markedly, as he's only fanned in 65 times in 88 games this year, down from his career rate of more than a strikeout per game entering the year.
2009 Stats

No. 2 JAMES DARNELL, 3B	PADRES
Team: high Class A Lake Elsinore (California) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .400/.471/.833 (12-for-30), 3 HR, 2 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBIs, 6 R, 4 BB, 8 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: Darnell still ranks first in the Midwest League in on-base percentage (.468) and third in slugging (.518), but he didn't accumulate enough plate appearances with Fort Wayne to lay claim to those titles. No worry. In all likelihood he would have begun the season in the Cal League were it not for Logan Forsythe, whose promotion to Double-A paved the way for Darnell's bump to Elsinore. The '08 second-rounder continues to hit and hit for power, as evidenced by his one four-hit and two three-hit games on the week, including a two-homer outburst at Inland Empire on Sunday. Defensively speaking, Darnell has not been as steady. His fielding percentage at the hot corner sits at .897 on the year—that's 26 errors in 105 games.
2009 Stats

No. 3 MIKE STANTON, RF	MARLINS
Team: Double-A Jacksonville (Southern) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .435/.462/.783 (10-for-23), 2 HR, 2 2B, 5 RBIs, 7 R, 0 BB, 8 SO The Scoop: Stanton needed time to make the transition to Double-A. He hit just .202 in his first 27 games with Jacksonville in what was the first really protracted slump of his career. That's over with now. Stanton is on an eight-game hitting streak and has upped his line with the Suns to .252/.337/.476 in 147 at-bats. The second of his two home runs this week came off a newly-minted Mariner Dan Cortes of West Tenn, against whom Stanton crushed a two-run shot in the fifth inning that upped his home run totals to 20 on the season and eight already in Double-A.
2009 Stats

No. 4 MICHAEL SAUNDERS, LF	MARINERS
Team: Triple-A Tacoma (Pacific Coast) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .429/.467/.786 (12-for-28), 2 HR, 4 2B, 6 R, 3 RBIs, 1 BB, 5 SO The Scoop: Saunders entered the season as an everyday center fielder, but for Tacoma he's played more corner (40 games) than middle outfield (23 games). Whatever the reason—defensive whiz Franklin Gutierrez in front of him in Seattle, offseason labrum surgery on his throwing shoulder—his bat appears that it will profile at any position. Saunders has done everything asked of him this season, hitting for average (.313), for power (13 home runs, .551 slugging) while serving as the Rainiers' primary No. 2 hitter. That depresses his RBI total (32), but then he has shown more selectivity (.381 on-base) while cutting his strikeouts per at-bat by nearly 10 percentage points, from 28 down to 19.
2009 Stats

No. 5 THOMAS NEAL, LF	GIANTS
Team: high Class A San Jose (California) Age: 21 Why He's Here: .400/.471/.767 (12-for-30), 2 HR, 5 2B, 7 RBIs, 10 R, 3 BB, 6 SO, 3-for-3 SB The Scoop: The No. 1 prospect on this list a week ago, Neal has been on fire of late. Over the past two weeks, he's gone 22-for-53 with eight doubles, one triple and three home runs. On the season, he's now up to .350/.435/.625, while leading the Cal League in average and doubles (32). His slugging percentage ranks third best in all of the minors' full-season leagues. While the Cal League is a hitter's paradise, Neal has hit well both at home and on the road and against both righties and lefties.
2009 Stats

No. 6 LOGAN MORRISON, 1B	MARLINS
Team: Double-A Jacksonville (Southern) Age: 21 Why He's Here: .429/.692/.500 (6-for-14), 1 2B, 6 RBIs, 5 R, 12 BB, 1 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: Pitches to hit were few and far between for Morrison, which wasn't altogether surprising since he's been the one batting cleanup behind Stanton in the Jacksonville order. Even given that, drawing 12 walks in a week (none of them intentional either) is a pretty impressive feat of plate discipline. Morrison needed a little time to get back in form after a right wrist fracture sidelined him for two months, but he's been heating up in July, batting .311/.500/.525 in 61 at-bats.
2009 Stats

No. 7 JESUS MONTERO, C	YANKEES
Team: Double-A Trenton (Eastern) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .360/.429/.680 (9-for-25), 2 HR, 2 2B, 9 RBIs, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO The Scoop: On the season, Montero is hitting .334/.391/.552 in 317 at-bats, with 15 home runs, 63 RBIs and a 28-to-43 walk-to-strikeout ratio. His production stands on its own merits, but just consider the supporting evidence: He's 19, he's caught in 53 of his 84 games played and he's compiled huge numbers in two pitcher-friendly leagues, the Florida State and now the Eastern. If he's got another month in him like the ones that have come before, you may be looking at our Minor League Player of the Year.
2009 Stats

No. 8 LANCE LYNN, RHP	CARDINALS
Team: Double-A Springfield (Texas) Age: 22 Why He's Here: 1-1, 0.00, 14 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 14 SO The Scoop: Lynn is one of the biggest men in the minor leagues at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds. He won't overpower hitters with mid-90s velocity, but his fastball regularly checks in in the low 90s with good command, thanks in part to a clean delivery. This week, Lynn breezed through his starts against Northwest Arkansas and Tulsa, showing why the Cardinals made him their supplemental first-round pick from Mississippi one year ago.
2009 Stats

No. 9 DEOLIS GUERRA, RHP	TWINS
Team: Double-A New Britain (Eastern) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 2-0, 2.03, 13 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 15 SO The Scoop: After spending parts of four long, tumultuous seasons in the high Class A Florida State League, Guerra was finally given a shot at Double-A in early July. It feels like he's been around forever, yet he's still young for Double-A at age 20, and he's gone 3-0, 3.52 in his first four starts with New Britain. Guerra has regained some his velocity, which had declined last year as he battled inconsistencies with his delivery after coming over from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade. He struck out 12 over seven shutout innings against Portland Thursday night, and has fanned 23 in 23 innings for the Rock Cats.
2009 Stats

No. 10 MADISON BUMGARNER, LHP	GIANTS
Team: Double-A Connecticut (Eastern) Age: 19 Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.29, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 SO The Scoop: From a strictly pitching standpoint, this wasn't Bumgarner's most dominating game. However, he also went 2-for-3 with a go-ahead grand slam, nearly winning the game single-handedly. It was Bumgarner's first professional home run, and he's allowed just eight as a pitcher in 40 career starts. On the year, the 6-foot-4 lefthander is 10-2, 1.54 with 75 strikeouts and 24 walks over 94 innings. He's striking out a tick over 20 percent of the batters he faces, an impressive feat given he doesn't turn 20 until Aug. 1.
2009 Stats

No. 11 JON GASTON, LF	ASTROS
Team: high Class A Lancaster (California) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .348/.348/1.217 (8-for-23), 6 HR, 1 3B, 10 RBIs, 9 R, 5 BB, 10 SO The Scoop: A seventh-round pick last year out of Arizona, Gaston didn't show many signs of future success when he hit .193/.292/.285 in his debut at short-season Tri-City. But the Astros promoted him aggressively to high Class A Lancaster this season, and he's responded with a breakout year. Thanks to a pair of two-home run games this week, Gaston took over the minor league lead in home runs with 27. He also leads the minors in triples (14), extra-base hits (64), runs scored (88), total bases (243) and slugging percentage (.673). Lancaster is a fabulous place to hit, and Gaston's true ability rests somewhere between his .339/.422/.790 line at home and his less overheated .274/.370/.549 performance on the road.
2009 Stats

No. 12 DANNY DUFFY, LHP	ROYALS
Team: high Class A Wilmington (Carolina) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.66, 13 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 SO The Scoop:  Duffy is making a strong argument for being the Royals' top pitching prospect, and he didn't need the Daniel Cortes trade to clear the spot. As a young lefty with a plus fastball (he sat at 92.5 mph during his Futures game appearance), solid command and a feel for pitching, Duffy has been one of the Carolina League's best starters all season. He seems to have righted himself from a late June swoon that saw him give up 16 earned runs in four outings—he's given up 19 earned runs in his other 14 starts.
2009 Stats

No. 13 IKE DAVIS, 1B	METS
Team: Double-A Binghamton (Eastern) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .385/.467/.692 (10-for-26), 2 HR, 2 2B, 6 RBIs, 6 R, 4 BB, 4 SO The Scoop: Davis has clubbed more home runs this season (12) and compiled a higher slugging percentage (.486) than any of the other four first-round first basemen from the '08 draft. That's a group that includes Yonder Alonso, Justin Smoak, David Cooper and Allan Dykstra. To be fair, Smoak began the year in Double-A and has moved up to Triple-A, unlike Davis who started in high Class A, but then Smoak has enjoyed much friendlier hitting environments along the way.
2009 Stats

At this point, does another seven scoreless innings by Reds LHP Travis Wood start to lose its impact? It was the sixth time in Wood's past nine starts that he didn't allow a run. Pitching at Double-A Carolina, Wood, 22, is working on a 14-inning scoreless streak that would seem impressive if not for the 22-inning scoreless streak he had in June. He also has a nine-game winning streak, which makes sense, seeing as he has allowed more than two earned runs only once all season . . . Just call Double-A Portland RHP Junichi Tazawa Mr. Consistency, because that's exactly what he has been this season. Last week was no different, as Tazawa pitched 11 combined innings in two outings, allowing just one run on eight hits while striking out nine. In 18 starts, Tazawa has gone fewer than five innings and allowed more than two earned runs twice each. Boston signed the 23-year-old from Japan in offseason with a three-year, $3.3 million deal, and he hasn't disappointed in his first season of American baseball . . . Though it doesn't often happen, one of Tazawa's Red Sox teammates out-pitched him this week. Double-A Portland LHP Felix Doubront, 21, tossed a seven-inning, complete game shutout on Wednesday, allowing just four hits while striking out 10. It was Doubront's longest outing of the season and just the fourth time all season he did not walk a batter. On the year, Doubront is 6-2, 3.42 and has struck out 77 in 79 innings pitched . . . An '08 fourth-round pick from Elon, Mariners RHP Steven Hensley had his pro debut last year abbreviated by an elbow injury. The 22-year-old appeared completely healthy this spring when he didn't allow an earned run through his first 19 2/3 Midwest League innings. But that was low Class A. Pushed to Double-A at the beginning of May, Hensley was rocked for 12 runs in 15 innings there, a showing that earned him a demotion to high Class A High Desert, where lately he's been one of the California League's finest pitchers. This week he went 2-0, 2.40, allowing eight hits and only one walk in 15 innings, while striking out 16. Throw out one ugly start on July 6 and Hensley has been golden in five of his last six times out: 4-0, 1.75, 36 IP, 22 H, 3 HR, 4 BB, 40 SO. Did we mention two of those starts were made at home in High Desert? . . . You won't find low Class A Savannah SS Wilmer Flores' (Mets) names among the South Atlantic League leaders, not with the way he started. But the 17-year-old Venezuelan batted .391/.444/.565 (9-for-23) on the week, with a home run, a double, six runs scored and five RBIs. His season has been trending up, as he's now hit .300 or better in both July and August—a combined 53-for-173 (.306)—and has raised his season line to .286/.325/.368 through 85 games. While Flores possesses very little speed and hasn't hit for a ton of game power, his bat control remains impressive. He's got just 42 whiffs on the year, and since July he's fanned in just 10 percent of his at-bats . . . Futures Game standout CF Tyson Gillies (Mariners) was nearly as hot as the weather he played in this week. The July 23 box score for the high Class A High Desert game in Bakersfield listed the game-time temperature as 108 degrees. Gillies, 20, hit .536 on the week (15-for-28). While all of his hits were singles, he also stole five bases . . . High Class A Modesto RHP Cory Riordan (Rockies), 23, pitched well in two starts on the week. The sixth-rounder out of Fordham in '07 went 1-1, 1.59 with 19 strikeouts and two walks over 17 innings.



If it wasn't for injuries, Chris Carpenter would be a household name for Baseball America readers by now. He was a solid high school prospect who spurned the Tigers as a seventh-round pick in 2004 to head to Kent State. But he blew out his elbow as a freshman, missed his sophomore season because of Tommy John surgery and then had a second operation to clear out scar tissue. He fell from being a potential first-round pick to the 18th round as a draft-eligible sophomore in '07. Teams were concerned about his arm, in part because he left the Cape Cod League that summer with a tired arm after only two outings. The Cubs finally brought him to pro ball as a third-round pick last year, and he's shown a 93-94 mph fastball with excellent life. Since being promoted to high Class A Daytona on July 2, Carpenter has allowed only 12 hits and eight walks while striking out 30 in 21 innings. He allowed only one hit while striking out nine in five innings in his last start. But the 23-year-old then had to skip his start scheduled for Thursday night because of elbow soreness, which is another reminder that health will be Carpenter's biggest hurdle in making it to the big leagues.