BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Prospect Hot Sheet: Prospect Hot Sheet: July 23

Staff Report
July 23, 2010

You may have noticed that the Prospect Hot Sheet looks a little different this year. The content is the same, but we've partnered with Bowman Baseball to present Hot Sheet. So in addition to getting the skinny on which prospects are doing the most to help their stock, you can also get a glimpse at the baseball cards of some of baseball's best prospects.

As we have warned for years now, remember that this is not a re-ranking of the Top 100 Prospects. This is a snapshot of which top prospects are excelling and which ones are struggling right now. Stats cover from July 16 through last night, July 22.

Contributing: Ben Badler, Bubba Brown, J.J. Cooper, Matt Eddy, Tyler Jett, Mike Lemaire and John Manuel.

No. 1	TYLER CHATWOOD, RHP	ANGELS
Team: Double-A Arkansas (Texas) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 1-1, 0.53, 2 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 17 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 2 HBP, 3 BB, 9 SO The Scoop: Chatwood still leads the California League with a 1.77 ERA, even though he left that high Class A circuit a month ago. But after a rough start with Arkansas (7.27 ERA through his first four starts), things have gone just as swimmingly for the third-youngest pitcher in the Texas League since his promotion to Double-A. In his last two starts, Chatwood has shown his finest command of the strike zone since turning pro as a second-round pick out of high school in 2008. He shut out Tulsa on three hits last Friday and then went eight innings, allowing one run on seven hits, on Wednesday. He walked just three batters all week, while needing 105 and 102 pitches to complete his longest outings of the year.
2010 Stats

No. 2	MATT MOORE, LHP	RAYS
Team: high Class A Charlotte (Florida State) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 0-1, 1.38, 13 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 21 SO The Scoop: He'd have to arm wrestle John Lamb for the title of the minors' hottest pitcher, but no one has gone through a better turnaround than Moore. He has gotten ahead in counts more often with improved control, which has led to huge strikeout numbers. From June 1 to now, Moore leads the minors in strikeouts (74 in 55 2/3 innings), and this week he had two more double-digit strikeout outings. That's becoming routine for Moore—he has struck out 10 or more in four of his past six starts.
2010 Stats

No. 3	JASON KIPNIS, 2B	INDIANS
Team: Double-A Akron (Eastern) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .565/.643/.957 (13-for-23), 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 7 R, 5 BB, 4 K The Scoop: After spending the first two months of the season cruising through the Carolina League, Kipnis has been even better since his promotion to Double-A. He has shown an ability to hit for average and power, as well as a keen eye with a .338/.421/.547 line. His .968 OPS ranks as the third highest among players still in the Eastern League. Despite his good work in Double-A, he recently went 17 games without a homer. But broke out of that skid in a big way with a two-homer game on Tuesday, which gives him 12 on the year.
2010 Stats

No. 4	STOLMY PIMENTEL, RHP	RED SOX
Team: high Class A Salem (Carolina) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.92, 14 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 13 SO The Scoop: Pimentel throws two quality pitches—a fastball that sits in the low-90s and a changeup that can be an out-pitch for him at times. They were both working this week, when Pimentel pitched into the seventh inning for the first time all season in each of his last two starts. Pimentel's curveball isn't up to par with the rest of his pitches, which is why he doesn't miss many bats (68 strikeouts in 94 innings), but his pitching acumen is advanced enough for him to get hitters out.
2010 Stats

No. 5	MANNY BANUELOS, LHP	YANKEES
Team: high Class A Tampa (Florida State) Age: 19 Why He's Here: 0-1, 0.00, 11 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 HBP, 4 BB, 17 SO The Scoop: An appendectomy prevented Banuelos from getting his season started with Tampa until July 1, but he's been outstanding in his return. With a 1.16 ERA in five starts, Banuelos has a 33-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23 1/3 innings, including a season-high 10 strikeouts on Wednesday against Bradenton. With solid stuff across the board and an advanced feel for pitching, Banuelos likely would have been in Double-A at this point had he been healthy all year. The way he's pitching, he might end up there before the end of the season anyway.
2010 Stats

No. 6	CORY VAUGHN, RF	METS
Team: short-season Brooklyn (New York-Penn) Age: 21 Why He's Here: .517/.545/1.270 (15-for-29), 1 HR, 3 2B, 8 RBIs, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 4-for-5 SB The Scoop: The son of former big league slugger Greg Vaughn—he of 355 career home runs—Cory has launched his pro career in style after quickly signing as the Mets' fourth-round pick. (At San Diego State, he was teammates with some Strasburg guy.) Vaughn is batting .326/.403/.620 through 129 at-bats, with a New York-Penn-leading nine home runs and 32 RBIs. And if he connects for seven more longballs this season, then Cory will match his father's output during his pro debut. A 21-year-old Greg Vaughn hit 16 home runs in 1986 for Helena of the Rookie-level Pioneer League.
2010 Stats

No. 7	FRANCISCO PEGUERO, CF/RF	GIANTS
Team: high Class A San Jose (California) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .441/.472/1.266 (15-for-34), 4 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 4-for-5 SB The Scoop: One of the most exciting Giants prospects, Peguero continues to be aggressive on the basepaths. His 35 steals rank third in the California league, and his success rate (73 percent) is on par with the rest of the league's aggressive runners. Not known for his power (career .424 slugging in five minor seasons), Peguero surprised people against Stockton this week, when six of his 10 hits went for extra bases.
2010 Stats

No. 8	JOHN LAMB, LHP	ROYALS
Team: high Class A Wilmington (Carolina) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 0-0, 2.45, 7 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO The Scoop: If you're a prospect, one of the usual in-season goals is to make sure you don't finish the season in the same spot that you started. A midseason promotion is a good sign that you impressed the organization. But in Lamb's case, he's making a very strong case that he should finish the year two levels above where he started. Lamb is the second-youngest player on the Blue Rocks' roster (catcher Wil Myers is five months younger), but after a 3-0, 0.72 July, you can legitimately question whether there's much left for Lamb to prove in high Class A. "He can get ahead with any pitch and he can put them away with any pitch," Wilmington manager Brian Rupp said.
2010 Stats

No. 9	GRANT GREEN, SS	ATHLEICS
Team: high Class A Stockton (California) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .500/.516/.767 (15-for-30), 6 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: Green leads the California League with 26 errors, but on the flip side, he has gotten better with the bat in each passing month. He's hitting a robust .415/.437/.662 thus far in July and has five multi-hit games in his last seven. He has flashed decent pop as his most recent home run gave him 10 on the season, and his 192 total bases are good for fifth in the league. Many may write off Green's offensive surge as a product of the hitter-friendly circuit, but Ports' hitting coach Tim Garland recently said most of Green's home runs would have left yard in any ballpark. Green doesn't have a lot left to prove offensively so it will interesting to see if Oakland promotes him or allows him to work with Ports' head coach and former big league infielder Steve Scarsone to refine his defense.
2010 Stats

No. 10	CHRIS CARTER, 1B	ATHLETICS
Team: Triple-A Sacramento (Pacific Coast) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .346/.469/.846 (9-for-26), 9 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 6 BB, 3 SO The Scoop: It has been a frustrating season for last year's Texas League player of the year. Many thought by now Carter would have proved himself with Sacramento and earned a shot with the power-starved A's. But while the power is still there—as evidenced by his 23 home runs—his plate discipline has regressed this year and as a result he hasn't been getting on base as often. But after hitting .214/.324/.446 in May and .227/.333/.474 in June, Carter seems to have righted the ship and is tearing up Pacific Coast League pitching with a .270/.407/.635 line in July. Perhaps the most encouraging part of Carter's turnaround has been that he has nearly as many walks (16) as he does strikeouts (17) this month. If Carter can continue to prove his offensive struggles are behind him, he will likely earn at least a cup of coffee with the big league club.
2010 Stats

No. 11	ANTHONY RIZZO, 1B	RED SOX
Team: Double-A Portland (Eastern) Age: 20 Why He's Here: .379/.471/.621 (11-for-29), 8 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 5 BB, 3 SO The Scoop: Still two weeks away from his 21st birthday, Rizzo remains one of the youngest players in the Eastern League, which may explain why he had plenty of early struggles in Portland after being promoted in the middle of May. But the all-star break served Rizzo well, and he's hitting .344/.447/.563 in 32 at-bats to start the second half. He has five multi-hit games in the past week. With fellow first-base prospect Lars Anderson manning the position in Triple-A, Rizzo doesn't have to worry about a late-season promotion. Instead, he can focus on improving his plate discipline (56-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in Portland).
2010 Stats

No. 12	JULIO TEHERAN, RHP	BRAVES
Team: high Class A Myrtle Beach (Carolina) Age: 19 Why He's Here: 1-1, 3.21, 14 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 18 SO The Scoop: Say this for Teheran: the kid knows how to make an exit. On the night the news broke that he will accompany fellow Myrtle Beach righthander Randall Delgado to Double-A Mississippi, Teheran tossed seven three-hit innings and struck out nine batters. The start ended an uncharacteristically poor three-game stretch where Teheran gave up 14 runs in 17 innings. He wrapped up his relatively-short stay in high Class A with a 4-4, 2.98 line in 10 starts. Even though he didn't dominate the level like he did low Class A, Teheran still ended up with 76 strikeouts and just 56 hits allowed in 63 innings.
2010 Stats

No. 13	NICK WEGLARZ, LF	INDIANS
Team: Triple-A Columbus (Indians) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .458/.519/.958 (11-for-24), 3 HR, 3 2B, 4 RBIs, 7 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 0-for-1 SB The Scoop: Weglarz took a game off but hit safely in the six he did play, with six extra-base hits. One of the homers came off Jeremy Hellickson as Weglarz continued to settle in at Triple-A. His polished approach (solid 25-35 walk-to-strikeout ratio) makes him well-suited for higher-level pitching. He's pushed his slugging percentage over .500 after a slow start.
2010 Stats

IN THE TEAM PHOTO

July has been good to Harrisburg SS Danny Espinosa so far. He's hitting .309/.351/.618 with five home runs in 17 games. To put that in perspective, he had five home runs in 40 more at-bats in June while also hitting just .239 and walking just seven times. He improved those numbers a lot this past week which included a 3-for-3 game with four runs scored on July 17, and a 5-for-5 and two-homer game just two days later. Espinosa brings a lot to the table for Harrisburg. He plays solid defense, has stolen 18 bases and has moderate power . . . Astros 24-year-old LF Collin DeLome is a fringy prospect, but he showed off his power by launching four home runs this week for Triple-A Round Rock, going .286/.412/.786 in seven games this week . . . Mariners 3B Alex Liddi has plus raw power, but coming into the week he had hit just six home runs for Double-A West Tenn. Bump that number up to 10, as the 21-year-old hit four home runs this week while batting .400/.423/1.040 in 26 trips to the plate . . . A Rockies' first-round pick six years ago, Chris Nelson made a splash in his late-June big league debut by first bunting for a hit and then barreling over Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy to score his first run. The 24-year-old Nelson filled in for briefly for injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but back in the minors he continued his breakout offensive campaign with Triple-A Colorado Springs. After a 10-for-29 (.483), four-homer, 12-RBI run last week, he pushed his season line to .346/.403/.587 through 208 at-bats. Sure, the Springs is a nice place to hit, but Nelson has racked up an 850 OPS on the road, too, and for a player who offers the versatility to play shortstop, second and third base, that's not bad at all . . . Since returning to the hill in late May, Padres LHP Cory Luebke has breezed through Double-A, going 5-1, 2.40 in eight starts for San Antonio, and now has turned in two fine efforts for Triple-A Portland. The 25-year-old has notched a 12-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 13 innings, to go with a 2.77 ERA, making him a prime September callup candidate . . . With his recent scalding streak, Yankees C Jesus Montero's overall season line has perked up considerably. The 20-year-old has raised his OPS from 676 on June 24 to 820 as he's hit safely in 19 of his last 22 games. His current five-game streak included a two-homer game Tuesday, sandwiched by three-hit outings. He's at .277/.352/.468 for the year with a fine 37-to-58 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 310 at-bats . . . Rockies C Wilin Rosario continued his good work with Double-A Tulsa, hitting .278/.316/.944 in four games this week. His four homers during the week give him 17 on the year and boosted his season OPS to 894.

NOT-SO HOT SHEET

• Zach McAllister, rhp, Yankees. Montero's sometime batterymate has lost his last two decisions for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has been awfully hittable in his first season at the level. In his last three starts, McAllister has gotten 34 outs (that's 11 1/3 innings) while giving up 27 hits, five walks and one hit batter. That's 34 outs, 33 baserunners. He's also allowed four homers in that span, so it's no surprise he's dropped to 7-7, 4.93 overall.

• Jeurys Familia, rhp, Mets. Familia offers ample evidence of why some scouts deride "scouting by the radar gun." Familia can touch the upper 90s with his fastball, but his heater seems a few ticks slower than that because hitters get such a long look at the ball. With high Class A St. Lucie he's walked 17 batters in the last 12 1/3 innings, which explains why he's given up 14 runs over those three starts. Familia's 71 strikeouts are nice, but his 58 walks and nine hit-by-pitches keep him from success.

• Deolis Guerra, rhp, Twins. The Twins' lone remaining hope to make something out of the Johan Santana trade (aside from the money saved) showed signs of life earlier in the season. But things have gone seriously wrong in July, following a demotion from Triple-A to Double-A New Britain. In his last three starts, Guerra, 21, has given up 22 hits and 22 runs in 12 2/3 innings. At this point it's fair to wonder if a move to the pen is in the offing. While Guerra is still young, his fastball/changeup combo may work better as a short reliever than it does in several trips through the lineup.

Cito Culver, ss, Yankees. Culver grew up a Yankees fan, so he knows his performance this week would have earned a Bronx cheer from the fans. The 17-year-old struck out 11 times in 19 at-bats this week in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. A projected fourth- to sixth-round talent, Culver went off the board with the draft's 32nd overall selection. Critics of the pick have been justified so far, as Culver has hit just .235/.319/.309 and has recorded six errors in 23 games.

MAN AMONG BOYS

• Travis Snider is a strange name to see in this category—as a 22-year-old, the Blue Jays outfielder is younger than many of his Double-A New Hampshire teammates. But unlike most of them, Snider has already been up in the majors for parts of three seasons. He's in Double-A rehabbing a wrist injury. Expect to see him in Toronto soon, as he's made it quite clear that the wrist feels OK. Snider has homered in each of the past three games and four of the past five for the Fisher Cats.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

• A back injury sapped Michael Aubrey's chances for stardom, but at this point is seems like the Indians' 2003 first-round pick is a little bit snakebit. Aubrey hit well in a callup to Baltimore last year, but he has struggled to regain that production since being told he was headed back to Triple-A Norfolk this year. He turned that around this week with the best week of anyone in the minors. He hit seven home runs while twice hitting two in a game—and that's more than he had hit all season before this week. If the Orioles hold a trade-deadline fire sale, Aubrey is making sure the team remembers he's ready and waiting in Triple-A.

HELIUM WATCH

• Oswaldo Arcia, of, Twins. With a name familiar to knowledgeable prospect watchers before the season began, Arcia might soon be a household name. The 19-year-old outfielder, who signed out of Venezuela in July 2007, hit .406/.440/.906 this week with six doubles, two home runs and two triples. On the season, Arcia is batting .38/.436/.777 with nine homers in 121 at-bats for Rookie-level Elizabethton.

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