BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Prospect Hot Sheet: Prospect Hot Sheet: Sept. 3

Staff Report
September 3, 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 Aug. 27 through last night, Sept. 2.

Contributing: J.J. Cooper, Matt Eddy, Conor Glassey, John Manuel and Jim Shonerd.

No. 1

MIKE MOUSTAKAS, 3B

ROYALS

Team: Triple-A Omaha (Pacific Coast)
Age: 21
Why He's Here: .414/.438/1.241 (12-for-29), 3 2B, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO
The Scoop: Anyone worried about Moustakas' production since he moved up to Triple-A can breathe a little easier now. His on-base-percentage in Omaha is a little lower than one would like, but when a 21-year-old is slugging .583, there's not much to complain about. Moustakas' home run on Thursday night will be the last ever hit at Rosenblatt Stadium—the Omaha Royals said farewell with a win over Round Rock.

Moustakas' power spike to end the season is pretty amazing. He's homered in six of the past seven games (including a three-homer, 11-RBI game on Monday), and he finished August with 35 RBIs in one month. Moustakas leads the minors with 36 home runs and he's two RBIs behind Rich Poythress' 125 for the lead. He's also second in the minors in slugging percentage at .641.

2010 Stats

No. 2

MATT MOORE, LHP

RAYS

Team: high Class A Charlotte (Florida State)
Age: 21
Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO
The Scoop: While he didn't win our Minor League Player of the Year award, Moore would have been a leading contender for an award recognizing the best second half of the season. In 14 starts since June 20, Moore went 5-4, 1.39 with 47 hits allowed, 24 walks and 130 strikeouts in 84 innings. Extrapolate those numbers over a full season and he would have topped 250 strikeouts with ease. As it is, his 208 whiffs are the most in the minors since Clint Nageotte's 214 in 2002. As if that weren't enough, Moore reached double digits in strikeouts in seven of his last nine starts.

2010 Stats

No. 3	LIAM HENDRIKS, RHP	TWINS
Team: high Class A Fort Myers (Florida State) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 9 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 12 SO) The Scoop: Hendriks missed six weeks after having an emergency appendectomy just prior to the Futures Game. He missed his scheduled trip to Anaheim and might have missed the rest of the season, but he came back Aug. 21 with a relief outing, then shined in his first two starts back from the injury last week. Hendricks has command of four pitches, topped by an 88-93 mph fastball and short, sharp slider, and scouts like his delivery, which he repeats well. Hendriks essentially is a shorter, Australian version of Twins 2009 first-rounder Kyle Gibson, only he may throw harder. As he enters play today, he leads the minors with his 1.74 ERA, though it appears that he will need to accumulate two more innings to qualify for the title.
2010 Stats

No. 4	DEREK NORRIS, C	NATIONALS
Team: high Class A Potomac (Carolina) Age: 21 Why He's Here: .500/.600/.938 (8-for-16), 1 HR, 4 2B, 5 RBIs, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 0-for-1 SB The Scoop: Coming off an outstanding 2009 season in low Class A, this has been a trying year for Norris, marred by injuries and lack of production. His long-term future even got a little more complicated when the Nationals brought in Wilson Ramos to be Pudge Rodriguez's heir apparent. The broken hamate bone Norris suffered late last year sapped his power production in the first half, but he hit five home runs in August and his discerning batting eye hasn't gone anywhere. He leads the Carolina League in walks (85) and is second in on-base percentage (.424) despite his hitting just .242 for the year.
2010 Stats

No. 5	JACOB TURNER, RHP	TIGERS
Team: high Class A Lakeland (Florida State) Age: 19 Why He's Here: 0-0, 0.00, 2 GS, 10 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 12 SO The Scoop: Business as usual for Jacob Turner, as he shut down Daytona and Dunedin in his two starts this week. Turner started the season as one of the youngest players in the Midwest League, pitched extremely well before being promoted to high Class A, and hasn't skipped a beat. His numbers from one league to the next are strikingly similar. That shouldn't come as a surprise—Turner has shown robot-like consistency all season long. The Tigers have handled the 2009 first-rounder carefully, never allowing him to throw more than six innings in a game. He's given up more than four runs in a game just twice—his second and third starts for Lakeland. He's never walked more than two batters in a game. Another great sign for the Tigers is that August was Turners best month, when he went 2-1, 1.05 with 23 strikeouts and five walks over 26 innings.
2010 Stats

No. 6	JESUS MONTERO, C	YANKEES
Team: Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (International) Age: 20 Why He's Here: .324/.324/.676 (11-for-34), 3 HR, 3 2B, 12 RBIs, 6 R, 0 BB, 6 SO The Scoop: In many ways, Montero epitomizes player development. Young for his level, he got off the blocks slow in Triple-A by batting .210 and slugging .330 through his first 53 games. That's terrible production even for a 20-year-old catcher at an advanced level, and it wasn't anything like the hitting machine we saw in 2009. But Montero made the necessary adjustments to hit his way back into the Yankees' good graces. Counting from June 11 onward, he leads all International League batters with a 1.030 OPS, which ranks just ahead of Freddie Freeman and Lucas Duda. Montero has batted .340/.397/.632 in those 253 at-bats, smacking 40 extra-base hits in 68 games. One can decry the value of slicing and dicing minor league data, but to do so ignores why players are in the minors in the first place: to improve. Player development people stress that with prospects, it's what they show you in short bursts that counts. From there, it's about stringing together productive at-bats or positive starts. So any time a prospect of Montero's caliber shows such sustained excellence at a high level of competition, well, let's just say it's a good sign for his development.
2010 Stats

No. 7	MARK TRUMBO, 1B	ANGELS
Team: Triple-A Salt Lake City (Pacific Coast) Age: 24 Why He's Here: .367/.500/.900 (11-for-30), 5 HR, 1 2B, 13 RBIs, 10 R, 4 BB, 6 SO The Scoop: Two weeks ago, the minor league home run crown appeared to be a race between Paul Goldschmidt and Jerry Sands. But that's before Mike Moustakas and Trumbo decided to make it interesting. While Moustakas was hitting seven home runs in a week, Trumbo was doing everything he could to keep up. Trumbo has hit five home runs in his past five games, leaving him one behind Moustakas for the overall lead with 35. Omaha finishes with four on the road at Oklahoma City while Trumbo will be at home for four against Reno. At the rate these two are hitting homers right now, maybe 40 home runs isn't completely out of the question.
2010 Stats

No. 8	NOLAN ARENADO, 3B	ROCKIES
Team: low Class A Asheville (South Atlantic) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .406/.412/.781 (13-for-32), 3 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBIs, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0-for-1 SB The Scoop: Arenado seemed to be hitting the wall in July, when his average dipped to .259 and he batted just .212 for the month. Instead, he found a second wind in August, posting a 1.031 OPS for the month with a resounding 18 doubles. Arenado makes contact and strikes out infrequently in a manner recalling this week's No. 1 Hot Sheet denizen, Mike Moustakas. Scouts aren't enamored of Arenado's body, but he makes steady hard contact and has easy opposite-field power. He has as good a chance as anyone to succeed Todd Helton as Colorado's future first baseman.
2010 Stats

No. 9	PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT, 1B	DIAMONDBACKS
Team: high Class A Visalia (California) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .435/.500/.783 (10-for-23), 1 HR, 1 3B, 3 2B, 7 RBIs, 6 R, 4 BB, 8 SO The Scoop: This week's ranking can serve as an early birthday present to Goldschmidt. He turns 23 next Friday. On the season, he's batting .311/.381/.601 with 40 doubles and 34 home runs, and if Goldschmidt collects four more total bases in the four remaining Rawhide games, he'll have the most the Cal League has seen since Brandon Wood's epic 2005 season. Goldschmidt's power is legit, there's no denying that. He ranks third in the minor leagues in home runs and was voted as having the best power in the league in our annual Best Tools survey. But the power comes as the byproduct of huge swings—he has 157 strikeouts in 134 games. Double-A will be the true test to see if Goldschmidt can sink or swim against advanced pitching in a more neutral environment.
2010 Stats

No. 10	SCOTT DIAMOND, LHP	BRAVES
Team: Triple-A Gwinnett (International) Age: 24 Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 1 GS, 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 SO, 1 BB, 12/5 G/F The Scoop: The Braves' Brandon Beachy will attempt to lock down the minor league ERA title in his start tonight in Durham. He's at 1.83 through 113 1/3 innings. But this week Diamond reminded us that Beachy is not Atlanta's only nondrafted free agent find. A Binghamton University junior signed out of the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League in 2007, Diamond has worked his way to Triple-A this season and possibly in the organization's long-term plans. He's cruised to a 4-0, 2.41 records through nine starts for Gwinnett, and last Monday he hurled a two-hit shutout against Norfolk, striking out eight. In that game, Diamond carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
2010 Stats

No. 11	JOE CRUZ, RHP	RAYS
Team: high Class A Charlotte (Florida State) Age: 22 Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 SO The Scoop: He's a hard-throwing righthander on the same team with Matt Moore, so there may be times that Cruz gets a little overlooked. Heck, he could set himself on fire, bill himself as Joe The Human Torch, streak across the infield and Moore would still get the majority of the attention. But Cruz is worthy of attention in his own right. He has a plus fastball (94-95 mph at times), creates good angle and works to both sides of the plate. Since the all-star break, he's 9-2, 1.49 and the combination of him and Moore have to make Charlotte a favorite when the Florida State League playoffs roll around.
2010 Stats

No. 12	JENRRY MEJIA, RHP	METS
Team: Triple-A Buffalo (International) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 0-0, 1.13, 1 GS, 8 IP, 1 R, 1 HR, 9 SO, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 10/2 G/F The Scoop: The Mets seemed indecisive about Mejia's future role at times this season, but don't let that color your perception of the hard-throwing-but-diminutive righty. Since deploying Mejia, who missed a month with a strained rotator cuff, as a starter this August the Mets have reaped instant rewards. He went 2-0, 1.11 in his last five minor league starts before earning a September callup to New York, where he'll work in the rotation this time. Still not impressed? Mejia, in those 32 innings, struck out 30, walked 11, allowed 20 hits (one home run) and generated three groundouts for every flyout.
2010 Stats

No. 13	TREVOR MAY, RHP	PHILLIES
Team: Lakewood (South Atlantic) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.50 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 SO The Scoop: Elite pitching prospects aren't supposed to repeat low Class A, and the Phillies' Trevor May has had an odd season to say the least. While his stuff is frontline—a 90-94 mph fastball and power curveball—he's repeating the South Atlantic League to clean up his delivery and to learn to trust his defense. Like many young power pitchers, May shows a tendency to try to strike everybody out. Witness his 92 strikeouts in 65 innings for the BlueClaws and his 182 whiffs overall in 135 innings. That total ranks third in the minors, but perhaps more impressively, May slashed his walk rate from 7.8 in high Class A this season to 2.8 in the SAL.
2010 Stats

IN THE TEAM PHOTO

Salvador Perez is the other catcher in high Class A Wilmington now that he's teammates with Wil Myers, but the Royals still have plenty of reason to be excited about the 20-year-old backstop. Unlike Myers, Perez has the present defensive tools to be a big league catcher. And after a midseason swoon, Perez has figured things out at the plate again. He hit .455/.565/.864 this week with three doubles and two home runs and hit .390 in the month of August . . . Speaking of Royals, 2B Johnny Giavotella combined with Clint Robinson and Mike Moustakas to lead the Double-A Northwest Arkansas club to a first-half division title. Now he's pairing with Robinson and Eric Homser to lead the Naturals to a second-half title. Giavotella, 23, is hitting .388 since the all-star break. This week he hit .467/.484/.933 with three home runs . . . In what has been a good week in a good year for the Royals farm system, four players made appearances on the Hot Sheet. None may be more notable than 23-year-old RHP Aaron Crow, the club's first-round pick last year who has weathered an ineffective season that included a demotion to high Class A Wilmington. Despite an ERA that's on the wrong side of five, Crow's stuff has generally been good this season. This week the Royals got to see what he can do with it when he throws strikes. With a fastball that sat at 95-97 mph and touched 98, Crow struck out 13, walked one and allowed three hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Myrtle Beach . . . Angels 20-year-old 2B Jean Segura needed to prove he could stay healthy this season after a pair of injury-abbreviated trials in short-season ball. After batting .310/.359/.461 in 503 at-bats for low Class A Cedar Rapids, it's safe to say Segura accomplished that mission. He went 11-for -27 (.407) this week, showing his usual broad palette of skills with a homer, two doubles, a triple, seven runs scored, two walks and a 5-for-5 showing in stolen bases. Segura is definitely a power/speed prospect to watch . . . Elite hitting prospects aren't supposed to repeat low Class A, but the Twins are patient, and Aaron Hicks' offensive game is somewhat raw, so he's been at Beloit all season. The Twins' No. 1 prospect entering the season has yet to tap into his raw power and needs work on his swing from the left side of the plate, where he's slugging just .347. But he's had a strong second half overall (.314/.426/.444) and ranks 14th in the minors with 82 walks. This week he hit .450/.577/.600 (9-for-20) . . . After being slowed by injuries in April and May, Dodgers LF Alfredo Silverio has had a productive second half at high Class A Inland Empire. While the 23-year-old hasn't changed his free-swinging ways (he's drawn just 18 walks all year), he's hitting .327/.368/.538 with 10 home runs in 266 at-bats since the Cal League's all-star break. This week, he went 13-for-26 with a homer and five doubles for a .500/.536/.808 line . . . It's impressive enough that Yankees RHP D.J. Mitchell has already made it to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in just his second full season, but it looks even better when you consider the 23-year-old didn't take up pitching full-time until the summer of 2007. In his second Triple-A start on Sunday, Mitchell threw seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball against Buffalo, striking out five and walking four.

NOT-SO HOT SHEET

• Tanner Scheppers, rhp, Rangers: That the Rangers would promote Scheppers this summer at one time seemed like a foregone conclusion. A summer swoon may put those plans on hold until 2011. The 23-year-old Scheppers has stumbled badly in two relief appearances last week for Triple-A Oklahoma City, surrendering nine runs on 12 hits (two home runs) over three innings. He struck out three and walked none, as it's more a case of him just been very hittable. Taking a broader view, Scheppers has not pitched up to his abilities since moving to the bullpen full time on July 20. In that time he's run up an 8.06 ERA over 15 appearances, covering 22 1/3 innings. His peripherals aren't out of whack for his power reliever profile—8.5 strikeouts, 4.8 walks and 0.8 home runs per nine innings—so expect a return to form next season.

• Andrew Lambo, lf, Pirates: Lambo made a nice first impression with the Pirates, after coming over in the Octavio Dotel trade. But he was ice cold this week, hitting .056/.056/.105 over 18 at-bats with seven strikeouts. It's been mostly a down year all together for Lambo, who was suspended 50 games in the season's first half for his second positive test for a drug of abuse.

• Ethan Martin, rhp, Dodgers: Pitchers have bad games. It happens—especially when they're subject to pitching in the California League. But having back-to-back bad games in the same week is an easy way to make the Hot Sheet for the wrong reasons. That's exactly what Martin did this week, going 0-2, 37.80 over the two starts. In his first game this week, Martin didn't get out of the second inning, while giving up three runs on four hits (and five walks) against Bakersfield. On Sept. 2, at San Jose, Martin lasted just three innings, while allowing four runs on three hits, with three more walks. Martin has been the poster boy for why teams have reservations about sending pitchers through the California League. On the season, he's 9-14, 6.35 with 105 strikeouts and 81 walks over 113 innings.

• Juan Duran, rf, Reds: Duran turned 19 on Thursday, but that was about the only highlight for him this week. He celebrated his birthday by going 0-for-2 with a couple of strikeouts that night for Rookie-level Billings, and he went just 1-for-15 with nine whiffs on the week. Although Duran hasn't been terribly productive as a Mustang, hitting .245/.311/.395 in 200 at-bats this year, the Reds expected he'd be a long-term project. Learning to play with a 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame takes some time.

MAN AMONG BOYS

• Phillip Irwin, rhp, Pirates: Irwin pitched in the shadow of Drew Pomeranz in Mississippi's rotation and was a 21st-round pick last year by the Pirates after going 8-3, 3.84 for the Rebels. Irwin doesn't have a dominant pitch, but he has command of three offerings, making him well suited to take advantage of low Class A hitters. The 23-year-old is 6-3, 3.35 in 113 innings for West Virginia, and he's among the South Atlantic League leaders in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings (8.84). He was masterful in two starts this week, striking out 17 over 13 innings and allowing just one run on seven hits.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Dodgers 1B John Lindsey has hit over .300 once in a 14-year affiliated minor league career. So to say that it's a little surprising to see the Rockies' 1995 13th-round pick getting ready to wrap up a batting title is a more than mild understatement. Of course, it helps that he plays his home games in Triple-A Albuquerque's bandbox. Lindsey's average never has dipped below .350 all year. And by hitting .469/.500/1.031 this week, the 33-year-old raised his averages to .364/.411/.677. It may not get him to the big leagues, but if nothing else, it definitely should ensure that Lindsey can play many more years at Triple-A, and that's a feat in itself when you consider that he didn't reach that level for the first time until he was a 12-year minor league veteran.

HELIUM WATCH

• Charlie Leesman, lhp, White Sox: Leesman had a modest first half in the Carolina League, posting a 5.10 ERA and walking (44) more than he struck out (39) in 84 2/3 innings. However, one scout who saw him with high Class A Winston-Salem said he "pitched better than the numbers. He was the best prospect on that club." Since a promotion to Double-A Birmingham, Leesman has regained his command of his 88-92 mph fastball and shown a plus slider with late, sharp bite, which he uses to both righthanded and lefthanded hitters. He threw seven shutout, one-hit innings in his last start against Carolina to improve to 5-2, 2.81 with a 45-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio for the Barons over 57 2/3 innings. With a changeup that flashes average potential, Leesman has a chance for a four-pitch mix and can be a fourth starter if his command holds up. In a White Sox system thinned by trades over the last couple of years, that's welcome news.

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