• Simon Castro, rhp, Padres. Tucson's Kino Stadium giveth—the Triple-A Padres are hitting .299 with an .832 OPS as a team—and Kino Stadium taketh away. Witness 23-year-old righthander Simon Castro's early struggles. While Tucson pitchers have logged a 5.74 team ERA through 28 games, Castro has gone above and beyond the call of duty with a 10.17 mark. In two starts this week he let up 10 runs on 11 hits in just 5 2/3 innings, earning his 0-1, 18.00 performance. In many cases, a pitcher's peripherals may point to future improvement, but that's not the case with Castro. He struck out and walked five this week while allowing two home runs, a showing in line with his nine-inning rates on the year—7.4 strikeouts, 6.3 walks, 1.8 home runs. It's the type of start that must make Castro pine for Double-A San Antonio's forgiving ballpark.

• Joe Benson, cf, Twins. The Twins' top position-player prospect in the high minors, Benson has played well in the early going for Double-A New Britain. He batted a nifty .295/.360/.500 in April, when game-time temperatures in the Eastern League were equally likely to begin with either a five or an eight. The 23-year-old Benson has fallen on hard times in early May, however, going 2-for-27 (.074) with 14 strikeouts this week. He recorded a double and four walks, but that may not be enough to quell the nagging feeling that we've seen this before. Minnesota demoted Benson to the Florida State League last season after he hit .219 with a strikeout per game in April and early May.

• Tim Melville, rhp, Royals: Melville has alternated good starts with poor ones this season, and this week he had another forgettable outing. He went just four innings and allowed six earned runs on 11 hits in his start for high Class A Wilmington. Melville struck out only one batter as his ERA climbed to 5.33 on the season. Melville's stuff (92-93 mph fastball that he can maintain deep into games, solid curveball and change) has been better than his results throughout his stay in Wilmington.

• Anthony Ranaudo, rhp, Red Sox: It was a little curious when the Red Sox chose to start Ranaudo in low Class A Greenville. After all, he was one of the top college pitching prospects from the 2010 draft, and he only fell to the Red Sox with the 39th overall pick due to elbow woes, which became less of an issue after he dominated the Cape Cod League last summer. Everything went swimmingly for Ranaudo through his first four starts, when he had an ERA of 0.46 in 19 2/3 innings. Now he's also experienced his first hiccup as a professional after giving up six runs in just 1 2/3 innings against Asheville on Saturday.


• Edwar Cabrera, lhp, Rockies: Cabrera's strikeout-to-walk numbers are among the gaudiest in the minors. In 32 innings with low Class A Asheville, the Dominican lefty has 44 strikeouts (second in the minors) and just two walks, though a hitter-friendly ballpark in Asheville has helped keep his ERA up at 3.66. Still, Cabrera is 23 and, from a pure stuff level, doesn't separate himself much from the pack. His fastball sits in the high-80s with the ability to hit 91 mph, and he's able to fool South Atlantic League hitters with an advanced changeup. The results have been excellent this year, but he'll have to prove himself as more than a command/changeup lefty as he works his way up the system.

• Leuris Gomez, rhp, Rockies: What's a 6-foot, 24-year-old reliever in the Cal League doing in the Helium Watch? Gomez spent three seasons as an infielder—mostly a third baseman—but he topped out in Rookie-level Casper in 2008. He always had a strong arm, though, so the Rockies put him on the mound the next year in Casper, where he pitched briefly out of the bullpen. With just 106 professional innings coming into the year, Gomez has been outstanding pitching out of the high Class A Modesto bullpen, maintaining a 1.21 ERA in 22 1/3 innings with 32 strikeouts and five walks. He's not just doing it with smoke and mirrors, either, has his fastball comes in anywhere from 90-94 mph with a good slider and a changeup that has made strides as well.

• Shawn Tolleson, rhp, Dodgers: It's easy to overlook a college reliever dominating low Class A, but Tolleson shouldn't be dismissed. His rough mechanics made scouts nervous during his college career as a starter at Baylor, and he's already had Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old fell to the 30th round of last year's draft and immediately moved to the bullpen, where he's blossomed. He posted a 0.63 ERA in his 2010 pro debut for Rookie-level Ogden and has yet to allow an earned run in 11 2/3 innings this year for Great Lakes, while going 8-for-8 in saves. Tolleson has carved up hitters with two quality pitches in his heavy fastball and crisp slider, and the Dodgers love his aggressiveness on the mound. Just how overpowering has he been against Midwest League hitters? Tolleson has faced 43 batters over his 11 appearances this year and struck out 28 of them, including all six he faced Thursday against West Michigan, while permitting just four hits.