• Kyle Drabek, rhp, Blue Jays & Mike Montgomery, lhp, Royals. Some organizations go out of their way to limit exposure by top pitching prospects to the Pacific Coast League, where breaking balls tend not to break so much, the thin air promotes long drives and the hard-packed infields are conducive to seeing-eye singles. The Blue Jays and Royals are not two of those organizations. The Triple-A season can't end soon enough for Drabek (seven runs in 10 innings) and Montgomery (eight runs in 11 innings), both of whom made two starts in the PCL this week and ran up ERAs north of 10.00. The second-half numbers are gruesome. For Drabek: 6.33 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, 0.85 strikeout-to-walk in nine starts. For Montgomery: 5.88 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 2.22 strikeout-to-walk (OK, so it's not all gruesome) in nine starts.

• Derek Norris, c, Nationals. Norris actually leads the Double-A Eastern League in at-bats-per-home run (17.00), having hit 18 long balls in 306 at-bats, but that's about the only good thing about his season from an offensive standpoint. The 22-year-old has struggled to handle the more advanced breaking pitches of Double-A hurlers, racking up 106 strikeouts in 94 games for Harrisburg. His .199 average for the season is the worst among qualifying EL hitters, having sunk below the Mendoza Line after he went 1-for-20 with 10 strikeouts this week.

• Sebastian Valle, c, Phillies. Thanks to his work behind the plate and his power potential, Valle has a bright future. But thanks to his desire to hit anything and everything thrown anywhere around the plate, Valle is going to have weeks like this one where he hit .143/.143/.182 (3-for-21). As he matures physically and gets out of the power-suppressing parks of the Florida State League, expect to see Valle's home-run numbers pick up significantly from the five he has right now. But if he doesn't learn to let a pitch or two out of the zone go by, he's always going to have problems with his on-base percentage.

• Cito Culver, ss, Staten Island (Yankees). It's Culver's 19th birthday today, so we'll try to be nice. Culver's first pro season has been a success. He's hit a bit more than was anticipated, and he's helping Staten Island to a 40-24 record and likely playoff spot. But Culver's starting to wear down as the season closes in on 70 games. He has just three hits in his last eight games, a 3-for-34 slump since the league's all-star break that has dropped his OPS from .745 to .678. Culver's made 15 errors this season but early reports on his defense have been positive.

Charlie Haeger, rhp, Red Sox. Most pitchers work in an analog world. They try to pitch on the edges of the strike zone. It's all about refinement, getting a little closer to hitting the spot you want to hit, much like trying to fine tune a radio station on an antique radio dial. Knuckleballers work in a digital world. All that matters is if the knuckleball is working or not. Think of it as a switch being on or off. While with Triple-A Tacoma in the Mariners system this year, Haeger's knuckleball wasn't working. He went 2-2, 7.74 with more walks than innings. But since latching on with the Red Sox in late July and moving down to Double-A Portland, the switch has been turned back on. The knuckler is dancing again and he's 3-0. 2.75 through six starts. Even as a 27-year-old, Haeger can comfort himself in the knowledge that a knuckleballer can pitch for decades and many of them get a late start in the big leagues. But he also has to know that for every Tim Wakefield, there are multiple Charlie Zinks.

Jeremy Hermida, of, Louisville (Reds). Hermida ranked fourth on BA's 2006 Top 100 Prospects list, coming off a .293/.457/.518 season at Double-A Carolina as a 21-year-old that included 111 walks, 23 stolen bases in 25 attempts and 18 home runs. He seemed destined for stardom with the Marlins, and his 2007 season with the Marlins was no joke—.296/.369/.501 with 18 homers. But Hermida's ability to draw walks in the minors led to deep counts and more strikeouts in the major leagues, and his early work proved to be his best. On his fourth organization in three years, Hermida garnered just 18 big league at-bats with the Reds this season. He remains on Cincinnati's 40-man roster, so now he's trying to earn a September callup, going 13-for-27 for Louisville in the last week with a pair of home runs. Hermida's overall season numbers—.316/.397/.524—look impressive, but he's still not controlling the strike zone (44 walks, 94 strikeouts in 380 at-bats) like he used to. His swing has lengthened over the years from the pure, short stroke that earned comparisons with George Brett out of high school as the 11th pick in the 2002 draft. At least Hermida's become a good Triple-A player, but in a loaded Reds outfield, the 27-year-old likely will need a new organization to get another extended big league shot.