Cubs pitching prospect Sean Gallagher struck out 12 Oklahoma RedHawks on Tuesday, while allowing only one run on three hits over 7 2/3 innings.
“The fact that this game came against the RedHawks made it even better, because that team is stacked with players who have spent time in the Majors,” said Gallagher. “When you face a team like that, it serves as a real test of your abilities.”
Catcher Matt Wieters, the Baltimore Orioles top prospect, is off to a blistering start in Class A Frederick. The fifth overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft is batting .438 with 4 HRs and 10 RBI and 10 BB in his first 12 games. Don’t expect Wieters to be in the Majors for another year though, as Orioles’ president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is in no rush to move him up to even Double A Bowie yet.
“Let’s let him play a while, [but] you can’t help but be impressed by the early returns,” said MacPhail. “If it’s clear that he’s not being challenged where he is, we have no problem moving him.”
If you don’t know, now you know. Diamondbacks pitching prospect Max Scherzer hasn’t allowed a run yet this season. In his last appearance, a no-decision in the Triple-A Tuscon Sidewinders’ loss to the Sacramento River Cats yesterday, he threw 5 innings of two-hit ball with 7 Ks. In 3 starts for Tuscon, Scherzer has pitched 17 innings with 29 Ks, with a .121 BAA. That’s 15.4 k/9 for those of you scoring at home.
Rotoauthority.com compares Scherzer’s numbers to how Tim Lincecum started out (only better), also mentioning that some scouts think he’d be better as a closer than a starter (but they said that about Lincecum too). The former No. 1 draft pick has good command of 4 pitches, which should serve him well in the bigs. Be aware of a possible call up for Scherzer.
ESPN.com reports that the Tampa Bay Rays’ 3B Evan Longoria agreed to a 6 year, $17.5 million dollar contract that could be worth as much as $44 million over 9 seasons. Pretty good for a kid who has only played 6 major league games. I’m not saying I disagree with locking him up for the future, but that’s setting quite a precedent for young talent. This could significantly affect contract negotiation for talented prospects in the future.
The Rays have become trend-setters with contract negotiation recently. They have agents throughout the industry upset about their new policy of tacking a few one-year club options on the end the guaranteed term. This is essentially a win-win situation for the club; if the player develops as expected they buy out a few years of arbitration and free agency on the cheap, or if the player falters they simply let the options expire. On the flip side, the young prospect gets the security these types of deals provide.
Royals pitching prospect Luke Hochevar may get called up to start Sunday after the Royals placed starter John Bale on the 15-day DL to recover from a “dead arm”. He may be a good spot-start option for fantasy owners, as he is pitching very well at Triple-A Omaha with 12 strikeouts in 17.1 innings and a 2.60 ERA in three starts and is regarded as one of the top prospects in the minors. If Hochevar pitches well and Bale is out for longer than expected he could be a great long term roster addition as well.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune’s baseball blog “Hardball” reports that three White Sox pitching prospects have “gotten mixed results” in their last appearances. Aaron Poreda, the hard-throwing left-hander, struck out 5 and allowed only 1 run in 5 innings of work for Class-A Winston-Salem. Kyle McCulloch pitched 6 shutout innings for Double-A Birmingham. Lance Broadway went 8 innings, giving up only 1 earned run for Triple-A Charlotte.
Oakland left-hander Greg Smith is looking sharp after his first two big league starts, earning the win Monday against the White Sox. Smith, acquired by the A’s in the Dan Haren trade, also pitched 6 good innings against the Blue Jays last Wednesday, giving up 2 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in a no-decision. Buster Olney likes his pickoff move too, which he used to catch Jermaine Dye in the 7th inning. Even in shallower fantasy leagues, owners would be wise to take a flier on Smith.
The Detroit Tigers’ big league club has been struggling mightily, but their Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A teams each have winning records. Lynn Henning of the Detroit News’ piece mentions Virgil Vasquez as a possible call-up to the show to help the Tigers’ struggling pitching staff. Vasquez has pitched 10 2/3 innings in 2 starts for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, putting up a 2.53 ERA with 14 Ks.
The Giants are beginning to groom prospect John Bowker at first base, according to Andrew Baggarly of Medianews. After Bowker’s torrid start to his major league career, the organization is employing the services of Ex-Giant J.T. Snow to teach him the finer points of the position in hopes that he will stay in the every day lineup. Bowker got his first major league experience at the position on Wednesday when he was shifted to first base in the ninth inning after starting the game in right field.
The Red Sox recalled top SS prospect Jed Lowrie from Triple-A on Thursday to fill the slot vacated by the injured Mike Lowell. However, Sox skipper Terry Francona elected to play Sean Casey at first and shift Kevin Youkilis to third as an immediate solution, so Lowrie’s been forced to watch the games from the bench.
That may change after his performance in his big league debut today. Lowrie went 1-4, but his first career hit was a 2-run single in the 7th inning. Lowrie finished the game batting in 3 of the Red Sox 5 runs in a comeback victory over the Cleveland Indians. Unfortunately, with Casey already in competition and Lowell set to return in the not so distant future, Lowrie is really limited to a utility role. Unless the Sox are rocked by injury, don’t expect Lowrie to have too much fantasy value this season. He’s their SS of the future though, so don’t forget this name.
