Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that Braves center field prospect Jordan Schafer has been suspended for 50 games for using human growth hormone. Schafer is ranked the 27th and 25th best minor league prospect by Keith Law and Baseball America, respectively. Crasnick writes that the 21-year-old was considered by some to be a possible replacement for Mark Kotsay by the second half of the season. Schafer hit .312 in High-A ball last year with 176 hits (1st in minor leagues) and 49 doubles (3rd).

• Rookie pitcher Jair Jurrjens found out that he will start Wednesday, game 3 of the regular season.  He’s stoked.  So might fantasy owners be if this kid can turn a great spring into a solid rookie season.
• 18-year-old Jason Heyward dressed for the Braves’ final Grapefruit League game against the Mets, and replaced Jeff Francoeur in left field in the 4th. He struck out in a 6th inning at-bat. The 14th pick in the 2007 draft, the Braves have high hopes for this young talent. Keep an eye out for him in the next couple years.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that prospect Josh Anderson is still competing for the Braves final outfield position. Manager Bobby Cox has until Saturday to make a decision between Anderson and Gregor Blanco. Anderson hit .283 in 25 games while Blanco hit .400 with a .542 OBP. Both players are lefties with strong defense, however Anderson is a better stolen-base threat, having only been caught 8 times in 48 attempts last year.

Earlier this week we listed the top prospects getting cut from the Rays, Indians, Pirates, Nationals, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox, Twins, Angels, and Orioles.  We’ve listed below a handful of prospects who have been cut since then.

• Beau Mills, 3B/1B, Indians
• Trevor Crowe, OF, Indians
• Matt LaPorta, OF, Brewers
• Phillipe Aumont, RHP, Mariners
• Robinzon Diaz, C, Blue Jays
• Charlie Morton, RHP, Braves
• Tyler Flowers, C/1B, Braves
• Brett Sinkbeil, RHP, Marlins
• Lance Broadway, RHP, White Sox
• Rick Porcello, RHP, Tigers
• Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies
• Chris Nelson, SS, Rockies
• Jeff Samardzija, RHP, Cubs
• John Bowker, OF, Giants

Braves prospect Jair Jurrjens pitched four scoreless innings, surrendering only one hit to the Cardinals on Monday.  He now has an 8 inning scoreless streak going since giving up up a run in the first inning of his first start.  For the spring, Jurrjens is now 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA with six baserunners allowed in nine innings.  Jurrjens is a definite favorite to take the fifth spot in the starting rotation.  Bobby Cox has nothing but good things to say about the 21-year old from Curacao:

“He’s a true pitcher,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “I know he won’t be perfect all the time, but he has been so far.”

According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bobby Cox had good things to say about the native from Curacao after his pitching performance against Cleveland on Wednesday.

“He’s got a good idea what he’s doing on the mound. It’s amazing, really, at his age and where he’s from. They don’t play a lot of baseball there. He’s got great pitches, with outstanding maturity on the mound — and control,” Cox said, emphasizing that final word.

Jurrjens made a statement, pitching 3 perfect innings against the likes of Travis Hafner, Ryan Garko, and Casey Blake.  He threw 18 strikes in 25 pitches with 2 strikeouts.

“I was working just to get ahead of every hitter, trying to throw strike one and pitch for contact,” said Jurrjens. “I tried to throw the least [amount of] pitches that I can.

“Now it’s only three innings, but during the season it’s going to be a lot more, and I want to try to get deep into games and help the bullpen.”

If Jurrjens can keep up his great control of the 95 fastball and a quality sinker, Cox would be smart to start him.  A lot depends on whether Mike Hampton, currently slated as the fifth starter, can make a full come-back from Tommy John surgery this season.  Since Hampton is just now throwing off the mound for the first time since 2005 and a lot is still up in the air, you might think about drafting Jurrjens just in case.

• Jo-Jo Reyes is making a strong case for the #5 spot in the Braves’ rotation. It appears that he has taken the lead for the rotation spot over Braves’ pitching prospect Jair Jurrjens.
• According to the ESPN Spring Training Blog, Marlins skipper Fredi Gonzalez expects to see Cameron Maybin back in the lineup sometime this week. Good news for Maybin, as he’ll need all the time he can get if he’s going to win that CF job.
• Kosuke Fukudome has been struggling at the plate so far this spring. Cubs new manager Lou Piniella is going to try moving Fukudome from 3rd to 2nd in the lineup, hoping that it will put the Japanese import at ease. Fukudome’s defense has been top notch all spring, however. As long as Fukudome remains at the top of that stacked Cubs order, he’s in line for a great rookie season.
• Very interesting article today in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about 3B prospect Neil Walker. Apparently the Pirates organization has issued a challenge to Walker to get in better shape to be able to handle the rigors of a full season at 3B. Walker has encountered injury or late-season fatigue in each of his pro seasons. He’s only 22, though, so hopefully he can turn things around and realize the lofty projections scouts have put on him.
• The former Notre Dame two-sport standout, Jeff Samardzija, pitched two scoreless innings today and got the win. Jeff (way easier to spell) was picked up in the 5th round by the Cubs in the 2006 Draft.
• Astros’ prospect Felipe Paulino continues to impress new Houston manager Cecil Cooper as he battles for a spot on the team’s rotation. Cooper said that Paulino’s outing was the second most impressive all camp, behind only Wandy Rodriguez. If Paulino makes the rotation, he could be a major sleeper this year.
• An injury update today on Orioles’ pitching prospect, Troy Patton, and it isn’t good. Nothing conclusive has been released yet, but all indications are that Patton will miss the 2008 season because of his shoulder. This is a real bummer too, as Patton was practically a shoe-in for a roster spot.

• Giants IF Eugenio Velez had 3 SB in their game against the Cubs today. That gives the speedster 5 already in spring training. The Giants’ infield is still in total flux. Velez could definitely be a fantasy sleeper in the SB category if he’s given enough chances.
• In the same game, Giants 2B prospect Travis Denker had a double and a HR with 3 RBI. Denker was the player to be named in the Mark Sweeney trade with the Dodgers. He is not regarded as a top prospect, but with a strong spring and the Giants current IF situation, I guess anything is possible.
• Top 10 overall prospect Franklin Morales knows that he isn’t a shoe in for the Rockies’ opening day rotation. With his incredible upside he has to be considered the favorite at this point, but he could easily lose his spot to one of the veterans in camp if he shows any signs of weakness. It doesn’t help that his main competition, Josh Towers, had a great outing today.
• Should Atlanta’s new CF Mark Kotsay get injured, the Braves have plenty of top prospects ready to take his place. Top rated prospect Jordan Schafer has impressed Bobby Cox so far in camp, and some think he could be called up this summer. Fellow prospect Brandon Jones is the current front-runner for the 4th OF position, but coaches say speedster Josh Anderson is challenging him for that title.
• Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a great story about Pirates OF prospect Steve Pearce. The kid has mashed at every level, and is continuing to do so this spring. But GM Neal Huntington still thinks the club will start Pearce at AAA this year. It’s no slight against Pearce’s abilities; according to Huntington it’s more about the team already having veteran outfielders in place. Keep an eye on this guy when he does get the call-up.

• The Braves first pick in last year’s draft, Jason Heyward, has turned into quite an impressive force.  At 6′ 4″ and 220 pounds, he is drawings early comparisons to Cliff Floyd.  How this Atlanta native lasted until the 14th pick for the local Braves will forever remain a mystery.
• In the same article there is mention of Michael Broadway, the flamethrower picked up by the Braves in the 2005 Draft.  This kid has always had the fastball (clocked at 97 mph), but its the control he’s lacked.  Apparently he tinkered with his delivery last year to great results.
• Jair Jurrjens, who is fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation, had a pretty rough outing against the Dodgers today.  He gave up two hits, a walk and one run in two innings of work, a performance he was not pleased with.  According to this article he just needs to work on his confidence, although Bobby Cox isn’t worried.

We covered the pitching prospects below, now we’ll cover the hitting prospects. As mentioned before, MiLB.com put together a compilation of the best Q&A’s from recent MLB.com Mailbags. The answers are provided by beat writers for each respective team. We’ve summarize some of the more juicy prospect news below:

• Colby Rasmus’ call-up could be delayed for business reasons. A few days ago we discussed how Evan Longoria is in the same position. The Cardinals could gain an extra year of free agency with a short delay, and avoid Super-Two status with a mid-season call-up.
• Dodgers’ SS prospect Chin-Lung Hu will more than likely start the season at Triple-A. But with Rafael Furcal’s contract up after this season, look for Hu to compete for that position next Spring.
• Giants’ IF prospect Eugenio Velez could steal a whole lot of bases if given the opportunity. Velez has 122 stolen bases between the past two seasons.
• The MLB.com author argues that the Braves might be better off keeping BA’s 70th ranked overall Brandon Jones (OF) at Triple-A this season. The thought is that allowing him to play every day will be better for his development than sticking him in a major league platoon with Matt Diaz.
• Jesus Flores has not lost his status as the Catcher of the future for the Nationals; the future has just gotten a little further away. It seems he will spend at least a portion of the season at Triple-A due to the signings of Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada.
• Nolan Reimold could see some playing time in Baltimore this season, just not in April. With CF and RF firmly occupied by Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, the only option for Reimold is in Left. Luke Scott will have to really struggle or get injured for the Orioles to make the call for Reimold this season.
• Look for Jed Lowrie to be this year’s version of Jacoby Ellsbury, a late season call-up with immediate impact. Lowrie is currently playing shortstop, but could probably play any infield position and “can flat-out hit”.