Good morning prospect watchers. Let's get down to business.
***In my work queue: Prospect Retrospectives for Erik Bedard, Marco Scutaro, Chris Davis, Brooks Kieschnick, and Jef Kent. Prospect of the Day tomorrow will be Junior Lake of the Cubs. I will also be looking at Drake Britton of the Red Sox, Michael Choice of the Athletics, and Josh Satin of the Mets this week. I am also working on the Top 20 Prospect List reviews. . .not new lists, but reviews of the pre-season lists to get a feeling for how things are going in each farm system. We did the Twins and Rangers earlier today.
We will also cover any prospects involved in deadline trades.
***Chicago Cubs prospect Arismendy Alcantara went 3-for-4 with double and two runs scored yesterday for Double-A Tennessee, raising his season line to .284/.359/.477. His future division competitor in the middle infield, Kolten Wong of the St. Louis Cardinals, went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Triple-A Memphis, raising his season line to .301/.359/.464.
***Kansas City Royals pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer made his debut for Double-A Northwest Arkansas yesterday with strong results: six innings, three hits, one walk, seven strikeouts, no runs. After a spotty beginning to the season he was pitching quite well recently down in High-A, so it is good to see him maintaining the momentum in his first game at a higher level.
***Houston Astros outfield prospect Robbie Grossmanwent 5-for-5 for Triple-A Oklahoma City yesterday. He has had a hot July, hitting .377/.457/.557 this month. He'll get another shot in the majors later this year if he maintains his current pace.
***Milwaukee Brewers 25-year-old farmhand Jason Rogershit three homers for Double-A Huntsville yesterday. Rogers is not a hot prospect and is old for the level, but the former 32nd round draft choice (Columbus State University, 2010) has done enough to keep himself employed in the upper minors for awhile, hitting 13 homers this year.
***San Diego Padres prospect Keyvius Sampson rang up 12 strikeouts in seven shutout innings for Double-A San Antonio yesterday, giving him a 2.67 ERA with a 94/30 K/BB in 84 innings this year. He was ineffective in four Triple-A starts back in April, but he's been blowing away the Texas League, pitching excellently in six of his last seven starts. Another chance at Tucson seems likely soon.
***Boston Red Sox prospect Matt Barnes was also excellent yesterday, fanning 10 in seven shutout innings for Double-A Portland, allowing three hits and three walks. He now has a 4.75 ERA in 78 innings with a 91/31 K/BB and 84 hits allowed. I think it less likely that he'll see Triple-A this year; he's been more erratic than Sampson from start to start.