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A short report, as plenty of leagues take the night off, not wanting to compete with the All-Star game.

Tim Wheeler, OF, Rockies (Double-A Tulsa): 2-for-4, 2 HR (24), 2 R, 3 RBI, K. It was a bit baffling to see Wheeler not selected to the Futures Game, and even more so when Mike Trout was promoted to the big leagues, creating an obvious opening. As somebody who was once involved in the selection process, it should be noted that teams sometimes don't make players available for a variety of reasons, so let's simply celebrate the season Wheeler is having. At .313/.394/.602 in 87 games with 24 home runs and 15 stolen bases, Wheeler would deservedly make any overall All-Star team, and he's looking more and more like a player who has gone from blocked behind Dexter Fowler and Charlie Blackmon to an important part of Colorado's future.

Others Of Note:

  • Matt Adams, 1B, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 3-for-4, HR (19), 2 R, 4 RBI, BB. Showing no signs of slowing down; 13 total bases in last three games and up to .351/.399/.649 overall.
  • Michael Choice, OF, Athletics (High-A Stockton): 4-for-6, HR (24), R, 2 RBI, K. Arguably the hottest hitter in the minors by going 20-for-46 (.435) with seven home runs in 11 July games; .280/.373/.563 overall.
  • Zack Cox, 3B, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, K. On hottest streak of 42 game Double-A stint; 12-for-23 with five doubles in last five games to lift OPS 98 points to .256/.320/.353.
  • Issac Galloway, OF, Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 3-for-4, 2B, 2 HR (12), 2 R, 4 RBI, K. Oft-injured, rarely good 2008 draftee hit just four home runs in 161 games coming into the year; still whiffs a ton, leading to .243/.279/.430 overall line in 77 games.
  • Max Kepler, OF, Twins (Rookie-level Elizabethton): 2-for-6, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Was 2-for-23 in first five games but is 13-for-37 (.351) since.
  • Matt Lipka, SS, Braves (Low-A Rome): 3-for-5, HR (1), 2 R, RBI. First home run in 81 games and first multi-hit contest in 15 contests; still has an ugly season line of .235/.292/.282.
  • Jimmy Parades, 2B/3B, Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R RBI, K. Hitting .383 in 11 July games and .283/.317/.432 overall; gap power, plus speed, positional versatility.
  • Jurickson Profar, SS, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 2-for-5, HR (9), R, RBI, SB, CS. Up to .272/.381/.498 overall in 70 games; does not have a single below-average tool.
  • Eddie Rosario, OF, Twins (Rookie-level Elizabethton): 3-for-5, 3B, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB. Hasn't gone deep for 11 games after hitting five in his first ten; still at .317/.385/.598 in 20 games.
  • Edward Salcedo, 3B, Braves (Low-A Rome): 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI. Slugging .589 since the break and plenty of scouts believe many of his 24 doubles in 323 at-bats will turn into home runs down the road.
  • Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. First scoreless outing in last six games during which he has allowed 13 hits in 8.1 innings.
  • Jake Skole, OF, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 2-for-4, R, BB, K, SB, CS. 2010 first-round pick showing some life at the plate; .387 in ten July games and up to .275/.378/.359 overall.
  • Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Blue Jays (Rookie-level Bluefield): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. 2010 supplemental first-rounder has been good in all four starts; 18.1 IP, 15 H, 5 BB, 24 K.

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dtrainmets
7/13
What's Wheeler's MLB upside?
300-20-20 too much to hope for?
kgoldstein
7/13
20/20 might be realistic, but I'm not convinced he's a .300 hitter yet.
AaronSF
7/13
How would you rank the Twins OF prospects: Hicks, Arcia, Benson, Kepler, Rosario? (With Sano taking over #1 when he inevitably moves to an OF corner.)
uptick
7/13
Thanks for the update Kevin...given Schneppers recent struggles, do you see him getting promoted to the majors this year?
kgoldstein
7/13
That's up to him, no?
ramjam36
7/13
Thanks Kevin! I know Jake Skole is still pretty new to focusing solely on baseball. Do you think we will see more power from him as his body and baseball skills mature?
kgoldstein
7/13
Absolutely. Not monster power, but there is strength in his swing.
cjbuet
7/13
Thanks for the updates Kevin. What is the word on Adams, is he a starting caliber 1b for a upper division team?
kgoldstein
7/13
We've talked about him a lot on the podcast. He's among the most difficult prospects in the game to evaluate, as the numbers are so good while the approach and the body are so bad.
BillJohnson
7/13
What's wrong with the "approach" other than his seeming inability to draw walks? A .351 BA and .649 SA doesn't suggest that he's swinging at a lot of things he shouldn't be, at least in terms of his ability to do damage to what he swings at. Kevin, you've scolded me before for using Vladimir Guerrero as a basis for comparison (not a comparable, which is a different thing), and I get that Adams probably doesn't have "80 tools," but that second sentence could have been written about Bad Vlad 15 years ago. Given that there IS no obvious comparable for Adams, which is one of the reasons why he's so difficult to evaluate, is it so bad to use Guerrero to assess what he might do in the future? Or is Adams' "approach" so grossly different from Guerrero's at the same stage that it doesn't make sense?

One way or another, this is a fascinating guy to try to make sense out of, whether he ever becomes a major-league masher or not.
kgoldstein
7/13
Yes, it's bad to use Guerrero. Period. That's a historic 80 hitter, and Adams is not that.
Imperialism32
7/13
In 1996 between the FSL and EL, Guerrero struck out 52 times. In 2011 in the SL, Adams has struck out 52 games.

Guerrero played 138 games. Adams has played 65 games.
delatopia
7/14
Vlad is a bad comp for any free swinger (outside of Pablo Sandoval) in the same way that Jamie Moyer is a bad comp for soft-tossing lefties or Greg Maddux is a bad comp for righties with pinpoint control. Outliers are just that, and tools matter. I just don't see how a bad-bodied, unathletic guy compares to Vlad in any way. Adams' and Guerrero's statistics might be superficially similar, but when you factor in body type and tools, the stats become a lot less meaningful IMO. Nobody had the plate coverage Vlad did, and to ask that of an unathletic dumptruck seems wildly optimistic.
Scott44
7/13
KG - Who did you like more coming out of the draft Skole, J. Sale or Vettleson?
kgoldstein
7/13
Sale.
Scott44
7/13
No need to rush him obviously, but does Profar get a sniff of High-A before year's end?
kgoldstein
7/13
No need to rush him, obviously.
AaronSF
7/13
Did Edward Salcedo change his name?
antonio
7/13
Thanks for the update. How would you rank these 2010 Jays pitching draftees at this point: Sanchez, Syndergaard, Wojciechowski, Nicolino, Murphy?
gdragon1977
7/13
Is Choice going to spend the entire year in Stockton?
Playwright22
7/13
"As somebody who was once involved in the selection process, it should be noted that teams sometimes don't make players available for a variety of reasons, so let's simply celebrate the season Wheeler is having."

Dangling modifier
jpjazzman
7/13
BTW - Talk about using the Surprise button to find a fun article from KG: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7704

What a loaded ten pack from three years back.. Stanton/Chacin in Low A... Cahill and Gardner...man, that's fun.