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Keury De La Cruz, OF, Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 1-for-4, HR (11), R, 3 RBI.

De La Cruz entered the year as a smallish outfielder who had shown some promise with the bat, but he just keeps hitting, as with four home runs in his last four games, he's now at .306/.355/.566 overall and among the league leaders in several offensive categories. The knock against him is



he's going to have to keep it up. The 20-year-old Dominican is a compact, athletic 5-foot-11, but he has no loud tools, as average speed and arm strength gives him a left field profile, and he's an aggressive hitter whose free-swinging ways could get exposed at the upper levels. His stock is up, but only in the sense that he's gone from a name in the crowd to someone worth keeping an eye on.

Others Of Note:

  • Hanser Alberto, SS/3B, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 19-year-old is relative unknown in the system but can really hit; 9-for-16 in last four games and .349/.384/.463 in 44 games.
  • Javier Baez, SS, Cubs (Low-A Peoria): 2-for-4. Season debut for 2011 first-round pick.
  • Dante Bichette, 3B, Yankees (Low-A Charleston): 4-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI. Possibly recovering from ugly start; 10-for-19 in last four games and up to .267/.367/.314 overall.
  • Ryan Brett, 2B, Rays (Low-A Bowling Green): 4-for-5, 3 R, RBI, BB, SB. Up to .322/.363/.435 overall;. 5-foot-9 line drive machine with good speed.
  • Simon Castro, RHP, White Sox (Double-A Birmingham): 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 5 K. Best start of the year on just 96 pitches; 3.74 ERA with 54 Ks in 65 innings.
  • Kaleb Cowart, 3B, Angels (Low-A Cedar Rapids): 4-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI. Batting average up 38 points in just six games (14-for-26); .287/.341/.482 overall.
  • Nick Franklin, SS/2B, Mariners (Double-A Jackson): 2-for-3, 2 3B, R, K, SB. Having offensive breakout year at .340/.407/.535; whether he plays shortstop or second base in the big leagues is still up for debate.
  • Anthony Gose, OF, Blue Jays (Triple-A Las Vegas): 2-for-5, R, RBI, K, SB, CS. Has exploded with tweak to swing mechanics; hitting .368 in May and suddenly up to .293/.373/.418 overall.
  • Billy Hamilton, SS, Reds (Low-A Dayton): 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 K. 3 SB (52). 12 stolen bases in last six games and .316/.389/.454 on the season. Offensively, he's ready for Double-A. Defensively, he's ready for a move to center.
  • Miles Head, 3B, Athletics (High-A Stockton): 3-for-5, 2 HR (11), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K. All the A's can do is move him up and see if he keeps hitting, and that could come soon; 11-for-17 with 24 total bases in last four games and .378/.424/.697 overall.
  • Danny Hultzen, LHP, Mariners (Double-A Jackson): 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Gave up five runs in his first start of the year and five earned runs in his nine starts since (0.85 ERA); wasting time at this level.
  • Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers (Triple-A Albuquerque): 3-for-4, 2B, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI. I think he's ready.
  • Roger Kieschnick, OF, Giants (Triple-A Fresno): 2-for-5, HR (14), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K. Hitting .320/.392/.630 in 50 games, and while the strikeouts are a concern, he deserves the chance to see if he could help a stagnant offense.
  • Matt Lipka, OF, Braves (High-A Lynchburg): 3-for-4, 2 RBI, SB. Some progress but mostly just streakiness; 8-for-13 in last three games and .260/.325/.337 overall.
  • Wil Myers, OF/3B, Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K. The Royals insist he'll return to third soon, but the reasoning seems unclear; .326/.383/.651 in 12 Triple-A games.
  • Rougned Odor, 2B, Rangers (Low-A Hickory): 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, BB, SB. 18-year-old is 11-for-24 in last six games and up to .291/.351/.488; outstanding numbers for age/level.
  • Chris Owings, SS, Diamondbacks (High-A Visalia): 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, SB. Repeating the level has done the trick, as the tools for success are certainly there; .327/.369/.559 in 50 games.
  • Domingo Santana, OF, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 2-for-4, 2B, HR (9), R, 3 RBI, K. 11-for-27 with four home runs in last six games and .277/.343/.561 overall; Very real power, but hard to judge in Lancaster.
  • Jean Segura, SS, Angels (Double-A Arkansas): 4-for-5, R, K, SB, CS. Scouts keep waiting for him to get going as approach has gone backwards; .272/.322/.364 in 49 games.
  • Trevor Story, SS, Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 2-for-4, HR (8), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB. Athletic shortstop showing more improved defense and plenty of bat; .287/.379/.538 in 45 games.
  • Sebastian Valle, C, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 2-for-5, 3B, HR (5), 2 R, 3 RBI, K. Finally showing signs of life with home runs in three of last four games; still at just .234/.266/.393 overall.
  • Josh Vitters, 3B, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 2-for-5, HR (6), R, 2 RBI. Hitting .283/.330/.545 in May and it's clear that Ian Stewart is not exactly a long-term impediment.  

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wizstan
5/29
Roger Kieshnick-"he deserves the chance to see if he could help a stagnant offense"

It would be nice if he could bring some power, but I don't see a spot for him. The current Giants starting OF is hitting .329/.392/.490 with solid performances from all three positions.
delatopia
5/30
Yeah, unless he can play second or short, there's no room at the inn.
mrdannyg
5/29
Why are more people not talking about Franklin? Didn't realize he was hitting so well - .340 avg with a .942 OPS as a 21-year old middle infielder in AA seems like a pretty fantastic prospect. I know he's been ranked on all the top prospect lists, but those stats seem to suggest he's made further improvements. Do the scouting reports not quite match the stats, or are we talking about a top-10 offensive prospect?

We're not there yet, but seems like he may have to be shoehorned into SS if the M's don't make any moves, since Ackley isn't going anywhere. Could the M's try one of them at 3B?
jasemilw4
5/29
All three of SF's outfielders are working on rebuilding their careers. The three of them will not maintain your above stat line. Kieshnick is a real prospect with power.
wilymo
5/29
well, they wouldn't really have to maintain all of it to be good, would they? melky won't hit .360 but he's not a fluke either; pagan can hit enough, and blanco's been doing what he's doing since spring training. the overarching point is, the outfield isn't really the stagnant part of the giants offense. the problem is the middle infield, the injured panda and first base. i guess they could play kieschnick over belt, maybe.
ccseverson
5/29
typo? - Billy Hamilton (Hi A Bakersfield)
Schere
5/29
How do you pronounce Rougned?
faztradamus
5/29
Rough-Ned.
Infrancoeurgible
5/30
Stud.
gdragon1977
5/30
When I hear the name I always think of MC Lyte. I hope it's his walk-up music some day.

bheikoop
5/29
Even with the tweak is Gose still getting abused by lefties?
SaberTJ
5/30
Looks like it http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=LF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=543238
bheikoop
5/30
Not sure what the numbers looked like pre hot streak. He very well could have had an OPS of .200 against lefties before it began (meaning his .474 OPS is quite an improvement).