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May 26, 2009

Future Shock

Tuesday's Monday Ten Pack

by Kevin Goldstein

Clay Buchholz, RHP, Red Sox (Triple-A Pawtucket)
Buchholz' surprising struggles in '08 were attributed to mechanical problems, but also to a lack of confidence, so Monday's start was probably the most important of the season for him, as he was coming off of his worst outing of the year. He passed this particular test with flying colors, needing just 96 pitches to deliver his best start of the year against Louisville, a one-hit shutout with no walks and seven strikeouts. In eight starts this year for Pawtucket, he has a 1.30 ERA with less than a hit allowed every two innings. Boston needs to figure out a way to give him another chance.

Madison Bumgarner, LHP, Giants (Double-A Connecticut)
Bumgarner is still just 19 years old, yet one scout who saw him over the weekend thinks that he could immediately hold his own in the big leagues. Considering where the Giants are right now, however, there's really no need to bring him up, but it's strange to think of a teenager who is almost wasting his time being in the minors. Saturday night's outing against Portland—he struck out 10 over six shutout innings while allowing just two hits—lowered his Eastern League ERA to 0.50 in three starts. The upper levels are clearly not much of a challenge for him.

Juan Francisco, 3B, Reds (Double-A Carolina)
Francisco is such an unusual prospect: it's easy to get excited about some of his tools, as both his power and arm rate as plus-plus if not better, but at the same time, he's a bad-bodied and downright sloppy third baseman who will swing at anything. He still entices at times, however, and he certainly did so during a five-game stretch against Carolina over the weekend, going 10-for-24 with a double, three home runs (including two Monday), and nine RBI. Unfortunately, that only raised his averages on the season to .245/.271/.462. The potential is certainly there, but he'll need to make some adjustments.

Robbie Grossman, OF, Pirates (Single-A West Virginia)
One of the poster boys for Pittsburgh's new willingness to spend in the draft, Grossman received a seven-figure bonus last year as a sixth-round pick to buy him away from playing college ball at the University of Texas. Toolsy but a little raw, Grossman was holding his own during his full-season debut in the Sally League, and he's beginning to really pick it up at the plate of late, going 7-for-14 with his first home run of the year over the weekend, and following that up on Monday by drawing four walks and stealing two bases. At .284/.388/.376, Grossman's line is hardly eye-popping, but he's just starting to scratch the surface of his abilities.

Carlos Gutierrez, RHP, Twins (High-A Fort Myers)
Everyone loves ground-ball guys, but people especially love to see two-to-one ratios and the hurler who can consistently keep the ball in the park. We've seen the occasional extremist with a three-to-one mark, but how about 4.5 to one? That's where the Twins' 2008 first-round pick sits right now, and to further add to his legend, when a rehabbing Joe Mauer caught him in April, he called Gutierrez's sinker the best he's ever seen, the big leagues included. Gutierrez delivered another five innings without allowing an earned run on Friday, lowering his ERA to 0.98, and for the second straight year, the Twins have a first-round pick that people questioned at the time who is now delivering outstanding results.