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Matching the heat of the desert

Carlos Peguero, OF, Mariners (High-A High Desert)
Sunday’s stats: 3-for-5, 3B, HR (13), 3 R, 3 RBI, K
Peguero is the kind of guy that just looks like he should be good, as the 22-year-old Dominican is 6-foot-5, strong as an ox and a good athlete for his size. At the same time, a swing-at-anything approach has held him back so far. After hitting just 12 home runs for High Desert last year, Peguero has already pass that total just 56 games this season, and is especially hot of late, slugging .698 this month with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 12 games.

Not THAT good, but good

Eric Sogard, 2B, Padres (Double-A San Antonio)
Sunday’s stats: 2-for-4, 2B, R

An undersized second baseman who starred at Arizona State, Sogard draws therefore draws the occasional lazy comparison to Dustin Pedroia, which just isn’t fair. Still, he’s solid player with top of the order skills, including a line drive bat and a very patient approach that has him batting .386 in his last 15 games and .296/.397/.402 overall. Add in the fact that he’s one of those guys who just does all of the little things right, and he could be making a run at a big league look sometime next year.

Insert lame opera reference here

Alfredo Figaro, RHP, Tigers (Double-A Erie)
Sunday’s stats: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K

Figaro has a 2.05 ERA last year in the Midwest League, but has a 24-year-old in Low A, scouts were left non-plussed. The Tigers jumped him two levels this spring to the Eastern League, and while he’s been inconsistent at times, he’s also been occasionally dominant, like he was Sunday night while establishing a season-high in strikeouts. Figaro’s fastball can get into the mid-90s, but it’s also his only quality offering, leading many to believe that in the end, he’ll be in the bullpen.

Overcoming a bad first impression

Alex Torres, LHP, Angels (High-A Rancho Cucamonga)
Sunday’s stats: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

A 21-year-old Venezuelan, it’s hard for a guy like Torres to really blow one way, as he’s well under six feet tall while sitting in the upper 80s, but he’s got a pretty special curveball, and when he throws strikes with it while hitting his spots with the heater, he can dominate. Sunday’s outing was just another in a string of fine outings for the southpaw, who has allowed just two earned runs over 31.1 innings in his last five starts.

Blast from the past

Chris Snelling, OF, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis)
Sunday’s stats: 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, CS
Back in the day (fine, earlier in the decade), Snelling was one of the best hitting prospects in the game. He was the kind of a guy who looked like he could hit .300 in his sleep, but at the same time, he rarely got through the not healthy, as from 2002-2006, he played in a grand total of 232 games, and never more than 69 in any one year. Now 27, Snelling began the year in Mexico, where he was hitting .324/.435/.520 in 49 games for Monterrey, but the callup of Andrew McCutchen created an opening an Indy, and he’s reached base seven times in his first three games. He always could hit . . .

Sleeper alert!

Delvi Cid, OF, Indians (Low-A Lake County)

Sunday’s stats: 2-for-5, 2B, R, 4 RBIs, K, CS

Cid’s game is all about speed. He’s a true burner who covers a ton of ground in center, but every others aspect of his game was seen as very raw, and there was significant debate as to whether or not he’d be ready for a full-season league at 19. Consider those in favor of such an assignment to be in the right, as Cid is now batting .319/.374/.416 so far this year, while wow-ing scouts with his athleticism, many of whom think he’s going to develop a bit of power down the road as well.

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ramtax
6/15
James McDonald struck out 13 for Alburquerque last yesterday. I didn't think he had that much DOM upside. hat are we looking at here?
gwguest
6/15
Regarding James McDonald

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8340

Take it with a grain of salt as Round Rock and OKC have two of the weaker lineups in the PCL.
wonkothesane1
6/15
Sogard

When wondering Saturday if the Padres would consider bringing Eckstein back for 2010 someone asked me who they have in the system. I said that, obviously, they have Antonelli, but he's still struggling in Portland. So it brought up the interesting question of what happens next year. Sogard will obviously be deserving of promotion so you have to do something with Antonelli. Will they trade Antonelli in a Gautreau-Smith or Burroughs/Brazelton sort of trade? Will they send him to AA? Will they promote Sogard directly to San Diego? I doubt they'll let both of them repeat their current level. It'll be interesting to see what they do.
brianpsmith
6/16
The Rancho Cucamonga staff is crediting Kelvim Escobar with instilling confidence in Torres during Escobar's Cal League rehab. So at least the Angels got *something* out of Escobar this season.