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Showcase showdown

Kyle Drabek, RHP, Phillies (Double-A Reading)
Wednesday’s stats: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K
The Phillies remain the team most closely connected to Roy Halladay, and most believe that any deal would have to revolve around Drabek. Some think he’s untouchable in any scenario, but that didn’t stop the Jays from showing up in Altoona, PA last night. It wasn’t his best start of the year, but it was pretty damn good. Almost of more interest was how long he stayed in the game; the 30 batters faced was his highest total since he got to Double-A.

One inning and a whole lot of questions

Jhoulys Chacin, RHP, Rockies (Double-A Tulsa)
Wednesday’s stats: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Arguably the top pitching prospect in the system, Chacin threw a grand total of nine pitches on Wednesday before being, as stated in the Tulsa press release, “removed as a precaution for possible, future organizational moves.” That’s pretty darn vague. One could assume a trade, or one could assume a much more likely scenario of a series of moves related to Manny Corpas’ surgery. Still, it’s good to know, even if we don’t know the whole picture. Update: All signs point to Chacin being added to the big league bullpen.

Have a day, Madison

Madison Bumgarner, LHP, Giants (Double-A Connecticut)
Wednesday’s stats: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Another great start from Bumgarner, who has now allowed three runs over 35.1 innings in his last six starts. Same ol’, same ol’ really, but the story here was what Bumgarner did at the plate. With his team down 1-0 in the fifth, he smoked a grand slam to ensure his 10th victory of the year.

You gotta give something to get something

Brandon Allen, 1B, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno)
Wednesday’s stats: 2-for-4, 2 HR (7), 2 R, 4 RBI, K

While Tony Pena has allowed eight runs in his first four innings for the White Sox, the player sent to Arizona has become one of the hottest hitters in the minors. He now has seven home runs in his first 37 at-bats with the D-backs organization, while also batting .378 with more walks (7) than strikeouts (5). Likely in line for a September callup, Allen will be a big upgrade at first base for Arizona in 2010.

Take your base . . . again

Logan Morrison, 1B, Marlins (Double-A Jacksonville)
Wednesday’s stats: 1-for-1, RBI, 3 BB
One of the best young hitters around, Morrison has suddenly turned into Eddie Stanky of late, going 6-for-15 in his last seven games with a double and 15 walks. With 37 walks in 132 at-bats, he sports an on-base percentage of .432, which is a good thing to make up for power that is no more than average for the position.

Sleeper Alert!

Edinson Rincon, 3B, Padres (Short-season Eugene)

Wednesday’s stats: 2-for-4, HR (5), R, 5 RBIs

An 18-year-old Dominican with a quality bat, Rincon has been one of the most talked about players in the Northwest League this year. Wednesday’s game, which included his first professional grand slam, upped his season averages to .333/.432/.576 in 26 games. Athletic and strong, Rincon has an excellent approach for a teenager to go with plus power. All he needs now is to find a position, as his defense at third base is beyond rough.

Thank you for reading

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metty5
7/23
KG, I called it (the sleeper) last night! Haha. The powers of being overtired.
Thejaeti
7/23
Kevin, on Bumgarner, obviously the ERA is sterling, but is there any talk among scouts about the drop in his strikeout rate? I know he's absurdly young to be dominating AA, but the strikeout rate has come down significantly, and his walk rate has nearly doubled from High-A. Some other numbers (BABIP, strand rate) show that he's had pretty good luck. I'm not questioning that he's the best pitching prospect in the game, just wondering what's being said about these peripheral numbers. Thanks, as always. These updates are great.
kgoldstein
7/23
Honestly? Yes, there is talk about it, and his secondary pitches are now really getting glowing reviews. Don't get me wrong, scouts still love him, but they think he has work to do as well.
marcento
7/23
Did you mean to say his secondary pitches are NOT getting glowing reviews? Because the next sentence is a little confusing otherwise. Thanks!
kgoldstein
7/23
NOT getting glowing reviews is correct, there. Sorry.
astein
7/23
Hi Kevin. Did you give Felix Doubront (21 year-old lefty starter for Boston's AA team) any consideration for today's Update? Last night's line was pretty stellar: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K.
kgoldstein
7/23
I did. I also considered Tom Gorzelanny, Danny Valencia, Joel Guzman, Radhames Liz, Justin Smoak, Jeff Clement, Ruben Tejada, Miguel Montero, Josh Reddick, Jordan Danks, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Greg Halman, Mark Trumbo, Jeff Bianchi, Chris Carter, Starlin Castro, Ernesto Frieri, Lance Lynn, Moises Sierra, Mark Rogers, Yohermyn Chavez, Mark Krauss and Brett Jackson for various reasons.
astein
7/23
Fair enough.
sungods7n
7/23
You tweeted on Fat Lynn just missing, anything interesting on him from scouts? I've missed him on every homestand so I still don't know what to make of him. It seemed like he lost velo since Team USA last year or maybe the buzz before was just exaggerated.
alskor
7/23
Yeah... about that. You said he "just missed the cut."

On behalf of your readers, if you ever have trouble cutting down from six guys to five, well please feel free to throw in that sixth guy! I dont think anyone is gonna complain that you broke the format or anything...
metty5
7/23
When you say Morrison's power is average for the position, is that like 20 HR annually or less?
erniepoe
7/23
Kevin,
Is Bumgarner working on secondary pitches? I've noticed his K rate is significantly down this year. Since I saw him pitch early in the year, I can say with certainty that his stuff is nothing short of absolutely filthy. I've heard of other pitchers, say, not throwing curveballs in order to make sure other pitches develop. Have you heard of anything like this with MadBum?

K
erniepoe
7/23
oops, gotta read other comments first. duh.
BaseballNUT2009
7/23
One more question on Madison Bumgarner. I have noticed with a couple pitchers that they are dominating in A ball or A+ and when they get to AA they start preaching "pitch to contact" and with the low pitch limitacion that they put on this guys (about 75 pitches). Do they sacrifice de strike outs to stay longer in the game? and be able to pitch into the 6th and 7th innings?