With the first half of the minor league season in the books (or at least near the books), it’s appropriate to review some of the material we have been presented with along the way. The nature of the developmental system is the tug of war between progression and regression, both at the individual level and with the farms themselves, and it’s important to recognize and review such trends without losing context of the sample or the process in general. We take snapshots of a fixed point in time, pictures of arbitrary beginnings and endings that we inflate in order to compartmentalize and classify. This is our nature and our beast, but we are not on the hunt for binary conclusions or reports chiseled into the cement. The pleasing bloom of a prospect in June could spoil and wilt by July, and the possibility of that decay is not lost on anybody reading this article. The schizophrenia of the season is one of the many reasons we adore this particular aspect of the sport; the conclusions formed in the first half aren’t predetermined as conclusions that will be formed in the second. For this article, let’s take a look at some of the more interesting events of the first half, including prospects with significant developmental shifts, farms on the climb and the descent, and some of the statistical oddities, curiosities, and peculiarities of the first three months of the minor league season.

Five prospects that took a step forward (just to name a few)

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The Objective: Wholesome adult fun; beverage consumption; baseball viewing; participation in an event that is larger than ourselves; Ernest Hemingway was all about this game back in the day; loneliness; boredom; because it’s awesome.

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The Situation: With suspect talent behind the dish at the major league level, the Mariners are calling up their catcher of the future to help provide a spark in the present. You can question the motives behind the move, as the unattractive whiff of desperation can be found if you really want to find it, but the position is in need of an upgrade, and Zunino is the beneficiary of the opportunity.

Background: After a standout college career at the University of Florida, Zunino was popped with the third overall pick in the 2012 draft. As a dual-threat catcher with some polish, Zunino was seen by many as a fast-track candidate to the highest level, a player who could start providing a return on Seattle’s initial $4M investment without a lengthy trek through the minor leagues. It was all sunshine and roses after he signed, as the then 21-year-old was the darling of the Northwest League, hitting a robust .373/.474/.736 in 29 games before a late-season promotion to Double-A, where he continued to impress with the stick.

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Everybody loves a good mock draft, and I apologize in advance if I’m tardy to this particular online form of a party. I’ve been making calls and hugging the babies of the baseball establishment in order to stay in the loop and extract the freshest of fresh scoops. Because the loyal subscribers to Baseball Prospectus deserve the world and all its material wealth, I deliver to you the most comprehensive and prophetic mock draft found on the tubes. Unfortunately, that’s not true. I only mocked to 10, but only because prophesy is difficult on the mind and the body. But I think I nailed it. Check my work after the first round of the draft.

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Let’s be clear; concise; first views and reviews. Let’s stay another night; watching you play under the lights; spelunking/sparkling; it’s important to be clear and concise; present day wondermenting

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Debating the stature and status of prospects is my chosen field and, for many of us, our chosen passion. We compare and contrast at every developmental turn, putting our various forms of magnification to work with every box score, every scouting report, and every opportunity to get close to the action. Not only is the value of Player A as it relates to that of Player B a fascinating exercise for the novice and industry veteran alike, but the establishment of present and future value helps form the skeleton structure of this particular commodities market.

Last fall, the Baseball Prospectus prospect team engaged in our most fervent debate of the offseason, when Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton battled for prospect supremacy in a talent-rich Twins system. The brilliance of the debate was that a defendable case could be made for each, and at the time I teetered back and forth in my conclusions like a drunk walking the yellow stripe. Do you like the five-tool high school kid with up-the-middle skills and loudspeaker athleticism or one of the better power bats to come out of the Latin American market in recent memory, a potential middle-of-the-order power behemoth? Revisiting the debate is intoxicating and my equilibrium is once again on the tilt.

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The Situation: With an outfield on the injury shelf, the Dodgers called up their finest minor league treasure in Yasiel Puig. After a monstrous spring training during which the Cuban defector stomped all over the Cactus League landscape destroying buildings and exhaling fire and fury, it was only a matter of time and opportunity before he arrived on the major league scene.

Background: The 22-year-old Cuban has quite the attractive narrative, with escape attempts and house arrest preceding his first-world fame. It’s a romantic story—one that deserves to be told in more depth—but the genesis of his tale as it relates to his career in the majors was the outrageous contract he received from the Dodgers after establishing post-defection residency in Mexico. A complete unknown to most fans, Puig was given a lucrative financial package, complete with a $12M signing bonus as the bow on a seven-year, $42M deal. Based on the scarcity of scouting intel available at the time, the signing seemed irresponsible and casual, even considering the deep pockets of the new Los Angeles ownership. Most reactions fell along the lines of, “The Dodgers gave $42M to a Cuban player based on an impressive batting practice session? What am I missing?”

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Byron Buxton, OF, Twins (Low-A Cedar Rapids)
After a scorching start to the season (1.194 OPS in April), Buxton has cooled (somewhat) in his second month in full-season ball, but thanks to game heroics and flashes of his future brilliance, Buxton’s stock has never been higher. Equipped with eye-splitting tools, including elite speed and easy plus raw power, the 19-year-old is well on his way to being the top prospect in the minors. Buxton recently hit a walk-off grand slam that one scout source in attendance said traveled an estimated 450 feet and was launched off a 98 mph fastball. Perfect Game’s Justin Hlubek captured the event on video, and if you have a change of pants handy, please click this link and drift into a euphoric state. --Jason Parks

Yordano Ventura, RHP, Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas)
If Ventura’s physical characteristics read 6’3’’ rather than 5’11’’, the combination of stuff and results would make him one of the premier pitching prospects in the game. Everybody knows about the fastball, as it can hit triple digits in bursts and routinely works in the plus-plus range, but the legitimacy is found in the developmental progression of the secondary arsenal, which includes a plus curveball and a changeup that some think could end up being very special. Because of questions about his ability to handle a starter’s workload, Ventura gets put into the bullpen box, where he profiles as an elite closer. While that’s quite the enticing alternative, the organization is adamant that they always have and will continue to view the 21-year-old righty as a starter, and a very special one at that. Not every slight Dominican righty is going to be the next Pedro, but most slight Dominican righties aren’t in Ventura’s class of talent, and if his body is up to the challenge, the Royals might have the top of the rotation arm they’ve been trying to develop since forever. –Jason Parks

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