Minor League Update

Games of Wednesday, May 22

Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez has made some swing adjustments that could turn him into a big-league regular.

Pitching Prospect of the Day: Tyler Skaggs, LHP, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K; potential solid-average fastball; easy plus curveball; average changeup; early-season struggles in the PCL; profiles as a very good number-three starter.

Position Prospect of the Day: Christian Vazquez, C, Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 4-4, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB; changed swing mechanics to shorten up; making consistent loud contact; line-drive stroke; plus defensive profile; most scouts I talk to believe he has the ability to play every day; .375/.444/.625 with 3 2B, 3B, and HR in last 32 at-bats.

Other notable prospect performances from May 22:

“The Good”

• Andrew Burns, 3B, Blue Jays (High-A Dunedin): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB; ability to barrel premium velocity; still developing defensively; average power potential; solid-average runner; destroying High-A pitching; the test will come at Double-A; .333/.413/.558 with 9 2B, 4 3B, and 6 HR in 156 at-bats.
• Angelo Gumbs 2B, Yankees (High-A Tampa): 3-4, 2 2B, R, BB; major-league bat speed; aggressive player; plus power potential; potential solid-average hit tool; plus runner; I really like this guy, and my gut says he is going to be something special; .400/.471/.633 with 5 2B, 1 3B, and 2 SB in 30 May at-bats.
• Alen Hanson, SS, Pirates (High-A Bradenton): 4-5, 2B, 2 3B, 3 R, RBI, K; plus runner; plus bat speed; plays the game with a bit of swagger; will eventually have to move to the right side of the infield; I want to see him against Double-A pitching; .400/.429/.700 and 5 2B, 2 3B, and HR in last 40 at-bats.
• Dorssys Paulino, SS, Indians (Low-A Lake County): 3-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI; potential plus hit tool; at least average power; plus runner; will move off of shortstop at some point; hopefully this big night will get him out of an early-season funk.
• Gregory Polanco, CF, Pirtaes (High-A Bradenton): 4-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, K; easy plus runner; loud contact; solid-average power; plus defensive profile; .333/.395/.590 with 4 2B, 2 HR, and 6 SB in last 39 at-bats.
• Roman Quinn, SS, Phillies (Low-A Lakewood): 2-5, R, K, 2 SB; elite speed; good bat speed from both sides of the plate; more power than frame would suggest; ceiling on power could be a 5; plus arm; plus first-step quickness; iffy glove at short leads me to believe he will move to the outfield; tearing it up after struggling in the cold month of April; .350/.458/.500 with 2B, 3B, HR, and 8 SB in last 40 at-bats.
• Kolten Wong, 2B, Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis): 4-5, 2 2B, 3B, 4 R, RBI, BB; plus hit tool; solid-average runner; fringy power potential; plus defender at second; high baseball IQ; just waiting patiently for his call to the big leagues; .463/.511/.854 with 6 2B, 2 3B,  and 2 HR in 41 at-bats.

“The Bad”

• Brett Eibner, CF, Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): 0-4, 3 K; thought I saw someone mention that Eibner was back on prospect radars, and then I checked his stat line and saw a lot of the same struggles; .216/.313/.371 with 3 2B, 4 HR and 32 K in 97 at-bats.
• Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 0-4; No hit Miguel?  
• Richie Shaffer, 3B, Rays (High-A Charlotte): 1-4, 3 K; college bat; struggling a little bit in his first full professional season; 41 K in 154 at-bats.
• Jose Ramirez, RHP, Yankees (Double-A Trenton): 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, K; the command can get away from him at any point in any outing.
• Yordano Ventura, RHP, Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): 4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; a clunker unlike any of his previous starts this season.

The Call-Up

Kevin Gausman

The Orioles summon one of baseball's top pitching prospects to plug a hole in their rotation.

The Situation: The Orioles have dropped six of their last seven and now find themselves four games back in the AL East. Injury and underperformance in the starting rotation have already forced the Birds’ hand, with Freddy Garcia logging four underwhelming starts over the past three weeks. Rather than turning to T.J. McFarland or Jake Arrieta for Thursday’s start north of the border, Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter will turn the ball over to the no. 2 prospect in the Orioles’ system (and no. 13 prospect in baseball), Kevin Gausman, in an attempt to inject the rotation with some life, not to mention some electric stuff.

Background: Gausman was a sixth-round selection by the Dodgers out of Grandview High School (Aurora, CO), but he turned down first-round money in favor of two years at LSU, where he immediately made an impact, finishing eighth in the SEC in strikeouts, ninth in hits allowed, and fifth in batting average against. After a strong summer as part of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team, Gausman dominated the SEC as a sophomore, leading the conference in strikeouts and finishing third nationally while serving as the Tigers’ Friday night starter and earning All-American honors from multiple publications. He was the first pitcher selected in the 2012 draft, going fourth overall to the Baltimore Orioles, and he signed a $4.32 million dollar deal, $120,000 over slot allotment.

After easing into pro ball with a handful of starts at short-season Aberdeen Single-A (Adv.) Frederick last summer, Gausman began the 2013 season with Double-A Bowie and has been a force through his first eight starts and 46.1 innings pitched, posting a staggering 9.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio (49 strikeouts to just five walks) while allowing less than a hit per inning. He ranks in the top 10 in the Eastern League in strikeouts, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio, and opponents are batting just .246 against him—a number that would likely be much lower but for a porous infield and 48-plus percent groundball rate.

Scouting Report: Gausman utilizes long arms, a high three-quarters release, and good extension to create hard downward plane on his fastball. The pitch comes with boring action and routinely sits in the mid-90s, with the ability to climb close to triple-digits (he has touched triple digits in the past). He shows comfort with the offering and can move it around the quadrants, showing no fear working inside to set up his plus to plus-plus changeup. The off-speed pitch comes with arm-side fade and late drop, mirroring the action on his fastball, and generally sits in the mid-80s with around a nine to 12 mile per hour delta from his heater.

Gausman wielded both a slider and a curve throughout his scholastic career, but he has focused his attention on the former since inking with Baltimore, making solid strides with the offering over the past 10 months. He will routinely sit in the low-80s with the offering, but can juice it up to the mid-80s with tighter action more closely resembling a cutter. When clicking, the pitch comes with heavy tilt and is tough to pick up against his fastball trajectory, helping it project as a third plus or better weapon once he finds more consistency in command and execution. He is an excellent athlete who repeats his mechanics and fields his position well.

Minor League Update

Games of Tuesday, May 21

In which Zach writes a farewell letter to Kevin Gausman, who is heading up to The Show on Thursday.

Pitching Prospect of the Day: Ty Blach, LHP, Giants (High-A San Jose): 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K; fringy fastball; slurvy breaking ball; solid-average changeup; back-end profile  39.2 IP, 46 H, 10 ER, 3 BB, 33 K in seven starts.

Position Prospect of the Day: Dilson Herrera, 2B, Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 3-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K; plus potential power; ability to make loud contact; will be tested by higher-level pitching; right-side-of-the-infield defender; .415/.455/.683 with 2 2B and 3 HR in 41 at-bats.

Other notable prospect performances on May 21:

“The Good”

• Andrew Aplin, OF, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 3-6, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, K; fringy runner; solid-average defensive profile; below-average power; fringy prospect.
• Jesse Biddle, LHP, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K; solid-average fastball; potential plus curveball; potential plus changeup. A scout told me “he could have pitched on a league higher than the big leagues, if that is even possible” when talking about his start 16-strikeout start earlier this year; 50.1 IP, 24 H, 14 ER, 24 BB, 60 K in nine starts.
• Christian Binford, RHP, Royals (Low-A Lexington): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; solid-average fastball with life; fringy curveball; developing changeup; looked a bit stiff in the start I saw him; 45.2 IP, 41 H, 14 ER, 11 BB, 46 K in eight starts.
• Matthew Hobgood, RHP, Orioles (Low-A Delmarva): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Well, everyone, I’ll start this off by saying that Matt Hobgood is a prospect. He started off his last outing spotting the fastball down in the zone at 88-91 mph. Fast-forward about two innings, and Hobgood was sitting 95-97 with some angle and spinning an 80-82 mph curveball with some bite. Once looked at as a surefire bust, Hobgood has a chance to be an impact reliever.
• Steven Matz, LHP, Mets (Low-A Savannah): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K; fastball can touch plus-plus velocity; developing both curveball and changeup; good prospect sneaking under the radar for most; 34.2 IP, 36 H, 11 ER, 11 BB, 39 K
• Francellis Montas, RHP, Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; potential plus-plus fastball; solid-average slider; developing changeup; 39.0 IP, 36 H, 22 ER, 10 BB, 49 K in nine starts.
• Martin Perez, LHP, Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K; the stuff is progressing back to the level where it was before his injury; will continue to develop in Triple-A before he gets his shot in the show.
• Edward Salcedo, 3B, Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI; good bat speed; plus pull-side power; plus arm; fringy everyday type who will profile better as a bench player; .289/.355/.447 with 9 2B and 5 HR in 152 at-bats.
• Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins (High-A Fort Myers): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K; elite power; big-league bat speed; received a very positive report about his defensive ability recently; shouldn't be long before I am able to see him in the Eastern League; .359/.453/.712 with 11 2B, 2 3B, and 13 HR in 153 at-bats.
• Christian Walker, 1B, Orioles (High-A Frederick Keys): 4-4, 2 RBI, BB; potential plus hit tool; will have to show that he has enough punch in the bat to profile at first base; polished player.

 “The Bad”

• Parker Bridwell, RHP, Orioles (Low-A Delmarva): 3.0 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 K; the former bonus baby has had a tough go recently after starting off with a couple of solid performances.
• Aaron Westlake, 1B, Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 0-4, 3 K; tough day at the office for this Tigers prospect.