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Hitter of the Day:

Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets (Triple-A Las Vegas): 4-5, 2 R, 2 SB
Amed must’ve heard Sandy Alderson talking about how he wasn’t quite ready yet at our Citi Field event, because after scuffling through most of June he’s really started to tear cover from ball this month to the tune of 10 hits in his last 21 at-bats. Soon come.

Pitcher of the Day:

Adonis Medina, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (Low-A Lakewood): 6 IP, ER, 7 H, BB, 9 K
Medina has thrived lately on the back of a shiny new slider with plus potential that gives him the kind of secondary to project growth and development from his already-lofty pre-season ranking at the back end of the BP 101. The Phillies seem to have an endless supply of smallish, fire-breathing starters in the low minors, and Medina’s got a chance to be among the best of the bunch.

Other Prospects of Note:

Renato Nunez, 3B/LF, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville): 3-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, K
Nunez is just kind of doing what he does, again, this year, which is to say he’s mashing and not much else. He lacks for a true position or much in the way of patience at the dish, but he can run into ‘em from time to time, and should get another crack at big-league pitching before the season’s out.

Ronald Guzman, 1B, Texas Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock): 3-4, R, 2B
Guzman continues to do everything he can to prove me an idiot, putting together a solid season at Triple A on the heels of a solid season at Double A. The power may still prove a bit light for everyday first-base work, and this season has raised an additional specter of platoon issues.

Lucas Sims, RHP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett): 7.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 8 K, HRA
The former first-rounder has continued to miss bats at a decent clip this season at Triple A, though he’s doing it with a new fastball that isn’t quite as fast and still threatens with the same command inconsistencies that have long held him back. He’s on a nice little run of control, however, with 23 strikeouts to just one lonely walk over his last three starts (17.1 innings).

Brendan Rodgers, SS, Colorado Rockies (Double-A Hartford): 3-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K
The sixth-best prospect in baseball has run into a bit of a reality check over the past couple weeks, as Double-A pitchers pitching in not Lancaster have turned out to be a tougher nut for the 20-year-old to crack. Crack them he shall, however.

John Means, RHP, Baltimore Orioles (Double-A Bowie): 6 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 4 H, 8 K, HRA
Means has seen the stuff tighten up a good bit from where it projected a couple years back, but he still wears the tag of command lefty. There’s a decent chance he logs back-end innings for someone, however, as I’m obligated to emphasize once again that he is, in fact, left-handed.

Ramon Laureano, OF, Houston Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi): 3-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, K
It took ‘til July, but Laureano has finally clawed his way above the Mendoza Line. Suffice to say I did not foresee him exploring such depths, though it’s worth noting that his contact-and-patience approach has begun to resurface over the past couple weeks now, and yesterday’s multi-hit game was the third in his last five.

Preston Morrison, RHP, Chicago Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 7 K
I’ve kind of, sort of had a thing for Morrison since college, when I saw him make a very good Vanderbilt lineup that featured the likes of Dansby Swanson look downright silly at times. His funky delivery and very good command combine to keep him productive in spite of well below-average velocity from the right side. I have no idea if he winds up pitching in the big leagues, but it won’t be for lack of fun if he doesn’t end up making it.

Peter Lambert, RHP, Colorado Rockies (High-A Lancaster): 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 8 K, HRA
I like Lambert. He doesn’t really give you many reasons to not like him. You should like him, too.

Braden Bishop, CF, Seattle Mariners (High-A Modesto): 2-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, K
Bishop’s pop isn’t really a thing…at all…so yesterday’s leadoff dinger was something of a surprise. He’s shown signs of a playable, patient approach with quality contact skills this season, however, on top of a speed-and-defense profile that may just be enough to get him to the big leagues some day.

Dennis Santana, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga): 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, BB, 10 K
Let me just say this about Dennis Santana: in a Rancho rotation that has seen its cup runneth over from Day One of the season, he’s been just about the most consistent, enjoyable arm of the lot. I put big-league grades on him a couple weeks ago, and he responded yesterday with a nice bounce-back performance after getting his hat handed to him for really the first time all season in his previous start.

Trent Clark, CF, Milwaukee Brewers (High-A Carolina): 3-4, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI
Clark has been walking a ton recently, driving an outstanding on-base percentage that belies some first-half struggles adjusting to High-A stuff.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., 3B, Toronto Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing): 1-4, R, HR, RBI
On this, the day of his promotion to High A, Vladito celebrated with his final homer for Lansing.

Thomas Szapucki, LHP, New York Mets (Low-A Columbia): 0.2 IP, H, K
After losing the first couple months of the season to a shoulder impingement, the young left-hander was forced from this start in the first inning with a bout of “left forearm discomfort.” As Jeff pointed out in our Slack, this may be a problematic development on account of Szapucki’s left-handedness.

Wander Javier, SS, Minnesota Twins (Rookie Elizabethton): 3-4, R, E
It took Javier a couple games to notch his first hit stateside, but he’s collected at least one in each of his seven starts since. A $4 million bonus baby in 2015, Javier missed most of last season with a bum hammy, but has about as much upside as anyone in the Twins’ system.

Elvin Rodriguez, RHP, Anaheim Angels (Rookie Orem): 5 IP, ER, 4 H, 5 K
Rodriguez has shown advanced control of a nascent three-pitch mix thus far in his stateside debut, though he remains an extreme projection case as the 19-year-old tries to fill out his still-immature 6-foot-3, 160-pound frame.

Alvaro Seijas, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (Rookie Johnson City): 6 IP, ER, 8 H, 5 K
Seijas has outsized stuff from an undersized frame, as he’ll comfortably touch the mid-90s despite standing just 5-foot-8 on a good day at present. A six-figure guy in the 2015 class, he’s still just 18 and holds plenty of projection thanks to ample athleticism.

Matt Manning, RHP, Detroit Tigers (Short Season Connecticut): 6 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 6 H, BB, 3 K
The Tigers held cautious to their plan to have Manning remain in extended spring training for a full run, and so far so good in short-season on the back end of it. He got rocked in one start, but the highly projectable teenager has yielded exactly zero earned runs across the other four.

Thank you for reading

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bigchiefbc
7/07
Nick Neidert with another great start: 7IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 6K
BPKevin
7/07
2018 too soon to expect Brendan Rodgers in the majors?
newsense
7/07
You insist John Means is a lefty but you list his position as RHP
dianagramr
7/07
The end of that sentence doesn't justify the Means.