Welcome to the Minor League Update. Every day, we tell you the latest about what happened to the prospects you care about, and maybe a few more you should. Here’s who made waves yesterday:
Hitter of the Day:
Miguel Bleis, OF, Boston Red Sox (High-A Greenville): 2-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, SB.
Bleis has been regarded as a potentially explosive prospect for years now, owing mostly to his top-flight athleticism and pretty swing. The 21-year-old hasn’t yet been able to break out as a hitter, and his above-average power potential has historically been muted by the lack of contact. Thursday night was a reminder of his considerable latent talents.
Pitcher of the Day:
Eriq Swan, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A Great Lakes): 6 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 7 K, 2 BB.
Swan is a huge (6-foot-6) pitcher with huge stuff (upper 90s heat and two plus breakers) and also, lamentably, a huge walk rate. Even so, the former fourth-rounder has put up solid numbers this season aside from the walks and aside from two catastrophic outings, and last night shows the kind of force he can be when everything clicks in.
Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire): 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 5 K, 3 BB.
The 23-year-old Watts-Brown improved considerably in his second crack at the High-A Northwest League, and had racked up 62 strikeouts in 37 ⅓ innings with Vancouver at the time of his promotion to the Eastern League. He’s now made two excellent starts there after a rocky debut, using a low-90s fastball and some crafty slider variants.
Colson Montgomery, SS, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Chicago’s top hitting prospect entering the year has been in freefall over the first two months of the season, despite putting up contact quality metrics that have improved on what was already a strong foundation. The pop is there for the big lefty—he’s hit the ball as hard as 115 mph—but his chasing tendencies have stifled the hit tool in the upper levels.
Luke Adams, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers (Double-A Biloxi): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI.
Adams has been a prospect geek curiosity for a good while now. His bat speed and strength have always been obvious, contact and defensive ability at the hot corner less so. He’s got roughly the same line this year as he’s had at the previous two levels—low .200s/low .400s/low .400s—but the 21-year-old has been on a hot streak lately using a swing that looks at least slightly toned-down from what it was in the past.
Yeison Morrobel, OF, Texas Rangers (High-A Hub City): 3-4, 2B, HR, BB, R, 2 RBI.
Briefly a top-10 org guy as a teenager who had just debuted in full-season, Morrobel has seemingly fallen off of the prospect map as quickly as he was thrown onto it. The power and speed are still there—and he certainly can turn on a mistake—but the rest is still in beta.
Josh Trentadue, LHP, Texas Rangers (High-A Hub City): 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 6 K, 1 BB.
The former 14th-rounder has been extraordinarily effective for the Spartanburgers this season, the 23 (not 32) year old so far notching a 1.03 ERA over 35 frames using a low-90s fastball, subtle slider, and a deceptive uptempo delivery.
Others of Note
Adam Serwinowski, LHP, Cincinnati Reds (High-A Dayton): 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 9 K, 1 BB.
Zach Thornton, LHP, New York Mets (Double-A Binghamton): 6 ⅔ IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 8 K, 2 BB.
Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals (Double-A NW Arkansas): 3-4, 2B, 3B, R, 6 RBI.
Dillon Lewis, OF, New York Yankees (High-A Hudson Valley): 2-5, 3B, HR, BB, 3 R, 2 RBI.
Justin Crawford, OF, Philadelphia Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley): 3-3, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB.
George Wolkow, OF, Chicago White Sox (Low-A Kannapolis): 2-4, HR, BB, 4 R, 2 RBI.
Thank you for reading
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