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Top Prospects in Spring Camps: Part IV

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Milwaukee Brewers Wily Peralta. Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Milwaukee Brewers Wily Peralta. Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

With Opening Day finally upon us, we bring you the fourth installment of our top prospects in spring camps. Since we lost a lot of time, we are bringing you comprehensive lists of top prospects who spent time in their organization’s big league camps this spring, whether or not they made the Opening Day roster.

Today, we take a look at the camps of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics.

Last night, the Houston Astros won their American League debut against the Texas Rangers, and this afternoon saw a full slate of games kick off the 2013 season for the remainder of the league.

As the excitement of Opening Day continues, we begin this installment with the Milwaukee Brewers, who wound up adding starter Kyle Lohse late in camp to bolster their rotation.

 

 

Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee fans are excited for the 2013 season especially since Lohse was added to the rotation late in camp. That excitement boiled over on Monday when the Brewers walked off in the 10th against Colorado on Opening Day.

The top prospects who spent time in Brewers camp this spring include right handed pitcher Wily Peralta, right handed pitcher Tyler Thornburg, right handed pitcher Johnny Hellweg, first baseman Hunter Morris, left handed pitcher Jed Bradley, second baseman Scooter Gennett, outfielder Logan Schafer, right handed pitcher Hiram Burgos, outfielder Khris Davis, outfielder Caleb Gindl, and right handed pitcher Ariel Pena.

Out of this group, Peralta, Davis, and Schafer made the team’s Opening Day roster.

Both Davis and Schafer made pinch hitting appearances on Monday afternoon against the Rockies.

Minnesota Twins

Twins fans are wondering how 2013 is going to play out after the team traded two of its starting outfielders in the off-season. Denard Span was sent to the Nationals and Ben Revere was sent to the Phillies. The Twins Opening Day starter, Vance Worley, was acquired in the Revere deal.

Top prospects who spent time with the big club during Spring Training include right handed pitcher Alex Meyer, right handed pitcher Kyle Gibson, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, outfielder Aaron Hicks, right handed pitcher Trevor May, infielder Danny Santana and right handed pitcher Ryan Pressly.

From this group, Hicks and Pressly made the Opening Day roster. Hicks is the starting center fielder for the Twins while Pressly will be pitching out of the bullpen.

The Twins have a lot of nice prospects waiting in the wings, with some of them possibly breaking into the big leagues this season if the Twins struggle or have to deal with injuries to major pieces.

 

 

New York Mets

Mets fans still have hope for the 2013 season despite the news that Johan Santana would require season-ending surgery and the massive trade with the Blue Jays. They have a nice crop of prospects that are starting to break through onto the Mets active roster, so there is still plenty to be hopeful about this season.

R.A. Dickey, Mike Nickeas and Josh Thole were all traded to the Blue Jays for a package of prospects and catcher John Buck.

The team’s top prospects who spent time in big league camp this spring include catcher Travis D’Arnaud (acquired in Dickey trade), right handed pitcher Zach Wheeler, right handed pitcher Jeurys Familia, third baseman Wilmer Flores, right handed pitcher Rafael Montero, right handed pitcher Hansel Robles, outfielder Cesar Puello, right handed pitcher Cory Mazzoni and shortstop Wilfredo Tovar.

From this list, Familia is the only one to make the Opening Day roster. Others from the list are very close, such as D’Arnaud and Wheeler, who could be fixtures at Citi Field by the time June rolls around this season. The pitching staff is already missing four players, including Santana, who are on the disabled list. Those players are Frank Francisco, Shaun Marcum, and Jenrry Mejia.

New York Yankees

New York Yankees Gary Sanchez. Credit: The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees Gary Sanchez. Credit: The Star-Ledger-USA TODAY Sports

Yankees fans had a lot to worry about during Spring Training when news broke that Alex Rodriguez would miss a large chunk of time.

Then news broke that Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter would all begin the season on the disabled list.

Phil Hughes and Michael Pineda are also on the shelf, deflating the pitching staff.

To make matters worse, the Yankees lost their Opening Day game to the Red Sox by a score of 8-2 with C.C. Sabathia on the hill.

The team’s top prospects who made appearances this spring in big league camp include catcher Gary Sanchez, outfielder Tyler Austin, outfielder Slade Heathcott, left handed pitcher Manny Banuelos, right handed pitcher Mark Montgomery, outfielder Zoilo Almonte, outfielder Ramon Flores, right handed pitcher Jose Ramirez, left handed pitcher Nik Turley, right handed pitcher Bryan Mitchell, right handed pitcher Brett Marshall, right handed pitcher Adam Warren, catcher Austin Romine, right handed pitcher Dellin Betances and right handed pitcher Tom Kahnle.

Of all these top prospects to spent time in camp, Adam Warren was the only one to make the Yankees Opening Day roster.

 

 

Oakland Athletics

Oakland enjoyed an incredible 2012 season, claiming the AL West crown and falling in five games to the Tigers in the ALDS. They look to secure another AL West title in 2013 in what is an improved division.

Oakland’s top prospects to spend time in big league camp this spring include right handed pitcher Dan Straily, outfielder Michael Choice, outfielder Grant Green, right handed pitcher Sonny Gray, outfielder Michael Taylor and right handed pitcher Arnold Leon.

Straily is the only prospect to make the A’s Opening Day roster. He will be the fifth starter for Oakland in 2013.

The fifth installment in this series will examine the top prospects who spent time in big league camps with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Mariners.

Top Prospects in Spring Camps: Part III

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Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images

Houston Astros George Springer. Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images

In the third installment of our feature regarding the top prospects in big league camps this spring, we look at the Astros, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, and Marlins.

Even though all of the camps have ended and Opening Day is upon us, it is still interesting to take a look at the top prospects who received time in Major League camp, even if they did not make a Major League Opening Day roster for the 2013 season.

As we count down the hours until the first game of the season, between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, one can only wonder how many of these top prospects will make an impact at some point during the season this year either for their current franchise or for another one. This will be the first American League game for the Astros.

Out of the five teams we preview in this post, the Astros have the best crop of top prospects, with almost half of them being acquired through trades over the past three-plus years.

 

 

Houston Astros

Not a single player on the Astros top 20 prospect list has Major League experience yet. This could change rather quickly if the Astros struggle this year and want to see what their future holds.

The top prospects who spent time in big league camp for Houston include outfielder George Springer, right handed pitcher Jarred Cosart, second baseman Delino DeShields, right handed pitcher Brad Peacock, shortstop Jonathan Villar, catcher Max Stassi, outfielder Robbie Grossman and catcher Carlos Perez.

Of the top prospects who spent time in Astros big league camp, Springer and DeShields are the only players Houston drafted themselves. The rest came over in trades with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Pirates and Athletics. Cosart came over from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence deal and Villar came over from the Phillies in the Roy Oswalt deal. Peacock and Stassi came over from the A’s in the Jed Lowrie deal. Grossman came to Houston from Pittsburgh in the Wandy Rodriguez deal. Perez joined the Astros in the 10-player trade with the Blue Jays last year.

Kansas City Royals

Credit: Tim Umphrey/Getty Images

Kansas City Royals David Lough. Credit: Tim Umphrey/Getty Images

The Royals have a nice crop of top prospects, some of whom could see themselves in Kansas City this year to complement an already strong lineup and no what seems to be an impressive pitching staff.

The Royals made some interesting moves in the off-season, sending a group of players, including Wil Myers, to the Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields.

The top prospects in the Royals camp this spring included left handed pitcher John Lamb, left handed pitcher Donnie Joseph, second baseman Christian Colon, left handed pitcher Chris Dwyer and outfielder David Lough. Lough is the only top prospect with Major League experience who spent time in big league camp this spring. He played 20 games for the Royals in 2012, hitting .237.

Number one prospect Bubba Starling was not invited to big league camp, but he just made his professional debut in 2012 after being drafted in 2011. In 53 games, Starling hit .275 with 10 homeruns and 33 RBIs.

The left handed pitchers on this list who spent time in big league camp are very impressive and could be called upon to pitch out of the bullpen at some point this season in Kansas City.

 

 

Los Angeles Angels

Angels fans received a pleasant surprise this off-season when former Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton joined the division-rival Angels to team with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout in an incredibly dangerous lineup. The City of Angels should enjoy an unbelievable season of baseball with the upgrades that the Angels and the Dodgers have made this off-season.

Top 20 prospects who spent time in Angels camp include third baseman Kaleb Cowart, left handed pitcher Nick Maronde, second baseman Taylor Lindsey, Kole Calhoun, third baseman Luis Jimenez, outfielder Randal Grichuk, outfielder Travis Witherspoon, right handed pitcher A.J. Schugel, shortstop Eric Stamets and second baseman Alex Yarbrough.

Maronde pitched in 12 games for the Angels in 2012, which was his first professional season after being drafted in 2011. He climbed the professional ladder quickly, going from the Class A Advanced California League to the Majors. He pitched to a 1.50 ERA in 12 appearances totaling six innings for the Angels.

Calhoun also saw time with the big club in 2012, hitting .174 in just 21 games. Maronde did not make the team out of Spring Training, but he should be one of the first callups should the Angels need a reliever during the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles is primed to win the West after major moves at the trade deadline in 2012 and a massive off-season that saw them add Zack Greinke to an already formidable starting rotation.

They have some impressive prospects waiting in the wings, with some just months away from the bigs if injuries strike outside of the one to Hanley Ramirez.

Top prospects who saw time with the big club during Spring Training for the Dodgers this year include outfielder Yasiel Puig, right handed pitcher Matt Magill, catcher Tim Federowicz, right handed pitcher Chris Withrow, left handed pitcher Paco Rodriguez and outfielder Alex Castellanos.

Two of the players on this list made the team out of camp, Federowicz and Rodriguez. Federowicz will serve as the backup catcher to A.J. Ellis. He appeared in three games with the Dodgers in 2012. Rodriguez will be a lefty out of the bullpen and he appeared in 11 games spanning 6.2 innings in 2012 for LA. He pitched to a 1.35 ERA. He was the first member of the 2012 draft class to reach the Majors.

 

 

Miami Marlins

Marlins fans will not have much to cheer about in 2013 as the team traded away Hanley Ramirez at the deadline last year along with Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante and Randy Choate. Then, in the off-season, they shipped Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson to the Blue Jays.

The only major cogs left on the roster are Giancarlo Stanton and Ricky Nolasco. They are surrounded by low-key free agent signings and prospects they received in some of those trades as well as prospects they have drafted and developed.

In camp this year were right handed pitcher Jose Fernandez, outfielder Christian Yelich, outfielder Jake Marisnick, left handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, outfielder Marcell Ozuna, left handed pitcher Adam Conley, second baseman/shortstop Derek Dietrich, catcher Rob Brantly, catcher J.T. Realmuto and left handed pitcher Brian Flynn.

Of these players, Fernandez, Hechavarria and Brantly are on the team’s Opening Day roster. Fernandez will be in the rotation while Brantly and Hechavarria are in the lineup for game one versus the Washington Nationals in D.C. on April 1. In 25 starts in the minors in 2012, Fernandez had a record of 14-1 and an ERA of 1.75. He had not pitched above Class-A and was preparing to pitch at Double-A when he was called up on Sunday.

Fernandez was added when starters Nate Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez were placed on the disabled list. He is scheduled to make his Major League debut against the New York Mets on April 7 at Citi Field.

Stay tuned for our fourth installment of this series, which will take a look at the top prospects who spent time in big league camps this spring with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics.

Top Prospects in Spring Camps: Part II

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Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton Credit: Denny Medley, US Presswire

Reds OF Billy Hamilton Credit: Denny Medley, US Presswire

In the second segment of our feature regarding top prospects in big league camps this spring, we take a look at the White Sox, Reds, Indians, Rockies and Tigers.

All the camps have opened to date, with most teams already having full squad workouts on a daily basis.

The young crop of talent in the Minor League systems of the five teams we look at today is quite impressive, with the Reds and the Tigers boasting some of the best young prospects out of this group, including the speedster to the left. That man is Billy Hamilton, the Minor League stolen base king.

Detroit has the biggest chance of seeing some of its top prospects make a huge impact at the big league level this season.

 

 

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

White Sox Pitcher Jhan Marinez Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have just one of their prospects from their top 20 list found on their website that has big league experience under their belt.

That prospect is Jhan Marinez, who pitched in just two ML games in 2012.

Marinez was part of the trade package the White Sox received from the Miami Marlins for manager Ozzie Guillen.

Marinez originally made his big league debut in 2010, pitching in just four games for the Marlins. He missed an early portion of 2011 due to injury but when he returned to the bump he was stellar. He projects as a Major League setup man and White Sox fans could see him at the back end of the bullpen sometime in 2013.

Other top 20 prospects in big league camp this spring include Trayce Thompson, Carlos Sanchez, Jared Mitchell, Scott Snodgress, Keenyn Walker, Andre Rienzo, Nestor Molina, Charlie Leesman, Simon Castro, Josh Phegley, Marcus Semien, Santos Rodriguez and Tyler Saladino. This is an excellent group of talent in the pipeline for the White Sox and it is led by Phegley.

With A.J. Pierzynski no longer in Chicago, Tyler Flowers will take over the starting catching duties for the club. Should Flowers struggled, or suffer an injury, Phegley could step into the starter’s role if he is having a good season at Triple-A.

Cincinnati Reds

Out of the top 20 prospects in the Reds system, just two players have Major League experience and they are lefty Tony Cingrani, who made his big league debut in 2012, and infielder Henry Rodriguez. Cingrani pitched in three games out of the bullpen for the Reds, recording a 1.80 ERA. He was a starter in the minors after being drafted out of Rice in 2011. Rodriguez played in 12 games, putting up a .214 average.

Most of the Reds top prospects have graduated to the big leagues, with this year’s list not jumping off the page outside of Cingrani and speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton, who could see himself in the Reds outfield at some point this season should injuries rear their ugly head.

Top prospects from the Reds list in their big league camp include Daniel Corcino, Kyle Lotzkar, Neftali Soto and Ismael Guillon. Out of this group, keep an eye on Soto. Despite hitting just .245 at Triple-A in 2012, Soto did crack 14 homeruns. He is another outfielder who could reach the bigs this year.

 

 

Cleveland Indians

Cleveland is still trying to find the formula for winning and they hope that the additions of Terry Francona as manager, Mark Reynolds, Brett Myers and Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn in the outfield will help them in 2013 and beyond. The Indians, in a three-team trade with the Reds and the Diamondbacks, landed top pitching prospect Trevor Bauer.

Bauer made his ML debut with the Diamondbacks in 2012, starting four games and pitching to a 6.06 ERA. He has the makeup right now to be in the Indians rotation, but he more than likely will begin the season in the minors.

Bauer is being joined in big league camp by Danny Salazar, Jesus Aguilar, Chris McGuiness and Scott Barnes. This is one of the smallest group of top prospects in a big league camp this spring. Barnes was acquired in the 2009 trade that sent Ryan Garko to the Giants. He made his ML debut in 2012 out of the bullpen, pitching to a 4.26 ERA in 16 appearances.

Rockies Outfielder Nolan Arenado Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Rockies Infielder Nolan Arenado Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado Rockies

Colorado’s system has added some solid prospects over the past couple of years due to trades and a couple of those guys are sitting on this years top 20 list.

The list is led by the number 10 overall pick in the 2012 draft, David Dahl, who was drafted out of high school.

His performance this past season made the Pirates kick themselves for selecting Mark Appel number eight overall. Appel did not sign and returned to Stanford.

Dahl had such an excellent pro debut that he catapulted straight to the number one spot on the Colorado top 20 prospects list. He is not going to be a regular in big league camp this year, but he might find himself appearing in some Spring Training games.

Top prospects in camp for the Rockies include Nolan Arenado, Chad Bettis, Kyle Parker, Tyler Anderson, Tim Wheeler, Edwar Cabrera (60-day DL), Charlie Culberson, Rafael Ortega, Corey Dickerson, Joe Gardner and Christhian Adames. With 11 of the team’s top 20 prospects in camp, first-year manager Walt Weiss will get a good look at what he has in the system in the event of injuries or struggles at the ML level.

 

 

Detroit Tigers

Detroit has possibly the best crop of top prospects in big league camp this spring out of the five teams discussed in this article. The two players responsible for this are potential big league closer Bruce Rondon and outfielder Avisail Garcia. Garcia made his Tigers debut late in the regular season and was in the lineup almost everyday during the playoffs.

The Rockies number one prospect, outfielder Nick Castellanos, will be in big league camp this spring. He will be joined by Casey Crosby, Tyler Collins, Daniel Fields, Eugenio Suarez, James McCann, Hernan Perez, Kenny Faulk, Jeff Kobernus, Melvin Mercedes and Ramon Cabrera. Kobernus hits the list at number 16 after being taken by Detroit from the Washington Nationals in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft this past December.

Garcia and Rondon should make major impacts with the Tigers in 2013. They could be joined by Kobernus, who has to remain on the active roster for the Tigers the entire season or be offered back to the Nationals.

The third installment of this series will focus on the top prospects in the camps of the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins.

Baseball Blowups

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Baseball has been America’s past-time for quite some time now and it has provided fans all over the country with exciting moments.

Those have included no-hitters, perfect games, walk-off homeruns, record breaking homeruns, underdog stories, surprising stories and many other exciting moments throughout the illustrious history of the sport.

But, with every great moment on the diamond comes an embarrassing one. [Read more…]