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
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.