In Mid April, I started a recurring monthly series titled ‘Minor League Watch,’ with the hope of providing a monthly update on some of baseball’s brightest prospects. The series will follow 5 prospects, ranging from A ball to one youngster that made the Big Show out of Spring training. As we near the quarter point in the MLB season, its time for our May update. The first post, that introduced Colby Rasmus, Lars Anderson, Neftali Feliz, Andrew McCutchen, and Madison Bumgarner can be found here.
Colby Rasmus -22 – CF – St. Louis Cardinals
Rasmus has been with the Big Squad since the start of the season, playing in 35 of 40 team games, and hitting .250 for the season. All 4 of his HR have come in May as his slugging percentage has increased from .365 to .407, though his average has dropped from .272 to .250 over the course of the last 20 days. He has comfortably adapted to the Cards everyday line up, often batting second in the order. As Rasmus was not originally expected to make the big league roster, his early season performance has to be seen as a success, showing the bright future ahead.
Andrew McCutchen – 22 – CF – AAA Indianapolis Indians (Pirates)
McCutchen had a super spring, but was sent down to AAA to further refine his craft. Per the last post, he came out of the gates strong, showcasing his speed and pop. Well, its 5 weeks later and still not much has changed. He is hitting .292 and leveraging his speed to rack up 8 triples early on. He has stolen 9 bases in 10 attempts. And, he has more walks than strikeouts, which is always a great sign for developing talents. In fact, he is playing so well that Fox Sports is already talking of the Pirates trading a major leaguer to open up room for McCutchen.
Neftali Feliz – 21 – SP – AAA Oklahoma City Red Hawks (Rangers)
All has not been bright for Feliz thus far this year. He has been rather inconsistent this season, including two outings where he has allowed 4+ runs. On May 12 he had to rest for a few days to recover from minor shoulder soreness. In his one start since resting, he struck out 7 over 5 IP, allowing one run. Hopefully the time off allowed Feliz to regain his health, and continue his development. For the season he has a 4.4 ERA, though he is averaging more than 1 strikeout per inning.
Lars Anderson – 21 – 1B – AA Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)
Like Feliz, Lars Anderson has had a tough start to his season. he is hitting just .229 and striking out in 25% of his at bats. His OPS of .697 just isn’t going to cut it. His last ten games are even worse as he has hit just .171, though managed to hit two of his four homeruns. Scouts and the media are still impressed by his raw skills, with Boston.com even suggesting the Red Sox ultimate solution to the Ortiz problem involves calling up Lars Anderson. While the jump from AA to the Show may be a bit aggressive, given his struggles in Portland, he is certainly still expected to contribute at the major league level soon(ish).
Madison Bumgarner – 19 – SP – AA Connecticut Defenders (Giants)
Maddy Bumgarner, as I call him in my mind, on the other hand has been splendid. The only option is to totally gush over his early season performance. The fact that he started at A San Jose and is already at AA Connecticut should be telling enough – but allow me to add some color. At San Jose, he went 3-1 in five starts posting a 1.50 ERA. His K:BB ratio of 24:3 was amazing, allowing him to keep the WHIP under 1. Deserving of a promotion, he promptly went to the East Coast, and has gone 2-0 with a .75 ERA (Zach Greinke numbers!!). Across the board, his numer have remained pretty similar as they were in A, indicating his comfort with AA hitting. Bleacher report discusses the possibility of Bumgarner helping provide a push for the big squad this year. While that would be an aggressive timeline, he has thus far proven he can handle the hitters.
Just picked up Rasmus in my league, thanks!