Top Prospect Watch

#1: Kyle Harrison

This Week (AAA): 4.91 ERA, 1.36 WHIP – 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 8 SO

Season (AAA): 3.47 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, .160 Avg – 8 G, 8 GS, 23.1 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 0 HR, 24 BB, 42 SO

It was a rough start for Harrison after a couple of strong starts in the previous weeks.  The good news is that Harrison is not having the same control issues that plagued him early in the season, and was still striking out batters even as he got hit harder.

#2: Marco Luciano 

This Week (AA): .091/.130/.273 – 2-22, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .114/.225/.314 – 4-35, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 16 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Luciano seems to still be adjusting to Double-A after a relatively late start to the year in his comeback from injury.  One thing that is apparent is that he’s striking the ball well when he does strike, with three of his four hits being for extra bases.

#3: Casey Schmitt

This Week (MLB): .464/.464/.821 – 13-28, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0-1 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .313/.352/.410 – 42-134, 10 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 8 BB, 28 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (MLB): .464/.464/.821 – 13-28, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0-1 SB-SBA

Well, there’s not a much better imaginable big league debut than what Casey Schmitt had in his first week with the Giants.  Schmitt might be graduating off the list of “prospects” pretty soon.

#4: Grant McCray

This Week (High-A): .172/.226/.310 – 5-29, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 10 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .200/.301/.376 – 25-125, 3 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 14 BB, 48 SO, 13-16 SB-SBA

McCray started this week giving off some signs that he might be coming out of his early season slump, though he slumped again a bit as the week went on.  Still, hopefully McCray will be getting back on track.

#5: Carson Whisenhunt

This Week (High-A): 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP – 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 7 SO

Season (Low-A): 3.29 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .231 Avg – 4 G, 4 GS, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 20 SO

Season (High-A): 0.69 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, .070 Avg – 3 G, 3 GS, 13.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 16 SO

Another week, another strong start for Whisenhunt at High-A.  He’s now sporting a nice 0.69 ERA, and 16 strikeouts to two walks over 13.0 innings, and it sure feels like Whisenhunt has got the hang of High-A.  He’ll probably see Richmond before the end of the season.

#6: Vaun Brown

This Week (High-A): .500/.556/1.125 – 4-8, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (Low-A): .412/.500/.529 – 7-17, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .300/.391/.550 – 6-20, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO, 2-2 SB-SBA

Brown’s rehab stint in Eugene came to an unexplained halt after Wednesday, and Brown hasn’t been sighted in the week since without an explanation.  It’s unclear if Brown is on his way to Richmond after a strong rehab, or if he possibly had a setback.

#7: Luis Matos

This Week (AA): .360/.429/.560 – 9-25, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO, 3-6 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .304/.398/.443 – 35-115, 7 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 12 SO, 9-13 SB-SBA

It was a strong week for Matos, except on the basepaths.  Matos continued to put more strength behind the arguments that last season’s struggles were a blip and not a trend.

#8: Aeverson Arteaga

This Week (High-A): .136/.208/.182 – 3-22, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 BB, 4 SO, 0-0 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .203/.291/.339 – 24-118, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 14 BB, 32 SO, 2-4 SB-SBA

Arteaga’s early season struggles continued.  The expectations placed on Arteaga’s bat might have been a little inflated, but his defense continues to be as good as expected.

#9: Cole Waites

This Week (MLB): 20.25 ERA, 3.75 WHIP – 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO

Season (AAA): 9.31 ERA, 2.38 WHIP, .282 Avg – 11 G, 3 GS, 9.2 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 10 SO

Season (MLB): 15.43 ERA, 3.43 WHIP, .462 Avg – 3 G, 0 GS, 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO

Waites MLB stint ended with some more difficult stints, and he’s been optioned back down to Sacramento.  Hopefully he’ll be able to get back on the track that made him a fast-rising prospect last year.

#10: Mason Black

This Week (AA): 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 4 SO

Season (AA): 4.57 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .217 Avg – 6 G, 6 GS, 21.2 IP, 18 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 7 BB, 28 SO

Black had a great start to bounce back from his toughest start of the year.  It was his first start of the year without allowing a run.  

System Risers

Tyler Fitzgerald

This Week (AAA): .435/.536/1.043 – 10-23, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 5 BB, 8 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .324/.410/.588 – 22-68, 6 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 9 BB, 22 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .326/.412/.674 – 14-43, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 13 SO, 3-3 SB-SBA

It wasn’t just a good week for Fitzgerald at his new level, it was the kind of week that got Fitzgerald the Player of the Week award at the Pacific Coast League.  Fitzgerald’s hot season has him on the lips of many fans as his major league future looms.

Carson Ragsdale

This Week (High-A): 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 4 SO

Season (High-A): 2.93 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, .190 Avg – 7 G, 7 GS, 27.2 IP, 19 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 42 SO

It was actually one of the rougher starts for Ragsdale this season, in which he doubled his walk total for the year.  But he still remained very effective as his run through the Northwest League continues.

Kai-Wei Teng

This Week (AA): 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 4 SO

Season (AA): 2.63 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, .171 Avg – 6 G, 6 GS, 24.0 IP, 14 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 36 SO

Teng has always tended to vacillate, as he’s had one good start, one bad start, so he’s due for a good start next time out.  He’s still having an eye-opening season, however. 

Wade Meckler

This Week (High-A): .370/.370/.481 – 10-27, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1-2 SB-SBA

Season (High-A): .456/.494/.633 – 36-79, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 9 SO, 2-3 SB-SBA

Even as he’s come back from injury, Meckler continues to hit, despite a couple of 0-fers, but also back-to-back 4-hit games.  The expected domination of the Northwest League continues for Meckler.

Patrick Bailey

This Week (AAA): .313/.389/.500 – 5-16, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1-1 SB-SBA

Season (AA): .333/.400/.481 – 18-54, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 13 SO, 2-2 SB-SBA

Season (AAA): .233/.346/.326 – 10-43, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 7 BB, 11 SO, 1-1 SB-SBA

Bailey seems to be coming around at the Triple-A level after a slow start.  The good news is his splits are beginning to even out. with an .843 OPS as a left-hander, and a .542 as a right-hander.