A year and a half ago, I discovered the Baseball America Prospect Report (BAPR), an invaluable resource that BA spends hours compiling every day. It’s a must have for any prospect fan, and you can sign up for it by clicking here – I’m currently doing the LoA section for them :).
But BA takes Friday and Saturday nights off, so BAPR will occasionally miss some starting pitchers’ performances in back-to-back weeks. Acclimated to combing through dozens of box scores a day, I’ve decided to start Project Prospect’s Weekend Prospect Report. This is not meant to be a stab at stealing BA’s thunder. Instead, I hope it will complement their work.
However, I will be doing a few things differently. My reports will only involve prospects who already are looking like or are thought of in some cirlces as potential above-average big leaguers. Also, I’m not going to include runs, RBI, or Win/Loss records -- I don't think they are worth looking at for minor leaguers. Lastly, I'll list the box scores of MLB players who are still technically prospects.
Let’s get it started!
| Pitcher, Handedness | Org | Lvl | IP | H | ER | BB | K | Day | Comments/Notes |
| Adenhart, Nick RHP | LAA | AA | 3.1 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | Fri | Easily his worst start this season |
| Anderson, Brett LHP | ARI | A | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | Sat | 19-year-old it getting hit a bit but has 40 K vs. 5 BB |
| Balester, Collin RHP | WAS | AA | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | Sat | Balester's about to become your favorite prospect |
| Carrasco, Carlos RHP | PHI | A+ | 5.0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 | Fri | Is this 2005 Carrasco again? 4.78 ERA (32.0 IP) |
| Davis, Wade RHP | TB | A+ | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | Fri | 21 and in A+; Jacob McGee is a year younger |
| Drabek, Kyle RHP | PHI | A | 5.1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | Fri | Making J. Upton's '06 full-season debut look dazzling |
| Garcia, Jamie LHP | STL | AA | 5.2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Fri | Coming back to earth after hot start |
| Gonzalez, Gio LHP | CHW | AA | 3.1 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 4 | Fri | Just as you thought he had mastered AA |
| Hellickson, Jeremy RHP | TB | A | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Sat | 9 K vs. 6 BB and 11 H through 15.0 IP |
| Hynick, Brandon RHP | COL | A+ | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | Sat | This is ridiculous (0.23 ERA), let's see him in AA |
| Inman, Will RHP | MIL | A+ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Fri | Forget lack of projectability, he just dominates |
| Manship, Jeff RHP | MIN | A | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | Sat | Notre Dame's '06 ace ready for another challenge |
| Meyer, Dan LHP | OAK | AAA | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Sat | Comeback? 25-year-old has been solid in 2 AA starts |
| Mulvey, Kevin RHP | NYM | AA | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Sat | Not near Top 25 Watch, but on Top 100 radar |
| Richmond, Jamie RHP | ATL | A | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Sat | 19 K vs. 1 BB through last 18.0 IP (3 GS) |
| Samardzija, Jeff RHP | CHC | A+ | 5.0 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 3 | Fri | .333 BAA in 33.1 IP; Routed to become $10 M mistake |
| Slowey, Kevin RHP | MIN | AAA | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Sat | 31 K vs. 2 BB through 32.2 IP .176 BAA |
| Sonnanstine, Andy RHP | TB | AAA | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Fri | Seriously rivaling Niemann on TB's SP depth chart |
| Tanner, Clayton LHP | SF | A | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | Fri | High-ceiling lefty has 4 ER in 24.0 IP (1.50 ERA) |
| Tillman, Chris RHP | SEA | A | 1.0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Fri | Doh! I just featured him on my '08 Top 100 watch |
| Vanden Hurk, Rick RHP | FLA | AA | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 10 | Fri | Could very well enter '08 as a Top 50 prospect |
| Veal, Donnie LHP | CHC | AA | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Sat | 3 ER on 6 H with 3 BB and 12 K in last 13.0 IP |
| Volstad, Chris RHP | FLA | A+ | 6.0 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Sat | Has had as many K as IP in just 2 of 7 starts |
| Hitter, Pos | Org | Lvl | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | Comments/Notes |
| Braun, Ryan 3B | MIL | AAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rainout on Friday; brought in as PR on Sat |
| Brignac, Reid SS | TB | AA | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .295/.331/.486 w/ 12 XBH in 105 at-bats |
| Bruce, Jay OF | CIN | A+ | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18 of his 39 hits have been XBH (46.2%) |
| Buck, Travis OF | OAK | MLB | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5-for-34 w/ 3 XBH over last 10 games |
| Butler, Billy OF | KC | MLB | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Our preseason No. 8 overall prospect |
| Dukes, Elijah OF | TB | MLB | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .235/.354/.420 with 7 XBH through 81 at-bats |
| Ellsbury, Jacoby OF | BOS | AAA | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | AAA weekend debut for 23-yr-old; still homerless |
| Gomez, Carlos OF | NYM | AAA | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hasn't gone yard through first 109 at-bats |
| Gonzalez, Carlos OF | ARI | AA | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Things aren't clicking even after taste of AA in '06 |
| Gordon, Alex 3B | KC | MLB | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Don't worry, he'll get hot eventually; given Sat off |
| Hamilton, Josh OF | CIN | MLB | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Not cooling down; 11-for-37 over last 10 games |
| LaRoche, Andy 3B | LAD | AAA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8-for-39 w/ 2 XHB over last 10; called up for Sun |
| Lind, Adam OF | TOR | MLB | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 135 MLB ab; technically no longer a prospect |
| Loney, James 1B | LAD | AAA | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .254/.336/.351 in 111 ab; What the deal? |
| Longoria, Evan 3B | TB | AA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rested his injured knee on Friday; returned Saturday |
| Martinez, Fernando OF | NYM | AA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 800 OPS as 18-yr-old in AA; entered Sat as PH |
| Maybin, Cameron OF | DET | A+ | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 of his 30 hits have been XBH (36.7%) |
| McCutchen, Andrew OF | PIT | AA | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | First HR of '07; AA jump still isn't going well overall |
| Pence, Hunter OF | HOU | MLB | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7-for-28 so far in bigs; first MLB HR on Sat |
| Pie, Felix OF | CHC | MLB | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Entered both games as PH; likely minors bound |
| Rasmus, Colby OF | STL | AA | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Ended six-game hitting streak Sat (11for last 27) |
| Saltalamacchia, Jarrod C | ATL | MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | McCann back; Salty likely AAA or AA bound |
| Upton, Justin OF | ARI | A+ | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Sat doubleheader after winds ppd Fri game |
| Votto, Joey 1B | CIN | AAA | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5-for-30 w/ 8 BB & 5 K in last 10 games |
| Wood, Brandon 3B | LAA | MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chone Figgins' return has Wood on the bench |