Prospects of the Week captures the best performances across all levels of the minor leagues. Because this covers a huge pool of players, its focus will generally favor prospects considered among the top of each organization.
This week includes games played July 29-August 4. You can read previous Prospects of the Week articles here:
| July 22-July 28 | July 15-July 21 | July 8- July 14 |
Don’t Call it a Comeback
Forrest Whitley, 21, RHP, Corpus Christi (HOU), Double-A
(1 W, 9 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 14 K)
Before we get all excited and jump for joy, it should be noted that Whitley’s first outing this week (five shutout innings, 9 Ks) came with the High-A club in Fayetteville and his second outing with Double-A while he works his way back from a shoulder issue that sidelined him for more than a month. Even so, it’s just nice to see the Astros’ top pitching prospect put up encouraging results after struggling to get over the hump at Triple-A.
Ty France, 25, 3B, El Paso (SDP), Triple-A
(14-for-26, .538 avg., 2 HR, 9 RBI, 6 Runs, 1 BB)
Remember in March when Ty France was listed as a starter on the Padres’ depth chart, but no one knew who Ty France was?’ Well, he’s baaack. France did record 98 ABs with the big-league club this year to unspectacular results, but in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) he’s been unstoppable. After three multi-hit games this week his slash line now sits at .396/.473/.780 in 68 games, not to mention a 1.253 OPS. There’s no spot for him on the Padres’ infield, but perhaps a team will take a flier on him if he’s available via trade this offseason.
Justus Sheffield, 23, LHP, Arkansas (SEA), Double-A
(7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K)
The Mariners made a move in June to get Sheffield out of the hitter funhouse that is the PCL (where he put up a 6.87 ERA in 12 starts) and it’s worked wonders for him. Sheffield has not allowed more than 2 ERs in any of his nine starts with the Double-A club, including a season-high nine strikeouts against Springfield this week. It may be prudent to just keep Sheffield where he is and promote him straight from Double-A when the team is ready.
Hit Parade
Luis Robert, 22, OF, Charlotte (CHW), Triple-A
(10-for-27, .370 avg., 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 Runs, 2 BB)
Is Robert going make the leap across four levels this year? It sure looks that way. After starting in High-A back in April, the 22-year-old just keeps putting up strong numbers, including 10 more hits and 7 RBI this week. While there’s no rush for the White Sox to promote him, it would be fun to see Robert and Eloy Jiménez roaming the White Sox outfield together in September.
Jesús Sánchez, 21, OF, New Orleans (MIA), Triple-A
(7-for-20, .350 avg., 3 HR, 8 RBI, 7 Runs, 6 BB)
New team, no problem. Sánchez was shipped from the Rays to the Marlins in the Trevor Richards trade last week, and he responded with three home runs in his first four games with New Orleans in the PCL. He struggled quite a bit in the International League before the trade (.206/.282/.317), but perhaps a change of scenery with the Marlins can unlock his full potential.
Ryan Vilade, 20, SS, Lancaster (COL), High-A
(12-for-24, .500 avg., 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 Runs, 2 BB)
Vilade found his power stroke this week, smashing three homers to increase his season total to eight. While his numbers don’t jump off the page, the Rockies’ 2nd-round pick in 2017 has been a solid performer in the Cal League all year (.293/.361/.452) and ranks in the top-10 in runs, hits, doubles, triples, total bases and OBP.
All the Southpaws
DL Hall, 20, LHP, Frederick (BAL), High-A
(1 W, 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 10 K)
Hall had arguably his best outing of the year on Thursday, matching a season-high in both innings pitched and strikeouts. The Orioles’ talented southpaw has given up just five earned runs in his last five outings (26.1 IP) and his 111 strikeouts lead the Carolina League.
Seth Corry, 20, LHP, Augusta (SFG), Class A
(2 W, 12.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 17 K)
The breakout season for Seth Corry continues. The Giants’ 3rd-round pick in 2017 posted two strong outings this week and has not allowed an earned run in his last 23 1/3 innings. He’s managed to improve his control (just 6 walks allowed in his last 40 IP) while maintaining a high K rate. He now leads the South Atlantic League in both ERA (1.72) and strikeouts (136).
Joey Cantillo, 19, LHP, Fort Wayne (SDP), Class A
(2 W, 12 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 13 K)
Just when you thought the Padres’ system couldn’t get any deeper, here comes Cantillo, a former 16th-round pick dominating A-Ball like it’s no big deal. The Hawaiian teenager threw six no-hit innings against West Michigan on Sunday, lowering his ERA to 1.93 on the year. He is not a hard thrower, but he shows good command and his 34.7 K% is nothing to sneeze at either.
Brailyn Marquez, 20, LHP, South Bend (CHC), Class A
(1 W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 8 K)
Note to self: MUST get off the couch and make the 2-hour drive to Indiana to watch Marquez pitch the next time he’s at home. After making the list last week with 14 strikeouts, the Cubs’ young flamethrower put up a second-straight dominant outing, this time hurling six no-hit innings against West Michigan. His 5 BB/9 on the season remains a major concern, but when the command is there, his potential is off the charts.
Just missed:
Anthony Misiewicz, 24, LHP, Tacoma (SEA), Triple-A
(1 W, 14 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 18 K)
Brian Keller, 25, RHP, Trenton (NYY), Double-A
(1 W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 6 K)
Sixto Sanchez, 21, RHP, Jacksonville (MIA), Double-A
(2 W, 12 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 K)
Shane McClanahan, 22, LHP, Montgomery (TAM), Double-A
(1 W, 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K)
Brandon Marsh, 21, OF, Mobile (LAA), Double-A
(9-for-26, .346 avg., 3 HR, 5 RBI, 6 Runs, 1 SB)
Alek Thomas, 19, OF, Visalia, (ARZ), High-A
(12-for-22, .545 avg., 0 HR, 2 RBI, 5 runs, 1 SB)
Griffin Conine, 22, OF, Lansing (TOR), Class A
(7-for-21, .333 avg., 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 Runs, 2 BB)
(Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire)
Solid factual coverage. I think that the writeups are objective which is very uncommon these days. I enjoyed the caption writeup the least as it was the least objective. Have you put any thought into skipping the writeup entirely and replacing it with say a full statline for the year. The only thing missing is the stats for the year. That would help to put things in context. For example, sanchez was fine in aa this year but all you menrion was his aaa work with tb. Perhaps there are good reasons why you cant post that data and I think it would be a big pain but I think it would be more valuable than the paragraph – so maybe it evens out. I get that the writing is the part that you probably enjoy. The internet does not do a good job of coverong prospects and I am trying to get you to do it right for me haha. Honestly I dont know if other people would appreciate it but i would – I dont know how represenative I am of other people but I probably am. Things i poke holes in generally go south pretty quickly… Perhaps the opposite is true as well. It depends what you are trying to do I guess…. Accurate coverage or persuasive writing. The one thing that matters is the research you do and i think most people lose sight of that and make it all about them. Good prospecting only comes from experience – the more objective you keep it the less you will burn yourself out and embarrass yourself in the process which keeps you around writing longer and gaining that experience. If you have aptitude for this and put in the time then you will get better constantly – most people who do this are not good at it and never get the experience. You can see it in the prospect writer churn everywhere. There is shortage of unqualified writers attempting to shortcut the experience with machines conducting the analysis which is never going to work.
You mention not liking 80s music. As far as I am concerned there is only one band that matters from that era – try out the clash if you are not familiar with them.