Michael Freeman should be ready by the middle of next year to contribute in the big league pen. Dominating right now, LHHs are 0-10 with 6 Ks against him in Lancaster. His floor is the LOOGY of the future with potential late inning work if he improves against RHHs.
FYI: MLB.com apparently realized the error of its ways and quietly upgraded A.J. Reed from a 50 overall to a 55 overall and leapfrogged him over several previously higher-rated prospects to place him at #100 overall on its Top 100 Prospects list.
And on Twitter Callis said that they should probably bump him up a few spots. I was kinda surprised they changed his grade so quickly considering this list is fairly new.
http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...long-shot-tyler-whites-numbers-is-paying-off/ A right-handed John Kruk?
Somebody in the top 100 must have lost their prospect status. What makes you say he leapfrogged anyone?
His slash line is .318/.364/.455 at Lancaster. Not stellar for Lancaster, but we have to keep in mind that he got off to a very slow start. Meanwhile, Rogers is in rookie ball & Swanson is in short season A ball. He needs to continue to cut down on the walks, and it would be nice if he missed more bats (which he is at QC), but his GB/AO is 2.85 at QC and 2.11 for his career. That is sensational. Keuchel is the king of GBs and had a 2.83 last year and 2.50 this year (minor league career # was 2.10).
Yes, someone did just graduate from the Top 100 list, but A.J. Reed would not have been next in line if not for MLB.com upgrading his rating from 50 to 55. For instance, Kyle Freeland (the Rockies' #8 prospect) is rated 55 yet is not on the Top 100 list. Had A.J. Reed stayed a 50-rating, then Freeland (and other 55-rated prospects) all would have cracked the Top 100 ahead of Reed.
Good read on Kemmer at the Hooks site. Intriguing tidbit on the difficulty of scouting kids from the North: "We had a 20-game schedule in high school," Kemmer recalled. "My senior year we were 16-2, and that was the most games I ever played in my high school career. My junior year, we were 11-0 going into the playoffs....When I leave for spring training, there's still snow on the ground at home." http://www.milb.com/news/article.js...d=145243094&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t482&sid=t482 "I don't care if I'm not on a top prospect list." -- Jon Kemmer
Dude is quietly dominating in AA. Granted, there's a bunch of people missing from the lists because they don't qualify (e.g., AJ Reed doesn't show up yet), but Kemmer leads the Texas League in OPS, average, and slugging, and is 2nd in OBP and HR. FWIW, Colin Moran's .822 OPS shows up at 6th in the league. AJ Reed's .954 OPS would be 2nd if he qualified. As down a year as Teoscar Hernandez has had, his power/speed combo still plays -- he's 2nd in homers, and 3rd in steals. What's interesting to me is he hit 17 HR in 455 plate appearances at Lancaster last year, and has hit 17 HR in 458 plate appearances at Corpus this year. Maintaining power across levels is a good sign, we just need him to bring back his hit tool.
http://www.kiiitv.com/story/29448489/hooks-white-wins-texas-league-home-run-derby Didn't realize Tyler White won the Texas League Home Run Derby. A line drive hitter with a great eye that can hit bombs when called upon? He is getting on base close to half the time at Fresno. This guy is hitting like Altuve did in the minors.
Lol. I doubt he projects to hitting more than 15 HR a year, but .310 AVG, 400 OBP would be an incredible insertion into this Astros lineup. I said earlier he reminds me of Kruk, a lifetime .300 hitter with a 397 OBP.
All info per Fresno twitter account: Doubleheader today, Grizzlies magic number to clinch 1st division title since 1998 is 1. 2-2, top 7th (only play 7 in 1st game), Kemp & Villar walk, Hoes fails to get the sac bunt down then lines out to CF. White grounds into game ending DP. Sometimes is does pay to competently play smallball. Mark Appel gets the start tonight in the potential division clincher.
So what you're saying is... Chris Carter would have given the team another chance by striking out? Also, Appel faces former Astro Felipe Paulino in the 2nd game... Paulino has seen better days (he's 31).
