Rockies, White Sox Fringe Prospects Highlight High-A Recap

After a week off to look at notable performances in Single-A, GotC is back with a Memorial Day edition of its High-A weekly recap.

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In the Carolina League, the Northern Division is still tight at the top, while the leader in the Southern Division has distanced itself from the rest of the division. The Wilmington Blue Rocks maintain a one-game lead over the Frederick Keys in the Northern Division. In the Southern division, the Carolina Mudcats have stumbled to a 1-9 record the past 10 games to fall into third place. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans stays hot, going 7-3 the last 10 games to maintain a 5 ½ game lead in the division.

The Visalia Rawhide continue to dominate the California League North Division. They’re 9-5 the past two weeks and now lead the division by nine games. The South Division remains one of the most competitive in High-A. The top four teams are all within 2 ½ games of each other, and of the five teams in the division, only Rancho Cucamonga remains in the same place in the standings (first); the Lancaster JetHawks move from second to fourth; Lake Elsinore from third to last; Inland Empire moves from fourth to third; and the High Desert Mavericks jumped from last to second. The Mavericks are 7-3 their last 10 games.

There hasn’t been much significant movement in the Florida State League as far as the standings go. The most movement came from the Palm Beach Cardinals in the South Division, who fell from second to fourth. The Daytona Tortugas lead the North by four games, and the Charlotte Stone Crabs lead the South by a comfortable eight games.

Let’s begin in the Florida State League…

Next: Florida State League Highlights

Florida State League
North
Daytona Tortugas (Reds)—26-18
Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)—22-22
Tampa Yankees (Yankees)—22-22
Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)—21-22
Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)—19-25
Brevard County Manatees (Brewers)—18-25
South
Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays)—30-14
Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)—22-22
For Myers Miracle (Twins)—22-22
Palm Beach Cardinals (Cardinals)—21-23
St. Lucie Mets (Mets)—21-23
Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins)—19-25
Notable Performances:
Like Clint Coulter, St. Lucie’s Michael Conforto has established himself as one of the best power bats in the league. He’s hitting .341 and slugging .561 the past 10 games, a big reason why he is third in the league with a .486 slugging percentage. That number may seem low for a power bat, but considering that the Florida State League is one of the least hitter-friendly leagues in professional baseball, that slugging percentage and his seven home runs are more impressive than they seem. An interesting facet of his improvement is that he’s cut his K-rate from 15.6 percent in 42 games in 2014 to 12.8 percent in 42 games this season. If he maintains that plate discipline and is called up to a more hitter-friendly league, his power numbers should jump.

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Still only 19-years old, Rays prospect and Charlotte Stone Crabs shortstop Willy Adames is on a hot streak. With his 2-for-4 performance on Sunday, Adames is hitting .325 the past 10 games. Of some concern, but easily explained by his youth and inexperience, is his high strikeout rate: he has 45 whiffs in 38 games, or 27.7 percent of plate appearances, whichever better sums up the struggles to you. Equally noteworthy is his uncanny .402 batting on balls in play. That rate is unsustainable, and a larger sample size will help accurately determine Adames’s offensive improvements.

Another shortstop is garnering attention: the Tampa Yankees’ Tyler Wade. The 2013 fourth-round draft pick has nine hits in his last six games and is fifth in the league in batting (.325). He’s also a running threat, as he has 17 stolen bases, tied for the most in the league. He has been considered a potential replacement for Derek Jeter, although the 20-year-old is undue that pressure this early in his professional career.

Next: Carolina League Highlights

Carolina League
Northern
Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)—24-18
Frederick Keys (Orioles)—24-20
Potomac Nationals (Nationals)—19-24
Lynchburg Hillcats (Indians)—19-25
Southern
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs)—26-15
Salem Red Sox (Red Sox)—22-22
Carolina Mudcats (Braves)—19-21
Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)—14-17
Notable performances:
Early in the season, outfielders dominated the offensive leaderboards in the Carolina League. Lynchburg outfielders Bradley Zimmer and Luigi Rodriguez have kept up their sweltering paces: Zimmer is hitting .417 with three home runs the past 10 games while Rodriguez his clubbing pitching at a .318 clip. Zimmer leads the league in homers with eight and Rodriguez is second with seven.

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Both hitters have maintained impressive batting averages and on base percentages in spite of their high strikeout rates. Zimmer has a solid 12.1 percent walk rate and .377 BABIP, and Rodriguez’s .354 BABIP and 9.0 BB% aren’t as impressive but still balance his 23.2 K% and alleviate concerns of significant regression as the calendar turns.

The infield grass gets plenty of work whenever James Dykstra pitches. After his outing Sunday, when he took the loss after allowing two runs in five innings, Dykstra is inducing 2.07 groundouts for every out in the air. That high ground ball rate, in conjunction with his 19/3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, is why he owns a 2.89 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.

Honorable mention: Don’t expect Duane Underwood Jr. to be pitching in High-A much longer. After his start Friday, his 1.38 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and .193 average against are all top-five in the league.

Next: California League Highlights

California League
North
Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks)—31-13
Modesto Nuts (Rockies)—22-22
Stockton Ports (Athletics)—20-24
San Jose Giants (Giants)—18-26
Bakersfield Blaze (Mariners)—17-26

South
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers)—24-19
High Desert Mavericks (Rangers)—23-20
Inland Empire 66ers (Angels)—22-20
Lancaster JetHawks (Astros)—22-22
Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres)—18-25
Notable performances:
Lake Elsinore outfielder Auston Bousfield quietly has had an impressive start to the season. He’s hitting .306 in 2015 after hitting .301 in 45 games in 2014. The fifth-round pick from last season exhibits startling plate discipline, as he’s drawn 17 walks and struck out only 26 times. His ability to get on base (.391 OBP) and his speed—he’s stolen 26 bases in 84 games as a professional—and current lack of power (.389 SLG) are creating an early profile as a top of the order scoring threat for the fringe prospect.

Third baseman Brandon Trinkwon is having a similar season over in Rancho Cucamonga. Trinkwon had a .359 OBP last season even though he only hit .247. That season, he drew 54 walks and struck out only 39 times, which is likely why the Dodgers moved him up a level in the minors. It’s paid off so far: He’s hitting .331 and getting on base at a .401 clip. Interestingly, the K/BB ratio has flipped, as he’s only drawn 19 walks and struck out 31 times, which makes one wonder if the relocation to the offensive-prone California League should be credited with some of the offensive improvement.

Modesto Nuts pitcher Antonio Senzatela boasts the fifth-best ERA (2.28) and WHIP (1.05) in the league, and his 3.36 K/BB ratio is much higher than last season’s (2.47). He didn’t need the extra Ks, as last season he was dominant, holding opposing offenses to a .243 average. In spite of his jump to the CL, Senzatela’s BABIP has stayed steady at .261 after a .267 BABIP last season.

All stats from MiLB.com, FanGraphs.com and Baseball-Reference.com