Baseball America: Prospect Hot Sheet and Notebook July 14-19th

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During the week BA does daily Prospect Notebook articles to talk about which prospect had the best day. Two Twins made prospects made the July 16th list for their performances. Trevor May for his dominating outing on Monday and Adam Walker for crushing two home runs (Walker also makes the weekly list). Here is what BA had to say:

Trevor May, rhp, Twins: May’s path to the big leagues has been anything but a straight shot, requiring multiple stints all three full-season levels from low Class A to Double-A, and his 2013 season has been similarly bumpy. The 23-year-old has premium stuff when he’s on though, and he had it dialed in last night for Double-A New Britain, allowing just three hits and two runs over seven innings while fanning six. May’s ERA peaked at 4.62 after a disastrous April 29 outing in which he allowed eight earned runs in four innings, but he’s gradually been bringing it back to respectable levels, currently sitting at 3.88 after last night. May ranks among the Eastern League’s top five in both strikeouts (99) and walks (45), and while he did walk four Monday, he’s been showing better control recently, having handed out only one walk in each of his previous four starts.

Adam Brett Walker, of, Twins: Power will always be Walker’s best tool, but he’s showing signs of becoming more than an all-or-nothing hitter. Walker hit .250 and struck out in nearly a third (32.8 percent) of his at-bats last year in his pro debut with Rookie-level Elizabethton, though he did homer 14 times in 58 games. He’s improved both his average (.282 after 326 at-bats) and strikeout rate (24.2 percent) without sacrificing power while moving up to low Class A Cedar Rapids for his first full year at age 21. He homered in three straight games last week and added two more on Monday against Bowling Green, a surge that’s propelled him into the Midwest League home run lead with 18. He’s also third in the minors in RBIs with 79.

 

In this weeks BA prospect hot sheet three Twins ended up on the list. Adam Walker at 6 and Eddie Rosario at 7 while Lewis Thorpe made it on the "In the Team Photo" section. Here is what they had to say:

No. 6 Adam Brett Walker, rf, Twins

Team: low Class A Cedar Rapids (Midwest)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .370/.357/.889 (10-for-27), 4 HR, 2 2B, 11 RBIs, 8 R, 0 BB, 6 SO

The Scoop: Just think how much better Walker’s week could’ve been if he hadn’t taken an ugly 0-for-7 in a 12-inning game on Wednesday. Nonetheless, the Twins’ 2012 third-rounder might be hitting his way out of the Midwest League now that he’s surged to the top of its home run leaderboard with 18. No one doubts his power, but the real encouragement comes from how much he’s cut down on his strikeouts (82 in 87 games) from last year in the Appalachian League, where he whiffed 76 times in 58 games.

No. 7 Eddie Rosario, 2b, Twins

Team: Double-A New Britain (Florida State)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .433/.452/.633 (13-for-30), 1 HR, 3 2B, 4 RBIs, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Free to develop at his own pace while Twins uber-prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano draw the spotlight, Rosario has hit .322/.375/.503 in 84 games across two levels this season and just might be the stealthiest prospect in the upper minors. He won a home run title (21) in the 2011 Appalachian League, but don’t be discouraged by his relatively meager output (eight) this season. Rosario has played in a couple of tough home-run parks in New Britain and high Class A Fort Myers, though with his lefty bat, contact skills and solid power, he’s on the short list of elite second-base prospects in the game.

 

Lewis Thorpe, lhp, Twins: The 2012 international class is shaping up to be an outstanding one for lefthanders, with Julio Urias (Dodgers), Luiz Gohara (Mariners) and Jose Castillo (Rays) leading the way. But don’t sleep on Thorpe, an Australian who signed for $500,000 shortly after July 2 last year and has been excellent in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. With a low-90s fastball, a potential plus changeup and an improving curveball, the 17-year-old Thorpe has a 3.05 ERA and has shown much better control than expected with a 31-2 K-BB mark in 20 2/3 innings.

 

Link to full list below:

Prospect Hot Sheet: No-Hitter Puts Victor Sanchez At Top - BaseballAmerica.com

 

BA's Bed Badler hosted a chat about the list. Here is what he had to say about the Twins:

 

 

• Lewis Thorpe was mentioned in the list today. Is he the best /only Australian prospect worth talking about in the minors currently? Will that country be a bigger contributor in the future or has it stagnated?
  

 

Ben Badler: He's exciting, although I'm not even sure he's the best Australian prospect who signed last year. He and Red Sox LHP Daniel McGrath are going to be fun to follow. Australia didn't have anyone at that level this year, but the arrows are pointing in the right direction for both of those arms.

• 
  Not exactly a "prospect" by the conventional definition, but is there a chance that Chris Colabello could hit at the Major League level from what you've seen or scouts you've spoken with? He's such a good story... hard not to root for him, and looks like he'll be getting near full-time at-bats for awhile here.
  

 

Ben Badler: I do think there's a chance and I'd like to see him get an opportunity. We can get hung up on age and that does matter to a point, but whether it's him, Evan Gattis or anyone else, we've got to keep context in mind of why a guy is old for his level especially when he's taken such an unconventional path. The swing works, the power is there and he's raked all the way up to Triple-A. If a team gives him consistent at-bats, I think they'll be rewarded.

 

 

 

[PseudoSABR]

Thanks for aggregating this info, my man.

[raindog]

Thanks for posting this.

 

"We can get hung up on age and that does matter to a point, but whether it's him, Evan Gattis or anyone else, we've got to keep context in mind of why a guy is old for his level especially when he's taken such an unconventional path."

 

Couldn't agree more with Badler here. People constantly bring up his age without acknowledging why it took him so long to get here. If a team had noticed his dominance in Indy ball earlier, he might have made it to the big leagues earlier.

[Oxtung]

Thanks for posting this.

 

"We can get hung up on age and that does matter to a point, but whether it's him, Evan Gattis or anyone else, we've got to keep context in mind of why a guy is old for his level especially when he's taken such an unconventional path."

 

Couldn't agree more with Badler here. People constantly bring up his age without acknowledging why it took him so long to get here. If a team had noticed his dominance in Indy ball earlier, he might have made it to the big leagues earlier.

 

While you are right that his age needs to be seen with the context of his ascent through the minor leagues, he is none the less soon to be on the wrong side of 30 and all the physical failings that tends to bring with it. So while his age should not be held against him in acknowledging his dominance at AAA and his fast progression through the minor leagues it will certainly, and probably rightfully so, be held against him in the opportunities that he will receive and the length of career that he can expect. As you say, if only he had been discovered sooner.....

[kab21]

Are you saying that we don't need to worry about the arbitration clock and FA with Colabello?