With the short season Williamsport Crosscutters opening their 2010 campaign this past Friday, I was grateful that we'd have the chance to get some new blood in the mix for the weekly prospect roundups -- after all, there are only so many prospects to check in on with the full season squads, so it gets to be a bit repetitive after awhile. Then, two things happened: (1) the early Williamsport box scores were jammed with a fair number of organizational filler types; and (2) the biggest breakout performance from the Cutters was from a name we've seen a couple of times in the prospect roundups this year.
So, my apologies if it seems like a bit of "same old, same old," but I promise to work some new names into the mix as soon as I have the opportunity. And the Gulf Coast League starting up this afternoon should certainly help on that front.
With that said, check below the jump for updates on a 20-year old shortstop, a 27-year old reliever, a 17-year old outfielder, and more.
Domonic Brown, OF-L, Reading: Just another 3-homer week for Dom, who notched a hit in every game this past week to raise his season totals to .317/.389/.585 through 257 plate appearances. The power outburst he's had this year can't be overstated, as his 13 homers on the season leave him just one short of his total from 2009 (and that came in 197 more plate appearances). He could still stand to cut down on the strikeouts a smidge (21.9% K), and his 67% success rate on stolen bases (12 for 18) is a tad disappointing, but that's nitpicking more than anything, as the bat is clearly in great shape here.
Domingo Santana, OF-R, Williamsport: We discussed a few weeks back that the organization may have been a bit overaggressive in expecting young Domingo to hack it in full season ball, and that a demotion to the New York-Penn League might be a good thing for his development. Let's just say "so far, so good," as Santana clubbed a pair of homers in the Crosscutters' season opener on Friday to announce his presence to NYPL pitchers. In all, he went 7-for-10 in the weekend series, with a double in addition to the two homers, a stolen base and -- most importantly -- a pair of walks against no strikeouts.
Jonathan Singleton, 1B-L, Lakewood: Just when it looked like Singleton was slowing down to sub-demigod levels -- he was a mere 4-for-22 between last Monday and Saturday -- he exploded for a pair of homers in Sunday's first half championship clincher for the BlueClaws. He's got the prettiest looking battling line among all Phillies prospects at this juncture (which is why I enjoy including it in every single prospect roundup): .373/.460/.672, 13.7% BB, 19.4% K, .299 ISO through 161 PA.
Trevor May, RHP, Clearwater: One of the five questions we asked before the minor league campaign started was, "Can Trevor May improve his control?" Through 56.2 innings, the answer is, "Errrr, no." The big righthander has issued 47 free passes in that time (7.5 BB/9), a steep jump even from last year's bloated number (5.0 BB/9). The good news is that May clearly has swing-and-miss stuff, with 12.4 K/9 on the season as well. Outings like last Tuesday (5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 7 K) show both May's upside, and the issues he'll need to rectify as he climbs the ladder.
Brody Colvin, RHP, Lakewood: Where May has taken a step back, Colvin has taken a major leap forward in recent weeks -- so much so that his first half title clinching outing for Lakewood on Sunday (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR) was pretty blah by his standards. Phuture Phillies recently called him 1-B to Cosart's 1-A among our current pitching prospects, and it's hard to disagree, as since the calendar's flipped to May, check out what Colvin has managed to do: 59.0 IP, 49 H, 25 R (18 ER), 2 HR, 17 BB, 57 K, 2.57 FIP.
Matt Rizzotti, 1B-L, Reading: As great as Singleton's been, he hasn't even been the hottest hitting first baseman in the organization over the past few weeks. That distinction goes to the 24-year old Rizzotti, who homered Sunday for the fourth game in a row to bump his Reading numbers up to an impressive .325/.391/.650 in 133 plate appearances. We wondered aloud whether a promotion to Double-A might jump start the 2007 6th round pick, and so far, it appears that might be the case.
J.C. Ramirez, RHP, Reading: Ramirez graduated from Clearwater last week after a solid (if a bit unspectacular) go around in the Florida State League: 64.1 IP, 7.7 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.28 HR/9, 37.4% GB, 2.69 FIP. His first Double-A outing on Saturday put the most glaring weakness in Ramirez's game on display: his inability to retire lefthanded hitters. He faced nine lefties, surrendering a single, a double, a homer and a walk en route to an overall 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 K line. Ramirez is still young and still throws hard, but he'll need to make progress with his change up and off-speed stuff if he's going to avoid eventual relegation to the bullpen.
Cody Overbeck, 3B-R, Reading: Speaking of promotions to Reading, Overbeck more than merited his after a .302/.380/.553 showing in Clearwater (in 242 plate appearances). The first couple of weeks after any promotion, especially one to Double-A, are a time for learning what adjustments need to be made, so Overbeck's 2-for-19 to start his R-Phils career isn't particularly worrisome. That said, the recently turned 24-year old faces a make-or-break next few months in Reading, as he'll need to succeed here if he's going to keep any sort of prospect status. Stay tuned...
Michael Zagurski, LHP, Lehigh Valley: The strange roster maneuvering surrounding Scott Mathieson's DFA-that's-not-really-a-DFA may have led some to check the 40-man roster, and for many, Zagurski is something of a surprise presence on the list. The 27-year old southpaw has quietly made a solid case for his first big league action since 2007 with an impressive 2010 campaign for the IronPigs, with a 45-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.96 FIP in 30.2 innings. Of particular interest is that he's been tough on both lefties (3.0 K/BB, .216 BAA) and righties (3.9 K/BB, .180 BAA), so he may not even be completely limited to LOOGY-dom. Like Mathieson did (and will now continue to do), Zagurski is simply biding his time, but you have to think he can help the big league club if called upon.
Freddy Galvis, SS-S, Reading: Maybe we're seeing signs of life from young Freddy's bat. The slick fielding shortstop has posted a more-than-respectable .288/.338/.424 thus far in June, highlighted by a tiebreaking 3-run homer on Sunday that led Reading to a win over New Britain. A full season line like that would make Galvis an easy Top 10 prospect in the organization, so it's up to the Venezuelan glove man to figure out what's gone right over the past few weeks, and to keep that momentum going. I know I keep saying this, but at just 20 years old, Galvis still has plenty of time to figure things out.