6/1/15 MINOR LEAGUE FINAL: IT'S JUNE! DSL score included

[rico43]

ALL TIMES EDT

CLASS AAA

Gwinnett, idle

CLASS AA

Jackson 5 Mississippi 2

SP: G. Ross 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
LP: Rondon (2-1) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
M. Smith 2-5, R, SB; Kang 2-4, RBI; Ruiz 1-2, 2 BB.

ADVANCED CLASS A

Wilmington 4, Carolina 1

LP: Barker (0-1) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Brocker 2,1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. (0.00)
Terdoslavich 1-4, 2B; Hyams 1-4, HR (2nd), RBI; Schrader 1-4.

CLASS A

Rome 5, Lexington 2

WP: Grosser (4-2) 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Albies 1-5, R; Daris 2-4, 2 R, HR (2nd), RBI; Obregon 1-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB.

SHORT-SEASON

DSL Braves, 5, DSL Marlins 4

WP: Al. Sanchez (1-0) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Laguna (Save, 1) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
(used 7 pitchers, Gabe Henry allowed all four runs, one earned)
A. Concepcion 1-4, HR (1st), 2 RBI; Zorrilla 1-2, R, 2 BB.

[chop2chip]

Notes on Peraza and Banuelos via Baseball Prospectus:

Jose Peraza, 2B/CF, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett Braves)
That little "CF" next to Peraza's name is interesting, isn't it? The Braves are aiming to add defensive versatility to Peraza's resume and let the chips fall as they may. He played his first career game in center field Wednesday, then played consecutive games there Friday and Saturday. This comes after the Braves worked him in center during spring camp.

Peraza looked the part of an inexperienced center fielder. His reads coming in were particularly shaky, and he second-guessed a couple reads by hesitating on the route. His first attempt Friday was actually very solid as he ranged to his right in the gap with a good route, and he showed solid range based on his excellent speed. He also showed instincts by rounding on a fly-ball route to get momentum toward third base on a throw. The arm will play well in center with a cleaner arm path and better footwork. Peraza has instincts and athleticism on his side, and I think repetition and experience will help him become serviceable at the position. It's going to take a lot more work, though, which is to be expected.

Peraza's offensive profile hasn't changed at a higher level. He barrels it often enough for a potentially above-average hit tool based on line drives to all fields, but it's sometimes hindered by an ultra-aggressive approach. He tends to lunge and punch at velo on the outer half, and he offers at spin away a little too often. He's also noticeably over-aggressive in pressure situations, such as whiffing with a runner on third by expanding the zone. He clocked 4.1 to first to maintain his well-known plus-plus speed, which could add some hits. Overall, my latest look didn't change my view that he's potentially a solid-average regular. –David Lee

Manny Banuelos, LHP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett Braves)
Banuelos told me Saturday that his feel is getting back to where it was pre-elbow surgery, and he repeated the word "confident" numerous times to emphasize his confidence is back on the mound. The last thing to get back, according to Banuelos, is his velocity. He's working between starts to gain strength, but whether the fastball velocity will return remains to be seen. Right now, he's not that left-handed fireballer reaching back for mid-90s like he was in the Yankees system, but he's working within himself to get outs.

Banuelos was 88-92 on Thursday, staying mostly around 89-90. The fastball comes pretty straight and relies on spotting the corners for weak contact. He's capable of working up with two strikes to change eye levels at 91-92, and he shows pitchability by sequencing pretty well. His command was inconsistent by working too far off the plate or catching too much plate at times, and that goes back to what has been an inconsistent command profile in the past.

He's back to throwing his curveball instead of his cut-slider hybrid that he implemented under the Yankees' watch in 2014. The curve's depth was inconsistent but flashed excellent, and he went to it with more confidence than in the past. He mixed the curve and changeup fairly evenly, and both rated similarly. He also mixed in a few cut-sliders late in the outing as a fourth look, but it appeared fringy. Banuelos doesn't have a standout pitch as long as his fastball is around 90, but he did well to get the most out of it and spotted enough to avoid trouble. The command and control will continue to be iffy at times, but I saw enough in my look to project a back-end starter for the Braves. –David Lee

[Braves1976]

Notes on Peraza and Banuelos via Baseball Prospectus:

Jose Peraza, 2B/CF, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett Braves)
That little "CF" next to Peraza's name is interesting, isn't it? The Braves are aiming to add defensive versatility to Peraza's resume and let the chips fall as they may. He played his first career game in center field Wednesday, then played consecutive games there Friday and Saturday. This comes after the Braves worked him in center during spring camp.

Peraza looked the part of an inexperienced center fielder. His reads coming in were particularly shaky, and he second-guessed a couple reads by hesitating on the route. His first attempt Friday was actually very solid as he ranged to his right in the gap with a good route, and he showed solid range based on his excellent speed. He also showed instincts by rounding on a fly-ball route to get momentum toward third base on a throw. The arm will play well in center with a cleaner arm path and better footwork. Peraza has instincts and athleticism on his side, and I think repetition and experience will help him become serviceable at the position. It's going to take a lot more work, though, which is to be expected.

Peraza's offensive profile hasn't changed at a higher level. He barrels it often enough for a potentially above-average hit tool based on line drives to all fields, but it's sometimes hindered by an ultra-aggressive approach. He tends to lunge and punch at velo on the outer half, and he offers at spin away a little too often. He's also noticeably over-aggressive in pressure situations, such as whiffing with a runner on third by expanding the zone. He clocked 4.1 to first to maintain his well-known plus-plus speed, which could add some hits. Overall, my latest look didn't change my view that he's potentially a solid-average regular. –David Lee

Manny Banuelos, LHP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett Braves)
Banuelos told me Saturday that his feel is getting back to where it was pre-elbow surgery, and he repeated the word "confident" numerous times to emphasize his confidence is back on the mound. The last thing to get back, according to Banuelos, is his velocity. He's working between starts to gain strength, but whether the fastball velocity will return remains to be seen. Right now, he's not that left-handed fireballer reaching back for mid-90s like he was in the Yankees system, but he's working within himself to get outs.

Banuelos was 88-92 on Thursday, staying mostly around 89-90. The fastball comes pretty straight and relies on spotting the corners for weak contact. He's capable of working up with two strikes to change eye levels at 91-92, and he shows pitchability by sequencing pretty well. His command was inconsistent by working too far off the plate or catching too much plate at times, and that goes back to what has been an inconsistent command profile in the past.

He's back to throwing his curveball instead of his cut-slider hybrid that he implemented under the Yankees' watch in 2014. The curve's depth was inconsistent but flashed excellent, and he went to it with more confidence than in the past. He mixed the curve and changeup fairly evenly, and both rated similarly. He also mixed in a few cut-sliders late in the outing as a fourth look, but it appeared fringy. Banuelos doesn't have a standout pitch as long as his fastball is around 90, but he did well to get the most out of it and spotted enough to avoid trouble. The command and control will continue to be iffy at times, but I saw enough in my look to project a back-end starter for the Braves. –David Lee

I wouldn't make too much of David Lee's scouting report for just one outing on Man-Ban. I know I have seen him with better velocity (according to the radar gun) at times during the season (and Gwinnett's pitching coach comments posted here in the past say the same). Plus I have seen nights where his change-up is very impressive too. His curveball seems to come and go though, and some nights it seems he'll have the change-up going but not the curve. While one night he had a good curve and his change-up was almost unhittable.

To sum it up, I still see his upside as pretty high and certainly more than a back-end starter for the Braves. If not for the innings limit, Man-Ban could probably be that right now but his upside is higher in the future IMO.

PS: A few times his change-up was going so good it reminded me of how Kris Medlen use to sometimes dominate games with it.

[Tapate50]

Thanks for posting but all that analysis says to me is that he needs all year at AAA. (Man Ban)

[Braves1976]

Thanks for posting but all that analysis says to me is that he needs all year at AAA.

I think he is ready enough for a spot start if needed but either way you have the innings limit with him. So he might not join the MLB rotation till next year, if there is a spot for him.

PS: If Teheran goes on the DL I could see Man-Ban getting the call. If it's only for 15 days.

[Braves1976]

As much as I want Man-Ban to start, we might eventually have to use him as a lefty out of the bullpen--at least initially. Nsacpi mentioned calling up lefty Greg Smith to give him a shot and at first I thought why not. Then I looked at his splits and to my surprise lefties are hitting .298 against him this year (better than righties). So I'd scratch that idea personally and look at other options for another lefty in the bullpen. Man-Ban has a 1.50 ERA vs lefties and lefties are hitting only .200 against him (3 runs allowed all year vs them). So if needed, he could prove very effective as a lefty out of the bullpen.

The best other option off-hand is Francisco Rondon pitching for AA Mississippi, he is very good vs lefties but purely a lefty specialist. He isn't good vs righties.

[smootness]

Mallex Smith is amazing. Everyone acknowledged this was a huge year for him, and the dude is out there hitting .340.

[Braves1976]

Mallex Smith is amazing. Everyone acknowledged this was a huge year for him, and the dude is out there hitting .340.

He only got two hits and one steal tonight, dude is slumping. :)

[Russ2dollas]

Man ban we should be careful with. When rosters expand he should come up in the pen. Then next year we will see what happens

[nsacpi]

Mallex will be in Gwinnett by the end of this month.

[Russ2dollas]

Peraza as a good regular makes sense to me. Keith law has him as an all star. I don't see it unless he can consistently hot 300 and be a terror on the bases .

No rush for peraza IMO. Coming up a 23 wouldn't be awful.

He could also be a big chip if a team sees him as a Ss. Same thing with jace

[nsacpi]

Peraza as a good regular makes sense to me. Keith law has him as an all star. I don't see it unless he can consistently hot 300 and be a terror on the bases .

No rush for peraza IMO. Coming up a 23 wouldn't be awful.

He could also be a big chip if a team sees him as a Ss. Same thing with jace

For a player like Peraza, the difference between being an average regular and an all-star is going to be the extra base hits. He's not likely to develop home run power, but if he can hit enough doubles and triples to push the ISO above .100 then he becomes an All-Star. Think Altuve.

[Chico]

I like the idea of promoting Man Bam after a couple of more starts to the pen. It would naturally limit his innings, allow for a spot start or two, and give him time with Roger.

Peterson and Mallex are making the idea of trading Peraza much more palatable if a deal comes along that makes sense, especially if it's a team that views him as a SS

[Deester11]

I like the idea of promoting Man Bam after a couple of more starts to the pen. It would naturally limit his innings, allow for a spot start or two, and give him time with Roger.

Peterson and Mallex are making the idea of trading Peraza much more palatable if a deal comes along that makes sense, especially if it's a team that views him as a SS
Yeah, I'm not adverse to the multiple positions, but I think if you keep him at short, you maximize his value. The thing is all of baseball knows that we have a shortstop in place who is....meh, ok, so a smart team in need of a SS would try to vulture Peraza with a good package. A year ago, I wouldn't have entertained the thought, but if a package came along that netted us a position of need or even another high ceiling arm...I'm all for it.

[thethe]

Wonder if the Yankees might consider Peraza for Judge. Concerned about his decreasing walk rate this year but that could be some small sample noise.

[smootness]

Wonder if the Yankees might consider Peraza for Judge. Concerned about his decreasing walk rate this year but that could be some small sample noise.

Judge just isn't that great a prospect, IMO. He's huge, so people assume he will be a big-time power hitter, but he doesn't have great bat speed and has never shown a ton of power either in college or in the minors. He's 23 and hitting well at AA but not well enough to be a great prospect at that age.

I would be more ok with it than I would have been at the beginning of the season because of the way Peterson and Mallex Smith have played, but if we're ok trading him, I'd rather shop him until you get something better. Maybe package Peraza with a pitching prospect if you need to.

[chop2chip]

Judge just isn't that great a prospect, IMO. He's huge, so people assume he will be a big-time power hitter, but he doesn't have great bat speed and has never shown a ton of power either in college or in the minors. He's 23 and hitting well at AA but not well enough to be a great prospect at that age.

I would be more ok with it than I would have been at the beginning of the season because of the way Peterson and Mallex Smith have played, but if we're ok trading him, I'd rather shop him until you get something better. Maybe package Peraza with a pitching prospect if you need to.
Judge has an ISO of .210 this year and he's never had an ISO under .180 in his minor league career. He's always hit.

Judge is a fantastic prospect.

[nsacpi]

Stephen Janas ‏@SJanas_11 · 4h4 hours ago
First time off the bump today since the #buspocalypse, the comebacks on!

[Garmel]

When does Dustin Peterson come back?

[nsacpi]

When does Dustin Peterson come back?

Dunno. I think he and Sims are the last ones not yet cleared for baseball activity.

[chop2chip]

Garrett Fulenchek tweeted today that he's getting his x-ray back today (via Shanks).

That can't be good news for a guy that we are relying on to emerge as one of our top pitching prospects in the lower levels.

[Russ2dollas]

Go back to the padres well for renfroe? They need a Ss. Not sure how good he is.

We could also hold onto peraza for another year or more and still have him be young for his level. Then if Jace is getting expensive shop him and replace with peraza

[smootness]

Go back to the padres well for renfroe? They need a Ss. Not sure how good he is.

We could also hold onto peraza for another year or more and still have him be young for his level. Then if Jace is getting expensive shop him and replace with peraza

I am a Mississippi State fan, so I love Renfroe. And I love his potential. Before this year, I would have pulled the trigger on that in a heartbeat. But after his start to this year in AA and the way he finished there last year, I don't know if I would anymore. The potential is still there, but if he doesn't start figuring it out pretty quickly against advanced pitching, he may not ever do it.

[smootness]

Judge has an ISO of .210 this year and he's never had an ISO under .180 in his minor league career. He's always hit.

Judge is a fantastic prospect.

Eh, you're free to have that opinion, but I think even the most optimistic on him would come short of calling him a 'fantastic' prospect. He was ranked anywhere from about 50-75 before this year, and he's 23. He's not anywhere close to a stud prospect or no-doubter.

That ISO is fine; like I said, he's hitting well. But he's in AA as a 23-year-old. I've seen people compare him to Stanton, and Stanton posted a .416 ISO in AA...at age 20.

Kyle Schwarber is a big-time bat. He's 22 in AA right now and his ISO is .296. OPS is 200 points better than Judge's.

Again, Judge is a decent prospect, but he doesn't have the kind of power people think he has. A .210 ISO in AA isn't great for a power hitter, especially for a guy at that age. And the lack of great bat speed will likely widen the gap even more between him and the true power hitters as they see more advanced pitching.

[chop2chip]

Eh, you're free to have that opinion, but I think even the most optimistic on him would come short of calling him a 'fantastic' prospect. He was ranked anywhere from about 50-75 before this year, and he's 23. He's not anywhere close to a stud prospect or no-doubter.

That ISO is fine; like I said, he's hitting well. But he's in AA as a 23-year-old. I've seen people compare him to Stanton, and Stanton posted a .416 ISO in AA...at age 20.

Kyle Schwarber is a big-time bat. He's 22 in AA right now and his ISO is .296. OPS is 200 points better than Judge's.

Again, Judge is a decent prospect, but he doesn't have the kind of power people think he has. A .210 ISO in AA isn't great for a power hitter, especially for a guy at that age. And the lack of great bat speed will likely widen the gap even more between him and the true power hitters as they see more advanced pitching.

Keith Law has him ranked as the 16th best prospect in baseball in his latest prospect ranking. Fantastic is a subjective term, but it is fair to give a player that label that is highly regarded.

[smootness]

Keith Law has him ranked as the 16th best prospect in baseball in his latest prospect ranking. Fantastic is a subjective term, but it is fair to give a player that label that is highly regarded.

I just disagree. I see a guy who will probably never be anything more than a decent hitter who likely won't age well defensively given his size.

[chop2chip]

I just disagree. I see a guy who will probably never be anything more than a decent hitter who likely won't age well defensively given his size.

It's your right to have that opinion, but unless you have scouted him in person than I trust the consensus of prospect evaluators' opinion of his ability than your own.

[jimsnores]

Can someone remind me what's going on with Jordan Paroubeck? And while we are on the subject, is there anyone else in the minor league system other than Davidson (and maybe Ruiz, if he starts hitting) who is considered a potential power bat?

[50PoundHead]

Can someone remind me what's going on with Jordan Paroubeck? And while we are on the subject, is there anyone else in the minor league system other than Davidson (and maybe Ruiz, if he starts hitting) who is considered a potential power bat?

My guess is Paroubeck will play in Danville. He played in the Arizona Fall League last year (which is equivalent to the Gulf Coast League), so the Appalachian League is a logical next step. If he hits there, I could see him moving up to Rome before the end of the year.

[dylandavis18]

My guess is Paroubeck will play in Danville. He played in the Arizona Fall League last year (which is equivalent to the Gulf Coast League), so the Appalachian League is a logical next step. If he hits there, I could see him moving up to Rome before the end of the year.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the AFL isn't the equivalent of the GCL. Every organization sends promising prospects to the AFL for more seasoning against other highly touted prospects. I'm also curious to why it's taken Paroubeck so long to get going.

[dak]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the AFL isn't the equivalent of the GCL. Every organization sends promising prospects to the AFL for more seasoning against other highly touted prospects. I'm also curious to why it's taken Paroubeck so long to get going.

Yep, Paroubeck played in the Arizona League, which is different than the AFL. I've definitely confused those two leagues a time or two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_League

[dylandavis18]

Yep, Paroubeck played in the Arizona League, which is different than the AFL. I've definitely confused those two leagues a time or two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_League

Oh, big difference. Thanks for the clarification. I've lurked around on this board for a while but have to say the minor league threads are always the most intriguing to me. Want to say thanks for all the info Rico and everyone provides.