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Top Prospect Promotions: Travis, Lamet

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Here are the latest top prospect promotions of note:

  • The Red Sox have announced that first baseman Sam Travis has been called up for his first taste of the majors. The team demoted righty Hector Velazquez to create roster space. Travis, 23, missed much of last year with a torn ACL. He has hit well in 139 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, though, slashing .286/.353/.452 with four home runs while taking 13 walk against 24 strikeouts. Travis, a right-handed hitter, was taken in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Indiana University — where he was a teammate of young Cubs outfielder/catcher Kyle Schwarber — and currently rates third among Red Sox prospects in the eyes of MLB.com.
  • Meanwhile, the Padres will get their first look at interesting pitching prospect Dinelson Lamet, per Craig Mish of Sirius XM (Twitter links). He’ll start on Thursday, per the report. Lamet, 24, has shown well in his first full attempt at the highest level of the minors. After streaking through the system last year, he has started the current campaign with 39 innings of 3.23 ERA ball on the back of 11.5 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9. He opened the year rated tenth among Padres’ prospects, according to MLB.com, which noted that his ability to improve his command will likely dictate whether he can stay in the rotation for the long run.

Blue Jays To Promote Anthony Alford

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The Blue Jays are promoting top outfield prospect Anthony Alford to the Majors this afternoon, reports Jason Munz of the Hattiesburg American. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported yesterday that the team has been debating a promotion for Alford.

Alford, 22, entered the season as a consensus Top 100 prospect in the game, topping out at No. 55 on the list of ESPN’s Keith Law. His early play has done nothing but further that status, as Alford was off to an impressive .325/.411/.455 start to the season with three homers and nine stolen bases through 33 games with Double-A New Hampshire. Baseball America recently bumped him to No. 34 on their mid-May update of the league’s top 100 prospects.

Of course, it’s not clear that Alford’s promotion will be long-term in nature. The Jays issued a two-game suspension to Kevin Pillar yesterday, so they’re a bit short-handed in the outfield at the moment. Alford will give manager John Gibbons another option in the outfield, but it’s also possible that he could return to New Hampshire once Pillar is reinstated. The Jays did promote outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. in place of Pillar yesterday, but outfielder Darrell Ceciliani suffered a shoulder injury in last night’s game and could potentially be looking at DL time.

The Jays probably don’t want Alford to occupy a bench role when he could be gaining vital everyday at-bats in the minors, and there doesn’t appear to be an everyday role in the Majors unless there’s an injury that the club has yet to announce. Ezequiel Carrera has hit well in left field thus far, while Pillar has been sensational in center. Jose Bautista got off to a slow start in right field, but he’s hitting .289/.394/.542 over his past 23 games.

Indians Promote Bradley Zimmer, Designate Carlos Frias

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The Indians have selected the contract of top outfield prospect Bradley Zimmer, per a club announcement. To create 40-man roster space, the team designated righty Carlos Frias.

Cleveland also announced a few other corresponding moves. Righty Shawn Armstrong was recalled, as well, creating a need for two active roster spots. Those were cleared by placing outfielder Abraham Almonte on the 10-day DL and optioning utilityman Yandy Diaz.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians depth chart]

Zimmer, now 24, has been seen as a key future piece for the Indians ever since he was taken with the 21st overall pick of the draft back in 2014. (He spoke with MLBTR’s Steve Adams earlier that year.) He has been a consensus top-100 prospect entering each of the past two seasons, though he fell in some rankings due to a so-so 2016 campaign. In advance of the current campaign, MLB.com slotted Zimmer 22nd, Fangraphs had him at #45, Baseball America ranked him 62nd (now up to 54th in their updated list), and Baseball Prospectus had him at 80th. ESPN.com’s Keith Law dropped Zimmer out of his own top-100.

Bradley Zimmer | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The reasons for concern were rather clear. While Zimmer has the tools — raw power, good speed, and a quality glove that plays up the middle — he hadn’t yet put it all together. In 557 plate appearances in the upper minors last season, he slashed .250/.365/.425 with 15 home runs and 38 steals. But the bulk of the damage came at Double-A; over his 150 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors, Zimmer went down on strikes 37.3% of the time. The left-handed hitter also turned in a rough overall .179/.343/.250 batting line against left-handed pitching.

As MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian wrote this spring, Zimmer has worked hard to upgrade his swing mechanics. And that seems to be paying dividends. He hit well in the Arizona Fall League and has been clicking thus far at Triple-A, with a .294/.371/.532 slash. The swing-and-miss will likely always be a part of his game — Zimmer currently carries a 29.9% strikeout rate on the year — but he’s showing an ability to make more and better contact thus far. He has also reversed his results against southpaws — albeit in quite a small sample. Coupled with a typically selective approach, and some untapped power potential, there’s reason to hope that Zimmer could blossom into a high-end major league piece.

The move comes with potential contract implications. Zimmer will have the opportunity to accumulate as many as 138 days of MLB service this year, so long as he can hold onto an active roster spot the rest of the way. If he can stick in the majors from here on out, then, he’d have a solid chance of qualifying for an addition year of arbitration after the conclusion of the 2019 season. The cutoff for Super Two status has ranged between 2.122 and 2.146 years of service over the past eight years, landing at 2.131 last season. Regardless, the Indians will control him through at least 2023.

That all depends upon Cleveland’s intentions — as well as Zimmer’s performance. While this could constitute only a brief preview, the fact that the Indians moved him onto the 40-man roster suggests the team intends to rely on him for more than a temporary patch. So long as Zimmer is up for any extended period, it seems likely he’ll see fairly regular action — meaning he could have a chance to play himself into a permanent role for the defending American League champs.

To add Zimmer meant clearing space on the roster, so the Indians elected to bump Frias, who was acquired over the winter. The 27-year-old had struggled through 17 frames at Triple-A this year, allowing 17 earned runs while recording just eight strikeouts to go with nine walks. Over three years of action with the Dodgers at the major league level, splitting his time between starting and relieving, he has worked to a 4.50 ERA in 114 frames.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cubs Promote Ian Happ

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12:54pm: The Cubs have optioned righty Felix Pena to Iowa to make room for Happ, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

12:32pm: The Cubs will, in fact, promote Happ, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune writes (Twitter links). Happ will bat second and play right field for the Cubs today. No corresponding move has yet been announced.

11:28am: The Cubs could promote top prospect Ian Happ as a short-term replacement today as a result of injuries to Addison Russell, Jon Jay and Kris Bryant, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com’s tweets. Russell is currently listed as day-to-day with shoulder soreness. Jay left yesterday’s game due to back spasms, and Bryant sat out yesterday due to illness. A promotion would give Happ his first taste of big-league action. He is not yet on their 40-man roster.

The 22-year-old Happ was the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft out of the University of Cincinnati. He’s raced through the minors and is off to a hot start with Triple-A Iowa, batting .298/.362/.615 with nine homers in 116 plate appearances thus far in 2017. MLB.com currently rates him the No. 23 prospect in the game, with Baseball America placing him at No. 55 and ESPN’s Keith Law (Insiders only) at No. 63. MLB.com’s praises the switch-hitter’s bat speed and plate discipline, noting that he could eventually become a 20-20 player in the big leagues.

Happ has split his time between second base and the outfield as a pro, although MLB.com suggests his eventual destination is left field. The Cubs, of course, have Kyle Schwarber in left and Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist available at second, although they’re generally flexible in their lineup construction, and it doesn’t appear they’re planning to clear a permanent space for Happ right now anyway. If they were to promote him now, the move might well be temporary, as Muskat suggests — the Cubs have plenty of talent if everyone is healthy, and Happ has limited Triple-A experience and would likely become a Super Two player if he were to arrive in the big leagues and remain there.

Dodgers To Promote Cody Bellinger

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The Dodgers will promote top prospect Cody Bellinger, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). The 21-year-old will provide a left-handed-hitting option at first base and the corner outfield, though it’s unknown how long he’ll remain in the majors.

Cody Bellinger | Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Bellinger flew up top prospect charts with a strong 2016 season, in which he slashed .271/.365/.507 over 477 plate appearances, the vast bulk of them coming at Double-A. After an excellent stint in the Arizona Fall League, Bellinger sat at seventh among all prospects leaguewide in the ranking of Baseball America.

Since that time, Bellinger has taken Triple-A by storm. Through 77 trips to the plate, he owns a .343/.429/.627 batting line with five home runs and seven steals. Adding him to the active MLB roster, though, will require the creation of a 40-man space.

The Dodgers fielded trade inquiries on the blue-chip prospect over the winter, as they have recently for other hyped youngsters such as Corey Seager, Julio Urias, and Joc Pederson. But Los Angeles has held firm on those players, all of whom will now have reached the majors. With Pederson on the DL, a need arose for another outfield bat, and it’ll be Bellinger who gets the call — at least temporarily. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets, Bellinger is expected to see time in left and center.

Looking longer term, Bellinger’s promotion comes late enough into the season that his path to free agency would be delayed by one year, but not so late that he’d avoid Super Two status. If Bellinger remains in the Majors to stay, he’d accrue 159 days of Major League service time, putting on track to reach arbitration after the 2019 season and free agency upon completion of the 2023 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants To Promote Christian Arroyo, Designate Chris Marrero

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5:39pm: Struggling first baseman/outfielder Chris Marrero has been designated for assignment, Shea tweets. In the other corresponding move, veteran utilityman Aaron Hill was sent to the 10-day DL with a forearm strain.

5:24pm: The Giants will promote top infield prospect Christian Arroyo, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). Also joining the MLB roster is veteran outfielder Drew Stubbs, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).

Arroyo, who’s still just 21 years old, was taken 25th overall in the 2013 draft. Since, he has steadily moved up the ladder toward the majors, with the Giants facing steadily growing calls to give him a shot at the game’s highest level.

While there have been several opportunities, San Francisco has to this point kept the youngster in the pipeline. Arroyo struggled last year upon making the leap to Double-A, causing him to drop out of Baseball America’s listing of the top-100 prospects (though he remains 89th on MLB.com’s ranking) and further extending his timeline.

But that all changed with the beginning of the current season. The Giants have staggered out of the gates and will now be forced to navigate the tough NL West without ace Madison Bumgarner. Arroyo, meanwhile, has thrived in brief action at the game’s highest level. Through 69 plate appearances, he is slashing a robust .446/.478/.692. While he has drawn just a pair of walks, Arroyo has also gone down on strikes only eight times.

While he has played mostly at shortstop in the minors, Arroyo will line up at third base upon his arrival in San Francisco. Indeed, he’ll plug right into the lineup, taking the sixth spot in the batting order while starting at the hot corner tonight. Eduardo Nunez is playing in left field; presumably, he’ll see a good bit of time there while also stepping into the infield when needed.

Given that the season is only a few weeks old, Arroyo will be set up nicely to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player down the road — assuming, at least, that he can stick in the bigs from this point forward. If he entrenches himself in San Francisco, Arroyo would reach arbitration eligibility in advance of the 2020 season but not qualify for free agency until 2024.

Reds Promote Jesse Winker

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The Reds announced on Friday that they have promoted top outfield prospect Jesse Winker from Triple-A Louisville and optioned right-hander Barrett Astin to Louisville to clear a 25-man roster spot.

The 23-year-old Winker, the No. 49 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has long been rated among the game’s Top 100 prospects. While a wrist injury led to some diminished power output in 2016, which may have caused his stock to slip a bit, he still entered the season rated as the game’s No. 49 overall prospect on the Top 100 list of ESPN’s Keith Law. (More recently Law rated him 40th among prospects that opened the season in the minors.) Over at MLB.com, Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis ranked Winker as baseball’s No. 63 prospect.

Even with his power dip in 2016, Winker still posted a strong .303/.397/.384 batting line last year in Louisville. Winker’s plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills in Triple-A proved to be exceptional, as last season’s 59 walks matched his 59 strikeouts (both a 13.2 percent clip). In parts of six minor league seasons, Winker is a .296/.399/.454 hitter.

Law notes in his scouting report that Winker would likely have reached the Majors in 2016 were it not for the wrist injury. He further adds that Winker may not have the power to hit 20+ homers on an annual basis but could hit 10 to 15 per year with 30 to 35 doubles and an excellent on-base percentage. Callis and Mayo laud Winker’s bat and approach at the plate, noting that a below-average arm makes him best suited for left field, where he’ll be an otherwise acceptable defender.

The timing of the Reds’ promotion of Winker comes 12 days into the MLB season, meaning if he remains in the Majors from this point forth, he’d finish one day shy of a full year of service time. Of course, it’s far from clear that the Reds plan to keep Winker in the Majors through season’s end; to the contrary, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that this call-up for Winker may be a brief means of adding another bat while waiting until Sunday when they’ll need to add another starter.

While Winker may not be immediately thrust into a starter’s role, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he eventually does take on a larger role with the club at some point in 2017. He’s considered by most prospect analysts to be more or less big league ready, and while left field is currently locked up by Adam Duvall, the right field picture is less certain. Scott Schebler opened the season there, but he’s yet to solidify himself as an everyday Major Leaguer.

Padres Promote Margot, Renfroe, Hedges, Asuaje

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With the Triple-A postseason now complete, the Padres announced late Tuesday night that they have promoted top outfield prospects Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot as well as catcher Austin Hedges, second baseman Carlos Asuaje and lefties Buddy Baumann and Jose Torres in a final wave of September call-ups. Of the bunch, Renfroe and Margot rank firmly within the game’s top 100 prospects, while Asuaje ranks as one of the Padres’ best prospects after coming to San Diego alongside Margot in the Craig Kimbrel blockbuster. Hedges, meanwhile, is a former top 100 prospect in his own right that saw his rookie status expire while struggling in the Majors last season but enjoyed a monstrous season in Triple-A this year.

Manuel Margot

Starting with Margot, the 21-year-old center fielder currently ranks 16th, 20th, 27th and 39th on the respective midseason top prospect lists compiled by Baseball Prospectus, ESPN’s Keith Law, MLB.com and Baseball America. Margot was one of the headliners of the Padres’ return for Kimbrel and demonstrated many of the reasons that he’s so well-regarded with a strong 2016 season in which he batted .304/.351/.426 with six homers, 21 doubles, 12 triples and 30 stolen bases in 566 plate appearances at the Triple-A level despite being more than five years younger than the league’s average age.

Scouting reports peg Margot as a plus defensive center fielder due to his above-average speed and strong reads, and it should be mentioned that he racked up 18 outfield assists in Triple-A this year. His hit tool draws strong reviews as well, with the only real questions regarding his skill set centering around his power (or potential lack thereof). Even if he’s not a big threat in terms of clearing the fences, though, Margot profiles as a regular that works the count, hits for average, gets on base, steals bases and plays quality defense.

Hunter Renfroe

Renfroe, meanwhile, ranked 41st on MLB.com’s list, 43rd on BP’s and 66th on BA’s. The 24-year-old was the No. 13 overall pick back in 2013, and while his arrival to the Majors took longer than some might’ve anticipated, he’s hit quite well in parts of two seasons with Triple-A, slashing a combined .310/.339/.568 with 36 homers in 154 games. Those numbers, of course, are aided somewhat by the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and it’d be encouraging to see Renfroe walk in more than four percent of his Triple-A plate appearances. But, his 20.5 percent strikeout rate isn’t through the roof, and the reports on him laud his raw power and bat speed as well as his arm strength in right field (where he fell just shy of Margot with 17 outfield assists this season). Even if his discipline never improves, Renfroe could be an power-oriented regular with an OBP in the low .300s and solid defense in right field.

Turning to Asuaje, MLB.com rates him 20th among San Diego farmhands and praises his contact skills, hand-eye coordination and gap power/line-drive stroke. Asuaje is listed at 5’9″ and 160 pounds, so the odds of him ever hitting for much power, especially playing his home games at Petco Park, are fairly long. though MLB.com’s report on him does mention his “surprising” pop and give him a chance to crack double digits in homers. The 24-year-old Asuaje was brilliant with El Paso this season, hitting .321/.378/.473 with nine homers, 32 doubles and 11 triples.  He’ll be in the mix for the second base job in 2017, and even if he loses out to breakout slugger Ryan Schimpf or a returning Cory Spangenberg, Asuaje could crack the roster as a utility player. He’s appeared at third base, left field and (briefly) shortstop throughout his minor league tenure and could help the Friars at a number of positions.

Hedges didn’t receive the call-up that many (myself included) were anticipating earlier this season due largely to the fact that Derek Norris played himself out of a potential trade by hitting just .183/.253/.320. With Norris and the out-of-options Christian Bethancourt serving as manager Andy Green’s primary receivers in the bigs, the Padres left Hedges at El Paso to continue to hone his offensive skills, and he delivered in a big way, hitting .326/.353/.597 with 21 homers. That’s a critical development for a player who has long been touted for standout defense but had previously struggled to hit. Hedges batted a woeful .168/.215/.248 in 152 MLB PAs last season, and the .225/.272/.314 slash he compiled in 133 career games at the Double-A level was concerning as well. Now, with such an impressive 2016 season in his back pocket, it’s easy to envision the Padres finding a way to clear a roster spot for him in 2017.

Neither Baumann nor Torres ranks among San Diego’s top minor leaguers, but both had strong minor league seasons. Baumann posted a 3.14 ERA with a 31-to-12 K/BB ratio in 28 2/3 innings, and the 28-year-old will return to the Padres for a third stint this year. Torres, just 22, split the 2016 campaign across three minor league levels after beginning in Class-A Advanced and compiled a 2.24 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings of relief.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros To Promote David Paulino

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The Astros have decided to call up right-handed pitching prospect David Paulino, according to Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Because he already held a 40-man roster spot, no corresponding move will be required.

Paulino, a towering 22-year-old righty, drew top-100 prospect consideration entering the year from Baseball America. And he has largely continued that momentum, improving to 47th on BA’s midseason top 100 and rating as MLB.com’s 76th-best prospect in the game on their own midseason rankings.

The appeal here is obvious: Paulino has a huge frame and a mid-nineties heater to go with a quality curve. His third pitch, a change, is somewhat less developed but seems to hold the promise of being a useful major league offering. Paulino comes with a big ceiling, scouts say, but it remains to be seen how the entire package will translate at the major league level.

Paulino has impressed thus far in 2016, at least when he has been on the mound. He served a suspension for a violation of team rules in the middle of the year — the situation remains murky — meaning that he has only accumulated 90 total frames on the season. That still rates as a career-high for a hurler who had undergone Tommy John surgery before he was sent from the Tigers to the Astros as the player to be named later in the Jose Veras trade.

Despite that hiccup, Paulino obvious did enough to convince the Astros brass that he was worthy of a shot at the majors. He burned through Double-A, posting a 1.83 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 over 64 frames, earning a bump to the highest level of the minors. Though Paulino has allowed 16 hits and six earned runs over his 14 frames (spread over three starts) at Triple-A, he has managed to compile an appealing 20:6 K/BB ratio.

For the ’Stros, it’s hard not to wonder whether there’s at least some connection between the move and the recent loss of staff ace Dallas Keuchel. While Paulino’s precise role remains unclear, the injury to Keuchel may have made the organization more willing to roll the dice on an unproven arm — whether in the rotation or some kind of relief role. Even if it is somewhat sub-optimal to rely on Paulino at this stage, he certainly delivers some upside and didn’t require any roster maneuvering.

As for service-time considerations, the move will obviously get Paulino’s ticker started. If he opens the 2017 season in the majors, then the extra days of action will have no impact. If, however, the Astros decide they’d like to further delay his free agency, then time spent in the bigs this season will extend the number of days he’d need to stay down next year.

Dodgers To Promote Jose De Leon

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The Dodgers are set to promote highly-rated pitching prospect Jose De Leon, according to reports from MLB.com’s Bill Shaikin (via Twitter) as well as Robert Murray and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). He is expected to take the ball on Sunday.

Feb 27, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jose De Leon poses for a portrait during photo day at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The 24-year-old came into the year with top-fifty overall prospect billing. Though he was handled cautiously early due to some health concerns, De Leon has done nothing but boost his stock since resuming action.

Over his 86 1/3 Triple-A frames thus far, the youngster has compiled a 2.61 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 while allowing only 61 base hits. The dominant showing represents the culmination of a remarkable developmental path.

A 24th-round draft pick out of Southern University and A&M College, De Leon did not start his professional career with any fanfare. And he didn’t really make it onto the prospect map until 2014. As Baseball America explained last winter, the righty has enhanced his athleticism, improved his mechanics, and honed his pitches significantly since the Dodgers added him to their system.

The BA scouting report notes that De Leon is able to spot his low-to-mid-nineties heater. He pairs that with a quality change and useful curve. MLB.com, which currently ranks De Leon the sixth-best right-handed pitching prospect in baseball, also crediting him with having worked hard to improve over the years.

Now, the Dodgers will test De Leon at the highest level of the game, beginning with an outing against the Padres. He’ll join fellow prized young talent Jose Urias on the MLB staff, and could end up playing an important role as the club seeks to hold off the Giants in the NL West.

While the delayed start to the year may not have been optimal in all regards, it does seem to mean that De Leon won’t have many restrictions down the stretch. He reached 114 1/3 innings last year, so he ought to be able to take the ball every fifth day and/or work into the postseason without any concern that he is being over-extended.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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