Top Prospect Promotions

Cardinals Promote Tyler O’Neill

By Jeff Todd | April 19, 2018 at 9:20am CDT

April 19: The Cardinals have formally announced the promotion. Right-hander John Brebbia was optioned to Memphis in place of O’Neill.

April 18: The Cardinals plan to promote outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill, according to MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. A corresponding move is not yet known, but will occur before tomorrow’s scheduled contest.

O’Neill, who was acquired last summer in a swap that sent young pitcher Marco Gonzales to the Mariners, will receive his first shot in the majors. The former third-round pick was widely rated as one of the game’s hundred best prospects entering each of the past two seasons.

Though O’Neill only received a dozen plate appearances this spring owing to injury, he has certainly earned the chance after going on a tear to open the season at Triple-A. Over his 52 plate appearances, the right-handed hitter carries a .388/.385/.837 slash with six home runs. He carried .800+ OPS marks in the upper minors in 2016 and 2017, so there’s little left for him to show at the plate.

Of course, whether he’ll carry that productivity into the majors is the big question — as it is for any prospect. O’Neill draws walks at a decent rate but has shown some swing and miss. If he can make enough contact, O’Neill is viewed as having a chance at becoming an everyday right fielder at the game’s highest level.

It’s also not yet clear whether O’Neill is slated to receive a full opportunity to prove he belongs. He may just provide some depth while the club evaluates Tommy Pham’s status after he experienced groin tightness in last night’s game. The Cards’ outfield mix currently includes three right-handed hitters (Pham, Marcell Ozuna, and Harrison Bader) and the switch-hitting Dexter Fowler, so there isn’t a clear opportunity in the near-term.

Regardless of how long he stays in the Majors this time around, be it for one day or for the remainder of the season, enough time has already passed that the Cardinals will be able to control O’Neill through at least the 2024 season.

*An earlier version of this post mistakenly identified O’Neill as a left-handed hitter.

Angels To Promote Jaime Barria

By Steve Adams | April 9, 2018 at 3:16pm CDT

The Angels will promote top prospect Jaime Barria to make his Major League debut in a start against the Rangers on Wednesday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

Barria, 21, entered the season rated by ESPN’s Keith Law as the game’s No. 62 overall prospect (subscription link). The Panamanian-born righty is already on the Angels’ 40-man roster, so the team will only need to make a 25-man roster move to bring him up to the big leagues.

It’s been a quick rise through the minors for Barria, who opened the 2017 season in Class-A Advanced but ascended to Triple-A and finished out the year with a combined 2.80 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 through 141 2/3 innings. The 6’1″, 210-pound righty has been an extreme fly-ball pitcher in his minor league tenure, with last year’s fly-ball rates ranging from 48.1 percent in Class-A Advanced (65 1/3 innings) to 58.5 percent in Triple-A (14 2/3 innings). Law’s report describes Barria as a three-pitch, command-and-control oriented starter who lacks a true plus pitch but comes with a high floor as a fourth starter (with the potential to develop into more).

Barria’s promotion was largely necessitated by injuries to Angels starters Andrew Heaney, Matt Shoemaker and J.C. Ramirez. The start likely would’ve gone to Parker Bridwell, though he needs to spend at least 10 days in the minors after being optioned on the heels of his April 6 start for the Halos. As for Heaney (who is nearing a return) and Nick Tropeano, Fletcher tweets that that duo could be in line to start on Thursday and Friday for the Angels.

It’s not clear if he’ll remain in the big leagues beyond his initial start, though it seems likely that the Halos will option Barria back to the minors at some point. If Barria were to stick in the Majors for good beyond Wednesday’s promotion, he’d accrue just enough service time to qualify for free agency following the 2023 season. A bit more additional minor league time, however, would delay his path to free agency until the end of the 2024 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Yankees Place Billy McKinney On DL, Recall Miguel Andujar

By Connor Byrne | March 31, 2018 at 6:15pm CDT

Another day, another injury for the Yankees’ outfield. Billy McKinney is headed to the disabled list after crashing into the left field wall at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on an attempted catch Saturday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to report. The Yankees will recall third baseman Miguel Andujar to take McKinney’s spot on their 25-man roster.

The rookie McKinney suffered an AC sprain in his left shoulder, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, which forced him to leave the Yankees’ 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays in the first inning. The Yankees then subbed in Brett Gardner, who had been scheduled for an off day, to take McKinney’s place in left. Gardner joined Aaron Judge in center (his first big league game at the position) and Giancarlo Stanton in right to comprise New York’s outfield.

With Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier also on the DL, the Yankees’ vaunted outfield has taken a beating early this season. They still have the enviable Judge-Stanton-Gardner trio intact, of course, but the depth behind them is now lacking. Potential backups on the big league roster include third baseman Brandon Drury, who played 94 games in the Diamondbacks’ outfield in 2016, utilityman Tyler Wade and first baseman Tyler Austin – both of whom bring some outfield experience to the table. The Yankees also have veteran Shane Robinson in the organization, but he’s not on their 40-man roster.

Andujar, 23, may slot in at both third and first in his second major league call-up. He vied for the Yankees’ third base job during the spring, but the late-February acquisition of Drury made it unlikely he’d open the season in the majors. Andujar appeared in five of the team’s games last year, which he mostly spent at the Triple-A level. He slashed an outstanding .317/.364/.502 in 250 PAs at the minors’ highest level in 2017, leading to his soaring stock as a prospect. Andujar’s a highly regarded youngster who ranks as FanGraphs’ 14th-best prospect.

Phillies Sign Scott Kingery To Long-Term Deal

By Connor Byrne | March 25, 2018 at 2:51pm CDT

2:51pm: The contract includes a $1.5MM signing bonus, per Gelb, who also has the yearly breakdown. Kingery will earn $750K this year, $1.25MM in 2019, $1.5MM in 2020, $4MM in 2021, $6MM in 2022 and $8MM in 2023. Additionally, there’s a $1MM buyout for the first option, $500K for the second, and $250K for the third, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).

2:14pm: The Phillies have signed second base prospect Scott Kingery to a six-year contract through the 2023 campaign, according to a team announcement. It’s worth $24MM in guarantees, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. The pact also features club options for the 2024, ’25 and ’26 seasons, meaning it could cancel out three of Kingery’s free-agent years. Those options are worth $13MM, $14MM and $15MM, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports. Kingery is a client of PSI Sports Management.

Kingery’s payday is a record-breaking amount for a player who has never appeared in the majors, easily beating out the five-year, $10MM guarantee the Astros gave first baseman Jon Singleton (an ex-Phillies prospect) back in 2014. Kingery and Singleton are the only two players to ever receive long-term deals before debuting in the majors. The Singleton contract hasn’t worked out at all for the Astros, but the Phillies weren’t going to let that deter them from wrapping up Kingery for the long haul.

The news of the 23-year-old Kingery’s accord comes on the heels of his first big league promotion, which was reported earlier Sunday. Service time looked to be a concern prior to the announcement of the deal, but that obviously won’t be an issue now for the Phillies, who expect Kingery to emerge as an important major leaguer this season.

Kingery, who joined the Phillies in Round 2 of the 2015 draft, saw his stock soar last year after slashing .313/.379/.608 (166 wRC+) with 18 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 317 Double-A plate appearances. The righty-swinger earned a promotion to Triple-A as a result of that production and also performed well at that level, where he batted .294/.337/.449 (117 wRC+) with eight homers and 10 steals in 286 PAs.

Thanks to his breakout 2017 showing, Kingery ranks as MLB.com’s 35th-best prospect. The outlet lauds his “advanced approach” at the plate and “plus speed,” noting that he has the upside of an everyday second baseman. The Phillies already have a quality second baseman in Cesar Hernandez, who accounted for 7.6 fWAR from 2016-17, so it’s unclear how often Kingery will play there in the near term.

Even if Hernandez continues to hold down the keystone for the time being, Kingery could factor in elsewhere. Although nearly all of Kingery’s minor league action came at second, manager Gabe Kapler suggested earlier this spring that the player could fill a super-utility role in the majors (via Matt Gelb of The Athletic; subscription required).

“He can play in the big leagues at many different positions,” Kapler said. “He can play second base, he can play shortstop, he can play centerfield. There’s no doubt in my mind that he can handle third base. He can handle both corners. In theory, that’s an exciting role for Scott.”

For the most part, the Phillies look well positioned in the infield (depth chart), where big-money first baseman Carlos Santana and touted shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford will join Hernandez in starting roles. Third baseman Maikel Franco has been a disappointment, however, and could cede his spot to Kingery if he continues to struggle this year. The Phillies are also talented in the outfield, where slugger Rhys Hoskins will play left and Odubel Herrera will continue to handle center. Right field’s less certain, although both Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr impressed last season.

Regardless of where Kingery lines up in 2018 and beyond, it’s obvious the Phillies regard him as an integral core piece and someone who can help them return to relevance. Philadelphia is mired in a six-year playoff drought and hasn’t finished .500 or better since 2012. The franchise looks to be on the upswing, though, in part because of Kingery’s potential.

Along with Kingery and the rest of the Phillies’ previously mentioned talent on the position player side, they made a bold strike in free agency in signing former Cubs ace Jake Arrieta to a three-year, $75MM contract. They also have budding star righty Aaron Nola under control through 2021. Plus, given that the Phillies have the capability to spend among the league’s top teams (as seen with the Santana and Arrieta signings), they should be in play for other established free agents in future offseasons.

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia first reported the news. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rangers To Promote Willie Calhoun

By Jeff Todd | September 11, 2017 at 11:44pm CDT

The Rangers have given notice to prospect Willie Calhoun that he will be called up, as his brother and girlfriend announced on Twitter and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News confirms in a tweet. Calhoun came to Texas as the headliner in the deadline blockbuster that sent ace Yu Darvish to the Dodgers.

Calhoun, 22, entered the season as a top-100 prospect leaguewide and has steadily raised his stock throughout the year. He’s carrying a .300/.355/.572 batting line with 31 home runs over 534 plate appearances at Triple-A in his first attempt at the highest level of the minors. While he doesn’t draw all that many walks, Calhoun has struck out only 61 times all season.

Predominantly a second baseman in the Los Angeles system, Calhoun has shifted to the outfield since arriving at Round Rock. It seems reasonably likely that he’ll line up there at the MLB level both now and into the future, though that’ll be determined by his play on the field.

It’s not immediately clear how Calhoun will be used over the next couple of weeks, but he could provide instant offense with his potent left-handed bat. As Grant explains, the Rangers have recently lots several key players to injury. While there’s plenty of depth around with rosters having expanded, none of the team’s fill-in options possess Calhoun’s potential as a hitter.

Despite selling at the deadline, the Rangers have held on in a messy race race for the second AL Wild Card that still features seven clubs (including Texas) within three and a half games of the berth. Beyond the need to create room on the 40-man roster, there’s little downside to calling upon Calhoun, who likely would’ve forced his way into the MLB picture in 2018 regardless.

At this stage of the season, of course, the youngster won’t have much opportunity to build up MLB service time (just 18 days, in fact). But he could well find himself in a position to force his way into the team’s plans for early next season — and might well be a strong possibility to appear on a postseason roster if the Rangers can sneak in.

Nationals Promote Victor Robles

By Jeff Todd | September 7, 2017 at 1:20pm CDT

1:58pm: Washington has announced the move. Outfielders Rafael Bautista and Andrew Stevenson will accompany Robles to the majors after receiving some MLB time earlier, which will leave the club with an abundance of outfield possibilities over the next few weeks.

The Nats moved righty Erick Fedde to the 60-day DL to clear the needed roster space. Washington decided to give Robles a chance when Goodwin suffered a setback, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets.

1:20pm: In a surprise move, the Nationals will promote top outfield prospect Victor Robles, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). He’ll require a 40-man roster spot when the move is formalized.

Robles, who’s still just twenty years of age, has yet to play above the Double-A level. But the Dominican native, who signed for only $225K back in 2013, is widely regarded as one of the game’s ten or so best overall prospects, with scouts widely praising his across-the-board gifts.

Certainly, Robles has done nothing this year to detract from that lofty status. He continued to produce after earning a promotion to the penultimate level of the minors after opening the year at High-A. Through 496 total plate appearances on the season, Robles carries a .300/.382/.493 batting line with ten home runs and 27 steals.

Notably, Robles did not need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft over the coming offseason, so he would not have needed a 40-man spot this winter. And the Nats have little need for an extra player over the final weeks of the season with a division title almost secured already, which hints at other motives.

The move seemingly suggests, rather, that Robles is expected to factor in the team’s plans for the near future. While it’d rate as a surprise were he to play his way onto the postseason roster this season, perhaps that can’t be ruled out. With Jayson Werth set to reach free agency at the end of the year, it’s also conceivable that Robles could stake a claim to a job for 2018.

Perhaps the likeliest scenario, though, would be for Robles to follow the path of Trea Turner, who returned to the minors to open the 2016 season after getting his first cup of coffee in 2015. Robles has spent most of his professional career in center field, making him an ideal fit for the near-future Nats roster. While the club will expect Adam Eaton to be fully healthy in 2018, he’s best utilized in a corner spot. Michael Taylor and Brian Goodwin could make for a solid platoon pairing in center if they can sustain some of the strides they’ve shown this year, so there shouldn’t be too much immediate pressure on Robles to prove himself a permanent fixture, but nobody would complain if the young phenom forces the team’s hand.

Orioles Designate Jayson Aquino, Promote Austin Hays

By Steve Adams | September 5, 2017 at 5:26pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they’ve promoted outfield prospect Austin Hays to the Majors and designated left-hander Jayson Aquino to clear space on the 40-man roster. Hays will be making his Major League debut the first time he enters a game for the O’s.

The 22-year-old Hays has ridden a monster season in the minors to the No. 97 slot on MLB.com’s list of the game’s top 100 prospects and to his first MLB promotion. The 2016 third-rounder opened the year in Class-A Advanced and slashed .328/.364/.592 with 16 homers through 280 plate appearances before being bumped to Double-A Bowie. Remarkably, Hays posted a near-identical .330/.367/.594 batting line with, again, 16 home runs in 283 PAs following that promotion.

Aquino, 24, has spent the past two seasons in the Orioles organization but has totaled just 15 2/3 frames in the Majors. He’s logged a disappointing 6.32 ERA in that time to go along with a 16-to-6 K/BB ratio. Aquino has posted more appealing numbers in Triple-A, though, working to a 4.24 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 114 2/3 innings out of the Norfolk rotation in 2017.

Braves Promote Luiz Gohara

By Jeff Todd | September 5, 2017 at 11:27am CDT

The Braves have selected the contract of young lefty Luiz Gohara and scheduled him for his MLB debut tonight, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported. Atlanta will push back Julio Teheran, who had been scheduled to start.

Gohara, who only recently turned 21, came to the Atlanta organization in an offseason swap that also netted the Braves interesting relief prospect Thomas Burrows. The Mariners originally signed Gohara out of his native Brazil in time for him to join the organization briefly in 2013; due to a rules quirk, he was not eligible for the Rule 5 draft last year but would have been this coming winter.

With the Braves set to add Gohara to the 40-man roster anyway, then, the club decided to give him a taste of the majors before ending his whirlwind campaign. He has already thrown far more innings (123 2/3) than ever before, spread across three levels of the minors.

Gohara opened the season at High-A, marking his first experience there. But it wasn’t long before he moved up to Double-A, where he threw well enough to merit another bump to the highest level of the minors. All told, Gohara carries a 2.62 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 on the year.

As he has swiftly ascended the ladder, Gohara has climbed prospect ranking charts. ESPN.com’s Keith Law (#39), Baseball America (#77), and MLB.com (#91) have all moved him into their rankings of the game’s top prospects. While conditioning and durability remain long-term concerns for the talented southpaw, he has certainly shown this year that he is capable of converting his big-time raw stuff into productivity over the course of a full season.

It’s not yet known whether Gohara will have a shot at earning a rotation spot out of camp next year, but he could force the club’s hand with a big showing to end the season. For now, Atlanta will be content watching another interesting young arm rise to the majors. The team has already called up Sean Newcomb, Max Fried, and Lucas Sims for their first MLB action this year.

Dodgers To Promote Walker Buehler

By Jeff Todd | September 4, 2017 at 6:11pm CDT

The Dodgers will promote top pitching prospect Walker Buehler for his first taste of the majors on Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts told reporters including J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). Los Angeles will need to open a 40-man spot to make the addition.

Buehler, 23, starred at Vanderbilt before the Dodgers took him with the 24th overall pick of the 2015 draft. He underwent Tommy John surgery just after becoming a professional, but has steadily raised his stock since finally taking the hill late last year.

Prospect analysts were already excited by Buehler before the 2017 season, as he entered some top-100 lists despite a track record that went just five innings deep. Buehler has rewarded that and then some so far in his first full campaign as a pro.

Buehler opened the year at the High-A level, but quickly earned a promotion after overwhelming the competition there. He then turned in 11 quality starts at Double-A, recording a 3.49 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

By the time Buehler was nearing a move to the highest level of the minors, he was streaking up the mid-season prospect charts. Baseball America listed him 17th among all prospects leaguewide, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law tabbing him the 11th-best pre-MLB player.

Los Angeles has slowed things down a bit as Buehler nears one hundred frames on the season. He has moved to a relief role at Oklahoma City — where he hasn’t been quite as dominant — and will remain in the pen upon reaching the majors.

Whether or not this stint will be more than an opportunity for Buehler to dip his toes in the water remains to be seen, though it’s perhaps not inconceivable that the talented youngster could force his way into postseason roster consideration. Regardless, now that he’s taking up residence on the 40-man roster, it’s clear that he’ll factor into the team’s pitching plans for 2018 (and well beyond). Since he’ll only pick up about 25 days of service, Los Angeles will still be able to manage his accumulation of service time moving forward to the extent that the club wishes to delay his entry into arbitration and free agency.

Phillies To Promote J.P. Crawford

By Jeff Todd | September 4, 2017 at 5:03pm CDT

The Phillies will promote long-time top shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford, Tom Housenick of The Morning Call reports on Twitter. He will need a 40-man roster spot before he can be called up.

Crawford, 22, has been viewed as one of the game’s elite prospects for the past two or three years. While evaluators mostly forgave a less-than-inspiring run at Triple-A in 2016, though, they began to raise questions about Crawford’s outlook as he struggled there again this year.

On mid-season ranking lists, Crawford plummeted. He currently rates 60th on MLB.com’s listing and 92nd on Baseball America’s, while missing on a spot amongst the top fifty prospects named over the summer by ESPN.com’s Keith Law.

The change of heart seemingly motivated the former 16th overall draft pick, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote recently. Indeed, Crawford has been on a tear of late. In sixty games since the start of July, he’s slashing .284/.383/.533 with a dozen home runs. It’s especially promising to see the power coming for a player who is most known for his glovework and on-base/contact ability.

Philadelphia will hope that Crawford can maintain that momentum with him to the majors. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s utilized upon his arrival. Freddy Galvis has moved around of late, opening some daylight at shortstop, though Crawford himself has spent some time appearing at other positions. Ultimately, the organization surely hopes that Crawford will take over everyday duties at short, so he’ll likely have an opportunity to stake a claim that job at some point.

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