Minor League Barometer: Farming for Prospects

With Travis Shaw going on paternity leave, the Brewers made an interesting decision. Instead of calling up top prospect Lewis Brinson, the club instead decided to call up Brett Phillips. Both are outfielders and both are 23 years of age. Phillips is no slouch of a prospect himself, and maybe the fact that he's a left-handed batter played a role in his promotion. Still, while Phillips has shown a tad more power thus far this season at Triple-A, he's fanned 60 times in 49 games and does not quite possess the same type of plate discipline as Brinson. Perhaps the Brewers wanted to be sure that the Super-Two deadline passed before promoting Brinson, or maybe they didn't want to shuttle their top prospect back and forth with Shaw due back in a few days anyway. It actually may be as simple as the lefty vs. righty distinction. However, we have seen with the cases of Cody Bellinger and Ian Happ that if a prospect hits, he will stay in the big leagues. As such, Brinson could have gotten his feet wet in the bigs and maybe even stuck around. Instead, Phillips gets the nod with a chance to prove himself over the next couple of games.

Who else is making moves in the prospect realm? Let's take a look in this week's Minor League Barometer.

UPGRADE

Kyle Funkhouser, P, DET – Funkhouser didn't sign with the Dodgers in 2015, only to slip to the fourth round in 2016 and join the Tigers. Still, LA's loss may be Detroit's gain, as the 23-year-old righty has been dazzling in his first taste of full-season ball. Funkhouser stormed through Low-A in seven starts, posting a 3.16 ERA and 49:13 K:BB in 31.1 innings. If possible, he's been better since being promoted to High-A, notching a 2.33 ERA and 24:1 K:BB. Yes, you read that correctly. The combination of missing bats and keeping the ball down has been deadly for the opposition. If he can keep his velocity up and continue to develop his secondary pitches, Funkhouser may prove those critics wrong that said he could be no more than an innings eater.

Taylor Trammell, OF, CIN – Trammell has been scorching of late for Low-A Dayton, batting .368 over his last 10 games. Trammell has impressive speed, parlaying those jets into 14 steals through 49 games. The left-hander is still developing a power stroke, which the Reds expect to improve as the teenager matures and fills out. Perhaps most impressively, he's already walked 28 times, showing patience well beyond his years at the dish. Trammell is still a few years away from making an impact at the big league level, but he's showing plenty of upside for the Reds.

Bradley Jones, 1B/3B, TOR – The Blue Jays' Low-A Affiliate in Lansing is ripe with incredible young talent, most notably Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette. However, the 21-year-old Jones, an 18th round pick in last year's draft, more than held his own among the phenoms and was rewarded with a promotion to High-A. The College of Charleston product slashed.326/.394/.560 with nine home runs, 39 RBI and three steals in 49 games. Jones will have to work on his plate discipline as he ascends to the higher levels, but he has shown plus power along with the ability to snag a bag or two. With Josh Donaldson possibly on the trading block and Rowdy Tellez struggling at Triple-A, Jones could end up working his way into Toronto's future plans if he stays hot.

Carson Kelly, C, STL – The 22-year-old backstop may be having his breakout season at Triple-A Memphis. Kelly already has seven home runs through 39 games; his previous career high for a single season is eight dingers. Meanwhile, Kelly is slashing .317/.399/.532 for the Redbirds. He has almost as many walks (17) as strikeouts, showing an extremely advanced approach at the dish. The only question that remains for Kelly is where he ends up playing for the Cardinals. Yadier Molina just signed an extension and isn't going anywhere. While Kelly is a nice insurance policy, it appears he could be starting somewhere else in short order. As a result, Kelly could end up being trade bait, as the Cardinals are right in the thick of the most hotly contested division in baseball.

CHECK STATUS

Cedric Mullins, OF, BAL – Mullins made a triumphant return from the Disabled List this past Sunday, cracking a home run for Double-A Bowie. A hamstring injury had sidelined him for most of the 2017 campaign, though he is still hitting .369 with five home runs, 12 RBI and three steals through 15 games at this level. Mullins skipped High-A outright after tallying 14 home runs and 30 steals in 124 games at Low-A in 2016. The 22-year-old outfielder has plus speed along with much more pop than anticipated for a player listed at 5-foot-8, 175-lbs. If his unprecedented power keeps up, Mullins could be a hidden gem for the O's.

Alex Verdugo, OF, LAD – From a pure hitting perspective, there are few players in the minors that can rival Verdugo. Despite being just 21 years of age, he is batting .306 with a .385 On-Base Percentage through 48 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City. His bat speed is impeccable. However, Verdugo has just one home run and two stolen bases over that span. In fact, Verdugo has never hit more than 13 home runs in a single year, and has never swiped more than 14 bags in any one season. Verdugo is an excellent fielder, though, so this may simply end up being a case where Verdugo is a better actual player than fantasy commodity.

Nick Gordon, SS, MIN – The 21-year-old Gordon may finally be living up to his lofty potential. Gordon is batting .295/.366/.471 with four home runs, 28 RBI and three steals through 52 games for Double-A Chattanooga. Gordon has certainly shown he can handle the bat during his time in the minors, and he has already established a new career high in home runs this season. That being said, his stolen base production has been a tad disappointing, and he has still fanned 49 times in those 52 contests, not exactly ideal numbers for a future leadoff hitter. Nevertheless, Gordon remains in the plans of the future for the Twinkies, possibly as early as 2018.

Marcus Wilson, OF, ARI – The toolsy Wilson could emerge as a chic pickup for fantasy squads due to his intriguing combination of power and speed. Wilson has also proven that he is not afraid to take a walk. While his strikeouts remain a tad high, the 20-year-old outfielder is taking care of business for the Cougars, slashing .310/.409/.529 with seven home runs, 30 RBI and eight steals through 41 games for Low-A Kane County. His strikeouts have not increased with the sudden uptick in power, though. Add in his average being over .300, and Wilson is certainly a prospect to keep an eye on as the season progresses. A promotion to High-A could be coming shortly.

DOWNGRADE

Mitch Keller, P, PIT – A temporary downgrade for Keller, who remains on the Disabled List with what is being deemed as a relatively minor back injury. Prior to the injury, Keller was living up to the hype as one of the better pitching phenoms in the game, though. He had a 2.93 ERA and 39:8 K:BB in 40 innings for High-A Bradenton. However, back injuries can be fickle, so the Pirates will likely proceed cautiously with their prized hurler. There is also the 800-pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk about; the Pirates have not exactly been superb in developing frontline starters. Gerrit Cole has been good, not great. Tyler Glasnow is a rookie but is currently getting lit up. Certainly Jameson Taillon's battle with testicular cancer is simply bad luck. That being said, the last 20-game winner for the Pirates was John Smiley in 1991, and the last Cy Young Award Winner was Doug Drabek in 1990. Keller is trying to stop a disturbing trend for the Bucs, if Glasnow or Taillon don't do it first.

Tyler O'Neill, OF, SEA – O'Neill may have finally hit a wall, as he is batting just .217/.284/.379 through 54 games for Triple-A Tacoma. The power-hitting outfielder has been unable to take advantage of the friendly hitting confines of the Pacific Coast League, hitting just five home runs over that span. He has been punched out 60 times already in 2017, and the strikeouts are much more unappetizing when not accompanied by a bevy of home runs and RBI. At just 21 years of age, O'Neill has some time to work out the kinks and adjust to the pitching at this level, though his strikeout problems are not likely to go away anytime soon, as this has been a constant issue throughout his time in the minors.

Duane Underwood, P, CHC – The prospect luster appears to have worn off for Underwood, who may be ticketed to the bullpen. He can't seem to stay healthy, and when he does, he allows too many walks and home runs. This is obviously a deadly combination. Underwood has an ugly 5.51 ERA through 10 starts for Double-A Tennessee in 2017. That's the worst ERA in the Southern ERA among qualified starters. He's walked 20 batters in 50.2 innings, and his days of being virtually unhittable seem so distant. The 22-year-old righty can look like a future rotation anchor with three stellar pitches one moment, then a lost middle reliever the very next inning. He allowed 12 hits and nine earned runs in just 3.2 innings in his last outing. Underwood has clearly tumbled down the organizational rankings for the Cubbies.

Jorge Alfaro, C, PHI – I am less than enthused about Alfaro's plate discipline, to put it mildly. In 44 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the 23-year-old backstop has fanned 58 times while drawing just three walks. Alfaro has never been much for taking pitches at any level, but this is in another stratosphere. The concern here is that the jump from Triple-A to the majors is the biggest transition of all. What will happen to Alfaro once he gets to Philly? His game behind the plate has improved tremendously, and catchers always have a different set of standards than other hitters. That being said, big league pitchers will know how to use his aggressiveness against him. It's a huge red flag for Alfaro, even if his power stroke returns.