Minor League Barometer: September Looms

The longer Ronald Acuna hits this way, the more likely it becomes that the Braves will decide to promote him when rosters expand in September. The teenaged phenom is not on the 40-man roster, but that may be the only thing standing in his way at this point. Nearly 40 games into his Triple-A stint, the 19-year-old Acuna is slashing .355/.417/.618 with eight home runs, 23 RBI and four stolen bases. Acuna's power stroke has developed much quicker than anyone anticipated, as he's bashed 20 home runs across three levels in 2017. With 37 steals and a superb batting average, Acuna has little left to prove in the minors. The Braves have been aggressive with their prospects in the past, with both positive and negative results. The team doesn't want to ruin any of his confidence should he struggle with the big club in September, and may end up deciding to wait until 2018 for his MLB debut. That being said, if he comes to the bigs and continues to rake, the excitement will be difficult to quell in A-Town.

Here are some other prospects worth keeping an eye on down the stretch of the 2017 campaign.

UPGRADE

Brent Honeywell, P, TB – Other than Acuna, Honeywell is the player I've been getting the most questions on regarding a possible September call-up. Over his last 10 starts, the 22-year-old righty has a 2.26 ERA and 73:14 K:BB in 55.2 innings. So what does Honeywell have left to prove? When it comes to prospects for the frugal Tampa Bay Rays, the analysis is a bit more complicated than that. The penny-pinching Rays are always mindful of salary and Arbitration clocks, even in a season when they are within grasp of a Wild Card slot. In a similar vein, the Rays are notoriously conservative with pitching prospects. Take the recent examples of Ian Snell and Jacob Faria. Snell logged nearly 150 innings at Triple-A, while Faria eclipsed the 125-inning mark at the same level prior to being promoted. Yet still, Snell struggled at first and Faria is currently on the DL. In addition, Honeywell has never pitched more than 130 innings in a season, and he's at that number now. As such, the Rays still have reasons to save Honeywell for the long term even with a playoff berth at stake, and even with Honeywell having little left to prove at Triple-A.

Brian Anderson 3B, MIA – The Marlins have Giancarlo Stanton, Derek Jeter, and not much else these days. Anderson has given the depleted farm system a nice boost with his recent play, though. The 24-year-old has already crushed his previous career high in home runs, and has been particularly hot since being promoted to Triple-A. Anderson is slashing .354/.418/.625 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 27 games for Triple-A New Orleans. If the newfound power numbers are for real, Anderson could be a solid addition for the Fish at early as September.

Forrest Whitley, P, HOU – For a special position player like the aforementioned Acuna to see Triple-A as a teenager, that's pretty special. For a pitcher to reach Double-A and dominate before his 20th birthday, that may be even more special. Whitley is already on his third different level in 2017, and won't turn 20 years of age until the middle of September. He has 128 strikeouts in just 83 innings this season, and was lights-out in his Double-A debut. Whitley fanned 11 batters over six scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, and did not walk a single batter. Whitley is an imposing figure on the mound at 6-foot-7, 240-lbs, but has shown outstanding control for his age and height. Many tall hurlers battle control problems in that it is harder to repeat their delivery with so many moving parts, including matching the release point. That has not been the case for Whitley, who should vault up the prospect rankings heading into the 2018 season.

Jahmai Jones, OF, LAA – After a slow start, Jones has cemented his spot as the top prospect for the Halos. In 30 games since being promoted to High-A, Jones is hitting .344/.397/.544 with four home runs, 14 RBI and eight steals. The 20-year-old has been even better over his last 10 games, hitting .366 with one home run and three stolen bases. The toolsy Jones now has 13 home runs and 26 RBI on the year, and may only be starting to scratch the surface in terms of his power stroke and base-stealing prowess. Mike Trout needs some help, and while nobody would mistake Jones for Trout, Jahmai still gives the Angels a No. 1 prospect with plenty of upside.

CHECK STATUS

Brent Rooker, OF, MIN – The power-packed phenom was a first round pick in this year's draft out of Mississippi State, but that hasn't stopped the Twins from challenging Rooker right out of the gate. After a successful trial in Rookie Ball, the Twinkies decided to have Rooker skip Low-A altogether. Rooker has been up to the task, smacking eight home runs and driving in 28 in 32 games at High-A Fort Myers. Rooker has been surging of late, hitting .400 with four home runs and 16 RBI over his last 10 games. Strikeouts are worth watching, though, as Rooker has fanned 12 times in those 10 contests, and 58 times in 54 games since signing with Minnesota. Still, Rooker has 15 home runs over that span, making the strikeouts much easier to digest. His powerful, polished collegiate bat could mean he sees the big leagues before the end of the 2018 campaign.

A.J. Puk, P, OAK – Puk scuffled a tad upon being promoted to Double-A Midland, as his ERA ballooned to 6.98 in the middle of July. Puk's ERA now sits more than two runs lower at 4.91, and he has continued to rack up the strikeouts. The 22-year-old southpaw has 42 strikeouts over his last five starts, including an outstanding 13-strikeout performance on August 3rd. Puk has also had better control over that span, walking just eight batters over the those 27 innings. Puk appears back to his overpowering ways, and could join the big-league rotation by the middle of 2018.

Darwinzon Hernandez, P, BOS – A lesser-known hurler currently at Low-A, Hernandez has been turning some heads recently. The 20-year-old lefty from Venezuela has allowed just one earned run over his last three outings, a span of 16.1 innings. Hernandez has fanned 18 batters during that time period. In fact, he misses plenty of bats; opposing batters are hitting just .211 against Hernandez on the season. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder is still filling out, meaning his heater could gain a few more ticks on the radar gun. Add in a deceptive delivery and an emerging changeup with his fastball/curveball combo, and Hernandez may end up being a diamond in the rough for the BoSox.

Raudy Read, C, WAS – Read has a football player's name and a power-packed swing. The 23-year-old backstop has been brought along slowly but is having something of a breakout season at Double-A. Read is hitting .275 with 16 home runs and 53 RBI through 99 games. Though he could stand to draw a few more walks, Read is not a huge strikeout guy either. It remains to be seen if Pedro Severino can be an everyday catcher for the Nats, and both Matt Wieters and Jose Lobaton are on the wrong side of 30. If Read continues his strong development, he could make a case to be included in Washington's future plans behind the plate.

DOWNGRADE

Triston McKenzie, P, CLE – Whether fatigue or sheer boredom, McKenzie has had arguably his roughest stretch of outings over his last five starts for High-A Lynchburg. The 20-year-old has been blown up in three of those five games, allowing at least five earned runs in each of those poor outings. McKenzie did toss two stellar contests sandwiched in between, though his ERA has risen to 3.67, the highest it has ever been during his brief professional career. McKenzie remains an elite prospect with 165 strikeouts in 130 innings, a .210 BAA and just 44 walks issued over that span. Still, this is the first time he has faced resistance in the minors, and perhaps questions will start to be raised as to whether his 165-lb frame can withstand the rigors of a full season as a starter.

Corey Ray, OF, MIL – A first round pick in last year's draft, Ray has had a subpar 2017 campaign. The 22-year-old centerfield from Louisville is hitting just .239/.312/.368 through 100 games at High-A. Ray does have 23 steals on the year, though he has also been caught on 10 occasions. Ray also hasn't shown much home run power with just seven dingers though he is tied for 10th in the Carolina League with 25 doubles.. Unfortunately, Ray has had a devil of a time making contact. He has been punched out 142 times over those 100 games. Ray has not been quite as polished as expected coming out of college, and as a result his stock has taken a bit of a hit.

Matt Manning, P, DET – Manning has been torched in his first three starts at Low-A. Also a first round pick in last year's draft, there were reports earlier in 2017 that Manning was struggling with his delivery. Those rumors appear to have been true, as the 6-foot-6 right has been shellacked for 11 runs in just 6.2 innings at Low-A. The sample size is outrageously small, and Manning does have 11 strikeouts over that span as well, so it is important not to overreact. That being said, Manning is years away from making any sort of meaningful impact at the big league level, as he remains incredibly raw at just 19 years of age.

Yency Almonte, P, COL – The transition to Triple-A has been rough for Almonte. He breezed through Double-A to start the season, compiling a 2.00 ERA and 71:31 K:BB in 76.1 innings. Opposing batters hit a putrid .212 against him. The script has flipped in five games since being promoted to Triple-A, though. The opposition is hitting a robust .351 against the 23-year-old righty, who has allowed more home runs (7) than he did in more than triple the amount of innings at Double-A. As a result, Almonte's ERA sits at 7.43. His control has been extremely suspect as well, as Almonte has almost as many walks (14) as strikeouts (16) through his first 23 innings at Triple-A. Almonte's last start was an unmitigated disaster, as he allowed six earned runs while failing to record a single out. The Rockies have finally had success with some of their young pitching prospects this season, and Almonte still has time to right the ship. As of right now, though, Almonte certainly does not appear to be a candidate to see the big leagues in September.