Weekly Preview (June 22-27): Approaching In-Season Promotions In 2021
Something that tends to fill my mentions on Twitter during the minor league season is the suggestion of promoting prospects to the next level. A player goes on a hot streak for a week or two and fans clamor for him to get challenged at a higher level.
I get it. Fans want to see their team’s prospects progress quickly and move closer to helping the big league club. Sometimes there is sense behind it, like wanting to see Spencer Strider continue to move up as he mows down hitters at each level of A-ball. Sometimes you have to tone down the hype, like wanting to see Michael Harris in the major leagues tomorrow.
One player who has now earned two promotions in a matter of weeks is Strider, who is moving up to Double-A Mississippi and will start Thursday, according to Eric Cole at Talking Chop. Strider has mostly been getting reps in A-ball and working to maintain his stuff and health while gaining more comfort in pro ball. I expected him to stay at High-A Rome a bit longer, but you certainly can’t fault the move now after striking out 12 and allowing one run on one hit over six innings last time out. This new promotion will be the first real challenge to his stuff, and it’ll be worth watching how he handles his breaking ball command as Double-A hitters are able to time velo better.
Whether the Strider assignment creates a ripple effect of other moves remains to be seen. There are more players in A-ball who could earn a new challenge soon, whether it’s this coming week or in the weeks ahead.
At Low-A Augusta, Darius Vines is a candidate for an assignment to Rome. He’s 23 with a 2.25 ERA and 48 strikeouts to 10 walks, and he’s a legitimate prospect with stuff that will make him at least a depth starter. It’s always possible that someone like Tanner Gordon or Jake McSteen, more along the lines of org depth, could get a promotion back to Rome. Offensively, Willie Carter is the only hitter who definitely deserves a promotion soon. It won’t hurt Vaughn Grissom to hang around Low-A a while longer, but it is possible that he sees Rome before the end of the season, maybe as a reward.
At Rome, Bryce Elder and Jared Shuster are two college starter products who could move at any time, although both have reason to hang around and continue to get reps in High-A as well. Reliever Indigo Diaz is blowing away High-A and should get challenged at Double-A soon. He has a legit two-pitch mix and a quick arm.
There shouldn’t be a huge rush to challenge Jesse Franklin yet. He’s red hot, but he has shown swing-and-miss, and Double-A will be a very tough test for his big swing. Harris has come back down to earth some and still isn’t walking, but I assume he will see Double-A down the stretch.
I’m on board with the org’s mindset regarding minor league assignments right now. After no 2020 season, players just need to get back to the familiarity of playing every day, get reps and stay healthy. There is no reason to rush or challenge guys. It also shouldn’t be a surprise that they’re not moving guys around at a rapid pace. Roster sizes are bigger and players generally aren’t moving around as much as the sport continues to come out of the pandemic.
It could also be a sign of a more conservative player development department regarding assignments. The previous group was super aggressive on some assignments, and it didn’t always work out. I’ve always been of the belief that it’s better to err on the side of caution and handle assignments conservatively. It can be much more of a detriment to challenge players too aggressively.
We should start seeing more player movement as the minor league season progresses. You generally start to see promotions over the last couple months as orgs want to reward players or see if prospects can handle new assignments down the stretch. Also keep in mind the draft is coming up in July, so that will shift things around as well.
Schedule
Triple-A Gwinnett
June 22-27: at Norfolk (Orioles)
June 22-26 at 7:05 p.m., June 27 at 1:05
Double-A Mississippi
June 22-27: vs. Tennessee (Cubs)
June 22-25 at 7:35 p.m. EDT, June 26 at 7:05, June 27 at 3:05
High-A Rome
June 22-27: at Aberdeen (Orioles)
June 22-25 at 7:05 p.m., June 26 at 6:05, June 27 at 2:05
Low-A Augusta
June 22-27: at Charleston (Rays)
June 22-25 at 7:05, June 26 at 6:05, June 27 at 5:05
Prospects to Watch This Week
After an extended absence, but no IL stint, Drew Waters returned to the Triple-A Gwinnett lineup Sunday and went 0-3 with a walk. He was hitting the ball well before the 10-day break and is slashing .272/.371/.404 with six doubles, three home runs, 13 walks and eight stolen bases. At Double-A Mississippi, Justin Dean continues to hold his own, picking up seven hits in his past five games, including a double, two walks and two stolen bases. At High-A Rome, Jesse Franklin still isn’t slowing down, racking up seven hits last week, including two doubles, a homer and two stolen bases in four games. At Low-A Augusta, Cam Shepherd is showing signs of life after a rough start to his pro career. The former Georgia Bulldog has five hits, two walks and two stolen bases in his past four games.
Recent Prospect Performances
Double-A Mississippi
Justin Dean: 1-4, RBI, 2 SB (6/20)
Shea Langeliers: 1-5, HR (6/20)
Braden Shewmake: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI (6/20)
Trey Harris: 2-4 (6/19)
Braden Shewmake: 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI (6/18)
Justin Dean: 4-4, RBI (6/17)
Braden Shewmake: 1-2, 2 BB (6/17)
High-A Rome
Cody Milligan: 3-6, RBI (6/18)
Michael Harris: 2-6, 2B (6/18)
Jesse Franklin: 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB (6/18)
Spencer Strider: 6 IP, H, R/ER, BB, 12 K (6/18)
Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, K (6/18)
Jesse Franklin: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SB (6/16)
Logan Brown: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB (6/16)
Jared Shuster: 4 IP, H, BB, 6 K (6/16)
Kasey Kalich: 2 IP, 2 K (6/16)
Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, BB, 3 K (6/16)
Jesse Franklin: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI (6/15)
Low-Augusta
Darius Vines: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 10 K (6/19)
Cam Shepherd: 2-3, 2 BB (6/19)
Vaughn Grissom: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB (6/19)
Jared Johnson: 3 IP, 5 H, R/ER, 2 BB, 4 K (6/18)
Vaughn Grissom: 1-4, 2B, RBI (6/17)
Gabriel Rodriguez: 2 IP, H, 6 K (6/17)
Alec Barger: 1 IP, K (6/17)
Vaughn Grissom: 2-4, 2B, BB, SB (6/16)
Willie Carter: 3-5, 2 2B, RBI (6/16)
Stephen Paolini: 1-4, 2B, BB (6/16)
Joey Estes: 6 IP, 3 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K (6/15)
Transactions
6/21: RHP Jacob Webb optioned to Triple-A
6/20: RHP Bryse Wilson recalled to Atlanta
6/20: RHP Touki Toussaint rehab assignment moved to Double-A
6/19: RHP Jacob Webb optioned to Triple-A
6/18: RHP Luis Mora placed on temporarily inactive list at High-A
6/18: C Ricardo Rodriguez activated from 7-day IL at Low-A
6/17: LHP Kyle Muller optioned to Triple-A
6/17: RHP Jacob Webb recalled to Atlanta
6/16: LHP Kyle Muller recalled to Atlanta
6/16: INF Riley Unroe placed on 7-day IL at Double-A
6/15: 1B Travis Snider activated from temporarily inactive list at Triple-A
6/15: LHP Jake McSteen assigned to Low-A from High-A
6/15: C Mitch Calandra assigned to Low-A from High-A
6/15: C Javier Valdes placed on 7-day IL at Low-A
6/15: RHP Roddery Munoz placed on 7-day IL at Low-A