Greg Reynolds, Starting Pitcher, Colorado Rockies – The top draft pick of the Rockies last year, Reynolds lost a month of his season to the disabled list with shoulder tightness, and he made only one start before losing time again with shoulder issues. The diagnosis is right rotator cuff inflammation, so there is at least no structural damage requiring surgery. The 21-year-old Reynolds is currently 4-1 with 1.42 ERA and 35:9 K/BB ratio in eight starts for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. The Rockies will be understandably cautious with Reynolds when he returns, and he will almost certainly not be making his major league debut this year.
Daric Barton, First Base, Oakland Athletics – Two weeks ago, Barton was hitting around .275 in a solid but unspectacular season. Now, Barton is hitting .335. To raise one’s average that much that quickly, one has to either have not have had many at-bats or one has to have just been hitting like mad. Well, he had over 230 at-bats before his hot run, so that certainly was not it. All he has done over the last ten games is hit .600 with 2 homers, 11 RBI, and 12 runs. Only once in his last ten games has he not had at least two hits. With the struggles of Dan Johnson in the bigs, one has to believe that the A’s front office is watching this stretch closely.
Chris Lubanski, Outfield, Kansas City Royals – I recently got asked why Lubanski does not get much respect as a prospect, and my answer was partially based on how many better players that the Royals could have had with that pick. Players like Nick Markakis, Paul Maholm, John Danks – really, there are quite a few players that were taken after Lubanski that have already made an impact on the majors, and we are still waiting for Lubanski to get to Triple-A. Of course, this is not completely fair. The draft is far from a precise science, and the two in front of him, Kyle Sleeth and Tim Stauffer, certainly have not amounted to much of anything yet. Lubanski is currently hitting .295 with 9 homers, 34 RBI, and 33 runs in 241 at-bats with Double-A Wichita, and he has been quite hot in his last ten, hitting .333 with a pair of homers, seven RBI, five runs, and a stolen base. Steals are not really a big part of his game, though, as he has just three successful swipes all year and five times he was caught. Lubanski should see some action in Triple-A at some point this year, and he will at the very least get a serious look in the big league camp in 2008.
Jay Bruce, Outfield, Cincinnati Reds – After hitting .325 with 11 homers, 49 RBI, and 49 runs in 268 at-bats in the Florida State League, Bruce has moved up to the Double-A Southern League, and he has shown no slowing down there at all. Through 30 at-bats with the Chattanooga Lookouts, Bruce is hitting .367 with three home runs, eight RBI, and four runs. Bruce is on track to make a token appearance in the bigs in September after the roster expansion, and he is most definitely going to have a chance to make the club in the spring.
Jack Egbert, Starting Pitcher, Chicago White Sox – We featured Egbert a while back, and it is time for an update on him. Egbert is now 7-6 with a 3.00 ERA and he has come back to Earth of late. In his first six starts, Egbert’s K/BB ratio was a sick 35:5, but he has a far more pedestrian 50:21 since then. Sure, that is still a solid ratio, but it was that dominating ratio that made his other numbers so impressive in the early goings, and a more normal ratio has seen the rest of his numbers decline, and he is 4-4 with a 3.97 ERA in his last ten. When he is putting up ratios of 7-to-1, he looks like a prospect; when he is putting up ratios barely over 2-to-1, the rest of the package looks rather average.
Manny Parra, Starting Pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers – Last time we talked about Parra, it was that he was the next pitcher to come from the minors for the Brewers, not necessarily the best, as we are certainly higher on Will Inman. Well, Parra went out and got himself a promotion to the Pacific Coast League, and his second game there certainly opened some eyes with nine innings, no hits, no walks, no runs, 11 strikeouts – in other words, perfection. Parra finished 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA, 81 strikeouts, and 26 walks in 80 2/3 innings in his 13 starts in Double-A. Look for Parra to be up at some point this year, although it will more than likely be to pitch out of the pen.
German Duran, Second Base, Texas Rangers – I know the Texas League is a hitter-friendly league, but it is very hard not to be impressed with the numbers Duran is putting up as a middle infielder. Through 75 games with the Frisco Rough Riders, Duran is hitting .323 with 15 home runs, 45 RBI, 54 runs, and 5 stolen bases in 269 at-bats. Not a highly touted prospect entering the season, Duran’s play this year has earned him a spot in the 2007 Futures Game. One of the things that the Rangers are attributing to his dramatic increase in offensive performance is his shift from shortstop to second base, where he appears a lot more relaxed. That relaxed feel will get him to the majors a lot sooner than short would have.
That wraps up this week’s buzzworthy minor leaguers. Next week, another completely random list of guys I like.
Have a question or comment for Mark? Drop him an email at markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com.
