Minor League Ball Gameday, June 8
By John Sickels@MinorLeagueBall Updated Jun 8, 2013, 7:26pm EDT
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Mike Montgomery
Good morning prospect watchers. Day three of the 2013 MLB draft gets started shortly and is still the main focus around these parts for the next few days. But major and minor league baseball continues, and so does our usual Minor League Ball Gameday Thread.
***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday Discussion.
***Yesterday's Day Two Draft Discussion
***Today's Day Three Draft Discussion
***At what point do we start worrying about Kansas City Royals 2012 first round pick Kyle Zimmer? He got lit up yesterday (five hits, five runs and a walk in 0.2 innings) and now has an unsightly 6.32 ERA for High-A Wilmington. His component ratios are better than that; 67/23 K/BB, 53 hits in 52.2 innings, 3.86 FIP, but even that line isn't as good as what was expected. I haven't seen a recent report on what's wrong. If you have, post a link in the comments.
***Ex-Royals and current Tampa Bay Rays prospect Mike Montgomery threw seven no-hit innings for Triple-A Durham yesterday, although he also walked four guys. On the season he has a 4.05 ERA with a 19/11 K/BB in 26.2 innings. The report I have indicates that he's restored most of the velocity he lost in 2012, but his command remains spotty. Still, his chances in Tampa seem better than they were in Kansas City.
***I thought Cardinals outfield prospect Anthony Garcia was a major sleeper entering 2013. He got off to a horrible start at High-A Palm Beach and hit just .149 in May, but he's pulled out of his slump and has hit five homers in his last 10 games. His overall line of .214/.272/.406 remains disappointing and concerns that contact would be an issue at higher levels look very valid, but nine homers at this point in the season are notable in the FSL, and he's still just 21 years old. In short: disappointing so far, but still a prospect worth watching in my view.
***Chicago White Sox pitching prospect Chris Beck threw a nine-inning shutout for High-A Winston-Salem yesterday, allowing five hits, walking nobody, and fanning seven. On the season he has a 2.79 ERA in 71 innings, though his K/IP ratio is uncomfortably low with just 37 punchouts to his credit. He keeps the ball down and doesn't give up many walks (25 so far) but it remains to be seen how he'll handle Double-A.
***Strong rumors around that New York Mets prospect Zack Wheeler will make his major league debut this coming week.
***Today's minor league baseball slate of contests.
***Lee Warren describes the Omaha Stormchasers hiding from tornadoes during a recent roadtrip to Oklahoma City.