Please excuse the lack of posting the past couple days. Anyways, here are a couple young prospects making headlines in Boise:
Brett Jackson, OF: In seven games for Boise, Jackson is hitting .320 with a .414 on-base percentage. He has walked four times to six strike outs, and looks comfortable at the plate through his first 25 at-bats.
Hak-ju Lee, SS: Lee is hitting a solid .286 with a .360 on-base percentage and 7 stole bases. Despite not having any home runs, Lee has 7 doubles and has walked 9 times. Lee continues to show his advanced skills at the plate and in the field and could make for an interesting prospect down the road.
Jae-Hoon Ha, RF: Ha is adjusting nicely to baseball in the U.S., hitting .290 with 4 extra-base hits and just five strike outs. Ha is hitting .314 in his last ten games.
Jeffery Antigua, LHP: In 4 appearances, 3 of which coming as starts, Antigua is 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA and 17 strike outs. Coming off an impressive 2008 campaign with a 3.05 ERA in 14 games, Antigua is back at it with improved command and poise.
The White Sox have
come to terms on a deal with first round draft pick Jared Mitchell. Mitchell hit .327 for LSU this season with 11 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases. Mitchell was considered one of the most athletic players in this years draft, which comes as no surprise being a two-sport star for LSU.
Mitchell will begin his career for the Kannapolis Intimidators.
The Cubs
optioned Kevin Hart back to Triple-A Iowa to get more work in as a starter. The Cubs would like to have Hart start either the July 19th game against Washington or the July 20th game against the Phillies.
In his place, the Cubs will call up reliever Jeff Stevens from Iowa. Stevens, who came over in the Mark DeRosa, has a 2.08 ERA and an impressive 1.09 WHIP in 30 games this season. Stevens is a very smart and experience pitcher for his age, and should find success if given an opportunity in the Cubs bullpen.
The White Sox
traded first base prospect Brandon Allen to the Diamondbacks for power arm reliever Tony Pena. Allen, considered one of the teams top prospects, was hitting .290 through 62 games at the Double-A level before being promoted to Triple-A. He had a .372 on-base percentage with 7 home runs before his promotion to Charlotte where he hit .246 in 15 games.
Allen has the potential to be a productive first baseman for the White Sox. He hits for decent power and average, which would definitely help the Sox when Paul Konerko moves past his prime. However, the White Sox have highly touted prospect Tyler Flowers working his way through the minor league ranks and because of his size and potential at the plate, it may be safer long term to have him at first.
Pena has a career 4.08 ERA, but owns a 4.24 ERA in 37 appearances this season with a 1.53 WHIP.
After putting up impressive numbers for the Kannapolis Intimidators, the White Sox have promoted pitching prospect Gregory Infante to the Winston-Salem Dash. In 88 1/3 innings, Infante was 3-5 with a 3.26 ERA and striking out 75. Infante struggled in May, but was impressive enough in April and June for the White Sox to give him the opportunity in Double-A.
The White Sox have shown this season that they are not afraid to give their young prospects an opportunity. Both Gordon Beckham and Aaron Poreda have been summoned to the big leagues from Birmingham, and prospect Brandon Allen has been promoted to Triple-A. At this point in time, it is highly unlikely that Infante will join the Barons before the season is over, but it is not out of the realm of possibility to see him there next season if he can continue to progress and develop.
Infante, who will be 22 on July 10th, surrendered two earned runs through five innings in his first start with the Dash.
After giving up an impressive seven earned runs in 42.0 innings for the Daytona Cubs, pitching prospect Andrew Cashner gave up one run in five innings of work, striking out six. The Cubs' experiment to move Cashner from the closer role to the starter role is proving to be a success, as he has a 1.53 ERA this season.
The Cubs would be smart to let Cashner get comfortable at the Double-A level before promoting him again. If that means finishing the season there, so be it. Cashner is looking like a legitimate pitching prospect, and it is important for Cashner to build up his stamina before he starts facing a mixture of former major league hitters and veteran minor leaguers.
After hitting .455 in three games with the Mesa Cubs, 2009 first round draft pick Brett Jackson is hitting .200 (2-for-10) in his first three games for the Boise Hawks, with an RBI and a walk. Jackson is playing with a slew of minor league prospects, including Hak-ju Lee, Robert Hernandez, and Larry Saurez, among others.
Jackson should receive time with the Peoria Chiefs this season. He is coming from UC Berkeley, and has an advanced approach at the plate.
The Cubs have traded minor league prospect Al Alburquerque to the Rockies for infielder Jeff Baker. To make room for Baker, the Cubs designated Ryan Freel for assignment. The Cubs bring in another player to fill the role that was left when they traded Mark DeRosa last off season. Baker is a career .257 hitter, however, he hit .268 with 12 home runs last season for the Rockies, with 23 extra-base hits and playing time at first, second, third, and right field.
Alburquerque, 23, was off to a great start for Single-A Daytona, going 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 24 appearances. He is one of the older players down in Single-A, but could benefit from an opportunity at the Double-A level with the Rockies.
White Sox prospect Tyler Flowers ended the month of June with a .338 batting average, 4 home runs, and a .443 on-base percentage. Flowers was voted to the teams Futures Game at the All-Star Game this month, and is hitting .360 in his last ten games.
Flowers' plate discipline combined with his power makes him a candidate to be promoted before the season is over. His 51 walks to just 68 strike outs, along with 11 home runs and 17 extra base hits is extremely impressive for a young prospect like Flowers.
The Cubs have recalled
pitcher Jeff Samardzija from Triple-A Iowa and optioned Jose Ascanio in his place. Samardzija went 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA and 53 strike outs in 67 2/3 innings with Iowa, including one complete game. Samardzija will work out of the bullpen with the Cubs, something the young starter has struggled to make the transition to. However, a rejuvinated Samardzija could help the Cubs bullpen, which has been inconsistent during the month of June.
In 14 games with the Cubs, Ascanio was 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA. In Ascanio's best outing with the Cubs, he threw three scoreless innings in extras to keep the Cubs in the game. His slider is inconsistent, but if he can command it better, he could become a very dominant reliever.
