Final Grades: Under-the-radar prospects
By Kelsie Heneghan
By Kelsie Heneghan / MiLB.com
Predicting how a season will turn out is a difficult task, but back in April, the MiLB.com staff decided to make a few bold predictions and choose a player from each league whom we thought would have a breakout campaign. Some players flourished and reached the next level, while some fell victim to the injury bug and others just didn’t have a great year.
The players received a progress report in June, but here is a look at just how well they did after the completion of the Minor League season with a grade on each prediction.
Stats are updated through games of Sept. 14.
International League: Christian Vazquez, Pawtucket
After a strong Spring, the catcher continued his hot hitting into start Summer. As the Red Sox №10 prospect at the time, he was named to the International League All-Star team, hitting .342 over his last 10 games before he was called up to Boston on July 9. Since making his Major League debut, Vazquez is hitting .207 with 15 RBIs over 45 games and has thrown out 10 of 23 would-be basestealers from behind the plate. Grade: A
Pacific Coast League: Kyle Hendricks, Iowa
Once he improved his command — just four walks over his final six Minor League starts, it was off to the bigs for the right-hander. Hendricks had a shaky first in his debut July 10, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks, but went on to strikeout seven over six frames. During the MLB All-Star break, the California native was sent down and tossed two scoreless frames of relief for the PCL All-Stars in the Triple-A All-Star Game. Six days later, he was back in the Majors for good. After a stellar August, going 4–0 with a 1.69 ERA, Hendricks was named the NL Rookie of the Month. Although his two September starts haven’t been as strong, he remains the №3 starter of the Cubs’ six-man rotation. Grade: A+
Eastern League: Travis Shaw, Portland
Though the Red Sox’s №19 prospect seamed to adjust to Triple-A Pawtucket well after a promotion on May 26 — hitting .299 over his first 17 games with the PawSox — his average would never come so close to .300 again. Though the average may not show it, Shaw still collected a career-high 136 hits across the leagues and slugged a personal-best 21 homers. When the playoffs came, the first baseman recorded five knocks though his first three games, helping Pawtucket reach the Governors’ Cup Finals. He’ll be playing for a Triple-A Championship on Tuesday. Grade: B
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Southern League: Corey Black, Tennessee
In his first full season with the Cubs organization, the right-hander held Double-A foes to two runs or fewer in 17 of his 25 starts. Black ran into the injury bug in June but returned after missing just two starts. The 5-foot-11 hurler led the Smokies, registering 124 1/3 innings and striking out 119. The punchout total was also a personal best for Black and placed him third among the Southern League leaders. The 23-year-old tossed two scoreless outings in April and ended the season at 6–7 with a 3.47 ERA. Grade: B+
Texas League: Travis Jankowski, San Antonio
In April, Jankowski sacrificed his body to make a diving catch. Unfortunately for the center fielder, it would also cost him about 300 at-bats as he was subsequently put on the DL from April 24 to July 18 with a broken wrist. He then spent the next two and a half weeks rehabbing his way back to San Antonio, making stops with the Arizona League Padres, Class A Short Season Eugene and Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore along the way. Jankowski was back at his highlight-reel ways with the Missions, but just 13 games later, he found himself on the DL again with a wrist injury. Grade: INC
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California League: Martin Agosta, San Jose
With three trips to the DL, Agosta spent more time rehabbing than playing; however, the stints weren’t due to injuries. After going 1–2 with a 10.55 ERA over his first seven starts this season, the right-hander left the team to work on his command and the consistency of his delivery. Agosta made four rehab starts with the Arizona League Giants, including an outing in which he struck out a season-high eight as well as one in which he tossed three hitless frames. Back with San Jose, the 23-year-old allowed at least four runs in three of his four starts before returning to the disabled list for the remainder of the season. Grade: INC
Carolina League: Zach Cone, Myrtle Beach
2014 has been a year of adjustments for Cone. After hitting .181 in 43 games with the Pelicans to start the season, he was sent down to Class A Short Season Spokane to work on his mechanics. At first, his struggles continued — he collected just 11 hits in his first 60 at-bats — but eventually he hit is stride. For the week of July 14–20, Cone was named the Northwest League Player of the Week after posting a .333/.387/.926 slash line with four homers and 10 RBIs. The 24-year-old was promoted to Class A Hickory where he again had a slow start but ended up hitting .288 over his last 15 games. Grade: D
Florida State League: Michael Fulmer, St. Lucie
Though he was hit on his left (non-pitching) wrist by a line drive, Fulmer avoided the DL while with St. Lucie. The right-hander tossed eight quality starts over 19 outings, but a couple tough outings brought his ERA up to .397. After ranking second in St. Lucie with 86 strikeouts, the Mets’ №18 prospect was promoted to Double-A Binghamton in mid-August. Fulmer allowed six runs on six hits while striking out one over 3 1/3 innings in his Eastern League debut, but a few days later he was placed on the disabled list with a bone spur in his elbow. Grade: B-
Midwest League: Jacob Scavuzzo, Great Lakes
After hitting .209 with five homers and a career-high seven errors over 108 games with the Loons, Scavuzzo slipped out of the Dodgers top 20 and was reassigned to Rookie-level Ogden. The centerfielder showed signs of potential with the Raptors — including a four-hit game and a three-RBI game — and helped Ogden reach the Pioneer League playoffs. Scavuzzo hit .289 over 14 regular season games and then went 2-for-3 with a run scored in a postseason contest. Grade: D-
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South Atlantic League: Trey Mancini, Delmarva
Posting a .317/.357/.422 slash line through 68 games with the ShoreBirds, Mancini earned a trip to the SAL All-Star Game. Though the contest ended in a tie, it was the 22-year-old’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th that retied that game. Two days later, Mancini was called up to make his Carolina League debut. In that first game with the Keys, the first baseman tied a career high with four RBIs. Mancini went on to hit .251/.295/.396 over 69 games in Class A Advanced and remains outside the O’s top 20. Grade: B
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