Minor League Monitor - Eastern League

Eric Surkamp - Giants  P  DOB: 07/16/87

Being left off the Futures Game roster is a bit of a snub for Surkamp. The Giants lefty has a 1.78 ERA in 96.1 innings and has struck out 114. The Giants rotation is full of more talent than Kim Kardashian's bikini so Surkamp may have to wait a few years before he is given the ball every fifth day.

Brad Peacock – Nationals  SP  DOB: 02/02/88

Peacock entered the All-Star break with a 10-2 record and 2.01 ERA in 98.2 innings. He has a completely insane 129/23 K/BB rate and opposing batters are hitting only .179 against him. In his last 3 starts he hasn't allowed an earned run over 18.1 innings. Peacock has been hands down the best pitcher in the EL and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in Washington this fall.

Bryce Harper - Nationals  RF  DOB: 10/16/92

After he tore the cover off the ball in Low-A there were few people who thought the move to AA was too aggressive. In 4 games he is hitting .357. He has yet to record an extra base hit but has also only struck out once. The homers and the Ks will come.

Jeurys Familia - Mets  SP  DOB: 10/10/89

Familia and his 1.49 ERA were too good for High-A so he was moved to AA and has been nearly as good. In 10 starts he has a 3.38 ERA with 10.3 K/9. He can get wild at times and has given up 7 home runs in 56 innings so he still has some work to do. As one of the youngest pitchers in the league he is already advanced for his age and he is a very good player to have in long term keeper leagues.

Chih-Hsien Chiang  - Red Sox  OF  DOB: 02/21/88

Chiang's power surge was a big surprise considering his career high ISO was .160. After 71 games this year he has a .307 ISO and hasn't shown signs of slowing down. Over his past 10 games he has a .707 SLG%. His 47 extra base hits ties his career high set last season in 121 games.

Anthony Gose - Blue Jays  CF  DOB: 08/10/90

The speedy Blue Jays outfielder started July on a power tear, hitting 3 bombs in 4 games. The 20 year old is hitting .259 for the year with 9 home runs and 41 thefts in 52 tries. He may be the best lead-off prospect in the minors but will need to fix his strikeout problems if he wants to lead off in the majors. He has 88 Ks in 85 games and that's a big reason why he is batting .259.

Travis d'Arnaud - Blue Jays  C  DOB: 02/10/89 

d'Arnaud has been raking lately. He has a .447 AVG with 4 HR, 7 2B, 12 RBI in his last 10 games. He is batting .315 with 12 HR, 23 2B in 69 games.

Shairon Martis – Nationals  SP  DOB: 03/30/87

Martis started the season slowly but he has been 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA over his past 8 starts. Martis has struggled in the majors so he will need to continue pitching well if he wants to be a part of the Nationals rotation plans. They have several of the best starting pitching prospects in baseball so Martis has an uphill battle ahead of him.