Minor League Monitor - AA Eastern League

Jacob Turner - Tigers P DOB: 05/21/91

Turner continues to pile up the quality starts and is finding himself in the 7th inning a lot. Most pitchers his age are throwing 5 innings a game in Low-A. His numbers don't jump off the page. A 3-4 record with a 3.49 ERA, 6.98 K/9 aren't great fantasy numbers but his .649 opposing OPS ranks second in the Tigers organization behind Justin Verlander. He still has some climbing to do on the organizational ladder but he isn't far away.

Manny Banuelos - Yankees P DOB: 03/13/1991

While Turner is producing consistent results, Banuelos is putting up similar numbers by mixing dominating starts and stinkers. His ERA continues to climb and is now at 3.74 after giving up 10 earned runs in his last 3 starts spanning 15 innings. 9.0 H/9 and 5.0 BB/9 are problems that will need to be addressed before he is to be trusted in the Yankees rotation.

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

There were some who thought the jump to AA was aggressive for an 18 year old. So far they might be right. In 15 games he is hitting a woeful .204/.264/.204. The phenom has yet to hit for extra bases and has a .385 OPS in his last 10 games. In April he had similar struggles but found his groove and was quickly among the stat leaders. His struggles in Low-A weren't this pronounced so it will be interesting to see whether he heats up the way he did in Hagerstown. Ray suggested that Mike Stanton could be the next 40-20 player. In my eyes Harper projects as that type of player.

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

Humbled Fan Kenny prefers Zack Wheeler as the Giants top pitching prospect while, despite his lower ceiling, I'm more of a Surkamp man myself. One thing is for sure, the Giants have some solid reinforcements coming for an already potent rotation. Surkamp has a 2.05 ERA with peripherals to back it up. In 16 starts and a relief appearance the 23 year old has 2.9 BB/9, 7.5 H/9 and an awesome 10.51 K/9. AA batters can't handle his stuff.

Brian Dozier – Twins SS DOB: 05/15/87

Dozier is having an excellent season. Between 49 games in High-A and 35 in AA he is batting .314 with 43/38 BB/K and 22 SB. He probably doesn't have what it takes to be a fantasy go-to but he has a good chance of becoming an everyday player one day so keep an eye on him if you're in a deep keeper league.

Drew Pomeranz - Indians SP DOB: 11/22/88

Pomeranz may be contributing to a pennant chase come September. In his first pro season he has a 1.87 ERA and has been just as dominant in 2 AA starts as he was in his 15 at High-A. We will wait and see how aggressive the Indians want to be with Pomeranz but he is proving to be very poised and polished.

Austin Hyatt - Phillies SP DOB: 05/23/86

Hyatt's wild May produced a 5.34 ERA then 8 home runs wrecked an otherwise stellar month of June. July didn't start well with 5 earned runs in 4 innings but he has strung together 3 good starts including a 10 strikeout performance on the 18th. He is the closest Phillies pitching prospect to the majors but he is blocked by oh just one of the best rotations ever.