Today, we will learn what prospects will be called up by their major league teams. Among the prospects who will get the call are Yankees catching prospect Jesus Montero and Reds catching prospect Devin Mesoraco. Mesoraco may not get much playing time with the Reds, but more than likely he will be their full time catcher in 2012. As for Montero, he may see more time as manager Joe Girardi has the flexibility to DH him, as well as have him catch. Here is what Girardi told Bryan Hoch at MLB.com:
"I could DH him, and I wouldn't be afraid to put him behind the plate," Girardi said. "I don't know if I would start him in a game, just because the relationship between pitchers and catchers takes time to build. Our catchers are a lot more familiar with the pitchers than him, but it's not a guy that I'd be afraid to put in."
We'll see how many games he plays at catcher. I will place the over/under at 5.
Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer showed off his power yesterday, going 3-4 with 2 HRs and 2 RBI. Hosmer is now hitting .278-.327-.441 with 14 HRs and 59 RBI in 103 games this season. I see a 25-90 season out of him in 2012. Too high or too low?
After hitting .293-.345-.400 with 4 HRs, 41 RBI, 103 runs, 27 SBs, a 170-47 K/BB rate, and an unsustainable .396 BABIP, most fantasy baseball writers were predicting Austin Jackson's BA to drop this year due to the extremely high BABIP, and they were right. Jackson went 4-4 with a double, triple, 3 runs and a SB yesterday, but he has struggled at the plate this season. He is hitting just .249-.316-.366 with 7 HRs, 37 RBI, 70 runs, 19 SBs and a 139-48 K/BB rate in 486 at bats. His BABIP drop to .324 has impacted his BA/OBP this season, and he in on pace for 166 strikeouts. Leadoff hitters who whiff this much shouldn't leadoff this much.
Twins first baseman Justin Morneau has sat out the last two games due to mild concussion symptoms. Morneau is signed through 2013 at $14 milliion in both 2012 and 2013, but right now, it doesn't look good for Morneau. Concussions have ruined the careers of a few players including Corey Koskie several years ago. Let's hope Morneau can return to the hitter we saw pre-concussion.
More Roundup after the jump:
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner shutout the Cubs for 8 innings yesterday, giving up just 2 hits, walking 2 and striking out 11 to win his 9th game of the season. Bumgarner is now 9-12 on the season, with a 3.43 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 157-41 K/BB rate in 173.1 innings. Bumgarner's solid season could lead to the Giants dealing him or Matt Cain for an impact bat in the middle of their lineup. This Giants lineup is horrible and they need to acquire a big bat in the offseason.
Blue Jays young starter Henderson Alvarez showed the stuff that makes him one of the better pitching prospects in baseball last night. He shut out the Orioles on 3 hits for 8 innings, walking none and striking out 5. The win was the first of his major league career. In 14 starts at AA New Hampshire, he went 8-4 with a 2.84 ERA, a 1.114 WHIP, and a 66-17 K/BB rate in 88 innings.
Blue Jays DH Edwin Encarnacion went 4-5 with a HR, 2 doubles, 3 runs and 2 RBI last night. For the season, he is hitting .279-.339-.472 with 15 HRs, 44 RBI, 33 doubles, 64 runs and 5 SBs in a little over 400 at bats. He doesn't strike out a lot as evidenced by a K rate of under 15%, and walks at a 7.8% rate so he doesn't hurt you with the strikeout. There may be more power in his bat as his HR/FB rate has dropped to just 9.2% from 15.1% in 2010. Something to watch in September.
Phillies ace Cliff Lee shut out the Reds for 8.2 innings last night, giving up 6 hits, a walk and 7 strikeouts. He is now 15-7 with a 2.59 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and an awesome 198-40 K/BB rate in 194.2 innings this season. He is 5-0 with an ERA under 1.00 for the month of August. Who would you rather have in 2012-Lee or Kershaw?
I am not sure where I read it yesterday, but it appears that the Nationals want Stephen Strasburg to pitch to contact more once he returns on September 6th. I don't know what that means for his strikeout totals, but at first glance, it sounds like they will drop a bit. Something to keep in mind when watching him in September and in spring training 2012.
Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was scheduled to get an MRI on his ailing shoulder yesterday, and there were rumors that he may need shoulder surgery. Just another reason why I will never draft Ramirez in the first few rounds in 2012 drafts. I drafted him #2 overall in an NL-only league this year even though I was down on him a bit. Lesson learned. More on Hanley from Joe Capozzi at the Palm Beach Post:
Hanley Ramirez was examined by doctors in Miami today and had an MRI on his left shoulder.
The Marlins said they won’t get the results until tomorrow.
But indications are Ramirez won’t be back this year.He felt discomfort in his shoulder swinging in the on-deck circle last night and took himself out of the game. He was on a rehab assignment with Class A Jupiter.
One person who spoke to players at the game said Ramirez was in a lot of pain and that his shoulder had swelled up significantly.
The feeling is he will need surgery, but the team has not said anything about that yet.
More from Capozzi-on Mike Stanton's HR on Tuesday:
Mike Stanton last night became the first right-handed batter to hit a home run into the upper deck in right field at Citi Field.
Wow. Upper deck in right field? Right field! Amazing power.
Rays starter James Shields shut out the Rangers for 8 innings last night, holding them to just 4 hits, a walk and striking out 7 to win his 13th game of year. He is now 13-10 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a 199-52 K/BB rate in 209 innings pitched. Consider the Rays rotation in 2012 with Shields, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore. If they can land a bat or two, they could challenge for the AL East title again as they have the best staff in the division.