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The High-A leagues all started their seasons back on Thursday last week as well, so let's take a look at how some of the top prospects there have done so far. Note: These statistics are for games through Tuesday, 4/10. As with Sunday's report, all of these performances should be taken with a grain of salt, due to small sample size.
California League
Definitely a hitters' paradise in a number of stadiums, the Cal League still had some excellent pitching performances to go with the hitters.
A.J. Cole (OAK) - 5 IP, 3 ER (5.40 ERA), 3 K, 1 BB, 5 H
Zach Lee (LAD) - 10 IP, 2 ER (1.80 ERA), 9 K, 2 BB, 7 H
Tyler Matzek (COL) - 9 2/3 IP, 2 ER (1.86 ERA), 15 K, 6 BB, 7 H
A prospect who has definitely lost his luster since being a 1st round draft pick, it's good to see Matzek post a pair of decent performances in his two starts. He's taken two losses, but I like seeing the strikeouts. It will be interesting to see how the scouting reports are for Matzek in addition to the results.
George Springer (HOU) - .320/.370/.480, 4 R, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB, 1 BB/5 K
The top draft pick for the Astros, Springer announced his presence on Opening night by hitting a grand slam. There was a lot of speculation on what Springer could do, as he did not play last season, and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to show both power and speed this year.
Brad Miller (SEA) - .444/.516/1.148, 10 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB
The 2nd round pick of the Mariners in last year's draft, Miller has had a very, very good first week. The only caveat I would give is that he played in 5 home games, as High Desert is a known hitters park (17% above average runs created last year, 29% above average home runs last year), so I'd like to see him hit elsewhere in the Cal League before thinking he'll be able to post 1.000+ OPS on a consistent basis.
Carolina League
Cody Buckel (TEX) - 4 IP, 0 ER, 7 K, 3 BB, 2 H
I wrote about Buckel on Friday, and he made that start the same day. Not exactly ecstatic about the walks, but in combination with the strikeouts the outing looks a lot better.
Anthony Rendon (WAS) - .500/.667/1.250, 2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 3B
Rendon had a pretty good pair of games before suffering an ankle injury, and you really have to wonder at this point if he will ever be able to shed the injury-prone label. Currently, there is no time table for his return to game action.
Cheslor Cuthbert (KC) - .133/.350/.200, (2 for 15),1 2B, 5 BB, 4 K
The batting average hasn't shown up yet, but I like to see how the walk rate has shown itself at this point. I think he'll start hitting by the time the next report comes out for High-A in two weeks.
Christian Villanueva (TEX) - .286/.375/.500, (4 for 14), 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Roman Mendez (TEX) - 6 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, 3 H
Florida State League
Jed Bradley (MIL) - 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB, 3 H
Gerrit Cole (PIT) - 4 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB, 4 H
The top draft pick from last year's draft made his debut, and showed some of what made him the top pick. According to Pirates Prospects, Cole was "hitting 97 MPH on several occasions, and he also flashed a 91 MPH changeup for one of the strikeouts. Of his 12 outs, seven were strikeouts and the other five were ground outs." Definitely what you'd like to see from him thus far.
Carlos Martinez (STL) - 4 IP, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB, 5 H
Taylor Jungmann (MIL) - 11 2/3 IP, 4 ER (3.09 ERA), 7 K, 5 BB, 12 H
Mikie Mahtook (TAM) - .294/.409.353, (5 for 17), 2 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 for 3 SB, 2 BB/1 K
The Rays' top draft pick from last season, I like seeing the stolen base attempts from him already, but hope that the success rate will start to improve as the season progresses.
Jake Marisnick (TOR) - .273/.370/.455, (6 for 22), 5 R, 4 2B, 3 RBI, 1 for 1 SB, 3 BB/6 K
A favorite of both myself and Ray, I could see Marisnick promoted a bit more aggressively this season if he keeps up with this level of performance in High-A.