:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/7300828/145897831.jpg)
Each Wednesday, I take a look at some of the top prospects in the lower levels of the minor leagues (High-A or Low-A), and give a brief update on how they are doing with their assignment. Starting in two weeks, this post (the Low-A one) will also include all of the stateside Short-Season leagues, which are starting in the next two weeks. You can also check out our midseason prospect rankings, with catcher and first base so far.
Midwest League
Miguel Sano (MIN)
Wake up, crush home runs. Repeat. Sano has 14 home runs so far, but is hitting just .240/.350/.507 on the season. Ray ranked him in his first base prospect rankings, and I'm inclined to agree that he will end up there eventually.
Noah Syndergaard (TOR)
The guys over at Jays Journal had an interesting article about Syndergaard, which you can find here. The Blue Jays use a "piggybacking" system with all three of their top pitching prospects in Lansing, where one pitches in relief and the other starts the game. Not surprisingly, Syndergaard doesn't do as well with relieving as he does with starting.
Josh Sale (TAM)
Sale is starting to show the promise that made him a top draft pick a few years ago, as he is hitting .319/.452/.708 in 24 games so far in the Midwest League. With 8 home runs already, I'm wondering if they try to push him to their High-A affiliate before the end of the season.
Javier Baez (CHC)
There was a bit of controversy surrounding after swinging at a 3-0 pitch with his team up 13-0 last week, but his performance seems to be solid thus far. To date, he is hitting .277/.370/.468 with 2 home runs and 5 stolen bases.
Archie Bradley (ARI)
We knew there were going to be some rough numbers with a high school pitcher, and Bradley's 40 walks through 64 innings would qualify. He has been notching a lot of strikeouts (58 so far), but he'll likely spend the full season in Low-A.
South Atlantic League
Delino DeShields Jr (HOU)
DeShields is leading the Sally League in stolen bases with 38 out of 44 successful attempts, but is hitting just .258/.364/.365. He is a LOOOOOOONG way away though, if he gets there. You would hope that he would as a former first round pick.
Jose Fernandez (MIA)
I am honestly curious when they will go ahead and promote Fernandez to High-A. He is leading the league with 85 strikeouts, has given just 16 walks and allowed 42 hits in 67 innings, and has dropped his ERA to 1.34 on the season. He seems to be more advanced than the league at this point.
Nick Tropeano (HOU)
Here's a relatively new name to keep an eye on. Tropeano has thrown 70 1/3 innings so far, allowed 64 hits, and has an excellent 82/16 K/BB ratio. A 5th round draft pick in 2011, Tropeano could be moved to High-A at some point during the year.
In addition to the Low-A leagues, the midseason, short-season leagues are starting next week. We should start to see a number of assignments to these leagues in the next week or so, but here's some of the ones that have already been completed, as per MILB.com's league page:
Appalachian League: Gavin Cecchini (NYM 1st round draft pick)
Gulf Coast League: Carlos Correa (HOU, #1 pick), Wyatt Mathisen (PIT 2nd round pick),
Northwest League: Jeimer Candelario (CHC), Shawon Dunston Jr (CHC)