MLB Top Prospects: August Injury Updates

It's been nearly two months since we looked at the injury status of some of the top prospects in the minors, so let's take a look at how they have fared, whether we will see them before the minor league season ends next week, and whether their injuries have affected their prospect status.

RETURNED TO ACTION

#14 Archie Bradley

What had first appeared as a rehab assignment at AA Mobile for Bradley has turned into the overall assignment instead, as Bradley has now made 11 starts there, with mixed results. The ERA looks good at 3.31, but 31 walks in 55 innings pitched continues to show that there are things for Bradley to work on. Realistically, I'm not sure at this point whether the Diamondbacks bring him up this year or not, but should get at least a small shot at a rotation spot in the spring.

NR - Kyle Zimmer

Zimmer has finally returned to the field, having made two appearances so far at short-season Idaho Falls. However, the last of those appearances was on 8/19, and it is unclear whether there is a reason he has not pitched since then. Zimmer was on the offseason top 50 prospect list, but fell off my midseason list due to the uncertainty on his status at the time.

NR - Austin Meadows

Meadows returned to the field in early July, and has hit well in his 31 games played (.317/.370/.463), with two home runs and one stolen base. He also fell off my midseason top 50, but that had a lot more to do with other players moving up than Meadows necessarily doing something to knock himself down.

STILL INJURED

#2 Byron Buxton

It was a tough year for Buxton, who missed almost all of the first three months of the season, and was able to finally return to his anticipated start level (AA) in mid-August... and suffered a concussion after colliding with his own right fielder in the first game there. He could potentially be sent to a winter league (AFL perhaps?), but to say it's been anything but a lost year of development is probably not being honest. That said, Buxton was well ahead on the age-level curve to begin with, and hopefully should return to the field without missing a beat in 2015.

#5 Carlos Correa

Correa has been out since June 22nd with a fractured fibula, and will not play again this season. It's too bad, as it seems likely he would have been promoted to AA by now, and could have been in the mix for a starting job in 2015. It was a bit of a fluke injury, so it shouldn't affect his status too much.

NR - Max Fried

10 innings. That's how many innings Fried ended up throwing this year before it was determined that he needed Tommy John surgery. He's likely out for the entire 2015 season, and probably now on track for a late 2016 debut. His value isn't a lot different if he comes back healthy, but that's a long way from now.

New to the Injury Report

#20 - Jonathan Gray

Gray was put on the disabled list last week, apparently with "minor soreness" per Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He also noted that it is expected to be a short stint on the DL, as he should be back for Texas League playoffs, which start in a little over a week.

#30 - Hunter Harvey

Harvey made his last start of the season back on July 25th, and of course got the dreaded "elbow injury" diagnosis. The righty isn't expected to need surgery at this point, but we'll revisit that after the offseason to see whether he returns without seeing a surgeon.

#31 - Josh Bell

Bell has been on the disabled list for a little over two weeks now with a left knee contusion. Between the injury history and the definite logjam of outfielders closer to the majors, there seems to be a lot of speculation that Bell will have to move to first base in the near future. This obviously puts a lot more pressure on his bat to be able to produce significant fantasy value, but he may be able to pull that off anyway.

#45 - Jesse Winker

Winker has been out since the middle of July with a wrist injury that stemmed from a car accident at the time, and is expected to miss the rest of the season. We'll have to wait to see whether the injury has any long-term impact on his fantasy value, which is a lot higher than his overall prospect value.

No News Expected

#10 - Miguel Sano

#24 - Jameson Taillon