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The first wave of minor league call ups has happened today. Being that today is 12 days into the season, these promotions allow the respective teams to leave the prospects at ‘one day shy of a full service year’ if they stay up the remainder of the 2017 season. This is always important for a team’s player control. The first call up was for the Cincinnati Reds and the other for the Colorado Rockies.
Jesse Winker – OF CIN (Preseason Prospect Ranking of #50)
Per sources, the Reds have promoted OF Jesse Winker to the big league club from Triple-A Louisville. The corresponding move saw Barrett Astin sent down to make room. In 106 games at Triple-A in 2016 Winker hit .303 with a 59:59 BB:K ratio. He doesn’t bring a lot of power to the table, but he is an excellent source for BA and OBP. He may be only be up for a cup of coffee or he may end up unseated Scott Schebler in the outfield.
Raimel Tapia – OF COL (Preseason Prospect Ranking of #42)
Colorado has recalled Raimel Tapia for tonight’s game. According to reports, he will be batting 7th in the Rockies lineup. Tapia has been raking for Triple-A Albuquerque. Through 7 games, he is hitting a robust .406/.472/.594 with 2 steals and a 4:6 BB/K ratio. Tapia has taken the place of hot hitting Gerardo Parra in the lineup who is out on Paternity Leave. Tapia played on the big league team last fall, appearing in 22 games, where he hit .263/.293/.263 in 38 at-bats. Tapia will be up for the weekend filling in. If he can hold his own, he may be able to stay up long term as the Rockies also placed Jon Gray on the 10 day disabled list today.