Around the Bases - June 23, 2009

Castro's 'hard-nosed' play has him rapidly rising up the prospect charts

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record but…
I can’t figure out what more the Reds need to see from 23yo right-hander, Homer Bailey. Last night Bailey tossed 7 innings of 6-hit, 1-run, ball and fanned 8, leaving his ERA at 0.47 in June, and 2.71 on the year. The Reds are realistically in contention in the NL Central, and he is certainly a better option than Micah Owings.

Helium alert…
Cubs’ 19yo prospect, Starlin Castro, followed up his 4 for 4, Florida State League All-Star MVP performance with a 3 for 5, with a triple, outing in the first game after the break. Castro is quickly closing in on Top 100 consideration.

Yes, he still qualifies as a prospect…
With 54 MLB innings under his belt, 26yo Nationals’ right-hander, Garret Mock, has been a borderline prospect for a few years now. Yesterday, Mock was anything but borderline, throwing a complete game, 3-hit, shut out, where he fanned 10 in the process.

Hello, I am…
23yo White Sox 1Bmen, Brandon Allen introduced himself to International League pitchers in a big way, going 8 for 17 in his debut series, including yesterday’s 3 for 5 with a home run.

Looking like a solid #2…
I am still not convinced that Athletics’ 21yo right-hander, Trevor Cahill, has the stuff to front a rotation, but he is certainly looking like a solid Big League #2. Last night’s 7 inning, 1 run, 4 hit, 1 walk, 4 strikeout, performance gives Cahill a 2.44 ERA over his last 7 starts.

Maybe he can hit a little too…
‘Fringy’ 22yo Tigers’ prospect, Audy Ciriaco, has always been known as a good glove, weak bat, SS. In yesterday’s double header, Ciriaco went 5 for 6 with a double and now has a .400/.417/.571 line over his last ten games.

Somebody missed this one…
The Cubs’ 21yo right-hander, Jay Jackson, lasted until the end of the 9th round in last June’s draft. 280 players were selected before him. After fanning 72 batters in 50 innings in his debut last summer, the Cubs figured they might have something more than a 9th round pick in Jackson. Last night, Jackson tossed 5 shutout innings of 1 hit ball—fanning five. In 8 starts since April 29th, Jackson has a 1.13 ERA—in AA.