Baseball America Hot Sheet: Week of August 1st-7th

It's here! The Friday afternoon Hot Sheet! There are some good names on the list, so let's get to it.

1. Mike Moustakas, 3b, Royals -- Perhaps Moustakas is finally living up to the hype. He certainly has been very productive lately 7 extra base hits in 26 plate appearances. I'm not sold on Moustakas quite yet, but he's beginning to grow on me.
2. David Price, lhp, Rays -- After going 12 innings with 17 strikeouts, 4 walks, and only 1 earned run, Price deserves to be at the top of this list. But, his numbers still aren't as great those posted by younger pitchers in AA this season. Here's the stat line of 21 year old pitcher in his last 3 AA starts of the year (I'll let you guess who it is...): 15 IP, 21 K, 3 BB, 2 ER, 56% GB%.
   
3. Lars Anderson, 1B, Red Sox -- I know I don't share popular opinion on this one, but I like Anderson over Travis Snider. Anderson has such a better plate approach, and I think he'll succeed faster in the majors than Snider.
4. Chris Tillman, rhp, Orioles -- Have the Orioles had solid pitching prospect over the last few years? I haven't taken the time to look into it myself, but I think Tillman is probably the best they've had in a long time.
5. Logan Morrison, 1B, Marlins -- Another great hitter coming up through the Marlins system. What a surprise. Morrison has a lot more power than people give him credit for, and he's got a fantastic approach at the plate. But now the question is, would I take Lars Anderson or Logan Morrison?
6. Ivan DeJesus, 2B, Dodgers -- Not a bad hitter, but not enough upside at second base to make me take a closer look.
   
7. Yamaico Navarro, SS, Red Sox -- It's amazing what playing in the Cal League can do to a player's stats. From .280/.341/.412 at A ball to .379/.400/.589 at A+ ball, all in the same year? I hope Red Sox fans aren't drinking the water.
8. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Giants -- Baseball America now has Bumgarner listed as a 19 year old, but he spent almost the entire year pitching at A ball as an 18 year old, while posting a 1.62 ERA and a 125:18 K:BB ratio. Absurd. I am concerned about his depressed GB% compared to earlier in the year, but it's not a major issue when you're striking out 30% of the batters you face and most of them are a couple of years older than you.
9. James McDonald, rhp, Dodgers -- At 23, McDonald would have to put up some insane numbers to impress me. He's not bad, but his stuff isn't good enough to make him much more than a #3 or #4 starter in the majors.
10. Carlos Santana, C, Indians -- Another player performing well, but just a bit too old to make me want to know more.
11. Jesus Montero, C, Yankees -- Here's the kind of prospect I like. Succeeding at a level well above his age, and power to boot. Montero is 6'4" and 225 lbs at 18 years old! What are they feeding this kid?
12. Tyler Flowers, C, Braves -- I still don't know where Flowers fits into the Braves future plans. On any other team, he would be a prime catching prospect. But the Braves tend to be knee deep in catchers at the moment, and Flowers doesn't really have the bat to play first base, so what do you do with him?
    
13. Brandon Erbe, rhp, Orioles -- I spoke too soon about Chris Tillman. Erbe is better. So, when was the last time the Orioles had 2 good pitching prospects?

And that's it. Now it's time for Olympic baseball. ...Read more