Monthly Calls to the Farm

To all the readers at NextGenSports, I would like to apologize for the sparsity of our posts in the last week. We bloggers are not exempt from the rigors of school and particularly, exams.

On another note, we have decided to start a new monthly segment about the perhaps potentially impactful call-ups from the minor leagues to the major leagues. For the month of June, we have to begin in Syracuse, where 2009 #1 pick Stephen Strasburg is heading to Washington to make his debut on June 8th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I can tell all our readers that availability to see Strasburg, who many scouts believe is the best pitcher in the entire Nationals' organization, is absolutely zero. Ten minutes after the confirmation of his debut, tickets were gone. But, that isn't a surprise, right? I mean, Strasburg can throw a 103 mile per hour fastball. Then, he adds a solid curveball, and his change-up has the potential to be elite. The former San Diego State star primarily relied on his change-up in testy situations against hitters. The gigantic change in speed from a high 90s fastball to a middle-70s change-up coupled with the hitters' inability to differentiate between both of Strasburg's best pitches propelled him to an ERA in the minor leagues bordering 1.00. Look for Stephen Strasburg to excel this coming Wednesday. He goes against a weak lineup at home. Expectations will be unattainable, but, in general, I don't think pressure will be a problem with Strasburg. There have been packed houses to watch him pitch since the final games of his college career, so hoards of fans shouldn't be anything new. In terms of his repertoire on the mound, all I can say is watch out.

Reports have surfaced that the other 103 mile per hour hurler, Cincinnati Reds' prospect Aroldis Chapman will debut sometime this month. He has been called the left-handed version of Strasburg, but I would wait with such a bold comparison. He is far less polished than Strasburg, evidenced by his sometime spotty mechanics. Chapman's best pitch is clearly the fastball, but his slider is almost as nasty. If the young Cuban learns to consistency locate the slider, the combination of fastball and slider bring back memories for me of future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson. Not forgotten with Chapman is his change-up. This is the biggest question mark, by far. When located, the pitch can be dynamic, but hitting the strikezone has been a problem. Furthermore, Chapman does little to disguise the change-up from hitters. If he can figure out to mimic the arm action used for his fastball and slider with the change-up, then hitters will be playing a complete guessing game, and Chapman certainly seems like a big league star. Right now, he would fit in as the sixth starter, replacing injured pitcher Homer Bailey, behind Aaron Harang, Mike Leake, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, and Sam LeCure. Important for Chapman is confidence: he will be pitching his home games in what some scouts refer to as a pinball machine. Fly balls in any normal ballpark fall into the stands of Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark.

Carlos Santana (pictured below) should provide good depth for the Indians this year at catcher. Fellow AAA call-up Lou Marson is the starting catcher right now, but the Indians' look for Santana to potentially anchor a depleted lineup without star center fielder Grady Sizemore. Scouts compare Santana to former Indians star catcher and current member of the Boston Red Sox, Victor Martinez. Both players have sharp eyes at the plate with the ability to hit to all fields with power. Santana, this past season, hit .291 in the minor leagues. The only criticism of Santana is defensively. He lacks a ton of experience behind the plate, so look for Cleveland manager Manny Acta to defer to Lou Marson specifically during the starts of ace sinker baller Fausto Carmona.

With that in mind,expect the transition of Santana to the role as an everyday catcher to be seamless. Scouts believe Santana is so athletic with such great feet that third base might be the future position of the number one prospect in Cleveland's organization. According to various teams around the major leagues, Santana he ranks next to anointed Baltimore Orioles' catcher Matt Wieters as the best catching prospects in the recent past ahead of Giants'phenom Buster Posey and rising Yankees' star catcher Jesus Montero.Another name to watch is Florida's Michael Stanton. He was rated as baseball's third best prospect in the beginning of this season, behind only Atlanta Braves' superstar Jason Heyward and the uber-hyped Strasburg. This decision makes sense for manager Fredi Gonzalez considering the collective struggles of Florida's outfielders, most namely 2009 Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan and center fielder Cameron Maybin. Furthermore, Stanton would immediately bring power to the lineup, teaming with Hanley Ramirez to form a dynamic duo.

Most scouts liken Stanton to Hall of Famer Dave Winfield. He has incredible raw power to all fields. His speed is not an issue at all. In fact, Stanton is pretty fast, and I would not be surprised to see him steal 15 bases per year in the future. He projects to play right field, which reads as bad news for the struggling Coghlan. My only question is plate discipline. Although scouts don't seem to worry, the pressure of debuting in the big leagues to deliver for a potential contender will initially make Stanton anxious. He needs to be patient against much better pitching in the big leagues.

Continuing with the theme of power, look for the Pittsburgh Pirates to bring up budding left handed slugger Pedro Alvarez very soon. One article compared home runs hit by the second overall pick in the 2008 draft to drives hit by Tiger Woods. The only knock on Alvarez is his weight. He did spend this past off-season really committing himself to keep his body fit. If the plan continues to go smoothly, Alvarez projects as a third baseman. Reports out of spring training stated that Alvarez has already lost 10 pounds.

In a young Pirates lineup, who boasts first baseman Garrett Jones as the team's premier power hitter, Alvarez would be a welcomed addition. The other only setback is that Andy LaRoche is blocking him at third base. Therefore, expect Alvarez to play a corner outfield spot. In my opinion, Alvarez's weight issues combined with a ton of maturity at the plate remind me of Tigers' star Miguel Cabrera? Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is certainly hoping so, but don't expect Alvarez to be hitting .350 with 40 home runs in his rookie campaign.

Other potential call-ups include:
Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown, who will look to replace free agent outfielder Jayson Werth next season.
Blue Jays first baseman Brett Wallace. His batting prowess could make Blue Jays officials seriously consider shipping off Lyle Overbay before the trade deadline.
Desmond Jennings, who will play in the outfield in Tampa Bay under manager Joe Maddon. General Manager Andrew Friedman hopes Jennings will develop quickly enough to offset the loss of free agent-to-be Carl Crawford.

-DR