First Impressions

If you missed it (and if you're fantasy baseball fanatic, you didn't), the Matt Wieters Era finally began on May 29. His sidekick in hype, David Price, made his season debut just a scant four days earlier. Perhaps inspired by seeing Orioles and Rays fans stampeding to the ticket counter, the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox all followed suit by calling up their own franchise saviors, Fernando Martinez, Tommy Hanson and Gordon Beckman seemingly within minutes of each other. Let's take a look at the first impressions these kids are making on the fantasy baseball owners burning up the waiver wires to add them to their own rosters... Matt Wieters: I'll leave the hyperbole up to the folks at the hilarious Matt Wieters Facts website, but let's just say that those possessing a Y chromosome haven't been this excited since Jessica Biel finally revealed her true talents in Powder Blue. But don't start casting that Hall-of-Fame plaque just yet. Wieters was batting just .229 as of this writing, without a homerun or RBI to his name. He does sport an unsightly 8:1 K:BB ratio, mildly surprising given his minor league track record of patience. Those expecting "Joe Mauer with power" to be their fantasy savior this season may be sorely disappointed. He plays the most physically and mentally demanding defensive position on the diamond, so any extra work he does this summer will be dedicated to learning about the Orioles pitchers and opposing hitters, not adjusting his own swing. He'll have to survive in the batter's box on talent alone and, while that talent is prodigious, that may not be enough for a 23 year old with barely a season's worth of professional experience. For perspective, here's how some of the best hitting catchers in major league history fared in their real exposure to the big show: Mike Piazza - 21G, .232 1 HR 7 RBI Carlton Fisk - 16G, .283 2 HR 6 RBI Johnny Bench - 26G, .163 1 HR 6 RBI There are exceptions (both Mauer and Brian McCann got their careers off to solid statistical starts), but regardless, patience will be the order of business for Wieters owners. They may have to wait until 2010 for their investment to truly pay off. David Price: Though he made is major league debut last season, Price is still a rookie and, perhaps excepting Hanson, the most hyped pitching prospect in all of baseball. Rays fans and fantasy baseball owners surely questioned Tampa's decision to send Price to Triple-A Durham to open to the season, but the prudence may well have paid off. Not only did the Rays delay Price's service time clock (no small factor for a small market team like the Rays), not only did Price gain valuable experience while pitching for the Bulls, not only will they be better able to control Price's innings load this season, but they also got a good look at what Jeff Niemann and Andy Sonnanstine could offer the big club this season. Since in Sonnanstine's case the answer is "not much," expect Price to stick around Tampa even after Scott Kazmir returns from his injury prompted hiatus. That said, don't expect miracles. Other recent, similarly talented young arms have experienced plenty of growing pains once they started facing major league hitters: Max Scherzer - 115.1 IP, 2-8, 3.59 ERA Clayton Kershaw - 171.2 IP, 8-10, 4.35 ERA Going back a little farther, we begin to see a trend developing: Jon Lester - 81.1 IP, 7-2, 4.76 ERA Chad Billingsley - 90 IP, 7-4, 3.80 ERA And how about some future Hall-of-Famers: Tom Glavine - 50.1 IP, 2-4, 5.54 ERA Greg Maddux - 31 IP, 2-4, 5.52 ERA Frankly, it almost behooves Price to start slowly as many pitchers who came out of the gate dominating (Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela) ultimately flamed out more rapidly than Paris Hilton's "acting" career. Since this post is already obscenely long and I'm running out of clever celebrity comparisons, we'll cover Martinez, Hanson and Beckman in the next edition of Fantasy Tipster's First Impressions early next week.

The Daily Dirt for Sunday

by Todd Lammi Chipper Jones smacked two home runs and went 4 for 4 with 5 RBI to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Yunel Escobar went 3 for 5 and drove in the game-winning run in the 8th inning. Rookie Tommy Hanson was taken deep three times in his debut, allowing six runs in six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan Braun went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI for Milwaukee. Braun now has 38 RBI on the season to go with his 12 home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday... Hitters: Nelson Cruz moved into a tie in the American League home run race after clubbing his 17th home run of the season. Cruz went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Since May 20th, he has not gone more than three games without hitting a home run. Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with two RBI including his fifth home run of the season. Victorino is now hitting .295 on the season with 29 RBI and 9 stolen bases. Juan Rivera went 3 for 5 with three RBI and his sixth home run of the year, giving him 25 runs knocked in on the season. Rivera has driven in a run in 7 of his last 8 games, giving him nine RBI during that period. Aaron Hill broke out of an 0-for-25 rut by connecting for his 13th home run of the season and boosting his RBI total to 40. Despite a roughly 60 point drop in batting average from the beginning of May to the start of June, Hill still hit .307 for the month of May. Alexei Ramirez went 2 for 5 with three RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the year. After ending May on a high note by hitting .281 for the month, he has started off slow in June batting .174. Clint Barmes has been on a roll, going 3 for 4 with two RBI on Sunday, which gave him five consecutive games with two or more hits. He has now driven in seven runs in his last four games. Jose Lopez went 3 for 5 with two RBI and hit his sixth home run of the season. Despite batting only .236 on the season, Lopez has still managed to drive in 31 runs so far this year. Rookie Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 with an RBI and is batting .333 early on since his promotion from Triple-A this week. Mark Reynolds finally put an end to an 18 inning game, delivering a three-run home run off of position player Josh Wilson. The home run was the 14th of the season for Reynolds who had struck out four times earlier in the game. Pitchers: Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts, to improve to 10-1 on the season. More impressive is that the shutout comes on the heels of throwing a season-high 133 pitches in his last start. Halladay has been a true workhorse this season, pitching at least seven innings in every start he has made. Rookie Antonio Bastardo moved to 2-0 after allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts. He had some control problems, as he only managed first pitch strikes to 7 out of 23 hitters, but he pitched well with men on base to minimize the potential damage. Livan Hernandez improved to 5-1 by hurling seven shutout innings with four strikeouts. Hernandez has dropped his ERA almost 3.5 runs since his only loss of the season back on April 23rd. Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two runs in eight innings with nine strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the season. Take away his three starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has pounded him for a 10.20 ERA this season, and his numbers would be even better. Rookie Vin Mazzaro improved to 2-0 by pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Mazzaro has yet to allow a run in 13 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A. Erik Bedard allowed two runs in five innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 5-2 on the year. Despite his good record and low ERA of 2.47, he has not made it to the seventh inning in a start since May 5th. Ricky Nolasco pitched better in his return from Triple-A, allowing two earned runs in seven innings with four strikeout, but was still tagged with his sixth loss of the season. Closers: Chad Qualls blew his third save of the season, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Qualls, who complained of forearm stiffness this past week has blown two of his last three save opportunities. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

by Todd Lammi If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, today has provided quite a swing of emotion. Three events happened which all somewhat coincided with each other depending on who's version of the story you want to believe to shuffle the Atlanta roster. The first move was the Braves fleecing the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Nate McLouth for three prospects, none of whom were named, Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jason Heyward or Freddie Freeman. Even with the addition of McLouth who takes the spot of Jordan Schafer who was recently demoted, the Braves are still short a bat in their line up. At only $2 million, the Braves take on very little salary by adding McLouth this season. The next move the Braves made frees up salary, by surprisingly releasing Tom Glavine who was due to return from the minor leagues on rehab assignment very shortly. The release of Glavine saves the Braves $3.5 million in salary, in addition to creating a roster spot for top prospect Tommy Hanson who was called up from Triple-A. Hanson will move into the Braves rotation Saturday and get the start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kris Medlen gets a pat on the back for striking out nine in his six innings in his last start and a trip to the bullpen. For the Pirates, the trade of McLouth opens up center field for Andrew McCutchen who should see the majority of starts for the rest of the season. McCutchen was hitting .303 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 201 at bats in Triple-A. If you are a fan on minor league players or have some on your team, these last two weeks have to feel like Christmas with Matt Wieters getting called up and then Hanson and McCutchen getting called up today. If that was not special enough, late Wednesday night it was announced that Gordon Beckham has been recalled by the Chicago White Sox. If the White Sox are calling him up after just a week in Triple-A, it stands to reason he is going to be in the starting line up somewhere in the infield. Beckham was hitting .464 in Triple-A with three RBI and one steal in seven games. Between two levels on the season, he was at .326 with four home runs and 25 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday night... Hitters: Ben Zorbist, wow, where did all the power come from? Zorbist should be a permanent fixture in the Tampa Bay Rays line up going forward, and is rewarding fantasy baseball owners, by connecting for home runs on consecutive days. Zorbist is currently on pace for a .300 average with 33 home runs, 105 RBI and 16 steals. Nice to see Elvis Andrus finally turning on the jets a little bit, as he stole two bases and went 2 for 3 at the plate. With stolen bases in consecutive games, he is now on pace for 30 thefts on the season. Jorge Posada homered for the second straight and has been on a nice roll since returning from the disabled list on May 29th with three home runs in six games with six RBI. Bobby Abreu went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including his second home run of the season. After being on a stolen base tear for the first month and a half of the season, Abreu has not stolen a base since May 19th. Dan Uggla homered for the second consecutive day and is now up to 11 home runs with 39 RBI. His batting average is s-l-o-w-l-y creeping up t0 .219 after being around the Mendoza line for much of the season. Hunter Pence went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and slugged his sixth home run of the season. The home run Wednesday night matched Pence's home run total for the entire month of May. Ryan Howard hit home run number 16 and knocked in two runs giving him 45 RBI on the season. He has now driven in a run in five consecutive game, totaling 11 plated runners. Laynce Nix hit two home runs and drove in four, giving him seven RBI in June which matches his total for the entire month of May. He should continue to get the majoirty of at bats against right-handed pitching. Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and two stolen bases and has homered three times in his last five games. Scott Hairston was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained biceps. Will Venable was recalled from Triple-A and should see time along with Tony Gwynn Jr. Asdrubal Cabrera was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left shoulder and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. Jamey Carroll should see time at third base with Jhonny Peralta moving over to shortstop. Carroll went 2 for 6 batting second on Wednesday. Peralta, back at his old position of shortstop went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, including his second long ball of the year. Pitchers: Possibly there is light at the end of the tunnel for Jeff Niemann who tossed a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season and lower his ERA to 3.77. Niemann has allowed two runs in his last 18 innings with 18 strikeouts and has seen his overall ERA decrease in his last five outings. Jered Weaver hurled seven innings of one run ball with 10 strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2 on the year. He has now allowed one run in five of his six last starts, although he only has two wins in those outings due to a lack of run support. Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Atlanta Braves. He cost himself a win with a throwing error that caused an unearned run to score. Josh Beckett tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his record to 6-2 on the year. He has allowed two runs or less in his last four starts while shaving two full runs off of his ERA. Scott Feldman allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season. As a starter this season, remember that he had three relief appearances that threw his ERA out of whack, Feldman had an ERA of 2.59 heading into the game. Josh Outman moved to 3-0, after allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Check out the top 2o in pitching for May, he ranked high in several statistics. Cliff Lee allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to notch his third victory of the year. Despite his 3-6 record, Lee has a 2.96 ERA as the Indians have been shut out or scored one run in six of his starts this year. J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season and second in three starts. Chad Billingsley hurled six shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his mrk to 7-3 on the year. His numbers would be even more impressive if he managed to reduce his walks, after walking four or more batters in 5 of his last 7 starts. Closers: Jose Valverde is expected to go on a short rehab assignment next week and if all goes well is on track to return from the disabled list around June 12th. Joakim Soria returned to action, facing two batters and throwing 13 pitches. I would still hold on to Juan Cruz for another week or two if you need saves, just in case. To get more fantasy baseball insight and analysis, go to Fantasy Baseball Tools

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 8

by Todd Lammi With Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled to have surgery on his right hip that will likely end his season, let's take a look at some the internal options the Phillies have to fill that void either by call up or via trade. Carlos Carrasco was the minor league pitcher closest to the majors when the season started, beginning the year in Triple-A. He has been off to a disappointing start so far this season at 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA. In 55 innings, he has allowed 63 hits with 58 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting .281 against him. He has been better in his last three starts with 7 runs allowed in 19 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts that the Phillies might be willing to give him a shot while he has momentum. Antonio Bastardo was recently promoted to Triple-A where he has made two starts, allowing three runs in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. In 34 2/3 innings at AA, he had a 1.82 with 39 strikeouts while holding batters to a .178 average. Kyle Kendrick has done nothing to distinguish himself in Triple-A, with a 4.25 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 53 innings, but he could be an option because of his past big league experience. The longest of long shots is Kyle Drabek in Advanced A ball. Drabek currently holds a 2.48 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. If nothing else, the injury to Myers should have him bumped up to AA very shortly. If the Phillies look to trade for a starter, they might move shortstop Jason Donald who is currently in AAA blocked by Jimmy Rollins. Donald has been off to a slow start with a .234 average with one home run and four steals. In AA in 2008, Donald hit .307 with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Outfielder Michael Taylor in AA could also be a trade target of other teams. Taylor is hitting .342 with 9 home runs, 37 RBI and 8 stolen bases with a low 19 strikeouts in 152 at bats. In other minor league news from week 8... Tommy Hanson continues to dominate in Triple-A, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .164 on the season against him. Gordon Beckham was promoted to Triple-A and is seeing time at third base. It looks like the White Sox are intent to get his bat into the line up at any position they can. Beckham hit .299 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI in 38 games in AA before the promotion. He has gone 3 for 7 in two games with the Charlotte Knights. Wade Davis should be next in line the next time the Tampa Bay Rays need a starting pitcher from the minors. Davis in Triple-A currently has a 3.40 ERA in 53 innings with 32 strikeouts. His AAA numbers were actually better in 2008 following his promotion from AA. 2008 ERA - 2.72 Innings - 53 Hits - 39 Strikeouts - 55 2009 ERA - 3.40 Innings - 53 Hits - 44 Strikeouts - 32 The Cleveland Indians have several promising arms they could turn to in AA in the second half of the season. Jeanmar Gomez has a 1.29 ERA in five starts with 0.57 whip ratio and 3o strikeouts in 35 innings. Teammate Chuck Lofgren was just promoted to Triple-A after posting a 1.42 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings. Mat Latos (Padres) tossed seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and could see a promotion to Triple-A in another month or two. Latos has a 0.50 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings on the season. Madison Bumgarner (Giants) is heating up in AA, running off four straight wins since his promotion. Between his two minor league stops, Bumgarner is 7-1 with a 1.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings with zero home runs allowed. Brad Lincoln (Pirates) should be ready for a move up to Triple-A in the near future. Lincoln has a 2.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed only two home runs and 12 walks on the season. Alcides Escobar (Brewers) has been working at second base since the injury to Rickie Weeks and his hitting has taken off. He has boosted his average to .290 with two home runs and 21 steals. It remains to be seen whether the Milwaukee Brewers promote him the second half of the season or use him as the main trade bait to try to get Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres. Catcher Carlos Santana is hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in AA. He also has a 31 to 22 walk to strikeout ratio. If the Cleveland Indians go into fire sale mode and trade Victor Martinez or Kelly Shoppach, Santana could see time in the second half of the season. To get more minor league baseball insight and analysis, see the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 7

by Todd Lammi

The Baltimore Orioles have several good arms making their way up the minor league ladder. One of the lesser known names, David Hernandez may be ready to join the O's rotation by September if he continues at his current pace. Hernandez, currently in AAA, struck out 14 in 7 1/3 innings in his last start and now has 60 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings on the season with a 2.91 ERA.

Brian Matusz (Orioles) in Advanced A, struck out nine in seven innings in his last start and has 60 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings with a 3.09 ERA.

Matt Wieters (Orioles) in AAA has homered four times in his last eight games, and now stands at .288 with five home runs and 24 RBI.

Third basemen Brett Wallace (Cardinals) has been promoted to Triple-A. He is currently hitting .312 with six home runs and 19 RBI on the season.

Tommy Hanson (Braves) continues to cruise through AAA, allowing one hit in six shutout innings in his last start with nine strikeouts. He has now fanned 73 in 53 2/3 innings with a 1.51 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .160 batting average.

Catcher J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays) has flashed power in AAA, but still needs work on controlling the strike zone to improve his batting average. Arencibia is hitting .250 with seven home runs and 27 RBI, but just nine walks in 144 at bats, although that is an improvement over his AA numbers with seven walks in 262 at bats.

Junichi Tazawa (Red Sox) pitched six shutout innings in his last start in AA and is now 4-3 with a 2.74 ERA. In 49 1/3 innings, he has struck out 47 while allowing only three home runs.

Matt Latos (Padres) is off to a great start in AA after starting the season shelved with an injury. Latos currently sports a 0.36 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings, while limiting batters to a .120 average.

One player who has not been part of the Triple-A shuttle for the Oakland Athletics as the major league team continues to juggle its pitching rotation has been Vin Mazzaro. Mazzaro in AAA has a 2.66 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. He has allowed two runs in his last 21 2/3 innings, including eight innings of shutout ball in his last start.

Carlos Torres (White Sox) is a little bit old for the AAA level at 26, but he is putting up numbers worthy of a look, with a 1.76 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 46 innings. He is holding opposing hitters to a .193 average and has yet to allow a home run this season.

With David Ortiz struggling in Boston, the Red Sox could use some more offense. Lars Anderson, the first baseman of the future, has been off to a slow start in AA, hitting .234 with five home runs and 23 RBI. He has struck out 35 times in 137 at bats.

Go to the Minor League Report.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 6

by Todd Lammi

The big news from the minor leagues this week was not the promotion of Tommy Hanson from Triple-A, but rather the promotion of his teammate Kris Medlen. Medlen will start for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies and could see potentially three starts before Tom Glavine is ready to return to the rotation. Depending how Medlen fares, there is a chance once Glavine returns that Kenshin Kawakami, 2-5 with a 5.73 ERA, would be bumped from the rotation for Medlen if Medlen is able to carry over his performance from Triple-A.

Braves general manager Frank Wren admitted if there was a long term opening in the rotation, Hanson would have been the one that was tabbed for the call up. So for now, Medlen gets the first opportunity to crack the Braves rotation. Hanson started on Saturday and tossed seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

The San Jose Giants promoted their top two pitchers as Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson were moved up to AA. Alderson pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his first start while striking out 10. In Bumgarner's first start, he allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts.

Outfielder Michael Taylor (Phillies) is hitting .308 in AA with six home runs and six stolen bases. The way the Philadelphia outfield is set, Taylor could be trade bait as the deadline approaches.

Jake Arrieta (Orioles) moved to 4-1 with seven shutout innings and 10 strikeouts on Saturday.

Trevor Reckling is moving quickly for the Los Angeles Angels, as he is now currently in AA. Reckling who turns 20 next week is 4-2 with a 1.01 ERA in 44 2/3 innings with 36 strikeouts between two levels.

Hector Rondon (Indians) is 5-1 with a 1.95 ERA in AA. Rondon has struck out 28 hitters in 32 1/3 innings.

Brad Lincoln (Pirates) is slowly working his way back to prospect status. After being selected 4th overall in the 2006 draft, Lincoln missed all of 2007 after having Tommy John surgery. He is currently 0-3 in AA with a 2.87 ERA. Lincoln has struck out 36 in 37 2/3 innings.

Also working his way back to form is Troy Patton (Orioles). Patton was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Miguel Tejada trade. After spending time with the Astros in 2007, Patton missed last season after shoulder surgery. Now down in AA, Patton is 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA, with 23 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

Get the Minor League Report

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report - week 4

by Todd Lammi

Tommy Hanson picked up his first win of the season Thursday, tossing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Hanson threw 92 pitches, 58 for strikes, and allowed an even split of four ground ball and four fly outs. He is just waiting for the Atlanta Braves to make the call as he is major league ready right now. Other top prospects making a mark in minor league baseball in week 4...

Gordon Beckham has been in the news quite a bit recently with questions being asked of Chicago White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen about the potential for a Beckham call up. Beckham is hitting .300 in AA with two home runs and 10 doubles, plus a stolen base. He still has some work to do defensively before he is promoted to the major leagues.

Justin Smoak - the way he has been hitting, you might as well change his last name to Smoke. Currently in AA for the Texas Rangers, Smoak is hitting .351 with four home runs in 76 at bats. More importantly, check out the walk to strikeout ratio. With 16 walks against only 10 strikeouts, Smoak is displaying a great eye at the plate.

Jake Arrieta - in AA for the Baltimore Orioles, Arrieta struck out six in six innings for his last start. On the season, Arrieta has a 2.00 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 18 innings.

Madison Bumgarner - Bumgarner, part of the loaded team that is the San Jose Giants is off to a good start in 2009 with a 1.40 ERA, with 19 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. His last start was the first time he allowed more than one run.

Buster Posey - Bumgarner's teammate in San Jose, the catcher is hitting .366 with five home runs and an 11 to 13 walk to strikeout ratio.

Jarrod Parker - Parker made a quick move this season, blazing through high Class A up to Double-A for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Parker in his four starts in A ball, had a 0.95 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Gerardo Parra - among the leaders in batting average in AA for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Parra is hitting .342 with a home run and five stolen bases. He has shown good plate discipline with 15 walks versus nine strikeouts.

Bud Norris - could be next in line when the Houston Astros need a starting pitcher. Norris has a 2.28 ERA in AAA with 25 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. He still needs some work on his control, with 15 walks on the season, including six in his last start.

Dayan Viciedo - Viciedo was hot in spring training and there was some that thought he was close to the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox. The team sent him to AA and he has struggled there so far in the first month of the season, batting .221 with 20 strikeouts in 77 at bats.

Check out the Minor League Report