This article is part of our House of Shlain series.
The trade deadline was a dud, but I still have a note on Grant Green, who was traded for Alberto Callaspo in an under-the-radar shrewd deadline move by Oakland, and a few other prospects around the minors.
Grant Green, IF, Angels: Drafted as a shortstop in 2009 by the Athletics (13th overall), Green is a better fit defensively at second base because he lacks arm strength. He can fake it at short and third because of his solid bat. Green, 25, is a pure hitter with a career .305/.354/.467 line in the minor leagues. He was hitting .325/.379/.500 in 87 games in the Pacific Coast League before the trade. Green could be a solid regular for the Angels next year.
D.J. Peterson, 3B, Mariners: The 12th overall pick of the 2013 draft, Peterson signed early (for $2.759 million) and got his feet wet in the Northwest League where he hit ..312/.382/.532 in 29 games. Now the third baseman with tremendous bat speed and big time raw power is in the Midwest League, where he has three home runs in his last nine games. Peterson, the highest drafted player in the University of New Mexico's history, has seen his power carry over from his college days so far.
Austin Hedges, C, Padres: Hedges' California League numbers this season (.270/.343/.425 in 66 games) were very similar to his Midwest League numbers in 2012 (.279/.334/.451 in 96 games). He's still not exactly crushing the baseball, but it's mostly fine
The trade deadline was a dud, but I still have a note on Grant Green, who was traded for Alberto Callaspo in an under-the-radar shrewd deadline move by Oakland, and a few other prospects around the minors.
Grant Green, IF, Angels: Drafted as a shortstop in 2009 by the Athletics (13th overall), Green is a better fit defensively at second base because he lacks arm strength. He can fake it at short and third because of his solid bat. Green, 25, is a pure hitter with a career .305/.354/.467 line in the minor leagues. He was hitting .325/.379/.500 in 87 games in the Pacific Coast League before the trade. Green could be a solid regular for the Angels next year.
D.J. Peterson, 3B, Mariners: The 12th overall pick of the 2013 draft, Peterson signed early (for $2.759 million) and got his feet wet in the Northwest League where he hit ..312/.382/.532 in 29 games. Now the third baseman with tremendous bat speed and big time raw power is in the Midwest League, where he has three home runs in his last nine games. Peterson, the highest drafted player in the University of New Mexico's history, has seen his power carry over from his college days so far.
Austin Hedges, C, Padres: Hedges' California League numbers this season (.270/.343/.425 in 66 games) were very similar to his Midwest League numbers in 2012 (.279/.334/.451 in 96 games). He's still not exactly crushing the baseball, but it's mostly fine for a standout defensive catcher. Undeterred, the Padres called Hedges up to Double-A, where he's 0-for-11 so far.
Nolan Fontana, SS, Astros: The 61st pick in the 2012 draft, Fontana wore down towards the end of his 49-game South Atlantic League stint last year after a long season at Florida. The fact that Fontana still led the league in on-base percentage and walks after joining the Lexington Legends in July of last year shows he has a great approach at the plate despite his .225 average. He's picked up his play with High-A Lancaster this year as he has a .271/.423/.411 line in 84 games and a ridiculous 84:82 K:BB. Not bad for his first full professional season. Fontana has gap power and plus speed (12 steals). Ideally he'd be a second baseman, but he's still playing shortstop and even has the arm to play third base.
Travis d'Arnaud, C, Mets: Returning after missing three months with a broken foot, d'Arnaud went 3-for-9 with a double and a home run over the weekend. He's played just 273 games since he was traded to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay in 2009, so it's imperative that he overcome his durability issues. If he can somehow manage to stay on the field and productive, d'Arnaud has a chance to be a good hitter with power. That type of production from the catcher spot is rare in fantasy, but it really is all about d'Arnaud staying on the field.
Michael Ynoa, (INJ) P, Athletics: A few pitcher injuries here. Ynoa was scratched from his latest start with shoulder stiffness. Mariners reliever Stephen Pryor is out for the season with a torn triceps. Yankees right-handers David Phelps and Michael Pineda have both been shut down. Blue Jays prospect Roberto Osuna had Tommy John surgery last week. Welcome to the no-fun zone.
Chris Dwyer, LHP, Royals: Dwyer pitched six two-hit innings against Tacoma in his last Triple-A start. It's a nice outing for the former top-100 prospect. Hey, it could be a lot worse, former Yankees first-round pick Andrew Brackman is going to play basketball overseas.
Corey Seager, SS, Dodgers: Let's end on a high note. Seager was called up to High-A Rancho Cucamonga and went 1-for-3 with a walk on Sunday in his debut. Still just 19, with a nice finish to his season he could be in line to start 2014 in Double-A.
