Minor League Barometer: Trade Deadline Turmoil

Trading prospects for established players is an oft-debated topic in baseball circles. Some people are diametrically opposed to trading stars for largely unknown phenoms. Others simply cannot understand why teams refuse to rebuild when it is clear that their current crop of big-league players will not get them a championship. There are many layers to each side of the argument, including how long a player is under contract and how much value that player should yield in return.

The debate gets magnified at the end of July, when Major League Baseball has its annual trading deadline. The Reds unloaded Johnny Cueto, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, to the Royals for three pitching prospects. While none of the three prospects are viewed as game-changers, the Reds got value for a player they would not have been able to retain anyway while the Royals get an ace for their march towards a return to the World Series.

A more interesting deal involved the Toronto Blue Jays trading Jose Reyes and three prospects, including their 2014 first-round pick Jeff Hoffman, to the Rockies in exchange for Troy Tulowitzki and veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins. With Tulo, the Blue Jays will make a push for the Wild Card, except they were already the top run-scoring team in the league. The Rockies, meanwhile, get rid of Tulo's contract while also getting three young arms in return. Even if you don't necessarily agree with the value of the return for Tulo, the deal makes sense for Colorado. While Toronto's lineup is now incredibly scary, it was already potent before, and they still have pitching woes. The Blue Jays were not really considered a potential landing spot for Tulowitzki prior to the deal.

As always though, multiple factors come into play when pulling the trigger on a deal. Let's take a look at some other prospects who have already been traded, who could be traded, or have just simply been in the spotlight of late.

UPGRADE

Jacob Nottingham, C, OAK – A sixth round pick by the Houston Astros in 2013, Nottingham torched Low-A pitching this year to the tune of .326/.387/.543 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI in 59 games. He was quickly promoted to High-A where he continued his breakout campaign, hitting .324 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 17 games before being shipped to the A's in the Scott Kazmir trade. A power hitter by trade, Nottingham could eventually be moved to a corner outfield position. His fast rise in 2015 allowed the Astros to capitalize on his value and receive a pitcher who will undoubtedly help them in the stretch run. Oakland hopes that Nottingham will develop into one of the cornerstones of their franchise for years to come.

Raimel Tapia, OF, COL – There are no trade rumors currently swirling around Tapia, though the aforementioned Rockies do have a bevy of outfielders at their disposal, both in the majors as well as the minors. He has been able to take full advantage of the friendly confines of the California League, hitting .320 with eight home runs, 53 RBI and 19 steals through 93 games. The 21-year-old does not draw many walks, though it is difficult to complain when he is hitting .320. Still, it remains to be seen if his lack of discipline will hurt him at the higher levels. Tapia remains a highly-touted prospect, though, mostly due to his above-average speed and emerging power. If the Rockies continue to sell off parts, including Carlos Gonzalez, then Tapia's path to the majors suddenly becomes a bit clearer.

Austin Voth, P, WAS – In a system with Lucas Giolito in the fold, it is easy to forget about Voth. While his fastball is not overpowering, the 23-year-old continues to baffle hitters at Double-A, posting a 2.82 ERA and 108:27 K:BB ratio through 115 innings at this level. He has been even better lately, allowing one earned run or fewer in each of the last five starts for the Harrisburg Senators. During that time period, a span of 32 innings, Voth has struck out 30 batters. While a team can never have enough starting pitching, the Nats boast one of the best rotations in all of baseball, and figure to get Stephen Strasburg back shortly. That makes Voth and Joe Ross, another pitcher the team is extremely high on, trade bait should the Nats decide to chase another bat at the deadline. The Nats have already dealt righty Nick Pavetta to the Phillies in the Jonathan Papelbon trade.

Jharel Cotton, P, LAD – The Dodgers have had two pitchers come out of virtual anonymity to take the minors by storm in 2015. First it was Jose De Leon and his monstrous strikeout rate. Now it's Cotton, his rotation mate at Double-A Tulsa, that is mowing down the competition. In 43.2 innings at this level, he has notched a 2.27 ERA and 47:11 K:BB ratio. After giving up a staggering 18 home runs last season at High-A, Cotton has been able to keep the ball in the ballpark, allowing just four home runs across three levels in 2015. He works with a mid-90's fastball and a superb changeup and the development of his slider will be the key to his future success. However, he is always around the plate, yet still continues to get swings and misses. Opposing batters are hitting just .226 against him this season. Cotton is yet another fast-riser for the Dodgers.

CHECK STATUS

Trey Mancini, 1B, BAL – The Orioles are still deciding if they are buyers or sellers. They could simply stand pat, but rumors have circulated that they are considering unloading some hitters, perhaps even Chris Davis. Though Triple-A prospect Christian Walker would likely get the first crack at first base should that happen, Mancini has thrown his hat into the ring with a stellar 2015 campaign. In 96 games between High-A and Double-A, he's slashing .332/.360/.550 with 15 home runs and 61 RBI. Mancini also has five stolen bases, though clearly his stolen bases are not the main attraction. One issue could be his plate discipline; while he does not strike out a ton, he always draws very few walks. Still, Mancini has been raking this season, and with the O's suddenly flush with first-base prospects, Baltimore could decide to make some moves at the last minute.

Sean Manaea, P, OAK - Nobody commits to the rebuild quite like Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane, and he has some work to do after giving up Addison Russell last season. The above-mentioned Nottingham and Manaea are not quite at Russell's level, but the A's are quickly rebuilding the farm system that they tore apart in an attempt to win last season. Manaea is a burly left-hander with tremendous upside, though he has been hard to peg due to his inability to stay healthy. The Royals were comfortable giving him up to acquire Ben Zobrist, but that doesn't mean he can't one day become a star. In seven starts since his return to the mound this season, the 6-foot-5, 235-lb southpaw has a 3.69 ERA and 39:11 K:BB ratio. He is currently situated at Double-A, though his first two starts at this level have been subpar. Still, the 23-year-old has pitched only about 150 innings in the minors. Compare that to a guy like the above-referenced Voth, who is the same age and was drafted the same year, yet has hurled 288 innings as a professional. Point being, Manaea is still just learning how to pitch and tap into his vast potential. It's a sensible risk for Billy Beane, who certainly crunched the numbers before agreeing to this deal.

Rob Kaminsky, P, STL – Kaminsky makes the list this week because he isn't getting enough love. He has a 2.09 ERA and 79:28 K:BB ratio in 94.2 innings at High-A Palm Beach. If we dig further, his ERA in almost 200 combined innings between Low-A and High-A over the past two seasons is under 2.00. While his strikeout numbers are not elite, Kaminsky still fans 7.28 batters per nine innings, by no means an awful rate. The 20-year-old lefty is polished and yields a bevy of ground balls. His GO:AO ratio has always been stellar, but it has spiked this season to the tune of a 2.17 GO:AO ratio. He currently leads the pitcher-friendly Florida State League in ERA, and has not allowed a single home run this season. For whatever reason, Kaminsky is flying under the radar. That likely will not last much longer if he continues to pitch this way.

Sean Reid-Foley, P, TOR – The Blue Jays dealt a bunch of pitchers to the Rockies, but kept top prospect Daniel Norris as well as a strikeout machine in Reid-Foley. If only the teenaged hurler could harness his control. He has 98 strikeouts in just 70.2 innings this season, largely at Low-A, but has also walked 50 batters over that span. Reid-Foley pitches off a mid-90's fastball with late life, along with a developing slider and a changeup that's a work in progress. When he's right, he can look untouchable. Through four starts at High-A, opposing batters are hitting a putrid .186 against him. However, as a young pitcher, the wheels can fall off at a moment's notice. He'll have to work on being more consistent, but his frame and fastball alone should make him a future big-league starter. Let's not forget that the Blue Jays took an ultra-aggressive approach with Reid-Foley, sending him directly to Low-A in his first full season instead of babying him out of the gate. That gamble looks to be paying dividends so far, as he has hardly been overmatched despite being among the youngest pitchers at High-A right now. He remains a project, but the results thus far have been promising.

DOWNGRADE

Justus Sheffield, P, CLE – The Indians have been playing rather poor baseball lately, and could be in rebuilding mode shortly. If Cleveland decides to build from within, there's a lot to like with Sheffield. The first statistic that jumps off the page is the strikeout-to-walk ratio. The 19-year-old lefty has a 101:26 K:BB ratio in 88 innings at Low-A Lake County. He is working on a four-pitch repertoire, and looks to have control of his offerings. Drafted directly out of high school, he is much more advanced than most teenaged pitchers at this point in their careers. The downside? Sheffield often catches too much of the plate, as evidence by his 4.74 ERA. Though he gets an above-average amount of groundballs, when he leaves the ball up he gets into trouble and has given up eight home runs this season. Then there is the height issue. Whether reasonable or not, he'll always be questioned due to his lack of height. He is barely 5-foot-10, and does not tip the scales at even 200 pounds. Sometimes the frame of a pitcher matters, and sometimes it doesn't. Pedro Martinez just made the Hall of Fame as arguably the most dominant pitcher of his era, and he was 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds soaking wet. Still, Sheffield will be discounted by many pundits right from the start due to his size, or lack thereof. That would be a mistake, but that's the scouting world we live in. He's much more than his stature, though, and he remains one of the better prospects for the Tribe. He'll just have more to overcome than other pitchers with equal stuff, perhaps.

Marco Gonzales, P, STL – It's been a lost season for Gonzales, who vied for the No. 5 starter role with the big club in spring training. He has battled a variety of ailments, most notably a left shoulder injury, which has limited him to just 45 innings in the minors. He's once again at Triple-A after a few successful rehab stints, but was rudely welcomed back Monday to the tune of four earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Though Gonzales was pounding the strike zone in this outing, he obviously caught too much of the plate. In seven starts at Triple-A this season, he has a bloated 6.42 ERA. Considered one of the better pitching prospects in baseball coming into the season, he figured to have an impact with the Cardinals in St. Louis early on. Instead, he is still working out the kinks in the minors. With Jaime Garcia holding down the No. 5 starter slot with a stellar ERA through four starts, there isn't any room for Gonzales in the majors right now anyway.

Ryan O'Hearn, 1B, KC – The Royals have proven that they are all in this season, with the recent acquisitions of Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. The Royals have now traded five minor league pitchers to acquire these two ballplayers, hoping to get revenge from last season and capture their first World Series crown since 1985. Those trades also boost a player like O'Hearn up the organizational rankings. He found little resistance at Low-A earlier this season, slashing .277/.351/.494 with 19 home runs and 56 RBI in 81 games. The 22-year-old first baseman was rewarded with a promotion to High-A, but there the sledding has been much tougher and O'Hearn is hitting just .194 with zero home runs through 10 games at High-A. Though the sample size is small, questions about his ability to hit better pitching, and hit better pitching for power, partly caused him to slip to the eighth round in last year's draft. The Royals can certainly afford to wait on O'Hearn, but he's not taking over for Eric Hosmer anytime soon.

Daniel Palka, OF, AZ – Palka was actually having a decent season until recently. His overall numbers are stellar, albeit must be taken with a grain of salt since he's playing in the hitter-friendly California League. Still, he is slashing .277/.344/.501 with 17 home runs, 58 RBI and 18 stolen bases through 89 games at High-A Visalia. However, he has been dreadful of late, batting just .103 with a staggering 23 strikeouts over his last 10 games. The strikeout issue is the real concern here, as he has fanned 113 times in 89 games. Palka has shown nice power, but is the power enough to justify the strikeouts? He's also a little old for this level, and will turn 24 years of age in the offseason. His inability to make contact even at the lower levels could be a dangerous red flag as he attempts to ascend to the big leagues. The boost in stolen bases has been a nice surprise this season, but that likely is a mirage as well. Palka's lackluster approach at the dish could foreshadow bigger issues at the higher levels.