Minor League Barometer: Farming in Pittsburgh

Injuries are starting to pile up around the big leagues, and with the Super-2 deadline in the rearview mirror, prospect promotions could begin to come fast and furious. Jameson Taillon just made his MLB debut for the Pirates last week, and an injury to staff ace Gerrit Cole could force Pittsburgh to promote its other top phenom, Tyler Glasnow. Tim Anderson received the call after the Chicago White Sox finally, mercifully, cut bait with veteran Jimmy Rollins at shortstop. Polished pitching prospect Daniel Mengden made his premiere Saturday for the A's due to a groin injury to the surprising Rich Hill. And it shouldn't be long before Alex Bregman gets the opportunity to start at third base for the Houston Astros.

Let's take a gander at the rest of the prospect scene in this week's Minor League Barometer.

UPGRADE

Raimel Tapia, OF, COL – The roster for the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats is chock full of hitting talent, including the likes of David Dahl and Ryan McMahon. Add the 22-year-old Tapia to that group, as he is slashing .302/.344/.438 with five home runs and 11 stolen bases in 57 games. Tapia has been even better over the last 10 games, hitting .342 with two home runs, two RBI and two stolen bases. Tapia does not walk much, but he also does not have a problem with strikeouts either. In fact, he has always shown the ability to make contact, having never hit below .300 at any level since 2012. Playing his future games in the thin air at Colorado will only further aid his future projection, as he has a bit more speed than power. Still, Tapia should have double-digit home run power and 20-steal potential at the big league level. Combining those projections with a .300 average would make him a superb fantasy commodity.

Austin Meadows, OF, PIT – Meadows has battled an assortment of injuries during his brief professional career, but is now healthy and starting to produce. Over his last 10 games at Double-A Altoona, Meadows is hitting .375 with three home runs and six RBI. Meadows hit seven home runs in 127 games last season, so perhaps the 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder is finally tapping into his power potential. Meadows has also never hit below .300 for any season since entering the minors in 2013. Perhaps the biggest barrier to his future in the bigs is that the Pirates are loaded in the outfield with Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco. Too much depth is never a problem for an organization, but Meadows may have to wait a bit longer to make his mark as a result.

Eloy Jimenez, OF, CHC – As if the Cubs needed another young outfielder, Jimenez is a powerfully built 19-year-old who has taken well to his first crack at full-season ball. Jimenez is slashing .322/.363/.517 with eight home runs, 41 RBI and four steals through 58 games for Low-A South Bend. His power potential is already starting to blossom, as Jimenez has surpassed last season's home run total. Jimenez does have 59 strikeouts over that span, though the Cubbies will live with the punch-outs as long as his power stroke continues to develop. If Jimenez can hit for average as well, the Cubs could have another full-fledged star on their hands.

Anthony Banda, P, ARI – Banda uses deception and mixes pitches effectively. The jump to Double-A was supposed to be a huge test for his rather average stuff, but the 22-year-old has passed with flying colors thus far. Though opposing batters are hitting .256 against him and he has walked 25 batters in 68.1 innings, Banda still possesses a 2.37 ERA. He has at least six strikeouts in each of the last six games. In fact, Banda has been striking out at least one batter per inning since starting full-season ball in 2014. He may not be viewed as having front-line starter potential, but Banda continues to prove the doubters wrong.

CHECK STATUS

Jaime Schultz, P, TB – Schultz can certainly bring the heat, but his lack of control was limiting his upside. However, he has been light years better in that department in 2016, and the results have been fruitful. Schultz walked a staggering 90 batters in 135 innings at Double-A last season. Due to his strikeout stuff, he managed to keep his ERA to a rather respectable 3.67, but that kind of walk rate is simply untenable for a major league starter. The adjustments are evident for the 24-year-old in 2016, though, as Schultz has a much cleaner 75:27 K:BB in 66 innings at Triple-A Durham. In his last start, Schultz fanned 10 batters and did not walk anyone in seven innings. It remains to be seen if Schultz can continue this trend for the remainder of the season, but the improved control makes him a much more viable option to stay in the rotation as opposed to being relegated to the bullpen.

Brandon Dixon, 2B, CIN – Perhaps no hitter had a hotter stretch recently than Dixon, who crushed six home runs in a five-game span at the beginning of June to raise his average to .322 on the season. Of course, since that time he has come back down to earth, garnering one hit in his last 20 at-bats. Dixon was one of the prospects dealt from the Dodgers as part of the Todd Frazier deal, and did flash that intriguing combination of power and speed last season with 19 home runs and 26 steals between High-A and Double-A. He is already 24 years of age, though, and it remains to be seen if he can consistently hit for average at the higher levels. Still, the toolsy Dixon's recent hot streak certainly makes him a prospect to watch.

Luis Urias, 2B, SD – The 19-year-old Urias is more than holding his own for High-A Lake Elsinore. He is making consistent contact despite being among the younger players at this level. He has 18 walks and 20 strikeouts in 57 games. Perhaps more impressive, Urias is hitting .314 with a .374 OBP. Urias does not project to hit for much power, but he certainly can handle the bat, and should be able to steal double-digit bases at a thin position. Curiously, he has been caught stealing 11 times this season after being thrown out 13 times in 2015. Assuming he can perfect his craft on the base paths, there is no reason to believe he can't prove useful in the middle infield.

Chris Shaw, 1B, SF – Shaw has flashed his left-handed power stroke this season. A first-round pick out of Boston College last year, Shaw skipped right over Low-A and has not missed a beat at High-A in 2016. Shaw is second in the California League in home runs with 13 dingers. Overall, he is slashing .289/.359/.550 for San Jose. Shaw has been a tad cold of late, and he does have 54 strikeouts on the season, but the Giants will live with the strikeouts if Shaw can continue to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Other than Christian Arroyo, Shaw is arguably the top hitting prospect in the San Francisco system.

DOWNGRADE

Trent Clark, OF, MIL – This is a minor downgrade for Clark, the first-round pick of the Brewers in the 2015 draft. Clark was held back in extended spring training, then spent some time on the shelf with a hamstring ailment. Clark has played just 18 games since returning from the Disabled List, but has not been able to get going just yet, as he's hitting a mere .219 with 21 strikeouts during that time period. On the plus side, Clark does have four home runs and 17 RBI while also drawing 17 walks, so it appears he is seeing the ball well, but just hasn't been able to make consistent contact thus far. He remains a work in progress, and will not make an impact at the higher levels for at least a few years.

Dominic Smith, 1B, NYM – With Lucas Duda on the shelf for an extended period of time due to a nagging back injury, the Mets traded for veteran James Loney to be their everyday first baseman, instead of letting the 20-year-old Smith get his feet wet. Of course, Loney is a solid fielder, which had as much to do with the trade as anything else. The ironic thing, though, is that from a hitting perspective, Loney and Smith are strikingly similar. They are both 230-pound left-handed batters who can hit for average but have limited power. Both were first-round picks that had the expectation that a power stroke would eventually develop. However, Loney never hit more than 11 home runs in a single season in the minors, while Smith's career-best thus far is six dingers. Smith does have four this season, leaving him on pace to "shatter" that mark with about eight home runs. The downgrade is not because Smith is a bad hitter, per se, but simply because more power is expected out of a first baseman. Loney never developed the power as hoped and did not become a star – Smith may suffer the same fate.

Matt Chapman, 3B, OAK – Chapman showed some pop earlier this season, but he has been ice cold of late, and the strikeouts just keep piling up. Chapman does have 14 home runs in 59 games for Double-A Midland, though just one of those bombs have come in the last 10 games. In addition, Chapman is batting just .150 over that span with a staggering 20 strikeouts. Overall, Chapman has an astounding 86 strikeouts in those 59 contests, and his batting average has suffered recently as a result, plummeting to .238. Chapman struck out a decent amount last season, but his strikeout rate has skyrocketed this year. He must cut down on the whiffs if he is to succeed at the higher levels.

Jomar Reyes, 3B, BAL – Reyes has an MLB-ready build at just 19 years of age, and is expected to be a terrific power prospect in the future. For now, though, the teenager is scuffling at High-A Frederick. Reyes is batting just .222/.272.329 with four home runs and 21 RBI in 58 games. Reyes has been even worse over his last 10 games, batting just .171. Perhaps the O's were a bit too aggressive in promoting Reyes, though he did hold his own at Low-A in 2015 considering his youth. At that level, Reyes batted .278/.334/.440 with five home runs and 44 RBI in 84 games, so he appears to have a bright future, but he is a ways away from making an impact at the big league level.