This will be a weekly series that will outline the prospect promotions from the previous week throughout the year. The minor league season has begun and we have seen more prospects starting to get the call. All stats are of June 10.
June 4
Ramón Urias, MI, BAL (preseason PL team rank: UR): Urias has spent about half the season with Orioles, splitting time between second base and shortstop. He has a .714 OPS through his first 25 games at the big league level in 2021.
June 5
Cory Abbott, P, CHC (preseason PL team rank: 10): Abbott has the look of a backend starter, though the Cubs appear to be using him in a relief role for now. The minor league track record is impressive. Through four seasons, Abbott has a career 3.14 ERA with 356 strikeouts in 301 innings, so there could be the chance for more upside here than meets the eye.
Ben Bowden, P, COL (preseason PL team rank: 23): Bowden has made a handful of appearances this year for the Rockies, allowing nine runs in 13 innings of relief. He has big strikeout potential but high volatility, especially in Colorado.
Angel Rondon, P, STL (preseason PL team rank: 24): Rondon has a career 3.15 ERA in the minors, primarily as a starter. He’s likely to play a temporary relief role for now but could see some opportunities as a starter in the future.
Camilo Doval, P, SF (preseason PL team rank: 34): Doval has promise as a potential high-leverage relief arm down the road. He struggled in his first stretch of MLB action, allowing nine runs in 10.2 innings of work.
Bobby Bradley, 1B, CLE (preseason PL team rank: 37): Bradley struggled in a 15-game debut with Cleveland back in 2019 but he gets his second chance here. He has a career .842 OPS in the minors so there is significant power upside here.
Griffin Jax, P, MIN (preseason PL team rank: 38): Jax has a 3.15 career ERA in the minors, primarily as a starter, but is looking at a temporary relief role for the Twins for now. He doesn’t feature big strikeout stuff but limits walks.
Chris Gittens, 1B, NYY (preseason PL team rank: 42): Gittens was raking in Triple-A, triple slashing .281/.393/.500 and earned a shot with the big-league club. With Luke Voit on the IL and some of the other Yankee bats struggling, Gittens should have a window to prove himself.
John Nogowoski, 1B, STL (preseason PL team rank: 46): The 28-year-old Nogowoski has a career OPS in the minors close to .800, but that’s carried more by his ability to draw a walk than it is by power. He is yet to get an extended look at the MLB level.
Lucas Gilbreath, P, COL (preseason PL team rank: UR): Gilbreath must own the record for most appearances in these articles. The outlook is the same – he’s a relief-only arm in Colorado.
Ashton Goudeau, P, CIN (preseason PL team rank: UR): Goudeau is a relief-only arm for the Reds. Cincinnati has had its share of bullpen troubles this year so if Goudeau pitches well out of the gate it could turn into a permanent job.
Zach Thompson, P, MIA (preseason PL team rank: UR): Thompson got the nod for a spot start with several arms in the Miami rotation recovering from injuries. The righty allowed two runs in three innings in his MLB debut. He may receive another start or two while the Miami arms heal up.
June 6
Edward Olivares, OF, (preseason PL team rank: 6): Olivares was our featured prospect promotion last week, but he was surprisingly optioned not long after. He’s back up already and has a dynamic power/speed combination that he’s put on display in Triple-A (five home runs and seven steals).
Bailey Ober, P, MIN (preseason PL team rank: 17): Ober has made two starts for the Twins now, allowing five runs in eight innings. He’s had more success in Triple-A this year, posting a 2.81 ERA in four starts. He is under the radar and should have a future in the rotation down the line.
Zac Lowther, P, BAL (preseason PL team rank: 18): Lowther has been successful in the minors with a career 2.43 ERA but is still finding his footing in the minors. Through 5.1 relief innings, Lowther has allowed nine runs.
Cristopher Sánchez, P, SF (preseason PL team rank: 26): Sanchez is a lefty that has split time as a reliever and a starter in the minors. He’s likely up for a temporary relief role for the Phillies.
Jason Foley, P, DET (preseason PL team rank: 39): Foley can touch the triple digits with his heater. He’s a relief-only arm but that type of velocity could help him carve out a role if he’s able to limit walks at the big league level.
James Sherfy, P, SF (preseason PL team rank: UR): Sherfy is a relief-only arm. He’s had some success in the majors in his career thus far, posting a sub-3 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 45.1 innings.
June 7
Jackson Kowar, P, KC (preseason PL team rank: 4): By now you probably know that Kowar’s MLB debut went about as poorly as a start could go. The right-hander lasted just 0.2 innings and allowed four runs on three hits and two walks. It was probably just first-start jitters and Kowar should get another chance Saturday with a matchup against Oakland. He was absolutely dominant in Triple-A before the promotion, recording a 0.85 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
Brian O’Grady, OF, SD (preseason PL team rank: UR): O’Grady is on the verge of graduating from prospect eligibility. He’s gotten more run than you’d expect in the San Diego outfield but has had trouble at the plate, batting just .156.
Daniel Castano, P, MIA (preseason PL team rank: UR): Castano has made his fair share of spot starts for Miami across the past two seasons. He’s been serviceable, recording a 3.83 ERA in 47 innings, but he doesn’t pitch too into games or strike out many batters.
June 8
Issac Paredes, 3B, DET (preseason PL team rank: 6): Paredes played in 34 games for the Tigers in 2020 and couldn’t find his footing, recording a .568 OPS. He gets another shot here with Jeimer Candelario hitting the IL. Paredes was hitting .269 in Triple-A.
Braxton Garrett, P, MIA (preseason PL team rank: 13): Garrett is a former top prospect whose stock has been up and down over the years. He’s performing well at Triple-A in 2021 with a 3.28 ERA and 24 punchouts in 24.2 innings.
Riley Adames, C, TOR (preseason PL team rank: 25): Adams is a bat-first backstop and he should get some opportunities with Danny Jensen hitting the IL. Adams had a .600 slugging in his first 15 games at Triple-A this season.
Eli White, OF, TEX (preseason PL team rank: 44): White has been tearing up Triple-A to the tune of a .343/.450/.537 triple slash. He is still yet to figure out MLB pitching in his career, but he could see more opportunities than usual after Texas designated Khris Davis for assignment.
Luke Williams, OF, PHI (preseason PL team rank: UR): Williams was sizzling in Triple-A to start 2021, hitting .352. He has limited power (though he did hit a home run in his MLB debut) and is a career .655 OPS batter in the minors, but he’s worth monitoring in case he figured something out in the offseason.
Dillon Thomas, OF, SEA (preseason PL team rank: UR): Thomas has speed, but doesn’t have the best percentage on the basepaths (100 steals in 155 attempts). He’s a bench bat.
June 9
Lewin Díaz, 1B, MIA (preseason PL team rank: 10): Diaz picked up a lot of helium heading into 2020 but couldn’t get anything going at the MLB level. With Garrett Cooper hitting the IL, Diaz should see semi-regular plate appearances, especially against righties. The first baseman has a .800 OPS at Triple-A in 2021.
Gilberto Celestino, OF, MIN (preseason PL team rank: 12): Celestino has good speed and a career .745 OPS in the minors. He’s a defense-first prospect and that will likely serve as a fourth outfielder type for the time being.
Carlos Hernández, P, KC (preseason PL team rank: 22): Hernández has been primarily used as a starter in the minors but will likely be used in a relief capacity here. He has a career 4.55 ERA in the minors.
Connor Joe, 1B, COL (preseason PL team rank: 34): Joe has gotten some run with the big league club this year, but he’s hitting .227 with zero home runs. He’ll likely plug in as a bench bat.
Art Warren, P, CIN (preseason PL team rank: UR): Warren is a relief-only arm with a 2.96 ERA in the minors. The Reds have had bullpen issues, so Warren could potentially carve out a role.
Erik Manoah, P, MIN (preseason PL team rank: UR): Manoah has a 5.68 ERA in the minors so he’s likely just an emergency arm for Minnesota.
Sam Long, P, SF (preseason PL team rank: UR): Long performed extremely well following this promotion. He was utilized as a bulk reliever in his MLB debut and threw four innings, allowing one run while striking out seven. He was used as a starter and a reliever in the minors and put up good strikeout numbers while limiting walks, so this type of role could be ideal for the lefty.
June 10
Daz Cameron, OF, DET (preseason PL team rank: 12): It feels like Cameron has gotten a lot of run in the majors, but before this promotion, he had only appeared in 17 big league games. He struggled in them, hitting just .193, but his .958 OPS at Triple-A this year hints that he may be able to produce.
Rafael Marchan, C, PHI (preseason PL team rank: 17): Marchan is a defense-first backstop that lacks some pop in his bat (zero career minor league home runs).
Alex Lange, P, DET (preseason PL team rank: 22): Lange is a relief-only prospect at this point in his career and has struggled in MLB action in 2021. It’s a small sample, but through 13.1 innings, the 25-year-old has allowed 11 earned runs.
Beau Burrows, P, DET (preseason PL team rank: 28): Burrows was once a promising prospect but struggled once he hit the upper levels of the minors. He was promoted here as a potential bullpen depth arm.
Patrick Weigel, P, MIL (preseason PL team rank: UR): Weigel is a relief-only arm with a career 3.21 ERA in the minors.
Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)