Here is a look at the latest news and notes from around the minor leagues from a fantasy baseball perspective in the week 17 minor league report.
The celebration injury suffered by Chris Coghlan in Florida opened the door for top prospect Logan Morrison to be recalled from Triple-A. Morrison, a first basemen who had recently begun working in the outfield, got the start in left field while hitting second in the order. He went 1-for-4 in the game with a strikeout. Morrison was hitting .307 in AAA with six home runs and 45 RBI in 238 at bats.
I had a chance to catch Jeff Samardzija’s start for the Iowa Cubs on Monday night against the Round Rock Express. He worked six innings, allowing two hits while walking five and striking out seven. His fastball sat around 90 miles per hour for most of the game at times touching 92. He showed a nice change up at 84 that he recorded several strikeouts with. Even though he is starting, he worked exclusively from the stretch the entire game as if runners were on base. He is going to need to improve his command in order to make it back to the major leagues. In 64 2/3 innings, he has walked 43 batters on the season while holding hitters to a .178 average.
The Atlanta Braves continue churning out arms in the minor leagues as Randall Delgado was promoted to Double-A. Delgado had a 2.76 ERA with 120 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings before his promotion. The 20-year-old threw five innings allowing two runs with five strikeouts in his first start after being elevated a level. He has struck out more than a batter per innings in every season so far in the minor leagues. Julio Teheran will be joining Delgado at Double-A, marking his third stop this year in the minor leagues. Between two levels so far Teheran has a 2.28 ERA with 121 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings while holding hitters to a .210 batting average. Mike Minor has been better for the Braves since his promotion to Triple-A, posting a 2.55 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings. For the season, he now has 136 strikeouts in 111 2/3 innings and a 3.71 ERA.
One of the names in the news recently has been Jake McGee in Tampa Bay as a possible trade chip they may use to acquire some deadline help. McGee has a 3.99 ERA in Double-A with 91 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings. He missed the majority of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2008.
Zachary Britton is rumored to be getting a call up to get a start for the Baltimore Orioles this week. Britton has a 2.28 ERA in five starts in Triple-A with 17 strikeouts on 27 2/3 innings. Overall on the year, his ERA is 2.43 while holding hitters to a .236 average with four home runs allowed in 114 2/3 innings.
