This will be a Friday publishing of great minor leaguers to invest in. Information will be drawn from BA's weekly Prospect Hot Sheet.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-july-28
J.P. Crawford, SS, Phillies (22)
Triple-A Lehigh Valley (International)
Crawford is supremely talented but his performance left scouts wondering whether he would ever fulfill his potential as a cornerstone player. You can’t write it off as small sample size either, as Crawford has played 177 games in Triple-A where he’s drawn walks at a high volume but otherwise struggled. Whatever the reason, Crawford has flipped the switch in July, hitting seven of his nine home runs this month and batting .302/.406/.663 in that time. That doesn’t overwrite the previous year-plus of Crawford’s Triple-A struggles, but it’s an encouraging signal for his future.
Monogrande's Take
Oooo. This week's prospectus is going to be great. These are familiar names to me, because I've invested in them in the future only to be given zero returns. JP was a 2013 draft, and I was high on him right away. At a certain point, he was the number one prospect in all of baseball, but it all seemed to go away after his Triple-A assignment. Well, it looks like he's clawing back. He's been raking this month, and it doesn't seem like it'll be over anytime soon. The Phillies are in a bit of rebuild mode, so one may venture a late August call up for the next Phillies superstar.
Touki Toussaint, RHP, Braves (21)
High Class A Florida (Florida State)
After a rocky first half, Toussaint has taken a leap forward in the second half, similar to his 2016 season. This month, Toussaint has a fantastic 36-6 K-BB mark in 26 innings with a 2.42 ERA over four starts, earning him a promotion to Double-A.
Monogrande's Take
Reclamation project #2. Touki Toussaint was hot when he debuted but since has fallen from grace. Until, of course, July of 2017, when he decided he's going to start pitching like the fireballer he was. The result? A dominating culmination of high A ball and a promotion to the AA league.
Lucas Sims, RHP, Braves (23)
Triple-A Gwinnett (International)
Sims might get overlooked amidst a wave of younger arms in the system, but he has been a positive development story for the Braves and could be in the big leagues soon. After struggling with his control last year and getting hammered in Triple-A, Sims has shaved his walk rate from 5.9 BB/9 in 2016 down to 2.8 BB/9 this year.
Monograde's Take
Another reclamation project - Lucas Sims has been terrible for a while since his 2012 draft, but hey, that's five years ago. He's getting better - exponentially - and might be beginning to show why the braves Picked him in 2012 in the first round. His callup is imminent. Like...this week imminent. Buy now.
Jack Flaherty, RHP, Cardinals (21)
Triple-A Memphis (Pacific Coast)
Flaherty’s stock has climbed this year, entering the season as the Cardinals’ No. 11 prospect and now ranking as the No. 3 prospect in the organization and, with Alex Reyes sidelined, the club’s top healthy pitching prospect. That should put him in position to compete for a job in the St. Louis rotation to start 2018. He keeps excelling every level he climbs, including an impressive first nine starts at Triple-A.
Monograde's Take
It would be unfair to say that Flaherty's a reclamation project - it's more that people didn't care too much about him when he was drafted. It was seen as just another arm added to their then-stacked pitching roster. Wacha has flamed out since, and Shelby Miller is gone. Jack Flaherty might just be the added boost their pitching staff needs. Hopefully we see him sooner rather than later.
That's it! I hope you enjoyed this week's content!
Last week, I was high on Michael Kopech.. He is continuing his dominant outings - he struck out 12 this week. He's a shoe-in for a September call up, and he might even be a 1 or 2 starter beginning next season.
Check out my more focused prospectus here: Alex Verdugo, Mickey Moniak, Michael Chavis, Starling Heredia, <a href="https://steemit.com/baseballcards/@monogrande/baseball-cards-prospect-watch-reynaldo-lopez-white-sox-sp>Reynaldo Lopez.
Help me fund my baseball card collection!
Bitcoin: 1FkMAYucKn2ojLdYcA4uDvh8jZoXxnL8pS
Ethereum: 0xf36Cc36ce2978925df8aCe61F105ddc9952A590A
Litecoin: LWrSb6EkaN78dz4D9pShufpMrLnapW7Lv5
Thank you!