From Injury to Excellence: Skenes’ Rise and Quero’s Road to Recovery in NL Prospects

April 15, 2024 Admin New York Mets 0

We are now in the second week of the minor league season, and it is time to see how the best prospects from each National League team are doing. Is it time for the new Pirates to call up Paul Skenes? James Wood, are you prepared to lead the Nationals? We draw far too many premature conclusions from the statistics. (Click here to view the American League version of this roundup.)

(Note: Each player’s team prospect ranking from Keith Law’s preseason top-20 lists for each farm system is indicated by the numbers following his name.)

NL East

Atlanta Braves: In his first two starts for High-A Rome, right-hander Owen Murphy (No. 8) has excelled, giving up only one earned run in 12 innings pitched while striking out 16 batters on six hits and four walks. After two starts, right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach has yet to give up an earned run in 11 1/3 innings pitched. He has walked one and struck out seven. Hurston Waldrep (No. 1), a right-hander, has had a more difficult start to the season. In two starts for Double-A Mississippi, he has given up 10 runs in seven innings.

Miami Marlins: Top Marlins prospect Noble Meyer has struggled early, giving up five runs in 4 1/3 innings during his first two outings, much like the major league squad. For Low-A Jupiter, the right-hander has struck out five and walked seven. With two starts for Jupiter, left-hander Thomas White (No. 2) has performed better, allowing three runs in six and a third innings while maintaining a 10:1 K:BB ratio. With a.345/.441/.552 slash line and a 5:5 K:BB in eight games for High-A Beloit, where he struggled last season, Joe Mack (No. 6) has been a bright spot. Victor Mesa Jr. (No. 4) started the season recovering from a springtime ankle injury. With a home run in six games since joining Triple-A Jacksonville, he has a.273/.333/.500 line.

New York Mets: With a.294/.480/.471 line in six games, Kevin Parada (No. 7) is hitting effectively for Double-A Binghamton. On Saturday, he launched his first home run of the year. After seven games, teammate Jett Williams (No. 1) is hitting.185 with two stolen bases. For Triple-A Syracuse, Luisangel Acuña (No. 2) is batting.207/.233/.293 with one home run in 14 games. Drew Gilbert (No. 4) suffered a hamstring strain on April 7 and was placed on the disabled list. Before the injury, he was 6-for-25 for Syracuse with a home run.

Philadelphia Phillies: In seven games for High-A Jersey Shore, Justin Crawford (No. 2) has a.269 batting average, but his output is more than that figure suggests. He has a.906 OPS with two home runs and six walks, and he has already swiped five bases. Similar to this, despite batting just.238 in six games for Double-A Reading, Gabriel Rincones Jr. (No. 6) has three home runs and six walks, which contribute to his 1.121 OPS. Thursday marked the launch of Aidan Miller’s (No. 3) first career home run. He has now batted safely in six of his seven games for Low-A Clearwater. He has five stolen bases and an OPS of.828. Over his first two innings, right-hander Mick Abel (No. 4) has given up five earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Washington Nationals: James Wood (No. 2) is making it tough for the Nats for Triple-A Rochester with his scorching start. The Nats want to be patient with him. He is hitting.370/.500/.630 in 12 games, with two home runs and five stolen bases. Additionally, he has walked (12) more than struck out (11). He hit two home runs on Thursday. After a bit of a rough start, Dylan Crews (No. 1) had a monster weekend for Double-A Harrisburg. With two home runs this season, he has a.273/.333/.485 line and a 10:2 K:BB ratio. He also hit a home run on Sunday. Harrisburg’s Brady House (No. 3) is hitting.344,.400, and.375.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs: In 55 at-bats for Triple-A Iowa, Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 1) is batting.208/.236/.377 with 17 strikeouts. Though Kevin Alcántara (No. 3) has yet to score in seven games (29 plate appearances) for Double-A Tennessee, it is still a better start than Alcántara’s. However, Matt Shaw (No. 2), a teammate, has started the season strong with a.381/.552/.905 line and three home runs in just seven games. On Wednesday, Cade Horton (No. 4) made his four-inning season debut, giving up one earned run and walking one. He also struck out four. Kohl Franklin, a right-hander ranked No. 16, advanced to Iowa following a shutout first start for Tennessee. In his Triple-A debut, he tossed two scoreless innings, but sadly, he departed the game with what

Reds of Cincinnati: The High-A With multiple Reds top prospects, including No. 2 Cam Collier, the Dayton Dragons are stacked. With 11 RBIs, Collier leads all Reds minor leaguers. In just eight games, he has amassed that amount with a.353/.371/.559 line. This year, Rhett Lowder (No. 3) made his professional debut with Dayton. In nine innings throughout his first two starts, he has given up just one run on six hits and boasts a 10:2 K:BB ratio. Sal Stewart (No. 5), a teammate from Dayton, is batting.323/.400/.452 in eight games with four walks. After missing a significant portion of the previous season due to injury, Jay Allen II (not ranked) had a fantastic start to the season (two home runs and two walks in four games) for Dayton before getting hurt again, falling

Milwaukee Brewers: Jeferson Quero (No. 2) and Brock Wilken (No. 5) are both on the injured list, which is poor news for the Brewers’ farm system. After hurting his right shoulder jumping back into first base on Opening Day, Quero is out for the whole season. His season ended with surgery. On April 11, Wilken took a pitch to the face. Although he did not have a concussion or lose his vision as a result of his face fractures, he will miss time as the fractures heal. With a hand injury on Saturday, Cooper Pratt (No. 11) was placed on the injured list for Low-A Carolina. Prior to the injury, he was hitting.318 with an OPS of.862 in six games. Two starts

Pittsburgh Pirates: Paul Skenes (No. 1) has been nearly untouchable in three starts for Triple-A Indianapolis. In 9 1/3 innings, he hasn’t allowed a run and has given up just four hits and two walks while striking out 19. Lefty Hunter Barco (No. 19) is also working on a scoreless streak to start the year, with seven scoreless frames in two starts for High-A Greensboro. He’s struck out 10 and walked two while allowing two hits. Right-hander Bubba Chandler (No. 3) has been quite good in two starts (7 1/3 innings) for Double-A Altoona, allowing two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Termarr Johnson (No. 2) is off to a slow start for Greensboro, with just four hits in 30 at-bats over nine games. He’s walked seven times but is still looking for his first extra-base hit.

Double-A St. Louis Cardinals With two great starts, right-hander Tink Hence (No. 3) has been a major contributor to Springfield’s 9-0 start to the season. He has struck out 11 batters in 10 innings while giving up just one run on three hits and a walk. Leading the Redbirds in scoring with a.357/.457/.750 line and three home runs in eight games is R.J. Yeager (not ranked). Chase Davis (No. 5) is hitting just.233 for Low-A Palm Beach following a difficult professional debut, but he has a.910 OPS in seven games because of two home runs, four doubles, and five walks. Thomas Saggese (No. 4) has struggled for Triple-A Memphis so far this season, registering a.256/.333/.359 line in 11 games. Sem Robberse, a right-hander

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks: After two years marred by injury, Druw Jones (No. 2) is back and has made a poor start for Low-A Visalia. Jones has only managed four hits in 26 at-bats across his seven Rawhide games, and he has struck out in almost half of his plate appearances (16 in 30 PAs). Visalia’s Jansel Luis (No. 3) is likewise having trouble; in 32 plate appearances, he has only four hits and one walk. In a similar vein, Tommy Troy (No. 4) has stolen four bases in just 25 plate appearances while only managing five hits and one walk for High-A Hillsboro. Over two starts for Double-A Amarillo, lefty Yu-Min Lin (No. 5) has given up five runs in eight innings pitched, but he has struck out fifteen and walked just three. Cristian, a right-hander

Colorado Rockies: Excellent future players To begin the season, Jordan Beck (No. 6), Benny Montgomery (No. 8), Zac Veen (No. 7), and Sterlin Thompson (No. 1) are all hitting nicely. In six games for Double-A Hartford, Thompson is hitting.348 with a.423 OBP while Veen is batting.”Benny the Jet” had five extra-base hits in six games for Hartford with a 1.068 OPS, and 360 with a 1.149 OPS in seven games for the YardGoats. In 13 games with Triple-A Albuquerque, Beck has four home runs, ten walks, and an OPS of 1.131. With two starts in 10 innings, Chase Dollander (No. 2) is making his professional debut with High-A Spokane. In that time, he has given up just one run on four hits and four walks.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Due to a shoulder injury, Andy Pages (No. 7) only participated in 34 games during the previous campaign. He is been very impressive for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 15 games this season, with five home runs, 15 RBIs, and a 1.146 OPS. Zyhir Hope (not ranked) has already hit three home runs in just seven games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga since being acquired in the offseason as part of the trade with the Cubs for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte. Meanwhile, Jake Gelof, a 2023 second-round pick (not ranked), has collected 12 RBIs and a.984 OPS in seven games for the Quakes. Josue De Paula, Rancho’s top prospect, has made just six hits and three walks in his first 34 plate appearances. No. 3 Dalton Rushing has

San Diego Padres: 17-year-old wonderchild Ethan Salas, who has made 31 plate appearances for High-A Fort Wayne, has had a quiet start to the season with six hits and four walks. In two starts, Dylan Lesko (No. 3) of the TinCaps has given up just one hit and one run in seven innings. He has walked seven and struck out five. For Double-A San Antonio, lefty Robby Snelling (No. 4) has made two strong starts. In nine innings, he has given up two runs with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Dillon Head (No. 5) is batting.200/.222/.286 overall and has been caught stealing three times more often than he has been successful (two) despite having three doubles in seven games for Low-A Lake Elsinore.

San Francisco Giants: 2023 top pick Bryce Eldridge (No. 2) has been a major bright spot with his great start for Low-A San Jose, but 2021 and 2022 top picks Will Bednar (back) and Reggie Crawford (lat) are starting the season on the IL. He has a.927 OPS and has already collected four extra-base hits in five games. In the early going, Heliot Ramos (unranked) is maybe the system’s hottest hitter. Batting is the 2017 first-round selection.346/.424/.712 with four home runs in 13 games for Triple-A Sacramento. Hunter Bishop (not ranked), the Giants’ 2019 top pick, is back on the field after missing all of last season recovering from elbow surgery. In eight games with Double-A Richmond, he’s batting .267/.333/.400. Vaun Brown (No. 16) is also with Richmond after missing much of last season, but he has only two hits in his first 24 at-bats. Lefty Carson Whisenhunt (No. 4) has been hit around in three starts for Sacramento, allowing 12 earned runs in eight innings with an 11:6 K:BB. On the flip side, righty Hayden Birdsong (No. 10) has 14 strikeouts in eight innings over his first two starts for Richmond, with a 3.38 ERA.

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(Photo of Skenes in spring training: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)

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