Minor League Barometer: Buxton Bouncing Back

Is the Byron Buxton Show finally ready for prime time? Injuries have been the biggest issue for the Twins' top prospect over the last two seasons, as he has missed significant time dealing with an assortment of ailments. He did not exactly scald the ball during his first go-round in the majors either, though. The 21-year-old center fielder hit just .189 with 15 strikeouts in 11 games with the big club prior to injuring his thumb. In his most recent comeback attempt Buxton is back in the minors, but proving that a promotion should be coming in short order. In 11 games at Triple-A Rochester, he is batting .404 with one home run, six RBI and two stolen bases. With rosters expanding shortly, the team still hoping to make a run at a wild card spot and Buxton having already had his first taste of the big leagues earlier this season, the Twinkies should not hesitate to call up their most prized phenom.

Let's take a further look around the minors in this week's Minor League Barometer.

UPGRADE

Jorge Mateo, SS, NYY – Mateo has been tearing the cover off the ball since being promoted to High-A. In 10 games with Tampa, he is slashing .429/.467/.667 with four RBI and six steals and has had multiple hits in seven of those games. Overall, Mateo has been a terror on the base paths in 2015, having stolen a staggering 71 bases in 96 games prior to being promoted. While speed is clearly his calling card, he's also shown that he is not afraid to draw a walk and once on base, Mateo is lethal. He won't see the big leagues anytime soon, and will likely never hit for much power. However, a middle infielder with the ability to steal 100 bases in a season clearly will have some fantasy ramifications down the road.

Frankie Montas, P, CWS – Even with the drafting of Carson Fulmer in the first round of the 2015 draft, the White Sox still have a rather poor farm system. Montas is one of the few bright spots though. The 22-year-old righty has a 2.64 ERA through 102.1 innings for Double-A Birmingham and opposing batters are hitting just .218 against the 6-foot-2 righty, who can hit triple digits on the radar gun. Montas has fanned nearly a batter per inning largely due to his blazing fastball. However, he can lose the plate at times, particularly with his off-speed stuff, and he has 96 strikeouts as compared to 40 walks in 2015. Still, with the inconsistency at the back end of the rotation for the White Sox, Montas could be vying for a spot as early as spring training of next season.

Jesse Winker, OF, CIN – After a rough first half of the year, Winker has been on fire for Double-A Pensacola. Over his last 10 games, he is hitting .417 and homered in five straight contests during that time period, bringing his previously mediocre home run total to 13 on the season. Winker's slash line now sits at a much more respectable .275/.374/.433. He also has stolen a career-high eight bases in 2015. His best tool may be his plate discipline, though; the 22-year-old outfielder has 58 walks as compared to 73 strikeouts in 107 games. The Reds currently have a superstar at first base in Joey Votto who has made quite the career out of being selective at the dish. While Winker is not Votto, the Reds must be encouraged by the youngster's strong second-half push.

Bradley Zimmer, OF, CLE – It's been a down year for the Indians at the MLB level and they just recently jettisoned veterans Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, both of whom had been underperforming for the Tribe. Part of the reason that Cleveland could afford to do this has been the emergence of Zimmer as well as fellow outfielder Clint Frazier. While Frazier has been scorching over the last month or so, Zimmer has been more consistently productive this season in the minors. After toasting the opposition at High-A with 10 homers, 32 steals and a .303 average in 78 games he has taken his act to Double-A Akron, where he has found similar success. In 29 games at this level, the 22-year-old is batting .271/.378/.514 with six home runs, 23 RBI and seven stolen bases. The question on Zimmer was whether he'd be able to hit for power as a professional. Though speed is much more his forte he has put the power issues to rest, slugging 16 home runs and posting a .500 slugging percentage overall in 2015. Add in a recent surge of hitting .378, four home runs and 12 RBI in his last 10 contests, and Zimmer will be among the elite outfield prospects heading into the 2016 campaign.

CHECK STATUS

Jose Berrios, P, MIN – Berrios has been electric in the minors this season, and he'd certainly be a candidate for a September call-up if innings weren't a concern. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he has a 143:36 K:BB ratio. That's more than a strikeout per inning, and a robust 4:1 K:BB ratio. In this day and age however, young pitchers have innings limits and are micro-managed. Conventional wisdom says young pitchers should not pitch more than about 30 innings over what they pitched in the previous season. Berrios has now pitched 141.1 innings in 2015 after hurling 140 innings in 2014. That would leave him on pace for about four or five more starts. As a result, even if he was called up in September, he could only start a couple of games or pitch in relief. So Berrios may not make a fantasy impact in 2015, but he will be a force to be reckoned with in 2016 when he will get his shot at the starting rotation.

Aaron Blair, P, ARI – The D-Backs haven't quite had the expected success with their pitching prospects. Archie Bradley has landed on the disabled list twice this season, once after taking a liner to the face and most recently due to a shoulder injury. Braden Shipley was almost as highly touted but has battled control problems at Double-A Mobile. He has now spent a full year at this level, and his strikeouts have taken an inexplicable nosedive in 2015. Blair has been perhaps the most consistent of the trio, in that he has been able to stay on the field and also achieve his expected results. However he does not possess the level of swing-and-miss stuff that Bradley and Shipley do. Still, a 2.70 ERA at Double-A to begin the year earned him a ticket to Triple-A. Blair currently has a 3.33 ERA and 48:20 K:BB ratio through 54 innings for Triple-A Reno. He has been effective working down in the zone, as evidenced by his 1.40 GO:AO ratio. The Arizona rotation could use all the help it can get so even though the D-Backs are not in the wild card race and there is no rush to promote Blair, it appears that he would be first in line should circumstances change.

Alex Reyes, P, STL – Perhaps no pitching prospect in the minors has more tantalizing upside than Reyes. The strikeout pitcher is the hottest of commodities, and he certainly has that working in his favor. In 86 innings between High-A and Double-A, the 20-year-old neophyte has fanned 129 batters and opposing batters are hitting just .199 against him. Perhaps even more astonishing, Reyes has not surrendered a single home run this season despite not being a groundball pitcher. However it's not all sunshine and rainbows, as he has walked 40 batters in 86 innings. He is also working his way back from a shoulder injury, which has limited the length of his outings at times since the middle of June. Nevertheless he tossed six scoreless innings in his last start Friday, allowing just one hit and walking one while striking out 10 batters. Reyes will have to build up arm strength, and he will certainly be on a strict innings limit in 2016 as well. Still, the Cards will have a hard time keeping him down as long as he can maintain his control and stay healthy.

Luis Ortiz, P, TEX – The good news? Through 10 starts Ortiz had a sparkling 1.72 ERA for Low-A Hickory. He's fanned 44 batters in 47 innings, while issuing just nine walks over that span. The bad news? He has been on the disabled list for nearly two months due to a strained flexor muscle in his pitching arm. The MRI came back clean so Ortiz is not at risk for Tommy John surgery, at least not at this point in time. A first-round pick in 2014, he warrants mentioning because the Rangers jettisoned Jake Thompson, among others, at the trade deadline in order to secure the services of Cole Hamels. As a result, despite the injury Ortiz is now arguably the top pitching prospect for the Rangers. The Rangers could play it safe and elect to shut him down for the season, but he should be on the radar for 2016.

DOWNGRADE

Amed Rosario, SS, NYM – A temporary downgrade for Rosario, who still has tremendous upside for the Metropolitans. He has been an everyday starter at short as a teenager at High-A, which is no small feat. In fact the Mets practically skipped him right over Low-A, as he played just seven games there in 2014. The rigors of full-season ball may finally be getting to the 19-year-old shortstop though, as he is batting just .156 over his last 10 games. Rosario also doesn't have a homer in 91 games, though he does have 11 stolen bases. The slash line of .259/.304/.343 may look sub-optimal, but Rosario is only scratching the surface of his potential. Still, he is a long way away from making a big-league impact.

Willy Adames, SS, TB – Adames has yet to live up to the hype for the Rays. One of the pieces in last season's David Price trade, he has been average at best for High-A Charlotte. Though he remains one of the younger players at this level, the 19-year-old shortstop is slashing .258/.342/.386. Adames has not developed a power stroke just yet, hitting only four home runs in 100 games, and he's only an adequate base stealer, swiping eight bags over that span. Though Adames does have 51 walks, he has also been punched out 114 times. It remains possible that he will end up being a better player in the real world than as a fantasy commodity.

Touki Toussaint, P, ATL – One day, the Diamondbacks may look foolish for basically giving away Toussaint to the Braves. As for now though, the 19-year-old hurler has struggled mightily. He has made 10 starts for Atlanta's affiliate at Low-A since being dealt. Over that span of 48.2 innings, Toussaint has a bloated 5.73 ERA. While he has fanned 38 batters during that time period, he has also walked 33 hitters. In other words, he doesn't even know where the ball is going. A first round selection in the 2014 draft, Toussaint is all upside, speculation and projection at this point. Scouts love his raw talent, but he is going to need some serious mentoring, tinkering and experience. Time is on his side, but he's not helping Atlanta anytime soon.

Carl Edwards Jr., P, CHC – The Cubs have decided to shift Edwards to the bullpen this season and the results have been promising. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he has a 2.70 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 53.1 innings. However from a fantasy perspective, a prospect being shifted from the starting rotation to the bullpen automatically merits him a significant downgrade. Edwards has also blown a third of his save chances when placed in that role, while walking 40 batters. Nearly one walked batter per inning simply will not do. He has a superb swing-and-miss repertoire that can excel in the 'pen, but he had two monster seasons as a starter prior to being moved into a relief role in 2015. Perhaps the Cubs thought his body type was not cut out for the heavy burden of being a starter. Nevertheless, this is a disappointing realization for fantasy owners, that one of the better starting pitching prospects from two seasons ago is now relegated to reliever status. Edwards' fantasy stock takes a hit as a result.