Minor League Barometer: Down on the Farm

Several high-profile prospects are surging out of the gate, forcing their parent clubs to take long, hard looks early in the 2017 campaign. Ian Happ has already crushed six home runs in 11 games for Triple-A Iowa, as the defending World Champion Chicago Cubs appear to have yet another budding star on their hands.

Cody Bellinger is batting .395 with three home runs and four steals for Triple-A Oklahoma City, and the lefty is certainly making a case to be included somewhere in the mix for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yoan Moncada is hitting .317 with two home runs and two steals for Triple-A Charlotte, and the White Sox may be forced to promote the 21-year-old before long.

The acquisition of Brandon Phillips for the Braves makes a promotion less likely for Ozzie Albies, but don't tell him that, as the second baseman is batting .300 with five steals through the first 11 games of the year for Triple-A Gwinnett.

And Cleveland catcher Francisco Mejia is batting .414 to start the year, notching at least one hit in each of the first eight games for Double-A Akron. What will Mejia do for an encore? He had a 50-game hitting streak last year, the fourth-longest in minor league history.

The season is in full swing, so let's take a look at those prospects helping or hurting their cause in this edition of the Minor League Barometer.

UPGRADE

Anthony Alford, OF, TOR – Alford missed chunks of last season due to an assortment of injuries and never seemed to get comfortable. However, it appears he has put those issues behind him. Through eight games, the 22-year-old outfielder is batting .464 (13-for-28) with one home run, four RBI and four stolen bases. Alford has above-average speed, patience at the dish as well as some pop. He's got the potential to hit .300 with double-digit home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season. As long as he stays on the field, Alford's stock with continue to rise.

Kyle Tucker, OF, HOU – The 20-year-old Tucker has made hitting look easy in the Carolina League thus far this season. Tucker is batting .333 with three home runs, 13 RBI and two steals through 10 games for High-A Buies Creek. He's homered in back-to-back games, and notched an impressive seven RBI in a game last Saturday. He does have 11 strikeouts and only one walk over these first 10 games, but it is difficult to nitpick when the production has been so stellar. Moreover, the Astros are one of those organizations that do not mind strikeouts if you can hit the ball out of the ballpark. Tucker fits the mold and could see Double-A this summer.

Rhys Hoskins, 1B, PHI – Hoskins and fellow slugger Dylan Cozens formed their own version of the Bash Brothers last season at Double-A, and they have continued their ascension together to Triple-A. While Cozens has battled some plate discipline concerns early in 2017, Hoskins has had no such issues, batting .324 with three home runs and five RBI through 11 games. Perhaps more impressively, Hoskins has just as many walks as strikeouts (seven). Tommy Joseph is currently hitting .167 with one home run for the big club at first base after converting from catcher. Should Joseph continue to struggle, Hoskins could make his way to the majors in short order.

Brent Honeywell, P, TB – Honeywell was nothing short of dominant through two starts at Double-A, and the 22-year-old righty has already been rewarded with a promotion to Triple-A. Honeywell posted a 2.08 ERA in those two outings, fanning a staggering 20 batters in 13 innings. Opposing batters hit a putrid .100 against him. While the sample size is small, Honeywell also crushed the competition in 10 starts at the end of 2016 at the same level, sporting a 2.28 ERA and 53:14 K:BB in 59.1 innings. Honeywell throws strikes, possesses a vast array of pitches including the vaunted screwball, and has had little resistance throughout his time in the minors. If possible, he's still flying under the radar and doesn't get enough credit.

CHECK STATUS

Mike Soroka, P, ATL – The Braves have been stockpiling talent in the minors over the last season or two, but fellow hurlers Kolby Allard and Sean Newcomb usually get more pub than Soroka. That may begin to change, though. He doesn't have the upside of Allard, but Soroka is polished, has command of three pitches and is making mincemeat of Double-A hitters as a teenager. Through two starts for Double-A Mississippi, Soroka has a 0.77 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 11.2 innings and has not issued a walk yet. The 6-foot-5 righty needs to prove that he can keep his strikeout rate up over the long haul of a season. If so, he will vault up prospect charts.

Chance Adams, P, NYY – Adams was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week to begin the season, posting a 0.79 ERA and 13:6 K:BB in 11.1 innings for Double-A Trenton. The 6-foot-1 righty allowed a measly four hits over that span. Like Soroka above, Adams does not receive as much notoriety in his system due to the presence of names like Justus Sheffield and the oft-injured James Kaprielian. However, the 22-year-old has had a sub-3.00 ERA every year since entering the minors, while fanning more than one batter per inning. As long as he maintains his solid control, Adams is a hurler to watch for the Bronx Bombers.

Phil Ervin, OF, CIN – The toolsy outfielder has speed and pop but has failed to show that he can hit for average. He hasn't hit above .250 at any level since the beginning of the 2014 campaign. However, he's had at least 30 steals in three straight seasons, and double-digit home runs in each of the last two. Ervin has three home runs and two steals through 11 contests in 2017. While he is hitting .316 for Triple-A Louisville, one has to wonder if he can keep his average up. The odds are against the 24-year-old, but his combination of speed and power still makes him an intriguing prospect.

Sandy Alcantara, P, STL – Alcantara opened the season with a gem but followed that outing with a dud. After tossing six scoreless innings for Double-A Springfield, Alcantara came crashing back down to earth, surrendering seven earned runs in just 3.2 innings in his second start of the year. Inconsistency remains the name of the game for the wiry 21-year-old, who fanned 153 batters in 122.2 innings in 2016, but also walked 56 over that span. Alcantara has tantalizing strikeout stuff and works largely down in the zone, but his command and control need some work. He'll end up in the bullpen without mastery of his secondary pitches.

DOWNGRADE

Lucas Giolito, P, CHW – The White Sox basically stole Giolito from the Nats in the offseason, but thus far the 22-year-old righty has had a rough start to the 2017 campaign. Giolito has allowed eight runs in 8.1 innings for Triple-A Charlotte to begin the year. Perhaps most troubling, Giolito has walked eight batters over that span. Though Giolito never had pinpoint control, certainly there was no past precedence to indicate he'd have the type of trouble throwing strikes that he did during his cup of coffee with the Nationals in 2016. Giolito had more walks (12) than strikeouts (11). Maybe the Nats saw something they didn't like and thus felt comfortable including him in the trade for Adam Eaton. Regardless, Giolito has some tinkering to do before the ChiSox even think about giving him a shot in the bigs.

Austin Meadows, OF, PIT - It's been an ugly beginning for Meadows at Triple-A in 2017, a place where he struggled last season as well. After a torrid Double-A stint, Meadows played 37 games at Triple-A in 2016 but hit just .214. The 21-year-old outfielder has been even worse through 10 games this year, hitting just .167 with 10 strikeouts over that span. Certainly the sample size remains small, and Meadows continues to be viewed as an elite outfield prospect. That said, with Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte manning the outfield at the MLB level, it may take a trade or injury for Meadows to get a crack at everyday at-bats for the Bucs. And that's assuming Meadows rights the ship and figures out Triple-A pitching in the short term.

Bobby Bradley, 1B, CLE - The powerful first baseman is scuffling to begin the 2017 season at Double-A. Bradley is just 3-for-28 (.107) with one home run and three RBI through nine games for Akron. Bradley possesses massive home run potential but also unsurprisingly struggles with striking out, fanning 170 times in 131 games in 2016. He also batted just .235 at High-A last season and must prove he can hit for average at the higher levels. Otherwise, he risks becoming a left-handed version of Chris Carter.

Brendan Rodgers, SS, COL - Rodgers is one of the top prospects in all of baseball and is not expected to hit the big leagues for at least two years. That being said, he started the 2017 campaign on the DL with a hand injury, he's already been on the DL for the requisite seven days, and the Rockies are being rather mum on the ailment. The odds are that the Rockies are simply playing it safe and being cautious with their prized phenom, but this situation is certainly worth monitoring. Rodgers slashed .281/.342/.480 with 19 home runs, 73 RBI and six steals in 110 games at Low-A. He is expected to play at High-A once deemed healthy.