MLB.com's Twenty-Sixth Top Prospect Jose Berrios Promoted to Rochester (AAA)

By Peyton Wesner

If anyone has yet to notice, the future is now in Minnesota as Twins' General Manager Terry Ryan has already recalled top prospects Byron Buxton and Alex Meyer to the Big Leagues to make their Major League debuts this season. Will another join them? 

Jose Berrios, a right handed flame thrower drafted in the 2012 MLB Draft with a Compensation pick by the Minnesota Twins, received the news yesterday that he will be promoted from Chattanooga (Double-A) to Rochester (Triple-A) moving him one step away from joining his former teammates at Target Field in the Twin City.

Since making his first professional start on June 29, 2012, the twenty-one year old has dominated every league he has thrown a pitch in and has possessed an earned run average under two while pitching for the GCL Twins (Rookie), Elizabethton (Rookie), and Fort Myers (Single-A Advanced) and an earned run average under four yet above two for Cedar Rapids (Single-A), New Britain (Double-A), and Chattanooga (Double-A). In addition to keeping the opposition off the scoreboard, Berrios is a strikeout machine and has averaged more than one strikeout per inning for his minor league career! 

MLB.com's twenty-sixth top prospect in baseball uses a pitch repertoire that includes a fastball that touches ninety-six miles per hour regularly, a sinking change-up, and a slurve that is delievered with very good deception to send hitters back to the dugout empty handed. 

Although Berrios is being promoted, his next start (most likely against Lehigh Valley, affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies) will not be his first of his career in Triple-A since he made one to end the 2014 season at Pawtucket. In the debut, he was outperformed by fellow pitching prospect Henry Owens (MLB.com's fourteenth best in baseball, second in Boston's organization) while allowing a season high six earned runs in three innings pitched. Don't expect as poor of results this weekend when he reintroduces himself to the International League. 

Two-Time National League All-Star Corey Hart Starts Rehab with Indianapolis (Triple-A)

By Peyton Wesner

Eleven years. That is the amount of time it has been since Corey Hart has suited up in an Indianapolis Indians' uniform, yet due to a rehab stint he was back at Victory Field tonight. 

Hart, who signed a one-year deal worth two and a half million dollars this past offseason, was placed on the DL June 24   (retro-activated to June 23) with a "left shoulder impingement" that had lingered with him for a good part of this season. Despite him being listed inactive six short days ago, he was batting third and playing first base this evening against the Columbus Clippers to face their starter and former teammate Shaun Marcum. 

Right out of the gates, Hart made his presence felt as in the first inning he shot a ball to center field with a runner on third to give Indianapolis a 1-0 lead. Later in the same inning, the six foot, six inch former Brewer slugger went from first base to home on a Brent Morel triple for the Indians' second run of the game. Although, the first inning base knock would be his only hit of the game, Hart also put good wood on a ball in the third inning, but Clippers' first baseman Jesus Aguilar made a good play to rob the veteran of a hit. 

While in the field, the former twenty homerun/twenty stolen base man looked just as comfortable as he was at the plate and made no errors in route to a 3-1 Indians' victory.

As of now, Pittsburgh Pirates' General Manager Neal Huntington nor Manager Clint Hurdle have revealed a time table for the return of two-time National League All-Star (2008 & 2010) but he could make up to nine starts for Indianapolis considering his activation date would be July 8. 

So far this season, Hart is batting .222 (twelve hits in fifty-four at bats) with two home runs and nine RBIs in thirty-five games for the Pirates. 

San Diego Futures Game Selection Colin Rea Promoted to El Paso (AAA)

By Peyton Wesner

He may not be the biggest name at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game in Cincinnati, but San Diego Padres' prospect Colin Rea may have the best stats of any pitcher present on July 12.

After being undrafted after high school, Rea had a wild three years in collegiate baseball as the school that he attended his Freshman year, the University of Northern Iowa, dissolved their baseball program after his first season, ultimately leaving him without a place to continue his career. From Cedar Falls, Iowa, the six foot, five inch pitcher headed south to St. Petersburg (Florida) Community College, where he played only one season before attending another Missouri Valley Conference school, Indiana State. As an Indiana State Sycamore, Rea went 8-4 with a 3.68 earned run average and seventy-six strikeouts in ninety-five and one thirds innings, which was enough to allure to the Padres when their twelfth round pick came around in the 2011 Draft.

After being drafted, the righty started his professional career at Eugene (Short Season Single-A) and pitched very well as he posted a 3-4 record and an earned run average of 2.21 in fifteen starts for the Emeralds. The following season Rea's numbers took a hit due to surendering four or more earned runs in five games for Fort Wayne (Single-A). Although his troubles with earned runs continued the next season and resulted in a demotion back to Fort Wayne from Lake Elsinore (Single-A Advanced), Rea redeemed himself in 2014 by going 11-9 with a 3.88 earned run average and one hundred and eighteen strikeouts in one hundred and thirty-nine innings for the Lake Elsinore Storm.

The Cascade, Iowa, native built onto his successful last season at Single-A Advanced by neutralizing Texas League hitters (.185 average against Rea) and giving up only nine earned runs in seventy-five innings (1.08 earned run average) for the San Antonio Missions (Double-A). Those stats in addition to his 3-2 record has propelled the righty to a Texas League All-Star Game selection and a call-up to Triple-A El Paso after tonight's TL All-Star Game in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

A Texas League All-Star Game invite, an All-Star Futures Game invite, AND a promotion to Triple-A! What could make this year any better for Colin Rea? A promotion to pitch at Petco Park! And that could be very soon if he can tame bats in the Pacific Coast League as he did in the Texas League.

Former LSU Star and Houston Astros' Second Overall Pick Alex Bregman Homers in Third Pro Game

By Peyton Wesner

Eleven days ago, the number two overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, LSU shortstop Alex Bregman, was eliminated in game ten of the College World Series by the TCU Horned Frogs. Bregman went one for four at the plate in the last game of his collegiate career, which ended the Junior's season with a .323 batting average, nine home runs, forty-nine runs batted in, and thirty-eight stolen bases. Yesterday, he had another one hit game, but the knock was much more memorable and significant. 

In just his third professional game after signing a rookie contract with the Houston Astros that included a $5.9 million dollar signing bonus, the 2015 Louisville Slugger All-American hit his first home run as a member of the Astros' organization while extending his hitting streak to three games and outshining the fifth selection in the 2014 MLB Draft, Nick Gordon of the Minnesota Twins, in a 6-1 Quad Cities' victory at Cedar Rapids. 

When asked about being able to homer in only his twelve professional at bat, Bregman said "It felt great to get that first home run under my belt, I saw three cutters in a row and then I got a fastball up in the zone that I was on time to hit it to left. I was just happy I could help the team get a win" 

Despite Bregman only batting .200 (three hits in fifteen ABs) with a home run, a double, and two runs batted in during his first road trip with the Single-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits are undefeated (3-0) with Houston's first round pick in the lineup and will travel home to what is expected to be a very warm reception for the twenty-one year old when he steps into the batters' box for the first time at Modern Woodman Park. 

Houston Astros' Starter Brett Oberholtzer Has Very Bad Night

By Peyton Wesner

What a busy day for Houston Astros pitcher Brett Oberholtzer! And not in a good way! 

Oberholtzer, who broke in with the Astros in 2013, was today's starting pitcher for Houston versus the New York Yankees and he did not pitch well to say the least.

From the beginning, one could tell the left hander did not have his control as he started the game with two balls before grooving a pitch to Brett Gardner for a double. Although three pitches does not necessarly define a game, tonight it did as Oberholtzer walked Chris Young and Alex Rodriguez to load the bases for Brian McCann. After missing the strike zone with a cut fastball, the right hander threw a curveball that dropped right into the middle of the strike zone. CRACK! Goodbye! Brian McCann blasted the offering to the upper deck of the right field bleachers for his twelve home run of the season and his eleventh career grand slam. 

Although Oberholtzer walked Carlos Beltran after McCann's grand slam, he settled down by getting Chase Headley to strike out looking and Didi Gregorious to fly out to end the horrific inning. Unfortunately for the Delaware native, his bad night was far from being over. 

The top of the second inning started out much better than the first as Oberholtzer retired Jose Peirela, but then the wound from the prior inning was reopened by another Brett Gardner double. If Brett Gardner reopened the wound with his two-bagger, then Chris Young made it bleed profusely with a rocket off the bat that landed in the left field seats to improve New York's advantage to 6-0. 

Off the bat, Oberholtzer knew not only McCann's ball was gone but Young's as well and with all of his frustration from Saturday night he threw an eighty-nine miles per hour fastball inside at Alex Rodriguez. Despite Rodriguez getting out of the way of the pitch, Oberholtzer was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Rob Drake.

When the roughed up pitcher arrived in the dugout he fired his glove against the wall behind the bench and took a seat by himself. His night was over or so everyone thought.

"We don't operate that way, we won't operate that way." 

-Houston Astros' Manager A.J. Hinch

As soon as the twenty-seventh out was recorded and the New York Yankees troted out onto the field victorious, Brett Oberholtzer was on his way to Triple-A Fresno. When asked whether the inside pitch and ejection resulted in Oberholtzer being demoted, Astros' Skipper A.J. Hinch said "it's a little bit of everything" as the Astros "got put in a tough spot" since four relievers were used. 

Tomorrow Hinch will start 8-3 Collin McHugh against New York's 8-4 Michael Pineda as the Astros look to end their two game skid and salvage a four-game series split against the Yankees.

2013 National League All-Star Jose Fernandez to Make Final Rehab Start

By Peyton Wesner

If a team has already played the Miami Marlins this season, then they are extremely fortunate because those who have not could face 2013 All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez.

Fernandez, who was recalled from Single-A Advanced Jupiter to make his Major League debut in 2013, took Major League Baseball by storm his rookie season by going 12-6 with an earned run average of 2.19 and one hundred and eighty-seven strikeouts in twenty-eight starts as a twenty year old! After getting selected to the 2013 All-Star Game and collecting 2013 National League Rookie of the Year honors, Fernandez continued his dominance of batters by going 4-2 with seventy strikeouts and a 2.44 earned run average in eight 2014 starts for Miami. His start to the 2014 season had baseball analysts saying he was the front-runner for the National League Cy Young, but no one knows if he would have won since he tore his ulnar collateral ligament resulting in him having Tommy John Surgery on May 16. 

One year and twenty-one days later after having surgery, Jose Fernandez was back on a mound, this time in Port Charlotte, Florida, throwing for the Jupiter Hammerheads, but his first start did not go as plan result-wise. Yes, the right hander was able to finish three innings as hoped, but in the three innings he did not have his best stuff and allowed five earned runs on eight hits. Fernandez simply did not look like the same pitcher, but he soon began to resemble his former self and rebounded with three good starts, one in which he went seven innings allowed only one earned run and four hits with nine strikeouts Monday at Roger Dean Stadium.

This afternoon, the twenty-two year old will suit up for the Jacksonville Suns, Double-A affiliate of the Marlins, against Biloxi, who has the Milwaukee Brewers' two top organizational prospects suiting up for them (Orlando Arcia and Tyrone Taylor), in his final rehab start before rejoining the Miami Marlins for his season debut on July 2 against the San Francisco Giants.

2013 American League All-Star Matt Moore to Make Final Rehab Start Today

By Peyton Wesner

In 2013, Tampa Bay Rays' starting pitcher Matt Moore took over the national spotlight as he won eight of his first nine starts to begin the season. Later, The southpaw collected seven more victories in a span of eight starts while collecting 2013 All-Star honors. Where is he today? Columbus, Ohio, for his final rehab start before rejoining the Rays' rotation.

Last season after only two starts with Tampa Bay, Moore tore a ligament in his throwing elbow resulting in him going under the knife for Tommy John Surgery. When 2015 rolled around the twenty-six year old was placed on the sixty-day DL as he was still recovering from surgery and regaining strength. But now he is only one start away from being back in the rotation to help the Rays in their pursuit for the postseason.

The Florida native started his rehab very well with two scoreless starts (six strikeouts and four bases of balls in six and one/third innings) for Port Charlotte (Single-A Advanced), yet as the Rays increased the number of pitches Moore was to throw, the poorer the results. In his third and final start for Port Charlotte, the six foot, three inch hurler was knocked around for two runs in four and two/thirds innings. His struggles continued in the following start at Triple-A Durham as he surrendered three earned runs on seven hits in five and one/thirds innings. A positive sign in Moore's last performance was that he had seven strikeouts, two of which were of Cleveland Indians' Opening Day third  baseman Lonnie Chisenhall. 

Despite a non-idealistic start last Sunday, when Moore returned to Tampa Bay he felt he was ready for his season debut in the Big Leagues and told Rays' manager Kevin Cash "Let me know if you need me Friday or Saturday." Cash didn't take him up on the offer though and decided it would be best for Moore to make one more rehab start with Durham in Columbus against the team he faced six days earlier. 

Therefore, Matt Moore will make his fifth and final rehab start this evening in game one of a doubleheader at Hunnington Park in Columbus, Ohio. If everything goes well and there is no concern with his health after, he will join the Rays and make his season debut at "The Trop" Wednesday versus Cleveland.