Welcome to September Prospect Watch, where we look at prospect types who could see big league playing time after rosters expand.

Arizona Diamondbacks
RP Kevin Munson

Munson has a nice sinker and slider, and he should be able to perform well as soon as he comes up. Munson’s sinker sits low-90s and can touch 95, and his slider can be a legitimate out pitch. Munson may have troubles against left-handed hitters, but he can serve in middle relief for the duration of his career.

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Brooklyn, NY — Gavin Cecchini wasn’t slowed much by his stint on the DL, after suffering a left ankle sprain.

His progress seems to have only been bolstered. He went on a sixteen-game hitting streak, and has hit safely in his last three games, and worked three walks in the last two games. He finished August hitting .349 with twenty-nine hits through twenty-two games.

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When we broke down the Padres’ outfield in this space just two weeks ago, it was in response to a recent callup — Jaff Decker — and yet we found that that the outfield was mostly set in the present and the future. And so Jaff Decker hasn’t played like a regular (31 plate appearances over 11 team games), and hasn’t made much of an impact. There are many reasons to be a little bit more optimistic about this week’s callup.

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Royals pitching prospect Miguel Almonte entered the year as the #10 prospect in the Kansas City system according to Baseball America, and it’s hard to argue that he deserves to fall from that perch in the coming ranking season. As a 20-year-old in his first full-season campaign, the Dominican righthander has posted a 3.16 ERA and 2.97 FIP with a 117/36 K/BB in 119 2/3 innings. As with any young arm in the low minors, there’s still a significant amount of mystery and uncertainty surrounding Almonte. He held up quite well in my viewing earlier this season, though, showing a good combination of potential and polish.

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In the age of prospect rankings and (thankfully) an increased coverage of the minor leagues, fantasy owners tend to covet the top prospects in baseball. They don’t want to miss out on the next Mike Trout, Bryce Harper or Yasiel Puig — and that fear of whiffing on these young phenoms obviously becomes amplified in dynasty leagues.

So this morning, when media outlets reported Xander Bogaerts had been promoted to Boston for the final month and a half of the season, owners immediately flocked to their respective waiver wires to see if Bogaerts was still available. If you’re just hearing the news and need help at shortstop, you would be wise to do the same.

That’s not to say Bogaerts is guaranteed to be a stud throughout the remainder of the season, though. In fact, it’s slightly unclear as to what his ultimate role with the Red Sox will be.

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Brooklyn, NY — In three innings of work against the Brooklyn Cyclones, Hudson Valley Renegades pitcher Jaime Schultz fired his way through his sixth start of the season. Despite the Renegades eventual 3-1 loss, he gave them a chance to win.

Showing a loose, live arm, he held the Cyclones offense to one hit and didn’t allow a run, bouncing back from a four-run outing the week before. He also kept the walks to a minimum again, giving up just two.

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Most prospect hounds are beginning to take notice of Rockies pitching prospect Eddie Butler. He entered the 2013 season with significant pedigree–he was selected 46th overall in last year’s draft–and has pulled off the rare feat of advancing two levels in his first full professional season. Butler made nine starts with Low-A Asheville and thirteen with High-A Modesto before the team deemed him done with the lower minors; he’s thrown ten scoreless, walkless innings with 12 strikeouts across his first two Double-A outings. That’s some serious prospect helium over the past four months.

Of course, this is a fantasy website. The notion of betting on a pitching prospect in fantasy can be terrifying in its own right, but betting on one destined for Coors Field is certainly unappetizing. Unfortunate environmental situation aside, Butler is definitely an arm to keep track of.

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The Tigers won’t allow their Class-A pitchers to go more than an inning or two, maybe three, and short-season Connecticut starter Jonathon Crawford is no exception.

Crawford has done well in eight starts (0-2, 1.89), with three of them extended to three innings. He began August with an outing against the Brooklyn Cyclones, going 2.2 innings and didn’t allow a run on three hits. He struck out three and walked two.

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A few days ago, I wrote a post looking into some players who were putting up fairly pedestrian numbers but remained quite intriguing due to being young for their levels. I didn’t include White Sox outfield prospect Courtney Hawkins on the list, but I suppose I could have. Nobody would say Hawkins doesn’t have tools–he was the 13th overall pick in the 2012 draft for a reason–but he sure is struggling in High-A Winston-Salem this year. I mean, sure, he’s second in the Carolina League with 19 home runs, and he’s slugging a quite respectable .452–the elephant in the room is the strikeout totals.

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Trenton, New Jersey — Brody Colvin had quite an introduction back to a starting role. After pitching out of the bullpen this year, he was put back in the rotation and just in time to face embattled Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

The Reading Fightins faced the Trenton Thunder in a three game series, that included two games with Rodriguez in the lineup, in the midst of suspension controversy. Righty Colvin came second. In Game One of the series, top Phillies prospect Jesse Biddle took the mound. He gave up a two-run home run to Rodriguez.

Colvin was paying attention and certainly appeared to have a plan. He walked Rodriguez three times and issued five walks overall over five innings; the walks allowed have been a struggle for him at times. In his fourth year of pro ball, he’s given up 44 free passes in 67 innings this season; he ended 2012 with 74 in 138 innings pitched. But the August 2nd outing was his toughest since mid-July, when his ERA ballooned and he allowed three runs on four hits, and surrendered a season-high six walks.

Colvin wasn’t just avoiding contact to Rodriguez. Other than a few high and tight pitches, he was consistently on the outside corners. And he wasn’t hitting that part of the plate for strikes. In 2012 he struck out 109 in 138 innings pitched; this year he has 30 in 67 innings. His progress has been slowed this year by injury and re-injury to the groin. But overall in his career he’s remained healthy.

Back to the walks. He’s tenth in the Eastern League in BB’s allowed (44) and third of all Reading pitchers (Biddle’s 62 walks actually tops the EL). In his most recent performance, he struggled to find the strike zone, and had difficulty controlling the ball. He was more economical early in the game, in the first and second innings, but couldn’t command his pitches in the later innings.

Colvin’s ERA has been way up all season, but his physical health has to be factored in. He didn’t appear to have a lot of trust in his ability to locate his fastball. But he did mix in a good number of groundball outs and worked quickly in a jam a few times. For his first start back, he went five innings, allowed five earned runs on six hits, and struck out two.

Colvin, 22, is durable and, despite injuries this year, projects well. His workload has been heavy throughout his career, and he can clearly handle eating innings and giving his team a solid chance to win in a starting role. It might do him good to have another half-season in Double-A, but if he can finish strong, he’s not far from earning a big league call.