Knocking Down The Door: May 6, 2022

“Knocking Down The Door” is a weekly column highlighting minor leaguers who are making a case for a major league promotion. Listed below are the names of this week’s picks and the player’s team, age, level(s), prospect ranking, and last 1-2 weeks of statistics.

Knocking Down The Archive

Luis García (21), SS, Triple-A Rochester | Washington Nationals | Prospect Rank: n/a | April 26-May 5: 11-for-26, 4 HR, 2 2B, 3B, 4 BB

Alcides Escobar’s return to the majors in 2021 after a two-year absence was a terrific story as the former World Champion and All-Star shortstop for the Royals showed he still had something left in the tank during a 75-game stint at age 34. But a month into the 2022 season, he’s dangerously close to being out of a job once again. Even with eight hits over his last five games, Escobar is slashing .197/.256/.224 with no homers, four walks, and 22 strikeouts. On a team that is sinking fast in the NL East, Escobar’s best role could be as a backup infielder and mentor to the 21-year-old García, who has been destroying Triple-A pitching.

Through 23 games, García is slashing .351/.406/.649 with six homers, five doubles, three triples, and nine walks for Rochester. It’s like the Red Wings have their own version of Juan Soto. Even if his defense at shortstop needs work, the Nationals aren’t likely to get back into the playoff race in 2022 and are in a great position to give García some on-the-job training.

 

Leody Taveras (23), CF, Triple-A Round Rock | Texas Rangers | Prospect Rank: n/a | April 26-May 5: 9-for-30, HR, 2 2B, 4 BB, 2 SB

Taveras’ pair of major league stints in 2021 were so bad — 4-for-46, 23 K from April 1-April 23; 24-for-128, 37 K from August 24-October 3 — that the Rangers have to be leery of how he’ll respond to a quick promotion in 2022. But a third subpar performance from Taveras probably wouldn’t stand out as much on this roster with hitters underperforming expectations almost across the board. Willie Calhoun was already sent to the minors while Kole Calhoun and Brad Miller, who were expected to get the majority of at-bats in the corner outfield spots when they signed this offseason, have struggled mightily at the plate.

Thus, it could be a somewhat low-pressure environment for Taveras, who extended his hitting streak to 15 games on Thursday. The switch-hitter is now slashing .365/.398/.604 with four homers in 103 plate appearances. His walk (5.8%) and strikeout (23.3%) rates aren’t good, but you can’t blame him for having a more aggressive approach against inferior pitching in Triple-A. He’s earned another shot as the Rangers’ starting center fielder, but he’ll have to make adjustments if he’s going to stick around because a fourth opportunity might not happen.

 


Triston Casas
 (22), 1B, Triple-A Worcester | Boston Red Sox | Prospect Rank: 16 (overall); 1 (organizational)| April 29-May 5: 8-for-22, HR, 4 2B, 2 BB

It’s just a matter of time before Casas and Jarren Duran, who are both off to terrific starts in Triple-A, are getting regular playing time in the big leagues. The only question is whether the Red Sox would pull the plug on “Bobby Dalbec, starting 1B”  or “Jackie Bradley Jr., Part II” first. Based on how things are going in Boston — Dalbec has already lost playing time to Franchy Cordero; Bradley is slashing .200/.268/.293 — it could be both very soon.

But, at least for now, Duran is expected to join the team on Friday with Enrique Hernández likely to land on the COVID-19 IL. There’s a chance he stays, even when Hernández returns. Maybe not. As for Casas, he’s the type of elite prospect who teams don’t like to promote until they know they’ll be up for good.

Unlike Dalbec, who has struck out in over 35% of his plate appearances over three big league seasons, Casas is the type of hitter who should be able to make adjustments and hold his own against major league pitching. He has 25 walks and 33 strikeouts in 155 Triple-A plate appearances, dating back to last season, while also showing some power to all fields. He has seven doubles and five homers in 2022, including this one that left the yard in a hurry.

 

Matthew Liberatore (22), SP, Triple-A Memphis | St. Louis Cardinals | Prospect Rank: 65 (overall) | April 23-April 29: 14 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 3 BB, 16 K

Liberatore is the type of prospect who dictates to the organization when he’s ready for the majors. And the 22-year-old lefty is letting the Cardinals know that he’s on the way and it’s up to them to clear a permanent spot. At this point, a logical move would be to shift Jordan Hicks‘ multi-inning outings — he’s made three consecutive starts — from the beginning of the game to somewhere in the middle or end.

By “letting the Cardinals know”, I mean that Liberatore has made a statement with his last two performances (7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 K on April 23; 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 K on April 29).

 

Yerry De Los Santos (24), RP, Triple-A Indianapolis | Pittsburgh Pirates | Prospect Rank: n/a | April 26-May 5: 4 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 7 K

Pitching exclusively as a reliever since making 14 starts in the Dominican Summer League back in 2015, De Los Santos has posted a 1.63 ERA in 110.2 innings. While he’s missed a lot of time between then and now because of Tommy John surgery, he has a long track record of keeping his opponents off the board and could be very close to getting his first shot in the big leagues.

After throwing six shutout innings in a brief Triple-A stint late last season, he’s off to a strong start in 2022 with only two runs allowed in 10 innings. He’s only walked one batter while striking out 15, including this one to close out a combined no-hitter on April 13.

 

 





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South Detroitmember
1 year ago

I will look forward to this piece every week. Thank you! Great info