Prospect Breakdown: Mets Trade Carlos Beltran To Giants For Zack Wheeler

The New York Mets are on the verge of trading Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants for Zack Wheeler and a couple of other San Francisco Giants prospects (check back when the deal becomes official). Wheeler is the centerpiece of the deal and is the top ranked pitching prospect in the Giants organization. The 21 year old right hander is currently 7-5 with a 3.99ERA at High-A San Jose. He has 98 strikeouts in 88 innings and opposing batters are hitting just .224 against him. Wheeler was the 6th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Philadelphia Phillies Pitching Prospect Josh Zeid Adjusts To Double-A

After opening his pro career with two straight seasons posting an ERA under 3.00, Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Josh Zeid has found some struggles at the Double-A level with an ERA currently sitting at 5.74 for the Reading Phillies. In the story Zeid, who skipped High-A entirely, talks about adjusting to the Double-A level, moving back and forth between starting and relieving, and his passion for writing.

Hamden Hall Baseball Standout Now Hitting the Minor Leagues — Patch.com

Prospect Breakdown: White Sox Trade Edwin Jackson & Mark Teahen To Toronto For Jason Frasor & Zach Stewart

The Chicago White Sox have acquired Toronto Blue Jays prospect Zach Stewart as part of a trade sending Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen to Toronto for Stewart and Jason Frasor. The 24 year old Stewart has long been a prospect in Blue Jays organization and made his major league debut in 2011 going 0-1 with a 4.86ERA for Toronto in 16.2 innings of work. At Double-A New Hampshire, Stewart has posted a 5-5 record with a 4.26ERA. He has 74 strikeouts in 94.1 innings and Eastern League batters were hitting a pretty hefty .286 against him. Stewart was originally a third round pick of the Cincinnati Reds back in 2008. He came to Toronto in the deal that sent Scott Rolen to the Reds back in 2009.

Wednesday’s Notable Minor League Starting Pitchers

List compiled by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. Follow JP on twitter @Jaypers413

Matt Moore Tampa Bay Rays – Triple-A

Mike Minor Atlanta Braves – Triple-A

Chris Withrow Los Angeles Dodgers – Double-A

Brody Colvin Philadelphia Phillies – High-A

Jacob Petricka Chicago White Sox – High-A

Barret Loux Texas Rangers – High-A

Deck McGuire Toronto Blue Jays – Double-A (AA debut)

Kyle Lobstein Tampa Bay Rays – High-A

Noah Syndergaard Toronto Blue Jays – Rookie

Jason McEachern Tampa Bay Rays – Low-A

Brad Peacock Washington Nationals – Triple-A

Manny Banuelos New York Yankees – Double-A

Garrett Gould Los Angeles Dodgers- Low-A

Kyle Gibson Minnesota Twins – Triple-A

Sammy Solis Washington Nationals – High-A

Yordano Ventura Kansas City Royals – Rookie

Jake Odorizzi Kansas City Royals – Double-A

Chris Archer Tampa Bay Rays – Double-A

Justin Grimm Texas Rangers – High-A

Kyle Heckathorn Milwaukee Brewers – Double-A

Note: List is gathered at MILB.com, is tentative, and all of the day’s starting pitchers may not have been revealed at post time.

Former Indians & Tigers Pitcher Jason Beverlin Named Head Baseball Coach At Bethune Cookman

Former New York Yankees prospect and brief Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Beverlin has been named as the Head Baseball Coach at Bethune Cookman University, a NCAA Division I program in the MEAC Conference. Cookman was most recently the pitching coach at the University of Tennessee. In his brief big league career Beverlin made three starts for the Detroit going 0-3 with a 9.49ERA in 2002. Later in 2002, he went 0-0 with a 7.31ERA for Cleveland. Bethune Cookman is coming off a 36-25 season going 18-0 in the MEAC.

Tuesday’s Notable Minor League Home Runs

AAA:
Jesus Montero New York Yankees – Home Run #10

Jorge Vazquez New York Yankees – Home Run #23

Brandon Inge Detroit Tigers – Home Run #3

Russ Canzler Tampa Bay Rays – Home Run #13

Nick Stavinoha St Louis Cardinals – Home Run #20

Koby Clemens Houston Astros – Home Run #14

Michael Taylor Oakland Athletics – Home Run #12

Jeremy Moore Los Angeles Angels – Home Run #9

Anthony Rizzo San Diego Padres – Home Run #18

AA:
Paul Goldschmidt Arizona Diamondbacks – Home Run #30

Matthew Adams St Louis Cardinals – Home Run #24

Tommy Mendonca Texas Rangers – Home Run #21

Salvador Perez Kansas City Royals – Home Run #9

Kody Hinze Houston Astros – Home Run #5

Josh Vitters Chicago Cubs – Home Run #10

Derek Norris Washington Nationals – Home Run #13

L.J. Hoes Baltimore Orioles – Home Run #1 & #2

Tim Federowicz Boston Red Sox – Home Run #7

J.D. Martinez Houston Astros – Home Run #12

High-A:
Andy Wilkins Chicago White Sox – Home Run #15 & #16

Jonathan Schoop Baltimore Orioles – Home Run #1

Bryce Brentz Boston Red Sox – Home Run #11

Justin Bour Chicago Cubs – Home Run #21

Michael Burgess Chicago Cubs – Home Run #14

Jonathan Singleton Philadelphia Phillies – Home Run #9

Xavier Scruggs St Louis Cardinals – Home Run #10

Low-A:
Gary Sanchez New York Yankees – Home Run #10

Kyle Parker Colorado Rockies – Home Run #17

Christian Villanueva Texas Rangers – Home Run #13

Justin Germano Throws 5th International League Perfect Game For The Columbus Clippers

Cleveland Indians journeyman pitcher Justin Germano threw a nine inning Perfect Game for the Columbus Clippers over the Syracuse Chiefs on Tuesday night. It is only the 5th Perfect Game in the history of the International League. Germano struck out seven batters including Corey Brown looking at a fastball over the inside corner for the final out. Final line was 9IP, 0ER, 0H, 0BB, 7K, WIN. Germano was up with the Indians briefly earlier this year, pitching 12.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Check out the video of the final out of Germano’s perfect game, the post game interview, and the celebration in the Columbus Clippers Clubhouse.

The Final Out:

Post Game Interview:

Clubhouse Celebration:

Prospect Breakdown: Reds Trade Jonny Gomes To Nationals For Bill Rhinehart & Chris Manno

The Cincinnati Reds have traded Jonny Gomes to the Washington Nationals for Bill Rhinehart and Chris Manno. The 26 year old Rhinehart is in the middle of his 4th season at Double-A Harrisburg. He is currently having a career year hitting .289 with 17 Doubles, 21 Home Runs, and 59 RBI’s. The outfielder was a 2011 Eastern League All Star. He was an 11th round pick of the Nationals in the 2007 draft. Manno was a 26th round pick out of Duke in 2010. Since turning pro, the 6’3″ lefty has been a force out of the bullpen. This year at Low-A Hagerstown, Manno posted a 1-3 record with 12 saves in 34 appearances out of the pen. He’s struck out 69 batters and opponents are hitting a ridiculously low .135 against him. The 22 year old was a 2011 Sally League All Star.

Washington Nationals Executives Doug Harris & Tony Tarasco Compare Bryce Harper’s Scrutiny To Jackie Robinson’s

This is sure to be a story that will get a ton of publicity over the next few days. Sports Illustrated has posted on their website, Tom Verducci’s latest story on Bryce Harper that will hit news stands in the August 1st issue of the magazine. If you remember it was Verducci that introduced Harper to the world with the cover story back in 2009 with his Baseball’s Chosen One cover story. Among the standout items of the new article is quotes by Washington Nationals director of player development Doug Harris, and minor league coordinator Tony Tarasco comparing Harper’s scrutiny to that faced by Jackie Robinson. The in depth story focuses on Harper’s rise through the Nationals’ minor league system, the backlash he’s seen from opposing players and fans, the infamous kiss blowing incident, buying his #34 from a Harrisburg Senators teammate, and day to day life as baseball’s biggest prospect. It’s a very good read.

Here He Comes: The game’s future is biding his time in the minors, where he’s raking the pitchers and riling his critics. Is Bryce Harper ready? Definitely—but are we ready for Bryce Harper? — Sports Illustrated

UPDATE: Doug Harris the Nationals Director of Player Development who was quoted in the story has issued a statement on his Jackie Robinson remarks.

Former Chicago Cubs Outfielder Bob Will Talks About Playing Pro Baseball In the 50’s & 60’s

Great story for the baseball history buff. Former Chicago Cubs outfielder Bob Will talks about playing six seasons for the Cubs in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Will talks about his battle through the minor leagues, his successes at Wrigley Field, his career as a banker, and his love for baseball that remains as he enters his eighties.

A Will to succeed — The Woodstock Independent

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