Prospect Notes, March 27, 2012

Prospect Notes, March 27, 2012

**With Chase Utley sidelined with knee problems, the Philadelphia Phillies are turning to rookie Freddy Galvis to handle the second base job. Galvis is 22, signed out of Venezuela in 2006. A switch-hitter, he is best-known for his defense, rated as excellent at both shortstop and second base.

The question for Galvis is hitting. Although he hit .298 in 33 games in Triple-A last year, his overall track record isn't impressive (career line of .246/.292/.321). He makes decent contact, but is impatient and isn't going to provide much OBP. Galvis will show a spark of power occasionally, but does this just often enough to get himself in trouble. He's hitting .274/.294/.484 this spring (17-for-62, two walks, five strikeouts). I wouldn't expect the SLG to hold up over a full season, but the batting average and OBP are about right. Given his defense, you can do worse for a stopgap, but I don't see him as a long-term replacement for Utley should one become necessary.

**Cleveland Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall has been optioned to Triple-A. He hasn't had a great spring by any means, just 8-for-39 (.205) with one walk and 16 strikeouts. The sample is small of course (every sample is small in spring training) but the BB/K ratio is quite worrisome, and given his less-than-exciting hitting last summer, this isn't exactly unexpected and it is reasonable to wonder about his future. Chisenhall's performance has never quite matched his positive reputation among scouts, and at some point the "pure hitting skills" and pretty swing need to actually produce some numbers. He's just 23 so he has time on the clock, and perhaps the demotion will get his bat going.

**The Detroit Tigers demoted right-hander Jacob Turner to Triple-A Toledo today, which is hardly a surprise given that he's been sidelined most of the spring with a sore shoulder and wasn't pitching well even before he got hurt.

How do we assess Turner's health status? This isn't supposed to be a major injury, but Turner has suffered bouts of both elbow and shoulder soreness in the past, so his current problem is not exactly out of the blue. I would expect the Tigers to be cautious, and with just three Triple-A starts under his belt, there's no real need to rush him.

**In case you missed it, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon officially confirmed that rookie Matt Moore will be in the starting rotation despite getting roughed up a bit in his last outing way back on March 18^th.