Kaleb Cowart Back On Top – Prospect Hotlist (July 13- July 19th, 2015)

After his struggles in the lower minors, Kaleb Cowart is making a mockery out of the PCL. In 51 games for the Inland Empire 66ers, Cowart batted .242 with an OPS of .712. Now, in 35 games with the Salt Lake Bees, Cowart has an OPS of .941 and a batting average of .325. In his past 10 games, Cowart is hitting .438 with 2 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs. Of those 10 games, Cowart collected multiple hits in 6 of them. 

A looming promotion should be on the horizon for the Angels’ current number 1 prospect, Sean Newcomb. It’s been more of the same for Newcomb; few hits, few runs and high strikeouts (and fairly high walks). Ever since his outing in which Newcomb gave up 5 earned runs, the southpaw has allowed just 2 earned runs over 21.0 IP to go along with 16 hits, 11 walks and 27 strikeouts. Overall, Newcomb has struck out 114 batters over 88.1 innings and was said to be clocked at 100 mph on the gun twice in his last start against Lancaster.

Despite a great debut with the Angels, Tropeano has been feeling the struggles of the Pacific Coast League hitting paradise. However, it appears that Tropeano has turned the corner in a big way. Since returning from the disabled list, Tropeano has allowed just 7 earned runs in 24.0 innings pitched (2.63 ERA). In those 24.0 innings pitched, Tropeano has given up 21 hits, just 6 walks and struck out 28 batters.

The Bees started off the second half of the season with a 4-game sweep of Reno. The Bees are still sitting in last place with an overall record of 38-57 (17.5 GB). Jett Bandy is starting to get hot again. The catcher is batting .361 in his last 10 games with 5 doubles and 1 home run. Josh Rutledge raised his average up to .270 on the season after a 3-hit performance against Reno on Sunday. Alfredo Marte continued to hit the ball extremely well, with a batting average of .421 in his last 10 games (.367 overall AVG).

The Travelers went 4-2 this week and own a second half record of 12-11 which is good for first place in their division. Relief pitcher, Austin Adams, lowered his ERA down to 1.90 and has 34 strikeouts in 23.2 innings pitched since being called up. Greg Mahle’s ERA since being called up sits at 1.93 and has 17 strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched. Nate Smith was brilliant in his start against Canada in the Pan-Am games. Smith struck out 10 batters over 5.2 innings pitched on Saturday, handing Canada their first loss.

Due to rain, the 66ers only played 4 games this week and won 3 of them. Jeremy Rhoades made his High-A debut on Wednesday. Rhoades surrendered just 1 hit and 2 earned runs while walking 2 and striking out 6. Roberto Baldoquin has been swinging the bat better as of late, with 3 multi-hit performances in his last 4 games (.600) with 5 RBI’s. Eric Aguilera has 2 home runs in his last 4 games, bringing his season total up to 11 on the season. Aguilera now has a slash line if .315/.365/.505 on the season.

The Burlington Bees split 6 games with 3 wins and 3 losses this week and sit 12.0 games behind first place with a second half record of 9-15. Austin Robichaux pitched well on Wednesday, allowing just 1 earned run in 5.0 innings pitched with 6 hits, no walks and 1 strikeout. Zachary Houchins hit his 10th home run of the season on Sunday.  It was announced on July 16th that prospect, Jonah Wesely, will miss the remainder of the season with Tommy John surgery.

The Owlz went 4-3 this week and sit atop their division with an overall record of 19-12. Joe Gatto gave up just one earned run on Sunday in 5.1 innings pitched ( 4 H  1 BB  2 SO). Taylor Ward went hitless just once this week, and his average sits at .373 on the season. Third baseman, Michael Pierson, continued his hot start and is batting .375 in his past 10 games. His season slash line is .380/.475/.550. Outfielder, Alex Abbott has 3 home runs in his last 10 games.

The AZL Angels went 2-2 this week and sit atop the top of their division with a record of 14-9. 2nd round draft pick, Jahmai Jones, has been picking it up with a .282 average and 2 doubles in his last 10 games. 17th round draft pick, Samuel Pastrone, has given up just 1 earned run in his first 11.0 innings pitched with no walks and 8 strikeouts.