The legend of Stephen Strasburg continues to grow. The 2009 first overall draft pick pitched six no-hit innings during his second career triple-A start on May 12. He was lifted after the sixth inning and replaced by fellow ’09 No. 1 draft pick Drew Storen, who promptly gave up a hit to the third batter he faced.

Strasburg breezed through the Baltimore Orioles’ triple-A lineup, which was laden with minor league vets like Michael Aubrey, Joey Gathright, and Robert Andino. It even included a few true prospects in Josh Bell and Brandon Snyder.

The reason for Strasburg’s success on this night was clear. Simply, he threw strikes. Fifty-five of his 80 pitches were for strikes. With the strict pitch count, he did a nice job of getting through six innings despite striking out seven batters (and walking one). His stuff looked very good. Every batter was behind the right-hander’s mid-to-high 90s heater. He also had a good 12-6 breaking ball that caught a lot of batters looking at strikes.

On this night, though, his change-up may have been his best pitch. Speed-wise, it came in around 88 mph, which many MLB pitchers would consider to be the average velocity on their fastballs. The off-speed pitch had crazy, late fade that was utterly unhittable at times, as it dropped off just as the hitter swung at the pitch.

Strasburg’s combined season numbers between double-A and triple-A are outstanding. In 34.0 innings, the former San Diego State star has allowed just 14 hits and eight walks in 34.0 innings. He’s also racked up 40 strikeouts and has an excellent ground-ball rate, which has helped him keep the ball in the yard. Strasburg has yet to give up a hit to a right-handed batter in triple-A and left-handed batters are hitting less than .100 against him on the year (more than 50 batters faced).

The Washington Nationals club currently sits in second place in the National League East division. The Philadelphia Phillies club looks strong but the rest of the division is definitely vulnerable; a National League wild card spot is also not out of the question. The Nationals organization obviously doesn’t want to risk it’s future by playing for 2010, but it’s not absolutely crazy to think that the club could sneak into the playoffs (OK, maybe it’s a little crazy).

Pitching has been a weak spot for the club, as it ranks last, or near last, in strikeout rate, batting average allowed, WHIP, and xFIP. When we look at the starting rotation, we see that Jason Marquis has been lost for at least two months due to surgery, John Lannan has been terrible and Craig Stammen has been walking a tight rope. The club’s best starter, Livan Hernandez, has been doing cartwheels down the tight rope. The pitcher I have the most faith in right now is Scott Olsen, and that scares me just saying it.

If the Washington Nationals club continues to hover near the top of the National League East, the organization will have a huge dilemma on its hands as it weighs present gain versus future value. If Strasburg keeps pitching like he has been, though, it’s hard to envision him in the minor leagues a month from now.

Yesterday, we took a look at the top rookie performers in the American League, led by Detroit’s Austin Jackson. Today, we’re breaking down the key first year players in the National League through the first six weeks of the 2010 MLB season. It’s a pretty impressive list already, and we still haven’t seen the likes of Washington’s Stephen Strasburg or Florida’s Mike Stanton.

Rookies were considered based on a minimum of 50 plate appearances, four starts, or 10 relief appearances. Last year’s NL Rookie of the Year award went to Florida’s Chris Coghlan, followed by J.A. Happ (Philadelphia) and Tommy Hanson (Atlanta).

Tyler Colvin | OF | Chicago: The former No. 1 draft pick is having a nice debut despite being a surprise addition to the ’10 club. Colvin has shown more patience in the Majors (10.2 BB%) than in the minors, which has helped his overall numbers. He currently has a triple-slash line of .275/.345/.608 and an ISO rate of .333, which has been helped by eight extra base hits out of his 14 total base knocks. The strikeout rate is a worrisome at 29.4 K%.

Ike Davis | 1B | New York: Davis is in the Majors a lot sooner than a lot of people expect but he’s held his own with a .415 wOBA in 18 games. Overall, he has a triple-slash line of .316/.437/.544. Davis has shown a willingness to take a walk with a rate of 18.3 BB%. He’s also done his fair share of swinging and missing with a strikeout rate of 29.8%. The line-drive rate of 31.7% is pretty darn impressive for young Ike.

Ian Desmond | SS | Washington: Desmond is holding his own so far this season as the Nationals’ starting shortstop. He has a triple-slash line of .264/.323/.462, and his wOBA sits at .347. Along with three homers, the shortstop has added three stolen bases. Desmond’s strikeout rate is high (23.1 K%) for someone with modest power. He’s been solid so far with the glove.

Alcides Escobar | SS | Milwaukee: Escobar is an interesting rookie. He’s basically known for hitting for a hollow batting average with good speed and defense. So far in 2010, Escobar has a .222 average, a career-high .141 ISO rate, just one steal attempt in 27 games, and a modest defensive showing. After nabbing 46 bags in ’09, it’s borderline criminal that the young infielder isn’t utilizing his speed better.

David Freese | 3B | St. Louis: I won’t go too in-depth on Freese here, as I looked at him last week. Freese is currently hitting .320/.393/.476 with a .387 wOBA in 29 games. His power output has been modest for the hot corner (.155 ISO) but he has a history of posting strong batting averages in the minors.

Jason Heyward | RF | Atlanta: Heyward had his ups and his downs during the first month of the season, which is to be expected for a 20-year-old prospect making his MLB debut. What’s impressive is how quickly he’s made adjustments. Heyward currently has a .436 wOBA and his triple-slash line is up to .291/.410/.616 with eight homers (.326 ISO) in 105 at-bats. He does have some work to do defensively.

Tommy Manzella | SS | Houston: Manzella was holding his own for a little while in April but his triple-slash line has dipped to just .195/.235/.260 in 83 at-bats. His approach at the plate is clearly an issue, as he has a walk rate of just 2.4% and his strikeout rate has skyrocketed to 32.5%, which is far too high for a player with a .065 ISO rate. On the plus side, he’s played OK defense.

Gaby Sanchez | 1B | Florida: Sanchez, 26, is quietly going about his rookie season. The first baseman has a solid triple-slash line of .272/.368/.424 in 106 at-bats. His wOBA sits at .352. Sanchez has done a solid job of getting on base with a walk rate of 12.3%, which is right up there with his minor league numbers. He’s done OK with the strikeout rate at 20.7%, but his power is below average for a first baseman, so it would be better off around the 15% range.

Jaime Garcia | LHP | St. Louis: Garcia is another player that was highlighted recently. The lefty mixes four pitches well (fastball, cutter, curve, change) and he currently has positive pitch values on all four of his offerings. Along with his 89-91 mph fastball velocity, Garcia gets excellent sink on his heater and he currently has a ground-ball rate of 62%, which is second in the Majors to Atlanta’s Tim Hudson. He needs to make sure that he continues to keep his control in check.

Mike Leake | RHP | Cincinnati: Leake cannot boast a +60% ground-ball rate like Garcia, but his is still above average at 56.0%. The right-hander has continued to improve as the season has gone on. Currently, he’s given up just 32 hits in 40.2 innings of work and his xFIP sits at 4.11. He’s done a nice job of tossing a five-pitch mix at the National League hitters, which helps make up for his average fastball velocity.

Jenrry Mejia | RHP | New York: I cannot adequately express how disappointing it is to see Mejia being misused in New York. The 20-year-old right-hander has appeared in 15 games out of the bullpen and currently has a 4.61 BB/9 rate, as well as a strikeout rate of just 5.93 K/9. He’s shown a respectable fastball-slider combo, but his change-up (along with his overall control) is not getting any better by pitching a total of 13.2 innings in just under six weeks.

Jon Niese | LHP | New York: Niese has not received a ton of attention from traditional rookie watchers, likely due to his one win in six games. We all know there is much more to a pitcher’s game than wins (Less just ban the stat for individuals). The lefty has a solid strikeout rate at 7.46 K/9 and his control has improved significantly (3.09 BB/9) over his ’09 debut. Niese’s ground-ball rate is just shy of 50%. The base knock has been an issue for him as he’s allowed 46 hits in 35.0 innings.

The Next Big Call-up: Stephen Strasburg, RHP, Washington
2010 First Half Star: Jason Heyward, RF, Atlanta
2010 Second Half Star: Jason Heyward, RF, Atlanta
2010 Overall NL ROY: Jason Heyward, RF, Atlanta

Well, we’re about six weeks into the season so it’s time to take a look at the Rookie of the Year races. Today, we’ll begin with the American League before following up with the National League on Tuesday. Rookies were considered based on a minimum of 50 plate appearances, four starts, or 10 relief appearances. Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year award went to A’s closer Andrew Bailey, followed by Elvis Andrus (Texas) and Rick Porcello (Detroit).

Austin Jackson | CF | Detroit: The 23-year-old Jackson is certainly the top rookie hitter right now. His line of .370/.420/.508 is head-and-shoulders above everyone else in the league – but it’s also quite a bit better than anything he’s ever posted in the minors. Toss in a well-publicized (and enormous) BABIP of .511 and you have the makings of someone that’s going to take a large slide in the second half of 2010. He does deserve credit for recently cutting down on his strikeouts, with just five in his last 10 games. His wOBA of .416 certainly gives Jackson a huge lead on any other rookie hitter in the American League.

Scott Sizemore | 2B | Detroit: Sizemore’s solid start to the ’10 season was overshadowed by Jackson’s great start. The second baseman has been stumbling recently, though, and his triple-slash line is down to .241/.319/.337. After slugging 17 homers and stealing 21 bases in the minors last season, Sizemore has just one long ball (.096 ISO) and zero stolen base attempts in his rookie season in the Majors. He currently has a wOBA of .299. He’s not going to gain any value from his defense, either.

Justin Smoak | 1B | Texas: It’s been a slow start for Smoak on offense. The former first round pick is currently hitting just .196/.303/.411 in 17 games. Given his struggles with the batting average, though, his wOBA of .314 is better than you might think it would be (the MLB average is .326). Smoak has a solid walk rate at 13.6% and his strikeout rate is reasonable at 16.1%. Despite his misfortune with the balls in play (.178 BABIP), the power has been there, as seen by his .214 ISO. It’s a slow start to be sure, but the signs point to Smoak’s overall numbers getting much better as the season progresses.

Reid Brignac | IF | Tampa Bay: Brignac, 24, has seen time at both second base and shortstop in 2010. He’s hitting a respectable .294/.339/.466 in 21 games. He also has a wOBA of .346. He’s not a big home run threat, but Brignac has shown gap power and has an ISO rate of .172. He’s been quite aggressive at swinging at pitches outside the strike zone (almost 20% more than average) but he’s making above-average contact, which has helped to keep his strikeout rate to 15.5%. It has definitely hurt his on-base rate, though, as his walk rate is just 4.8%.

Lou Marson | C | Cleveland: You have to feel a little sorry for Marson. Not only is he adjusting to a new team and a new league as a rookie, but he also has top prospect Carlos Santana breathing down his neck. Marson is currently hitting .203/.261/.266 with a wOBA of .249, so he’s not exactly doing his part to keep the full-time catching gig in Cleveland. The right-handed hitter is batting just .163 against right-handed pitchers. His strikeout rate of 26.6% is far too high for someone with an ISO of just .063.

Mitch Talbot | RHP | Cleveland: The 26-year-old Talbot finally earned a shot at the big leagues in 2010 after posting some solid numbers in triple-A over the past three seasons. The right-hander has a shiny 3.43 ERA but his xFIP is currently 4.94. There is also some significant concern over his strikeout rate of 3.66 K/9, as well as the K/BB of just 0.84. That is not going to help a pitcher succeed over a full season. Talbot has survived this far thanks to a solid ground-ball rate of 52% and a BABIP of .234. American League hitters are making contact against him 93.5% of the time (average is 80.8%).

Wade Davis | RHP | Tampa Bay: Again, we have a rookie pitcher whose overall numbers are not quite as good as the ERA (3.18) would suggest. Davis’ xFIP currently sits at 4.81 and his walk rate has been high at 4.76 BB/9. His strikeout rate is below the league average at 6.62 K/9. He’s also a fly-ball pitcher. On the plus side, he’s allowed just 27 hits in 34.0 innings (.253 BABIP). If we look at his pitch type values, we see that his fastball has been good, but his secondary stuff has not been overly effective.

Brian Matusz | LHP | Baltimore: Matusz has quietly gone about his rookie season, in part because Baltimore just isn’t getting much attention while wallowing in the AL East cellar. The lefty’s xFIP currently sits at 4.80 and there is some concern over his extreme fly-ball tendencies; his ground-ball rate is just 26.6%. That clearly has to improve if he’s going to succeed in the American League. His walk rate is solid at 3.12 BB/9 and his strikeout rate is good at 7.36 K/9. Matusz has given up 46 hits in 40.1 innings, but he’s been hampered by a BABIP of .353.

Neftali Feliz | RHP | Texas: You don’t see many 22-year-old closers, so Feliz is a bit of a rarity. He’s been quite successful since claiming the role and has converted nine of 10 save opportunities. Feliz has a strikeout rate of 9.72 K/9, but his walk rate is even more impressive given his age and experience: 1.62 BB/9. Like with Matusz, the low ground-ball rate of 23.3% is troubling. According to his pitch type values, Feliz’ fastball hasn’t been quite as dynamic as it was in ’09 but he has positive values for all three of his offerings (heater, curveball, change-up).

Prior to the 2010 season, the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was ranked by a few publications “in the know” (including myself) as one of the five worst in all of Major League Baseball. The ranking was based mainly on the poor depth in the system. However, now in early May, the club could argue that it currently has the top rookie pitcher and second-best rookie hitter (Atlanta’s Jason Heyward being No. 1) in the National League. Dave Cameron recently took a look at left-handed starter Jaime Garcia so I’ll focus on third baseman David Freese, whom we ranked as the club’s eighth best prospect entering 2010.

Freese is no ordinary rookie. While most rookies tend to reach the Majors between the ages of 22 and 24, he’s already 27 years old. He’s not even really a late bloomer. The San Diego Padres organization nabbed Freese in the ninth round of the 2006 draft out of the University of South Alabama as a fifth-year senior. With a previous tour through a community college, the infielder was already 23 years old when he entered pro ball.

Here is a pre-draft scouting report on Freese from the draft experts at Baseball America:

…He has big-time raw power and mashes balls to all fields when he gets his arms extended. Freese’s approach is good; his defense at third base is not. He’ll probably have to play first base, though some scouts suggest he could catch. There, however, his arm strength and throwing motion could be problematic.

Freese did continue to hit well in the minors, as per his scouting report. His career minor-league line is .308/.384/.531 in just under 400 games. He even slugged 26 homers in ’08 at triple-A, and posted back-to-back 90 RBI seasons in ’07 and ’08. The third baseman looked poised to secure the third base job in St. Louis at the start of ’09 but his hopes were dashed by an injury.

So far this season, Freese is hitting .360/.404/.547 in 97 at-bats. He’s tied for fourth in the Majors with Andre Ethier of the Dodgers with a .360 average; he’s second in rookies to Austin Jackson’s .376 average. Like the Tigers prospect, though, Freese has been aided by a very healthy BABIP at .438 (a trend that began in the minors). Unlike Jackson, the Cardinals prospect has a more reasonable strikeout rate at 23.3%, although still high.

Freese has also displayed signs of being a run producer with 19 RBI in 24 games. His power output has been modest to this point with three homers and a .186 ISO, but he does have seven doubles. Much of his power is to the opposite field, with a .429 ISO rate on balls to right field, compared to .130 to center and .186 to left. Freese is absolutely killing southpaws early on with a .500 average (11-for-22). He’s also enjoying his time at home with a wOBA of .568, compared to .271 on the road.

Defensively, Freese is still a work in progress. He’s an average defender at best, based on his historical scouting reports, and the early report from UZR is a respectable rating of 1.2 – although it’s too early to read too much into it.

If we look at Freese’s ZiPS updated projection, it has him producing a line of .294/.351/.460 with a highly-respectable .357 wOBA. By comparison, the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan, had a .372 wOBA. It’s still quite early in the season but I’m willing to admit I may have been a little too cautious in my ranking of Freese. It will be interesting to see how his numbers look at the end of May.

It hasn’t been a great season for the Toronto Blue Jays, but the club keeps tantalizing fans with glimpses of the future promise. Sophomore southpaw Brett Cecil took a perfect game into the seventh inning last night against the Cleveland Indians. It was the fourth time this season (in 27 games) that a Toronto starter has taken a no-hitter into the sixth inning of a game; Shaun Marcum, Brandon Morrow, Ricky Romero, and Cecil have all flirted with brilliance this season, and Marcum is the oldest of the quartet at 28.

For Cecil, the perfect game ended in the seventh inning with one out. He experienced a rare lack of control and walked both Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo. He then retired Austin Kearns before giving up a single into left field off the bat of veteran Jhonny Peralta.

In just his third MLB start of the year, Cecil pitched eight innings, allowed one hit, walked two batters and struck out 10, which was a career high (in 21 MLB appearances). He mixed his four-pitch repertoire effectively and dials his fastball up to 93 mph, when needed.

On the season, he has positive pitch-type values on his slider, change-up, and curveball. He’s struggled with his fastball command in his previous two starts but it was much better on Monday night. The lefty struck out batters with the fastball (four), change-up (three), and slider (three). Veteran catcher John Buck was impressed with Cecil’s performance.

“The operative word here is ‘pitched,'” Buck said to MLB.com. “He was locating his fastball in and out. He was aggressive with a whole array of pitches, and makes it tough for hitters to sit on one pitch or on one location. He’s able to spread the plate.”

The 23-year-old pitcher was rushed to the Majors in ’09 when injuries depleted the Jays’ starting rotation and minor league depth. He made 17 starts and posted a 4.68 xFIP in 93.1 innings. Cecil was sent to triple-A to begin the 2010 season after he was slowed by a cut on his throwing hand in spring training.

An injury to veteran Brian Tallet brought him back up to the Majors in late April. Through three starts, he has a 3.30 xFIP, as well as a walk rate of 1.74 BB/9 and a strikeout rate of 9.15 K/9. His MLB numbers don’t agree right now but Cecil is a solid ground-ball pitcher with a worm-burning rate in the minors just shy of 60%. Last night, he induced nine ground-ball outs compared to four fly-ball outs.

Perhaps due, in part, to his late start to the season, Cecil has tired early in games. According to the Sportsnet broadcast last night, he has allowed a .118 batting average during his first 75 pitches in each of his three starts but an average of more than .500 from pitch 76 and upward.

Cecil was a supplemental first round selection (38th overall) during the 2007 draft. The left-hander was a closer at the University of Maryland before he was moved to the starting rotation by the Jays organization. The club has also had success with converting college closers David Bush (now with Milwaukee) of Wake Forest University and Marcum of Southwest Missouri State U.

One thing Cecil might want to watch in future starts, though, is his work from the stretch. He pitched out of the stretch just once in the game – during the seventh inning – and his pitching grips were fully visible in his glove, which was open to the base runner at second base.

The Royals and Diamondbacks recently – and quietly – pulled off a rare prospect-for-prospect trade. The American League club sent reliever Carlos Rosa to Arizona for infielder Reynaldo Navarro. Rosa is the bigger name of the two based on his previous big league experience but Navarro is a former third round draft pick (2007) out of Puerto Rico.

The Diamondbacks club is desperate for relief pitching… any pitching, really. The club currently has the second worst ERA in the Majors (although its xFIP sits 18th, suggesting the club needs to address some other needs, as well). The right-hander was never able to crack the big league rotation with Kansas City and appeared in just nine MLB games over the past two seasons.

Rosa, 25, has shown good minor league numbers, including solid control (although it slipped in ’09 at triple-A); he was permanently moved to the bullpen in ’09. He has good stuff and his fastball sits around 94 mph. Unfortunately, he’s never been able to consistently command his secondary pitches (slider, change-up). He’s always done a nice job of keeping the ball in the park and has a career ground-ball rate around 50%. In ’09 at triple-A, Rosa posted a 3.44 FIP and a strikeout rate of 10.14 K/9 in 71.0 innings. So far in 2010, the right-hander has struggled with his control in just 12.1 innings.

In return, Arizona surrenders a talented – but very raw – middle infield prospect. Navarro, 20, was ranked by FanGraphs.com as the D-Backs’ seventh-best prospect entering 2010. Last year in low-A, Navarro hit .262/.308/.339 in 493 at-bats. He has some speed (12 steals in 16 tries) but his aggressive approach (5.5 BB%) makes him a poor top-of-the-order hitter. Currently in high-A ball, the shortstop is hitting .241/.307/.329 in 79 at-bats. Navarro made some defensive strides at shortstop in ’09 and has good range, so there is hope he’ll be able to remain at the position despite fringe arm strength.

Arizona certainly wins the trade if we grade it today; the club addresses a clear need and gets a solid arm for a raw player. However, Kansas City receives an interesting prospect to dream on. The club did a nice job of turning an excess arm into a potential steal. If the Royals’ player development staff can get Navarro to adjust his game plan to take advantage of his true strengths, the organization could end up as the winner of this deal. But it’s a big if.

Lars Anderson, Mike Montgomery, and Drew Storen share few things in common, aside from the fact that they’re both professional ball players. However, all three players can be lumped together as top prospects that recently received minor league promotions.

Anderson was moved from double-A to triple-A by the Boston Red Sox. The big first baseman was repeating double-A for the second straight season after an uninspired .233/.338/.345 in 447 at-bats. His ISO dropped from .211 in ’08 to .112 in ’09 and he lost more than .100 points on his wOBA.

Despite the struggles, I felt pretty good about predicting a rebound for the 22-year-old prospect while writing the 2010 Top 10 list for the Red Sox. I ranked him fifth overall and said: “There were a few good signs, including the fact that he maintained a solid walk rate (12.3%) and his strikeout rate did not skyrocket (25.5%, similar to his career norm – which admittedly is high to begin with)… Anderson will be just 22 for much of 2010, so he has time to turn things around.”

Other prospect rankers felt he was still a Top 10 prospect, as well. Baseball America and Keith Law both ranked Anderson at No. 4, while John Sickels had him at No. 8, and Baseball Prospectus had him ninth overall.

Anderson was hitting .355/.408/.677 at the time of his promotion. With the positive impact that the Mets organization has received from the promotion of Ike Davis, perhaps the Red Sox organization is hoping for a similar spark at some point this season. That seems a little too aggressive but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Montgomery proved to the Kansas City Royals that he was far too good for A-ball so he was bumped up to double-A. The southpaw is just 20 years old so it’s mildly surprising to see the organization be so quick to promote him. With that said, the club is lacking pitching depth at the upper levels of the system. As well, Montgomery had success in nine high-A starts in ’09 after beginning the season in low-A.

During the off-season, I ranked Montgomery as the No. 1 prospect in the Royals’ system. I was joined by three of the other four rankers. Law chose to rank him third behind Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.

At the high-A level in ’10, Montgomery allowed just 14 hits and four walks in 24.2 innings of work. He posted an 11.88 K/9 rate and a 55% ground-ball rate. Despite his early success, the Royals would have to be pretty desperate to bring Montgomery up this season. He’s still young and has a limited number of pro innings under his belt. And the club is not in a position to win this season.

An ’09 first round draft pick by the Washington Nationals, Storen was a slight-overdraft in part because he was considered near-MLB ready. It took less than a month of the 2010 season for him to move within a step of the Majors with a switch from double-A to triple-A.

All four of the prospect rankers had Storen as the third best prospect in the system behind Stephen Strasburg and Derek Norris. In the 2010 Second Opinion, I ranked Storen at No. 4 on the Top 10 list, after giving a little extra love to current MLB starting shortstop Ian Desmond.

Storen projects to be the club’s closer of the future, although a rejuvenated Matt Capps will give the prospect plenty of time to ease into the Majors. Last season, Storen pitched at three levels and compiled a 1.95 ERA with 21 hits allowed in 37.0 innings of work. The 22-year-old former Stanford pitcher had an ERA of 0.96 in seven games and had allowed just five hits in 9.1 innings. He walked just one batter and struck out 11.

It’s great to see the prospect values increasing for all three players. However, don’t get too excited and expect them to make significant MLB impacts in 2010.

With the big league club sporting a 4-17 record in Baltimore, it’s safe to say it’s been a rough season so far for the Orioles. The encouraging news is that the club has actually received some respectable starting pitching with the exception of recently demoted Brad Bergesen.

Along with four solid performers at the MLB level, there is another pitcher in triple-A currently banging on the big-league door, yet again. Chris Tillman, once the club’s top pitching prospect, made 12 starts in the Majors last season at the age of 21. The pitching depth in the organization allowed the club to send him back to the minors at the start of the 2010 season to put in some extra skill development time.

His numbers last year were OK given his age, but he clearly had some work to do. Tillman posted a 6.10 FIP and his HR/9 rate was 2.08. A lot of his pitches were put into the air (37.0 GB%) and he didn’t strike out that many batters (5.40 K/9). A look to his pitch-type values suggests that he was suffering from poor fastball command, a must-have to succeed in the Majors.

Tillman’s 2010 season did not start all that well. Perhaps he was disappointed with his demotion. Or perhaps he was just a little rusty. He accumulated just 9.2 innings over his first three starts and allowed nine runs. In his third start, he hit bottom and lasted just one inning with four hits and four runs allowed. It was no doubt embarrassing for the youngster.

Something clicked after that. In his fourth start, Tillman went eight innings and allowed just three runs on seven hits and no walks. He stuck out five and posted his best GB/FB ratio of the season.

The right-hander, now 22, clearly saved his best performance for his fifth game. Last night against the Gwinnett Braves, Tillman threw a nine-inning no-hitter. He walked just one batter (former Tigers prospect Brent Clevlen) and struck out six. The fly-ball pitcher also relied heavily on the ground-ball with 13 worm-burning outs compared to six in the air.

While perusing the post-game information, I came upon this comment from Tillman, which was recorded by MiLB.com reporter Daren Smith: “I was pitching around my fastball. I had my curveball when I needed it. I was able to throw my changeup and my cutter. My catcher [Adam Donachie] did a great job calling pitches and I had three or four great plays behind me.”

Tillman had been working on a cutter this spring. It sounds like he’s having enough success with it now to utilize it during a no-hit bid, which is encouraging news. The development of a cutter has had a profound effect on the careers of quite a few pitchers in the Majors, such as Roy Halladay. The work on the cutter could also explain his early-season struggles, although I cannot confirm that.

Tillman was a top prospect even before adding the fourth pitch to his repertoire; it’s encouraging to see a talented player – who has experienced more successes than failures in his career – realize the importance of always trying to get better.

If you’ve been following the club over the past week, you’re clearly not from Toronto (ba-dum-bum)… Seriously, though, you knew something was going to break in Toronto. And it was clearly going to occur in the bullpen.

Bullpen Bleeding
April 26: 6 IP – 10 H – 6 R
April 25: 2 IP – 5 H – 4 R
April 24: 1 IP – 5 H – 7 R

Seventeen runs in eight innings will definitely get someone’s attention – and not for a pat on the head. Toronto designated Merkin Valdez for assignment, and optioned Jeremy Accardo to triple-A. The funny thing is that neither of those pitchers really deserved their fate.

Valdez has been used just twice this season, and while he has hardly been effective, who can blame him? There is no way a pitcher can have sharp command when he’s pitched so irregularly (He didn’t pitch for the first time until April 14, and then sat again until the 25th). Accardo also got behind the 8-ball by not getting into a game until April 12. He was then used three times in five days and then sat for another eight days without pitching.

Shawn Camp and Kevin Gregg have been the Jays’ best pitchers. Camp, though was touched up last night. Scott Downs has been ineffective over his last five appearances, with six runs allowed over 3.2 innings. Jason Frasor, who opened the year as the club’s closer, has allowed six runs over his last four appearances (3.1 innings). Casey Janssen has pitched twice in three days and has given up six runs in 1.2 innings.

To take the place of Accardo and Valdez, Toronto has promoted and minor league veteran Rommie Lewis, a long-time Baltimore farmhand in his second season with the Jays organization, and Josh Roenicke, who was obtained last season in the Scott Rolen trade. Roenicke, 27, has yet to allow an earned run this season in triple-A. He’s allowed just four hits and one walk in 8.2 innings of work. The fly-ball pitcher has struck out eight batters. Command issues have haunted him in his brief MLB career.

Lewis, also 27, is receiving his first taste of MLB action and was Las Vegas’ second best reliever, so it’s nice to see the club rewarding dedication and success. The left-hander allowed 10 hits (.400 BABIP) in 7.2 innings but struck out seven batters and has a 75.1% ground-ball rate. He has a low-90s fastball and slider.

There are a few other names currently in double-A that might surface in the Toronto bullpen later this season if they keep throwing well – especially if Scott Downs and Jason Frasor can improve their values enough to bring in a B-level prospect each at the trade deadline.

Trystan Magnuson is 6’8” and has a history of producing good ground-ball numbers. He’s also improved his control with a switch from starting to relieving. He’s struck out 11 batters, with just one walk, in 10.2 innings. Magnuson will turn 25 shortly and was drafted as a fifth-year college senior in 2007. Tim Collins, 20 years old and a full foot shorter than his teammate, will look to challenge Reds reliever Danny Herrera for smallest player in the Majors. The Jays lefty has a low-90s fastball and has yet to allow a run this season. He’s given up just two hits and struck out 14 in 8.0 innings.

Danny Farquhar, 23, comes at hitters with multiple arm angles and can throw in the low-to-mid 90s from a sidearm slot. Control has been an issue for him in the past. He currently has seven Ks in 7.0 innings of work. Some other double-A names to keep in mind for future bullpen help include Luis Perez, Randy Boone, and Zach Stewart.

With the recent promotion of Texas’ top hitting prospect Justin Smoak, the 2010 MLB prospect call-up watch is in full effect. There’s a lot of speculation that Indians catcher Carlos Santana may be the next big-named prospect to make his major league debut, but there should be some eyes on Pittsburgh, too.

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez, the second overall pick of the ’08 draft out of Vanderbilt University, put himself on the must-watch list after a solid ’09 performance that included a .333/.419/.590 line in half a season at double-A. Overall, he managed 27 homers and 95 RBI in 126 games.

Alvarez is not currently tearing up triple-A like Smoak was, but the Pirates prospect is still hitting a respectable .258/.343/.484 in 16 games. After slugging three homers in the first week of the ’10 season, Alvarez has managed just one (and three extra base hits) in the last 10 games.

A left-handed hitter, Alvarez is struggling against southpaws with a .458 OPS in a small sample size. However, it’s been a career trend so far as his splits last season were: .714 OPS vs LHPs, 1.028 vs RHPs). Clearly he has work to do, but the Pirates big league club needs help.

In truth, the pitching is really what’s been bad – okay, terrible – for the big league club. It’s a huge reason why the club has lost six straight and has a 7-11 record. The Pirates club is also last in the NL in batting average at .224, which is even worse than the lowly Astros. It also has the second-lowest team wOBA at .301 and ISO rate at .122.

The club currently employs Andy LaRoche at third base. He was hitting .258/.378/.355 in 37 at-bats going into Sunday’s game when he went 4-for-4, and he’s coming off of a .324 wOBA season in ’09. If you’re not ready to move LaRoche, maybe we need to look at first base, where former top prospect (of the Mariners) Jeff Clement is currently hitting a paltry .174/.220/.326 in 46 at-bats. His career wOBA in 88 games is .291.

Most scouts feel Alvarez is destined to move across to first base, where his value would take a small hit. Even so, now may be the time, given the club’s needs and bleak outlook at the position. The time to call up Alvarez is probably not quite upon us, but it’s getting close.

SCOUTING SIDEBAR: I had a chance to watch Alvarez on April 23 against Louisville. Criticized for carrying extra weight in the past, the prospect is still thick around the middle but he moves pretty well. He made a nice play on a slow grounder to third base, although the throw had to be scooped out of the dirt by first baseman Steve Pearce. Alvarez also showed a pretty good eye at the plate and walked in the first. He also shocked me with pretty good form on an attempted sacrifice bunt out in front of home plate that just bounced foul.

Jose Tabata looks like he’s trimmed down a bit, which explains the league-leading eight steals. He was aggressive during the first at-bat of the game, swinging at the first three pitches. It wasn’t a great approach for the lead-off hitter. He was much better in his second at-bat. He took a few pitches and then got into a hitter’s count, saw a poorly-placed fastball and singled on it. His base running needs work. Tabata was picked off second base by the catcher on a missed bunt attempt.

With some teams struggling with injuries to catchers (Rangers, Angels), someone really needs to look at Erik Kratz (yes, I’m pimping him again). He’s a big target behind the plate, but he moves well for his size and is a quiet receiver. He also showed good pull power with a two-run home run on an inside fastball. He does have an upper-cut swing and probably won’t hit for a great average.

Former No. 1 prospect Neil Walker was playing second base in an attempt to increase his versatility and value. He actually looked pretty good at the plate – with some opposite-field power on display on a deep fly ball to the track – but I didn’t get much of a look at him in the field.