Josh Rutledge - Josh Rutledge was only in the minors for 855 AB's, but the Tulowitzki injury has created an opportunity for him to play consistently with the Rockies. Rutledge has hit 368/390/684 in his first 10 games with Colorado after picking up another double and a homer last night against Arizona, and with Tulo out for at least a few more weeks there is some time for Rutledge to try and carve out a role with the club. Rutledge has double-digit power and speed, and despite some contact issues has maintained a solid average at his two minor league stops. He definitely looks like a solid sleeper in the middle infield in most formats while Tulo is on the shelf, and if he can keep producing it's likely that he can just slide over to 2B once the Rockie SS returns to action.
Jacob Turner - Turner was the centerpiece (from the Marlins' perspective) of the Sanchez deal last night, and the 21 year old will head to New Orleans with an eye toward becoming part of the big league rotation in the near future. I am a big fan of Turner's even though the performances don't quite match up with the stuff just yet. His excellent GB rates bode well for improved performance down the road, his control has been a positive far more often than it has not during his minor league time, and his swinging strike% leads you to believe that the K rate will likely improve as well. He may be miscast as a future ace, although the park in Florida will help quite a bit, but he certainly looks like a potential mid-rotation starter at the very least, and possibly as soon as next season.
Jeff Samardzija - Samardzija has gotten hot again in July, rolling off four straight solid outings including an 8 IP, 1 H performance against the Pirates last night. The 27 year old has only walked 7 over 27 innings during that stretch, further illustrating just how important his control is to his overall success. His ERA is still 3/4 of a run above his FIP ERA, leading me to believe that we're going to see that continue to come down as the season winds to a close...I wouldn't be all that surprised to see him finish under 4.00 this year.
Joe Kelly - Kelly tossed his 6th straight quality start in the 5-3 loss to LA last night, going 6 innings and allowing just 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned). Kelly seems to be benefitting from some sort of osmosis on the luck afforded to Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook, as Kelly has posted an ERA of just 2.78 through his first 8 starts despite poor BB and K rates. His minor league track record in uninspiring outside of the GB rates, and his schedule has been very accommodating thus far....I'm skeptical that this can last, although he does get the Cubs next time out.
Rob Brantly - The Marlins also picked up C Rob Brantly in the Sanchez/Turner deal yesterday, and Brantly may not be all that far from contributing to Miami either. The Marlins have gotten roughly a .600 OPS from their catchers this season, and Brantly was recently promoted to AAA after posting a 311/354/461 line at AA for the Tigers. He could very well see action in Miami come September, and could possibly be the starter in 2013. He doesn't have much in the way of power or speed, but solid contact rates should help him post a decent AVG and OBP, while there is enough power there to potentially see 10-15 homers a year down the road.
