Minor League Update

AAA - Sacramento

The bulk of important names to know in the organization reside at AAA and we'll start this off with the two names that will mean the most to the A's in both the near and long-term future, Chris Carter and Michael Taylor.  Carter has gotten off to a solid start at .324/.359/.568 in 9 games and could get the call to the majors as soon as this week if Daric Barton's injury is more serious than initially thought.  He has only walked once thus far, and the A's may want to leave him down there if Barton is only out a week or two.  Taylor has carried his spring struggles into the regular season, hitting .238/.319/.452 in 11 games, but he has shown good power (5 XBH) and patience (5 BB).

Veteran Dallas McPherson (.250/.310/.593, 12 Ks in 7 games) just went on the DL or he may have gotten a callup to replace Barton.  As far as members of the '09 big league club go, Jack Cust is struggling in a small sample size (.179/.343/.214 in 8 G), as is Landon Powell (.217/.280/.435 in 6 G), but brief call-up Matt Carson is off to a fast start (.378/.417/.489 in 11 G).  Catching prospect Josh Donaldson, getting most of the playing time over Powell at C is at .242/.297/.455 with a pair of HRs.  Eric Sogard, part of the Kouzmanoff trade and perhaps the first in line to get a call-up if Mark Ellis gets DLed, is struggling with a .211/.268/.237 line so far.

On the pitching side, nominal 7th starter Vin Mazzaro had 2 good outings and 1 bad one for an overall line of 1-1, 2.51 ERA, 14.1 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 15 K and 8th starter Clayton Mortensen has also had 2 solid starts (2-0, 3.46 ERA, 13 IP, 15 H, 5 BB, 12 K).  In a perfect world, these guys wouldn't see time in the majors, but it's pretty likely we'll see them up at some point.  6th starter Trevor Cahill is making his debut tonight and likely won't be a candidate to return to Oakland until May.  Bullpen candidates Brad Kilby (4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Henry Rodriguez (4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) have looked sharp thus far.


AA - Midland

The A's top prospect at the level, Jemile Weeks, has gotten off to a fast start for Midland, with a .342/.419/.579 line in 10 games and could get the call to AAA relatively soon.  Former top pick Matt Sulentic has struggled while repeating the level, hitting just .171/.256/.171 so far.  The pitching staff is somewhat devoid of notable prospects at the moment, with Pedro Figueroa (2 GS, 0-1, 4.09 ERA, 11 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 10 K) the top one at this level.


High-A - Stockton

2009 1st rounder Grant Green has started quick with a .326/.356/.512 line in 10 games.


Low-A - Kane County

19 year old catching prospect Max Stassi has looked great so far in full-season ball, hitting .297/.372/.541 in his first 10 games, while toolsy fellow 19 year old Rashun Dixon has also started fast at .306/.419/.472.

Notable prospects Sean Doolittle, James Simmons, Fautino De Los Santos and Michael Ynoa have not made their debuts yet this year.