Monday Morning Manager: July 23rd, 2012

Welcome back to the Monday Morning Manager, where we continue to keep a close eye on TCU Baseball's summer talent pursuit. We have a bunch of new commits as well as an update on our favorite former players, so let's dive right in!

NOTES

- As I first posted yesterday, TCU has added three more players to its 2013 class with Walker Pennington, Will Foreman and Will Fox. Pennington and Foreman are both top 100 players in the state of Texas that are getting a lot of attention this summer. Fox is a solid athlete that is also climbing up boards, we will know more about all of them this fall and I hope to update their basic scouting profiles, linked on the left sidebar, in the near future. So far, I am having a little trouble finding people who have seen all three play, so it might take awhile, stay tuned!

- Scott Atchison will begin a rehab assignment this Friday, with an expected return to the Sox bullpen the following week. Andrew Cashner is still receiving treatment for a strained lat muscle, he is expected to be out until at least early August.

- Matt Carpenter hasn't played much as of late for the Cardinals but he is still having an impressive 2012 season. As the season continues to move forward, Matt will just need to make the best of his opportunities and play himself into a bigger role for future seasons. Plus, the Cardinals are only five games out of first place so the season is hardly over.

- Jake Arrieta was sent down to AAA during the first week of July by the Orioles where he has been focusing on command and consistency. So far so good for Jake, who is looking to get back to Baltimore by September or earlier. He definitely has a future and is still considered to be a top shelf RHP with three above average pitches. Baltimore hasn't given up on him, his demotion is more of a sign that Baltimore wants to get him right for a possible pennant race this year as well as for the future of his career.

- Bryan Holaday is picking up his performance in AAA, now sporting a slash line of .278/.344/.358. This is good to see, the question for Bryan has always been whether his bat would play in the bigs and this performance can only help to relieve those concerns.

- Speaking of performance, Matt Curry is officially raking at AA... .310/.375/.510 with 6 HRs and 46 RBIs is quite solid for the young first baseman. I think Matt will probably finish the year at this level, but if he keeps this level of performance up he could see AAA next year and will be headed for a 40-man roster soon!

- Kyle Winkler is still pitching solely in relief but has started to put together a solid season. After a shaky start, Kyle has brought his strikeout rate up and lowered his contact rate to a reasonable level. Throwing quality strikes is the name of the game for Kyle who has the stuff to dominate at any level and I love to see him perform consistently without pain or injury.

- Matt Purke is working out with the Nationals Gulf Coast summer league team, trying to build strength in his shoulder while also tweaking his delivery to a more consistent and fluid motion. The team is not thinking about surgery but certainly there are still concerns with Matt's progress, expect to see the Nationals slow play his development from here on out.

- Jerome Pena has been promoted to the Orioles full season single A affiliate after a strong early season with the low A short season team. Only six games in, JP isn't killing it yet, but he will in time I am sure.

- Elander, Allen and Miller all continue to play in their respective rookie leagues with varying degrees of success. With the MLB Draft changing the dynamic of these lower level leagues, performance will be the name of the game for anybody wanting to keep their roster spot, hope to see them pick it up as we finish out 2012.

PROFESSIONAL FROGS

Triple AAA
Jake Arrieta (Orioles)- Norfolk Tides
Sam Demel (Diamondbacks)- Reno Aces
Chad Huffman (Indians)- Columbus Clippers
Bryan Holaday (Tigers)- Toledo Mud Hens

Double AA
Matt Curry (Pirates)- Altoona Curve

High A
Greg Holle (Brewers)- Brevard County Manatees
Kyle Winkler (Diamondbacks)- Visalia Rawhide

Low A
Taylor Featherston (Rockies)- Asheville Tourists
Tyler Lockwood (Red Sox)- Greenville Drive
Jerome Pena (Orioles)- Delmarva Shorebirds
Matt Purke (Nationals)- Potomac Nationals

Low A Short Season
Kyle Von Tungeln (Rockies)- Tri City Dust Devils

Rookie League
Josh Elander (Braves)- Danville Braves
Kevin Allen (Royals)- Idaho Falls Chukars
Erik Miller (Reds)- Billings Mustangs

Independent League
Steven Maxwell- Joliet Slammers
Joseph Weik- Gateway Grizzlies