Trevor Bauer and 5 Prospects Whose Next MLB Shot Will Be a Big Success

Just as baseball fans witnessed last season with Mike Trout and Anthony Rizzo, it’s easy to fail in the major leagues as a young, inexperienced rookie. However, it's often times simply part of the process in a long, successful big league career.

Appearing in 40 games with the Angels in 2011, Trout batted .220/.281/.390 with 11 extra-base hits and 30 strikeouts in 135 plate appearances—an experience that was for the better given his absurd production this season.

Similarly, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo batted .141/.281/.242 with 10 extra-base hits and 46 strikeouts in 49 games with the Padres in 2011. Now with a new organization and playing a significantly more hitter-friendly home park, Rizzo currently owns a .785 OPS is his second exposure at the major league level.

This season, right-hander Trevor Bauer is poised for a return to the major leagues after posting a 6.06 ERA over four starts.

And he’s not the only prospect itching for a chance to redeem themselves in September, as there are several prospects hoping to make a strong impression in their second big league experience.

Matt Dominguez, 3B, Houston Astros

Selected by the Marlins in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2007 first-year player draft, Dominguez has always been regarded as a defense-oriented third baseman. In fact, his defense is so outstanding at the hot corner that it’s forced both the Marlins and Astros to tolerate his lack of offensive production.

Dominguez made his big league debut in 2011 as a September call-up with the Marlins. Appearing in 17 games, the right-handed hitter batted .244/.292/.33 with four doubles and eight strikeouts.

After a midseason trade for Carlos Lee sent him to the Houston Astros, Dominguez played in four games with his new team before a demotion to Triple-A.

With a .253/.308/.361 slash line this season, including 23 doubles, eight home runs, 52 strikeouts and 34 walks, it’s likely that Dominguez’s bat will always lag behind his defensive prowess. However, he has a more direct path to playing time with the Astros and should become more comfortable at the plate this season as a September call-up.

Julio Teheran, RHP, Atlanta Braves

After recording a 15-3 record and 3.02 FIP in 25 starts for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2011, I don’t believe anyone expected Julio Teheran to struggle mightily in his follow-up season.

The right-hander’s strikeout rate has plummeted this season from 7.59 K/9 in 2011 to 6.68 K/9. Similarly, his swinging strike percentage has dropped from 16.6 percent to 12 percent.

While his fastball and changeup still have the potential to be plus pitches at the major league level—although his command of both offerings needs further refinement—his progress this season has been impeded by his lack of a breaking ball; he simply hasn’t been effective at changing hitters’ eye level.

Even though the Braves rotation is rather crowded at the moment, I still wouldn’t rule out Teheran receiving a spot start or two in September, especially considering he’s already on the team’ 40-man roster. If he can at least have flashes of success in the major leagues over the final month of the season, I think everyone would feel slightly better about his overall 2012 campaign.

Wily Peralta, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

Considered the Brewers’ top pitching prospect head into the 2012 season, Peralta was called up in April to make his major league debut, working a single, unimpressive inning out of the team’s bullpen. The 6’2”, 240-pound right-handed allowed one run on three hits while recording his first major league strikeout.

Overall, his season at Triple-A Nashville has been a disappointment, as he currently owns a 7-10 record, 4.73 ERA and 9.02 K/9. He’s been inconsistent all season, posting a 3.68 ERA in April, 8.78 ERA in May, 4.88 in June, 2.78 in July and 3.90 ERA in August.

To his credit, he has turned things around to a degree over the last two months and has registered a favorable 1.99 GB/FB rate in 140.2 innings.

With the Brewers out of contention, Peralta could make a case for a spot in the 2013 starting rotation with a few strong starts in September.

Chris Archer, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays

In any other rotation, Archer may have stuck around for a while after he posted a 3.86 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 11.2 innings in two starts for the Rays in June. Notorious for his strikeout and walk rates, the right-hander’s command was better than expected in those starts and definitely warrant a follow-up look in September.

With 132 strikeouts and a career-best 59 walks this season, the 6’3”, 200-pounder has vastly improved his command and may not be destined for a bullpen role after all. 

Trevor Bauer, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

The No. 3 overall selection in the 2011 first-year player draft, everyone was anticipating Trevor Bauer to be lights-out upon reaching the major leagues.

Well, that didn’t happen, as the right-hander struggled with his command in three of four starts. His stuff was excellent as usual, but after allowing 14 hits and 13 walks in 16.1 innings, it was apparent that he needed additional refinement at Triple-A.

Since the demotion, Bauer has definitely made the adjustments that the Diamondbacks were hoping to see. More specifically, over his last two starts, he has allowed five runs on 10 hits while striking out 21 and walking only two batters over 16 innings.

With Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin now members of the big league rotation, Bauer surprisingly is the missing link in the equation.