The MiLB report is back.

Mookie Betts, after a short stint in Boston, is back in Triple-A. His long term prospects haven’t changed, though; his talent will likely shine through next season, when he should be in line for regular at-bats.

Another stalwart, who bursted onto the scene, has struggled mightily lately – if you’re thinking about Gregory Polanco, we’re on the same wavelength. In his last 100 plate appearances, Polanco has posted a 62 wRC+. Much like Betts, he’s fine. He’s just another example, that despite any prospect’s pedigree, immediate success isn’t guaranteed.

As for players still in the minors…

The Rockies’ descent into the cellar is sad for one reason other than the fact that they won’t play meaningful baseball late in the season yet again: Jon Gray has been taken from us. Outside of a September cup of coffee, the Rockies have no reason to call him up and start his service time clock. And that’s a shame, considering how good he’s been lately – posting a 3.12 ERA (3.33 FIP) with a strikeout rate greater than 25% over his last eight starts. Hopefully Gray is given the chance to win a rotation spot out of Spring Training next season. Hell, he might be Colorado’s best pitcher if they allow him to be.

Archie Bradley’s injury scare seems to be completely behind him. Since his late June return, he’s posted a 2.15 ERA (3.34 FIP) in nearly 30 innings. His command has still been iffy (12.6 BB%), but that’s always been a question mark for him and something he has to improve moving forward. The important thing is that he’s healthy. Much like Gray, his parent club doesn’t gain much by giving him any major league time this year, so better luck next year, when he should fight for a rotation slot.

Hell, let’s keep going with our theme: I’m pretty good, but my Major League team isn’t, so I’m probably not getting called up. Trevor May and Alex Meyer have been phenomenal all season. They’re probably not getting a call, though, considering the Twins are twelve games under .500 and completely out of the running for the Wild Card. [Inserts line about how they’ll be interesting next season.]

Finally, to the man of the hour: Mark Appel. No one knows what to do with him. He surrendered 14 runs in his last two starts (six innings). Seemingly everything he throws gets hit hard. Lancaster is a tough place to pitch, but if you’re Houston, can you really promote him to Double-A after his performance this year? One thing’s for sure, he’s only going to work whatever this is out by being on a mound, so shutting him down doesn’t seem like a reasonable option. This sucks for him. And it sucks for Houston, perhaps even more so after this weekend’s Brady Aiken mess. As if being an Astro fan wasn’t tough enough, the future has to go and be unpredictable!

Late edit: Aaron Sanchez, control issues intact, is now in Toronto. I’m not a huge Sanchez supporter, because of his lack of command. There’s not much doubt regarding the quality of his stuff, but he’s not on my radar until he shows improved command.

Joey Gallo is still hitting home runs, despite his promotion. He’s also striking out over 40% of the time, though. Gallo’s going to be a phenomenal case study. How much contact do you need to make in order to be successful if any time you barrel a ball up it has a chance of leaving the yard? George Springer’s leading that charge, at the moment; Gallo may be next.

If Gallo isn’t a posted boy for the three true outcomes, Kris Bryant is. There isn’t much I can write about Bryant that hasn’t been written before: He’s very good and will likely be an impact bat at the next level. Done and done.

Lastly, I’ve added one name to the report today: Jose Peraza. I added him for two reasons: 1. I’m a Braves fan. 2. He has a ton of speed, and we were lacking a little of that on our list.

Peraza doesn’t draw walks, nor does he strike out, and he has no power. He is a contact lover’s dream. Luckily for him, he has plus-speed to go along with his contact ability.

At High-A Peraza was successful on 35 of his 42 stolen base attempts. His success rate at Double-A hasn’t been as impressive, but it’s somewhat skewed by being picked off (an issue in its own right).

Shortstop (Peraza’s natural position) is accounted for in Atlanta for quite some time. Second base, however, is a little more up in the air. Tommy La Stella has performed well (112 wRC+) since being called up, but there is an argument to be made in Peraza’s favor: his defense is highly regarded, and his speed could be game-changing. It’ll be interesting to see which direction the Braves take this in over the next year and a half. For fantasy purposes, though, you’re probably rooting for Peraza to win out.