As the baseball season hurtles toward the stretch run, some contenders will bypass the August trade market and instead fill any glaring holes from within. We saw it last year when the Cincinnati Reds promoted reliever Aroldis Chapman on Aug. 31. He ended up pitching in the playoffs at age 22. Here are some candidates to do the same in 2011:
Jesus Montero, New York Yankees » Jorge Posada‘s days are numbered. He already had been benched as the designated hitter against left-handed pitching. On Sunday, he was reportedly told by manager Joe Girardi that he wouldn’t be hitting against right-handers anymore, either. At 21, Montero is in his second full year at Triple-A. He’s batting .289 with 11 homers there and appears ready to get some big league at-bats.
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Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels » The only prospect national writers consistently rank ahead of Bryce Harper. A five-tool threat in center field, Trout spent most of July in the majors after making the jump from Double-A. The team returned him there Aug. 1 once starter Peter Bourjos was deemed healthy enough to start again every day. But Trout, who turned 20 on Sunday, will be back soon.
Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants » Not much left to prove in the minors, where he has a 1.061 OPS over two seasons combined at high-A, Double-A and Triple-A. Unfortunately, Belt is back there now as the Giants stick with Aubrey Huff at first base instead. Belt batted just .218 in his 27-game call-up to San Francisco. But that was all of 78 at-bats. Huff’s .665 OPS isn’t scaring anyone at that spot. Expect the Giants to turn back to Belt soon.
