D-backs add three prospects to complete trades
Jacobs, Schugel were part of Trumbo deal; Glaesmann acquired from Rays
PHOENIX -- The D-backs received a trio of Minor Leaguers on Friday as players to be named to complete a pair of deals made over the past two weeks.
Prospects acquired by D-backs
- Brandon Jacobs, of: Jacobs turned down a football scholarship at Auburn to sign with the Red Sox for $750,000 as a 10th-round Draft pick in 2009. Boston traded him to the White Sox in July for Matt Thornton. Jacobs, 23, batted .244/.320/.407 with 13 homers and 12 steals in 127 games between high Class A Salem, Double-A Portland and Double-A Birmingham in 2013. His best tool is his above-average right-handed power potential, though it's mitigated by an inconsistent approach and inability to make consistent contact. A solid runner, he has improved his defense while in pro ball, but his below-average arm relegates him to left field.
- A.J. Schugel, rhp: Drafted by the Padres as a third baseman out of Colorado in the 33rd round in 2007, Schugel turned pro as a right-handed pitcher when the Angels selected him in the 25th round out of Central Arizona Junior College in '10. After a strong Double-A season in 2012, he hit the wall in Triple-A this season. In 19 starts at Salt Lake, he went 4-6 with a 7.05 ERA and a 76-33 K-BB ratio in 89 1/3 innings before injuring his foot in early July. Schugel, 24, pitches mainly off a 90-94 mph fastball with good sink. He achieves some deception with some crossfire in his delivery, but his lack of a reliable breaking ball and his inconsistent command cost him dearly in 2013. His changeup can be a solid pitch at times. Schugel projected as a possible back-of-the-rotation starter coming into the season, but now a middle-relief role seems more realistic.
-- Jim Callis
The D-backs received outfielder Brandon Jacobs from the White Sox and right-handed pitcher A.J. Schugel from the Angels to complete last Tuesday's trade for outfielder Mark Trumbo.
The D-backs also received outfielder Todd Glaesmann from the Rays to complete the Dec. 3 trade that sent pitchers Heath Bell to the Rays and David Holmberg to the Reds.
Glaesmann was the Rays Minor League Player of the Year in 2012, when he hit .285 with 21 homers and 75 RBIs for Class A Bowling Green and Class A Charlotte.
The 23-year-old was originally selected by the Rays in the third round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. Last season, Glaesmann hit .240 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs in 132 games for Double-A Montgomery.
"I would say the player to be named later is someone we value as a prospect," D-backs GM Kevin Towers said at the time of the Bell trade, in which the D-backs also received pitcher Justin Choate. "I'd say probably the key player in the deal, with the players from Tampa Bay, will be the player to be named later."
Jacobs played in both the Red Sox and White Sox organizations last year after being dealt from Boston to Chicago on July 12 in the deal that sent left-hander Matt Thornton to Boston. Jacobs hit a combined .244 with 33 doubles, 13 homers and 66 RBIs for Class A Salem and Double-A Portland in the Boston system and Double-A Birmingham for Chicago.
Initially selected in the 10th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, the 23-year-old Jacobs entered the 2013 season ranked as the 11th-best prospect in the Red Sox system by MLB.com.
Schugel, 24, was 4-6 with a 7.05 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Salt Lake last season, after leading the Texas League with a 2.89 ERA in 27 starts in 2012.
Schugel was selected by the Angels in the 25th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.