Hedges, Montas sent down to Minors

Padres catcher Austin Hedges, MLB.com's No. 52 overall prospect, and White Sox right-hander Frankie Montas (No. 92) were reassigned to Minor League camps Tuesday, both clubs announced.

Since San Diego backup catcher Tim Federowicz is out until after the All-Star break with a torn meniscus in his right knee, Hedges had an outside shot at cracking the Major League roster come Opening Day. But with veterans Rocky Gale, Wil Nieves and Cody Decker also vying for the backup spot behind Derek Norris, it was never more than that.

Since being taken by the Padres in the second round of the 2011 Draft, Hedges has always been seen as an excellent defensive catcher. He threw out 50 of 131 attempted basestealers (38.2 percent) at Double-A San Antonio in 2014 and has a career caught-stealing rate of 34.3 percent. Combined with his elite receiving skills, it's no surprise that he received 65 and 70 grades for his arm and fielding tools, respectively, from MLB.com this offseason.

The questions come from his bat, which grades out as below-average. The 22-year-old right-handed hitter had a .225/.268/.321 with six homers in 113 games at Double-A San Antonio last season and owns a .251/.311/.382 career line through four seasons in the Minors. That's not good enough to bang down the door to San Diego right now, but at least one observer isn't concerned. 

"For me and for us, the 150 pitches he receives every night are gonna be more important than the four at-bats," said Padres manager Bud Black, "and that's what I tell catchers anyway." 

Though earning a spot on the Major League roster might not have been an immediate goal for Hedges, there were other objectives to his time in Major League camp, and the skipper believes the catching prospect hit those this time around.

"He feels as though he's in a good spot to be a Major League player," said Black, who added that Hedges could start the season at San Antonio or Triple-A El Paso. "The comfort level of being around guys like Josh Johnson and James Shields and [Matt] Kemp and [Will] Venable and [Carlos] Quentin and [Cameron] Maybin -- he feels comfortable in the room, which is a good thing, and there's a process to that for young players. But he's doing well." 

There was little chance Montas would make the White Sox Opening Day roster, so Tuesday's news came as no big surprise, despite the 22-year-old right-hander's stuff. 

Montas, acquired from the Red Sox in the Jake Peavy trade back in 2013, has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can hit triple-digits at times. His slider received an above-average 60 grade from MLB.com, and his changeup is his more average offering at 50.

The Dominican Republic native missed a good chunk of the 2014 season due to knee surgeries but went 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA, 56 strikeouts and 14 walks in 10 starts (62 innings) at Class A Advanced Winston-Salem. He made one late-season start at Double-A Birmingham (5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K on Aug. 30), and that's where he'll return to start 2015.

Other players that were optioned or reassigned to Minor League camps Tuesday:

Athletics: Ryan Cook

Marlins: Carter Capps

Mets: Jack Leathersich

Rangers: Alex Gonzalez

Tigers: Alberto Cabrera, Kyle Lobstein, Alex Wilson, Josh Zeid

Twins: A.J. Achter

White Sox: Leury Garcia, Onelki Garcia, Logan Kensing, Nolan Sanburn, Joe Savery, Andy Wilkins