Toolshed: Prospects playing for 2016 spots

This is part of a series of Friday columns we're calling the Toolshed, focusing on some of the more interesting prospect-centered storylines of the 2015 season. Have ideas, feedback or questions for Sam? Email him or tweet him @SamDykstraMiLB. (Note: All stats are through Wednesday's games.)

It may be the middle of August, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start thinking about 2016. That's what the great people of Iowa and New Hampshire have been hearing non-stop in recent days. But it's the case in baseball as well, and we saw an example this week when the Dodgers promoted Jose Peraza to the Majors.

Peraza, who was acquired by Los Angeles in a three-team deadline deal with the Braves and Marlins, was brought up to replace an injured Howie Kendrick at second base. (He's since been optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City with Justin Turner coming off the DL.) The move made sense on a short-term basis since Peraza was on the 40-man roster and was 15-for-39 (.385) with a homer, a triple and three doubles in his first 10 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City and had hit .294 with 26 steals at Triple-A Gwinnett before that. The 21-year-old was a logical replacement this season for Kendrick, and that's what mattered for the Dodgers as they try to hold off the Giants for the NL West lead.

The move might have also had another, longer-term purpose, though. Kendrick will be a free agent at season's end, opening up a spot at second base for the Dodgers, assuming he doesn't re-sign. LA could sign a free agent, with 35-year-old Ben Zobrist perhaps being the best of the crop at second, or they could turn to Enrique Hernandez, who himself was acquired from the Marllins in the Dee Gordon/Dan Haren trade last December and has a .278/.333/.496 line in 147 plate appearances while getting time at second, shortstop and all three outfield spots in the Majors this season. Turner could be another option but has got the bulk of his playing time at third and hasn't been a regular second baseman since 2011 with the Mets.

But by acquiring Peraza and giving him playing time almost immediately -- he started two of his first three games -- it looks like the Dodgers intended to give the Venezuela native a real crack at impressing them in the Majors and, therefore, becoming the de facto 2016 Opening Day second baseman.

Now it'll be up to Peraza to do the impressing the rest of the way, particularly when rosters expand in September. If he reaches base at a decent clip and flashes his plus-plus speed on a nightly basis either in Triple-A or the Majors, the big league job could be his come winter. If that OBP (which was at .318 in Gwinnett) goes south of .300 over a decent MLB sample, then maybe the Dodgers look elsewhere. This next month might be big for Peraza. 

Following that theme, here are some other prospects who could help or hurt their chances at starting 2016 in the Majors with the way they end 2015.

Joey Gallo, Rangers

We wrote off Gallo as a prospect in June -- meaning we thought he'd exhaust his rookie eligibility this season -- when he took his 80 power to the Majors, homered in his first two games in Texas and hit .300 through his first 11 games. As small a sample as that was, the hype train was being filled with coal. But by June 29, the 21-year-old third baseman's holes had been exposed, and he was hitting just .218 while striking out in 43.9 percent of his plate appearances.

With Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton both healthy at that time, Gallo was moved back to Round Rock and has had the same not-much-contact-but-at-least-it's-loud-contact issues by hitting .201 with 12 homers, a .302 isolated slugging percentage (slugging minus batting average) and a 39.2 strikeout percentage in 36 games with the Express.

The Rangers picked up Beltre's $16 million option for 2016 last offseason and Hamilton is signed through 2017 in left field, so Gallo doesn't have an open spot to claim. But if he's called up in September and shows a better ability to control the strike zone -- or does that first in the Pacific Coast League -- he could force the Rangers to be creative to find time for their top prospect come next spring.

Michael Conforto, Mets

Conforto was at the heart of the latest "Bring him up already" rants from Mets fans as late as late July, when he had a .312/.396/.503 line in 45 games at Double-A Binghamton. The Mets finally broke down and called him up July 24, and he's been up with the big club ever since.

The problem is that playing time might be getting harder to find for the 22-year-old outfielder. Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson have two of the starting outfield spots on lockdown on any given night, leaving Conforto, Michael Cuddyer (who returned from the DL on Monday) and Juan Lagares splitting the last spot. The Mets aren't entirely shying away from their No. 2 prospect, though, and have given him three of the last five starts in left, even after Cuddyer's return. After going 2-for-3 Thursday, Conforto is 10-for-43 (.233) with a homer, eight RBIs and seven walks in his 14 games with the big club. 

Cespedes will become a free agent this offseason, and because he's ineligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Mets, he'll likely go to the highest bidder. If that's not the Mets, New York will enter 2016 with Cuddyer, Lagares and Granderson all still on the books. Given Cuddyer's injury issues and problems at the plate (90 OPS+), you'd think the left-field job would be Conforto's to lose come spring. But if he falters down the stretch as the Mets try to hold onto the top of the NL East standings, New York could choose to start his age-23 season at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he has yet to play, to get him more seasoning. 

Henry Owens, Red Sox

The Red Sox, with nothing much to play for, are getting in the habit of trying out the kids in August and September over the last two seasons. Last year, it was Anthony Ranaudo, who made seven starts from Aug. 1 on and finished 4-3 with a 4.81 ERA in before being traded to the Rangers in the offseason. This season, Owens fills the role of promising hurler who will get every chance to show what he's capable of in the Majors.

The 23-year-old left-hander had his issues with control at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he had a 4.1 BB/9, but by putting up a 2.84 ERA with 34 strikeouts and only eight walks in 31 2/3 innings in July, he earned his first career Major League promotion Aug. 4, when he debuted against the Yankees in the Bronx. He's given up four earned runs on eight hits and five walks in 10 innings thus far and looks like he'll have the chance to finish the season in the Sox rotation, barring any massive blowups. 

Though they've all struggled on the mound or with injuries in 2015, Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez and Wade Miley are all set to be on the books again in 2016. The Sox will surely be looking for some big-name rotation help this offseason -- and might need to be creative in doing so. That means Owens could help his chances to be part of Boston's rotation depth -- or part of a a trade that could make him a piece in another team's rotation -- by doing the opposite of what Ranaudo did and impressing in the final two months of the season. Brian Johnson and Steven Wright, who started the season in Pawtucket with Owens, also have chances at being the fifth man in that rotation.

Jon Gray, Rockies

Gray's was another highly anticipated recent promotion, although the anticipation might have lasted a little longer in Gray's case given his advanced profile when he was taken third overall in 2013. 

The Rockies' No. 2 prospect posted a 4.33 ERA with 110 strikeouts and 41 walks in 114 1/3 innings at Triple-A Albuquerque. (It's worth noting that Gray was a little better than his ERA alone would indicate, given his 3.88 FIP in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.) His debut came Aug. 4 against the Mariners, and although that start was lackluster, he very much looked the part Monday when he held the Mets to one earned run on one hit (a second-inning homer by Travis d'Arnaud) and two walks in six innings. 

The Rockies, who are in the cellar of the NL West and have zero standout starters, will give Gray a long leash this season, so his role in the 2016 rotation is likely safe. All that matters will be what kind of groundwork he will have laid in his first month-plus in the Majors.