I apologize for the lateness of this week’s column, but I was out of town for a few days watching my own top prospect, my daughter Dana, graduate from Berklee College of Music.

It’s been a huge week for avid “prospect watchers” when it comes to Major League debuts, as three — count them, THREE — of Baseball America’s No. 1 prospects for their respective organizations got their first taste of the big leagues in the past few days: Atlanta Braves ace-in-training Julio Teheran, Kansas City Royals slugging first baseman Eric Hosmer and Boston Red Sox shortstop extraordinaire Jose Iglesias, who made that debut less than a year after making his stateside pro debut.

That impressive trio was part of a list of six players who made it up to the bigs for the first time:

LOGAN FORSYTHE
2B, San Diego Padres
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-1/205 BORN: Jan. 14, 1987
ACQUIRED: Drafted in the supplemental first round (46th overall) of 2008 out of Arkansas.
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Tucson May 4 when IF Orlando Hudson went on the DL.
DEBUT: May 4 in a 7-4 loss to Pittsburgh: Pinch-hitting for starting pitcher Clayton Richard, he grounded out in the fifth inning.
NOTES: Ranked No. 13 in Baseball America’s Padres rankings, his plate patience netted him 109 walks in 2009, good for second in the minors, but he missed the first several weeks of 2010 with a broken hand. Recently moved from third base to second, he has plus range and a strong arm, and has hit .278 over three seasons coming into 2011, including a .253 average with three homers, 38 RBI and 17 steals at Double-A San Antonio in 2010. He had already surpassed that total in home runs in 22 games at Tucson before his promotion where he was batting .291 with four homers and 15 RBI before his promotion.

BRANDON GOMES
RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
B/T: R/R H/W: 5-11/175 BORN: July 15, 1984
ACQUIRED: Via trade from the San Diego Padres along with pitchers Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos and IF Cole Figueroa for SS Jason Bartlett in December 2010
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Durham May 3 when P Alex Cobb was sent down.
DEBUT: May 3 in a 3-2 win against Toronto: The second of four pitchers, he tossed two shutout hitless innings, walking one.
NOTES: Bringing a 2.99 ERA into the 2011 season, Gomes has been especially effective out of the bullpen as he’s moved up the ladder. After posting a 1.87 ERA in 51 games in relief for the Padres’ Double-A San Antonio affiliate in 2010, where he limited Texas League hitters to a .198 average and fanned 93 batters in 72 innings, he was blazing as the Bulls’ closer in the first month of 2011 with six saves and a 1.35 ERA in 11 games. Originally drafted out of Tulane in the 17th round of 2007, he throws a fastball in the low 90s and a great splitter but it’s his outstanding makeup that is his ticket to stick around.

BRANDON GUYER
OF, Tampa Bay Rays
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-1/210 BORN: Jan. 28, 1986
ACQUIRED: Acquired via trade from the Chicago Cubs in the January 2011 multi-player deal that sent 1B Carlos Pena and OF Fernando Perez to Chicago and netted, among others, OF “Super Sam” Fuld.
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Durham May 6 when P Jeff Niemann went on the DL.
DEBUT: May 6 in a 6-2 win against Baltimore: The starting left fielder, he batted sixth and hit a home run in his first at-bat, finishing 1-for-3 on the day with two RBI and a run scored.
NOTES: A native of Charlottesville, Va., who spent his college years in his hometown at Virginia, Guyer was originally a fifth-round draft pick by the Cubs in 2007. He was that organization’s Minor League Player of the Year last summer when he hit .344 with 13 homers, 58 RBI, 30 steals and 39 doubles at Double-A West Tenn in 102 games there. The Cubs’ #10 prospect prior to the January deal, according to Baseball America, he was just a quick and temporary roster fix, up for that one game before the club needed to supplement the bullpen but since he was hitting .356 with six homers and 18 RBI in 28 games at Durham, you can expect to see him back soon.

ERIC HOSMER
1B. Kansas City Royals
B/T: L/L H/W: 6-4/230 BORN: Oct. 24, 1989
ACQUIRED: Selected in the first round (third overall) of the 2008 draft
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Omaha May 6 when 1B Kila Ka’aihue was sent down.
DEBUT: May 6 in a 3-2 loss to Oakland: The starting first baseman, he batted sixth and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.
NOTES: Considered one of the top high school hitters in the 2008 draft, Hosmer did not sign until that August so did not make his pro debut until 2009. That summer, between two Class A stops at Burlington and Wilmington, he hit under .250 but underwent LASIK surgery during the off-season which has clearly made a big different. He returned to Wilmington in 2010 and hit .354 in 87 games before moving up to Double-A Northwest Arkansas where he batted .313, combining for 20 homers and 86 RBI between the two stops. At Omaha, in 26 games prior to his promotion, he was hitting .439 with three homers and 15 RBI and had 19 walks versus 16 strikeouts.

JOSE IGLESIAS
SS, Boston Red Sox
B/T: R/R H/W: 5-11/175 BORN: Jan. 5, 1990
ACQUIRED: Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Havana Cuba, in September 2009
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket May 8 when IF Marcos Scutaro went on the DL.
DEBUT: May 8 in a 9-5 win against Minnesota: A late-game defensive replacement for shortstop Jed Lowrie, he did not bat.
NOTES: The Cuban-born Iglesias was a teenage national superstar for his Gold Glove-caliber defense, arm and speed as well as his potential bat. Hitting .253 in 24 games with Pawtucket before his promotion, he batted .295 between short-season Lowell and Double-A Portland in 70 games in his pro debut here last summer.

JULIO TEHERAN
RHP, Atlanta Braves
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-2/150 BORN: Jan. 27, 1991
ACQUIRED: Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Cartagena, Colombia, in July 2007.
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett May 7 when IF Brandon Hicks was sent down.
DEBUT: May 7 in a 3-0 loss to Philadelphia: The starting pitcher, he took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, including a homer by Ryan Howard. He walked two and struck out one.
NOTES: Blessed with fantastic stuff, highlighted by a fastball that sits in the mid 90s, a plus changeup and a plus curveball, Teheran is viewed not only as the Braves’ top prospect but as one of the best young pitchers in the minors right now. However, it was established even before his debut that this would be just a spot start and he was returned to Triple-A Gwinnett the next day in place of an extra infielder. He was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five starts at Gwinnett prior to the move, with 25 strikeouts against eight walks in 30 innings. Teheran really got on the radar in 2010 when he cruised through three levels, posting a 1.14 ERA in seven starts at Class A Rome, a 2.98 in 10 games at Advanced A Myrtle Beach and a 3.38 ERA in seven starts at Double-A Mississippi. Overall in three pro seasons he’s posted a 3.20 ERA and fanned 243 in 203 innings.