Minor League Wrap (6/20-26/11)
We have reached the point in the season where I am now doing dailies for nine teams and covering six and a half affiliates here. Suffice to say, things will be a little crazy from here out.
Some important notes to start things out: Seager and Franklin were both promoted after their minor league all-star breaks, Paxton and Liddi were both named to the Futures Game, we signed twice-drafted RHP David Holman of the pitching Holmen and Steve Kelley did a feature, and the 60-day DL at present includes RHPs Danny Ayala Cruz, Yao Wen Chang, and Richard Vargas along with 3B Jose Flores. The only one of those that’s really upsetting is the loss of Vargas. I honestly thought they had released Chang already.
To the jump!
Tacoma Rainiers (4-3 this week, 37-41 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 20th 2011
Salt Lake 9 (ANA – 10), Tacoma 6
W: Palmer (3-6, 7.35) L: Castro (5-3, 3.82)
Tuesday, June 21st 2011
Colorado Springs 5 (COL – 7), Tacoma 4 (fourteen innings)
W: Billings (6-2, 4.73) L: Jimenez (4-3, 4.08) S: Miller (9)
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
Colorado Springs 9 (COL – 6), Tacoma 6
W: Johnson (2-3, 5.75) L: French (3-6, 6.32) S: Miller (10)
Thursday, June 23rd 2011
Colorado Springs 2 (COL – 7), Tacoma 4
W: Beavan (5-2, 4.04) L: Gonzalez (0-2, 6.92) S: Lueke (7)
Friday, June 24th 2011
Colorado Springs 3 (COL – 8), Tacoma 6
W: Robertson (2-2, 5.26) L: Buckner (1-3, 5.87) S: Cortes (3)
Saturday, June 25th 2011
Tacoma 12, Las Vegas 2 (TOR + 5)
W: Seddon (5-4, 4.89) L: Richmond (4-6, 6.26)
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Tacoma 9, Las Vegas 4 (TOR + 4)
W: Jimenez (5-3, 3.80) L: Abreu (5-4, 4.41)
Hitter of the Week:
DH Luis Antonio Jimenez, L/L, 5/7/1982
5 G, 21 AB, 6 R, 8 H, 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4/3 K/BB, .381/.458/.857
As marc has said in the past, it behooves each triple-A affiliate to seek out and sign one mostly spherical hitter whose main function is to punish baseballs. Jimenez is that guy for the Rainiers, as Juan Thomas, Bucky Jacobsen, and Brad Nelson were previous guys. But is he kind of a one-dimensional hitter? While forty-six at-bats may be too few to make a proper evaluation, I don’t think I’d use Jimenez much against southpaws. Against left-handers, he’s running a .239/.365/.391 batting line with a 13/2 K/BB, and against right-handers it’s .299/.425/.505 with a 22/25 K/BB. Jimenez is fun to have around and I would be open to a return in 2012 (though that doesn’t seem to be in his style), I just don’t anticipate him being someone the front office deems worthy of calling up down the line.
Not Spherical Mention:
OF/1B Johan Limonta, L/L, 8/4/1983
5 G, 19 AB, 4 R, 5 H, 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 5/3 K/BB, .263/.363/.631
Healthy and Hitting Mention:
1B Matt Mangini, L/R, 12/21/1985
6 G, 26 AB, 5 R, 10 H, HR, 7 RBI, SB, 4/2 K/BB, .385/.429/.500
Call Him Up, Or Something Mention:
RF Mike Wilson, R/R, 6/29/1983
7 G, 28 AB, 6 R, 9 H, 3 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 7/3 K/BB, HBP, .321/.406/.536
Still Peripherally Good Mention:
1B Matt Tuiasosopo, R/R, 5/10/1986
7 G, 25 AB, 4 R, 7 H, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 5/3 K/BB, .280/.357/.520
Passed Through Waivers Mention:
CF Ryan Langerhans, L/L, 2/20/1980
7 G, 32 AB, 4 R, 11 H, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, CS, 9/3 K/BB, .344/.400/.469
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Blake Beavan, 1/17/1989
1-0, GS, 2.57 ERA in 7.0 IP, 6 H (2 HR), 2 R, 7/1 K/BB, 6/4 G/F
I suppose what people might be drawn to this line, aside from the sheer frequency of Beavan appearances of late, is the two home runs. I don’t regard that as a big deal, however. Beavan has allowed three home runs this month, and had three home runs in each of his previous two months. If anything, with the weather warming up, there should be more home runs, to say nothing of Beavan averaging almost seven innings a start in June, when it was closer to five and two-thirds in April and May. Beavan is doing just fine. But you knew that already, right?
Grounders! Mention:
LHP Chris Seddon, 10/13/1983
1-0, GS, 2.25 ERA in 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 4/3 K/BB, 11/3 G/F
From The Training Room:
After LHP Fabio Castro turned in a somewhat poor showing on Monday, easily his worst since May 2nd, he landed on the DL and LHP Luke French came off the inactive list, pushing everyone in the rotation back a day… Thursday was when the promotion of 2B Kyle Seager became official, though it may have also had some other thought going into it, as IF Luis Rodriguez hit the DL.
Strange Happenings:
Chaz Roe had an outing this week where he allowed one hit and struck out six over three innings, which given the rest of his season, is “what?”… Seager is .500/.526/.611 in his first four games in triple-A. Neat!…This is probably just an annual blip or something, but in June, Denny Bautista has pitched nine innings, allowed only one hit, and run a 16/5 K/BB. Keep doing stuff like that now and then and you can stick around in baseball for a long time… Jon Shields threw out a bunch of minor league questions to a bunch of minor league-oriented writers (marc included!) and the one on Alex Liddi is up now. Full responses are at the bottom, where I have the longest reply. It’s not like I’m trying to do this or anything, I just sit down and it happens. Graphomania, as marc calls it.
Jackson Generals (2-2 this week, 40-34 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 20th 2011
All-star break
Tuesday, June 21st 2011
All-star break
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
All-star break
Thursday, June 23rd 2011
Jackson 3, Montgomery 5 (TB)
W: De Los Santos (2-5, 4.97) L: Stanton (0-2, 3.00) S: Bush (2)
Friday, June 24th 2011
Jackson 8, Montgomery 2 (TB 0)
W: Vasquez (5-6, 3.72) L: Paduch (0-2, 4.79)
Saturday, June 25th 2011
Jackson 7, Montgomery 0 (TB – 1)
W: Grube (5-2, 3.11) L: Dyer (4-3, 3.84)
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Jackson 0, Montgomery 7 (TB 0)
W: Moore (5-3, 2.29) L: Carraway (5-1, 2.90)
Hitter of the Week:
SS Nick Franklin, S/R, 3/2/1991
4 G, 15 AB, 3 R, 9 H, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, SB, CS, 2/0 K/BB, .600/.600/.867
I don’t know how often I’ll be able to do this, but I’m glad that I’m able to do it when I am. After worrying about Franklin’s road numbers and power output, ht has multi-hit games his first four starts in double-A and hits a dinger (left-handed, of course). If that wasn’t enough, he also participated in a triple play, which I’ll elaborate on below. Some people have asked recently if we might not see pitchers as the top three prospects going into the offseason, between Hultzen, Walker, and Paxton. If things don’t shake out that way, I would say that it will likely be because Franklin keeps hitting well or at least shows competence in Jackson for the rest of the season.
Still Alive Mention:
OF Jake Shaffer, L/L, 8/16/1987
4 G, 14 AB, 3 R, 5 H, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 4/1 K/BB, .357/.400/.714
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Anthony Vasquez, 9/19/1986
1-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 7.0 IP, 4 H, 6/0 K/BB, 9/2 G/F
Given his stuff, Anthony Vasquez’s meteoric rise last year didn’t immediately make sense. A 2.46 ERA over three levels, 171.2 IP (leading the system), for a lefty with not-amazing stuff? Seemed a little off. But then so too has his rather quick return to earth this season in double-A, and double-A seems as an appropriate place to return to earth as any. The good news is that in June he’s run a 2.50 ERA, hits and home runs are down, and he’s gone from a 2.6 BB/9 his first two months to a 0.5 BB/9 this month. That probably helps. The Ks are still way off, but I suppose that’s okay: we can’t expect him to be a big strikeout pitcher at this level, but we can expect him to outsmart and outpitch guys with better stuff, and he’s starting to do just that.
All-Star Mention:
RHP Jarrett Grube, 11/5/1981
1-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 6.0 IP, 5 H, 6/2 K/BB, 4/4 G/F, PO
Best Start in Double-A Mention:
RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, 12/16/1983
0-0, GS, 1.50 ERA in 6.0 IP, 5 H, R, 3/1 K/BB, 7/4 G/F, HB
From the Training Room:
With Pulaski’s season starting, IF Michael Acevedo was moved out to the Appalachian League, where his level of experience would be more appropriate. Since the team was on the all-star break, no corresponding move needed to be made up until Thursday, when IF Scott Savastano came off the DL. At the same time, Seager was moved to Tacoma and SS Nick Franklin came in and immediately started at short… Towards the end of the week, OF Kuo-hui Lo went on the DL and RF James McOwen came off it. And we didn’t think we were going to need as many outfielders as the team started with.
Strange Happenings:
All-star games are going to be a big theme for the strange happenings section this week. The North Division (that’s our guys) won for the seventh straight year by a final score of 6-3. Shaffer was 0-for-2 with a run and a walk, Seager was 0-for-3, Grube started the game and went an inning where he let two runs score on three hits (HR), Carraway won the game with a K in the fourth, and LaFromboise recorded the final out of the fifth… In Nick Franklin’s first game in double-A this year, he had a hand in turning a triple play with men on second and third, which went 9-6-5-9-6, from what I’m reading.
High Desert Mavericks (3-1 this week, 36-39 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 20th 2011
All-star break
Tuesday, June 21st 2011
All-star break
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
All-star break
Thursday, June 23rd 2011
Visalia 4 (ARI), High Desert 7
W: Kesler (2-2, 4.05) L: Eitel (2-6, 6.32) S: Pryor (2)
Friday, June 24th 2011
Visalia 10 (ARI 0), High Desert 3
W: Rosario (4-1, 4.82) L: Snow (0-2, 14.09)
Saturday, June 25th 2011
Visalia 4 (ARI – 1), High Desert 6
W: Gillheeney (5-3, 5.47) L: Smith (3-8, 7.17) S: Pryor (3)
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Visalia 13 (ARI – 2), High Desert 15
W: Hudson (3-3, 6.10) L: Harden (1-6, 6.69) S: Kesler (6)
Hitter of the Week:
1B Dennis Raben, L/L, 7/31/1987
4 G, 16 AB, R, 9 H, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 3/2 K/BB, HBP, .563/.632/.875
Raben wasn’t an all-star in the first half. I wanted to chalk that up to him being a second-year player, but so was the guy who started at first base, and I can’t say it’s age either because that fellow is a year older. Home park bias, or just the .150 point OPS difference? Anyway, the fact is that Raben’s season has been pretty good with a .331/.384/.602 line so far. The L/R issues are gone now, and while he is .384/.434/.704 at home, he’s .271/.329/.486 on the road, where he’s walked more often. Between Savastano and Poythress, it would be hard to find room for Raben to get at-bats in Jackson right now, but I think that’s where he belongs, and where his continuing to hit would give us a much better idea of him as a player.
One More Double Mention:
CF Denny Almonte, S/R, 9/24/1988
4 G, 18 AB, 4 R, 8 H, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, SB, 2/1 K/BB, .444/.474/.778
Now with 30+ Stolen Bases; Lots of Walks Mention:
LF Daniel Carroll, R/R, 1/6/1989
4 G, 13 AB, 7 R, 6 H, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 SB, 2 CS, 2/7 K/BB, .462/.650/.538
Halfway to Pre-All Star Triple and HR Totals Mention:
RF James Jones, L/L, 9/24/1988
4 G, 12 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, CS, 2/2 K/BB, .250/.357/.667
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Jimmy Gillheeney, 11/8/1987
1-0, GS, 6.75 ERA in 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 7/1 K/BB, 5/4 G/F, WP
I think I’m going against the usual convention for this one, but the relievers weren’t really logging enough time and one of those runs against Gillheeney came inherited. Besides, it was a home game. Gillheeney was pretty great in April, running a 3.04 ERA in 26.2 IP with twenty hits allowed (.194 avg against) and a 33/7 K/BB. May then took a weird turn for him: average went up (.330), and Ks went down (7.46 per nine, from 11.14 per nine). June has seen something of a rebound in strikeouts, but the average is still close to .300 and he’s walking a few more guys. At least he’s limited opponents to three home runs, which is five fewer than he allowed in May. One of these months looked like a guy who should be in double-A, another looked like one that might not ever get out of High Desert, and a third fell somewhere in between. I wish I knew which one was real.
Also Had Some Ks Mention:
LHP Jose Jimenez, 3/23/1987
0-0, G, 0.00 ERA in 2.1 IP, 4/0 K/BB, 2/1 G/F
From the Training Room:
RHP Yoervis Medina took a brief detour to Peoria to work on some things over the all-star break… The replacement for Franklin was IF Shaver Hansen, who has been up and down between Clinton and High Desert all season.
Strange Happenings:
As you may know, at this level the Carolina League All-Stars play the California League All-Stars and our guys came out on top by a final score of 6-1. This also means that sometimes some work ends up going into getting certain guys on various rosters, and in this case, they wanted Mario Martinez for his hitting, but couldn’t find any spot to put him, so they slotted him in at second despite the fact that he has four-and-a-half seasons under his belt and has not played second base once, and has played all of one game on the middle infield since the close of the 2007 season. He went 0-for-2… Here’s a note of interest to me. If you were paying attention to minor league bullpens and the like early on, you’ll know that Stephen Pryor started out the year bad. Really bad. Through May, he had pitched 9.1 innings and allowed twenty runs to score on sixteen hits while running a 10/18 K/BB. That’s terrible. What’s odd is that through June, he seems to have quieted down quite a bit. The erratic command is still there sometimes, but through 10.1 innings, he’s only allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits with a 12/8 K/BB, and seems to have taken over as the closer for the Mavs in the second half. We may be needing to start pay attention to him again… Coleman hit .400/.462/.500 this week and is now .362/.424/.483 for June. Since there were only four games played, I felt I needed to highlight guys who played all four games for hitters. This is also why I’m not mentioning the .444/.545/.667 from Shaver Hansen.
Clinton Lumberkings (2-1 this week, 26-47 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 20th 2011
All-star break
Tuesday, June 21st 2011
All-star break
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
All-star break
Thursday, June 23rd 2011
All-star break
Friday, June 24th 2011
Burlington 4 (OAK), Clinton 5
W: Reed (1-1, 3.42) L: Vidal (5-2, 1.36)
Saturday, June 25th 2011
Burlington 5 (OAK 0), Clinton 1
W: Long (5-1, 2.13) L: Mieses (1-9, 5.58)
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Burlington 4 (OAK – 1), Clinton 5
W: Burgoon (3-3, 2.10) L: Thornton (2-3, 2.81)
Hitter of the Week:
2B Jetsy Extrano, R/R, 8/13/1988
3 G, 8 AB, R, H, HR, 4/1 K/BB, HBP, .125/.300/.500
With three games in the book this week, I can’t even pretend this is scientific. Extrano had a hit this week. That hit was a home run on Friday, which wasn’t decisive (though the Lumberkings won the game by a run), but was one of only two home runs in the second half so far. Extrano might have had a bit more of an impact on the week, but was removed after being hit by a pitch on Sunday. It seems like he’s one of the starting middle infielders though. What do you want from me? I like typing out Jetsy Extrano.
I Needed Another Hitter Mention:
OF Kalian Sams, R/R, 8/25/1986
3 G, 11 AB, R, 2 H, HR, 4 RBI, SB, 7/1 K/BB, .182/.250/.455
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Nate Reed, 12/1/1987
1-0, G, 0.00 ERA in 2.1 IP, 2 H, R, 7/0 K/BB
Neither Walker nor Paxton started this week, which is fine, because I’m probably going to be picking between the two for the remainder of the season. Enter Reed, a left-hander whose draft stock slipped last year along with his velocity as he went from the 20th round by the White Sox to the 40th round by us. He used to show a fastball in the 90s, and I don’t know if that’s come back yet, but as a pro he’s run a strikeout rate of close to nine, and it could be that or the continued development of his breaking ball. Regardless, all his outs on Friday were Ks, the first four swinging, then one called, then two more swinging, and one would think that he had to have been throwing something pretty good to get some of those. He started twelve of fourteen appearances last year, split between Peoria and High Desert, but he’s strictly relief so far in 2011, a little odd considering the word “durable” came up in his draft profile.
A Not-Bad Outing Mention:
RHP George Mieses, 5/3/1991
0-1, GS, 0.00 ERA in 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R (0 ER, 3/1 K/BB, 4/6 G/F
From the Training Room:
As it turned out, IF Jetsy Extrano was a late scratch for Everett not because he ate too many stadium hot dogs, but because he was sent to Clinton to replace Hansen. How about that? At the same time, C Steve Baron was activated from a brief stint on the DL, sending C Billy Marcoe to the AZL… A day later, RHP George Mieses was activated to make a start, which sent RHP Steve Kohlscheen to Everett.
Strange Happenings:
There was only one Lumberking representing in the MWL All-Star Game, and that was Paxton, who pitched the third inning and struck out a pair in a 8-3 win for the West. That’s us, by the way… Jandy Sena won’t get highlighted here because he allowed nine hits in 6.2 innings. What he did do that was interesting was run a 15/1 G/F. Neat.
Everett Aquasox (3-7)
Friday, June 17th 2011
Everett 5, Tri-City 4 (COL)
W: Landazuri (1-0, 5.40) L: Bergman (0-1, 7.71) S: Bischoff (1)
Saturday, June 18th 2011
Everett 4, Tri-City 6 (COL 0)
W: Lo (1-0, 0.00) L: Buursma (0-1, 0.00) S: Froneberger (1)
Sunday, June 19th 2011
Everett 5, Tri-City 4 (COL – 1) (twelve innings)
W: Bischoff (1-0, 0.00) L: Tilford (0-1, 27.00) S: de Haas (1)
Monday, June 20th 2011
Everett 1, Tri-City 8 (COL 0)
W: Ballard (1-0, 0.00) L: Shipers (0-1, 14.73)
Tuesday, June 21st 2011
Everett 3, Tri-City 4 (COL + 1)
W: Roberts (1-0, 0.00) L: Diaz (0-1, 6.75) S: Froneberger (2)
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
Vancouver 5 (TOR + 2), Everett 8
W: Landazuri (2-0, 4.50) L: Breault (0-1, 6.48) S: Bischoff (2)
Thursday, June 23rd 2011
Vancouver 9 (TOR + 3), Everett 3
W: Longpre (1-0, 0.00) L: Butler (0-1, 0.90)
Friday, June 24th 2011
Vancouver 2 (TOR + 4), Everett 0
W: Nicolino (1-0, 0.00) L: Campos (0-1, 1.50) S: Permison (3)
Saturday, June 25th 2011
Eugene 5 (SD + 5), Everett 4
W: Rea (1-0, 2.00) L: Shipers (0-2, 7.88) S: Quackenbush (4)
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Eugene 14 (SD + 6), Everett 4
W: Gonzalez (1-0, 2.00) L: Whitmore (0-1, 9.00)
Hitter of the “Week”:
RF Jabari Blash, R/R, 7/4/1989
8 G, 27 AB, R, 9 H, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, SB, 2 CS, 10/4 K/BB, HBP, .333/.438/.519
The demotion of Blash to Everett to start their season was a little surprising, though not unwarranted given his slip in plate discipline as he spent more time there. I can’t give you glowing reports for him on the season so far either, he’ll hold up some times, others, not. What I can tell you, however, is that his athleticism is every bit as good as reported and he’s the type that can make a defensive play or power at the plate look easy. The issue is that he’s not always going 100% at all times and will sort of phone things in from time to time, which I thought he had gotten over to start this season when he was walking so much, but apparently not. One can live off athleticism at this level, it just gets harder the further up you go.
Breakout? Mention:
CF Jarrett Burgess, R/R, 8/10/1990
10 G, 33 AB, 6 R, 9 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, SB, 12/3 K/BB, .273/.333/.545
Team Leader in Hits Mention:
3B Danny Lopez, R/R, 1/21/1988
9 G, 34 AB, 4 R, 12 H, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, CS, 6/1 K/BB, HBP, .353/.378/.471
Pitcher of the “Week”:
LHP Tony Butler, 11/18/1987
0-1, 2 GS, 0.90 ERA in 10.0 IP, 4 H, R, 14/3 K/BB, 10/3 G/F
The last time Butler was in the Northwest League, it was 2006. The way he’s pitching, I don’t expect him to stick around too long. Butler’s velocity these days is high-80s, topping out around 91-2 or so, but he’ll spin up a nice breaking ball and can command the ball along the x and y axes with few issues. He’s being babied to an extent, joining the M’s camp late in May and having some shoulder issues in the past, so he’s been pretty much five and out both times so far, but I figure that within a few more starts, he’ll be sent to the Midwest League and could get a chance to start in front of family again in Wisconsin come early August.
The Next Big Thing? Mention:
RHP Vicente Campos, 7/27/1992
0-1, 2 GS, 1.50 ERA in 12.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 6/1 K/BB, 18/7 G/F, 2 HB, BK
Closer Mention:
RHP Matt Bischoff, 5/21/1987
1-0, 4 G, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA in 7.0 IP, H, R (0 ER), 10/0 K/BB, 8/2 G/F
From the Training Room:
There were a number of moves, but rosters tend to be a bit fluid at this level. Just before the season started, UT Jorge Agudelo was added and has since gotten the bulk of the time at second, his natural position… Over the next few days, the Aquasox added RHP Matt Bischoff from Clinton, now the team’s closer, and RHP Jordan Pries and OF Michael McGee from the draft. McGee has been working out in Peoria so far… The Aquasox also got another Clinton pitcher in RHP Steve Kohlscheen just before Saturday’s game.
Strange Happenings:
I’m a fan of the Everett Aquasox, not just because I get to hang out in the press box, but because the news coverage of them is up there with the Rainiers and the Lumberkings for the best among our minor league affiliates. Here are some features on Tony Butler, Vicente Campos, and Marcus Littlewood… I was at both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s game, which I covered in a liveblog and a set of game notes, respectively.
Pulaski Mariners (5-1)
Tuesday, June 21st 2011
Danville 2 (ATL), Pulaski 5
W: Hidalgo (1-0, 1.50) L: Silva (0-1, 11.25) S: Sabala (1)
Wednesday, June 22nd 2011
Danville 2 (ATL – 2), Pulaski 5
W: Guaipe (1-0, 0.00) L: La Point (0-1, 1.50) S: Raga (1)
Thursday, June 23rd 2011
Danville 3 (ATL – 3), Pulaski 13
W: Taylor (1-0, 3.60) L: Filak (0-1, 11.25)
Friday, June 24th 2011
Princeton 3 (TB + 2), Pulaski 6
W: Unsworth (1-0, 1.80) L: Quinonez (0-1, 9.00) S: Sabala (2)
Saturday, June 25th 2011
Princeton 3 (TB + 1), Pulaski 6
W: Valdivia (1-0, 0.00) L: Swilley (0-1, 2.25) S: Raga (2)
Sunday, June 26th 2011
Princeton 14 (TB + 2), Pulaski 2
W: Rivero (2-0, 2.53) L: Hidalgo (1-1, 4.00) S: Lopez (1)
Hitter of the Week:
2B Dan Paolini, R/R, 11/11/1989
5 G, 14 AB, 2 R, 6 H, 2 2B, 3B, RBI, 1/3 K/BB, 2 HBP, .429/.579/.714
When the Mariners drafted Paolini in the tenth round this year, it was for his hitting ability. He hasn’t gone yard quite year, but he hasn’t disappointed either, starting all but one of the games at second, where his scouting report was somewhat suspect, and generally hitting up a storm. He’s tied (with Nunez and Hazlett) for second on the team in walks, and somehow has managed to only strike out once so far. The run production, oddly, isn’t there right now, the leader with nine RBI, Paolini with one, but that doesn’t concern me all that much at this juncture. The way he’s going, he’ll probably have plenty of opportunities later.
Slugging Mention:
LF Guillermo Pimentel, L/L, 10/5/1992
6 G, 22 AB, 5 R, 6 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 8/1 K/BB, .273/.280/.636
Speed, Walks, and Contact Mention:
CF Jamal Austin, R/R, 8/26/1990
5 G, 18 AB, 4 R, 7 H, RBI, 2 SB, 2/4 K/BB, .389/.500/.389
Hot Hitting, Hot Corner Mention:
3B Jordy Lara, R/R, 5/21/1991
5 G, 19 AB, 4 R, 5 H, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 6/1 K/BB, .263/.333/.474
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Jose Valdivia, 3/19/1992
1-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 5.0 IP, 5/3 K/BB, 8/2 G/F
Valdivia probably isn’t a known name for most people. He was a big international signing back in 2008 out of Nicaragua, one of the top pitchers available on the market, throwing in the low-90s as a sixteen-year-old, but he only logged 6.1 innings in 2009 before needing Tommy John surgery, which would knock him out for the entirety of 2010. The expectations for him in Pulaski probably weren’t too high, but nevertheless, he threw five no-hit innings his first time out and ran a streak of eight in a row retired and twelve of thirteen. With so limited a track record, I can’t tell you what you should try to look for from him aside from health and innings, but since elbow injuries can affect command a little, I’ll be keeping an eye on the walk totals.
A Closing Candidate Mention:
RHP Reynaldo Sabala, 8/16/1990
0-0, 2 G, 2 SV, 1.80 ERA in 5.0 IP, 2 H (HR), R, 4/0 K/BB, 6/5 G/F
Sharkie Mention:
RHP Dylan Unsworth, 9/23/1992
1-0, GS, 1.80 ERA in 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R (ER), 5/1 K/BB, 5/5 G/F
From the Training Room:
Nothing big so far.
Strange Happenings:
The first turn through the rotation reveals RHPs Ambioris Hidalgo, Mayckol Guaipe, Luke Taylor (Woodinville HS!), Dylan Unsworth, and Jose Valdivia as the members of the rotation. They all won their first start with the team… Hidalgo was a candidate for pitcher of the week for his first start of the year, with a run scoring on five hits, two wild pitches, a hit batter, and two walks against ten Ks in six innings. However, his next outing had the wildness take over some more and it was enough to disqualify him… The team made six errors in the game on Sunday, which falls one shy of shortstop Bryan Brito’s error total for the season. Brito had two of those errors, of course…
Dispatches from the Land of Rehabbers and Teens:
OF Phillips Castillo: 5 G, 21 AB, 6 R, 5 H, 3 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, SB, 9/1 K/BB, .238/.273/.476
RHP Min-sih Chen: 0-1, GS, 21.00 ERA in 3.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2/3 K/BB, HB
RHP Steve Hensley: 0-0, GS, 5.40 ERA in 5.0 IP, 5 H (HR), 3 R, 3/2 K/BB
RHP David Holman: 1-0, G, 0.00 ERA in 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R (0 ER), 2/0 K/BB
RHP Seon Gi Kim: 0-0, G, 0.00 ERA in 1.0 IP, 0/1 K/BB
OF Reggie Lawson: 6 G, 27 AB, R, 12 H, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 6/0 K/BB, .444/.448/.519
RHP Yoervis Medina: 0-0, GS, 7.20 ERA in 5.0 IP, 7 H (HR), 4 R, 9/1 K/BB
CF Alfredo Morales: 6 G, 24 AB, 6 R, 10 H, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 6/2 K/BB, .417/.462/.500
RHP Jochi Ogando: 1-0, 2 G (GS), 4.50 ERA in 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 6/6 K/BB
SS Esteilon Peguero: 6 G, 22 AB, 5 R, 5 H, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 4 SB, 4/3 K/BB, .227/.333/.364
LHP Scott Ronnenbergh: 0-0, 2 G, 0.00 ERA in 5.0 IP, 2 H, 4/0 K/BB
Comments
18 Responses to “Minor League Wrap (6/20-26/11)”
These minor league write-ups are great. I was trying to figure out this triple play (9-6-5-9-6) The box score shows this:
TP: (Chavez-Franklin-Tenbrink)
So if it were to be a 9-6-5-9-6, that would mean that with runners on second and third, Chavez made his diving catch in right field and hit Franklin at second base to double off one runner and then threw to Tenbrink at third for the triple play. I’m not sure why then Tenbrink would throw it back to Chavez who then throws to Franklin. I’d bet it was just a 9-6-5 triple play.
Any news on signing any more draft picks or proress on our top picks? I am very interested in Cavan Cohoes. What’s his status?
It’s possible that the extra 9-6 at the end was retyped by mistake or something. The Montgomery Advertiser’s recap describes the play as follows:
I hate how none of these up and comers have good k/bb ratios.
Hultzen has 6K’s through 2 innings in the CWS on ESPNU. Can’t wait to see what he can do with the M’s. Sure looks like he could contribute sooner rather than later.
With Virginia being eliminated from the CWS, I imagine Z and co are working on signing the three guys they drafted there. According to the Official Website’s draft results tracker we’ve signed 27 of our 51 picks so far (Here). None of the first 10 have signed, though, so this is where the priority lies now. Some of these guys may need to be paid quite a bit over slot to sign, especially Marlette and Cron. I’m also interested in Cohoes, whom it was rumored was already offered a $1 million signing bonus by the Mariners. If that’s true, it’s way over slot, and the M’s may not announce it until the August 15th deadline (to spare themselves Bud Selig’s furious anger).
Not sure if serious…
Wait… what? I’m a little confused by this. Virgnia was eliminated last Friday, and Hultzen had 8 K’s through 3 innings.
Oh, you must be watching a replay.
Jay, 2 questions… how has Jeroen de Haas looked sow far ? and.. any word on a Burin promotion yet ?
This is what it said in the box recap of the game:
Kyeong Kang lines into a triple play, right fielder Johermyn Chavez to shortstop Nick Franklin to third baseman Nate Tenbrink to right fielder Johermyn Chavez to shortstop Nick Franklin. Henry Wrigley out at 3rd. John Matulia out at 2nd.
I just assumed there was some kind of rundown.
Cohoes reportedly was going to take some money to sign, but as I’ve said before, he kind of wanted to get started with baseball and if education was a huge priority for him, the M’s do fund the education of their prospects after they’re done with baseball.
The rest, not so certain. I know Carter Capps is in the Cape Cod League (say that ten times fast), and we had the Virginia guys just now become ready to sign. Part of it might be a function of other guys slotted around them not yet inking. Nine of thirty second-round picks have signed, eight third-round picks have signed, ten fourth-round picks…. Things seem to be moving along a little slowly this year.
I saw de Haas up in Everett. Didn’t like him much. He just had a fastball with pedestrian velocity, which he seems to have a lot of confidence in, and an offspeed pitch that he only shows rarely. Once hitters figure out what he’s up to, he can get into trouble. The only reason he didn’t give up a grand slam last Thursday was because the wind was blowing in, turning it into a deep sacrifice fly. He was better than the other two relievers pitching that day, but it’s really not saying much.
As for Burin, Pedro told Larry Stone over a week ago that Burin was going to get called up when the AZL opened their season. That hasn’t happened yet. Last year, it took them until July 6th to promote Michael Avecedo from the VSL, so I would use that date as a measurement of when we might be able to expect him up.
On Capps:
From here.
Sounds like he was always planning on playing for the Cape Cod league until signed.
I have a question. A lot was made about Phillips Castillo when we signed him, but I haven’t heard much about him since. So could Jay or someone else fill me in on where he is playing now and his future prognostications.
Castillo is in the AZL at the moment. He started out pretty well getting 4 extra base hits, but he’s been on a mini slump striking out 7 times in about 12 or so at bats.
I’m getting a lot of comments in here, some of which landed in mod queue, which could be easily answered with use of the Ctrl + F function.
… or Command+F on a Mac. 😀
Entertaining, informative (and in-depth) report. Thanks!!
I’m just excited for Everett to come down here and play against Salem-Keizer this weekend. Should be great weather and some fun baseball.