Friday, April 26, 2013

Minor League Week In Review

SWB RailRiders  4-3 on the week

Corban Joseph kicks it off for Scranton this week, as he went 9-26 with four doubles and a pair of home runs driving in three. He did get away from his usual patient approach as he struck out eight times while only walking three. For some that might be a good K/BB but for Joseph it's a little off pace. 3B David Adams continued to put the ball in play collecting 5 hits in 17 AB's. He hit a double, struck out five times and walked twice. With Mustelier still making his way back to SWB, Adams is the odds on fan favorite for a callup in the hopes that Francisco gets his walking papers. Catcher Austin romine fell off pace a bit this past week, chipping in only four hits in his 17 AB's, but he did take one out of the park for his first of the year. Zoilo Almonte had a rough go of it, going 3-22. He did however manage to   hit a pair of doubles and drive in three, as well as work four walks against six strikeouts. 

On the pitching side, Vidal Nuno keeps on rolling. He threw another 5.2 innings of one run ball on three hits. He issued just one free pass while striking out six. Like Adams, he's my pick for first guy called up here. This isn't anything new for Nuno, and even the doubters are starting to come around on the soft tossing lefty. Chien-Ming Wang made his debut this past week throwing 12 solid innings. He gave up just one run and scattered ten hits, walking a pair and striking out five. On the downside he was sitting in the mid to high 80's, so he may have some building up of his arm strength to do yet. Dellin Betances turned in his first dominant outing of the year, tossing seven innings of one run ball on three hits. He walked a pair and struck out seven. As much as we can hope that this is him turning a corner, he's teased us like this before so i'll be waiting with baited breath. On the down side of the starting pitching, Brett Marshall got tuned up again, allowing four earned on eight hits  over 5 innings. He walked only one and struck out five but wow.... he's looked dreadful since his promotion to Scranton. Lefty Juan Cedeno threw 3.1 innings in relief, allowing an unearned run on two hits. He walked three and struck out one. Mark Montgomery kept up his excellent work this week; he threw three no hit innings, walking four and striking out four. He can't be far away from a major league assignment at this point. 

Trenton Thunder  3-3 on the week

After JR Murphy's 3 HR game last week he's taken a bit of a dive the last few games. He went 1-14 with a double and no RBI's. Slade Heathcott is still stuck in a rut since coming to AA. He went 2-15 with a lone RBI. On the bright side he walked as many times as he struck out (four) which was an issue out of the gate. Ramon Flores has been a bright spot in the Thunder lineup all along. He chipped in seven hits in his last twenty-six AB's, including a triple and four RBI's. He struck out three times while drawing four walks. Tyler Austin has broken out of his early slump, going 6-18 this past week, knocking in a pair of doubles and RBI's while working a season high seven walks while only striking out five times. He noted in an interview that he was a bit too excited and needed to just relax and let it happen. 

Zach Nuding led the Trenton pitchers, tossing six innings of one run ball on six hits. He walked just one and struck out four. Nik Turley seems to be getting his adjustments made, after struggling early he managed 5.2 innings of one run ball on four hits. He walked a pair and struck out five. Matt Tracy went down in flames in his only outing; he gave up five earned on ten hits while both walking and striking out a pair. Kelvin Perez came out of the bullpen to throw 1.2 innings of one run ball on two hits, and Tommy Kahnle continued his outstanding work this year tossing a one hit inning in which he struck out the side. Jose Ramirez has been getting his throwing in and i would expect to see him soon. After his spring training performance many of us are looking forward to seeing him prove himself at the AA level, which would go a long way to projecting him as a major league contributor. 

Tampa Yankees   5-2 on the week

Kicking off the lineup in Tampa this week is Gary Sanchez. He went deep for his fourth time this year, putting him ahead of his pace last year where he led the organization for HR's from a catcher. He did fall off a bit in the average department, going 3-19 but is still north of .300 on the season. He drew a pair of walks and struck out five times. Since Robert Refsnyder's promotion he hasn't missed a beat. He went 9-23 this week with a pair of doubles and driving in seven. He worked five walks against just two strikeouts. He was expected to move quickly, coming from a major college program so he's right on pace. At this point a move to Ben Gamel chipped in four hits of his own over 15 AB's, hitting a double, driving in four runs and both walking and striking out five times each. Mason Williams also had four hits this week including a double, driving in one, walking four times and striking out on three occasions. Up and coming 2B Angelo Gumbs remains on the DL with a wrist injury. 

Bryan Mitchell starts off the review for Tampa pitchers this wee. He went five innings, allowing one run on four hits. He was a bit wild though, allowing four free passes while striking out seven. Shane Greene also turned in a one run performance, this one over six innings. He allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out seven batters of his own. Corey Black got tuned up this past week; allowing seven runs (four earned) on eleven hits, walking none and striking out three. Manny Barreda pitched a pair of innings in relief, allowing a run on two hits. He gave up zero walks and struck out one. Sean Black pitched a pair of innings in relief as well, allowing just a single hit while giving up a walk and striking out none. 

Charleston RiverDogs  2-4 on the week

It was an ugly week for the Dogs, as many of the bats are struggling right now. Cito Culver, who had himself a nice little run of XBH's, went 6-22 with an RBI, 5 BB's and 8 K's. Dante Bichette Jr. had one less hit in as many AB's including a double and a pair of RBI's. Not what we were hoping for with their new mechanics that seemingly would allow them to get things going at the plate. Greg Bird has been in a rut since his hot start, going 4-12 this week, although he did drive in four, work four walks and strike out seven times. Jake Cave made his return to the field after missing last year with a knee injury. He opened with four hits in twelve AB's, including two doubles. He both walked and struck out twice. 

On the pitching side Rafael DePaula had himself a nice outing, pitching five innings of no hit baseball. He walked three but struck out ten. Gabe Encinas also turned in another solid outing of his own, tossing six innings of two run ball on four hits, He walked just one and struck out five. Jose Campos made another limited appearance, going three innings (he did pitch to a few in the fourth but failed to record an out) and allowing three runs on four hits. Let's hope he kicks the rust off soon. Daniel Camarena had a Jeckyl and Hyde week, throwing a pair of five inning games. He allowed just two runs in the first, but five in the second. Taylor Garrison came in from the pen to pitch 3.1 innings of shutout ball on just one hit. He struck out four and gave up just one free pass. 

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