Friday, July 22, 2011

Touch 'Em All Time

Adam Lawson profiled Princeton second baseman Ryan Brett:
Brett has been showing off his athletic prowess for awhile. In one of his first swings of his first batting practice at Highline High School in Seattle, Brett hit a pitch so hard it left the yard and broke the windshield of his coach's truck.
...
Things are a little bit different for Brett now that he is no longer in the Pacific Northwest. Scouts had always talked about his old school, no batting gloves approach at the plate. Now that he is on the East Coast, Brett says that is no longer possible.

"I sweat a lot more here than in Washington," Brett joked. "Now I have to use batting gloves. I can't grip the bat without them. It's definitely a lot hotter here than back home. At home, I was used to playing in 60-degree weather. Now it's in the 80s with 80-90 percent humidity. It's okay, though. I've learned to like the batting gloves."

Jimmy Durkin interviewed supplemental first rounder James Harris:
James Harris doesn't bat an eye when asked which baseball player he tries to emulate on the field. "Oh, Rickey Henderson," said Harris, a recent graduate of Oakland Tech High.
...
Harris always played basketball growing up and was a first-team OAL All-City pick this past season for the Bulldogs. But he fell in love with baseball the minute he stepped on the diamond when he was 5 years old. "My mom convinced me to play baseball one year," Harris said. "At the end of the season, I said, 'Mom, can you sign me up next year?' It was the last game of the season. We hadn't even got to the summer and I was ready for next year."

Moves: RHRP Dane De La Rosa optioned to Durham; RHSP Wade Davis activated from the Tampa DL; RHP Jim Paduch assigned to Montgomery from Durham; RHSP Alex Colome assigned to Montgomery from Charlotte; LHSP C.J. Riefenhauser assigned to Charlotte from Bowling Green; OF Todd Glaesmann assigned to GCL Rays on rehab assignment from Bowling Green.

Oscar Watch: Hernandez went one for four with a single, lowering his average to .412 but extending his hitting streak to eight games.

Unsigned Draft Pick Watch: 44th rounder Jordan Leyland, a junior 1B from UC Irvine, is playing summer ball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League. In 11 games he's hitting .267/.290/.367 over 30 at-bats, with three doubles, a walk and seven strikeouts.

Trivia: Two players on the Durham Bulls graduated from the same high school. Can you name them?

Stat 'O The Day: Hits leaders.
Batter               Team(s)  G  AB   H
Stephen Vogt*            MTG 93 370 111
Hak-Ju Lee*              CHA 78 325 107
Daniel Mayora        MTG/DHM 92 348 104
Greg Sexton          CHA/MTG 90 344 101
Tyler Bortnick           CHA 90 332  98
Russ Canzler             DHM 91 324  97
Tim Beckham              MTG 89 349  96
Brandon Guyer            DHM 85 305  95
Leslie Anderson*         DHM 86 336  94
Phillip Wunderlich*      BWG 90 336  94
Desmond Jennings         DHM 89 338  93
Derek Dietrich*          BWG 85 312  92
Michael Sheridan*        CHA 85 335  90

Name That Minor Leaguer ===>

Hint #1: Hat is correct.

Hint #2: Born in Colorado.

Hint #3: Middle name is Michael.

Hint #4: Drafted by the Colorado Rockies, but did not sign.

6 comments:

  1. Yup~it's Shane. You just beat me to it! :)

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  2. I like Brett a great deal, having watched him in the GCL last year and ST/XST this year. Plays hard, has skills, and has just enough attitude for my liking. And I would imagine the shock of this hot weather is quite a shock to all the kids from Washington!

    Only seen Harris twice, but he seems like another one who will "get after it" as my old coach used to say.

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  3. The two bulls players from the same high school are Joe Bateman and Matt Torra. They attended Pittsfield High School.

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  4. Correct, nice work Tom. I really didn't think anyone would get that one.

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