Saturday, April 30, 2011

Minor Moves: Cobb, McGee

Alex Cobb was called up to the Tampa Bay Rays to start Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Cobb is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA and 29 strikeouts through 4 starts this season.

To make room for Cobb on the Rays roster, Jake McGee was optioned to Durham.

Scores and Highlights from 4/29

Durham Bulls 3, Louisville Bats 2
Desmond Jennings was 2 for 5 with 2 doubles. Justin Ruggiano was 2 for 4 with a double. Brandon Guyer was 2 for 5. Jose Lobaton was 2 for 3 with a double. JJ Furmaniak was also 2 for 4. Dane De La Rosa pitched 3 no-hit innings to earn the win.


Jacksonville Suns 3, Montgomery Biscuits 7
John Shelby was 2 for 4 with the game winning grand slam. Nevin Ashley was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Stephen Vogt was 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Tim Beckham was also 2 for 4. Matt Moore pitched 6 innings with 8 strikeouts to earn the win. Neil Schenk pitched a no hit inning of relief.


Jupiter Hammerheads 0, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1
Alex Colome pitched 7 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. Drew Leary made his debut with 2 no-hit innings and 4 strikeouts. Tyler Bortnick was 2 for 3 with a double. Hak-Ju Lee singled to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Lone run came when Greg Sexton scored on a wild pitch.


Great Lakes Loons 2, Bowling Green Hot Rods 5
Luke Bailey was 3 for 4 with 2 double and 2 RBI's. Phil Wunderlich was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI's setting a Hot Rods April record for RBI's with 18 on the month. Cody Rogers was 2 for 5. CJ Riefenhauser struck out 11 in 6 inning for the win.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Weekly MiL – Breakdown: The Hitting Prospects

After looking at the pitching prospects last week I’m going to take the 2nd look at the Rays hitting prospects today.

The first announcement is that I’ve added Henry Wrigley to the hitting prospect chart as he has shown good power and contact skills in his first plate appearances. With the possible addition of other hitting candidates, like for instance John Matulia and Stephen Vogt, I’ll wait another two weeks. And while – not just for Wrigley – the sample sizes still are very small, we can read much more out of the data now than two weeks ago.

Hitting prospects stats overview

The overall numbers of the top 15 hitting prospects pre season are still fairly strong (.815 OPS, .373 wOBA), but they are highly influenced by Hak-Ju Lee’s phenomenal start to the season (1.259 OPS, 0.524 wOBA). Therefore, he is my prospect of the week. On the other hand, the performances of other top hitting prospects, namely Desmond Jennings, Luke Bailey, Tim Beckham and Derek Dietrich, cooled off a bit. Especially the Hot Rods prospects struggled over the last two weeks with the overall team OPS falling to .647 (14th of 16 midwest league teams). With Todd Glaesmann (while improving a bit), Kevin Kiermaier and Cody Rogers having an OPS of .575 or lower, especially the teams’ outfielders have been underperforming.

(Click at the image for a larger view)

  • 3 prospects on the rise

1) Hak-Ju Lee … Just wow! But more on him later.

2) Brandon Guyer … While Desmond Jennings’ hot start cooled off a bit (mostley cause of bad luck), Guyer still smashes AAA pitching. With better plate discipline he could become a major league starter. The tools are there.

3) Tyler Bortnick … The other part of the impressive Stone Crabs middle infield plays extraordinary in his own way. A .398 wOBA with excellent plate discipline (13.3 BB%, 12 K%; 9:3 BB:K ratio in his last 52 PA’s). He looks very solid on the basepaths as well (5 SB; 0 caught attempts), while a bit more power would be great (0 HR, 0.104 ISO)

  • 3 prospects falling

1) Matt Sweeney … His already slim prospect status is dwindling very fast. A wOBA of 0.222 (only 0.171 in his last 42 PA’s) for a guy who doesn’t play at a premium position and repeats the level! That’s not encouraging.

2) Luke Bailey … Bailey cooled off significantly since his hot start. His wOBA for the first 23 PA (0.497) compared to the next 28 PA (0.196) shows that. Especially the shaky K:BB ratio (15:4) concerns me. But, don’t worry yet, still small sample size.

3) Cody Rogers … While not decreasing over his slow season start, he doesn’t show lots of improvements either.

The prospect of the week: Hak-Ju Lee

  • How acquired? Matt Garza trade (from Cubs who signed him as an international free agent for 725,000 $)
  • Born: 11/4/90 (in South Korea)
  • Position: SS
  • B/T: L/R
  • '11 MiL team: Charlotte Stone Crabs (A+)

Early impressions suggest that Keith Law might has been right after all. He stated that Lee is THE price out of the Matt Garza package for the Rays (while still rating Archer higher in his prospect rankings). And while Chris Archer and Robinson Chirinos struggle out of the gate, Hak-Yu Lee looked even more impressive than Brandon Guyer who himself shows great power and contact in AAA.

Lets see what Kevin wrote about him in the Rays Prospect Guide for ’11:

“Lee projects to be a well-above average defensive shortstop because of his plus-plus speed and, despite Tommy Johny surgery before he was signed, a strong throwing arm. Rated the best defensive shortstop in the Midwest League, he's a smooth fielder with very good range and reactions. He is prone to errors (34 total last season) on easy-looking plays, but that's correctable and should improve as he plays more.

At the plate, he profiles as a top-of-the-order hitter. He makes good contact from the left side, and his strikeout rate actually declined as he was promoted to full-season ball. His .330 batting average in the Northwest League was helped by a .397 BABIP, but even as that regressed last year, his .282 mark with Peoria was very good considering his age and environment. He has solid plate discipline and will draw at least an average number of walks. Once he's on base, he uses his speed well. In 190 games over two seasons, he's stolen 57 bases and been caught 15 times.

The drawback to Lee's game is that he currently hits for very little power and doesn't project to hit for much more.”

Other scouting reports (like for example this one and this one) confirm Kevin’s look at Lee and give some more very interesting details. Lee offers plus speed (reportedly 11 seconds over 100m) and agility, a plus arm, quick catch and release tools, above average contact tools and plate discipline as well as the tools for average future power. He recognizes off-speed pitches fairly early, has a good eye for the strike zone and should improve his pitch selection once he gets more polished. The bat speed and hand-eye coordination are good enough in order to turn on fastballs as well. His quick bat makes him a legitimate threat to the gaps while his projected lack of much homerun power seems to be the only knock I can find on him. His speed allows him to become an above average threat at the basepaths as well. Summarized he is a very well rounded prospect at a premium position who projects for at least average defense at short, a bat that can play at the top of the order and above average speed at the basepaths.

So, what do his stats tell us? They tell us that Lee is already very polished despite his young age for A+ and for him already having had TJ Surgery (on his throwing elbow). He takes his share of walks (12 BB%; even 13 BB% with yesterdays game included) while striking out with more than an acceptable rate (16 K%). He shows excellent contact skills and even some power (already 2 HR, which is one more than in all of ’10). All of the above has led to a whopping 0.524 wOBA and an OPS of 1.259. And while he’ll regress a bit (0.531 BABIP), I think he’ll be more than fine in the long run.

I do think the Rays will play him one level every year, but you never know. If he keeps up hitting the way he has done, they could promote him after about 2/3 of the season. Nevertheless, his ETA seems to be late 2013. In his way in the depth chart are Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez at the major league level as well as Tim Beckham in AAA. But, as Lee projects better offensively as Brignac, better defensively as Beckham and as Rodriguez is best suited to 2B, he shouldn’t be blocked if fulfilling his potential. At the latest starting with the 2014 season he looks to be the Rays shortstop of the present (and the future) … and he has the ceiling to be a quality one.

Glossary

All of the stats provided above are excluding the stats from the previous day. I preferrably use 3 sources for the stats. Click on each stat for its explanation:

Weekend Open Thread

Important note: Jake Thompson does NOT have a torn ACL. It was a glitch with the milb system

No scores & highlights post, but here's a quick update:

Durham Bulls lost both games of a doubleheader to Louisville, 3-2 and 11-5. Brandon Guyer hit his 5th home run of the year and his season line is up to .372/.437/.667.

Montgomery Biscuits defeated Jacksonville 4-3 thanks in part to an Evan Longoria solo home run in his first rehab game. Nick Barnese left after three innings with pain in his lat. Here's a quote from manager Billy Gardner via Stacy Long: "He said it doesn't feel that bad, but we wanted to be cautious," he said. "There was no way he was going back out there."

Charlotte Stone Crabs lost to Jupiter 4-3. Kyle Lobstein allowed three runs in 3.2 innings in his 2011 debut. Hak-Ju Lee went 2-3 with a walk and is hitting .467/.538/.733 in eleven games.

Bowling Green Hot Rods lost 12-5 to Great Lakes. Nick Schwaner and Robi Estrada each homered.

---

So I'll start the discussion with this: How would you like to see us do the draft coverage, at least for the first night when the Rays have 10 of the first 60 picks. It's going to basically be rapid-fire in the supplemental round. We could either do what usually do, and get a post up for each pick with as much info we can get as fast as we can, or we could do a Cover-It-Live thing and do everything we can in there, then get the posts up on each player a little bit later. Any thoughts, or other ideas?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Minor Moves: 4/28

The following transactions have occurred today effecting the Rays minor league system:


  • Cody Cipriano placed on 7-day DL.

  • Nate Garcia placed on 7-day DL (ACL)

  • Jeremy Hall promoted to Durham from Montgomery.

  • JP Howell assigned to Charlotte for MLB rehab.

  • Kyeong Kang assigned to Montgomery from extended spring training.

  • Drew Leary assigned to Charlotte from extended spring training.

  • Kyle Lobstein activated from DL.

  • Evan Longoria assigned to Montgomery for MLB rehab.

  • Jack Thompson placed on 7-day DL (elbow)

  • Alejandro Torres added to Bowling Green roster from extended spring training.

Stone Crabs Week in Review: April 21 to April 27

The Stone Crabs were 1-5 on the week and have fallen to 7-13 on the season. They are currently in fifth place in the division. Greg Sexton saw his hitting steak come to an end at twelve games on Wednesday night. Hak-Ju Lee is still riding a 10 game hitting steak, hitting safely in all games played since being activated from the disabled list. The Stone Crabs also set the franchise record for hits in a game when they collected 18 hits on April 26 against Fort Myers, beating the previous record of 17 from 2010.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Greg Sexton (.355, ninth in FSL)
Slugging: Greg Sexton (.487)
On Base Pct: Brett Nommensen (.455, fourth in FSL)
Hits: Greg Sexton (27, fifth in FSL)
Doubles: Tyler Bortnick and Greg Sexton (5)
Triples: Hak-Ju Lee (2, tied second in FSL)
Home Runs: Hak-Ju Lee and Mark Thomas (2)
RBI’s: Greg Sexton (13, tied fourth in FSL)
Stolen Bases: Brett Nommensen (6, tied fourth in FSL)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA: Merrill Kelly (3.06)
Wins: Josh Satow (2, tied seventh in FSL)
Saves: Josh Satow and Scott Shuman (1)
Strikeouts: Alex Koronis (24, tied seventh in FSL)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .281 (3 of 12)
Slugging: .378 (8 of 12)
On Base Pct: .355 (2 of 12)
Hits: 195 (3 of 12)
Doubles: 34 (7 of 12)
Triples: 6 (tied 4 of 12)
Home Runs: 7 (tied 11 of 12)
Runs Scored: 103 (3 of 12)
Stolen Bases: 20 (tied 3 of 12)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 5.57 (12 of 12)
Runs Allowed: 117 (12 of 12)
Strikeouts: 152 (4 of 12)
Walks: 86 (12 of 12)

Transactions: None.

Disabled List: Julio Cedeno, Kyle Lobstein, Ty Morrison, Albert Suarez and Kirby Yates.

The Week Ahead: 4/28/11-4/29/11: vs Jupiter Hammerheads (8-12). 4/30/11-5/2/11: vs Fort Myers Miracle (11-10). 5/3/11-5/4/11: at Jupiter Hammerheads (8-12).

Jake Thompson Suffers Elbow Injury

According to Jim Donten, writing over at Claw Digest, Jake Thompson has been placed on the DL with an ACL tear to the right knee irritation to right elbow. The injury had initially been reported as an elbow. I guess it's good that's it not an arm injury, but Thompson could miss the rest of the season if it's a major tear. If it's partial, he could rest and rehabilitate it and be back this season, but we'll have to wait for more information on how bad it is.

4/29 Correction by Jim: Originally MiLB reported Thompson being placed on the 7-day Disabled List with an ACL tear. That information is inaccurate. Thompson was placed on the disabled list with an irritation in the right elbow.

Rays Pythagorean Records

RaysProspects.com
As in past seasons, throughout the year we will track how the teams are doing in relation to their pythagorean expected records. Pythagorean winning percentage is an estimate of a team's winning percentage based on their runs scored and runs allowed. It can tell you whether the teams are a bit lucky or unlucky. It is calculated with this formula: (Runs Scored)^1.83/((Runs Scored)^1.83 + (Runs Allowed)^1.83).

Team, actual wins, actual losses, runs scored, runs allowed, pythagorean wins, pythagorean losses, and the difference between actual and pythagorean ("luck").
Team                      W   L   RS   RA  pW  pL  Dif
Tampa Bay Rays           12  11   87   86  12  11    0
Durham Bulls             11   9   87   84  10  10   +1
Montgomery Biscuits       8  12  107  106  10  10   -2
Charlotte Stone Crabs     7  13  103  117   9  11   -2
Bowling Green Hot Rods   10   9   86   97   8  11   +2
Hudson Valley Renegades   0   0    0    0   0   0    0
Princeton Rays            0   0    0    0   0   0    0
GCL Rays                  0   0    0    0   0   0    0
VSL Rays                  0   0    0    0   0   0    0
DSL Rays                  0   0    0    0   0   0    0

Scores and Highlights from 4/27

Durham Bulls rained out
The Bulls and Louisville Bats will play two today


Montgomery Biscuits 17, Mississippi Braves 2
Every Biscuits starter had at least one hit. Cole Figueroa, Daniel Mayora, and John Matulia each had three hits, while Henry Wrigley had two. Nevin Ashley hit his third home run of the season. Shane Dyer allowed two runs in 6.1 innings. Neil Schenk pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and Matt Bush struck out the side (scattering a hit) in the 9th.

Jupiter Hammerheads 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2
Scott Shuman had a rough 9th innings, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks, also surrendering a home run. Hak-Ju Lee went 2-4 with two bunt singles, while Brett Nommensen and Mike Sheridan also had two hits apiece. Jake Thompson started but was lifted after two innings with right elbow tightness. Adam Liberatore relieved him and allowed two runs.

Bowling Green Hot Rods rained out
The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 13

Minor Moves: Hayhurst, Hall, Cipriano, Kang, Thall

The Durham Bulls have placed RHP Dirk Hayhurst on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to April 24th. No word on the cause.

Per Stacy Long, RHP Jeremy Hall will fill Hayhurst's spot in the Bulls rotation, moving up from the Montgomery Biscuits to start the second game of Durham's doubleheader on Thursday.

Also per Stacy Long, Montgomery has placed IF Cody Cipriano on the disabled list with an ankle sprain. The Biscuits have activated OF Kyeong Kang, who was technically on the roster of the Hudson Valley Renegades.

The Rays have signed LHP Chad Thall from the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League. He is expected to join the Montgomery Biscuits bullpen.

The 25 year-old reliever was originally drafted in the 27th round of the 2005 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Thall posted a 3.11 ERA over five seasons in the Orioles organization, the past three at AA Bowie, before joining the Revolution this spring. Here are his career stats:
Year   Age      Team Lv  W  L  ERA   G GS    IP  WHIP  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2006    20  Aberdeen A-  6  2 1.83  25  0  44.1 1.128  7.3  0.6  2.8  6.7
2007    21  Delmarva  A  3  5 4.14  48  0  63.0 1.286  9.0  0.6  2.6  8.4
2007    21 Frederick A+  0  0 0.00   1  0   1.0 1.000  9.0  0.0  0.0 18.0
2008    22 Frederick A+  1  0 2.70  30  1  43.1 1.177  7.5  0.6  3.1  9.1
2008    22     Bowie AA  0  0 3.63  15  0  22.1 1.343 10.5  0.8  1.6  4.4
2009    23     Bowie AA  2  2 2.69  52  0  60.1 1.260  7.2  0.4  4.2  8.2
2010    24     Bowie AA  2  1 3.79  39  0  40.1 1.364  8.7  1.3  3.6  8.7
5 Seasons               14 10 3.11 210  1 274.2 1.252  8.2  0.7  3.1  8.0

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Hot Rods Week in Review: April 20 to April 26

The Bowling Green Hot Rods were 3-3 on the week and are now 10-9 on the season. The Hot Rods are currently in fourth place in the division, 2 games back from the leader. Despite going .500 on the week, the Hot Rods offense struggled, dropping to the bottom of many of the offensive categories. Kevin Kiermaier finished the week on a five game hitting streak.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Derek Dietrich (.296)
Slugging: Derek Dietrich (.574, tenth in MID)
On Base Pct: Robby Price (.361)
Hits: Nick Schwaner (18)
Doubles: Luke Bailey, Derek Dietrich & Phil Wunderlich (4)
Triples: Derek Dietrich, Kevin Kiermaier & Cody Rogers (1)
Home Runs: Derek Dietrich (3)
RBI’s: Phil Wunderlich (15, tied fourth in MID)
Stolen Bases: Robby Price and Cody Rogers (3)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA Overall: CJ Riefenhauser (3.18)
Wins: Austin Hubbard (2)
Saves: Chris Rearick (3)
Strikeouts: Enny Romero (19)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .210 (16 of 16)
Slugging: .337 (14 of 16)
On Base Pct: .298 (16 of 16)
Hits: 123 (15 of 16)
Doubles: 26 (tied 10 of 16)
Triples: 3 (tied 11 of 16)
Home Runs: 14 (tied 2 of 16)
Runs Scored: 86 (7 of 16)
Stolen Bases: 17 (8 of 16)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 5.07 (16 of 16)
Runs Allowed: 97 (15 of 16)
Strikeouts: 156 (4 of 16)
Walks: 64 (11 of 16)

Transactions: George Jensen added to roster from extended spring training (4/21/11). Alejandro Torres sent to extended spring training (4/21/11).

Disabled List: Jairo De La Rosa, Will Kline and Wilking Rodriguez.

The Week Ahead: 4/27/11: vs South Bend Silver Hawks (5-13). 4/28/11-4/30/11: vs Great Lakes Loons (12-7). 5/111-5/3/11: vs Dayton Dragons (10-9).

2011 MLB Draft Schedule

In what could be the greatest infusion of talent in the organization's history, the 2011 MLB draft is now less than six weeks away. The Rays will choose 60 players over the three-day event, including 12 by the end of the 2nd round. Our coverage over the next few weeks will focus on possible Rays selections from the high school and college ranks.

Officially known as the First-Year Player Draft, the 2011 edition will be held June 6th-8th in Secaucus, New Jersey. Selections will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 6th, carried live on the MLB Network and MLB.com. There will be a total of 60 picks the first night over the first and supplemental first rounds, with teams having five minutes between picks in the first round and one minute during the supplemental round.

The Rays first pick is at number 24 overall, which should occur around 9 p.m. if each team uses the allotted five minutes. The Rays have an incredible 10 of the 60 total picks the first night. The rest of the Rays Monday picks are numbers 31, 32, 38, 41, 42, 52, 56, 59 and 60.

The draft continues at noon on Tuesday, June 7th, with rounds 2-30. Coverage will be available on MLB.com. Rounds 31-50 will begin at noon on Wednesday, June 8th, again on MLB.com.

Rays Organization Attendance

Rays Organization Attendance - 2010
Team, league, number of home games, average attendance, rank in league, stadium capacity, attendance as a percentage of capacity.
Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American        13  16,816   12th/14    36,048   47%
Durham         International    9   5,763    5th/14    10,000   58%
Montgomery     Southern        10   4,233    2nd/10     7,000   60%
Charlotte      Florida State    8   2,798    2nd/12     6,823   41%
Bowling Green  Midwest          8   2,576    4th/16     4,559   57%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn    0       0    -th/14     4,494   --%
Princeton      Appalachian      0       0    -th/10     3,000   --%
For comparison, here were the final figures from 2010:
Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American        81  23,024    9th/14    36,048   64%
Durham         International   71   7,043    8th/14    10,000   70%
Montgomery     Southern        67   4,027    3rd/10     7,000   58%
Charlotte      Florida State   64   2,678    1st/12     6,823   39%
Bowling Green  Midwest         67   3,513    9th/16     4,559   77%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn   35   4,178    6th/14     4,494   93%
Princeton      Appalachian     31     869    6th/10     3,000   29%
And from 2009:
Team           League           G     Avg    LgRank  Capacity  %Cap
Tampa Bay      American        81  23,148   11th/14    36,048   64%
Durham         International   72   6,783    8th/14    10,000   68%
Montgomery     Southern        66   4,043    3rd/10     7,000   58%
Charlotte      Florida State   60   2,855    1st/12     6,823   42%
Bowling Green  South Atlantic  66   3,530    8th/16     4,559   77%
Hudson Valley  New York-Penn   35   4,609    5th/14     4,494  103%
Princeton      Appalachian     28     926    7th/10     3,000   31%

Scores and Highlights from 4/26

Louisville Bats 8, Durham Bulls 3
Alex Torres had his first rough outing of the year, issuing seven walks over 4.1 innings. He allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts. Russ Canzler
picked up two hits, while Desmond Jennings, Brandon Guyer, and Ray Olmedo each hit doubles. Paul Phillips pitched 2.2 innings of clean-up duty, and catcher Craig Albernaz made his second appearance on the mound in 2011, pitching a scoreless 8th.

Montgomery Biscuits 3, Mississippi Braves 1
Joe Cruz had his best start of the season, allowing a run on five hits in 5 innings, with three strikeouts and no walks. Frank De Los Santos pitched the final four innings,
allowing just one hit while striking out five. John Shelby Jr. was 2-4 with a solo home run, and Cole Figueroa went 3-4.

Fort Myers Miracle 12, Charlotte Stone Crabs 10
Charlotte dropped a shootout as Fort Myers was able to score five runs off starter Alex Koronis, two off of Sergio Espinosa, and five more off of Deivis Mavarez. The teams traded leads thanks to huge night from Tyler Bortnick (5-5 with a double, triple, and a walk), Hak-Ju Lee (4-5 with a double, home run, and a walk), and Mark Thomas (3-4 with a home run). Dustin Biell also had two hits and two RBIs.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 5, South Bend Silver Hawks 4
Luke Bailey broke out of a slump with a 2-4 night including a walk-off 3-run homerun. Nick Schwaner also had two hits including a home run, but the top of the order (Cody Rogers, Steve Tinoco, Derek Dietrich, and Phil Wunderlich failed to collect a hit. Braulio Lara allowed four runs (three earned) in 4.1 innings, striking out three and walking one. Steve Hiscock, Matt Stabelfeld, and Austin Hubbard combined for 4.2 scoreless relief innings.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Scores and Highlights from 4/24

Durham Bulls 5, Norfolk Tides 6 (11 innings)
Desmond Jennings was 3 for 6 with a double and 2 runs scored. Chris Carter was 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. JJ Furmaniak drove home two runs while Leslie Anderson and Ray Olmedo knocked home one each. Rob Delaney pitched 2 scoreless innings.


Montgomery Biscuits 1, Mississippi Braves 4
Stephen Vogt drove home the only run of the game for the Biscuits. Tim Beckham and John Matulia had a double each for the only Biscuit extra base hits. Matt Moore struck out 6 in 5 innings but also gave up 2 homers to suffer his second loss of the season.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Ex-Rays: Rosscup, Hayes, Salinas

Back in January the Rays sent RHP Matt Garza, OF Fernando Perez and LHP Zach Rosscup to the Chicago Cubs for RHP Chris Archer, C Robinson Chirinos, SS Hak-Ju Lee, OF Sam Fuld and OF Brandon Guyer. Of the eight players, the least known is Rosscup, the Rays 28th round pick in the 2009 draft out of Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR.

Rosscup put up a 2.68 ERA in 40.1 innings for the Princeton Rays in his professional debut in 2009. After some time with the GCL Rays, he had a 3.03 ERA in 35.2 innings while holding batters to a .205 average with the Hudson Valley Renegades in 2010. During his time with the Rays, Rosscup featured an average fastball with a variety of promising secondary pitches, including a curve, slider and changeup.

Following the trade, Rosscup was expected to begin 2011 with the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League, but the Cubs instead skipped him a level to the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League. So far he has responded well to the challenge, posting a 3.38 ERA with nine strikeouts and three walks in 13.1 innings over three appearances (two starts). It's still early in his Cubs career, but with Rosscup turning 23 in June, the Cubs have given him an opportunity to face more age-appropriate competition in the FSL than the Rays likely would have offered this season.

Another former Rays prospect now pitching in high-A ball is RHP Tyree Hayes. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2006 draft out of Tomball High School in Texas. Over five seasons in the Rays organization, the last two in the Bowling Green Hot Rods bullpen, Hayes posted a career record of 23-20 with a 4.03 ERA.

Following his release last December he signed with the Cincinnati Reds organization and began 2011 with the Bakersfield Blaze of the California League. Hayes is off to a rough start with a 7.94 ERA in 5.2 innings over four appearances with four strikeouts and four walks. Still only 22, it will be interesting to see if Hayes can rejuvenate his career this season while contending with the high-octane offenses of the Cal League.

The Blaze have a second ex-Rays pitcher in their bullpen, RHP Doug Salinas. Salinas only played one year in the Rays organization, back in 2009 as a reliever for the Hudson Valley Renegades. He was released following the season despite going 5-0 with a 2.61 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. Another 22 year-old, Salinas has struggled to a 7.11 ERA in seven appearances for Bakersfield this year, but has struck out ten batters in 6.1 innings.

Well, that's all I have on 22 year-old former Rays pitchers now in high-A ball for other organizations. Hope the bunny brought you plenty of candy.

Scores and Highlights from 4/23

Durham Bulls 6, Norfolk Tides 4
Brandon Guyer was 4 for 7 with a home run and 2 RBI's. Omar Luna was 2 for 6 with a double and 2 RBI's. Robinson Chirinos was 2 for 6 with an RBI. Chris Carter was 2 for 6. Paul Phillips pitched 3 no-hit innings to get the win.


Montgomery Biscuits 4, Mississippi Braves 7
Stephen Vogt was 3 for 5 with a triple and 2 RBI's. Tim Beckham was 3 for 5. Nevin Ashley was 2 for 4 with an RBI.


Charlotte Stone Crabs 4, Fort Myers Miracle 2
Chris Murrill was 2 for 3 with a double. Greg Sexton extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Hak-Ju Lee tripled to lead off the game. Mark Thomas had a solo home run.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 1, Lake County Captains 0 (Game One)
Kevin Kiermaier was 2 for 3 with 2 double and an RBI. Nick Schwaner was 2 for 3. CJ Riefenhauser pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings allowing just 1 hit and getting the win. Chris Rearick picked up the save.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, Lake County Captains 14 (Game Two)
Derek Dietrich was 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Cody Rogers was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Todd Glaesmann was 1 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI's. Steve Hiscock pitched 2 no-hit innings.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Bulls Week in Review: April 16 to April 22

The Durham Bulls finished the week with a 4-3 record which improved them to 10-6 on the year. They are currently in second place in the division, a half game back from leader. Alex Torres was named the Pitcher of the Week on Monday after holding a 0.00 through two starts to begin the season. Another great performance this week came from the bat of Justin Ruggiano which included back to back two home run nights on April 18 and 19.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Russ Canzler and Brandon Guyer (.333, tied tenth in INT)
Slugging: Russ Canzler (.615, tied sixth in INT)
On Base Pct: Russ Canzler (.480, third in INT)
Hits: Brandon Guyer (20, tied fourth in INT)
Doubles: Brandon Guyer (6, tied third in INT)
Triples: Jose Lobaton (1)
Home Runs: Justin Ruggiano (4, tied third in INT)
RBI’s: Justin Ruggiano (14, tied fourth in INT)
Stolen Bases: Desmond Jennings (5, tied fifth in INT)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA: Alex Torres (0.59, third in INT)
Wins: Alex Cobb (3, tied first in INT)
Saves: Brandon Gomes (3, tied third in INT)
Strikeouts: Alex Torres (27, tied first in INT)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .254 (7 of 14)
Slugging: .395 (7 of 14)
On Base Pct: .330 (6 of 14)
Hits: 139 (3 of 14)
Doubles: 33 (2 of 14)
Triples: 1 (tied 12 of 14)
Home Runs: 14 (tied 4 of 14)
Runs Scored: 71 (4 of 14)
Stolen Bases: 11 (tied 9 of 14)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 3.03 (3 of 14)
Runs Allowed: 61 (tied 5 of 14)
Strikeouts: 164 (1 of 14)
Walks: 47 (tied 3 of 14)

Transactions: none

Disabled List: Chris Bootcheck and Richard De Los Santos.

The Week Ahead: 4/23/11-4/25/11: at Norfolk Tides (3-12). 4/26/11-4/29/11: at Louisville Bats (10-5).

Scores and Highlights from 4/22

Charlotte Knights 5, Durham Bulls 6
Brandon Guyer was 2 for 3 with a 2 run homer. Chris Carter was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a double. Leslie Anderson was also 2 for 4 with an RBI and a double. Russ Canzler knocked home a run with a double. Dane De La Rosa pitched 2 no-hit innings with 3 strikeouts to get the win.


Jackson Generals 2, Montgomery Biscuits 1
Henry Wrigley drove home the lone Biscuits run. Biscuits were held hitless in the final seven frames and issued a season high eight walks.


St. Lucie Mets 7, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2
Stone Crabs swept for second time this year by St. Lucie. Greg Sexton was 2 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Hak-Ju Lee was also 2 for 4 and has hit safely in all six games he has played this year with the Stone Crabs.


Bowling Green Hot Rods, Lake County Captains
Rained out, doubleheader scheduled for today.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Biscuits Week in Review: April 15 to April 21

The Montgomery Biscuits were 3-4 on the week. They are currently 5-9 on the season and are in fourth place in the South Division, 4 games out of first place.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Daniel Mayora (.340, tenth in SOU)
Slugging: Daniel Mayora (.681, fifth in SOU)
On Base Pct: Daniel Mayora (.466, third in SOU)
Hits: Daniel Mayora (16)
Doubles: Henry Wrigley and Stephen Vogt (4)
Triples: Daniel Mayora and John Shelby (2, tied for third in SOU)
Home Runs: Daniel Mayora and Matt Sweeey (3, tied fourth in SOU)
RBI’s: Stephen Vogt (12, tied third in SOU)
Stolen Bases: Tim Beckham (2)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA Overall: Marquis Fleming (3.09)
Wins: Matt Bush (2, tied second in SOU)
Saves: Zach Quate (2, tied sixth in SOU)
Strikeouts: Matt Moore (18, tied fourth in SOU)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .255 (tied 5 of 10)
Slugging: .437 (2 of 10)
On Base Pct: .334 (5 of 10)
Hits: 116 (7 of 10)
Doubles: 29 (tied 3 of 10)
Triples: 6 (3 of 10)
Home Runs: 14 (tied 2 of 10)
Runs Scored: 76 (2 of 10)
Stolen Bases: 6 (9 of 10)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 6.54 (10 of 10)
Runs Allowed: 87 (10 of 10)
Strikeouts: 110 (5 of 10)
Walks: 46 (6 of 10)

Transactions: Paul Phillips promoted to Durham (4/15/11). Henry Wrigley activated from disabled list (4/18/11). John Matulia activated from disabled list (4/18/11). David Newmann retired (4/18/11). Frank De Los Santos added to roster from Charlotte (4/20/11). Kyeong Kang assigned to Hudson Valley Renegades (4/21/11).

Disabled List: Lucas Montero, Shawn O’Malley, Ricky Orta and Emeel Salem.

The Week Ahead: 4/22/11: vs Jackson Generals (6-8). 4/23/11-4/27/11: at Mississippi Braves (4-10). 4/28/11: vs Jacksonville Suns (8-6).

Friday's Starting Pitchers

Durham Bulls (9-6) host Charlotte Knights (7-6, Chicago White Sox)
RHP Brian Baker (0-0, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Freddy Dolsi (1-1, 6.52 ERA)

Montgomery Biscuits (5-9) host Jackson Generals (6-8, Seattle Mariners)
RHP Shane Dyer (0-0, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Jarrett Grube (0-0, 3.97 ERA)

Charlotte Stone Crabs (6-9) host St. Lucie Mets (13-2, New York Mets)
RHP Jake Thompson (0-0, 2.16 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Harvey (3-0, 0.00 ERA)

Bowling Green Hot Rods (7-8) at Lake County Captains (8-7, Cleveland Indians)
LHP C.J. Riefenhauser (0-1, 5.06 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Goodnight (1-1, 1.80 ERA)


Feel free to use this as a game night discussion thread too. I plan to listen to Charlotte and follow the other games online, it's just too cold to drive to Cleveland and watch the Hot Rods.

Weekly Minor League Breakdown: The Pitching Prospects

After looking at the hitting prospects last week I’m going to take the first look at the Rays pitching prospects today.

First I’m going to list the 29 pitching prospects I’ll post in the series over the year. Before taking wishes for additional prospects I should add, I wanted to point out that I’m following all of the other minor league players and especially the left off Bowling Green pitching prospects (namely C.J. Riefenhauser, George Jensen, Jimmy Patterson, Austin Hubbard, Steve Hiscock, Omar Bencomo and Nate Garcia) very closely. I’m going to add any of them when performing well over a bigger time frame.

  • AAA: Torres, Cobb, Gomes, Delaney
  • AA: Moore, Archer, Barnese, Cruz, Quate, Bush, Dyer, Fleming
  • A+: Colome, Thompson, Shuman, Suarez, Lobstein, Kelly, Koronis
  • A: Romero, Lara, Rodriguez
  • XST: Kendall, Bellatti, Spann, Havlicek, Partridge, Henderson, James

Overall Impressions

Before I say anything about this years’ performances you always have to keep in mind that the analysis has to be taken with a grain of salt as the sample size I’m able to look at is very small. Nevertheless I’m going to try to read something out of the performances thus far.

Before the minor league season started I was especially eager about the pitching prospects in the system. Especially the Biscuits rotation with Matt Moore, Chris Archer, Joe Cruz, Nick Barnese and Shane Dyer was supposed to dominate opposing hitters from the beginning. The top 15 pitching prospects pre season, however, haven’t done so well thus far. They’ve combined for an ERA of 5.74. Especially the above mentioned Biscuits prospects have a combined ERA of 8.17 in 54 IP. But, not all things are bad. The top 15 prospects have a FIP of 4.38 which is considerably lower than their ERA. Their BABIP (0.322) also suggests that they’ve been unlucky thus far and they strike out more than one batter per inning (9.3 K/9). Overall, while having hoped for a better start, the sample size still is very small and the stuff seams to still be there. Let’s give them some more time.

Pitching prospects stats overview

(Click at the image for a larger view)

As mentioned before, lots of the systems’ top pitching prospects have been hit hard so far. But, as for example Matt Moore and Chris Archers FIP and BABIP suggest, they have been recipients of some bad luck. I’m a bit more concerned about some of the other prospects: Can Alex Colome develop his secondary offerings in order to succeed at the higher levels? Does Braulio Lara show enough command in order to develop into a starting role? Will Nick Barnese and Joe Cruz manage the transition to AA-ball?

On the positive side, especially the new top duo knocking on the major league door has performed exceptionally well. Alex Torres and Joe Cruz have been unhittable so far in their first full seasons at AAA. Their counterparts in the AAA bullpen, namely Brandon Gomes and Rob Delaney (together with older pitchers like Mike Ekstrom (the cutoff date for me considering players as prospects was 1/1/94), Cory Wade and especially Dirk Hayhurst), make the major league pitching depth look extraordinary for this year as well.

In the lower minors especially Enny Romero and Alex Koronis have had great starts to the season. Romero dominated in his first 2 starts (9.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 13 SO) while having had a bit of a rocky start thereafter and Alex Koronis really looks promising in a starting role.

  • 3 prospects on the rise

1) Alex Cobb … He needed to show that he can pitch well in AAA as his stuff may lack a bit behind other Rays top prospects. But, he knows how to use it and his pitchability is Hellickson-like. I’m really impressed by his start to the season.

2) Alex Torres … While being a bit undersized his stuff is excellent. His fastball and change already are plus offerings with the chance of becoming plus-plus. The question mark was his command and control. So far, 3.5 BB/9 are okay. If he keeps this up he could be the next in line for a rotation spot in St. Pete.

3) Alex Koronis … Not a lot of people thought Alex Koronis’ offspeed stuff was good enough for him managing a starting role. And while you can’t say that he can be a starter after only 3 starts, he showed some promises. If he keeps up being that sharp (1.6 BB/9) he could make a name of himself as a starting pitching prospect.

3 prospects falling

1) Joe Cruz … 15.55 ERA, 16.4 H/9, 7.4 BB/9 … I know he’ll do better, but those numbers don’t look good.

2) Nick Barnese … Are his secondary pitches going to develop? If not, he could have real problems succeeding in AA and above.

3) Alex Colome … His last start was much better (especially his control), but for him in order to become a top starting pitching prospect he needs to show development in his command as well as in his change.

The prospect of the week: Alex Torres

  • How acquired? Scott Kazmir trade (from Angels)
  • Born: 12/8/87
  • Position: SP
  • B/T: L/L
  • '11 MiL team: Durham Bulls (AAA)

It really was a coin toss between Alex Cobb and Alex Torres. But, in the end I’ve decided to take a deeper look at Alex Torres. For him in order to become a legitimate starting pitching prospect in this pitching heavy organization he has to show some progress. He especially has to show some progress with his command and control. If he doesn’t, prospects like Alex Cobb, Matt Moore and Chris Archer pass him really quickly and he has to look for a starting gig in another organization or move to the pen.

Kevin described his stuff pretty accurate in the Rays Prospect Guide for ’11:

He's listed at 5-10/175, but don't let the slight frame fool you. Torres generates a ton of life on his 91-93 mph fastball, leading to weak contact and groundballs. He has a very deceptive delivery that adds to the effectiveness of a change-up that's already a plus pitch, and he's shown good feel for his curveball, a potential third plus pitch.

He, however, also pointed out the question marks of Alex Torres. Can he repeat his deliver on a consistent basis, thus limiting his walks? Can he hold up in a starting role despite his smallish frame?

Thus far, he showed some promise with his control again, after lowering his BB/9 numbers from 4.9 in ’09 to 4.4 in ’10, he now – albeit after only 3 starts – at 3.5 BB/9. And his stuff looks better than ever. He has been hittable by independent league pitching (4.9 H/9), he strikes out a whopping 15.8 K/9 and his FIP (0.78) sits nearly as lower as his ERA (0.59).

If Alex Torres can keep this up and continue to show some polish and thus that he in fact is a major league starter, he seems to be the next starter in line. And … looking at Jeff Niemann’s struggles (fingers crossed that he’ll turn it around) a callup for him could come rather sooner than later.

Glossary

The stats from StatCorner and FanGraphs provided above are excluding the stats from the previous day. I preferrably use 3 sources for the stats. Click on each stat for its explanation:

Scores and Highlights from 4/21

Charlotte Knights 6, Durham Bulls 4
Robinson Chirinos ws 2 for 3 with a run scored. Brandon Guyer drove home 2 runs. Chris Carter and Leslie Anderson each knocked in a run. Alex Torres struck out 10 in 5 innings. Mike Ekstrom pitched a no-hit final frame with 3 strikeouts.


Jackson Generals 7, Montgomery Biscuits 3
Stephen Vogt was 3 for 4 with a double and a triple. Daniel Mayora was 2 for 4 with a home run. Henry Wrigley was 2 for 4 with a double. Cole Figueroa was 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI. Reid Fronk was 2 for 5. Frank De Los Santos and Marquis Fleming combined for 6 scoreless innings.


St. Lucie Mets 10, Charlotte Stone Crabs 7
Brett Nommensen was 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI's. Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 5 with an RBI. Mike Sheridan drove home 2 runs. Greg Sexton extended his hitting streak to 8 games. Tyler Bortnick scored twice.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 5, Lake County Captains 9
Phil Wunderlich drove home 2 runs. Cody Rogers had a solo home run. Todd Glaesmann and Kevin Kiermaier each had an RBI. Matt Stabelfeld provided 2 innings of scoreless relief with 4 strikeouts.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Extended Spring Training And Rehab Rosters

After the first couple of weeks of transactions this season, here are the players I still have listed on the extended spring training and injury rehab rosters:

Extended Spring Training:

Pitchers: Andrew Bellatti, Roque Colon, Marcus Jensen, Daniel Johnson, Ian Kendall, Andrew Leary, Reinaldo Lopez, Parker Markel, Jason McEachern, Eduar Quinonez, Trevor Shull, Pedro Silvestre, Matt Swilley, Cristian Vasquez, Stepan Havlicek, Brandon Henderson, Kevin James, Jose Molina, Jacob Partridge, Shawn Smith, Matt Spann, Justin Woodall

Position players: Keith Castillo, Jake DePew, Omar Narvaez, Justin O'Conner, Gerardo Olivares, Junior Rodriguez, Alejandro Segovia, Tanner Biagini, Ryan Brett, Travis Flores, Darryl George, Felix Gonzalez, Jeff Malm, Julian Morillo, Juniel Querecuto, Leonardo Reginatto, Brian Bryles, Joel Caminero, Deshun Dixon, Edward Dorville, Cesar Guillen, Craige Lyerly, Josh Sale, Drew Vettleson, Chris Winder

Injury Rehab:

Wilmer Almonte, Jairo De La Rosa, Robert Dickmann, Jesse Hahn, James Hill, Mickey Jannis, Will Kline, Ricky Orta, Wilking Rodriguez, Albert Suarez, Kirby Yates, Julio Cedeno, Shawn O'Malley, Lucas Montero, Ty Morrison, Emeel Salem, Isaias Velasquez

The only other players not listed on a full-season roster were mentioned earlier today: Kyeong Kang and Alejandro Torres. They were both assigned to the Hudson Valley Renegades, but should be considered as 'inactive' for Montgomery and Bowling Green, respectively.

The above lists and the new Depth Chart do not include players on the VSL and DSL Rays rosters.

Rays Organizational Depth Chart

Minor Moves: Jensen, Kang, Torres

RHP George Jensen has been assigned to the Bowling Green Hot Rods from Rays extended spring training. To make room on the roster for Jensen, the Hot Rods assigned C Alejandro Torres to the Hudson Valley Renegades roster.

OF Kyeong Kang was assigned to the Hudson Valley Renegades from the Montgomery Biscuits. This move was necessary to active LHP Frank De Los Santos, who has now joined the Biscuits. Kang will remain with the Biscuits as an 'inactive' player.

Stone Crabs Week in Review: April 14 to April 20

The Stone Crabs finished the week with a 2-5 record and have dropped to 6-8 overall on the season. They are currently in three way tie with Bradenton and Jupiter for third place in the South Division. Four of the Stone Crabs losses this week came at the hands of the league leading St. Lucie Mets who have only lost two games this season. Four of the losses were one run losses. Hak-Ju Lee made his debut with the Stone Crabs on Sunday and has been red hot, hitting in all four of his games. Greg Sexton has also been on fire, riding a seven game hitting streak at week’s end.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Greg Sexton (.385, seventh in FSL)
Slugging: Greg Sexton (.538)
On Base Pct: Brett Nommensen (.467, fifth in FSL)
Hits: Greg Sexton (20, tied fifth in FSL)
Doubles: Tyler Bortnick (4)
Triples: Matt Hall, Hak-Ju Lee, Greg Sexton (1)
Home Runs: Hak-Ju Lee, Anthony Scelfo, Greg Sexton, Mike Sheridan (1)
RBI’s: Greg Sexton (13, tied fourth in FSL)
Stolen Bases: Brett Nommensen (5, tied second in FSL)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA: Chris Andujar(3.52)
Wins: Josh Satow (2, tied second in FSL)
Saves: Josh Satow and Scott Shuman (1)
Strikeouts: Alex Koronis (15, tied eighth in FSL)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .281 (tied 2 of 12)
Slugging: .366 (9 of 12)
On Base Pct: .357 (3 of 12)
Hits: 136 (3 of 12)
Doubles: 23 (tied 7 of 12)
Triples: 3 (tied 8 of 12)
Home Runs: 4 (12 of 12)
Runs Scored: 69 (3 of 12)
Stolen Bases: 14 (4 of 12)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 4.80 (10 of 12)
Runs Allowed: 73 (9 of 12)
Strikeouts: 115 (tied 1 of 12)
Walks: 61 (11 of 12)

Transactions: Gabe Cohen released from organization (4/16/11). Hak-Ju Lee activated from disabled list (4/17/11). Frank De Los Santos promoted to Montgomery (4/20/11).

Disabled List: Julio Cedeno, Kyle Lobstein, Ty Morrison, Albert Suarez and Kirby Yates.

The Week Ahead: 4/21/11-4/22/11: vs St. Lucie Mets (12-2). 4/23/11: at Fort Myers Miracle (8-6). 4/24/11: Day Off. 4/25/11-4/26/11: at Fort Myers Miracle (8-6). 4/27/11: Jupiter Hammerheads (6-8).

Thursday's Starting Pitchers

Durham Bulls (9-5) host Charlotte Knights (6-6, Chicago White Sox)
LHP Alex Torres (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Jeff Marquez (1-1, 0.82 ERA)

Montgomery Biscuits (5-8) host Jackson Generals (5-8, Seattle Mariners)
RHP Joseph Cruz (0-2, 13.50 ERA) vs. RHP Erasmo Ramirez (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

Charlotte Stone Crabs (6-8) host St. Lucie Mets (12-2, New York Mets)
RHP Alex Koronis (1-0, 0.82 ERA) vs. Collin McHugh (1-0, 1.80 ERA)

Bowling Green Hot Rods (7-7) at Lake County Captains (7-7, Cleveland Indians)
RHP George Jensen (0-0, 11.57 ERA) vs. RHP Trey Haley (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

Scores and Highlights from 4/20

Charlotte Knights 8, Durham Bulls 3
Brandon Guyer was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Chris Carter, Russ Canzler and Robinson Chirinos each had an RBI. Dane De La Rosa pitched 2 scoreless innings.


Jackson Generals 10, Montgomery Biscuits 11
Henry Wrigley was 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI's and 3 runs scored. John Matulia was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's and a run scored. Nevin Ashley had a home run. Reid Fronk was 2 for 2 with 2 RBI's. Neil Schenk picked up the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings while Zach Quate got the save with a no-hit ninth.


St. Lucie Mets 7, Charlotte Stone Crabs 6
Greg Sexton was 3 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI's. Mike Sheridan was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Mark Thomas and Matt Hall had RBI's. Hak-Ju Lee had a solo home run.


Bowling Green Hot Rods 1, Dayton Dragons 4
Robby Price was 2 for 4. Phil Wunderlich had the lone RBI. Jimmy Patterson and Austin Hubbard each had a no-hit inning of relief.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Minor Moves: FDLS

LHP Frank De Los Santos has been assigned to the Montgomery Biscuits from the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

In 8.0 innings this season for Charlotte he has allowed 25 hits and 17 earned runs, which works out to a 19.13 ERA.

This promotion is presumably to fill Montgomery's need for lefties in the bullpen following David Newmann's recent retirement.

Hot Rods Week in Review: April 7 to April 19

The Bowling Green Hot Rods kicked off the 2011 season by going 7-6 since opening day. The Hot Rods are currently in fourth place in the divison, a game and a half out of first place.

Hitting Leaders:
Average: Derek Dietrich (.364)
Slugging: Derek Dietrich (.788, second in MID)
On Base Pct: Derek Dietrich (.439)
Hits: Nick Schwaner (13)
Doubles: Luke Bailey & Phil Wunderlich (4)
Triples: Derek Dietrich, Kevin Kiermaier & Cody Rogers (1, tied seventh in MID)
Home Runs: Derek Dietrich (3, tied second in MID)
RBI’s: Phil Wunderlich (12, tied first in MID)
Stolen Bases: Robi Estrada, Robby Price and Cody Rogers (2)

Pitching Leaders:
ERA Overall: Eliazer Suero (1.59)
Wins: Nate Garcia, Austin Hubbard, Braulio Lara, Jimmy Patterson, Enny Romero, Matt Stabelfeld and Eliazer Suero (1)
Saves: Austin Hubbard and Chris Rearick (1)
Strikeouts: Enny Romero (19, tied third in MID)

Team Hitting Stats (league rank):
Average: .218 (16 of 16)
Slugging: .363 (10 of 16)
On Base Pct: .314 (13 of 16)
Hits: 90 (10 of 16)
Doubles: 21 (5 of 16)
Triples: 3 (tied 7 of 16)
Home Runs: 11 (2 of 16)
Runs Scored: 68 (2 of 16)
Stolen Bases: 12 (7 of 16)

Team Pitching Stats (rank):
ERA: 4.78 (14 of 16)
Runs Allowed: 65 (15 of 16)
Strikeouts: 115 (1 of 16)
Walks: 39 (tied 8 of 16)

Transactions: Omar Bencomo added to roster from Extended Spring Training (4/16/11). George Jensen sent to Extended Spring Training (4/16/11)

Disabled List: Jairo De La Rosa, Will Kline an Wilking Rodriguez.

The Week Ahead: 4/20/11: at Dayton Dragons (5-8). 4/21/11-4/23/11: at Lake County Captains (6-6). 4/24/11: Day Off. 4/25/11-4/26/11: vs South Bend Silver Hawks (2-9).