Charlotte Knights 1, Durham Bulls 9
Jackson Generals 4, Montgomery Biscuits 5
Palm Beach Cardinals 4, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5 (12 innings)
Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, Dayton Dragons 7
Pitcher Age Team SO BF SO/BF% Scott Shuman 23 POE 11 25 44.0% Alexander Torres* 23 DHM 17 39 43.6% Brandon Gomes 26 DHM 10 23 43.5% Chris Rearick* 23 BWG 10 23 43.5% Alex Cobb 23 DHM 17 40 42.5% Marquis Fleming 24 MTG 15 38 39.5% Alex Koronis 23 POE 15 41 36.6% Enny Romero* 20 BWG 19 53 35.8% Jimmy Patterson* 22 BWG 12 37 32.4% Matthew Stabelfeld* 24 BWG 12 37 32.4% Mike Ekstrom 27 DHM 10 32 31.3% Matthew Moore* 22 MTG 12 40 30.0% Nick Barnese 22 MTG 10 37 27.0% Jeremy Hall 27 MTG 10 37 27.0% Dirk Hayhurst 30 DHM 16 65 24.6% C.J. Riefenhauser* 21 BWG 10 41 24.4% Alexander Colome 22 POE 12 56 21.4%
Durham 26.2% Montgomery 21.2% Charlotte 22.1% Bowling Green 24.4%
Gwinnett Braves 1, Durham Bulls 4 (11 innings)Jackson Generals 6, Mongtomery Biscuits 4Palm Beach Cardinals 2, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, Dayton Dragons 8
Press Release Provided by P-Rays General Manager Jim Holland.
Alex Torres was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending on April 17. Torres made two starts during the period and was 1-0 and allowed no runs on 5 hits with 17 strikeouts and 2 walks in 10 1/3 innings. Opposing hitters are hitting .139 against Torres so far this season.
Gwinnett Braves 18, Durham Bulls 7Montgomery Biscuits 13, Tennessee Smokies 3Palm Beach Cardinals 3, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 Lake County Captains 6, Bowling Green Hot Rods 7
Durham Bulls opened up the 2011 season by going 6-3 in the opening stretch. They ended the period on a four game winning streak. The Bulls are currently in first place in the division, leading by one game over Charlotte.
The Montgomery Biscuits opened up the season 2-5 and are tried for last place in the division. Stephen Vogt highlighted the week with his first Southern League homer, a grand slam on Monday night.
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. I want to start with the fact that the top 15 hitting prospects pre season - or lets say the 8 top 15 hitting prospects who have played in games yet - are hitting very well so far. In combined 209 PA’s they have an average batting line of .295 - .372 - .853 (AVG – OBP – OPS), good for a wOBA of .381.
Hitting prospects stats overview
(click on the image for a better view)
Obviously the stat lines so far vary way more now than they will in the following weeks. With 8 of the prospects posting wOBA’s over .400 we can at least say that these players got off to a good start. Very encouraging it is that this list of hot-start players includes some of the Rays’ top prospects, namely Desmond Jennings (#1), Brandon Guyer (#8), Luke Bailey (#9) and Derek Dietrich (#14).
As I’ve always been a great fan of Luke Bailey and Desmond Jennings I’m especially glad about their respective hot starts. While Bailey seems to have left his injury behind and is raking despite being promoted from Princeton directly to Bowling Green (with red flags being the high K-rate and the very high BABIP), Desmond Jennings makes a hard push for the 25-man roster spot currently occupied by Casey Kotchman. He shows great plate discipline (16.7 BB%, 1:1 BB:K ratio), on base skills and speed, making him even more looking like the future #1 hitter in the Rays batting order. Next to Bailey and Jennings, Russ Canzler (he also homered yesterday, which is not included in the stats), Brandon Guyer, Brett Nommensen, Daniel Mayora and the 2 guys with an OPS over 1.500 – namely Derek Dietrich and Jose Lobaton – are off to an excellent start of the season.
3 prospects on the rise
1) Luke Bailey … He had the most question marks and is showing great promise and can hopefully live up to his enormous potential.
2) Jose Lobaton … Solid spring training performances and this really hot start (1.754 OPS!!!) in AAA make him the first choice to be called up if John Jaso or Kelly Shoppach get hurt.
3) Derek Dietrich … As his defense at short is a question mark his bat has to show up in order to become a big leaguer. And, what can I say, so far it’s more than showing up. He shows enormous power potential and good contact skills.
3 prospects to be falling
1) Todd Glaesmann … As I said before, I’m working with very small sample sizes here, but Todd Glaesmann simply seems to be overmatched (40.9 K%) in Bowling Green. Hopefully he can turn things around and start to translate his tools into skills.
2) Robinson Chirinos … After a great showing in spring training I was even hoping that the Rays find a way to trade Kelly Shoppach. Robinson Chirinos – at least offensively – seemed more than ready. Now he seems to only be the Rays 4thcatcher in the depth chart.
3) Cody Rogers … Being older than Hot Rods teammates Bailey, Dietrich, Glaesmann, … I was hoping for Cody Rogers having a fast start to the season in order to move up to Port Charlotte. The stats, however, indicate that he is overmatched in low A (11:1 K:BB-ratio, 40.7 K%).
The prospect of the day: Derek Dietrich
Derek Dietrich has some serious question marks going into his first full season. Can he stay in the middle infield? Can he hit enough if he has to move to 3B? Kevin analysed his situation very well in his Prospect Guide for the '11 Rays season:
Dietrich has some good tools at the plate, starting with his above average power. He posted double-digit home run totals all three seasons with the Yellow Jackets, including 17 as a junior. He isn't a plus pure hitter, and tries too often to pull the ball, but he has the potential to develop that tool into an average one. His plate patience is also only okay, and his swing can let long and lead to strikeouts, evidenced by a platinum sombrero (five strikeouts) on 8/30 with HV. In the field, Dietrich is somewhat of a tweener. His defensive actions at shortstop are good, and his arm is plenty strong for the position, but doesn't have the overall athleticism to stick there. Third base seems like the logical place or him to go, but with that position taken at the major-league level, the Rays will probably try to develop him as a middle infielder, albeit a second baseman.
So, if he has to move off of short due to a lack of athleticism he'll have to prove that he can hit for power while also showing an advanced approach at the plate and excellent contact skills. And so far Dietrich has taken his fate into his own hands and put up exceptional numbers. Though, it's been just 22 PA's (now including Thursday's data) he showed great power (ISO of .714, 6 extra base hits in 22 PA's) and contact skills. Looking at last years stats, however, his approach at the plate needs some work. He had a BB% of 5.2% while striking out 24.1% of the time.
If Dietrich can cut down on his strikeouts and draw a bit more walks he should be a fine hitter. Going forward I see him - considering all the reports I've heard - moving off of short. Then the Rays should have the first legit 3B prospect since that Longoria kid. But, as the hot corner seams to be blocked for a while I see the Rays also trying Dietrich out at 2nd base. Even if he has to move off of short, his fate is in his own hands. With steady improvements at the plate he could be a major league infielder on a daily basis. I for myself am very eager how he is doing in the future and I'll follow him closely.
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:
Norfolk Tides 0, Durham Bulls 4Montgomery Biscuits 2, Tennessee Smokies 11Charlotte Stone Crabs 3, St. Lucie Mets 6Fort Wayne Tin Caps 1, Bowling Green Hot Rods 4
The Stone Crabs kicked off the 2011 by going 4-3 on the week and are tied for second in the Florida State League South Division. The picked up the season right where they left off, right in the middle of a hard fought contest against their neighbor the north, Bradenton. By week’s end, the Stone Crabs were still maintaining a win, lose, win, loss pattern. Chris Murrill, Brett Nommensen and Mike Sheridan finished the week riding a six game hitting streak.
urham Bulls 5, Charlotte Knights 2
ennessee Smokies 12, Montgomery Biscuits 10
rlotte Stone Crabs 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 4 (10 innings)
rt Wayne Tincaps 3, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2