Minor League Wrap (5/30-6/5/11)
No intro this week either, as I’m draft-busy, what with the M’s selecting a new number one prospect this afternoon around 4 pm PDT. The draft will continue with rounds two through thirty starting at 9 am PDT on Tuesday and then wrap up with rounds thirty-one through fifty starting at 9 am PDT on Wednesday. Remember when we used to do this all in one day? Remember how neat that was?
Anyway, I’ll have my spin on the pick when it happens and leave a thread open where I’ll make some responses as I have time, probably not too many until later in the evening. On Tuesday, the plan would be to cover everything through the tenth round, including the compensation pick we get for not signing Stanek, and then leave catch-all threads from there out where I might fly by to make some comments. It’ll be a busy few days. The good news is that this draft is super deep and we could be picking up a lot of talent. The bad news is that other teams are drafting too and in many cases have more picks than we do.
To the jump!
Tacoma Rainiers (3-4 this week, 25-33 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, May 30th 2011
Tacoma 8, Las Vegas 5 (TOR + 10)
W: Castro (4-2, 4.09) L: Mills (4-4, 2.97) S: Cortes (2)
Tuesday, May 31st 2011
Reno 11 (ARI + 9), Tacoma 10
W: Urquidez (3-3, 5.04) L: Patterson (1-1, 1.29) S: Rodriguez (4)
Wednesday, June 1st 2011
Reno 3 (ARI + 10), Tacoma 0
W: Enright (2-2, 3.30) L: Beavan (2-2, 4.87) S: Shaw (1)
Thursday, June 2nd 2011
Reno 5 (ARI + 11), Tacoma 2
W: Layne (6-1, 4.62) L: Robertson (0-1, 4.50) S: Shaw (2)
Friday, June 3rd 2011
Reno 4 (ARI + 10), Tacoma 18
W: Seddon (2-3, 5.92) L: Galarraga (0-1, 11.00) S: Castro (1)
Saturday, June 4th 2011
Tacoma 8, Tucson 12 (SD – 6)
W: Deduno (3-1, 3.34) L: Jimenez (3-2, 4.88) S: Scribner (8)
Sunday, June 5th 2011
Tacoma 16, Tucson 8 (SD – 7)
W: Haeger (1-0, 7.20) L: Leicester (3-1, 5.22) S: Roe (1)
Hitter of the Week:
1B/LF Mike Carp, L/R, 6/30/1986
7 G, 33 AB, 13 R, 17 H, 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, SB, 5/3 K/BB, .515/.556/.909
I don’t really know what more that I can add to this one considering that Dave talked a lot about Carp yesterday and I’ve already talked about Carp’s off-and-on left/right issues. Instead, let us relish in some hot streak absurdity. Mike Carp had four hits in a game twice this week. He reached safely at least twice in every game he played. He hit a home run off of Bobby Kielty and not in the sense that Miguel Olivo had the home run bounce of Ryan Raburn’s glove, but in the sense that Bobby Kielty was pitching. He had more runs scored than Ackley had walks.
Compare the OBP and Average Mention:
2B Dustin Ackley, L/R, 2/26/1988
7 G, 26 AB, 9 R, 9 H, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 2/11 K/BB, .346/.541/.654
.500 Hitting Catcher as Honorable Mention Mention:
C Josh Bard, S/R, 3/30/1978
6 G, 20 AB, 4 R, 10 H, 4 2B, 6 RBI, 3/4 K/BB, .500/.583/.700
Still Slugging, Plate Discipline Could Use Some Help Mention:
3B Alex Liddi, R/R, 8/14/1988
6 G, 29 AB, 6 R, 9 H, 5 2B, HR, 9 RBI, 9/2 K/BB, .310/.344/.586
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Blake Beavan, 1/17/1989
0-1, GS, 0.00 ERA in 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R (0 ER), 7/1 K/BB, 10/0 G/F
Beavan lost this one, which is shame because that was mainly due to errors behind him and in other respects, this was hit best start of the season. It was only the fourth time he got to six innings or more, and the first time he struck out more than four, as he’s settled in the two-to-four range regardless of innings. He also had a .231 average against for this one, which is only bettered by his first start of the year and the one on May 4th, and in both of those he struck out far fewer. Plus, while this was a home game, Reno has been the best hitting team in the league with a .902 team OPS, which is ludicrous and has helped them lead the division. I’d like to see a lot more starts like these out of Beavan, just without the results.
Monday He Started, Friday He Saved Mention:
LHP Fabio Castro, 1/20/1985
1-0, 2 G (GS), 2.25 ERA in 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 4/2 K/BB, 4/8 G/F
From The Training Room:
LHP Fabio Castro came off the inactive list to make a scheduled start. The corresponding move came a day later when RHP Manny Delcarmen was released. Delcarmen has since gone on to sign with the Rangers organization. LHP Nate Robertson took his spot when he came off the DL the next day. UT Leury Bonilla, who hadn’t seemed to have been playing much anyway, hit the DL and CF Brandon Haveman was sent to Jackson… Things remained busy as CF/LF Michael Saunders was optioned, bringing up CF Greg Halman. This is a move that could be spun in a number of ways, but at this point I’m just going to assume that it has to do with Saunders needing time to retool offensively/ Saunders has hit .143/.294/.357 in the three games since going down… The next day, LHP Chris Seddon went temporarily inactive, which may or may not actually mean anything (he went a week between starts), and 1B Matt Mangini came off the DL.
Strange Happenings:
Luke French on Saturday: 4.2 IP, 7 R, 6 H (HR), 2/8 K/BB. On the plus side, he picked off two. He is bad at baseball this year… Nate Roberston got his first start in this week and gave up three runs on six hits, which included two home runs, and a walk against two Ks in six innings. So that was a thing that happened.
Jackson Generals (5-2 this week, 34-23 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, May 30th 2011
Montgomery 4 (TB – 5), Jackson 7
W: Ramirez (5-2, 3.92) L: Bush (4-3, 7.58) S: Stanton (1)
Tuesday, May 31st 2011
Montgomery 6 (TB – 4), Jackson 5
W: Moore (3-3, 2.76) L: Grube (4-1, 3.34) S: Quate (7)
Wednesday, June 1st 2011
Montgomery 3 (TB – 5), Jackson 7
W: Carraway (3-0, 2.61) L: Archer (1-3, 5.98) S: Delabar (1)
Thursday, June 2nd 2011
Montgomery 3 (TB – 6), Jackson 5
W: Hernandez (2-0, 6.08) L: Phillips (1-3, 4.38) S: Delabar (2)
Friday, June 3rd 2011
Montgomery 4 (TB – 7), Jackson 5 (eleven innings)
W: LaFromboise (2-2, 2.28) L: Phillips (1-4, 4.62)
Saturday, June 4th 2011
Jackson 5, Tennessee 3 (CHC + 14)
W: Ramirez (6-2, 3.89) L: Raley (2-5, 5.10) S: Delabar (3)
Sunday, June 5th 2011
Jackson 5, Tennessee 6 (CHC + 15)
W: Dolis (3-3, 2.52) L: Stanton (0-1, 1.23)
Hitter of the Week:
2B/SS Kyle Seager, L/R, 11/3/1987
7 G, 30 AB, 5 R, 13 H, 5 2B, 5 RBI, 3 SB, 4/4 K/BB, HBP, .433/.514/.600
Seager is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak that thus far has seen him bat .475/.533/.625. If I remember correctly, this was roughly how the second half began for him last year, he’s just moving up the timetable a bit. It’s strange because comparing the months he has in the books now, he had an .809 OPS in April and an .813 OPS in May, but May was geared more peripherals. He drew twice as many walks then and added a couple of home runs, no small feat as the Generals’ home park isn’t easy for LH batters to knock it out of. Some people have been asking me lately if Seager would get the call to Tacoma as soon as Ackley went to the Mariners. If he continues on more or less in this manner, with a split of only about a hundred points from left to right, then I wouldn’t see any reason not to promote him, but keep in mind that even with his torrid second half last year, he still didn’t get called up midseason.
He’s Back Mention:
OF/DH Joe Dunigan, L/L, 3/29/1986
6 G, 21 AB, 4 R, 7 H, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, SB, 10/4 K/BB, .333/.440/.524
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Andrew Carraway, 9/4/1986
1-0, GS, 1.29 ERA in 7.0 IP, 3 H, R, 5/1 K/BB, 8/2 G/F
It’s funny because Carraway started the year in the bullpen. I’d like to review this a little, but it’s a little tricky because there were some “relief” appearances that he made that were really only relief because some rehabber came in for a frame and then passed the ball to him. Even so, his pure starting numbers exceed those of his relief: he had a 13/8 K/BB in 21.0 innings labeled as relief, and a 21/3 K/BB in 27.1 IP labeled as starting. He also had fewer hits allowed as a starter, a .216 average against compared to .250 in relief. You could draw a couple of conclusions from this: either he was never totally comfortable as a reliever, or his April was merely bad and dragged the rest down. Both seem plausible.
One Bad Outing Mention:
RHP Taylor Stanton, 1/15/1988
0-1, 3 G, 1.59 ERA in 5.2 IP, 3 H, R, 5/3 K/BB, 4/3 G/F
From the Training Room:
When Haveman came back, OF Kuo-hui Lo went out the next day. The Generals also activated Carraway from the roster maneuvering they had to do for the doubleheaders and sent RHP Jandy Sena back to the Midwest League.
Strange Happenings:
Here’s a sequence of events from Friday’s recap. Try to make sense of them. In the bottom of the fifth, Carlos Triunfel doubles and then is picked off. The Montgomery manager is then ejected. Brandon Haveman then reaches on an error and both the pitching coach and the starter for Montgomery are ejected. Perhaps the reach on error was just that contentious, or perhaps there was something lingering from a Biscuits batter being thrown out at home in the top half of the inning. I don’t really know… Brandon Haveman had a 4-for-4 night on Thursday in which he hit a home run. He’s 5’9 and is listed at 165 lbs. He does not often hit home runs… Scott Savastano has been taking away some starts from Nate Tenbrink at the hot corner, forcing Tenbrink to the OF. Just in case you were curious.
High Desert Mavericks (4-3 this week, 28-29 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, May 30th 2011
Lancaster 5 (HOU – 11), High Desert 8
W: Maurer (1-1, 3.05) L: Cisnero (3-4, 5.44) S: Diaz (2)
Tuesday, May 31st 2011
Lancaster 8 (HOU – 10), High Desert 2
W: Grimmett (2-2, 4.78) L: Czyz (1-5, 8.27)
Wednesday, June 1st 2011
High Desert 7, Rancho Cucamonga 6 (LA + 8 )
W: Gillheeney (3-2, 5.12) L: Santiago (1-2, 4.66) S: Cooper (1)
Thursday, June 2nd 2011
High Desert 1, Rancho Cucamonga 6 (LA + 9)
W: Ozoria (1-2, 6.75) L: Sorce (5-2, 3.39) S: Wilborn (1)
Friday, June 3rd 2011
High Desert 7, Rancho Cucamonga 4 (LA + 8 )
W: Hudson (1-3, 6.21) L: Miller (2-1, 3.86) S: Kesler (3)
Saturday, June 4th 2011
High Desert 7, Rancho Cucamonga 4 (LA + 7)
W: Maurer (2-1, 2.93) L: Martin (4-4, 7.38) S: Kesler (4)
Sunday, June 5th 2011
Inland Empire 10 (ANA – 7), High Desert 4
W: Flores (5-3, 4.77) L: Czyz (1-6, 8.54)
Hitter of the Week:
3B/1B Vinnie Catricala, R/R, 10/31/1988
6 G, 23 AB, 7 R, 10 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, 2/3 K/BB, .435/.481/.826
I’m trying to remember the last time I looked up and saw Cat’s average not within about forty points of .400. In April he hit .367/.384/.519. It was cool and all, but lacked certain peripheral loveliness that we usually like to look for in sustained dominance. He followed up with a May where he hit .363/.459/.646, with a 19/18 K/BB and eight more home runs than he hit in April. It doesn’t even look like the home/road thing is fazing him, as there’s only a difference of a hundred points in OPS, most of which is tied up in power. They’re both over a thousand, in any case. Almost all of his splits end up being over one thousand. Catricala is looking more and more legitimate as a hitter, it’s just figuring out where to put him. He’s been splitting time between both infield corners, left field, and DH lately.
Some Power, Lots of Walks Mention:
1B/DH Dennis Raben, L/L, 7/31/1987
7 G, 26 AB, 7 R, 8 H, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, CS, 3/6 K/BB, .308/.438/.500
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Austin Hudson, 1/6/1988
1-0, 2 G, 0.00 ERa in 5.1 IP, 2 H, 4/1 K/BB, 9/2 G/F
Erratic pitching brings me here, which is funny because erratic pitching seems to characterize the Mavericks bullpen. Hudson gets the nod this week, even though in his previous three outings, he went 7.2 innings and let thirteen runs (eleven earned) score on seventeen hits, with a 5/4 K/BB. And yet, while he does have a 6.21 ERA, Statcorner has him at a 4.25 tRA, and at 2.5 walks per nine, he has one of the lowest walk rates on the pitching staff. Weird things seem to happen when Hudson takes the mound. Though he only has 29.0 IP, ten unearned runs have scored against him. The second most would be six unearned runs on the line of Yoervis Medina, who pitched in 43.0 innings before hitting the DL. Austin Hudson: enigma.
Decent Start Mention:
LHP Jimmy Gillheeney, 11/8/1987
1-0, GS, 3.00 ERA in 6.0 IP, 4 H (2 HR), 2 R, 5/2 K/BB, 2/7 G/F, HB
Some Decent Relief Mention:
LHP Jose Jimenez, 3/23/1987
0-0, 3 G, 0.00 ERA in 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3/0 K/BB, 5/4 G/F
From the Training Room:
Nothing. Boyce, Medina, and Venegas are all still on the DL, if anyone cares.
Strange Happenings:
Nick Czyz is having a weird season. He had two games in which he’s run a shutout over six innings and allowed one walk and two or fewer hits. He’s had six starts where he’s given up six or more runs, and gave up five his last outing. His average against is .348, but his peripherals aren’t so bad otherwise, as his K/9 is above six and his BB/9 is under three. It’s just all hits all the time, and a fair number of them leave the park… Former D-Jaxx manager Phil Pantier was named manager of the Lake Elsinore Storm this week… Nick Franklin, .300/.383/.325 in his last ten games. Kind of weird, if you ask me. More Ks than is typical too.
Clinton Lumberkings (5-3 this week, 19-39 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, May 30th 2011
Beloit 7 (MIN – 4), Clinton 1 (seven innings)
W: Salcedo (4-3, 3.38) L: Paxton (1-2, 2.43)
Beloit 2 (- 3), Clinton 1 (eight innings)
W: Gonzalez (2-1, 2.92) L: Nava (0-1, 3.00) S: Tonkin (1)
Tuesday, May 31st 2011
Clinton 4, Fort Wayne 3 (SD – 5) (ten innings)
W: Burgoon (2-1, 1.74) L: Dominick (2-2, 3.32) S: Zablan (1)
Wednesday, June 1st 2011
Clinton 6, Fort Wayne 4 (SD – 6)
W: Arias (1-2, 5.00) L: Franklin (0-1, 4.56)
Thursday, June 2nd 2011
Clinton 9, Fort Wayne 8 (SD – 7)
W: Nava (1-1, 2.84) L: Ibarra (0-2, 4.38) S: Zablan (2)
Friday, June 3rd 2011
Clinton 7, Lake County 8 (CLE – 3)
W: Ehlert (1-2, 2.70) L: Burgoon (2-2, 1.96)
Saturday, June 4th 2011
Clinton 7, Lake County 2 (CLE – 4)
W: Paxton (2-2, 2.11) L: Cooper (1-2, 4.44)
Sunday, June 5th 2011
Clinton 6, Lake County 1 (CLE – 5)
W: Snow (2-7, 3.77) L: Cook (2-6, 4.82)
Hitter of the Week:
RF Kalian Sams, R/R, 8/25/1986
8 G, 28 AB, 9 R, 12 H, 4 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 5 SB, 6/2 K/BB, .429/.452/1.071
Every week, I come in thinking that maybe the pixie dust is going to wear off or someone else will catch fire and usurp Sams. Nope. This week’s effort put him in the top spot on the team for home runs with seven, which is hardly surprising, but he’s also been diversifying his portfolio by bringing stolen bases in. That’s another category he now leads the team in, going thirteen for thirteen in swipes. And the Ks were down this week too, coming in less than 20% of his plate appearances if you factor in the sac fly. I don’t really get it, so I’ll just keep pointing out that he’s old/too experienced for the level and isn’t walking enough in the hopes that he takes it too personally and starts becoming a more complete hitter and begins having some success at the higher levels.
Can Run, Can’t Run On Him Mention:
C Steve Baron, 12/7/1990
7 G, 24 AB, 4 R, 8 H, 3 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 SB, 5/0 K/BB, HBP, .333/.360/.583
Funk Blasht Mention:
CF/RF Jabari Blash, R/R, 7/4/1989
7 G, 22 AB, 2 R, 7 H, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, SB, 8/5 K/BB, .318/.444/.545
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Taijuan Walker, 8/13/1992
0-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 7.2 IP, 3 H, 6/1 K/BB, 9/2 G/F
Context seems important for this one. Fort Wayne, though not on the same level as Cedar Rapids, is a pretty bad hitting team (and still better than us). The walk rates of the two teams are roughly the same, and nothing special. But consider that Walker retired the first seventeen in order, thanks to a caught stealing in the first, or that this was his longest pro outing by an inning and a third, or that he’s really only been pitching for probably about two years and before that was moonlighting as a shortstop while basketball was his main game. Or consider that he won’t turn nineteen for a couple of months. Walker and Paxton have been competition for the distinction of the Clinton ace, and while Walker has had his inconsistencies and often lacked the wacky K numbers of Paxton, he is nearly four years younger.
Sub-.200 Average Against Over Last Five Starts Mention:
RHP Forrest Snow, 12/30/1988
1-0, 2 GS, 1.20 ERA in 15.0 IP, 9 H (HR), 2 R, 9/3 K/BB, 20/6 G/F
STRIKEOUTS! Walks… Mention:
LHP James Paxton, 11/6/1988
1-1, 2 GS, 1.80 ERA in 10.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R (2 ER), 16/8 K/BB, 7/2 G/F, 2 PO
Relief Hero Mention:
RHP Jonathan Arias, 2/8/1988
1-0, 2 G, 0.00 ERA in 5.0 IP, H, 9/3 K/BB, 4/0 G/F
From the Training Room:
Busy DL week for the Lumberkings, unfortunately. IF Shaver Hansen went on the list on Monday, which activated 1B Tim Morris, who then started hitting again almost immediately… As the calendar turned over, OF Julio Morban made us all sad by going on the DL again, which brought in UT Jorge Agudelo from extended. Sena was also shipped in the same day.
Strange Happenings:
Sena got a start this week, lasting six frames and giving up three home runs. Right… James Paxton was named to the Midwest League All-Star Team on Saturday as the Lumberking’s only representative, not too surprising considering that the team is at the bottom of their division. Walker likely had a case, but since he arrived later he may not have qualified. Actually fun fact: I checked a few days ago and at the time, Paxton ranked sixteenth in the league in strikeouts despite having everyone ahead of him leading by two to four starts… Sams and Baron are hardly outliers in the stolen base effort. The Lumberkings have swiped seventy-eight bags this season, putting them at second in the league behind Dayton’s one hundred and five… The Lumberkings made seven errors in Friday’s game, otherwise, they probably would have won.
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Bring up Ackley to bat 2nd, please. Why wait?
For clarification, the manager got thrown out after a dispute over a foul ball call with Haveman at bat (the ball landed in fair territory and was thrown to first for an out but apparently it either hit Brandon or the plate or something). Then, after he reached base on the error, there was more contention this time with the starting pitcher and pitching coach. I would guess because of the fact that they didn’t feel the foul ball was foul and Haveman should have been out at that point. That’s when the pitcher and pitching coach got booted.
I’m not exactly sure what was said but I’m pretty sure it included a good bit of naughty language.
Walker and Paxton are looking a little better but they still have a long journey to the bigs. Maybe Paxton not so much. Cat the Bat should be run out of High Desert, he needs more competition. Wouldn’t it be something if Sams has figured it out and became a player at his age? Jake Shaffer looks like he’s done it. Tacoma needs reinforcements, send him.
This is one of the things I love about doing these: I can generally count on someone having either been there or listened to the game who can chime in and solve these mysteries.