Rookies 2006

                                                                                                                        
 


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  Pitching Line = IP H R ER BB SO       

 

23 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Franklin Gutierrez CLE 1-4, .328 … Jason Cooper CLE 1-3, R, HBP, SB, .281 … Jeremy Sowers CLE 4-2/3 8 4 3 4 6, 1.50 … Sean Tracey CHA 4-2/3 0 0 3 5, 2.92 … Tonys Gutierrez CIN 2-4, R, RBI, .269 … Chris Denorfia CIN 3-5, 2 R, RBI, SB, .327 … William Bergolla CIN 1-4, R, RBI, BB, .294 … Justin Germano CIN 5 7 3 3 1 1, 3.04 … Ryan Wagner CIN 0-2/3 1 0 0 0 1, 6.75 … Rajai Davis PIT 1-4, 2B, 2 R, HBP, .206 … Jose Bautista PIT 1-4, RBI, SF, .220 … Brad Eldred PIT 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, .213 … Tom Gorzelanny PIT 5-2/3 7 4 4 1 4, 3.66 … Dustin Pedroia BOS 1-2, 2B, R, 2 BB, .263 … Adam Stern BOS 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB, .667 … Melky Cabrera NYA 1-4, 2B, R, RBI, .348 … Eric Duncan NYA 1-1, 3 BB, .271 … Carlos Pena NYA 0-3, BB, .214 … B.J. Upton TB 1-3, 2nd HR, R, RBI, 0 errors, .303 … Brian Stokes TB 6 2 1 1 2 7, 2.25

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Yusmeiro Petit FLO 7.0 2 0 0 0 5 ... Adam Jones SEA 1-5, 5th homer, .291 ... Guillermo Quiroz SEA 4-4, double, 3 RBI ... Chris Young ARZ, finally back in the lineup, 0-4 ... Tim Stauffer SD 5.0 4 4 4 3 4 ... Chad Billingsley LAD 5.0 3 0 0 2 6, 2.21 ... nice rebound from a night to forget, Joel Guzman LAD 3-4, 2 doubles, .319  ... Russ Martin LAD 3-3, .312 ... Daric Barton OAK 1-3, triple, .286

" ... Yusmeiro Petit continued his push toward the big leagues with a sterling performance on Saturday as the Albuquerque Isotopes shut down the New Orleans Zephyrs, 3-0. Petit (2-0), a key player in the trade that sent Carlos Delgado from Florida to the New York Mets, shut down the Zephyrs for seven innings. He allowed two hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter. The 21-year-old right-hander was perfect through five innings before Greg Thissen dumped a flare into center field for a one-out single in the sixth. He lowered his ERA to 2.70."  (MLB.com)

EASTERN (AA)  --  Steven White NYA 7.0 5 2 2 2 2, 1.75 (in 25 innings)

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Lance Broadway CHA 7.0 6 2 2 0 4, 2.16 ... Justin Orenduff LAD 6.0 4 1 1 1 8 ... Garrett Mock SD 4.0 10 6 3 1 3 ... Miguel Montero ARZ 3-4, 5th double, 5th homer, 4 RBI, .352 ... Jose Campusano FLO, CF & leadoff, 4-5, 2 doubles, 8th SB, .385 ... Cesar Carrillo SD 7.0 3 0 0 1 5 ... Wes Bankston TB 2-4, 2 errors (11) ...

TEXAS (AA)  --  Troy Tulowitzki COL, 2-4, double, RBI, .317 ... Jordan Czarniecki COL, 1-4, 5th homer, 3 RBI, .321 ... Ian Stewart COL, 1-5, double, RBI, .290 ... Rico Washington StL, 2-4, 1st SB, .411 ... Steven Register COL, 6.0 9 4 4 3 0, 2.66 ... Jeff Clement SEA, 1-4, double, .250 ... Dan Putnam OAK, 1-4, triple, 2 RBI, .234 ... Kurt Suzuki OAK, 2-4, double, 2nd SB ... Jason Windsor OAK, (W) 7.0 6 1 1 0 6, 4.03 ... JR House HOU, 2-4, BB, .418 ... Nate Gold TEX, 2-3, homer, RBI, .200 ... Thomas Diamond TEX, (7 passes) 1-1/3 1 3 3 7 3, 6.00 ... Donnie Murphy KC, 1-4, 2nd homer, 2 RBI, .263 ... Alex Gordon KC, (1B) 0-3, BB, 2 K ... Billy Butler KC, 3-4, 2 homers, 3 runs, 3 RBI, .310 ... Brandon Wood LAA, 0-4, 3 K, 9th error ... Seung Song KC, (W) 6-1/3 4 1 1 2 6, 4.71

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Mike Stodolka KC, having a ball as a hitter, 3-4, 3 doubles, .450 ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 2-4, 2 doubles, .250 ... Sean Rodriguez SS LAA 3-5, double, .419 ... nice debut, Gregorio Martinez SF 6.0 1 0 0 1 3  ... Travis Buck OAK 3-4, double, triple, homer, .275 ... Reid Brignac SS TB 3-4, 4th homer, .385 ...

" ... Martinez made his 2006 debut with just 53 innings of professional experience under his belt. The 23-year-old Dominican fired six shutout innings against the Storm, holding them to just one hit over that span and striking out three. Martinez was successful in getting most of his opponents to beat the ball into the ground as he recorded 10 groundouts and one double play. "He did a good job of mixing his pitches and changing speeds to keep the batters off balance," Giants manager Lenn Sakata said. "His fastballs and changeups were working well and he had a few good sliders in there, too." Martinez was on point from the start, retiring the first six batters in a row and sitting down 15 of the first 16 Storm hitters he faced."  (MLB.com)

CAROLINA (A+) --  JC Holt 2B ATL 1-4, double, run, sb ... Brandon Jones LF ATL 1-4, triple, run, 2RBI ... Mike Rozema DH ATL 2-3, double, 2 runs ... Scott Schade 1B ATL 2-4, Home Run, 2RBI ... Argenis Reyes 2B CLE 2-4, run, RBI ... Trevor Crowe CF CLE 3-5, double, run, 2RBI, 2 sb ... Ryan Goleski RF CLE 2-3 ... Jose Ascanio ATL 6 6 3 3 4 4 ... Kelvin Villa ATL 3 4 1 1 2 1 W ... Dan Smith ATL 1 1 0 0 1 1 S ... Sean Smith CLE 7 4 4 4 3 7 ... Jeffrey Corsaletti LF BOS 1-3, run, 2RBI, sb ... Jed Lowrie SS BOS 1-3, double, run, RBI ... Claudio Arias DH BOS 1-3, double, RBI ... Michael Hall RF BOS 1-4, double, run, sb ... Joshua Hansen 1B CHA 1-4, Home Run ... Kyle Jackson 2 1 0 0 1 3 W ... Michael James CHA 1 0 0 0 0 2 S ... Neil Sellers 3B HOU 1-3, double ... Scott Robinson 1B HOU 2-4 ... Matthew Cunningham LF HOU 1-4, double, run ... Edwin Maysonet SS HOU 2-4, double, Home Run, 2RBI ... Nyjer Morgan CF PIT 2-3, 2 runs, 2RBI, sb ... Brian Bixler SS PIT 0-3, 2 runs ... Michael Carlin 1B PIT 1-5, double . .. Brad Rea DH PIT 0-1, 2 runs, sb ... Pedro Powell LF PIT 2-4, RBI, 2 sb ... Matthew Guillory PIT 5 4 2 2 2 4 W(2-1, 5.00)

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Matt Garza MIN 6 2/3 1 1 0 2 9 (W, 3-0, 0.49) … Alexi Casilla SS MIN 2-5 double, 3RBI, .324 … Ryan Braun 3B MIL 1-3 HR(1) 2R 3RBI, .286 … Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 5-6 double, 3R 2RBI SB(4) .400 … Steven Sollmann 1B MIL 2-5 R RBI, .392 … Brett Carroll RF FLO 3-4 double R, .327 … Gaby Hernandez FLO 3 9 7 7 2 6 (L, 1-2 – 7.11) … Cole Hamels PHI 4 2/3 4 4 1 5 5 ND, 1.77 … Mike Costanzo 3B PHI 2-3 HR(3) 2R 2RBI, .262 … Cody Ehlers 1B NYA 2-5, .368 … Homer Bailey CIN 5 5 4 4 3 5 ND, 3.98 … Josh Kreuzer 1B TOR 2-3 double, HR(2) 2R 4RBI, .309

" ...  Garza continued his early-season dominance for the Fort Myers Miracle on Saturday, allowing an unearned run and one hit over 6 2/3 innings in a 9-1 pasting of the Lakeland Tigers. Garza (3-0), who fanned nine and walked two, has 27 strikeouts and three walks in four starts. He lowered his ERA to 0.49 over 18 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old right-hander, who gave up two hits over five innings against Tampa on April 11, has continued the dominance he displayed last year in the Appalachian and Midwest Leagues."  (MLB.com)

MIDWEST (A) --  Tommy Mendoza ANA 7 6 2 2 1 6 ... Jay Bruce CIN 1-3 ... Travis Wood CIN 5 4 2 2 3 3 ... Dylan Johnston CHN 2-4 ... meaty performance Donald Veal CHN 6 1 1 1 1 9 ... Cameron Maybin DET 0-3 (.333) ... John Whittleman TEX 1-3, 6th double ... Ben Krosschell SD 5 3 0 0 1 6 ... Andrew Thompson (PH) MIN 1-1, HR .. we're waiting Kyle Waldrop MIN 4 7 5 5 0 3 (4.91) ... Sean Shoffit TOR 3-5, double (.339) ... ineffectively wild Mark McCormick STL 3 5 5 3 4 2 ... Justin Upton ARZ 1-4, double, BB, 2 K's

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Jon Niese NYN 3 2 2 2 5 5, 3.31... Fernando Martinez NYN 1-3, 2B (6), BB, .333 ... John Drennen CLE 2-3, RBI (4), BB, .327 ... Beau Jones ATL 4 9 3 1 2 0, 2.13 ... Elvis Andrus ATL 1-4, .250 ... Eric Campbell ATL 1-3, SB (4), .283 ... Ronnie Ray SF 6 5 3 2 1 9, 1.76 ... Chris Volstad FLA 7 5 0 0 0 7, 2.84 ... Gaby Sanchez FLA 2-3, .410 ... Kris Harvey FLA 2-4, 2B (3), HR (3), 4 RBI (12), .345 ... Josh Flores HOU 1-4, .241 ... Eli Iorg HOU 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (9), .212 ... Angel Salome MIL 1-4, BB, .344 ... Kenny Holmberg MIL 2-4, 2B (4), .348 ... Ned Yost MIL 3-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (5), .217 ... Andrew McCutchen PIT 3-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 4 RBI (8), .354 ... Marlon Arias LAD 6 4 3 1 3 10, 2.25 ... Russ Mitchell LAD 3-5, 2 2B (9), HR (3), 3 RBI (10), .339 ... Sergio Pedroza LAD 3-4 HR (1), 2 RBI (5), .286 ... Dexter Fowler COL 2-2, 2B (7), RBI (8), BB, SB (6), .367 ... Chris Cook COL 3-3, 2 2B (3), 3 RBI (5), 2 BB, .238 ... Paulo Orlando CHA 3-5, HR (2), 2 RBI (6), .383 ... Daron Roberts CHA 2-5, 2 2B (6), .392 ... Austin Jackson NYA 2-4, RBI (10), BB, .340 ... Jose Tabata NYA 2-4, .311

    Troop Movements ...  LAD - optioned James Loney to Triple-A, activated Nomar Garciaparra ... LAA - placed Juan Rivera on the 15-day DL, recalled Reggie Willits ... BOS - recalled Manny Delcarmen, optioned Jermaine Van Buren to Triple-A ... TEX - recalled John Rheinecker, placed Brian Shouse on the 15-day DL ... COL - placed Todd Helton on the 15-day DL, purchased the contract of Ryan Spilborghs, designated Eduardo Sierra for assignment ... TOR - placed A.J. Burnett on the 15-day DL, recalled Shaun Marcum ... CLE - recalled Jeremy Guthrie, optioned Rafael Perez to Double-A ...

    Matt Meyers, in the chatroom at Baseball America, included notes on a future OF for the Astros and a pair of "no-longer-under-the-radar" SPs :

Jonathan Sanchez, SF  " ...  Sanchez is one of the better stories of the young season. He skipped high Class A, but has not skipped a beat. 23 Ks in 16 innings is very impressive and it is hard not to get excited about a lefthander with an electric fastball. He is certainly turning some heads thus far this year and is definitely increasing his stock. As we sometimes like to say around here, he's got some helium."

Radhames Liz, BAL  " ... I did the top 20 prospect list for the New-York Penn League last season, and every person I spoke to raved about the velocity and life on his fastball. Based on his performance thus far, it is clear it is one of the best pitches in the minors. To be dominating the way he is at Frederick, I would have to believe his secondary stuff is coming along. But like you suggested, even if it does not improve, he has the chance to be a dominant reliever because of the fastball."

Hunter Pence HOU  " ... Pence is such an interesting guy because people talk about how nothing he does is pretty. But who cares when you can rake? I am not sure if he will make it to Houston this year unless he is so good they cannot keep him down, but he is certainly emerging as the best position player prospect in that organization."

    Could be a top supplemental pick, if not already drafted :

" ...  Wade Davis garnered the most hype of any Devil Rays player coming into the season. Through three starts, Davis is looking worthy of that hype and then some. The right-handed pitcher who was a third round pick in 2004 has allowed just one earned run and six hits in 15 2/3 innings. His 22 strikeouts are tied for the league lead ...  For his early season efforts, Davis was named the Midwest League's Pitcher of the Week. "He's a big, strong, powerful young man with a good arm," said Mitch Lukevics, director of minor league operations for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. "Putting him in Battle Creek is a training technique. You have to play up north in the big leagues, where it's cold. So coming to Battle Creek, he'll have to learn how to grip the ball in the cold."   (Battle Creek Enquirer)

    Whatever happened to ...

" ...  Matt Riley (elbow surgery) pitched two innings in a simulated game in Arizona and was clocked at 90-93 mph. "Pretty impressive," Showalter said. "This guy is coming on."  (MLB.com)


22 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Ryan Garko CLE 0-2, R, 2 BB, HBP, .333 … Andy Marte CLE 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI, SF, .293 … Jake Dittler CLE 6 4 0 0 1 1, 11.74 … Scott Thorman ATL 2-4, .275 … Anthony Lerew ATL 4 6 7 6 2 4, 5.00 … Jason Bartlett MIN 2-4, 2B, R, .323 … Jason Kubel MIN 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, .333 … Boof Bonser MIN 6 4 0 0 2 4, 0.75 … Brandon League TOR 2-1/3 4 2 2 0 0, 2.02 … Francisco Rosario TOR 5-1/3 2 2 2 4 5, 2.63 … Ryan Raburn DET 1-3, 2nd HR, R, 3 RBI, BB, .128 … Wil Ledezma DET 7 5 3 3 2 9, 2.28 … Abe Alvarez BOS 5 5 1 0 2 2, 1.96 … Chris Roberson PHI 2-5, 3B, R, SB, .279 … Carlos Ruiz PHI 3-3, R, HBP, SB, .407 … Kevin Reese NYA 1-2, 2B, R, BB, HBP, .279 … Eric Duncan NYA 2-4, 2B, RBI, .259 … Carlos Pena NYA 1-4, 2B, R, .273 … B.J. Upton TB 3-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 0 errors, .302 … Jason Hammel TB 5 7 5 4 4 4, 3.60 … Lastings Milledge NYN 1-3, 2B, BB, HBP, .396 … Yusaku Iriki NYN 6 5 2 2 6, 2.70

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Corey Hart MIL 2-4, walk, .333 ... Jason Hirsh HOU, tough time adjusting to AAA,  5.2 7 5 5 3 6, 5.75 ... Larry Broadway WAS 2-3, .407 ... Anthony Reyes STL 7.0 6 3 3 1 3, 3.55 ... Howie Kendrick LAA 2-4, double, .393 ... Mike Napoli LAA 2-3, homer, .277 ... Carlos Quentin ARZ 2-4, double, .319 ... Stephen Drew ARZ 3-5, double, 6th homer, .297 ... Jason Stokes FLO 1-3, double, 2 walks ... Daric Barton OAK 0-5, 2 Ks ... Willy Aybar LAD 4-6, 5th homer, 3 RBI, .403  ... Nomar Garciaparra LAD, rehab, 2-5, double ... Joel Guzman LAD, golden sombrero plus, 0-5, 5 Ks

EASTERN (AA)  --  Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 2-2, double, .358 ...  Adam Harben MIN 6.0 1 0 0 3 5, 0.64 (in 14 innings) ... Brent Clevlen DET 2-4, double, .279  ...  a few hitting prospects of note in the EL (stats through Thursday) :

                              G AB H  2B 3B HR BB SO SB CS  OBP  SLG  AVG 
Brett Harper         NYN,1B  15 52 21  7  0  0  5 14  1  0 .475 .538 .404
Eddy Martinez-Esteve SF,OF   13 49 19  8  0  1  6  5  0  0 .446 .612 .388
Denard Span          MIN,OF  14 55 21  2  0  1  6  7  3  3 .443 .473 .382
Matt Moses           MIN,3B  12 42 16  4  0  3  4  8  0  1 .426 .690 .381
Adam Lind            TOR,OF  14 53 18  1  0  5  3  8  0  1 .386 .642 .340
Kevin Kouzmanoff     CLE,3B  13 51 17  1  0  1  5  7  0  1 .393 .412 .333
Vic Buttler          PIT,OF  13 47 15  5  2  0  6  9  3  0 .389 .511 .319
Nate Schierholtz     SF,OF   13 46 14  2  0  1  4  8  2  0 .407 .413 .304
Kory Casto           WAS,3B  15 52 15  3  1  2  8 16  0  0 .393 .500 .288
Javier Guzman        PIT,SS  12 46 13  1  0  1  2  8  1  1 .313 .370 .283
Brad Snyder          CLE,OF  15 61 17  3  1  3  6 24  2  0 .343 .508 .279
Ryan Mulhern         CLE,OF  15 61 17  3  0  3  4 20  1  0 .318 .475 .279
Brent Clevlen        DET,OF  15 57 15  4  0  1  9 14  1  0 .364 .386 .263
Jason Jaramillo      PHI,C   12 39 10  3  0  0  6  7  0  1 .340 .333 .256
David Murphy         BOS,OF  13 51 13  3  0  1  4  6  2  1 .309 .373 .255
Kody Kirkland        DET,3B  15 59 15  2  1  4  0 22  1  2 .279 .525 .254
Tony Giarratano      DET,SS  15 65 14  6  0  0  2 15  3  1 .239 .308 .215
Michael Bourn        PHI,OF  14 56 12  0  1  0  3  8  9  0 .254 .250 .214
Ian Desmond          WAS,SS  14 48 10  2  1  0  3 16  1  1 .255 .292 .208

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Ray Liotta CHA 5.0 7 4 3 5 3, 4.12 ... Matt Kemp LAD 2-3, double, walk, .312 ... Anibal Sanchez FLO 4.0 3 2 0 1 4, 2.38 ... Dan Curtis ATL 7.1 3 4 2 4 2, 3.63 ... Wes Bankston TB 0-3, 8th error

TEXAS (AA)  --  Kevin Melillo OAK 0-5, .356 ... Jeff Clement SEA 1-2, 2 walks, .250 ... AA no treat for Armando Galarraga TEX 3.0 9 6 2 1 2, 0-3, 7.71 ... JR House HOU 3-5, double, .413 ... Ben Zobrist SS HOU 2-4, double, 2 walks, .291 ... Joe Koshansky COL 2-4, double, .355 ... Ian Stewart COL 0-4, 3 Ks, Troy Tulowitzki COL 0-4 ... Brandon Wood LAA 3-5, 2 RBI, .339 ...  Alex Gordon KC 2-2, 3 walks, 3 runs, .344

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  eye-opening, Mike Stodolka 1B KC, I guess he should have forgone the SP trial, 3-3, 2 doubles, walk, .417 ... Nick Pereira SF 7.0 4 0 0 0 5, 3-0, 1.00 ... catcher Guillermo Rodriguez SF 3-4, double, homer, walk, 3 RBI ... Shaun Cumberland OF TB 4-4, walk, 7th homer, SB .322 ... Cliff Pennington SS OAK 0-4, .098

CAROLINA (A+) --  Matt Young CF ATL 1-4, double ... JC Holt 2B ATL 1-4, double ... Brandon Jones CF ATL 1-3, double, 2RBI ... Argenis Reyes 2B CLE 1-3, 2 runs, sb ... Brian Finegan SS CLE 3-5, double, triple, run, 3RBI ... Jordan Brown 1B CLE 3-4, double, run, 2RBI, sb ... Ryan Goleski RF CLE 1-4, Home Run, 3RBI ... Wyatt Toregas C CLE 1-3, double, run ... Joe Ness CLE 5.2 3 2 2 2 7 W(1-0, 2.87) ... Michael Hall RF BOS 2-3, double, RBI ... Ignacio Suarez 2B BOS 2-4 ... Sean Smith CF CHA 1-4, double, run, RBI, sb ... Victor Mercedes SS CHA 1-2, Home Run, 2 runs ... Joshua Hansen DH CHA 2-4, run, RBI ... Anderson Gomes RF CHA 2-3, double ... Cory Haggerty 2B CHA 2-4, run, sb ... Adam Russell CHA 5.2 6 2 1 2 2 W(1-1, 2.76) ... Gary Bakker CHA 1.1 1 0 0 1 2 S ... Lou Santangelo C HOU 2-4, double ... Ervin Alcantara CF HOU 2-4, 2 runs ... Francisco Caraballo RF HOU 2-4, RBI ... Wade Robinson 2B HOU 2-4, 2RBI ... Paulino Del Guidice HOU 6 4 2 1 3 3 W(1-2, 6.46) ... Rodrigo Escobar HOU 2 0 0 0 1 2 S

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Ryan Harvey RF CHN 1-3 HR(4) 2RBI, .216 … Blake DeWitt 2B LA 2-3 2R, .268 … Jimmy Rohan 3B LA 2-4 2R, .323 … Mike Merricks LA 4 1/3 5 5 5 3 2 ND, 2.93 … Trevor Plouffe SS MIN 2-4 R, .276 … Garrett Guzman DH MIN 2-4 RBI, .328 … Eric Harberer STL 8 4 0 0 1 4 (W, 1-1 – 4.42) … Corey Coles LF NYN 2-4 .340 … Ryan Klosterman SS TOR 3-4 2HR(4) 4RBI, .304 … Jeremiah Piepkorn 3B CIN 3-5 double, HR(1) 2R 2RBI, .344 … Ryan Braun 3B MIL 2-5 double, RBI SB(7) .283 … Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 2-4 3R SB(3), .352 … Edgar Gonzalez 2B FLO 2-2 double, HR(1) 2R 2RBI 2BB, .378 … Grant Psomas 3B FLO 3-3 HR(2), .327 … Mike Costanzo 3B PHI 2-3 double, HR(2) 2R, .230

MIDWEST (A) --  Oswaldo Sosa MIN 5 2/3 3 0 0 2 5 ... Henry Sanchez MIN 2-4, 4th double ... their South Bend souls swooned slowly, and then Justin Upton (CF) ARZ 0-5, 2 K's ... Fabian Jimenez Angulo SD 6 4 1 1 2 3 ... Michael Saunders SEA 2-4 .. Jose Escalona SEA 5 3 1 1 2 5 ... Cameron Maybin DET 1-3, 3rd SB, baserunner shot down ... Frank Martinez (2B) OAK 2-4 (.360) ... 18-year-old Venezuelan righty is MWL's youngest hurler Omar Poveda TEX 6 6 2 2 1 7 (2.53) ... Jay Bruce (at DH) CIN 1-4, 7th double ... just like his last start--five innings, five runners, zero tallies Mitch Atkins CHN 5 2 0 0 3 5 (1.20) ... signs of life perhaps Colby Rasmus STL 3-5 (.238) ... Jaime Garcia STL 6 5 1 1 2 7

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Paulo Orlando CHA 1-4, .357 ... Daron Roberts CHA 2-4, .391 ... Austin Jackson NYA 2-3, RBI (9), BB ... Jose Tabata NYA 0-4, .298 ... Elvis Andrus ATL 1-5, .250 ... Eric Campbell ATL 1-4, BB, .280 ... Dexter Fowler COL 1-5, BB, .351 ... Chris Nelson COL 1-4, 2B (5), RBI (7), .250 ... Greg Golson PHI 0-4, .120 ... Gaby Sanchez FLA 1-4, .397 ... Kris Harvey FLA 0-4, .333 ... Eric King HOU 2-5, RBI (7), .413 ... Josh Flores HOU 0-5, .241 ... JR Towles HOU 2-2, .486 ... Brian Bogusevic HOU 3 4 2 2 2 3, 3.00 ...Kevin Dixon CLE 6 7 1 1 0 1, 1.99

    Troop Movements ...  KC - placed David DeJesus on the 15-day DL, purchased the contract of Joe Nelson, transferred Mike MacDougal from the 15-day DL list to the 60-day ... OAK - recalled Chad Gaudin, optioned Bobby Kielty to Triple-A ... TEX - optioned Laynce Nix to Triple-A, purchased the contract of Adam Hyzdu, transferred Josh Rupe from the 15-day to the 60-day DL  ... DET - transferred Craig Dingman from the 15-day to the 60-day ... COL - designated Zach Day for assignment, purchased the contract of Miguel Asencio ... CHN - placed Derrek Lee on the 15-day DL, purchased the contract of Michael Restovich, transferred Wade Miller from the 15-day the 60-day DL  ... ATL - recalled Martin Prado, optioned Peter Moylan to Triple-A ... CLE - placed Rafael Betancourt on the 15-day DL, recalled Brian Slocum ...  TB - recalled Edwin Jackson, optioned Jason Childers to Triple-A ...

    Updates to the Top 10s and the Top 100s pages to reflect recent additions, including Jason Collette's (RotoJunkie) Top 100 (the top five -  Delmon Young, Jeremy Hermida, Francisco Liriano, Justin Verlander, Andy Marte). 

    It's the fast track for the best of the Yankees' pitching prospects :

" ...  Phil Hughes, the 19-year-old pitching prospect who surprised some veteran Yankees with his talent in spring training, has 18 strikeouts, 1 walk and a 0.56 earned run average in 16 innings for Class A Tampa. General Manager Brian Cashman said Hughes would be promoted soon to Class AA Trenton, but he almost certainly would not pitch for the Yankees this season. "You're not going to see him," Cashman said. "If he can't be denied, he can't be denied, but that is not something we're looking for or expecting at all."  (NY Times)

    In BOS, no worries about Jon Lester :

" ...  Pawtucket pitching coach Mike Griffin said Lester has been impressive so far, no matter what his numbers say. "We're working on him repeating his delivery, using all of his pitches--which he has been--and basically, that's it. We're not rocket scientists here. We're developing," he said. "And our organization has a pretty darn good plan. We're very proud of it. And we've developed a lot of good young pitchers because of that. "Jon Lester has a great head on his shoulders. He's very smart, very intelligent. If I had to nail down one thing that I've been very impressed with so far, it's that in three starts, he's been able to carry out a gameplan. That's pretty darn impressive for a young kid."   (Baseball America)


21 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Jason Cooper CLE 2-3, 2 R, BB … Luis Hernandez ATL 2-4, 2 2B … Terry Tiffee MIN 3-4, 2 R, BB … J.D. Durbin MIN 4-1/3 2 2 2 7 3 … Ryan Roberts TOR 2-4 … Rob Cosby TOR 2-4 … David Purcey TOR 1-2/3 4 8 2 2 2 … Dustin McGowan TOR 2 1 0 0 0 4 … Jerry Owens CHA 2-5, 2B, R, RBI … Tonys Gutierrez CIN 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB … William Bergolla CIN 2-4, 2B, 2nd HR, 2 R, RBI, BB … Val Majewski BAL 1-4, 2nd HR, R, 3 RBI … Sean Burnett PIT 4-1/3 6 5 5 4 1 … Jon Lester BOS 4 2 2 2 2 6 … Chris Roberson PHI 2-5, 2B, R … Carlos Ruiz PHI 2-5, 5th HR, R, 2 RBI … Matt White PHI 7-1/3 7 4 3 1 2 … Melky Cabrera NYA 2-4, R … Carlos Pena NYA 2-4 … Darrell Rasner NYA 4 7 3 3 1 3 … B.J. Upton TB 1-3, R, RBI, BB, HBP, 2 SB, 8th error … Delmon Young TB 1-4, R, 2 RBI, SF, SB … Elijah Dukes TB 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB … Shawn Riggans TB 1-4, R, BB … Chris Seddon TB 6 7 3 2 2 6 … Lastings Milledge NYN 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB, SB … Jeff Keppinger NYN 2-5, 2B, RBI … Chase Lambin NYN 2-3, 2B, 1st HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB … John Maine NYN 5 9 7 4 1 3

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Justin Leone SD, up to .500, 2-3, double, walk, SB ... Justin Huber KC 1-2, 2 walks, .378 ... Carlos Quentin ARZ 3-4, double, 1st homer, walk, .302 ... Stephen Drew ARZ 2-4, 5th homer, .271 ... Rich Hill CHN 6.0 4 2 1 4 7, 1.42 ... Jason Stokes FLO, fully awakened from early season slumber, 3-3, 3rd homer, 2 walks, .320 ... Felix Pie CHN 2-4, 4th triple, 4th SB, .333 ... Jeremy Brown OAK 3-4, walk, .448 ... Nomar Garciaparra LAD, rehab, 2-3, double  ...  Dan Meyer OAK, there's hope,  6.0 5 2 2 0 4

EASTERN (AA)  --  Mets / Tigers affiliates combined for 31 Ks (13 innings) ... Kory Casto WAS 2-3, homer ... Matt Moses MIN 1-5, 3rd homer, .381 ... Jonathan Sanchez SF, get 'em now before the rush, 5.1 3 1 1 4 9, 0.55 (7 hits allowed, 23 Ks in 16-1/3 innings) ... Adam Lind TOR 1-3, 5th homer, .340

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Ben Julianel FLO 6.0 6 4 1 1 5, 0.96 ... Eric Patterson 2B CHN 2-4, .305 ... Miguel Montero ARZ 1-4, double, .333 ... Wes Bankston 3B TB 1-4, .350, 7th error

TEXAS (AA)  --  Josh Anderson, HOU, 3-5, double, .271 ... Ben Zobrist, HOU, (SS), 1-4, double, RBI, BB, .275 ... Hunter Pence, HOU, 2-5, double, triple, ... Kevin Melillo, OAK, 2-5, .389 ... Dan Putnam,, OAK, 0-3, .232 ... Brad Ziegler, SEA, 5-2/3 6 0 0 1 4, 0.96 ... Jailen Peguero, HOU, 3rd sv, 1.0 0 0 0 0 2, 1.17 ... Troy Tulowitzki, COL, 3-6, double, 2 RBI ... Ian Stewart, COL, 2-5, 3 runs, double, RBI ... Jason Koshansky, COL, 3-5, RBI ... Brandon Wood, LAA, 1-4, double, 8th error ... Ubaldo Jimenez, COL, dominant (W) 6.0 2 1 0 2 11, 5.06 ... Alex Gordon, KC, 0-4, (5-4-3 DP) ... Billy Butler, KC, 2-4, double ... Reid Gorecki, StL, 1-3, 5th homer, RBI ... Nick Stavinoha, StL, 1-4, homer, RBI ... Juan Cedeno, KC, 5.0 2 1 1 5 6, 5.02 ... Mike Parisi, StL, 6-2/3 7 1 1 1 6, 4.32

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  COL CF Matthew Miller hot, 3-4, double, 2 homers, .404 ... Reid Brignac TB 2-5, double, .357, 7th error ... Ryan Webb OAK 7.0 6 1 0 0 11, 1.04 ... Cesar Ramos SD 6.0 2 0 0 1 4 ... catcher Michael Collins LAA 2-3, homer, .404 ... so far, so good as Mike Stodolka KC makes a transition from SP to 1B 1-2, double, 2 walks, .364

CAROLINA (A+) --  Matt Young CF ATL 2-4, run ... JC Holt DH ATL 2-5, double, run, 2RBI ... Brandon Jones LF ATL 2-5, run ... Van Pope 3B ATL 1-5, double, RBI ... Diory Hernandez SS ATL 2-5, double ... Mike Rozema 2B ATL 2-3, run ... Argenis Reyes 2B CLE 3-5, double, 2RBI ... Trevor Crowe CF CLE 2-5, RBI ... Stephen Head 1B CLE 0-4, 2 runs ... Brian Barton RF CLE 2-4, 2 Home Runs, 4 runs, 4 RBI, sb ... Jordan Brown LF CLE 4-5, double, 2 runs, 2RBI ... Brandon Pinckney 3B CLE 2-5, double, run, 2RBI ... Micah Schilling DH CLE 1-4, 2 runs ... Wyatt Toregas C CLE 2-3, 2 doubles, 2 runs, 3RBI ... Chuck Lofgren CLE 5 5 2 2 2 7 W(3-0, 1.15)

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Cody Ehlers 1B NYA 3-4 double, .380 … Jair Jurrjens DET 7 4 1 1 0 3 ND, 2.12 … Kevin Whelan DET 1 2 1 1 2 1 (S, 5 – 1.59) … Tyler Greene SS STL 2-3 2R 2SB(4), .190 … Jeremiah Piepkorn 3B CIN 3-5 double, 3RBI, .296 … Camilo Vazquez CIN 6 3 2 2 3 5 (W, 1-0 – 1.80) … Drew Anderson 2B CIN 2-5 double, triple, 2R RBI, .324 … Ryan Braun 3B MIL 2-4 2RBI, SB(6) .273 … Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 2-3 double, .340 … Josh Wahpepah MIL 5 4 2 2 2 2 ND, 1.12

MIDWEST (A) --  Cameron Maybin DET 2-4, 4th double, baserunner gunned down, 1st error ... Marwin Vega SEA 6 3 2 2 2 6 (1.56) ... Michael Saunders SEA 1-2, 2 BB's .. last year's rookieball standout still struggling Chris McConnell KC 1-4 (.100) ... Kyle Blanks SD 6th and 7th doubles ... Andrew Thompson (at DH) MIN 2-4 .. Craig Italiano OAK 4 7 3 2 3 4 ... Justin Sellers OAK 2 doubles, 6th error ... 22-year-old showing results, sort of John Mayberry TEX 1st HR, 1st double (still just .154) ... Sean Shoffit TOR 3-4 .. mixed bag Colby Rasmus (CF) STL 2-5, 1st HR, 2 K's, 4th error already ... Johnny Cueto CIN 5 5 2 2 2 7 ... just rolling along Jay Bruce CIN 2-4, 2nd HR (.339)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Gaby Sanchez FLA 1-4, RBI (19), .407 ... Kris Harvey FLA 0-4, .360 ... Danny Barone FLA 6 3 2 0 1 5, 0.49, 0 ER in last 12 IP ... Greg Golson PHI 1-4, .130 ... Chorye Spoone BAL 2-2/3 4 7 0 4 3, 2.38 ... Andrew McCutchen PIT 2-5, RBI (4), BB, .328 ... Lorenzo Cain MIL 3-5, 2 RBI (5), .322 ... Angel Salome MIL 2-5, 2B (6), SB (3), .351 ... Alberto Bastardo LAD 6 4 1 0 3 5, 0.55 ... Chris Nelson COL 0-4, .250 ... Dexter Fowler COL 2-5, 2 2B (6), RBI (7), .365 ... Austin Jackson NYA 1-4, .304 ... Jose Tabata NYA 1-4, .321 ... Javier Castillo CHA 3-5, 2 2B (4), HR (2), 3 RBI (1), .216 ... Francisco Hernandez CHA 2-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 4 RBI (6), .324 ... Mike Conroy CLE 3-5, HR (2), 3 RBI (7), SB (1), .314 ... John Drennen CLE 3-4, SB (3), .326 ... Eli Iorg HOU 1-4, RBI (6), .205 ... JR Towles HOU 2-4, 2B (3), RBI (8), SB (4), .455 ... Jeff Natale BOS 2-2, RBI (11), 2 BB, .375 ... Tony Granadillo BOS 2-4, BB, .366

    Troop Movements ...  CIN - recalled Brian Shackelford, optioned Michael Gosling to Triple-A ...  CLE - placed Matt Miller on the 15-day DL, recalled Rafael Perez from Double-A ... BOS - optioned Adam Stern to Triple-A, purchased the contract of Willie Harris ... HOU - purchased the contract of Dave Borkowski ... WAS - recalled Billy Traber from Triple-A, optioned Saul Rivera to Triple-A ... SF - activated Armando Benitez from the DL, activated Lance Niekro from the bereavement list ... DET - activated Todd Jones from the DL, optioned Chris Spurling to Triple-A ... 

    Catching up with RotoAmerica's Look Who's Hot list for last week's minor league games.  Howie Kendrick is No. 1, with some relatively unfamiliar names & a guy making the jump from college to Double-A included :

" ...  2. Radhames Liz (RHP, BAL: High-A) – Giving up two hits in his last outings should have bumped him down further. Seriously though, through two starts: 10 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 22 K. Knowing the Orioles, they’ll probably put him in their rotation soon (just kidding…I think)."

" ... 6. Kurt Suzuki (C, OAK: Double-A) – Hitting .417 but incredibly has not struck out this season while compiling nine walks. Think Beane likes that? "

" ... 7. Alex Gordon (3B, KC: Double-A) – Pretty impressive when your pro ball debut comes in Double-A and you get off to a .364/.404/.636. Even more impressive: five stolen bases already."

A pair of highly-hyped prospects top the Cold list :

" ...1. B.J. Upton (SS, TB: Triple-A) – I guess working with Ozzie Smith didn’t work – seven errors in 12 games. Gee, time for a position change maybe?"

" ... 2. Jarrod Saltalamaccia (C, ATL: Double-A) – Coming around lately, but still hitting just .216. Just an early season slump."

    John Sickels, MinorLeagueBall.com, has some reviews on the best of the college prospects (beyond Andrew Miller & Tim Lincecum) :

" ...  Evan Longoria, 3B-OF, Long Beach State Hitting .336/.463/.603 with 8 homers in 116 at-bats, has drawn 24 walks against 18 strikeouts. Having a solid season and has a good chance to be the first college hitter picked. Main question is positional: is he a third baseman, a shortstop, or an outfielder as a pro?"

" ... Drew Stubbs, OF, University of Texas Hitting .333/.440/.614 with nine homers, 15 steals, 28 walks, and 42 strikeouts in 153 at-bats. He has great tools and his numbers are good, but scouts continue to worry that he swings and misses too much and will struggle against advanced pitching. Will these doubts keep him out of the first round? In a normal year, probably. This year, maybe not."

" ... Brad Lincoln, RHP, University of Houston An impressive spring is moving him up the charts rapidly, and he could go in the first five picks. Now 8-1, 1.78 ERA with a 98/20 K/BB in 81 innings, with only 57 hits allowed. K/IP and H/IP are excellent. Lincoln throws hard and is more athletic than most pitchers. He posted a very good K/BB ratio last year but a 4.76 ERA: this year his ERA has come down to more closely match the component ratios."

" ... Brandon Morrow, RHP, University of California 7-0, 1.67 in 10 starts, with a 76/34 K/BB in 70 innings, only 46 hits allowed. Having a fine season although his control remains inconsistent, granted it doesn't hurt him much in college since he is tough to hit. Can hit the upper-90s with his fastball, but is still learning how to pitch. Excellent potential but may need longer to develop than some college guys."

    At Baseball America, Jim Callis offers his take on the June draft with a Top 20 (Andrew Miller, Brandon Morrow, Tim Lincecum 1-2-3) and compares BAL pitching prospects Adam Loewen and Hayden Penn :

" ...  Loewen gets the edge in our eyes because, in no particular order, he's lefthanded, throws on more of a downward plane, has more life on his fastball and owns a better curveball. But you could make a case for Penn on the basis that he has progressed more rapidly, throws more strikes and is more polished, and his stuff is nothing to sneeze at. Both guys work regularly in the low 90s, and while Penn doesn't have Loewen's curveball, he has a better changeup ...  In terms of pure projection, Loewen has the brighter future. If it all comes together, he could be a No. 1 starter. Penn's ceiling is more of a No. 2, though he's a safer bet to reach his ceiling than Loewen."

    Over at ESPN, Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus has posted a two-parter featuring his picks as the overall Top 50 players (Pujols, David Wright, A-Rod, 1-2-3).  A few of the minor league kids made the cut :

" ... 31. Brandon Wood ...  needs to improve his strike zone judgment, and he's likely to move from shortstop to third base -- although that has more to do with the prodigiousness of his offense than his lack of glove. For now, our best guess is that he'll wind up with a career like Adrian Beltre's, but it won't take much more convincing -- Wood is off to a hot start at Double-A Arkansas -- to get us buying into the Cal Ripken/Mike Schmidt scenarios."

" ... 27. Howie Kendrick ...  a guy who is looking more and more like he might be a once-in-a-generation, Tony Gwynn-type contact hitter. Or even scarier, Tony Gwynn with 20 home runs a season, and playing at a premium defensive position. Kendrick has a less risky profile than Wood, and may have just as much upside."

" ... 24. Justin Upton ...  Only two recent high school products have been talked about with the same can't-miss praise as Justin Upton. Those players are Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Could Upton turn out to be baseball's version of Kwame Brown or Ryan Leaf? Perhaps. But the Diamondbacks, a canny organization, were willing to stake big bucks on Upton's pedigree, agreeing to a record $6.1 million signing bonus. And Upton did nothing but impress during his first professional at-bats in spring training, hitting .500/.563/.857 over parts of eight games. This ranking might seem awfully high for a player with such a limited track record -- but we could find a dozen major league personnel men who would tell you that we've ranked Upton too low."

" ... 16. Delmon Young ...  Our PECOTA projection system is loathe to use major league comparables for minor league players. But sometimes, a player is so far ahead of the curve that PECOTA simply has no choice -- and so the top three names on Young's list are Ken Griffey Jr., Cesar Cedeno and Tony Conigliaro. Like Griffey (and unlike older brother Dmitri), Young is a multi-dimensional player; he stole 32 bases last year and was voted as having the Southern League's best outfield arm. Young's plate discipline will determine whether he winds up being a great player or merely a very good one."

    Tidbits from the weekly report from the International League :

" ...  You can't start a season much better than the Bisons' Jeremy Guthrie. The pitcher posted 15.1 scoreless innings to begin 2006. Overall, Guthrie has allowed just 10 hits in 18 innings, walking five while striking out 12. The Indians' first round pick in the 2002 First-Year Player draft is currently 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA after three starts."

" ... The Bisons have found themselves a dependable leadoff hitter in Franklin Gutierrez. The 23-year old outfielder is currently second on the Bisons with a .380 (19-50) batting average and a .466 on-base percentage. Along with a team-high 19 hits and four stolen bases, he is also second on the team with eight walks."

" ... Through his first 3 starts of the 2006 season Charlie Haeger has been outstanding. Even though he has only recorded one victory (1-0) he has put the Knights in line for a victory in each start. Haeger has pitched a total of 20 innings in his 3 starts and has allowed just 1 earned run (5 runs). Haeger has also scattered just 12 hits over those 20 inning while striking out 17. His ERA currently sits at 0.45."

" ... Tides outfielder Lastings Milledge has been red hot lately, reaching base safely in 15 of his last 16 plate appearances ...  During the streak, Milledge is 9-10 with a home run, 2 RBI, two doubles, a triple and six walks, and he was also hit by a pitch once. Milledge leads the Tides with a .404 batting average, nine runs scored, six doubles, 19 hits, three stolen bases, 28 total bases, four times hit by a pitch, a .525 on-base percentage and a .638 slugging percentage. "

    Adam Jones SEA, a slow start but quick recovery :

" ...   No matter what the results of the last three games might suggest, precocious Tacoma outfielder Adam Jones does not project as a major league slugger. What Jones’ four home runs in 13 at-bats for the Rainiers does indicate is that his fast-track rise through three minor-league levels in a little over one season is well warranted ...   With four homers in 12 games, the 20-year-old former first-round draft pick is on track to far surpass his professional best of 15 ...  “Right now, it’s just that I’m swinging at good pitches,” Jones said. “You know pitchers here are always around the strike zone. I’ve been getting myself in better hitting counts. On the home run, I thought I got a pretty good swing on it.” It wasn’t the cleanup hitter’s type of homer, like the two 400-foot blasts he hit earlier in the week, but one a hitter with a major-league caliber swing tends to get. “He’s got sneaky power,” Rainiers manager Dave Brundage said. “The last couple days, you see the ball jump off his bat, and it shows you the young man’s got a chance for success.” After starting the season with two hits in his first 15 at-bats – a period in which he admitted to being “overmatched” – Jones is 11-for-29 since, raising his average from .133 to .295. “He’s out there working every day, hitting in the cage, and he takes what he learns and he’s employing them in the game,” Brundage said. “As fast as he’s risen, we’ve pushed him and challenged him, and so far it’s paid off.”  (Tacoma News Tribune)

    Daric Barton OAK, fitting in nicely in Triple-A :

" ...  Barton, 20, is hitting .342 with 12 walks and has a .500 on-base percentage. Five of his 13 hits are for extra bases. "That's unheard of, a kid his age doing what he's doing," River Cats manager Tony DeFrancesco said. ...  Barton has batted third in the lineup the past two games after splitting time between the five and six hole. DeFrancesco didn't plan on moving Barton up so soon, but it seems ideal because of others' struggles and Barton's fast start. "It doesn't matter (where I hit)," Barton said. "As long as I'm in there, I'm happy." Barton looks like a regular middle-of-the-order hitter now. His only blemish has come in the field, where he has committed four errors in 12 games. A catcher in the Cardinals' system, Barton switched to first base at Double A last season."  (Sacramento Bee)


20 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Andy Marte CLE 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SF … Jason Cooper CLE 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB … Ben Francisco CLE 1-5, 3rd HR, R, RBI … Brayan Pena ATL 0-3, R, BB, SB … Terry Tiffee MIN 2-5, R, RBI, BB … John-Ford Griffin TOR 2-4, 2 2B, R … Rob Cosby TOR 3-4, 2B, 1st HR, R, 3 RBI … Jerry Owens CHA 1-4, 3rd HR, R, 4 RBI, SF … Ryan Sweeney CHA 3-4, R, BB … Chris Stewart CHA 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB … Ryan Raburn DET 1-3, 1st HR, R, 2 RBI, BB … Ryan Wagner CIN 1-2/3 4 4 4 1 0 … Elizardo Ramirez CIN 6 3 0 0 0 7 … Eli Whiteside BAL 2-6, 2B, 1st HR, R, 3 RBI … Rajai Davis PIT 2-5, 2B, BB, Sac, SB … Jose Bautista PIT 2-6, BB … Brad Eldred PIT 2-6, 2B, R, BB … Josh Kroeger PHI 1-3 … Eude Brito PHI 6 1 1 1 2 3 … Matt DeSalvo NYA 7 6 2 1 1 4 … B.J. Upton TB 1-4, 2B, 0 errors … Jamie Shields TB 5-1/3 7 4 4 1 4 … Lastings Milledge NYN 2-3, 3 BB … Jeff Keppinger NYN 2-5, BB … Chase Lambin NYN 2-6, R, RBI … rehab, Kaz Matsui NYN 1-1

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Justin Leone SD, surely somebody could use his bat, 2-4, .490 ... so disappointing, Angel Guzman CHN 6.0 6 7 7 2 9, 6.61 ... Bobby Livingston SEA 6.0 5 1 1 0 6, 2.12 ... Kevin Appier SEA, rehab, 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 ... Adam Jones SEA 2-4, homer, .295 ... Daric Barton OAK 2-4, triple, .342 ... Kevin Frandsen 2B SF 2-3, 2 doubles, .230 ... Justin Huber KC 2-4, 6th homer, .372 ... Jered Weaver LAA 6.0 5 0 0 2 6, 2.50 ... Howie Kendrick LAA, a rare ofer, 0-4, .386 ...  good & bad, Dallas McPherson LAA 1-4, homer, 3 RBI, 3 Ks ... Larry Broadway WAS 1-2, 3rd homer, .392

EASTERN (AA)  --  Denard Span CF MIN 0-3, 2R, 2BB … Matt Moses DH MIN 2-5, R, 2RBI … Justin Jones MIN 4.1 6 1 1 3 5 … Adam Lind LF TOR 3-5, HR, 3RBI, k … Ricky Romero TOR 6 5 1 1 2 3 … Frank Diaz CF WAS 3-4, R … Kody Kirkland 3B DET 2-3, k … Brent Clevlen RF DET 1-3, HR, BB, k … Preston Larrison DET 6 6 2 2 1 3 … Dan Kolb WAS (who knew?) blown save, 1.1 1 2 2 2 0 1 … Clay Timpner CF SF 3-5, R, k … Eddie Martinez-Esteve LF SF 2-3, 2R, 2B, HR, 2RBI … Gio Gonzalez PHI 6 6 4 4 1 9 … Pat Misch SF 7 3 1 0 0 8 … Adam Boeve RF PIT 2-3, 3R, HR, 2RBI, 2BB, k (.388) … Vic Buttler LF PIT 3-5, R, 2B, 3B, 2RBI, 2k … Bronson Sardinha RF NYY 2-4, R, 2B … Rudy Guillen LF NYY 1-4, 2B, RBI, k (average now up to .088) … Matt Peterson PIT 5 5 2 2 0 3 … Brad Snyder RF CLE 2-4, 2RBI, 2k … Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B CLE 2-3, RBI, BB … Richard Stahl BAL 3.2 4 3 1 6 5 … Tony Sipp CLE 5 3 2 2 2 4 … Travis Foley CLE 3 3 1 1 0 3 … Eric DuBose BAL 2.1 3 1 0 0 3

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Chuck Tiffany TB 3.2 7 5 4 2 2 ...  Miguel Montero ARZ 2-3, walk, .341 ... George Kottaras SD 1-3, homer, .244 ... Micah Hoffpauir 1B CHN, on a tear, 3-4, homer  ... Matt Kemp LAD 2-4, homer, 3 RBI, .293 ... Andy LaRoche LAD 1-4, homer, .255 ... Greg Miller LAD 2.0 0 0 0 2 3 (8 shutout innings, 1 hit, 9 Ks to start the season) ...

TEXAS (AA)  --  Hunter Pence, HOU, 1-4, BB ... JR House, HOU, 1-4, double, BB, K ... Kevin Melillio, OAK, 1-4, 2 RBI ... Kurt Suzuki, OAK, 1-4 ... Sebastien Boucher, SEA, 0-3, 3 K, 3rd SB ... Bryan LaHair, SEA, 1-4, double ... Vince Sinisi, TEX, 2-3, RBI, BB, K ... Cesar Jimenez, SEA, 6-1/3 3 2 2 2 7, 2.76 ... Troy Tulowitzki, COL, 1-4, double ... Ian Stewart, COL, 1-5 ... Joseph Koshansky, COL, 4-4, 2 homers, 5 RBI, BB, .321 ... Brandon Wood, LAA, 3-5, 2 homers, 2 RBI, 2 errors (7) ... Matthew Brown, LAA, 2-4, homer, RBI ... Alex Gordon, KC, 1-4, homer, RBI ... Billy Butler, KC, 0-4 ... Chris Lubanski, KC, 3-4, double, .146 ... Reid Gorecki, StL, 1-4, double ... Rico Washington, StL, 1-2, double, 2 RBI (21), 2 BB ... Stuart Pomeranz, StL, 6-1/3 5 2 2 2 4, 3.31

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Ben Harrison TEX 4-4, 2 homers, .368 ... Reid Brignac TB 3-5, .353 ... Sean Rodriguez SS LAA 3-5, double, .438 ... Michael Collins, catcher, LAA 2-5, double, .386 ... Rafael Rodriguez LAA 5.0 6 1 1 1 6, 3-0, 0.53 ...

CAROLINA (A+) --  Nyger Morgan CF PIT 1-7, double, run, RBI, sb ... Brian Bixler SS PIT 4-6, double, 2 runs, RBI, sb ... Mike Carlin 1B PIT 2-4, 2 runs, 3RBI ... Justin Harris 2B PIT 1-3, double ... Richard Suomi C PIT 1-3, double, run ... Pedro Powell LF PIT 3-7, triple, run, RBI ... Trey Webb 2B WAS 1-4, triple, run, RBI ... Marvin Lowrence OF WAS 2-6, double, run ... Brandon Powell 3B WAS 1-6, 2RBI ... Steve Mortimmer 1B WAS 1-4, double ... Wardell Starling PIT 7 2 0 0 0 6 W (1-1, 2.65) ... Ricardo Morales WAS 5 3 2 0 3 3 W ... Brett Campbell WAS 1 1 0 0 0 3 S ... Stephen Head 1B CLE 1-4, double, 2RBI ... Bryan Pritz CF BOS 2-4, double ... John Otness C BOS 2-4, double, run, 2RBI ... Michael Hall RF BOS 2-4, triple, Home Run, 2 runs, 2RBI ... Andrew Dobies BOS 5 2 2 1 3 4 W (2-0, 1.69) ... Brandon Jones DH ATL 2-4, double, rbi ... Barbaro Canizares LF ATL 2-4 ... Luis Atilano ATL 7 4 1 1 1 3 W (1-1, 5.40) ... Zach Schreiber 2 1 0 0 1 4 S ... Jason Fransz DH BAL 1-3, double, run, RBI ... Dustin Yount 1B BAL 2-4, RBI ... Morgan Clendenin C BAL 1-4, double ... Travis Brown SS BAL 2-4, double, RBI ... Wade Robinson 2B HOU 1-3, 2 runs, sb ... Neil Sellers 1B HOU 2-4, double, run, 4RBI (.435) ... Francisco Caraballo RF HOU 1-4, double ... Kevin Hart BAL 5 3 2 1 1 3 ... Ryan Thompson HOU 2 1 0 0 0 1 W ... Rory Shortell HOU 1.1 2 0 0 0 0 S

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Mike Pelfrey NYN 5 5 2 2 0 5 (L, 1-1 – 1.12) … Blake Hawksworth STL 6 3 0 0 1 2 (W, 2-0 – 2.40) … Michael Ferris 1B STL 2-4 2 doubles, .354 … Terry Evans RF STL 1-3 HR(4) 4RBI, .327 … Tyler Greene SS STL 0-3, .154 … Kevin Whelan DET 1 0 0 0 1 0 … Cody Strait 4-5 4 doubles, 2R RBI, .282 … Edgar Gonzalez 2B FLO 2-4 double, R, .344 … Nic Jackson LF CHN 2-4 HR(2) 2RBI, .264 … Hector Made 2B NYA 3-5 triple, R, .289 … Kevin Slowey MIN 5 1/3 7 3 2 0 7 ND, 2.08

MIDWEST (A) --  Jay Bruce CIN 2-4, 6th double, 3rd SB, 3rd CS ... Colby Rasmus STL 2-4, 5th double (still just .189) ... Zach Phillips TEX 5 5 1 1 2 7 (1.06) .. Henry Sanchez MIN 3-4, 2 doubles ... Dylan Johnston CHN 2-4, 4th SB, 5th error .. Kelly Shearer ANA 5 5 2 1 4 7 ... Hainley Statia ANA 2-4, 5th double ... Cameron Maybin DET 3-5, 3rd triple (.340) ... Ramon Garcia DET 7 5 0 0 2 2 (2-1, 1.50) .. Michael Saunders SEA 0-4, 3 K's ... Pedro Ciriaco ARZ 3-5 (.370) ... working in relief Rayner Oliveros KC 4 1/3 4 0 0 0 3 ... Sean Shoffit TOR 1-4, 2 K's, 2 CS ... another big night for the big righty Wade Davis TB 6 1 0 0 3 7 (0.57)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Matt Maloney PHI 6 1 0 0 1 6, 3.18 ... Welinson Baez PHI 0-4, .314 ... Greg Golson PHI 1-3, HR (1), RBI (2), BB, .119 ... Gaby Sanchez FLA 1-4, .420 ... Kris Harvey FLA 1-4, .391 ... Josh Flores HOU 1-5, SB (4), .265 ... JR Towles HOU 1-4, 2 RBI (7), SB (3), BB, .448 ... Matt Fornasiere CLE 2-4, .364 ... Will Inman MIL 3 2 0 0 0 3, 1.64 ... Fernando Martinez NYN 0-2, SB (3), BB, .333 ... Nathan Yoho MIL 2-3, 2B (1), HR (1), 4 RBI (4), BB, .333 ... Brandon Snyder BAL 0-5, .275 ... Andrew McCutchen PIT 0-6, .321 ... Eddie Prasch PIT 3-4, 2B (4), BB, .333

    Troop Movements ...  CIN - recalled Michael Gosling, optioned Mike Burns to Triple-A ...  TEX - placed Mark DeRosa on the 15-day DL, purchased the contract of Drew Meyer, transferred Adam Eaton from the 15-day to 60-day DL ... NYN - activated Kaz Matsui from the DL, placed Anderson Hernandez on the 15-day DL ... BAL - transferred Tim Byrdak from the 15-day to the 60-day DL, purchased the contract of Luis Terrero, optioned Val Majewski to Triple-A, placed Luis Matos on the 15-day DL, purchased the contract of Raul Chavez  ... KC - Zack Greinke reported to extended spring training ... LAA - placed Bartolo Colon on the 15-day DL, recalled Kevin Gregg  ... ARZ - optioned Casey Daigle to Triple-A, activated Brandon Medders from the 15-day DL   ... SF - optioned Jack Taschner to Triple-A, optioned Travis Ishikawa to Double-A ... HOU - placed Trever Miller on the 15-day DL ...

    Bryan Smith, TheBaseballAnalysts, offers a piece on the top shortstops in the minors (Brandon Wood at the top) :

" ...  Wood is already putting pressure on the Angels to consider moving Cabrera, or even, move Wood to the hot corner. His power spike has not dulled in eleven contests, as Brandon has eight extra-base hits in 44 at-bats. However, before Wood holds Bill Stoneman's hands to the fire and forces him to make a move, the strikeouts need to decrease. With fifteen whiffs already in eleven games, Brandon is doing nothing to inspire projections of his future batting average. Even given his weaknesses and uncertainty, Wood's big-time power leaves him with an advantage over both Stephen Drew and B.J. Upton."

" ... Looking at the second tier, I see three obvious names, with three more players looking to bang down the door. Last year's top ten pick Troy Tulowitzki leads the group, only an exit from Sample Size Theatre away from joining the first pack. I believe in Troy as a player, and sincerely believe Clint Barmes will be out of the organization or at second base in about a year. However, Tulo could inspire even more faith if he proved a bit more patient, added a bit of power (lots of gaps thus far), and toned down the strikeouts. Complaints in each offensive department, I know, but it won't take significant changes to make him a top 25-caliber talent."

    Dayn Perry, FOXSports.com, moves on to rank the best of the first base prospects.  Daric Barton OAK tops the chart :

" ...    has a command of the strike zone that belies his young age, but his raw power indicators aren't quite so strong. In the second half of last season, he hit .316 AVG/.413 OBP/.491 SLG at AA-Midland as a 20-year-old — that's impressive. He's not a smooth defender, and there's some question as to his power potential in the majors. Still, Barton will hit for average and be good for maybe 100 free passes a season, and he could flash good doubles power. He'll be valuable even if his homer totals aren't what you'd want from a first baseman."

" ... 2. Kendry Morales ...   the most hyped Cuban signing in recent memory, and despite adjusting to a new culture, he flashed big-time power at AA-Arkansas in 2005. He's a switch-hitter, and his power numbers from both sides should hold up in the major leagues. This season, he's off to a slow start at AAA-Salt Lake City, but he's still on target to open the 2007 campaign as the Angels' full-time DH."

    Howie Kendrick is No. 1 in the first Prospect Hot Sheet at Baseball America.

" ...   Kendrick's average (.362 for his career) has improved at every level, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon--22 H in 53 at-bats (.415). He's still not drawing any walks--only one in 12 games."

" ... 2. Lastings Milledge ... Slow starter in the past (hit .216 last April), but not this year. After just 193 Double-A at-bats he is raking in Triple-A while showing the best plate discipline of his career. Hitting .386/.491/.636 with six walks and seven strikeouts."

Jon Lester BOS is among those cited on the Not-So-Hot-Sheet :

" ...   After a disastrous spring--19.50 ERA in six innings, with 12 hits allowed--Lester has not gotten any better with the PawSox. In two starts, he's lasted just two innings each time, and opponents are raking him at a .348 clip. Maybe Len DiNardo should get comfortable as Boston's No. 5 starter ."


19 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Franklin Gutierrez CLE 2-4, R, 2 BB, 2 SB … Dan Denham CLE 6 7 4 4 2 3 … Scott Thorman ATL 2-6, 1st HR, 2 R, 3 RBI … Luis Hernandez ATL 2-5 … Jason Bartlett MIN 3-4, RBI … John Hattig TOR 2-4, 2 RBI, BB … Rob Cosby TOR 2-5, 2B, R … Josh Banks TOR 6-2/3 5 3 3 0 8 … Brandon League TOR 2-1/3 0 0 0 2 2 … Josh Fields CHA 2-4, 2 2B … Charles Haeger CHA 8 6 2 0 3 8 … Ryan Raburn DET 0-3, BB … Tonys Gutierrez CIN 1-4, 2nd HR, R, 2 RBI, BB … Brandon Fahey BAL 1-3, RBI, Sac & 1-1, Sac … Dustin Pedroia BOS 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB … Chris Roberson PHI 2-5, 2B, R, RBI, SB … Carlos Ruiz PHI 3-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI … Kevin Thompson NYA 1-4, 1st HR, R, RBI, BB … Eric Duncan NYA 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI … Christian Garcia NYA 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, SB … Jeff Karstens NYA 4-1/3 6 7 6 4 3 … B.J. Upton TB 2-5, 2B, RBI, 0 errors … Delmon Young TB 3-4, 2 R, BB, SB … Elijah Dukes TB 2-5, R, RBI … Lastings Milledge NYN 2-2, 2B, R, BB, HBP … rehab, Kaz Matsui NYN 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, Sac

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Justin Huber KC 2-4, 5th homer, .359 ... Justin Leone SD, a spring surprise, 3-4, double, 7th homer, .489 ... Edinson Volquez TEX 5.1 5 3 3 3 5 ...  Dustin Moseley LAA 6.0 3 2 1 3 6, 3-0, 1.59 ... Juan Dominguez OAK 4.2 8 2 2 2 3  ... Clint Nageotte SEA 5.1 5 1 1 3 2 ...  Jason Stokes FLO 2-5, double ... Joel Guzman LAD 2-4, double, homer, walk, 3 RBI, .314  ... Andre Ethier LAD 4-5, double, homer, .452 ... Willy Aybar LAD 2-5, homer, 4 RBI, .423

EASTERN (AA)  --  Denard Span CF MIN 0-4 … Matt Moses 3B MIN 1-4, 2B… David Murphy CF BOS 2-4, R… Vito Chiaravalloti DH TOR 2-3, HR, 3RBI… Chip Cannon 1B TOR 3-5, 3R, k… Ismael Ramirez TOR 6 3 2 1 2 3… Kory Castro 3B WAS 2-3, 2B, BB… Kody Kirkland 3B DET 2-4, 2R, 2B… Brent Clevlen RF DET 1-3, R, BB… Clay Timpner CF SF 2-4, 2B, BB… Nate Schierholtz RF SF 1-3, BB, 2k… Eddie Martinez-Esteve LF SF 1-4, BB… Daniel Haigwood PHI 6 3 0 0 5 6… Chris Begg SF 6 7 3 2 0 4… Simon Pond 1B PIT 2-4, HR, 2RBI, k… Bronson Sardinha RF NYY 2-4, 2B, RBI, k… Tyler Clippard NYY 6.1 4 3 3 1 9… Landon Jacobsen PIT 6 4 1 1 1 5… Ryan Mulhern 1B CLE 3-4, 2R, HR, 2RBI… Brad Snyder RF CLE 1-4, R, k… Brian Finch BAL 5 6 3 3 2 3… Bear Bay CLE 6 5 2 2 2 4

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Wes Bankston TB 2-4, double, .365 ... Carlos Marmol CHN 5.1 5 1 1 2 7, 0.52 & 3-3, 2 doubles, homer ... Micah Hoffpauir 1B CHN 4-4, 2 doubles, homker, 6 RBI & 1-4, homer ...  Matt Kemp LAD 1-3, homer, .278 ... Joey Votto CIN 0-6, 3 Ks ... Tyler Lumsden CHA 5.0 6 2 2 3 6, 1.12

TEXAS (AA)  --  Hunter Pence, HOU, 3-4, 5th homer, RBI, .396 ... JR House, HOU, 1-4, RBI, .420 ... Eduardo Cornejo, OAK, 1-3, double, 2 errors ... Matt Albers, HOU, (W), 7.0 4 2 2 2 4, 1.35 ... Jailen Peguero, HOU, 2nd sv, 2.0 0 0 0 1 1, 1.35 ... Bryan LaHair, SEA, (1B) 2-4, run, .349 ... Wladimir Balentien, SEA, 2-3, 2nd homer, 3 RBI, BB ... Jake Blalock, TEX, 1-4, 2nd homer ... Nick Masset, TEX, another gem (W) 7.0 3 0 0 3 4, 0.47 ... Matthew Macri, COL, (2B) 2-5, double, RBI ... Ian Stewart, COL, 1-3, RBI (5-4-3 DP ... Jason Koshansky, 2-4, RBI ... Brandon Wood, LAA, 1-4, 3 K ... Matthew Brown, LAA, 2-3, RBI ... Juan Morillo, COL, (W) 5.0 3 0 0 3 3, 3.29 ... Alex Gordon, KC, 2-5, 2 K ... Billy Butler, KC, 3-4, RBI ... Mitch Maier, KC, 3-4, triple, homer (4), 4 RBI ... Rico Washington, 1-2, double, 2 BB

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 2-4, 4th SB, 2 outfield assists ... Matt Miller COL 3-5, double, .359 ... Eric Hurley TEX 7.0 6 4 3 0 4 ... Adam Johnson, trying to rebound in the OAK system, 6.0 7 2 2 1 5

CAROLINA (A+) --  Brian Finegan SS CLE 2-4, run, RBI, sb ... Stephen Head 1B CLE 1-4, 2RBI ... Jordan Brown LF CLE 1-6, 2RBI ... Jacoby Ellsbury CF BOS 2-5, double, RBI ... Jed Lowrie SS BOS 2-6, run ... Jonathan Devries C BOS 1-5, triple, run ... Scott Lewis CLE 4.1 2 0 0 1 7 ... Aaron Laffey CLE 3.1 4 3 1 0 3 ... Scott Roehl CLE 3 3 0 0 0 4 W ... Victor Mercedes SS CHA 2-4, double ... Donny Lucy C CHA 2-4, double, run ... Christopher Kelly 1B CHA 2-5, RBI ... Clint Sammons C ATL 1-3, double, 2 runs ... Mike Rozema 3B ATL 2-4, double, run, 2RBI ... Greg Creek 1B ATL 2-4, double, 2RBI ... Matt Harrison ATL 6 7 2 1 1 4 W ... Dan Smith ATL .2 0 0 0 0 2 S ... Nolan Reimold DH BAL 2-3, run ... Neil Sellers DH HOU 2-4, run ... Scott Robinson 1B HOU 2-3, run, RBI ... Billy Hart 3B HOU 1-3, double, 2RBI ... Chad Reineke HOU 6.2 5 2 0 1 6 W ... Rodrigo Escobar HOU 1 1 0 0 0 1 S ... Nyjer Morgan CF PIT 2-3, 2 runs, 2 sb(9) ... Brad Rea DH PIT 0-3, 2 runs ... Michael Carlin 1B PIT 2-4, Home Run, 2 runs, 4RBI, sb ... Richard Suomi C PIT 2-3, run, RBI ... Brad Correll RF PIT 2-5, double, run, RBI ... Marcos Yepez 3B WAS 2-4 ... Edgardo Baez RF WAS 1-3, Home Run ... Kyle Bloom 5 3 0 0 0 9 W ... Juan Ovalles WAS 3 0 0 0 1 6

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Anthony Swarzak MIN 4 2 0 0 4 5 ND, 2.92 … Phillip Hughes NYA 6 2 1 1 0 8 (L, 1-2 – 0.56) … Jose Sanchez NYN 5 5 1 1 2 4 ND, 1.06 … Sean Gallagher CHN 7 3 2 1 0 10 (W, 1-0 – 0.47) … Steven Sollmann SS MIL 2-4 2R, .441 … Michael Ferris 1B STL 2-5 HR(4) 3RBI, .341 … Jose Garcia FLO 6 3 0 0 2 6 (W, 1-1 – 2.00) … Grant Psomas 3B FLO 2-4 double, R, .310 … Scott Elbert LA 6 4 2 2 1 7 (L, 0-2 – 1.80) … Jeff Larish 1B DET 3-4 double, R .308 … Ryan Patterson LF TOR 2-3 2HR(4) 3R 3RBI SB, .378 … Brian Burgamy CF PHI 3-4 Triple, 2HR(3) 4RBI, .200 … Zack Segovia PHI 8 2 1 1 3 4 (W, 2-1 – 2.05) … Sam Lecure CIN 5 5 4 4 1 5 (L, 1-2 – 3.94)

MIDWEST (A) --  Vincent Mazzaro OAK 5 5 3 3 1 4 ... glove trouble Pedro Ciriaco ARZ 1-4, 3 errors (10 so far) ... Billy Killian C TEX 2-4, but 6 steals allowed ... Lucas French DET 6 6 2 2 0 3 ... Cameron Maybin DET 1-4, 2 K's ... as impressive as advertised Nick Adenhart ANA 6 2/3 3 0 0 1 8 (2-0, 1.93) ... Jeffrey Dominguez SEA 2-3 ... big teen lefty looking good Jacob McGee TB 6 4 0 0 1 8 (2.51) ... Paul Kelly MIN 1-5, 4th double ... Daryl Jones SD 1-3, 2 BB's, 2 K's .. Jay Bruce CIN 1-2, 2 BB's, but 2 CS ... Todd Blackford CHN 6 3 1 1 1 1 (1.69)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Elvis Andrus ATL 1-5, .255 ... Eric Campbell ATL 1-3, 2B (2), RBI (6), SB (3), .283 ... Max Ramirez ATL 2-3, HR (2), 3 RBI (8), .289 ... Paulo Orlando CHA 1-4, RBI (4), .412 ... Gaby Sanchez FLA 0-3, .435 ... Kris Harvey FLA 1-3, .405 ... Kyle Kendrick PHI 8 2 0 0 1 12, 1.93 ... Welinson Baez PHI 1-4, 2B (5), .355 ... Greg Golson PHI 1-4, RBI (1), SB (1), .103 ... Brandon Snyder BAL 0-4, .304 ... Andrew McCutchen PIT 3-5, SB (1), .360 ... Brad Corley PIT 3-5, 2 HR (5), 3 RBI (14), .319 ... Fernando Martinez NYN 3-4, 2B (5), RBI (8), SB (2), .347 ... Angel Salome MIL 2-5, 2B (5), RBI (8), .354 ... Clay Buchholz BOS 5 4 1 1 2 6, 1.20 ... Tony Granadillo BOS 2-6, HR (2), RBI (9), .351, homer in 2 straight ... Kyle Blumenthal COL 3-4, 2 2B (4), HR (1), RBI (4), .308 ... Chris Nelson COL 0-4, RBI (6), .271 ... Dexter Fowler COL 2-5, 3B (2), RBI (6), 2 SB (6), .362 ... Dan Griffin SF 4 3 0 0 3 5, 0.75 ... Jose Tabata NYA 0-4, .327 ... John Drennen CLE 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (3), .289 ... Josh Flores HOU 1-4, RBI (3), .273 ... Eli Iorg HOU 0-5, 5 K, .200

    Troop Movements ...  COL - placed Sunny Kim on the 15-day DL, activated Scott Dohmann from the DL ... CIN - activated Jason LaRue from the DL ... SD - recalled Jon Adkins from Triple-A,  optioned Terrmel Sledge to Triple-A ... MIL - recalled Mike Adams, Chris Demaria, optioned Jared Fernandez, Corey Hart to AAA ... BAL - placed David Newhan on the 15-day DL, recalled Val Majewski, placed Tim Byrdak on the 15-day DL, purchased the contract of Eddy Rodriguez  ... NYN - designated Yasaku Iriki for assignment ...

    John Franco, SportsBlurb, noting some strong starts, includes notes on Matt Moses MIN and Gio Gonzalez PHI :

" ...  5. Matt Moses ... has been unstoppable this year, batting .500 for the Rock Cats through eight games and 24 at-bats. He has also hit two home runs and three doubles for a slugging percentage of .875. He was the Twins’ No. 1 pick in 2003 and hit just .210 in 186 at-bats at New Britain last year, but the Twins were apparently tinkering with his swing at the time. Given Minnesota’s historic inability to replace Gary Gaetti at third base, Moses could be a contender for the job next year if he can build on his hot start."

" ... 8. Gio Gonzalez ...  part of the loot from the Jim Thome trade, has eased some of the pain of Thome’s sizzling start by getting off to a good start of his own. The 21 year old lefty has started two games for Reading, working 12 innings and allowing just seven hits. Gonzalez has also walked just four batters while fanning 13, and he has not allowed a home run this season. He should spend most of the season at Reading and next year at Scranton, but if he continues to dominate, his timetable could be accelerated."

    Nate Stephens, RotoWorld.com, includes an entry on Miguel Montero ARZ in his latest prospect report :

" ...   dominating the California League for 85 games. He posted a .349 batting average to go with 24 homers, a .625 slugging percentage, and a 52/26 K/BB ratio in 355 at-bats ...  promotion to Double-A late in the season didn’t work out so well for Montero, who lost the strike zone (26/7 K/BB ratio) and his power (.352 slugging percentage) in 108 at-bats. He rebounded with a better performance in the winter leagues ...  Back at Double-A Tennessee to start his 2006 campaign, Montero is looking like the newfound prospect instead of the park-inflated mirage. He’s batting .375 with four homers and an incredible 3/11 K/BB ratio in 10 games played. While it’s an extremely small sample size, the strong start for Montero is more encouraging than most given his large variance in productivity both during last season and from year-to-year ... he’s on the right track to reaching Chase Field. Also encouraging is that general manager Josh Byrnes publicly praised Montero by saying that the Venezuelan would be considered for any catching vacancies that arise at the big leagues this season. It’s more likely that he’d get his chance sometime in 2007, but Montero is one of the more intriguing prospects to monitor this season."

    John Manuel, Baseball America, offers an interview with OAK 2B prospect Kevin Melillo:

" ...  Melillo is back with Double-A Midland to begin 2006 and has picked up where he left off last year, when he hit .282/.347/.519 with the RockHounds. He registered six hits in seven trips Sunday during Midland's 20-10 victory against Corpus Christi, had four straight multi-hit games (a streak that apparently was jinxed Monday by this interview as he went 0-for-3) and was hitting .400 on the young season."

    John Sickels, MinorLeagueBall.com, compares Jeremy Hermida and Nick Markakis :

" ... Hermida ...  Projecting his minor league record and MLES along a normal growth curve, he should be a .270-.300 hitter at the major league level with a high on-base percentage. The main question is home run power. Will he be a 15-20 homer guy or a 25+ candidate? ...  Markakis ... Projecting his record along a normal growth curve, he also looks like a .270-.300 hitter at the major league level, with a high on-base percentage. Again, the question is power development. ... . Hermida has the advantage of being slightly younger by two months, although that doesn't make a real difference really. The big difference is that Hermida is proven at a higher level, making it easier to project what kind of player he can become. Hermida has the advantage here, though this is more situational than inherent ...  Hermida gets a lot more press, but as you can see, Markakis is very similar. They are essentially even in background and intangibles. Markakis is perhaps a touch ahead on overall tools, but Hermida has slight advantages in performance and projection since he is a hair younger and has played at a higher level (entering 2006)."

    Mike Pelfrey NYN, likely not long for A-Ball :

" ...  Pelfrey towers above teammates physically. Many believe his skill set will leave teammates and opposing player alike standing in his shadows. The Wichita State product was arguably the best pitching prospect in last year's draft. His draft status dropped, however, when he chose Scott Boras as his agent. That dropped Pelfrey right into the laps of the free-spending Mets. Upon signing a four-year deal in January worth an estimated $5.3 million in guaranteed money, Pelfrey immediately landed atop the Mets list of pitching prospects and booked a ticket to St. Lucie to hone his craft in the FSL. So far, Pelfrey has been masterful. In two starts this season, the 22-year-old has dominated FSL hitters to the tune of 13 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched, against just one walk. Fans better watch him now, because Pelfrey is fast-tracked for Queens and may be out of the FSL quickly. "  (MLB.com)


18 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Franklin Gutierrez CLE 3-4, 2 R, RBI, Sac … Ryan Garko CLE 3-4, 2B, 1st HR, R, 5 RBI, BB … Andy Marte CLE 1-4, BB … Jeremy Sowers CLE 7 6 1 1 0 4 … Fernando Cabrera CLE 2 1 0 0 0 3 … James Jurries ATL 2-4 … Luis Hernandez ATL struggling, 0-3, .087 … Terry Tiffee MIN 3-4, 2B, R … Jason Phillips TOR 4-4, 2B, R, RBI … Sergio Santos TOR 2-4, 2 RBI … Casey Janssen TOR 7 3 0 0 0 8 … Dustin McGowan TOR 2 1 0 0 0 1 … Jerry Owens CHA 3-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB, SB … Ryan Sweeney CHA 0-3, 2 RBI, BB, SF … Casey Rogowski CHA 2-4, 2 SB … Chris Stewart CHA 2-4, 2 R … Donald Kelly DET 2-4, 2B, R, RBI … Chris Denorfia CIN 3-3, 2B, R, BB … Justin Germano CIN 7 4 0 0 0 4 … Ryan Wagner CIN 0-2/3 2 0 0 1 1 … Rajai Davis PIT 2-4 … Tom Gorzelanny PIT 5 5 4 4 2 6 … Chris Roberson PHI 2-4, 2B, R … Carlos Ruiz PHI 3-3, 2B, 2 R … Kevin Thompson NYA 2-4, SB … B.J. Upton TB 1-2, 2B, 0 errors … Delmon Young TB 0-1, R, BB, 2 SB … Edwin Jackson TB 4 10 4 4 0 7 … Lastings Milledge NYN 2-2, 2B, 1st HR, R, RBI, 2 BB … rehab, Kaz Matsui NYN 1-4, 2B, R ...  selected International League prospects (stats through Sunday) :

                            G AB H  2B 3B HR BB SO SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG 
Melky Cabrera      OF,NYA  11 43 18  3  1  1  6  1  2  0 .419 .480 .605
Delmon Young       OF,TB   11 45 18  1  1  0  2  4  7  1 .400 .417 .467
Ryan Garko         1B,CLE  10 39 15  3  0  0  3  9  1  0 .385 .457 .462
Josh Fields        3B,CHA  11 43 15  2  0  2  3 15  3  1 .349 .383 .535
Franklin Gutierrez OF,CLE  10 42 14  4  0  2  6  9  2  1 .333 .417 .571
Rob Cosby          3B,TOR   8 30 10  4  0  0  4  9  0  0 .333 .412 .467
Lastings Milledge  OF,NYN  11 40 13  4  1  0  3  7  3  0 .325 .404 .475
Jason Bartlett     SS,MIN  10 42 13  5  1  1  2  2  1  0 .310 .326 .548
Chris Denorfia     OF,CIN   8 29  9  2  0  1  4  2  2  0 .310 .394 .483
Terry Tiffee       3B,MIN  10 40 12  2  0  0  2  7  0  0 .300 .326 .350
Andy Marte         3B,CLE  10 38 10  3  0  0  7  9  0  0 .263 .378 .342
Elijah Dukes       OF,TB   11 42 11  2  2  2  5  8  2  0 .262 .354 .548
B.J. Upton         SS,TB   11 44 11  2  0  1  6  6  8  1 .250 .340 .364
Brad Eldred        1B,PIT  10 38  8  3  0  3  3 12  1  1 .211 .262 .526
Eric Duncan        1B,NYA  10 40  8  0  1  0  2  9  0  0 .200 .233 .250

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Felix Pie CHn 2-3, walk, .348 ... Chad Billingsley LAD 5.1 3 1 1 3 8, 2-0, 2.93 ...  Russ Martin LAD 2-5, 2 doubles, .323 ...  Jesse Foppert SEA 3.2 2 2 2 3 5 ... Jason Stokes FLO, more thunder, 4-5, double, homer, 3 RBI ... Larry Broadway WAS 4-4, double, homer, .419 ... Yusmeiro Petit FLO 5.1 9 6 6 3 3, 3.86 ...  Adam Jones SEA 3-5, 2 homers (to jump to .257 from .200) ... Shin-Soo Choo SEA 3-5, homer, .417 ... Daric Barton OAK 1-1, 2 walks, .355 ... Chad Gaudin OAK 6.1 3 0 0 3 9

EASTERN (AA)  --  Miguel Perez NYN 7.0 2 0 0 1 3, 2.12 ... Brett Harper 1B NYN 3-4, double, .421 ... Steven White NYA 6.1 3 0 0 2 7, 1.45 ... Adam Miller CLE 5.2 5 1 0 1 4, 2-0, 2.04 ...  Adam Loewen BAL 4.0 8 5 5 3 3, 5.51

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Garrett Mock ARZ 3.1 7 8 5 1 0 ... Lance Broadway CHA 7.0 4 0 0 0 5 , 2-0, 2.00 ... Jared Wells SD 5.0 8 2 2 1 6 ... Joey Votto CIN, 2-6, 4th homer, .340 ... Gabriel Martinez TB 2-3, .405 ... Wes Bankston TB 2-4, .354

TEXAS (AA)  --  Seth Smith, COL, 1-4, triple, 3 RBI ... Ian Stewart, COL, 2-6, 2 RBI, .319 ... Jud Thigpen, COL, 4-5, .250 ... Brandon Wood, LAA, 0-5, 2 K ... Steven Register, COL, 6.0 7 3 1 2 7, 1.53 ... Josh Anderson, HOU, 2-3, 3 runs, RBI, 2 steals ... Hunter Pence, HOU, 1-5, RBI, 2nd steal ... JR House, HOU, 2-4, double, 3 RBI, .435 ... Eduardo Cornejo, OAK, 3-4, double, 2 RBI, 2 errors ... Brant Colamarino, OAK, 2-5, RBI ... Kurt Suzuki, OAK, 2-4, double, RBI, .417 ... Juan Gutierrez, HOU, 4.0 6 7 6 3 0, 3.94 ... Sebastien Boucher, SEA, 2-5, 2 doubles, .295 ... Jake Blalock, TEX, 1-4, double, RBI, .211 ... Travis Blackley, SEA, 4-2/3 10 7 6 0 2, 4.30 ... John Danks, TEX, (better) 5.0 5 1 1 4 8, 6.59 ... Alex Gordon, KC, 0-2, Sac fly RBI, 1st error ... Billy Butler, KC, 0-3, BB, K ... Nick Stavinoha, StL, 1-4, double, RBI, .356 ... Rico Washington, StL, 1-3, triple, RBI  ... Seung Song, KC, (L), 5.0 5 3 3 1 9, 6.14 ... Mark Worrell, StL, 3rd sv, 1.0 0 0 0 0 1, 1.80 ... selected Texas League prospects (stats through Sunday) :

                           G AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG 
J.R. House        UT,HOU  10 42 18  4  0  2  0  3  0  0 .429 .442 .667
Kevin Melillo     2B,OAK  10 42 18  4  0  0  4 10  2  2 .429 .489 .524
Kurt Suzuki       C,OAK    8 32 13  2  0  1  9  0  0  0 .406 .548 .563
Hunter Pence      OF,HOU  10 39 15  4  0  4  1  4  2  0 .385 .400 .795
Alex Gordon       3B,KC   10 44 16  6  0  2  3  9  5  0 .364 .404 .636
Jordan Czarniecki OF,COL  10 38 13  4  0  4  5  6  3  0 .342 .444 .763
Brandon Wood      SS,LAA  10 39 13  6  0  2  6 13  0  0 .333 .413 .641
Ian Stewart       3B,COL  10 41 13  8  2  1  7  8  0  1 .317 .420 .683
Troy Tulowitzki   SS,COL  10 45 14  6  1  0  3 12  1  0 .311 .373 .489
Billy Butler      OF,KC   10 47 12  4  0  1  0  9  0  0 .255 .250 .404
Joseph Koshansky  1B,COL  10 40 10  2  0  2  3 13  0  0 .250 .302 .450
Ben Zobrist       SS,HOU   9 36  8  2  0  0  2  5  0  0 .222 .256 .278
Chris Lubanski    OF,KC   10 37  3  1  0  1  8  9  0  0 .081 .261 .189

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 1-5, 2 K, 2 errors ... Reid Brignac TB 0-3, BB, Error ... Sean Cumberland TB 0-4, K ... Travis Buck OAK 0-4, K ... Landon Powell OAK 2-4, 2B ... Cliff Pennington 0-3, 2K, batting .086 for the season

CAROLINA (A+) --  Brian Finegan SS CLE 2-4, double, sb ... Micah Schilling 3B CLE 1-3, double ... Jeffrey Corsaletti LF BOS 2-4, double, 2RBI ... Jed Lowrie SS BOS 1-4, double, run ... John Otness C BOS 2-4, double, run ... Michael Hall RF BOS 2-4, run ... Jacoby Ellsbury CF BOS 1-4, run, 2 sb ... Sean Smith CLE 6 4 1 1 1 5 ... Thomas Hottovy BOS 6 2 0 0 0 7 W ... Victor Mercedes SS CHA 1-4, double, RBI ... JC Holt 2B ATL 2-4 ... Barbaro Canizares LF ATL 2-4 ... Clint Sammons C ATL 2-4 ... Jack Egbert CHA 6.1 8 3 1 0 1 ... Jose Ascaino ATL 6 3 1 1 2 6 ... Ralph Roberts ATL 2.2 3 1 1 0 1 W ... Dan Smith ATL .1 0 0 0 0 1 S ... Jacob Duncan LF BAL 1-4, double, 2 runs, RBI ... Nolan Reimold RF BAL 1-4, run, 2RBI ... Bryan Bass 3B BAL 2-4, 2RBI ... Morgan Clendenin C BAL 1-4, double ... Neil Sellers 1B HOU 1-4, double, RBI ... Ervin Alcantara CF HOU 1-4, double ... Edwin Maysonet SS HOU 2-3, 2 doubles, run ... Radhames Liz BAL 5 2 0 0 1 9 W ... Jimmy Barthmaier HO U 6 5 4 3 2 4

" ... Radhames Liz gave up his first two hits of the season, but continued his brilliant pitching in 2006, tossing 5.0 shutout innings, while striking out 9 ...  Liz, who tossed five no-hit innings against Salem in his first start of the season, allowed just one runner to reach scoring position, before Jeff Montani, Casey Cahill and Justin Henington came on to shut the door on the Avalanche."  (Frederick Keys)

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Cole Hamels 4 2/3 7 4 3 2 8 (L, 1-4 – 1.72) … Homer Bailey CIN 5 1 0 0 2 5 (W, 1-2 – 2.93) … Brandon Roberts CF CIN 3-5 double, R RBI, .298 … Alay Soler NYN 5 3 1 1 1 6 (W, 1-0 – 0.60) … Gaby Hernandez 5 1/3 9 7 4 2 2 (L, 1-1 – 4.50) … Ryan Carter LF LA 3-5 double, triple, 2R 2RBI, .375 … Edgar Gonzales 2B FLO 2-4 double, R, .333 … Grant Psomas 3B FLO 3-4 RBI, .289 … Jeff Frazier LF DET 3-4 HR 2R 3RBI, .354 … Clete Thomas CF DET 3-4 double, R RBI SB(3), .326 … Ryan Patterson LF TOR 3-4 double, R, .357 … Charlie Fermhaint CF MIL 2-3 double, R 2RBI, .359 … Terry Evans RF STL 2-4 SB(5), .326 … Matt Garza MIN 1 2/3 4 3 0 1 4 ND – 0.77 … Garrett Guzman 4-5 HR 2R 3RBI, .349 … Alexi Casilla 2B MIN 2-5 double, R, .340 … Cody Ehlers 1B NYA 3-4 HR(5) double, 2R 5RBI, .385 … Brett Gardner LF NYA 2-3 Triple, 2R RBI, .400 … Eduardo Nunez SS NYA 2-5 double, 2R 4RBI, .216

MIDWEST (A) --  Jay Bruce CIN just 1-5, but 1st homer ... Travis Wood CIN 4 3 2 1 3 4 ... Dylan Johnston (SS) CHN 1-4, triple, BB ... Kyle Waldrop MIN 7 7 4 4 3 4 .. he needed it Henry Sanchez MIN 3-4 (up to .194) ... another solid outing for league's youngest arm (8/18/87) Tommy Mendoza ANA 6 8 3 3 0 4 ... Cameron Maybin DET 1-4, 2nd triple, 2 K's ... Joshua Johnson KC 3-4 ... Kyle Blanks SD 1-4, 2 K's ... lefty repeater pitching well Chi-Hung Cheng TOR 5 4 1 0 1 7 (2-1, 1.88) .. Sean Shoffit TOR 1-3, triple, 2 BB's ... John Whittleman TEX 1-4, 2nd triple

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Chris Nelson COL 2-4, 2B (4), RBI (5), .295 ... Dexter Fowler COL 1-4, 2B (4), .357 ... Leonard Davis WAS 2-3, HR (1), 2 RBI (5), .375 ... Chris Vines ATL 6 6 0 0 0 9, 3.71 ... Elvis Andrus ATL 0-2, .262 ... Eric Campbell ATL 1-6, RBI (5), .279 ... Joe Martinez SF 7 3 0 0 0 7, 1.53 ... Austin Jackson NYA 1-4, .310 ... Jose Tabata NYA 0-4, .356 ... Jeff Natale BOS 2-4, HR (3), 3 RBI (10), BB, .350 ... Tony Granadillo BOS 3-4, HR (1), 3 RBI (8), .355 ... Russ Mitchell LAD 2-4, 2B (4), HR (2), 2 RBI (7), .361

" ... Wayne Rosenthal, minor-league pitching coordinator for the Florida Marlins ...  Chris Volstad ... "Volstad can pitch, and everybody knows he can pitch," Rosenthal said. "As far as being level-headed, he's a guy we might move. But I'd love to keep everybody here at least half a year -- at least." ... Volstad: After getting touched up for six hits and five runs in four-plus innings in the opener, the tall right-hander came back to throw seven scoreless innings ... struck out two while coaxing nine ground outs ... "He's not a strikeout pitcher. He's a ground-ball guy, which he showed," Rosenthal said. "If he just stays within himself and keeps the ball down, he'll get ground balls all day long." (Greensboro News Record)

    Troop Movements ...  TB - optioned Jason Hammel to Triple-A, recalled Chad Orvella ...  NYN - recalled Pedro Feliciano, optioned Victor Diaz to Triple-A ... NYA - sent Koyie Hill outright to Triple-A ... FLO - placed Jeremy Hermida, Carlos Martinez on the 15-day DL, recalled Randy Messenger, purchased the contract of Matt Cepicky ... SEA - sent Guillermo Quiroz outright to Triple-A, released Corky Miller from Triple-A  ...  LAD - recalled Oscar Robles, designated Cody Ross for assignment ... SF - placed Lance Niekro on the bereavement list, recalled Travis Ishikawa ... KC - placed Steve Stemle on the 15-day DL, recalled Joel Peralta ... BAL - David Newhan, DL ... CIN - placed Ken Griffey Jr. on the 15-day DL ... 

    Hitters / Pitchers of the Week :

TEX  " ... Statistically, nobody could stand up to Rico Washington [STL] in the opening 10 days of the new season ... leads the league in home runs (5) and RBI (18), as well as slugging percentage (.875). On April 11th, Washington set a team record with a seven-RBI game, in which he hit a three-run home run and a grand slam in consecutive innings against Tulsa. The 5'9 third baseman had at least two hits in six of his first 10 games and has reached base in 8 of 10 ...  Georgia native has was originally drafted by the Pirates in 1997, and has spent his entire career in the minors. Last season in Montgomery of the AA Southern League, he set a career high in RBI at 77, and home runs at 19."  (Texas League)

" ...   Denard Span [MIN]  ...  Eastern League's Player of the Week ...  22-year old is off to an outstanding start ... hitting .450 (18-for-40) with one double, one home run, six runs scored, three RBI, three stolen bases, a .488 on-base percentage and a .550 slugging percentage in 10 games. The 6'0", 190 lb. speedster, who currently leads the league in hits and is ranked second in batting average and on-base percentage, has had six multiple hit games for the Rock Cats this year ...  selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round of the June 2002 draft ... ranked by Baseball America as the sixth best prospect in the Twins organization prior to the start of the season." (Eastern League)

" ...   catcher Miguel Montero swung a hot, vaulting to the top of the league leaders' board in home runs (4), RBI (11), on-base percentage (.533) and slugging percentage (.813). His .375 average ranks sixth among all Southern Leaguers. Montero came through for the Smokies in the clutch, hitting at a .429 clip with runners in scoring position. Defensively, he has thrown out 5 out of 10 potential base stealers. Baseball America rates Montero as the Diamondbacks' sixth best prospect. The six-year pro was signed out of Venezuela in 2001 by Arizona." (Southern League)

" ...  Boof Bonser [MIN] ... In three starts, Bonser has pitched 18.0 innings, allowing a total of eight hits and two runs. On Opening Day in Syracuse, Boof pitched six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight ... Five days later in Pawtucket, Bonser went five shutout innings before finally surrendering a two-run homer ...  Bonser got his third start Sunday ...  and for the third straight time he gave his club six strong innings. He struck out six Braves, and scattered three hits ...  hrough his first three trips to the hill, Bonser has proven he's among the International League's best hurlers in 2006. He's at the top of multiple statistical categories, including wins (2), innings pitched (18.0), and strikeouts (18). So far opposing hitters have managed just eight hits off of Bonser, for an average of .129. Bonser was the 2005 International League strikeouts leader with 168 ...  He was San Francisco's first round draft choice (21st overall) in 2000, and was the 2001 South Atlantic League Most Valuable Pitcher in his first full professional campaign."  (International League)

Midwest " ....  [TB] right-hander Wade Davis (1-0) struck out 15 batters and only allowed a run in 9 2/3 innings in two appearances. During an April 13 start against West Michigan, the Lake Wales, Fla., native not only garnered the win but overpowered the Whitecaps by striking out eight batters and not allowing a runner to get into scoring position in 5 2/3 innings." (MLB.com)

" ...  [CHN] pitcher Rich Hill (1-0) was dominant in two starts, striking out 16 and walking one in 13 innings. The 6-5 left-hander fanned 10 in seven innings to beat Round Rock, 3-1, on April 15 and earn his first win. The 26-year-old Boston native left his first start April 10 in the sixth inning with the Cubs holding a 5-2 lead over Nashville, but the bullpen couldn't pull out the win." (MLB.com)

    Hoping to get a leg up for your June draft?  Check out Bryan Smith's column at The Baseball Analysts :

Tim Lincecum  " ... Statistically, Lincecum is at the top of college baseball. He could very well enter an organization with the nation's most prestigious prize. In addition, he will come with maybe the most devastating two-pitch combination out there, with a mid 90s fastball and devastating curve. Everything rosy? Not exactly. While scouts fixate on Lincecum's tiny frame, others point to a workload that would run most pitchers ragged. In four straight starts the Huskie faced more than 30 batters, during which time he also pitched in relief on short rest. The best player on an overachieving team, Lincecum is ridden very hard. While some pitchers can thank a rubber arm for endurance, some see Lincecum as a ticking time bomb. His herky-jerky delivery, mixed with that small frame and heavy workload, seems to be a definite sign of arm trouble down the road. Once considered a third round pick because of this red flag, Lincecum's dominance has some teams hoping to play roulette."

CORRESPONDENTS : INT - Herb Walters, PCL - JDM/Mike Petty, EASTERN - Harry Almquist, SOUTHERN - Michael Laureano, TEXAS - Jared Turner, CALIFORNIA - Alex Talarides, CAROLINA - Jimmy Salmon,      FLORIDA STATE - Wayne Stevens, MIDWEST - Bob Reed, SOUTH ATLANTIC - Martin Rose                 


17 April, 2006

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Ryan Garko CLE 1-1, 2B, RBI, 2 BB … Ben Francisco CLE 3-4, 2B, R … Jake Dittler CLE 4 9 5 5 4 0 … Anthony Lerew ATL 3-1/3 6 7 7 2 1 … Jason Bartlett MIN 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI … Terry Tiffee MIN 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, SF … Boof Bonser MIN 6 3 0 0 2 6 … Ryan Roberts TOR 2-5, 2B, Sac … John-Ford Griffin TOR 0-6, R … Francisco Rosario TOR 5 4 1 1 1 10 … Wil Ledezma DET 6 9 3 2 1 4 … Val Majewski BAL 2-4, 2 2B, RBI … Rajai Davis PIT 0-6 … Jose Bautista PIT 3-6, 2 2B … Abe Alvarez BOS 6 2 3 3 3 5 … Carlos Ruiz PHI 1-4, 4th HR, R, RBI … Kevin Reese NYA 3-5, 3B, 3 R, BB, SB … Melky Cabrera NYA 3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB … Eric Duncan NYA 3-5, RBI … Sean Henn NYA 1 3 2 2 0 1 … B.J. Upton TB 2-5, 7th error … Delmon Young TB 3-5, R, 2 SB, .400 (hits in all 11 games) … Brian Stokes TB 5 3 1 1 5 3 … Yusaku Iriki NYN 5-2/3 7 3 3 2 5

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Dave Krynzel MIL 2-4, 2 triples, .353 ... Jason Hirsh HOU 5.1 5 4 4 1 4, 4.91 ... Luke Scott HOU 3-4, homer, .231 ... Stephen Drew ARZ 1-5, 3 Ks, .229 ... Carlos Quentin ARZ 2-4, double, .265 ... Anthony Reyes STL 6.1 6 5 4 1 7, 3.44 ... Justin Huber KC 1-4, 4th homer ... about time, Jason Stokes FLO 3-4, double, homer ... Tim Stauffer SD 5.0 6 4 4 3 3, 4.86 ... Howie Kendrick LAA 2-5, double ... Justin Leone SD 3-5, 6th homer, 3 RBI, .463 ... Shin-Soo Choo SEA 3-5, 2nd homer, .387

Some prospects of note, through Saturday's games.

                           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  AVG  OBP  SLG 
Howie Kendrick    2B,LAA  10  44 20  4  0  2  1  7 .455 .478 .682
Andre Ethier      OF,LAD  10  32 14  2  1  0  6  2 .438 .525 .563
Justin Huber      1B,KC   10  27 11  1  0  3  7  3 .407 .543 .778
Willy Aybar       3B,LAD  10  40 16  3  0  3  5  5 .400 .457 .700
Michel Hernandez  C,STL   10  45 18  1  0  0  2  5 .400 .426 .422
Tommy Murphy      OF,LAA   9  37 14  2  1  1  1  4 .378 .395 .568
Ryan Spilborghs   OF,COL  11  40 15  6  0  0  6  6 .375 .457 .525
Daric Barton      1B,OAK   8  28 10  2  1  1  7  4 .357 .486 .607
Erick Aybar       SS,LAA   9  42 15  1  1  2  0  7 .357 .357 .571
Felix Pie         OF,CHN  10  40 14  3  2  1  5  7 .350 .413 .600
Jason Botts       OF,TEX  10  38 13  3  0  3  3 12 .342 .400 .658
Kevin Frandsen    2B,SF    9  36 12  4  1  0  3  4 .333 .415 .500
Joel Guzman       OF,LAD  10  40 13  2  0  2  0 11 .325 .333 .525
Russell Martin    C,LAD    8  26  8  3  0  0  4  4 .308 .387 .423
Mike Napoli       C,LAA    9  38 11  3  0  1  3  9 .289 .341 .447
Kendry Morales    1B,LAA  10  44 12  1  0  1  0  7 .273 .273 .364
JD Closser        C,COL   10  34  9  3  0  1  3  8 .265 .342 .441
Stephen Drew      SS,ARZ  11  43 10  0  0  4  3  9 .233 .277 .512
Carlos Quentin    OF,ARZ   8  30  7  3  0  0  3  7 .233 .343 .333
Joaquin Arias     SS,TEX  10  40  8  0  2  0  1  7 .200 .220 .300
Dallas McPherson  3B,LAA  10  40  8  3  1  1  3 24 .200 .283 .400
Adam Jones        OF,SEA   7  27  5  1  1  0  0  8 .185 .214 .296
Jason Stokes      1B,FLO   8  29  3  0  0  0  4 12 .103 .206 .103

EASTERN (AA)  --  Brandon Moss RF BOS 2-4, HR, 2RBI … Cory Keylor RF BAL 4-4, R, RBI, BB … Tony Giarratano SS DET 1-4, R, 2B, k … Nate Bumstead DET 5.2 11 4 4 5 4 … James Johnson BAL 5 8 2 2 0 8 … Brad Snyder RF CLE 2-4, R, 2RBI … Shawn Hill WAS 5 5 4 4 0 3

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Anibal Sanchez: FLO 6.0 6 1 1 2 7, 3.38 ...  SS Chin-lung Hu LAD 2-3, double, .341 ...  Wes Bankston TB 2-4, .341 ...  Ray Liotta CHA 3.2 6 5 5 4 1 ... Miguel Montero ARZ 2-4, 4th homer, 4 RBI, walk, .375 ... Cesar Carrillo SD 4.0 6 4 4 1 5, 4.20 ... George Kottaras SD 1-5, homer, 3 RBI ... Joey Votto CIN 2-5, double

Some early hitting marks from selected prospects ... Miguel Montero, among others, looking solid (stats through games of Saturday).

                              G AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  AVG  OBP  SLG 
Gabriel Martinez      1B,TB  10 30 13  3  1  3  7  5 .433 .513 .900
Miguel Montero         C,ARZ  9 28 10  2  0  3 10  3 .357 .525 .750
Joey Votto            1B,CIN 10 39 13  3  0  3  3  5 .333 .381 .641
Wes Bankston          3B,TB  10 40 13  1  0  1  3  9 .325 .386 .425
Chin-lung Hu          SS,LAD 10 38 12  1  0  0  5  7 .316 .395 .342
Eric Patterson        2B,CHN 10 39 12  1  3  1  5 10 .308 .378 .564
Tony Abreu            2B,LAD  9 33 10  1  0  1  3  5 .303 .410 .424
Andy LaRoche          3B,LAD  9 33  9  2  0  0  8  5 .273 .415 .333
Matt Kemp             OF,LAD 10 42 11  4  1  0  2  9 .262 .326 .405
Lou Palmisano          C,MIL  8 27  7  1  0  1  2  6 .259 .310 .407
George Kottaras        C,SD   9 27  7  2  0  0  7 10 .259 .412 .333
Yunel Escobar         SS,ATL 10 34  8  2  0  0  6 11 .235 .341 .294
Jarrod Saltalamacchia  C,ATL  9 33  7  1  0  2  3 10 .212 .316 .424

TEXAS (AA)  --  Josh Anderson, HOU, 3-5, double, 3 runs ... Hunter Pence, HOU, 3-5, 4th tater, 4th double, 4 RBI ... Kevin Melillo, OAK, 6-7, 2 doubles, RBI, CS ... Dan Putnam, OAK, 4-5, 2 doubles, 4 RBI ... Brant Colamarino, OAK, 3-6, 3 runs, double, RBI ... Kurt Suzuki, OAK, C, 2-5, 3 RBI ... Brad Knox, OAK, 5.0 8 4 4 3 3, 7.84 ... Troy Tulowitzki, COL, 3-4, 2 doubles ... Sean Smith, COL, 2-5 ... Ian Stewart, COL, 1-5, triple, 2 RBI ... Joseph Koshansky, COL, 1-4, 2nd homer, RBI ... Brandon Wood, LAA, 4-5, 6th double, RBI ... Angel Sanchez, KC, SS, 4-4, triple, 3 RBI, .389 ... Billy Butler, KC, 2-5, RBI ... Alex Gordon, KC, 1-5, 6th double ... Rico Washington, StL, 1-4, 5th double, 18th RBI ... Rich Rundles, StL, 5.0 8 2 2 2 2, 5.73 ... Sebastien Boucher, SEA, 1-3, 2 BB ... Bryan LaHair, SEA, 1-3 ... Wladimir Balentien, SEA, 1-4, 1st homer, RBI, 2 K ... Vince Sinisi, TEX, 1-3, double ... Jake Blalock, 2-4, double, 2 RBI ... Nate Gold, TEX, 2-3, 2 doubles, RBI ... Matthew Brown, LAA, 3B, 3-5, 3rd homer, double, RBI ... Thomas Diamond, TEX, (W) 5.0 5 2 2 3 6, 4.22

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Travis Buck OAK 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI ... Richie Robnett OAK 2-3, 2 BB, 2 R ... Chase Headley SD 2-4 ... Sean Cumberland TB 1-3, BB ... Reid Brignac TB 1-4 ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI

CAROLINA (A+) --  Drew Sutton 2B HOU 1-4, Home Run ... Jacoby Ellsbury CF BOS 1-4, triple, run, 3 RBI ... Bryan Pritz LF BOS 2-4, double, RBI, sb ... John Otness C BOS 2-3, run ... Troy Patton HOU 6 5 4 0 1 9 ... Luis Mendoza BOS 5.1 7 2 1 2 4 W ... Mike James BOS 1 0 0 0 0 2 S ... Anderson Gomes RF CHA 1-3, triple, 2 RBI ... Luke Harrell CHA 5 2 2 1 2 4 ... Joe Ness CLE 6 4 2 2 1 7 ... Jesus Soto CLE 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 W ... Jarod Rine CF BAL 2-4, 2 runs, sb ... Jason Fransz DH BAL 2-4, double, Home Run, 3 RBI ... Nolan Reimold RF BAL 1-3, double, run, sb ... Dan Schwartzbauer 2B PIT 2-3 ... Beau Hale BAL 4.1 1 0 0 1 1 ... Fredy Deza BAL 3.2 1 0 0 1 2 W ... Felipe Garcia PIT 4 1 1 1 0 2 ... Ender Chavez CF WAS 0-3, 3 runs, RBI, sb ... Marcos Yepez 3B WAS 1-3, 2 runs ... Devan Ivany C WAS 3-5, 2 doubles, 2RBI ... Luke Montz 1B WAS 1-4, 2RBI ... Trey Webb 2B WAS 1-3, double, run ... Van Pope 3B ATL 2-5, run ... Barbaro Canizares LF ATL 2-5, run, sb ... Steve Pyzik C ATL 2-4, RBI ... Thomas Wilson WAS 2.1 2 0 0 1 3 W ... Dan Kolb WAS 2.2 3 0 0 1 1 S ... Arthur Santos ATL 3 3 0 0 2 1

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  No games scheduled.

MIDWEST (A) --  No games scheduled.

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Chris Volstad FLA 7-1/3 5 3 3 0 5, 3.93 ... Gaby Sanchez FLA 2-5, HR (7), 2 RBI (18), .465, homer in 4 straight ... Kris Harvey FLA 2-4, RBI (8), .410 ... Andrew McCutchen PIT 3-4, 3B (1), RBI (3), .333 ... Chris Nelson COL 3-5, RBI (4), SB (1), .275 ... Dexter Fowler COL 2-5, SB (3), .368 ... Jon Niese NYN 5 6 1 1 2 6, 2.70 ... Fernando Martinez NYN 1-5, 3B (2), .311 ... JR Towles HOU 2-4, .480 ... Josh Flores HOU 2-5, 3B (1), .275 ... Eli Iorg HOU 0-4, BB, .229 ... Angel Salome MIL 0-4, .341 ... Elvis Andrus ATL 1-4, RBI (11), .275 ... Eric Campbell ATL 3-5, SB (2), .297 ... Kala Ka'aihue ATL 2-5, HR (3), 3 RBI (9), .353 ... Jason Stephens NYA 5 2 2 1 0 6, 2.84 ... Austin Jackson NYA 1-4, 2B (3), SB (6), .316 ... Jose Tabata NYA 3-5, 2 2B (6), 5 RBI (15), .390 ... C. J. Henry NYA 1-2, RBI (4), .172 ... Gaby Sanchez has hit in 10 of 11 games (having been walked four times in the other).  His record to date (three games as catcher) :

            AB R H 2B 3B HR BI BB K
Sanchez 1B   5 1 2  0  0  1  3  0 0 
Sanchez  C   5 2 2  0  0  1  4  0 2 
Sanchez 1B   5 3 5  1  0  1  3  0 0 
Sanchez 1B   0 1 0  0  0  0  0  4 0 
Sanchez 1B   4 0 1  0  0  0  0  0 1 
Sanchez  C   4 0 2  0  0  0  0  0 1 
Sanchez DH   6 0 1  0  0  0  0  0 1 
Sanchez 1B   3 1 1  0  0  1  1  1 0 
Sanchez 1B   3 2 2  0  0  1  3  1 0 
Sanchez 1B   5 1 2  0  0  1  2  0 1 
Sanchez 1B-C 3 2 2  0  0  1  2  0 1 

    Gaby Sanchez received almost no recognition in the pre-season prospect charts. John Franco, SportsBlurb, was pretty well alone in ranking him in a Top 10 (#8 in the FLO system):

" ...   a fourth round pick in the 2005 draft, and part of the reason that he fell so far was a suspension during his junior year for an “undisclosed violation of policy” at the University of Miami. He had a very strong debut, as expected from a 22-year old playing in the NY-Penn League, batting .355 in 234 at-bats after signing with the Marlins. Sanchez split his time between third base and catcher, and his arm is definitely strong enough to handle full-time catching duties. His other tools were adequate behind the plate as he showed good instincts despite his inexperience. Offensively, Sanchez is an aggressive hitter who should develop more power ... and his bat should be adequate for third base and above average for a catcher."

Earlier, Baseball America picked Sanchez as the #11 prospect in the New York - Penn League.

" ...  won the NY-P batting title and also was named MVP of the league's inaugural all-star game. An aggressive hitter, Sanchez showed the ability to put the ball in play with authority to all fields. Once he starts incorporating his lower half more in his swing, he should develop more power. "You can fool him with one pitch, but you won't get him with the same pitch next time," Mahoning Valley manager Rouglas Odor said. "He is very good at making adjustments. You have to pitch him like a big league hitter." While he played more at third base than anywhere else, Sanchez did see some time at catcher and held his own despite his inexperience behind the plate. He has enough arm strength to stick there, and if he can adapt to the position he'll greatly enhance his prospect status."

    Troop Movements ...  PIT - placed Ryan Doumit on the 15-day DL, recalled Ronny Paulino from Triple-A ... MIL - activated Ben Sheets from the 15-day DL, placed Rick Helling on the 15-day DL ... KC - placed Denny Bautista on the 15-day DL, activated Mark Redman from the DL ... CHN - placed Angel Pagan on the 15-day DL, recalled David Aardsma ...  MIN - purchased the contract of Ruben Sierra, optioned Jason Kubel to Triple-A ...

    John Sickels, MinorLeagueBall, with another possible sleeper for your in-season drafts :

" ...  Justin Towles ...  picked in the 20th round in 2004 ... hasn't received a lot of attention yet, but that will change. Towles came into 2006 with a career mark of .304/.410/.447 at the short-season and A-ball levels. The sample is just 84 games, but his production has been impressive thus far. He also stole 15 bases, and has unusual athleticism and mobility for a catcher. His defensive reputation is improving, and his bat is obviously interesting. 2006 is going well so far: Towles is 10-for-21 (.476) for Lexington in the Sally League, with two doubles, a triple, a homer, and two steals. He hasn't drawn a walk yet and has six strikeouts, but strike zone judgment was not a problem for him in the past and probably won't be once the sample gets larger this year. He is already 22 years old, not an ideal age for the Sally League, but the Astros tend to be patient with their prospects and advance them slowly."

    Alex Gordon KC with the George Brett seal of approval :

" ...  He's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Royals to get," said Brett ... who worked with Gordon in spring training, is impressed with Gordon's baseball skills and desire to learn ... "He's got a body. I don't have a body." But Brett believes Gordon still has some things to learn, and Double-A is a good place for that, he said. "I think that's the only reason he's down here is to learn to play 140 games a year, instead of 60 or 70 (in college)," Brett said. "He has to learn to deal with failure. You're out there and go 0 for 10 for three games, make three errors in two games, and to see how you overcome that. One of the differences between Brett and Gordon is expectations; Gordon is constantly being compared to Brett. It's understandable since both played third base, but those are still pretty hefty expectations. "I take that as a compliment, because I didn't think I was as good as he was," Brett said. "At age 22, I wasn't. "It took me a while to become a good player; it's going to take him a while. But he's so much farther ahead defensively than I was at 22, difference is day and night." So could Gordon be in Kansas City right now? "He could be there right now just based on athletic ability and baseball skills," Brett said."  (Wichita Eagle)

    It's the arm, not the bat, that remains a problem for Kelly Johnson ATL :

" ...  Johnson will begin hitting soon, but Cox said the outfielder still couldn't throw because of his elbow. He had arthroscopic surgery in October, more soreness in spring training and began the season on the DL. "It's going to be a while," Cox said. "But he's still one of our top prospects."   (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

    Brandon Wood LAA, it's a different game in AA :

" ...   Wood probably won’t see quite as many good pitches with the Arkansas Travelers as he saw at Class A Rancho Cucamonga last season ...  can expect Class AA pitchers to work around him a little more, Travs Manager Ty Boykin said. “I have been talking to him about it even coming into the year in spring training,” said Boykin, who was Wood’s manager all of last season. “I told him last year in the California League — they didn’t pitch around him a great deal; they gave him a free pass here and there if they had an open base or whatever — but I told him, ‘I guarantee you, you get to Double A and it’s going to happen a lot more than you’re used to.’ ” ...  Pitchers might be a bit more knowledgeable in the way they work against Wood, but it didn’t stop him from having a pretty good first week. Wood entered Friday batting.320 with 2 home runs among his 8 hits and 7 RBI. He was tied for the team lead with nine strikeouts, but that’s to be expected right now, Boykin said. “He’s got a good idea, but he’s susceptible to strikeouts twice a game,” Boykin said. “But that’s going to come. He’s going to come into his own a little more and figure it out. He’s not going to be chasing the change-ups. “He’s at the point to where he realizes that he’s missing some good pitches, and I think that’s more frustrating to him than being pitched around.”  (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

    Hayden Penn BAL, still in extended ST as the O's take a cautious approach with their young righthander.

" ...  Pitchers Hayden Penn and Ryan Keefer remain in Extended Spring Training because of injuries. Keefer has been kept out with a sore elbow since the start of spring training, while Penn has been battling some tendonitis in his forearm. At this point Penn is pitching again, but the Orioles feel if he were to start now in Ottawa he wouldn't be able to go deep enough into games."  (OriolesHangout.com)
 

 
 

    
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