Rookies 2005
                                                                                                                           Pitching Line = IP H R ER BB SO
 

15 May, 2005

    INTERNATIONAL --  Edwin Encarnacion 3B CIN 2-3, 6th HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB ... power display continues, James Jurries LF ATL 2-4, 2B, 6th HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, SF ... scorching, Billy McCarthy RF ATL 6-6, 2 2B, 2nd HR, 5 R, 4 RBI ... T.J. Pena SS ATL 3-5, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI, BB ... ouch, Kyle Davies ATL 3-2/3 8 7 7 4 3, 4.78 ... in relief, Macay McBride ATL 3-1/3 3 1 1 2 4, 3.18 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 2-3, 2B, 3rd HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 0 errors ... Joey Gathright CF TB 2-5, R ... Chris Shelton C DET 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 2-6, RBI ... rehab, Jody Gerut DH CLE 2-4, 3rd HR, R, RBI, 2 BB ... Jeremy Guthrie CLE 7 9 4 4 2 3, 6.68 ... Kelly Shoppach DH BOS 1-3, 9th HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB ... Ryan Doumit C PIT 2-4, 9th HR, R, RBI ... Cory Stewart PIT 5 8 6 5 2 1, 3.79 ... Jeff Keppinger 2B NYN 2-5, 2 R, RBI ... Brian Anderson CF CHA 1-4, 6th HR, R, 3 RBI, BB ... much better, Sean Henn NYA 7 4 0 0 3 4, 3.97 ... John Maine BAL 4-2/3 6 3 3 3 3, 4.33

PACIFIC COAST --  Carlos Quentin ARI 2-4, double, run, .330 … Conor Jackson ARI 1-4, run, .370 … Sergio Santos ARI 1-2, RBI, run … John Gall STL 1-3, homer, 2 RBI … Edgar Gonzalez ARI 7 5 2 2 1 3, (W, 4-1), 2.79 … Josh Barfield SD 1-4 … Jon Knott LF SD 1-3, double … Jared Gothreaux HOU 6-1/3 5 1 1 1 5, (W, 3-2), 1.93 … Todd Walker CHN 0-3, K … probably won’t be up until 9/1, but he’s getting ready: Casey Kotchman ANA 3-3, double, 3 runs (10 for 15 in his last five games, up to .270)… Jeff Mathis ANA 1-4 … Calvin Pickering KC 1-4, homer, 2 RBI … Jorge Piedra COL 3-4, double, homer, 3 RBI … Ryan Shealy COL 3-3, double, 2 runs … Choo Freeman COL 2-4, triple, 2 RBI, 2 runs … Shin Soo Choo SEA 1-3, 2 walks … Chris Snelling SEA 1-5, 2 RBI … Josh Willingham FLO 1-4, homer, 2 RBI … Matt Padgett RF FLO 3-4, double, 2 runs, .370 … Brendan Harris WAS 2-4, triple, 2 RBI … Jairo Garcia OAK 1 0 0 0 1 2, (S, 3), 0.00 … Jerome Williams SF 2-1/3 4 4 4 2 1, (L, 0-3), 11.21 in 4 AAA games … John Hudgins TEX 2 2 0 0 0 0, 3.51 … Adrian Gonzalez TEX 1-4, 2 RBI … Jason Botts TEX 2-4, 2 runs

EASTERN --  Eric Duncan 3B NYA 0-5, .234 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI (19), .259 AVG … Franklin Gutierrez CLE 2-4, HR (3), RBI (12), .245 AVG … Tony Giarratano SS DET 1-5, SB (4), .237 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 2-4, RBI (21), .338 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-3, 2 RBI (18), .244 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 1-4, .228 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 3-4, RBI (12), SB (7), .353 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 0-3, SB (4), .227 AVG … David Aardsma SF 5 2 2 2 2 2 , W (5), 3.09 ERA … Brian Bannister NYN 4-2/3 7 5 4 2 2, 2.25 ERA … Paul Stewart PIT 3 3 2 2 1 2,  3.38 ERA … Shaun Marcum TOR 3 6 2 2 0 3, 2.55 ERA … Rob Henkel DET 6 8 6 6 4 3, 3.28 ERA

SOUTHERN --  Jon Zeringue ARZ 3-4, .261 ... Felix Pie CHN, surprising power, 2-4, 14th double, 6th homer, walk, .370 ... Joel Guzman LA 2-4, 9th homer, .290 ... Ryan Sweeney CHA 3-5, double, .316 ... Bobby Jenks CHA, outstanding string, Jenks 1 0 0 0 0 0, down to 2.76 ... Chuck James ATL 4-2/3 2 4 1 2 8, 1.93 ... Brian McCann ATl 2-2, walk, .309

TEXAS --  Alberto Callaspo ANA 3-5, 2 homers, 4 RBI ... Jayson Nix COL, a sliver of hope, 3-6, 2 doubles, .230 ... Wilfredo Rodriguez TEX 6 2 1 0 3 6, 2.02 ... Jason Hart TEX 2-4, 7th & 8th homers, .226 ... Jason Hirsh HOU 6 3 1 1 2 5, 3.42

CALIFORNIA --  Chris Lubanski KC, 1-4, 6th homer ... Billy Butler KC, in a little fink, 0-4, .316 ... Howie Kendrick ANA 1-4, 9th homer, .362 ... Ubaldo Jimenez COL 6 3 1 1 1 5, 3.06 ... Jason Windsor OAK 7 3 1 1 0 11, 4.15 (6 walks, 54 Ks in 43 1/3 innings) ...  Thomas Diamond TEX 6 5 1 1 3 7, 4-0, 2.87 ...  Ian Stewart COL 0-4 & 2-4, homer, 3 RBI, .241 ...  Daric Barton OAK, hitting cleanup with 6 extra-base hits in 34 games, 1-3 & 0-2

CAROLINA --  Nick Markakis BAL 2-5, double, 3rd homer, .289 ... Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B CLE 3-4, 2 doubles (12), 7th homer, walk, .379 ... Adam Loewen BAL, back to bad 'ol ways, 3 3 3 1 5 4 ... Michael Hinckley WAS Hinckley 2 1 1 1 1 0 ... Adam Boeve OF PIT 4-4, 3 homers (4), 4 RBI, .304

FLORIDA STATE --  Carlos Villanueva  MIL 6 3 2 2 4 4, 5-0, 2.14 ... Lou Palmisano MIL 4-4, 2 doubles, triple, .270 ... Casey Janssen TOR 7.0 7 2 1 0 6, 5-0, 1.36 ... Andy LaRoche LA 1-3, 2 walks, .352 ... Joey Votto CIN 2-2, 6th homer, .271 ... Justin Verlander DET 8 4 1 1 0 12, 5-1, 1.43  ... Sean Marshall CHN 7 7 0 0 2 9

MIDWEST --  Jarrett Hoffpauir STL 2-4, double, triple, 7th and 8th K's ... Kyle Waldrop MIN 6 6 4 3 0 6 (4.20) ... Trevor Plouffe MIN 0-3 ... Matt Bush SD 1-4 (.234) .. James Houser TB 4 8 5 5 2 1 (3.79) ... Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 1-5, 11th error ... Ryan Webb OAK 5 1/3 8 5 4 2 4 ... Javier Herrera OAK 1-4, 3 K's ... solid again A.J. Shappi ARZ 6 4 1 0 2 5 (W, 5-1, 2.33) ... Brian McFall KC 1-4, 3 K's (.259)

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  Gaby Hernandez NYN, shortened start due to rain delay, 2/3 1 1 1 0 2  ...  Jason Jaramillo C PHI 3-5, triple, 3 RBI, .340 ... Michael Dzurilla 2B PHI 3-5, double, 3 RBI, .400 ... Hunter Pence CF HOU 2-4, 10th & 11th homers, 3 RBI, .355 ... Marcos Vechionacci SS NYA 2-3, walk, .317

  Troop Movements ... OAK - Matt Watson up (Jermaine Clark designated for assignment, Rich Harden to DL) ... PHI - traded OF Marlon Byrd to WAS for OF Endy Chavez ... TB - Seth McClung up (Rob Bell DL) ... LA - Steve Schmoll to AAA (Eric Gagne activated from DL) ... SEA George Sherrill up (Joel Pineiro to AAA) ... KC - recalled Matt Diaz (Denny Bautista DL) ...

    Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee, on Matt Cain SF :

" ...  Giants' brass is in no hurry to rush Cain's development by thrusting the 20-year-old into the majors, said Dick Tidrow, the organization's vice president of player personnel, who has been in Fresno the past two days. But Cain, a first-round pick out of high school in 2002, continues to dazzle with a sizzling fastball that clocks in the upper 90-mph range and a high strikeout ratio ... "Cain's getting better and better each game, but it's still a roller coaster and that's what happens from being young," Grizzlies manager Shane Turner said. "You have to be patient with [young pitchers] and not let them just go out there and throw against major league hitting, because that's not always the wisest move." ... In 20 1/3innings at home, Cain has surrendered two runs — both Friday — and he had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning of one start ... On the road, Cain has given up 15 earned runs in 21 innings. In his past two outings entering Friday, Cain had allowed a combined 10 runs, eight hits and 13 walks. "You walk that many in the majors and you won't last through the fourth inning," Tidrow said ... For the season, Cain sports a 3.79 ERA and has struck out 47 in 40 1/3innings. "He'll get his turn some day and could turn out to be an outstanding major league pitcher," Turner said. "I see him as a young Roger Clemens or Curt Schilling. You just can't rush it. It just takes time."

    Rickie Weeks MIL, getting comfortable. 

" ...  Weeks extended his hitting streak to eight games with his PCL-leading fifth triple, then doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth as the Sounds defeated Tucson 7-5 [Friday]. ''I've been seeing the ball pretty well; I'm just trying to slow myself down,'' Weeks said after keeping his average at .500 (12-for-24) for the life of the streak and raising it to .328 for the season. ''I think I was rushing, trying too hard. Now, I'm letting it come to me.'' ...  His 22 total extra-base hits are one off the Pacific Coast League lead ... Hitting safely in 17 of his last 19 games, Weeks is hitting .422 (27-for-64) over that stretch with 20 RBIs and 16 runs. ''He's a little more comfortable now,'' Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. ''He looks like he has an idea how he's going to be pitched.''  (Nashville Tennessean)

    Angels Ervin Santana waiting ...

" ...  waiting on pins and needles. Santana, the Arkansas Travelers’ right-handed ace, was pulled from Friday’s game ...after 2 1/3 innings and by all appearances is heading for a promotion, possibly to the parent Los Angeles Angels. "He’s pitched so good here we’re assuming that he probably could be done here, that’s what the assumption is," Manager Tom Gamboa said. Santana labored in the first inning — seven of his first nine pitches were out of the strike zone and Delvin James was warming up in the bullpen — but by the time he struck out Alvin Colina to start the third, Santana was showing the form that made him the Angels’ top pitching prospect. Then Gamboa came to the mound, and Santana soon was surrounded by teammates patting him on the head and back before he left for the dugout. Santana originally confirmed a promotion to Los Angeles in the clubhouse after he left the game, but after the Travs concluded their 4-1 victory, Santana said he was waiting to see what the Angels had in store for him. "They haven’t told me yet," said Santana, who nonetheless appeared pleased at the turn of events."  (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

    Jed Weisberger, Trenton Times, highlighting some emerging prospects in the Eastern League :

Gabe Lopez NYA " ...  Not even listed among the Yankees' Top 30 prospects, Lopez, a .270 hitter at Class-A Tampa in 2004, is reminding some of David Eckstein with his consistent hitting, fielding and energy. He goes into weekend play leading the EL with a .362 average."

Dustin Pedroia BOS " ...  Another pepperpot, who, after just 42 games of Class-A experience in 2004, is handling the EL quite well. Playing a solid second base and hitting .342, the former Arizona State star and Boston's No. 6 prospect remind some of Red Sox Nation of Jody Reed."

Michael Bourn PHI " ...   Phillies' No. 5 prospect is making the jump from Low-Class-A Lakewood to Reading, skipping Clearwater. He's ahead of schedule because he can draw walks (18 in 122 at-bats), knows how to bunt and patrols the outfield well."

Brian Bannister NYN " ...   In putting together a 5-0, 1.60 ERA mark heading into weekend play, this right-handed starter, the Mets' No. 15 prospect, is overshadowing No. 2 Yusmeiro Petit. Featuring a fastball that touches 92 mph, an outstanding curve and a changeup and slider, he's been dynamite."

14 May, 2005

    INTERNATIONAL --  Edwin Encarnacion 3B CIN 1-4, 5th HR, R, 2 RBI ... Andy Marte 3B ATL 4-5, 2B, 6th HR, 2 R, 3 RBI ... Billy McCarthy LF ATL 3-4, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI, HBP ... the nightmare continues, Gavin Floyd PHI 5-1/3 12 6 6 2 1, 9.16 ... Brandon League TOR 5-2/3 9 5 3 1 5, 5.73 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 0-3, BB, 0 errors ... Curtis Granderson CF DET 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI, SF ... Chris Shelton DH DET 2-6, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI ... rehab, Jody Gerut RF CLE 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB ... Kelly Shoppach C BOS 2-3, 8th HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, HBP ... Ryan Doumit C PIT 2-3, 8th HR, R, RBI ... Zach Duke PIT 7-2/3 8 1 1 1 6, 3.70 ... Angel Pagan RF NYN 2-4 ... J.D. Durbin MIN 5 7 2 2 3 2, 4.50 ... Walter Young DH BAL 1-4, 3rd HR, R, 2 RBI, BB

PACIFIC COAST --  Casey Kotchman ANA 1-3 & 2-3, 3 runs … Jeff Mathis DH ANA 0-3 … Scott Hairston ARI 2-3, 2 walks … Conor Jackson ARI 1-2, 2 walks … Carlos Quentin ARI 0-2, walk … Rickie Weeks MIL 2-4, double, triple, 2 runs … Prince Fielder 2-4, 2 RBI … Dave Krynzel MIL 2-4, double, 2 runs … Jose Capellan MIL 5 3 2 2 6 4, 4.21 … Justin Lehr MIL 2-1/3 3 0 0 1 2, (W, 4-2) … Willy Aybar LA 2-5, 2 runs … Franquelis Osoria LA 3 1 0 0 0 4, 3.38 … Anthony Reyes STL 5 5 3 3 3 2, 2.91 … Luke Scott HOU 3-5, 2 doubles, homer, 5 RBI … Tommy Whiteman HOU 2-4, RBI, run … Wandy Rodriguez HOU 7 5 3 3 1 8, (W, 4-1) … Choo Freeman COL 1-3, solo homer … Jeff Baker COL 1-3, solo homer … Sergio Mitre CHN 7 7 4 4 0 2, (L, 2-4) … Jon Knott SD 1-4, homer, 2 RBI … Brad Baker SD 1 2 0 0 0 1, (S, 10) … Brendan Harris WAS 1-4, double … Matt Cain SF 6 6 2 2 0 8, (L, 3-1), pretty decent start, tough luck loss … Adrian Gonzalez TEX 2-5, double

EASTERN --  Eric Duncan NYA 0-4, .242 ... Colby Miller MIN 6-2/3 5 3 3 5 5, 2.01 ... Jake Dittler CLE 8 3 1 0 2 5, 2.56 ...  Tony Giarratano SS DET 2-3, 2 walks, .239 ... Hanley Ramirez BOS 1-4, 3 Ks, .303

SOUTHERN --  Jeremy Hermida FLO 4-6, .308 ... Robert Andino SS FLO 2-6, double, homer, 4 RBI, .303 ... Ben Kozlowski CIN 7 7 1 1 1 4, 2.62 ... Matt Murton CHN 3-5, .413 ... Felix Pie CHN 2-5, double, .266 ... Chad Billingsley LA 6 4 0 0 2 3 ... Joel Guzman LA 1-3, 2nd triple ...  Chad Orvella 1 0 0 0 1 1, now 12 games, 18 innings without a run ... Fernando Cortez 2B TB 3-4, .384 ... Elijah Dukes TB 3-5, double, .304

TEXAS --  Brooks Conrad (2B) HOU 2-5, 2R, SB, .231 ... Brian Stavisky OAK 2-5, 2R, HR, 2RBI, .300 ... Andre Ethier OAK 1-5, R, .394 ... Jason Perry (RF) OAK 3-4, 2R, 2B, 3B, HR(8), 2RBI(27), .291 ... Brant Colamarino (1B) OAK 2-4, R, 3B, HR, 2RBI(26), .326 ... Fernando Nieve HOU 5 8 6 6 1 4 (3.45) ... Jayson Nix COL 2-4, 2B, .217 ... Reggie Willits ANA 0-3, RBI, .333 ... Alberto Callaspo ANA 1-3, RBI, .264 ... Erick Aybar ANA 1-3, .248 ... David Gates ANA 2-4, R, 312 ... Jonathan Asahina COL 8 10 4 4 2 4 (2.27) ... thru 10: TJ Bohn SEA 2-5, R, RBI, .347 ... Drew Meyer (2B) TX 4-6, R, 2B, 3RBI, .312 ... Juan Dominguez TX 2 1/3 0 1 1 1 2 (2.14) ... recently moved up to AA - Adam Keim (2B) KC 2-4, 3R, HR(2), RBI, .429 ... Justin Huber KC 2-4, R, 2B, .397 ... Shane Costa (LF) KC 2-3, 2B, 2RBI, .267 ... Tyler Minges STL 0-5, R, .331 ... Ervin Santana ANA 2-1/3 0 0 0 1 3, 2.31 :

" ... RHP Ervin Santana started and tossed just 2.1 innings before leaving for non-injury precautionary reasons ... Santana was pulled after retiring seven straight hitters following a leadoff walk in the first inning. The only reason given for his early departure was that he might be needed at higher levels of the Angels organization. " (Arkansas Travelers)

CALIFORNIA --  Chris Lubanski KC, a little improvement, 2-5, 5th homer, .231 ... Daric Barton OAK 2-3, 3rd homer ... Ian Stewart COL, the breakout begins, 4-5, walk, 1st homer, .239... Jordan Czarniecki OF COL 4-6, .370

CAROLINA --  Nick Markakis BAL 1-4 ... Brad Snyder CLE 1-3, R, BB ... Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 2-4, R, HR (6), 3 RBI (30), K ... James Johnson BAL 6 5 2 2 3 4 ... Martin Prado ATL 1-4, R, RBI, K ... Matt Esquivel ATL 3-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 3-5, 3 R, 2B, HR (5), RBI, K ... Kory Casto WAS 1-5, R, HR (7), RBI ... Jake Stevens ATL (W, 3-4, 3.44) 6 6 1 1 0 6 ... Michael Hall BOS 3-4, R, 2B ...  Micah Schnurstein CHA 1-5, 2 K, SB (4) ... Thomas Collaro CHA 1-5, 3 K ... Javier Guzman PIT 0-4, 2 K ... Dan Haigwood CHA (W, 5-1, 2.68) 5 2 1 1 4 5 .

FLORIDA STATE --  Andy LaRoche 3B LA 2-4 HR(10) … Joey Votto 1B CIN 1-4 HR(5) … Brent Clevlen RF DET 2-6 HR(7) 2RBI … Jordan Tata DET 6 8 4 4 1 3 … Scott Moore 3B CHN 3-7 HR(7) … JR Mathes CHN 6 6 2 2 2 6 … Lastings Milledge CF NYN 1-4 2B R RBI … Kazuhisa Ishii NYN (rebab) 4 0 0 0 1 3 … Marc Tugwell 1B PHI 2-3 R … Scott Mathieson PHI 4 2 0 0 1 6 … Steve Moss CF MIL 3-4 HR(5) … Cody Haerther DH STL 2-4 HR(5) - .348 … Jose Garcia STL 5 3 0 0 2 6 W … Kurt Isenberg TOR 6 4 2 2 1 5 L(3-2, 2.55) … Lee Mitchell 3B FLO 2-3

MIDWEST --  Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 3-4 (.333) ... Anthony Swarzak MIN 6 6 0 0 0 5 (W, 4-2, 2.92) ... David Winfree MIN 3-4, 8th double ... dazzling Luis Cota KC 6 2 0 0 3 10 (4 hits & 19 K's last two starts) ... no slouch working in relief of Cota, Yovany Damico KC 3 0 0 0 1 4 ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 3-6, 10th double (.281) .. Javier Herrera OAK 2-4 ... looking much better Kyle Rogers TEX 6 6 2 2 1 3 (7.26) ... Jarrett Hoffpauir STL 2-6, 13th double (.333) ... Rafael Rodriguez ANA 4 4 5 5 1 6 (2.31)

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  Jason Jaramillo PHI C 4-4, double, .326 ... Hunter Pence HOU 3-5, 2 homers (9), .350 ... Joseph Koshansky 1B COL, missed the cycle by a single, double, triple, homer, walk, 5 RBI, .341 ... Brian Horwitz OF SF 3-4, triple, .402 ... Marcus Sanders SS SF 0-3, 2 Ks, .307

  Troop Movements ... ANA - Bengie Molina activated (Dave Matranga to AAA) ... CHN - Michael Fontenot up (Sergio Mitre to AAA) ... CLE - Jody Gerut activated from DL & optioned to AAA ... COL - Chin-hui Tsao to DL ... DET - Doug Creek up (Bobby Higginson to DL) ... HOU - Mike Burns up (Brandon Duckworth to AAA) ... KC - Chris Truby activated & sent outright to AAA ... STL - Jason Isringhausen activated, purchased the contract of Gabe White (Mike Mahoney, Kevin Jarvis to AAA) ...  more suspensions (drugs) -  Marlins INF Wilson Delgado, Royals INF Luis Ugueto, Royals 1B Josh Pressley and Cardinals RHP Jeremy Cummings 15 games ... OAK - Dan Meyer AAA, DL (shoulder) ...

    John Manuel in the Baseball America chat room on the 2005 draft :

3B Ryan Zimmerman  " ... Zimmerman's a legit top 5 talent. He's a Gold Glove caliber defender at third who might be good enough to pull a Khalil Greene and move to shortstop (though Greene moved in college), because his hands, feet and arm are that good. Offensively, at the least, he should be a .280 type of hitter with 10-15 homers and 50-60 extra-base hits."

OF Cameron Maybin  " ... he's still the No. 2 high school player on our board, just as he was coming into the spring. He's had a dominant spring, albeit against poor competition, and he's shown all the athletic ability you'd want to see in a player ... I'll be surprised if Maybin lasts into the double digit picks. His bat might need some polish--he won't move as quickly as, say, Delmon Young--but he's a real five-tool talent."

C Jeff Clement  " ... he's a lefthanded hitting catcher with power, he's a much better defender behind the dish than Eric Munson was, just to put that comp to rest. His bat and Munson's are similar, he takes a more aggressive hack and is pull oriented, but if he hits .250, he'll hit 20 homers and be a solid big league catcher."

SS Troy Tulowitzki (compared to Bobby Crosby)  " ... Tulowitzki's a better prospect. He doesn't have Crosby's power, but he's probably better in most other ways, including defensively at shortstop, making contact, throwing arm . . . he's a very good college shortstop prospect who has hit in the middle of the Long Beach State order since he arrived on campus."

    John Sickels, MinorLeagueBall.com, reviews his OAK Top 20 and finds some questions at the top :

" ... 1. Dan Meyer: Pitching poorly in Triple-A, now out with a shoulder injury of some sort. Reportedly not serious but who knows?"

" ... 5. Joe Blanton: ERA looks good at 3.22, but I'm worried about the K/BB of 13/12 in 36 IP"

" ... 7.  Richie Robnett: Hitting .257/.329/.392 at Stockton. Like Barton, he is underachieving."

    Scott Rex, OnDeck, has posted his Top 30 in the Texas League and revised his chart for the California League.  A bit of a surprise atop the TEX list -- Fernando Nieve the HOU righty.  Ervin Santana is the runner-up, ahead of Andre Ethier OAK, Justin Huber KC and another HOU RHP, Jason Hirsh.

The new CAL list has COL 3B Ian Stewart at No. 1, ahead of Jeff Niemann TB.  Thomas Diamond TEX is 3rd, Billy Butler KC 4th and Brandon Wood ANA 5th.  Daric Barton ranks No. 10, Howie Kendrick ANA No. 13.

    Sean Burnett, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm ... now another lefty, Tom Gorzelanny :

" ... "I'll tell you what -- that's a really good crop of lefties to throw into your major-league mix," Altoona manager Tony Beasley said. "Those guys are not just your average guys. They're capable of going out and really giving you quality innings. If you play defense behind them and hit a little bit, you'll win a lot of ballgames." Like Burnett and Maholm, Gorzelanny hasn't had smooth sailing in the organization. This spring, he developed some soreness in his left elbow which, given the Pirates' alarming lack of luck with their top pitching prospects, was another red flag ...  Turned out, Gorzelanny's soreness was tendinitis. After he worked his way up to six innings per game in the extended spring training program, he made his 2005 debut with Altoona last week. In his first two starts, including his outing against Harrisburg Monday night, Gorzelanny worked 12 innings, allowing 10 hits, three walks and two runs and striking out 12. "He has a live arm and he's aggressive," Graham said. "He challenges hitters -- in the strike zone. He believes in his stuff and goes right after them." "He's impressive," Beasley said. "He has an above-average fastball, a really good slider. His changeup's coming around. He's a guy who can pretty much beat you with his fastball. He can overpower you with his fastball [which he throws comfortably in the 90 mph range]." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

   Kevin Czerwinski, MLB.com, on a prized pair of D'Backs - Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin :

" ... Jackson, the 19th overall pick from the University of California, was named the D'Backs Minor League Player of the Month for April, his first month in Triple-A. He's done little to cool off since, leading the PCL in RBIs (32) through 34 games. He was sixth in batting average (.364) and fifth in doubles (12). Quentin has been no less remarkable. Selected with the 29th pick out of Stanford, he is playing just his second Minor League season after missing all of 2003 following Tommy John surgery. Yet he was second in on-base percentage (.492) and was hitting .330 with four homers and 18 RBIs. "They've exceeded our hopes," Miller [Arizona assistant general manager Bob Miller]  said. "They've done it faster than we could have hoped." ...  While Jackson, 23, continues to lay waste to PCL pitching, it's what he's not doing that is proving to be just as important. He's laying off pitches and drawing walks -- 23 through 32 games. Jackson only had six strikeouts over that stretch, prompting Miller to call his strikeout-to-walk "a joke." "I pride myself on walks and my eye," Jackson said. "When you get in a slump it's because of your eye, not your swing. You're just swinging at bad pitches. I pride myself on my ability to take pitches."

   Jorge Campillo SEA not far from a shot in Seattle :

" ... Campillo's steadiness has become increasingly relevant with each wobble in the Seattle rotation ... In the event of a change, Campillo is the most likely in-house replacement. While Felix Hernandez, the acknowledged best pitching prospect in baseball, has garnered most of the attention in Tacoma this season, Campillo is seven years older and a nine-year veteran of the Mexican League ... Rainiers manager Dan Rohn said yesterday from Round Rock, Texas, that he believes Campillo "has major league stuff." Rohn has been most impressed with Campillo's ability to change speeds. "His changeup's definitely an out pitch, and he doesn't send anything to the middle of the plate," Rohn said. "He throws about six different pitches. The hard part is commanding them all. He's a great kid, works hard and listens and learns. "He picks things up quickly." (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

13 May, 2005

Ooops that was Felix Hernandez, not Carlos in the PCL ...

" ...  There has been much recent speculation that Jorge Campillo will be the first Tacoma starter promoted to the Seattle Mariners, but Felix Hernandez had his say on Thursday night. Hernandez, the 19-year-old phenom considered by many to be the top pitching prospect in minor league baseball, had his finest start for Tacoma ... pitched seven shutout innings. He allowed only two hits – none after a leadoff single in the third inning. More impressively, Hernandez issued only one walk. Control had been an issue for Hernandez, who entered the game with 19 walks in 36 innings. “I had better control of my fastball,” Hernandez said. “This was the best control of my fastball I have had this season.” Hernandez matched his season-high with eight strikeouts. He had five strikeouts by the time there was one out in the third inning. Then, he concentrated on getting quick outs to keep his pitch-count down. He needed 87 pitches – 55 strikes – to make it through seven innings. In doing so, Hernandez (5-2) became the first five-game winner in the Pacific Coast League this season. “He was very good, he threw a lot of strikes, and he had the best fastball command he has had all season,” manager Dan Rohn said."  (Tacoma News Tribune)

    INTERNATIONAL --  Steve Kelly CIN 6 6 1 1 1 6, 2.20 ... Kelly Johnson SS ATL 1-3, 8th HR, R, RBI, BB ... Andy Marte 3B ATL 2-4, 2B ... Aaron Hill SS TOR 3-5, 2B, R, RBI ... John-Ford Griffin DH TOR 2-5, R, RBI ... Francisco Rosario TOR 5-2/3 2 2 2 4 2, 3.55 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 0-4, BB, SB, 0 errors ... Jonny Gomes LF TB 2-4, 2B, 2 R, BB ... Joey Gathright CF TB 3-5, 2 3B, 2 R, SB ... Chris Shelton 1B DET 2-4, 7th HR, R, RBI, BB ... Kenny Baugh DET 6 7 3 3 2 6, 3.66 ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 2-4, 6th HR, 3 R, RBI, BB ... Ryan Garko C CLE 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HBP ... rehab, Jody Gerut RF CLE 5-5, 2 2B, 2nd HR, 4 R, 2 RBI ... Francisco Cruceta CLE 3-2/3 9 9 5 3 6,5.02 ... Nate McLouth LF PIT 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB, HBP ... Pedro Lopez SS CHA 3-4, 2 2B, R ... Walter Young DH BAL 2-4, R, RBI, HBP

PACIFIC COAST --  Jermaine Van Buren CHN 1 0 0 0 1 0, (S,3), 2.16 … Jeff Mathis 0-3 & 0-3… Casey Kotchman ANA 2-3 & 2-3, 2 RBI … Dustin Moseley ANA 6 6 3 3 0 1, (L, 2-2), 5.91 … Scott Hairston CF ARI 3-5, 3 RBI, 3 runs … Conor Jackson ARI 2-3, 2 walks … Rickie Weeks 2-5, 2 solo homers … Brad Nelson MIL 2-4, homer, 2 RBI … Willy Aybar LA 1-3, 2 runs … John Gall STL 1-4, solo homer … Eric Gagne LA 2 0 0 0 0 2, finishes his rehab stint without allowing anyone to get on base … Felix Hernandez SEA  7 2 0 0 1 8, (W, 5-2), 2.30 … Jon Knott SD 2-4, 2 doubles … JJ Furmaniak SD 2-5, homer, 2 RBI … Josh Willingham FLO 2-4, double, homer, 4 RBI … Jason Stokes FLO 1-4, 2 runs … Brendan Harris WAS 1-4, double … Jesse Foppert SF 5 4 1 1 2 5, (W, 2-0) … Ian Kinsler TEX 0-4, 2K, .232

EASTERN --  Eric Duncan 3B NYA 0-3, RBI (19), .250 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 1-4, RBI (16), .256 AVG … Franklin Gutierrez CLE 1-4, .245 AVG … Michael Bourn OF PHI 0-5, .273 AVG … Fausto Carmona CLE 6-1/3 7 3 3 3 8, 3.45 ERA

SOUTHERN --  Jonathan Broxton LA 6 7 1 1 2 9, 2.48 ... James Loney LA 3-5, double ... Delmon Young TB 2-5, double, .352 ... Elijah Dukes TB 3-5, .292 ... Ryan Sweeney CHA 2-5, double, .313 ... Josh Fields CHA 2-5, .265

TEXAS --  No games scheduled.

CALIFORNIA --  Mitch Maier KC 1-5, 6th homer, .324 ... Kila Kaaihue 1B KC 2-5, 6th homer, .359 ... George Kottaras SD 3-5, .330 ... Adam Jones SS SEA 4-5, .275 ... the ANA kids in a minor slump, Howie Kendrick 1-4, .368, Brandon Wood 0-4, .326 ...  John Danks 6 2 3 3 2 5, 2.87 ... Ian Stewart COL 0-4, .171 ...

CAROLINA --  Javier Guzman PIT 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (9), BJ Upton like 12 & 13th error ... Michael Hall BOS 0-2, R, BB ...  Chad Spann BOS 0-3, K ... Anibal Sanchez BOS (W, 3-1, 2.19) 6 3 1 0 3 7 ... Nate Spears BAL 1-5, 2B, K ... Nick Markakis BAL 1-4, R, BB, K ... Martin Prado ATL 2-5, R, 1st HR, RBI ... Josh Burrus ATL 0-4, BB, SB (6) ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-4, BB, 2 K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 0-3, 2 BB, K ... Richard Stahl BAL 6-1/3 6 1 1 4 1 ... Brad Snyder CLE 0-3, RBI, 2 BB, K ... Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 3-5, RBI ... Ryan Goleski CLE 0-5, K ... Jeremy Sowers CLE (W, 4-2, 2.43) 5-1/3 2 0 0 3 8 ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 1-5, RBI, K ... Thomas Collaro CHA 1-5, K ...

FLORIDA STATE --  Matt Moses 3B MIN 1-4 HR(6) 2RBI … Dennard Span CF MIN 3-4 R 3RBI SB(6) … Scott Tyler MIN 4 1/3 7 5 5 2 3 … Lastings Milledge CF NYN 1-5 HR(2) … Brett Harper 1B NYN 3-4 2B 2RBI … Frank Moore 1B FLO 2-4 3B 2RBI … Reggie Abercrombie CF FLO 1-4 HR(8) … Brett Smith NYA 6 4 3 3 1 4 W … Adam Bostic II FLO 4 11 4 4 0 3 L … Brent Clevlen RF DET 2-4 3B 2R … Eric Rodland DH DET 2-4 R RBI SB(3) … Kody Kirkland 3B DET 2-4 3B 2RBI … Nathan Bumstead DET 7 9 4 3 0 2 … Carlos Marmol CHN 5 2/3 5 1 1 1 7 … Scott Moore 3B CHN 2-4 2B R … Kevin Collins DH CHN 3-4 HR(5) 4RBI … Junior Ruiz RF CIN 2-4 SB(10) … Brian Pilkington LA 5 6 2 1 0 3 L … Cody Haerther DH STL 3-4 2B 3B RBI … First loss of the season for Chris Lambert STL 3 7 6 5 2 1 L(5-1, 2.95) … Ryan Roberts 2B TOR 2-4 2B HR(6) 2R 3RBI … Adam Lind LF TOR 2-5 R 2RBI … Michael McDonald TOR 7 2/3 5 2 1 1 6 W(4-1, 4.02) … Ty Taubenheim MIL 9 6 2 2 2 6 ND, 1.56

MIDWEST --  Reid Brignac TB 1-4, 9th double (.261) ... Matt Bush SD 0-3, 2 K ... breakout game Javier Herrera OAK 4-4, triple, BB (.238) ... Oswaldo Navarro (2B) SEA, 2 doubles, BB (.284) ... Trevor Plouffe MIN 1-4 ... Chi-Hung Cheng TOR 5 4 1 0 1 6 (2.72) ... Mario Lisson (3B) KC 3-6, 12th error

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  Jeff Marquez NYA 5-2/3 3 2 0 2 7, 2-5, 3.47 ... Scott Elbert LA 4 3 1 1 3 7 ... Mark Rogers MIL 4 5 5 5 3 6, 0-3, 4.94 ... Carlos Perez BAL 7 7 4 4 3 4, 1.89 ...  Ray Liotta CHA 6 7 1 1 0 8, 2.53 ... Gio Gonzalez CHA, loser in relief, 1/3 0 2 1 3 1, 1.61 ... Mike Rozema SS ATL 3-5, 2 doubles, .324

  Troop Movements ... ANA - Chris Prieto up (Kelvim Escobar DL) ... KC - D.J. Carrasco up (Kyle Snyder DL) ... STL - Scott Seabol up (Scott Rolen DL) ... SF - Brad Hennessey up (Al Levine DL) ... TB - Dewon Brazelton to AAA, Jon Switzer up ...

  More suspensions ... drugs ... including Robert Valido CHA, Christian Parker COL.

    David Regan, RotoAmerica.com, likes Brandon Wood ANA as the Prospect of the Week :

" ...   a well-build kid standing around 6'3" and weighing in at 195 as he put on close to 10 pounds since the beginning of last year and it's not 10 pounds of fat. Most scouts attached the "projectable power" label to Wood after his 2003 debut that saw him hit five homeruns in 240 at-bats. He improved to 11 in 478 at-bats last year. This year though, Wood has exploded ...  His 13 homeruns are tied for first in the minors with Brad Eldred. He's also solid defensively and the only real knock on the youngster is the walk total. It's nothing to be alarmed about, but just keep an eye on the totals ... .athletic enough though to move to 2B, 3B, or the OF and his bat should play well anywhere."

    Dayn Perry, FoxSports, tabs Joel Guzman LA as the best of the shortstop prospects with a little surprise at No. 2 :

" ...   Guzman is the best prospect in a deep Dodger system. He's still toiling at shortstop for the time being, but almost everyone expects him to eventually be moved to third base. Nevertheless, his bat will play anywhere on the diamond. Last season, at the age of 19, he slugged more than .500 during stops in the Florida State League and Southern League — two pitcher-friendly circuits. When a 19-year-old is putting up power numbers in Double-A, you'd best pay attention. He's tearing it up once again at AA-Jacksonville this season. Expect him to make Dodger fans forget about Adrian Beltre beginning in 2006. He's a special young talent."

" ... 2. Chris Nelson, Rockies ...  first-rounder in 2004, Nelson is a capable defender at short with middle-of-the-order hitting skills. At the plate, Nelson uses the whole field, has quick wrists and good bat speed through the zone. He figures to hit for good power at the highest level, especially by shortstop benchmarks ...  slowed by a hamstring injury, but long-term he's one of the best prospects in the low minors."

    Allan Simpson, Baseball America, offers his picks as the Top 30 going into the June draft.

" ... 1. Justin Upton ... Diamondbacks will have a tough time passing on a player with Bo Jackson-quality tools."

" ... 2. Alex Gordon ... Impressive lefthanded power hitter has developed into a solid defender at hot corner."

" ... 3. Luke Hochevar ... Draft's best pitching prospect has led Vols to top spot in SEC with consistent plus stuff."

    Matthew Pouliot, RotoWorld.com, on Willy Aybar LA and  Fernando Nieve HOU :

" ...   Dodgers’ decision to switch Aybar from third base to second last year could work out for both parties in the long-term, but if Aybar were still at third, he probably would been the best option to take over for the injured Jose Valentin ... but the hope is that his future is at second base. The switch-hitter could be an offensive-minded regular in the mold of Jeff Kent."

" ...   22-year-old who was signed out of Venezuela in 1999, Nieve seems well on his way to a third straight excellent season ... capable of throwing 95 mph, but he’s at his best when he works in the low-90s with a sinking fastball that results in both grounders and swings and misses. He’s working hard on a changeup to go along with a curveball and slider ... command is generally quite good. Nieve isn’t currently major league ready, but he might be by this time next year ...  has No. 2-starter potential is his secondary pitches improve. As is, he projects as a No. 3."

    Snippets from the International League :

" ...  centerfielder Joey Gathright continues to wreak havoc in the leadoff spot. Gathright stole four bases against Richmond on May 6. It's the second time Gathright has collected four steals in a single International League game, as he also accomplished the feat July 10 last year against Buffalo. Gathright now has 19 stolen bases in as many attempts, leading the IL ...   Catcher Pete LaForest has caught fire in the last week. LaForest has collect three hits in four of his last five games, going 13-for-21 with two homers and eight RBI. LaForest now has tied Jonny Gomes for the team lead with 20 RBI."

    John M. Barten, 'Til You're Blue in the Face, on Dan Johnson OAK :

" ... hits for power, average, draws walks ... would be nice if had Scott Hatteberg's glove ... doesn't have quite the offensive ceiling that you see with Prince Fielder or Daric Barton, but he's still clearly a Major League hitter right now ... the reigning PCL MVP is picking up right where he left off, posting a .313/.407/.539 line in his first 128 at bats. He has more walks than strikeouts ... It's only a matter of time before Johnson becomes a fixture in Billy Beane's lineup. When he gets there, don't expect 45 home runs a season, but 25-35 per year with a decent average, and enough walks to make a good on base percentage."

12 May, 2005

    INTERNATIONAL --  Kelly Johnson RF ATL 2-3, 7th HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB ... Andy Marte 3B ATL 1-3, RBI, BB ... Shane Victorino CF PHI 2-3, R, BB ... Aaron Hill SS TOR 2-6 ... Eric Crozier 1B TOR 4-5, 2B, RBI, SB ... B.J. Upton SS TB 0-5, 0 errors ... Chris Shelton 1B DET 2-4, 6th HR, R, 2 RBI, BB ... rehab, Jody Gerut RF CLE 3-5, 1st HR, 2 R, 2 RBI ... Brian Tallet CLE 5 6 4 4 1 4, 2.83 ... Abe Alvarez BOS 6 7 2 2 1 6, 3.82 ... Bryan Bullington PIT 6 7 3 3 1 1, 4.50 ... Blake McGinley NYN 4-2/3 5 1 1 0 4, 3.86 ... Pedro Lopez SS CHA 1-3, 2nd HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB ... Felix Diaz CHA 5 4 1 1 1 1, 1.80 ... Boof Bonser MIN 6 6 4 2 2 5, 3.00 ... Walter Young 1B BAL 2-4, 2B, R

PACIFIC COAST --  Mike Fontenot CHN 1-3, triple … Jeff Baker COL 2-3, double … Conor Jackson ARI 1-4, double, 2 RBI … Carlos Quentin ARI 2-2 … Rickie Weeks MIL 1-2, double, 2 walks … Prince Fielder MIL 1-4, 2 RBI … Dave Krynzel MIL 2-5, double, 2 RBI … Shin Soo Choo SEA 1-4, double, SB (5) … Chris Snelling SEA 2-3, double … Chris Burke HOU 3-4, homer, 2 runs, SB … Luke Scott HOU 2-3, triple, homer … Taylor Buchholz HOU 6 8 4 4 1 4, (W, 1-0) … Willy Aybar LA 2-5, run … Dioner Navarro LA 2-4, 2K … Jayson Werth LA 1-4, 3K … Skip Schumaker STL 2-4, 4 runs … Adam Wainwright STL 6 5 1 1 1 6, (W, 4-1), 1.90 … Carmen Cali STL 1-2/3 2 0 0 0 3 … Jason Botts TEX 1-3, homer, 3 RBI … Ian Kinsler TEX 0-4, .240 … Ben Johnson SD 2-4 … Josh Willingham FLO 2-4, double, homer … Todd Linden SF 1-4, double

EASTERN --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 1-3, 2B (9), RBI (20), .342 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 2-4, 2B (4), SB (10), .304 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 1-3, 2B (5), .214 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 0-2, .300 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 0-4, .243 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 1-4, RBI (19), .256 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 0-4, 3 RBI (15), .256 AVG … Franklin Gutierrez CLE 1-4, .245 AVG … Tony Giarratano SS DET 2-5, 2 RBI (14), .218 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 1-5, .325 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 0-3, .244 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 0-4, .233 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 2-3, 2B (8), SB (4), .330 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 0-2, SB (4), .240 AVG … Michael Bourn OF PHI 0-4, .284 AVG … Eric Dubose BAL 6 3 1 1 2 6, W (2), 1.74 ERA … Dan Denham CLE 7 2 0 0 1 4, 3.31 ERA … Vance Perkins TOR 4 7 5 5 2 3, 4.11 ERA … Kason Gabbard BOS 5-2/3 6 2 2 1 5, 4.28 ERA … Merkin Valdez SF 5 4 4 1 4, 2.94 ERA … Matthew DeSalvo NYA 8 1 0 0 0 4 11, W (3),  3.43 ERA

SOUTHERN --  Sean Tracey CHA 4-1/3 5 5 5 5 5, 3.11 ...  a rough spot for Josh Fields CHA 0-3, .259 ... Jeff Francoeur ATL 3-5, double, 5th homer, .288 ...  interersting line, Brandon Sing CHN 0-0, 4 walks, 2 runs ... Travis Chick SD  5-2/3 7 3 3 0 7 ...  Jason Hammel TB, fine 2005 debut, 6 3 2 2 1 9 ...  Joel Guzman LA 2-4, 8th homer, .292 ... Fernando Cortez 2B TB 3-5, double, .365 ... Scott Olsen FLO  6-1/3 3 4 4 4 9 ... Jeremy Hermida FLO 3-4, double, .292 ... Rich Hill CHN, fifth straight outstanding start, 6 4 0 0 2 8 :

         IP  H  R ER BB SO  ERA
   Hill 5.1  3  1  1  3  8 7.98
   Hill 7.0  3  1  1  1 14 5.82
   Hill 7.0  0  0  0  2 12 4.40
   Hill 6.0  3  1  0  2  8 3.63
   Hill 6.0  4  0  0  2  8 3.10

TEXAS --  Juan Senreiso TX 2-4, 2B, .245 ... Tearin' it up - Justin Huber KC 3-4, 2R, 2B, RBI(30), .393 ... Josh Pressley (1B) KC 2-3, 2R, 2 2B, .325 ... John Draper (C) KC 2-3, .417 ... Travis Hanson STL 2-4, .280 ... Slowly on the rise - Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez SEA 2-4, R, SB, .262 ... Juan Sandoval SEA (W,2-1) 8 9 1 1 0 5 (2.50) ... Slowly coming back to earth - Reggie Willits ANA 1-4, R, 3B(4), .341 ... Chris Morris (LF) ANA 3-5, R, RBI, .344 ... Erick Aybar ANA 1-5, .246 ... David Gates ANA 2-5, 2B, .306 ... Michael Napoli ANA 3-4, 2R, RBI, SB, .260 ... Dax Norris (C) HOU 2-4, R, .234 ... Joe Saunders ANA (W,3-1) 5 4 1 1 3 6 (3.65) ... Omar Quintanilla OAK 2-6, 285 ... Maybe he IS human - Andre Ethier OAK 0-4, R, .402 ... Brian Stavisky OAK 2-5, R, RBI, .296 ... Matt Allegra (CF) OAK 3-5, 2R, 2B, HR, 3RBI, .236 . Ryan Spilborghs (LF) COL 1-4, R, RBI(23), .351 ... Matt Lynch OAK (W,4-0) 5 2/3 4 2 2 5 4 (3.60)

CALIFORNIA --  Miguel Montero C ARZ 2-4, 2 homers (7), .328 ... Adam Jones SS SEA 2-3, 5th homer ... Wes Bankston TB 0-2, 3 walks ... JP Howell KC 7-2/3 2 1 1 4 6, 1.54 ... Mitch Maier KC 3-4, 3 doubles, 2 RBI, .328 ... Dallas Braden OAK 9 5 1 1 1 11, 6-0, 2.68 ... Daric Barton OAK 2-4, .257 ...  Edison Volquez TEX 8 7 4 2 0 10, 3.21 ... Ian Stewart COL, long way to go, 0-4, 3 Ks, .189

CAROLINA --  Javier Guzman PIT 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K, SB (8), 11th error ... Michael Hall BOS 1-5, 3 K ...  Chad Spann BOS 0-4 ... Brad Snyder CLE 1-4, 2B, RBI, K ... Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 0-3, BB, K ... Ryan Goleski CLE 1-3, R, HR (5), RBI, BB, 2 K ... Nick Pesco CLE (L, 4-2, 2.16) 5 10 4 4 0 3 ... Thomas Collaro CHA 1-3, R, RBI, K ... Mitch Talbot HOU (W, 2-2, 2.06) 7 4 3 2 2 2 ... Nate Spears BAL 2-4, RBI ... Nick Markakis BAL 1-5, K ... Martin Prado ATL 1-3, RBI, SB (3) ... Josh Burrus ATL 0-3, BB, 2 K ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-3, R, BB, K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 0-3, BB, K ... Brian Finch BAL (W, 2-2, 3.82) 5-1/3 2 1 1 6 5

FLORIDA STATE --  Chris Dickson CF CIN 2-4 2B 2R 2RBI … Joey Votto 1B CIN 1-6 HR(4) 2RBI - .261 … John Hattig 3B TOR 2-4 R RBI … Zach Jackson TOR 6 5 2 1 1 6 W (5-1, 4.10) … Juan Francia 2B DET 2-4 R SB(14) - .395 … Virgil Vasquez DET 7 4 0 0 0 9 ND … Chris Walker CF CHN 2-4 2B HR(2) 4RBI … Brian Dopirak 1B CHN 0-4 … Greg Ramirez NYN 7 4 2 0 1 5 W(4-1, 2.06) … Errol Simonitsch MIN 6 1/3 5 4 3 2 8 L (3-2, 3.52) ... Jason Vargas FLO 6 2/3 3 2 2 2 8 ND

The Player of the Week for April 25-May 1 was Palm Beach Cardinals outfielder Cody Haerther, who batted .519 (14-for-27) in seven games; Lakeland Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander garnered Pitcher of the Week honors following his seven-inning, 12-strikeout scoreless outing. ... Juan Francia of Lakeland leads the FSL with a .391 (45-for-115) batting average. Teammate Vincent Blue and Fort Myers' Denard Span are tied for second at .359. ... Brevard pitcher Ty Taubenheim has an FSL-best 6-0 record, while Nathan Bumstead of Lakeland and Chris Lambert of Palm Beach are both 5-0. (TCPalm.com)

MIDWEST -- he's fallible, sort of Sean Gallagher CHN 7 5 1 1 0 6 (ERA skyrockets to 0.21, 1 earned run in 41 innings, 17 hits, 9 walks, 47 Ks) ) ... Javier Herrera (at DH) OAK 0-3, 2 BB ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 2-4 ... Matt Bush SD 2-4, but 12th error (.240) ... Fernando Rodriguez ANA 4 2/3 3 1 1 1 5 ... Matt Tuiasosopo (also at DH) SEA 1-4, 2 K ... Dallas Trahern DET 5 3 3 2 4 5 (2.61) ... looking like a top draftee Homer Bailey CIN 5 3 0 0 4 5 (2.22)

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  CLE lefty Tony Sipp 5 5 1 1 3 4, 0.98 ... Matt Miller COL 3-4, .396 ... Travis Denker LA 2-3, triple, .284 ... Mike Carp 1B NYN 3-4, triple, 11th homer, 3 RBI, .315 ... Jason Fransz BAL 3-6, double, homer, 4 RBI, .367 ... Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 5-6, double, .294  ... Mitch Einertson HOU 2-4, homer, .219

  Troop Movements ... ATL - Frank Brooks up (Kevin Gryboski DL) ... CIN - Elizardo Ramirez up (Rich Aurilia DL) ... NYA - Russ Johnson up (Felix Roldriguez DL) ... WAS - Claudio Vargas activated (Endy Chavez back to AAA) ... BAL - Luis Matos to DL, Rick Bauer to AAA (Sal Fasano, Jeff Fiorentino up)  ... PIT - acquired Michael Restovich from COL for PTBNL ... COL - claimed Blaine Neal, Randy Williams off waivers ...

" ... The Orioles have called up CF Jeff Fiorentino from High-A Frederick to replace the injured Luis Matos. A very surprising move, but one that I like a lot. The Orioles normally would have called up Tim Raines to fill in for Matos, but since Raines is hitting just .196 with Triple-A Ottawa, they went with Fiorentino. Fiorentino has been swinging a pretty hot stick for the Keys. He's homered in 2 out of the last 4 games and is hitting .313 overall with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, 5 steals, 19 runs scored, and 13 RBIs in 28 games this season. The 22-year-old outfielder is a solid, all-around prospect who can hit at the top of a line-up. He's not going to wow you with his physical tools, but he's a gamer with a line-drive stroke from the left."  (Scott Rex, OnDeck)

   Matthew Pouliot, RotoWorld.com, on Dallas Braden OAK :

" ...  Shaping up as a 24th-round steal, Braden, who was drafted last year out of Texas Tech, is striking out two batters for every hit he gives up in the California League. With a decent 87-89 mph fastball, a screwball and a changeup, he’s a legitimate prospect, although the screwball probably won’t be such a huge weapon against more experienced hitters. If the A’s can stay in contention, he might be able to help as a reliever after the All-Star break. He’s not a top prospect as a starting pitcher."

    A baseball World Cup, with major league players, is set for next year :

" ... played during Spring Training of 2006, Commissioner Bud Selig announced on Wednesday ... The tentative dates are March 4-20 with the Asian Qualifying Tournament played at the front end of it and the finals a possibility for San Diego's PETCO Park ... The four early rounds are tentatively scheduled to be played in Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States ... The start of Spring Training in 2006, specific pitch counts for Major League pitchers and the number of players each MLB team would contribute to the tournament are still to be determined." (MLB.com)

    Catchup ... a couple of names to know ... POWs for the week ending May 8th :

" ... Carolina League Anibal Sanchez ...  became just the second player to repeat as his league's Pitcher of the Week ...  turning in solid outings in two of the Blue Rocks' three wins. Sanchez, who won the award in the first week of the season, allowed two unearned runs on four hits while striking out nine through six innings in Wilmington's 6-2 win over Potomac on May 2. He then allowed just two runs on five hits in five innings as the Blue Rocks defeated Frederick, 7-5, on May 7. On the season, Sanchez is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA and ranks second in the Carolina League with 48 strikeouts in just 31 innings."

" ... Florida State League Ty Taubenheim ...  hard to improve your numbers when you're undefeated with an ERA under 2.00, but that's exactly what Ty Taubenheim did in his last two outings. The 6-foot-6 right-hander tossed two gems, including a one-hit complete-game shutout to raise his record to 6-0 with a 1.47 ERA ...  leads the Florida State League in wins and innings pitched and is second in ERA." (MLB.com)

    Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com, with his predictions for the top three slots in the June draft :

" ... 1. Diamondbacks: Justin Upton, SS ... This certainly isn't a sure thing, though Upton -- B.J.'s younger brother -- is considered to be the top position player in the draft class, even if he has to move to center field. Arizona's selection may depend on what happens with the unsigned Stephen Drew. There have been a lot of rumors about some kind of package deal with agent Boras, in which the Diamondbacks would finally come to terms with Drew and take another Boras client with this pick."

" ... 2. Royals: Alex Gordon, 3B ... If the Diamondbacks end up not taking Upton, the Royals won't let him go by. But if Upton's off the board, they'll go with the guy who is the consensus next best player in the draft in Gordon. He's an advanced hitter with legit power from the left side, and that doesn't exactly grow on trees."

" ... 3. Mariners: Troy Tulowitzki, SS ...  possibility of Gordon or even Upton sliding to them would understandably make them excited. If that doesn't happen, all signs point to them being big fans of Tulo, a guy who's not "toolsy," but does everything well. There's also been some talk about Virginia's Ryan Zimmerman and even Stanford's John Mayberry Jr., who they drafted but didn't sign in 2002."

    Glenn Guzzo, Minors First, with a chance to see some of the Southern League stars, including a few of LA's finest :

" ... C Russell Martin has shown an adequate arm ...  other defensive skills are impressive. He moves very well, blocking balls in the dirt, getting out quickly on bunts and getting back in good shape on foul pops. He blocks the plate well. He makes excellent, take-charge throws to first and third. His game-situation concentration, defensively and offensively, is admirable."

" ... No. 1 prospect Joel Guzman started games at third base. Scouts seem unanimous that the 6-foot-6 Guzman, who at age 20 may still be growing, will not be a regular major-league SS. But until the second game of a double-header on May 1, he had not played anywhere else, and the Dodgers have not seen fit to put another SS on their AA team roster. He started his second game at 3B on May 8, with DePodesta watching, but DePodesta suggested that we shouldn't make too much of that. "The last thing we want to do is switch him from shortstop, play him a lot at third base and then decide that our greatest need is in right field." ... Guzman's bat is coming along well. The question so far is the consistency of his intensity. When it's there, he's gold. He has good form and instincts defensively at SS, but fails to make plays when a bit more urgency would do the job. And his team-leading 32 strikeouts in 100 AB seem beneath his talent. This is another tall, graceful player, so judge his effort cautiously."

11 May, 2005

    INTENAL --  Edwin Encarnacion 3B CIN 2-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB ... Kelly Johnson RF ATL 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB ... powering up, Shane Victorino CF PHI 3-4, 7th & 8th HRs, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB ... Aaron Hill SS TOR 2-4, 2B, 3 R ... Eric Crozier 1B TOR 1-3, 5th HR, R, 2 RBI ... John-Ford Griffin DH TOR 2-3, 6th HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB ... B.J. Upton SS TB 1-3, R, BB, 0 errors ... Nelson Cruz DET 6-1/3 6 5 4 0 5 4.18 ... Ryan Garko C CLE 2-5, 2B, 4th HR, R, RBI ... needs more seasoning, Chris Narveson BOS 3 11 9 9 1 1 4.81 ... Ian Snell PIT 4-2/3 7 5 5 3 7, 4.22 ... Brandon McCarthy CHA 5 8 5 5 3 7, 4.01

PACIFIC COAST --  Conor Jackson ARI 1-3, double, 2 walks … Scott Hairston ARI 1-4 … Carlos Quentin ARI 0-3, walk … Rickie Weeks MIL 1-3, double, RBI … Prince Fielder MIL 0-3 … Brad Nelson MIL 0-4, 4K … Willy Aybar LA 2-4, double, SB … Jayson Werth LA 0-4, 3K … Chris Duncan STL 1-4, RBI, run … Skip Schumaker STL 4-5, run … Eric Gagne LA 1 0 0 0 0 2, (H, 1), so far no hits or runs in 2 innings … Shin Soo Choo SEA 3-4, triple, 2 homers, 5 RBI, 3 runs … Chris Snelling SEA 1-2, 3 walks, run, .426 … Chris Burke HOU 1-5, double, 3K … Luke Scott HOU 1-3, double … Carlos Hernandez HOU 5 4 6 6 7 6, 4 homers!!!, (L, 2-2), 6.03 … Richard Lewis CHN 1-4, triple, RBI … Brian Buchanan COL 1-3, homer, 4 RBI … Jorge Piedra COL 3-5, 2 doubles, triple, 4 RBI, 3 runs … Joe Borowski CHN 2/3 2 3 1 1 0 … Josh Barfield SD 3-4, double, 3 runs … Josh Willingham FLO 2-3, homer, 3 runs … the “It’s ALIVE!” award goes to: Jason Stokes FLO 3-5, homer, 3 RBI, only 42 at bats, but 12 hits with 5 homers … Ian Kinsler TEX 1-4, homer … Dan Johnson OAK 1-4, grand slam to break the game open (Johnson with hits in 10 of his last 11 games, .489)  … Dan Meyer OAK 5-2/3 8 3 3 2 3, 6.62 … Todd Linden SF 2-4, homer, 2 RBI

EASTERN --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 0-3, RBI (19), .343 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 1-4, 3B (7), RBI (13), .297 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 1-3, HR (2), RBI (9), .211 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 0-4, .307 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 1-3, .256 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 0-4, .264 AVG … Franklin Gutierrez CLE 1-4, RBI (11), .245 AVG … Tony Giarratano SS DET 2-4, 2B (5), RBI (12), .208 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 0-4, .330 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 0-3, SB (5), .250 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 1-4, .241 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 3-4, 3 2B (7), .321 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 1-4, .245 AVG … Michael Bourn OF PHI 2-5, 2B (5), .295 AVG … Joel Zumaya DET 4-1/3 8 10 7 5 5, 5.66 ERA … Yusmerio Petit NYN 4 3 1 1 1 2, 3.29 ERA … Matt Lindstrom NYN 2 1 0 0 1 0, W (1), 5.66 ERA … Josh Banks TOR 5-1/3 7 6 6 0 5, 2.72 ERA … Jon Papelbon BOS 6 1 1 1 1 5, W (3), 2.02 ERA … Jeffrey Karstens NYA 5-2/3 10 6 4 0 6, 3.00 ERA

SOUTHERN --  James Loney LA, brief glimpse of talent, 1-3, 5th homer, .211 ...  Chris Denorfia RF CIN 4-5, 2 doubles, .338 ... Ricky Nolasco CHN 7 5 2 2 2 5, 6-0, 1.29 ... Felix Pie CHN 4-5, 5th homer, .365 ... Matt Murton CHN 2-5, triple, 4th homer, .407 ... Brandon Sing CHN 2-4, 7th homer, .337 ... Jon Zerinque ARZ 2-4, double, 4th homer, .253 ... Brian McCann ATL 2-4, 8th double, .322

TEXAS --  Ruddy Yan TX 2-7, R, 2B, RBI, .310 ... Joaquin Arias TX 3-6, 2RBI, .234 ... Justin Huber KC 3-5, 2R, 2B, HR, 2RBI(29), .381 ... Cory Aldridge KC 3-5, 2R 2B, HR, 3RBI, .296 ... Callaspo, Aybar, Willits ANA 1-11 ... Carlos Rodriguez (DH) HOU 2-4, R, HR, 2RBI, .295 ... Mark McLemore HOU (W,3-2) 6 2/3 3 1 1 5 5 (2.60) ... Andre Ethier OAK 1-4, 2B, .415 ... Jayson Nix COL 2-4, R, HR, 4RBI, .205 ... Christian Parker COL (W,3-1) 7 2/3 3 1 1 0 9 (1.41) ... Tyler Minges STL 3-6, 2R, 2B, HR, 2RBI, .349 ... Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez SEA 2-6, 2R, 2B, .255 ... TJ Bohn SEA 2-6, R, .345 ... Jon Nelson (LF) SEA 2-4, 2R, HR, 3RBI, .254

CALIFORNIA --  Wes Bankston 1B TB, back on the field, 2-3, walk, 2 RBI ...  Ryan Wing, now in the TEX system, 5 0 0 0 4 3 ... Ian Stewart COL 2-5, 2 doubles ... Eddy Martinez-Esteve SF 3-5, double, .354 ... Nate Schierholtz RF SF 3-5, 2 doubles, 4 RBI, .327 ... George Kottaras SD 1-4, 2nd homer ... Chris Carter 1B ARZ 3-4, 4th & 5th homers, 2 walks, 6 RBI, .277

CAROLINA --  Charlie Haeger CHA 6 4 3 2 3 6, 5-0, 2.25 ... Robert Valido SS CHA 4-5, double, .313 ... Ronald Bay CLE 6-2/3 3 0 0 1 7, 3-1, 1.93

FLORIDA STATE --  No games scheduled.

MIDWEST --  good enough to win Eric Hurley TEX 5 4 3 3 2 4 (4-1, 2.75) ... Carlos Gonzalez (RF) ARZ 3-5, 9th double (.264) ... Jair Jurrjens DET 6 6 4 1 1 6 (1.59) ... stagnating Justin Justice DET 0-4 (.263) ... Aaron Jensen SEA 5 7 4 4 1 5 (3.32) ... Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 0-3, 10th error (down to .319) ... Reid Brignac TB 8th double ... Matt Weber CHN 6 8 2 2 0 4 (3.46) ... Trevor Plouffe MIN 1-4, 2nd double ... A.J. Wideman TOR 6 4 1 1 1 5

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  Marcos Vechionacci SS NYA 3-5, .322 ... Neil Walker PIT 1-4, triple, .286 ... Dante Brinkley NYN 2-4, double, .436 ... Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 4-6, triple, .262 ... Jeff Allison 3-2/3 4 4 4 4 1, 7.27 ... Ben Zobrist SS HOU 3-5, double, .270

  Troop Movements ... CHN - Sergio Mitre up (Jon Leicester to AAA), Ryan Harvey & Eric Patterson, FSL to DL ... TB - Jesus Colome activated (Jonny Gomes to AAA) ... HOU - Todd Self up (Jeff Bagwell to DL) ... OAK - Kiko Calero to DL (Tim Harikkala up) ... SF - Scott Munter back up (Jason Schmidt DL) ... BAL - Keith Reed up (Sammy Sosa to DL)

    Should have caught that ... Chris Nelson is on the DL and hitting just .100 in the SAL ... it's OF Justin Nelson hitting about .250 with Asheville. 

    Braves' lefty Chuck James zooms to the top of Kevin Goldstein's Prospect Hot Sheet at Baseball America :

" ...  James fired 12 shutout innings in a pair of starts last week, allowing three hits and striking out 18. In 41 2/3 innings, he has more than twice as many strikeouts (59) as baserunners allowed (28). His career numbers: 224 innings, 138 hits, 75 walks, 283 strikeouts. We're done justifying this selection."

" ... The sensational southpaw looked nearly untouchable, giving up just one lonely hit against the Frederick Keys ... James registered nine strikeouts, adding to his Carolina League leading total (59). James hurled six shutout innings and gave up just one hit in the win. Chuck has now fanned nine or more batters in each of his last four starts."  (Myrtle Beach Pelicans)

Cubs' Sean Gallagher is the runner-up, ahead of Brandon Wood SS ANA and Andre Ethier OAK :

" ...  Ethier is 19-for-37 in nine May games, and hitting a whopping .420-7-30 overall--leading the Texas League in batting, home runs (tied), RBIs, runs (30), hits (50) and slugging (.697). Saving his best for when it counts, Ethier is an amazing 31-for-60 (.517) with runners on base, and has yet to hit a solo home run.

Howie Kendrick ANA holds the No. 5 slot.

    James ranks No. 2 in David Regan's Who's Hot at RotoAmerica.  Delmon Young takes the top spot with Andre Ethier 3rd, Jeremy Hermida 4th and Adam Wainwright 5th :

" ...Young ... 19 year-old phenom is treating AA pitching like batting practice and is red hot, including 11-14 in his last three games, lifting his numbers to .358/.425/.578. The 13 steals are a shock too."

" ... Hermida ... Remember when the knock on him was a lack of power? Well the power is here: .286/.457/.673. Ten homeruns and a Bonds-like 30 walks in 30 games will have him perhaps ready to take over for Juan Encarnacion next year."

Ah, the joy of picking pitching prospects.  The top three in David's Who's Not are once top ranked starting prospects :

" ... Edwin Jackson ...  Must be something mechanical here, as he reportedly still has good velocity, but AAA hitters are teeing off on him to the tune of a 7.06 ERA, including 8 ER in 3 IP in his last start. Still young, and it IS an extreme hitter's park that he plays in (Las Vegas) but still.... "

" ... Matt Cain...  two straight horrible outings, allowing 11 runs in his last 8 2/3 IP."

" ... Jerome Williams ... a 10.57 ERA in AAA."

    Bryan Smith, Baseball Analysts, has an interesting piece on the top college hitters available for the June draft. he likes third baseman Alex Gordon as the best of the lot :

" ... His combination of huge power, fantastic patience, and speed are unparalleled in this draft."

Next to Gordon, Bryan likes a pair of shortstops :

" ... Troy Tulowitzki ...  Long Beach State shortstop ...  has a .301 ISO this season, despite playing in an extreme pitcher's park in Blair Field. His power, teamed with his size (6-3) and arm (Big West's best) have drawn comparisons to former Dirtbag Bobby Crosby for years. He doesn't walk as much as his fellow shortstops, but Tulo has just about everything else to offer a Major League team."

" ... Right behind Troy is Tyler Greene, who I contemplated ranking as the top shortstop in the draft. Greene was a second-round choice by the Atlanta Braves out of high school, when it was believed that Tyler already had Major League defense. While only improving in that area since then, Greene has slowly quieted those that doubted his bat. Tyler runs very well, walks a lot, and has added a power element to his game that gives him a little bit of everything. I do wonder whether he will consistently hit when reaching the professional level, and if he can stop striking out in about 27% of his at-bats."

    Notes from Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com :

" ... California League: LHP Dallas Braden gets early props as best late-round 2004 draft pick. The A's 24th-rounder has used a screwgie to strike out 53 and walk just 10 en route to a 5-0, 3.12 ERA start for Stockton."

" ... Florida State League: No one was sure how Cardinals' 2004 first-rounder Chris Lambert would adjust to the pro game, especially after being a two-sport star in the past. So far, so good. Lambert is 5-0 with a 1.87 ERA for Palm Beach, striking out 30 in 33 2/3 IP and walking nine."

    Mets' kid tearing up the SAL :

" ... Dante Brinkley ... South Atlantic League Batter of the Week ... 16 hits in his 26 at bats for a .615 batting average including 4 doubles, 2 homeruns and 8 RBI in his 6 games played this week. Dante also scored 12 runs, posted an on base percentage of .688 and a slugging percentage of 1.000. Brinkley currently leads the South Atlantic League in batting average (.435), on base percentage (.547), slugging percentage (.772) and runs scored (29)." (South Atlantic League)

   Mike Beebe, SportsBlurb, on a pair of rebounding CLE kids :

" ... Two of the Cleveland Indians' best infield prospects have likewise been extremely hot lately. Former "Top Prospect" Brandon Phillips ... second baseman still isn't hitting all that well (just .239 thus far), but he went 3-for-5 on Sunday and has three home runs in his last five games ...  Catching and first base prospect Ryan Garko on the other hand is in a zone, going 10-for-15 in the last four games, sitting on a .322 average and an On Base Percentage just a shade under .400. Garko has hit everywhere he has played, hitting well over .325 in stops at three different levels (A, AA and AAA) in 2004. Of course Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner are the better known names up in Cleveland, and Ben Broussard has started to show life of his own the past couple of weeks. Unless someone gets injured, or Garko gets traded he may not get any extended time in the majors anytime soon, which could be too bad, because he is shaping up to be a very consistent hitter...especially as a catcher."

   Several questions on the whereabouts of Angel Guzman CHN.  Still on the sidelines (forearm stiffness). 

" ...   The Cubs talked in the final week of spring training about Guzman being ready for the majors in the first few months if he pitched well in the minors. Instead, Guzman has been on the disabled list with soreness in his right forearm since the end of spring training, an injury the Cubs suspect might be linked to Guzman breaking his arm as a youngster and not having it set properly, leaving room for inflammation." (Chicago Sun Times)

   Maybe this time.

" ... Few questioned whether Edgar Gonzalez has the arm to pitch in the major leagues. The question was, when would his mind be mature enough to pitch in the big leagues? That moment may have arrived for the 22-year-old Tucson Sidewinders right-hander. Gonzalez improved to 3-1 with the Sidewinders' 7-3 win against Fresno last night ... off to his best start as a professional since 2002, when he finished 11-8 with Class-A South Bend. The past two seasons, he has traveled back and forth between Tucson and the Arizona Diamondbacks as a promising prospect ... "The last two years I've worked, but not too hard," Gonzalez said. "This year I work hard because I think this is my year. Last year I was happy I was in the big leagues, but I didn't throw good. This year is my year, so I've put a lot of work into it." ... longest stint of the year last night. He tossed eight innings, allowing five hits and three runs in lowering his ERA to 2.82. "He's taking this a little more serious," Sidewinders pitching coach Mike Parrott said. "His work ethic has improved, and he's getting after it between starts. "The skills have always been there. Everyone always thought he will be a good big league pitcher someday. It was just a matter of when his work ethic and his mental frame of mind caught up with his ability."  (Tucson Citizen)

   John M. Barten, 'Til You're Blue in the Face, on Jack Cust OAK :

" ... At this point, it looks like his detractors were right. His swing was too long and he has a lot of problems with breaking balls. He's also still an awful outfielder. We know what to expect from him at this point. He'll strike out a lot, he'll draw a ton of walks, and he'll hit some bombs ...  It isn't strong evidence, but thus far he's showing some signs of life in 2005. He's hitting .313/.407/583 with Sacramento. If he does manage to maintain those numbers, he could be a pretty good bat to have in a left field or DH platoon. You could easily compare him to a kind of Matt Stairs for the next half decade, only with a little bit more extreme skill set on offense."

10 May, 2005

    Please join me in a round of applause for Brad Dowdy, our South Atlantic correspondent for the past two seasons, who has been forced to curtail his late evening baseball sleuthing here because of a promotion at work in the real world.  It's been our pleasure to have had the opportunity to feast off his prospect prowess and it is hoped we can bring 'em back in a role which fits with his new work hours.  Thank you Brad !  I'll try and fill in with the SAL coverage for a few days while Chris Carlson gets the lay of the land. 

    INTERNATIONAL --  Edwin Encarnacion 3B CIN 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB ... Kyle Davies ATL 4-2/3 5 6 6 6 5 ,3.63 ... Eude Brito PHI 3-1/3 2 1 1 1 7 8.66 ... Aaron Hill SS TOR 2-4 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 1-3, BB, 0 errors ... Curtis Granderson CF DET 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, BB ... Ryan Raburn 2B DET 2-5, 5th HR, R, 2 RBI ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 2-5, 5th HR, R, RBI ... rehab, Jody Gerut RF CLE 1-4, 2B, R, BB ... improving, Jeremy Guthrie CLE 6 3 0 0 3 4, 7.11 ... Ryan Doumit C PIT 2-2, 3 R, 2 BB ... Brad Eldred 1B PIT 2-4, 3B, 1st HR (14 over-all), 2 R, 4 RBI ... Cory Stewart PIT 6-1/3 5 2 2 4 4, 3.06 ... Jeff Keppinger 2B NYN 2-4, 2B, RBI ... Sean Henn NYA 4-1/3 10 5 5 3 4, 10.38 ... bad outing triples ERA, Dave Gassner MIN 3 9 9 9 0 0, 4.98 ... John Maine BAL 5 5 3 3 2 6, 4.11

PACIFIC COAST --  Rickie Weeks MIL 1-2, walk … Prince Fielder MIL 0-4 … Corey Hart MIL 1-3, homer … Ben Hendrickson MIL 6 4 1 1 0 8 …Justin Lehr MIL 2 2 0 0 0 2, (W, 3-1) … Chris Duncan STL 1-4, run … Bobby Brownlie CHN 6 5 2 2 3 5, (L, 1-2) … Dan Johnson OAK 4-4, double, homer, 4 RBI, 3 runs … Jayson Werth LA 1-3, run … Dioner Navarro LA 0-2, 3 walks … Willy Aybar LA 1-5, 3 RBI, 3K … Edwin Jackson LA 3 10 8 8 2 1, (L, 2-2), 7.06 … Brendan Harris WAS 2-5, triple, homer, 5 RBI … Josh Willingham FLO 0-2, 2 runs, SB … Chris Burke HOU 2-5, double, 2 RBI … Jason Botts TEX 2-4, double … John Hudgins TEX 7 9 4 4 1 5, (L, 1-1) … Todd Linden SF 1-4, double … Scott Hairston ARZ 3-4, double … Conor Jackson ARZ 1-3, double … Sergio Santos ARZ 1-3, triple … Carlos Quentin ARZ 1-2, walk … Jerome Williams SF 6 12 7 6 1 2, (L, 0-2)

EASTERN --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 1-3, .352 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 1-4, SB (9), .299 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 0-1, .207 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 0-5, RBI (20), .321 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 0-3, .252 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 1-4, .254 AVG … Michael Aubery 1B CLE 1-4, .288 AVG ... Franklin Gutierrez CLE 0-4, .244 AVG … … Tony Giarratano SS DET 1-4, 2B (4), .196 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 2-5, .257AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 1-4, .241 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 4-5, 2 2B (5), 2 RBI (10), .305 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 1-4, 2B (6), RBI (13), .245 AVG … Hayden Penn BAL 4 8 5 5 3 2 , 3.16 ERA … Brian Bannister NYN 5-1/3 6 5 5 2 2 , 1.60 ERA … Ismael Ramirez TOR 7 3 2 2 2 4, W (2), 3.41 ERA … Rob Henkel DET 6 7 6 6 2 3, 2.40 ERA … Fred Lewis OF SF 0-4, .250 AVG … David Aardsma SF 5 5 3 2 2 2 , W (4), 3.00 ERA … Francisco Liriano MIN 6 10 5 5 0 6, 4.07 ERA …

SOUTHERN --  Joel Guzman LA 1-5, double, .286 ... Delwyn Young 2B LA 2-3, 5th homer, .308 ... Delmon Young TB, another 4-hit effort, 4-5, 2 RBI, .358 ... Jeremy Hermida FLO 2-3, double, 2 walks, .286 ... Chris Young CHA 2-3, 5th homer, .266 ... Josh Fields CHA another 0-4, .257 ... Jeff Francoeur ATl 2-4, .285 ... Brian McCann ATl 2-3, 2 walks, .313

TEXAS --  Joaquin Arias TX 1-2, .216 ... Josh Pressley KC 2-4, R, 2B, .321 ... Justin Huber KC 3-3, 3B, RBI(27), .370 ... Brian Bass (W,3-1) 8 6 1 1 1 2 (5.53) .. OUCH! - Willits, Callaspo, Aybar ANA 0-12 ... Michael Napoli ANA 1-4, R, HR 2RBI, .245 ... Josh Anderson HOU 1-4, .333 ... Jason Hirsh HOU (L,4-2) 2 2/3 7 7 7 1 1 (3.70) ... Heating Up - Omar Quintanilla OAK 3-4, 2R, .287 ... Move this guy up already - Andre Ethier OAK 3-4, 3R, 2B, RBI, .426 ... A nice night - Jason Perry (RF) OAK 3-4, 2R, 2HR(6), 7RBI(24), .282 ... Jayson Nix (2B) COL 1-3, R, HR, 2RBI, .200 ... Jairo Garcia OAK (S,6) 1 0 0 0 0 3 (1.08) ... Travis Hanson STL 2-5, R, 2B, RBI, .282 ... Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez SEA 2-5, R, 2B, .252 ... Nathan Espy (1B) SEA 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3RBI, .312 ... Josh Kinney STL (S,9) 2 1 0 0 0 1 (0.41)

CALIFORNIA --  Nate Schierholtz SF 2-4, triple, .312 ... Billy Butler KC 1-3, 8th homer, .345 ... Mitch Maier KC 2-4, 5th homer, .309 ... Micah "Kila" Kaaihue 1B KC 3-4, 5th homer, .352

CAROLINA --  Pat Magness 2-5, double, 5th homer, .337 ... Chuck James ATL, amazing, 6 1 0 0 3 9, 1.08 ... Adam Loewen BAL, little step backwards, 5-1/3 9 4 3 4 2, 3.03 ... Michael Hinckley WAS, 2005 debut after a DL stint, 3 6 5 5 2 3 .

FLORIDA STATE --  Tyler Clippard NYA 5 5 2 2 1 7 W(4-2, 3.32) … Matt Carson CF NYA 2-4 HR(6) 3B 2R 2RBI … David Purcey TOR 6 2 3 1 4 6 W(3-1, 2.59) … Lou Palmisano C MIL 2-3 RBI … Miguel Perez C CIN 3-4 2B R 3RBI … Junior Ruiz RF CIN 2-4 2B 2R RBI … Reggie Abercrombie CF FLO 4-5 HR(7) 2R 2RBI 3SB(6) … Eric Rodland SS DET 2-4 2B 2RBI … Lastings Milledge CF NYN 2-3 - hitting .197 … Vincent Cordova NYN 6 5 3 1 0 10 L … Glen Perkins MIN 5 3 1 1 0 8 … Jay Sawatski MIN 3 2 0 0 1 3 W … Matt Moses 3B MIN 2-5 HR(5) - .342 … Dennard Span CF MIN 2-5 R … Justin Orenduff LA 5 5 1 1 1 6 W

MIDWEST --  we have a pulse Trevor Plouffe MIN 2-4, 2nd HR, BB (.143) ... Kyle Waldrop MIN 6 5 1 1 2 5 (4.15) ... Matt Bush SD 1-4, double ... Ryan Webb OAK 6 1/3 7 1 1 0 2 (W, 3-1, 2.84) ... Jarrett Hoffpauir STL 3-5, 11th double ... Reid Brignac TB 3-5, 4th HR (.269) ... Mario Lisson KC 0-5 ... stuck in a rut Sean Rodriguez ANA 1-4 (.229) ... Michael Collins ANA 2-4, 2nd HR (.278) ... ouch Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 0-4, 3 K's, 9th error

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  Blake Dewitt 3B LA 2-5, .293 ... Gaby Hernandez NYN 5-1/3 8 4 3 1 3, 3.55 ... Dante Brinkley LF NYN 2-5, .422 ... Mike Carp 1B NYN 3-4, 10th homer, .284 ... Luis Ramirez BAL 6 4 0 0 1 2, 2.14 ... James Happ PHI 5 5 1 0 3 2, 1.59 ... Marcus Sanders SS SF 0-2. 3 walks, .325

  Troop Movements ... CHN - Jon Leicester back up (Roberto Novoa to AAA) ... CHA - Kevin Walker up, Willie Harris activated (Jamie Burke designated for assignment) ... CIN - Todd Coffey, William Bergolla up (Wily Mo Pena, Ben Weber DL) ... COL - David Cortes up (Michael Restovich designated for assignment) ... DET - Chris Spurling up (Troy Percival DL) ... KC - Leo Nunez up (Brian Anderson DL) ... LA - purchased the contract of Oscar Robles from Mexico City (Norihiro Nakamura designated for assignment) ... STL - Mike Mahoney up (Bill Pulsipher to AAA) ...  WAS - Tony Armas activated (Jose Vidro DL) ... ARZ - Jose Cruz activated (Matt Kata to AAA) ... TEX - Carlos Almanzar out for the season, TJ surgery ... SD - Tim Stauffer, Brian Falkenborg up, Khalil Greene activated (Jesse Garcia, Randy Williams designated, Tim Redding to DL)

" ... Stauffer, 22, was 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 31 strikeouts in six starts with the Beavers. The second-year professional is coming off his best start with the Beavers after tossing 9.0 scoreless innings and allowing six hits and one walk in a no-decision against Salt Lake on May 5. At the time of his promotion, the first of his career, Stauffer ranked sixth in the Pacific Coast League in ERA, also ranking among league leaders in innings pitched (38.2). Stauffer was a first-round selection (fourth overall) of the Padres in the 2003 draft." (Portland Beavers)

    David Regan, RotoAmerica, has his picks as the Top 20 prospects in the South Atlantic League.  A COL shortstop and a WSox lefty top the list.

" ... 1. Chris Nelson ...  off to a bit of a slow start with his average hovering around the .250 mark, but he's drawing walks and as of May 5th, had committed only one error at SS. The hits will come for the guy some call "the next Jeter".

" ... 2. Gio Gonzalez ...   One of the minors' top pitchers so far in 2005, Gio has struck out an amazing 38 batters in 22 innings pitched while walking just six. He's also held hitters to a .151 average while posting a 1.23 ERA. This 19 year-old lefty was Chicago's 1st round supplemental pick last year ... an impressive arsenal, highlighted by his curve that he uses a lot as an "out" pitch."

" ... 6. Marcus Sanders, SS ... Part of a bumper crop of Giants hitting prospects emerging this year, Sanders is looking like a potential future major league leadoff hitter. 18 stolen bases and a .408 OBP will do that for a guy. He even has a bit of pop. Just 19 years old."

    John M. Barten, 'Til You're Blue in the Face, on Ubaldo Jimenez COL :

" ... Jimenez was in the middle of a breakout season when the Rockies shelved him last year with a stress fracture in his shoulder blade ... a power pitcher, pumping mid 90's gas with a quality curve and a good change. The biggest improvement in 2004 was his control ... started this season back in the California League ... doing pretty well, with a 3.42 ERA and well over a strikeout per inning, but his control has slipped a little ... If his command returns, he's a premium prospect. If he keeps walking this many men, he's a promising arm with a big flaw."

   Delmon Young, Brandon McCarthy among the weekly award winners :

" ... Delmon Young ... In an 8-5 win on May 7 ...  went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. The following afternoon, Young finished with four hits, two of them home runs, to go along with five RBI in an 8-4 Biscuits’ victory. During the three-game series against the league’s top-ranked pitching staff, the outfielder went 8-for-12 with seven RBI. The outfielder currently ranks in the Southern League top 10 in hitting with a .337 average, tied for second in RBI with 25 and second in stolen bases with 13." (Southern League)

" ... Brandon McCarthy ... 21-year-old struggled in his first three starts, going 0-2, but has seemingly found his groove in his last three starts ... only start this week was on May 5 at division-leading Norfolk ...  tossed eight shutout innings, scattering five hits and walking just one batter while striking out ten. Brandon earned his third straight victory, and pushed his League leading strikeout total to 50. McCarthy is one of the International League’s most promising pitching prospects ... In 2004 McCarthy led all of Minor League baseball with 202 strikeouts while splitting time between Class-A Kannapolis, Winston-Salem, and Double-A Birmingham, including a stretch in which he won 12 straight decisions. Through his first three seasons in Minor League Baseball, the 6’7” McCarthy has struck out an amazing 406 batters while walking only 62." (International League)

   Gavin Floyd PHI confident of a successful return to MLB :

" ...  Floyd is back in a starter's role and looking to regain his consistency. "As good as he is, he doesn't even understand how good his stuff is," said Red Barons catcher A.J. Hinch, who has appeared in 350 major-league games. Yesterday was the best of Floyd's three minor-league starts this season. He threw five innings and allowed three hits and two runs (one earned). He struck out six and walked three. Call it a small victory in the confidence department. "I felt things today I haven't felt for four or five starts," Floyd said. "It definitely is a step in the right direction." His fastball was in the 90-to-93-m.p.h range, and his signature pitch, the curveball, handcuffed many of the Red Wings. "It's a curveball you hear when it's coming," said Rod Nichols, the Red Barons' pitching coach. "It spins a lot and breaks a lot. It's a very good pitch for him and a reason to be excited." In his previous two minor-league starts, Floyd allowed 12 earned runs in 81/3 innings ...  Hinch said Scranton is a good place for Floyd to start picking up the pieces. "He finally gets a chance to breathe and relax and deflate a little, where he can go out and learn how to compete again," Hinch said. "It's not the microscope, to where you feel almost suffocated by the situation, which is how it kind of ended in Philadelphia." Floyd is determined to write a new ending. "I have the ability, and I have the talent," he said in a matter-of-fact way. "I just need to fine-tune some things and be up there soon. Hopefully."  (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader)

09 May, 2005

    INTERNATIONAL --  Stephen Smitherman DH CIN 2-4, R ... Kelly Johnson 3B ATL 1-3, 6th HR, R, RBI, BB ... moving across the diamond, Andy Marte 1B ATL 1-3, 2B, R, BB ... T.J. Pena SS ATL 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB ... Shane Victorino CF PHI 2-4, 3B, 6th HR, 2 R, 2 RBI ... Gavin Floyd PHI 5 3 2 1 3 6, 8.78 ... John-Ford Griffin DH TOR 2-3, 3B, R, 3 RBI, SF ... Gabe Gross LF TOR 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R ... Brandon League TOR 5 2 2 1 3 0, 6.06 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 3-5, R, 2 SB, 0 errors ... Joey Gathright CF TB 2-5, R, 2 SB ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 2-5, 2B, 4th HR, 2 R, 3 RBI ... Ryan Garko 1B CLE 2-4, 2 R, BB ... rehab, Jody Gerut DH CLE 0-2, 2 R, BB, 2 HBP ... Kelly Shoppach C BOS 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, HBP ... off day, Zach Duke PIT 4 12 6 5 0 2 4.17 ... Angel Pagan CF NYN 2-4, 2 SB ... Brian Anderson CF CHA 3-3, 2B, 5th HR, R, RBI, BB ... J.D. Durbin MIN 7-2/3 3 3 2 1 4, 4.66

PACIFIC COAST --  oh, oh .. signs of injury here?  Matt Cain SF, two straight stinkers, 4 3 6 6 7 3 (11 runs, 13 walks in his last 8-2/3s)  ...  Chris Duncan STL 2-5, double, 3 RBI … John Nelson STL 2-5, homer … Anthony Reyes STL 9 7 2 2 0 7, (W, 4-1), 2.61 … Rickie Weeks MIL 1-2 … Prince Fielder 1-2, homer … Corey Hart MIL 1-4, homer … Jose Capellan MIL 5 3 2 1 1 2, (W, 3-1) … Humberto Quintero HOU 2-5, double …Todd Self HOU 2-3, double … Adrian Gonzalez TEX 2-4, homer, 2 runs … Jason Botts TEX 2-3, homer, 2 runs … Dan Johnson OAK 4-5 … Jayson Werth LA 0-3, walk, run … Willy Aybar LA 1-3, double … Dioner Navarro LA 1-4, 3 RBI … Eric Gagne LA 1 0 0 0 0 3, great comeback … Brendan Harris WAS 1-3, homer … Jason Stokes FLO 0-4, 2K, not so great comeback … Todd Linden SF 1-3, homer, 3 RBI, 2 runs … Conor Jackson ARI 1-3, 2 walks, 2 runs … Carlos Quentin ARI 0-2, 3 walks … Sergio Santos ARI 1-4, grand slam, 5 RBI … Casey Kotchman ANA 0-4, K … Jeff Mathis ANA 1-4 … Michael Morse SEA 1-2, double … Chris Snelling SEA 1-2, 2 walks … Jorge Campillo SEA 7-1/3 6 0 0 0 5, (W, 2-1) … Ryan Shealy COL 2-4, double, homer … Jeff Baker COL 3-4, SB … Josh Barfield SD 2-4 … Jon Knott 2-4, double, homer

EASTERN --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 0-3, RBI (18), .353 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 2-4, 3B, .301 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 1-4, .209 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 0-3, .338 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 0-4, .260 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 2-3, SB (3), RBI (18), .254AVG … Michael Aubery 1B CLE 2-2, 2B (5, .290 AVG ... Franklin Gutierrez CLE 0-4, .256 AVG … … Tony Giarratano SS DET 0-3, SB, 2 RBI (11), .190 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-4, 3B (3), .250 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 1-6, .245 AVG … Cameron Reimers TOR 7 7 0 0 0 3, W (2), 4.94 ERA … Shaun Marcum TOR 7 6 0 0 0 1, W (5), 2.29 ERA … Jonathan Lester BOS 6-2/3 5 1 1 1 8, 3.86 ERA … Paul Stewart PIT 5-2/3 12 8 7 1 2,  3.15 ERA … Jake Dittler CLE 7 6 3 2 4 2, 3.11 ERA

SOUTHERN --  big day for Delmon Young TB, 4-5, 5th & 6th homers, 5 RBI, .337 ... Jeremy Hermida FLO, power surge, 1-2, 10th homer, 2 walks, .274 ... Logan Kensing FLO 5 8 3 3 0 5, 2.08 ... Ben Kozlowski CIN 7 6 2 2 1 4, 2.96 ... Josh Fields CHA, in a little funk, 0-3, .267 ... Chad Billingsley LA, back on track, 6 7 1 1 1 8, 4.54 ... Joel Guzman LA 0-1, 3 walks (18 walks, 32 Ks) ... James Loney LA, not looking promising, 0-4, 2 Ks, .215

TEXAS --  Joaquin Arias (SS) TX 2-4, .209 ... Ruddy Yan TX 1-3, .314 ... Josh Pressley (1B) KC 3-3, 2R, .314 ... Justin Huber KC 1-4, RBI(26), .352 ... Cory Aldridge (RF) KC 3-4, 2R, 3B, HR(6), 2RBI, .291 ... Kyle Middleton KC (W,3-3) 7 7 3 1 1 5 (2.23) ... Omar Quintanilla OAK 2-5, 2R, HR, 3RBI, .271 ... Brian Stavisky OAK 2-4, 2B, RBI, .316 ... Andre Ethier OAK 2-4, .414 ... Brant Colamarino OAK 2-5, R, HR, 2RBI, .317 ... Corey Slavik COL 2-4, RBI, .311 ... Ryan Spilborghs COL 1-3, SB, .384 ... Travis Hanson (3B) STL 2-2, R, .277 ... Tyler Minges STL 0-4, .340 ... Gary Harris (DH) SEA 3-4, 3R, SB, .306 ... TJ Bohn 1-3, 2RBI, .352 ... Willits, Callaspo, Aybar, Napoli ANA a combined 2-15 tonight ... David Gates (LF) ANA 3-3, .309 ... Josh Anderson HOU 1-3, 2B, SB(15), .336 ... Ervin Santana ANA (L,5-1) 6 2/3 8 3 3 1 9 (2.45) ... Fernando Nieve HOU (W,2-2) 7 2/3 6 1 1 1 10 (2.57)

CALIFORNIA --  Ian Stewart COL 1-4, .179 ... Seth Smith COL 2-3, 3rd homer, walk, .292 ... Ubaldo Jimenez COL 5 6 2 2 4 3, 3.42 ... Dustin Majewski OAK 2-4, 6th homer, .343 ... Daric Barton OAK 2-3, walk, .255 ... like a broken record, Howie Kendrick ANA 2-5, .385 ... Brandon Wood ANA 2-4, 9th double, 13th homer, 2 RBI, .339

CAROLINA --  Robert Valido CHA 1-2, 3 R, BB, 2 SB (11) ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 2-5, 2 R ... Dan Haigwood CHA (W, 4-1, 2.81) 5 6 4 4 4 5 ... Brad Snyder CLE 3-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K ... Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 2-3, R, 3 RBI (24) ... Ryan Goleski CLE 0-5, 3 K ... Martin Prado ATL 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB ... Josh Burrus ATL 1-5, R, K ... Javier Guzman PIT 0-2, R, 2 BB ... Jake Stevens ATL (L, 2-4, 3.82) 5 7 5 2 2 4 ... Michael Hall BOS 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB, 3 K ...  Ian Bladergroen BOS 1-5, R, 2 K ... Jeff Fiorentino BAL 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, 2 SB (5) ... James Johnson BAL (W, 3-2, 2.83) 6 3 1 1 4 10 ...

FLORIDA STATE --  FSL marquis pitching match-up of the year, Justin Verlander DET 6 4 1 1 6 7 W(4-1, 1.50) out duels Phillip Humber NYN 6 7 4 3 3 3 L(0-3, 3.04) … Juan Francia 2B DET 3-5 2RBI SB(13) … Brent Clevlen RF DET 2-4 2B RBI … Jonathan Slack LF NYN 3-5 2B SB(6) … Carlos Villanueva MIL 7 2 1 1 2 13 W(4-0, 2.00) … Ryan Bear 1B FLO 2-4 2R 2RBI … Reggie Abercrombie CF FLO 3-5 HR(6) 2R … Lee Mitchell 3B FLO 2-5 HR(4) 2R 3RBI … Joey Votto 1B CIN 2-4 2B 2R … Junior Ruiz RF CIN 4-4 2HR(2) 5R 5RBI … Mark Schramek 3B CIN 3-4 2HR(3) 6RBI … Cody Haerther DH STL 2-4 SB(5) … Nick Blackburn MIN 7 4 1 0 0 3 W(4-1, 2.37) … Andy LaRoche DH LA 2-5 R … Greg Isaacson 3B PHI 3-4 2B R … Tim Moss 2B PHI 2-4 R RBI

MIDWEST --  can't shake the funk Kyle Rogers TEX 6 3 4 4 4 5 (8.17) ... Brian McFall KC 2-4, 3rd double ... disaster in relief Rafael Gonzalez CIN 1 4 6 6 2 2 (ERA balloons to 7.61) ... overmatched? Yuber Rodriguez TOR 0-4, K (.165) ... James Houser TB 6 2 2 2 1 8 (2.91) ... David Winfree MIN 0-4 ... Anthony Swarzak MIN 6 1 0 0 3 6 (12 IP, 3 hits, 16 K's last two starts; 3.44 overall) ... Matt Bush SD 5th double (.227)

SOUTH ATLANTIC --  20 hits for the RiverDogs, Marcos Vechionacci NYA, 3-5, RBI, 3 R ... Ben Jones DH NYA, 4-5, HR (4), 4 RBI ... Tim Battle CF NYA, 3-4 ... Cody Ehlers 1B NYA, 1-3, RBI, 2 R, 3 BB ... Chase Wright NYA, 6 4 0 0 0 8 (W, 2-0, 2.77) ... Collin Balester WAS, 5 8 5 2 2 1 (L, 3-1, 2.43) ... Brad McCann DH FLA, 1-2, HR (3), 2 RBI ... 12 innings, 35 runs, and 40 hits between Hagerstown and Asheville Dante Brinkley LF NYN, 4-7, HR (7), 2 2B, 5 R, 5 RBI, SB (12) ... Armand Gaerlan 2B NYN, 3-7, 2B, 4 R, 3 SB (7) ... Carlos Gomez DH NYN, 1-6, 2B, 4 R, 3 SB (19) ... Rafael Arroyo C NYN, 3-6, 2 HR (2), 2 RBI ... Joseph Koshansky 1B COL, 4-7, 2 HR (8), 2 RBI, 3 R, SB (2) ... Kyle Wilson C COL, 2-7, HR (2), 2B, 7 RBI ... taking the brunt of the damage Matt Durkin NYN, 3-1/3 6 11 11 6 3 ... Ching-Lung Lo COL, 4-2/3 13 10 9 2 2

" ... Dante Brinkley hit the first Suns' homer in the first inning which extended his current streak of reaching base safely to 28 straight games. Brinkley scored five times in the game and finished 4-7 with those five runs, four RBI's, and a walk. He was 13-19 with four walks, nine runs, and seven RBI's in the four game series. Brinkley now leads the league with a .435 batting average." (Hagerstown Suns)

  Troop Movements ... BOS - reliever Cla Meredith up from AAA (Blaine Neal designated for assignment), Wade Miller activated (Lenny DiNardo to AAA)  ... PIT - Ray Sadler up (Craig Wilson DL) ... PIT - released Benito Santiago ... TOR - Andy Dominique up (Gregg Zaun DL) ... WAS - Henry Mateo activated froM DL (JJ Davis to AAA)

    John M. Barten, 'Til You're Blue in the Face, on Brandon Wood ANA :

" ...  Drafted 23rd Overall, 2003 Draft ...  on an absolute tear in the California League, already posting a new career high in home runs, slugging over .700 for Rancho Cucamonga. While some of this is part effects and sample size, most of it is probably real progress. He came into the season with a good offensive reputation and some numbers to back it up. He has a high power ceiling, a nice swing, and the ability to make a lot of hard contact. His defense is average. There's speculation that he could be forced to third as he fills out and loses quickness, but at this point, everybody's aware of the value of big bats that can simply do the job at short without embarrassing themselves ... biggest problem thus far is plate discipline, which is a bit below average."

   AAA proving to be not much of a challenge for a pair of young D'backs (check out the BB/K ratios) :

                 AB  R  H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS  OBP  SLG  AVG 
Conor Jackson   105 19 39 10  1  3 29  18  5  1  0 .456 .571 .371
Carlos Quentin   88 27 29  6  1  4 18  21 14  4  0 .474 .557 .330

   Bryan Smith, Baseball Analysts, in his revised Top 75, has high praise for the ARZ kids :

" ... 8. Carlos Quentin ... numbers are flawless. In fact, it is quite hard to cite flaws since he has started playing professional baseball. I wonder how much Arizona's slew of great hitter's parks in the minors have helped this, so Quentin will be a good test study for sure. What he will also be is the Arizona Diamondbacks 2006 right fielder. He's going to hit, he's going to get on base, and he's going to become a fan favorite in Phoenix."

" ... 18. Conor Jackson ...  Like Quentin, I'm curious how these insane minor league numbers are going to translate when Jackson actually faces Major League pitching. And insane they are. Jackson just keeps hitting doubles...  His move to first base is pretty official, meaning that Shawn Green will be the man left out in Arizona in a year's time, assuming Luis Gonzalez does not retire."

Our league correspondents :  INTERNATIONAL Herb Walters, PACIFIC COAST Dave Scott,  EASTERN Ralph Marston,  SOUTHERN Jake Larsen,  TEXAS Aman Reaka,  FLORIDA STATE Wayne Stevens,  CAROLINA Troy Salvior,  CALIFORNIA JDM,  MIDWEST Bob Reed,  SOUTH ATLANTIC Brad Dowdy
 
 

    
Rookie Reports Archive :

2004 -- Oct 04-17  Oct 18-31  Nov 01-14   Nov 15-28   Nov 29-Dec 12   Dec 13-Dec 31 

2005 -- Jan 01-16  Jan 17-30  Jan 31-Feb 13  Feb 14-27  Feb 28-Mar 13  Mar 14-27  Mar 28-Apr 10  Apr 11-24  
April 25-May 01  May 02-08  May 09-15 

2004 Minor League Stats 1  (Hitters, by OPS, by Classification, OBA, SLG, SBs, Errors)
2004 Minor League Stats 2 (Pitchers, by ERA, by Classification, Ks & Hitters by position)

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