Rookies 2005
                                                                                                                           Pitching Line = IP H R ER BB SO
 

05 June 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  rehab, Wily Mo Pena DH CIN 1-4 ... Billy McCarthy RF ATL 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB ... T.J. Pena SS ATL 2-4, 2B ... Pedro Liriano PHI 6 6 2 2 1 3 2.58 ... impressive, Shawn Marcum TOR 7 5 0 0 0 8, 2.70 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 0-2, 2 BB, 0 errors ... Jonny Gomes RF TB 3-4, 14th HR, 2 R, 2 RBI ... Chris Seddon TB 5-2/3 6 3 3 4 3, 4.66 ... Curtis Granderson CF & LF DET 1-4, R, RBI & 2-4, 2B, R, BB ... Ryan Raburn 2B & DH DET 1-3, 3B, R, RBI, BB, SB & 3-5, R ... Carlos Pena 1B DET 0-4 & 3-3, RBI, BB ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 3-5, 8th HR, 3 R, 2 RBI ... Jeremy Guthrie CLE 6 8 2 2 0 3, 5.68 ... Nate McLouth LF PIT 2-4, R, BB, SB ... Cory Stewart PIT 5-1/3 5 6 4 5 3, 4.24 ... Angel Pagan DH NYN 2-4, 3B, 2 R ... Felix Diaz CHA 5-1/3 9 3 3 1 4, 3.00 ... J.D. Durbin MIN 7-2/3 8 3 3 1 6, 4.53 ... Walter Young DH BAL 1-3, 4th HR, R, RBI, BB ... Eli Whiteside C BAL 2-4

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Ben Hendrickson MIL 5 6 4 4 1 6, 4.16 ... Rickie Weeks MIL, looking as if he needs a bigger challenge, 3-4, walk, 12th homer, .333 ... Marshall McDougall TEX 2-3, 2 walks, .331 ... Brant Colamarino OAk 3-4, 2 RBI, .350 ... Edgar Gonzalez ARZ 7.0 5 2 2 0 5, 3.00 ... Conor Jackson ARZ 3-5, .372 ... Carlos Quentin ARZ 0-5, .293 ... Dioner Navarro LA 3-4, .264 ... vet Jason Grabowski LA, highlight reels, 5-5 2 doubles, homer ... Jorge Campillo SEA 5 6 2 2 5, 2.77 ... Ben Johnson SD 3-3, 10th homer, .274

EASTERN (AA)  --  Dustin Pedroia BOS 2-4, double, walk & 0-3, .305 ... Ismael Ramirez TOR 7 6 2 2 0 4, 4.60 ... Brandon Moss BOS 2-3, 6th & 7th homers, 3 RBI & 3-4, double, .294 ... Daniel Matienzo MIN 2-5 & 4-4, 2 homers (11), 4 RBI, .302 ... Eric Duncan NYA 2-5, double, 7th homer, 3 RBI, .245 ...  Jake Dittler CLE 8.0 6 2 1 1 2, 2.10 (but just 33 Ks in 73 IP) ... Ramon Castro SS WAS 2-4, triple, 6th homer, .338

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Joel Guzman LA 1-4, double ... James Loney LA 1-4, 7th homer ... Josh Fields CHA some noise after a long dry spell, 2-3, 2 walks, 2 homers (6) 4 RBI, .212 ... Scott Olsen FLO 7 6 2 2 1 9, 3.68 ... David Aardsma CHN 6 5 2 2 3 2, 2.84 ... Jeremy Hermida FLO 0-1, 3 walks ... Fernando Cortez 2B TB 4-5, 2 triples, .345

TEXAS (AA)  --  Justin Huber KC 1-2, double, 3 walks & 0-3, 3 Ks, .325  ... Mitch Maier KC, in CF for his AA debut,  3-5 & 1-3 ... Jason Hirsh HOU 6 4 2 1 2 8, 3.62 ... Jeff Salazar COL 2-2, homer, 3 walks, .283

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Richie Robnett OAK 0-5, 3 Ks, .248 ... Daric Barton OAK 0-4, .275 ... Vincent Sinisi TEX 2-4, triple, walk, .321 ... Adam Jones SEA 2-3, double, 2 walks, .312 ... KC affiliate not missing Butler, Maier, with 20 hits - Chris Lubanski 2-5, double, homer, .228, 3B Adam Keim 4-6, double, 11th homer, 4 RBI, .303, 1B,  Kila Kaaihue 2-5, 9th homer, .362 ... Ian Stewart COL 1-4, double ... Kendry Morales ANA 3-5, .311

CAROLINA (A+) --  Anibal Sanchez BOS 8 5 0 0 3 7, 1.93 ... Jeremy Sowers CLE 6 4 2 2 0 9, 2.63 ... couldn't continue the success shown in his last start, Adam Loewen BAL 4 4 4 3 4 6 ... Nick Markakis BAL 2-3 & 2-4, 14th double, 6th homer, .299 ... Matt Esquivel ATL 3-5, double, homer, .291

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Errol Simonitsch MIN 6 3 0 0 0 7 W(6-2, 2.76) … Jim Paduch CIN 5 2 1 1 0 3 L(1-2, 2.25) … Eric Haberer STL 8 4 0 0 0 5 W(6-2, 1.82) … James Russ FLO 6 6 5 5 1 1 L(6-1, 3.88) … Josh Habel MIL 5 2/3 4 1 1 2 4 W(1-3, 2.67) …  Sean Marshall CHN 7 5 2 2 2 4 L(4-3, 1.83) … Brian Dopirak 1B CHN 0-3 & 0-2 - .235/.280/.361 … Casey Janssen TOR 6 2/3 1 1 1 2 7 W(8-0, 1.37)

MIDWEST (A) --  Homer Bailey CIN finding the Midwest no breeze, 4 6 4 4 3 4, 3.67 ... Luke Steidlmayer SD 7.0 6 1 1 2 3, 1.90 ... Eric Patterson 2B CHN 0-5, .366 ... no hype, superb results, AJ Shappi ARZ  7 7 2 2 0 7, 9-1, 2.74 ... Anthony Swarzak MIN 3 6 6 6 1 3, 6-3, 2.90

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Neil Walker PIT 1-3, 4th homer & 1-3, .269  ... Kyle Bloom PIT 6-2/3 1 0 0 2 10, 1.53 ... Chris Nelson COL 1-4, RBI ... David Cook OF CHA 3-4, 2 walks, 12th homer, .320 ... Gaby Hernandez NYN 5 3 3 2 1 6, 2.72 ... Troy Patton HOU 6 1 0 0 2 6, 1.09 ... Hunter Pence HOU 2-3, 20th homer (to tie for the minor league lead), 2 RBI, .338

  Troop Movements ... KC - activated Jeremy Affeldt from DL, designated Ryan Jensen for assignment ... SF - activated Marquis Grissom from DL, Brian Dallimore to AAA ...  CLE - Jason Davis up ... COL - Shawn Chacon DL, Bobby Seay activated from DL ... DET - Wil Ledezma to AAA, Troy Percival to be activated from DL ...  ARZ - Matt Kata to AAA ... ATL Mike Hampton DL ...  PIT - Ryan Doumit up, Ty Wigginton to AAA ...

" ... Doumit, 24, has been on a tear at Triple-A. He leads Indianapolis with a .345 average, 12 home runs and 35 RBIs in 50 games. A catcher throughout his professional career, Doumit began playing in the outfield earlier this season in preparation for a potential promotion. "He will catch some, he'll probably play some outfield a little bit and he'll certainly get an opportunity to DH against the American League clubs in their ballparks," said Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon." (MLB.com) 

    Top KC prospect on the shelf :

" ... Billy Butler missed his third straight game after learning that he has a stress fracture in his right hand. Gardner [High Desert manager Billy Gardner] said the third baseman will be out of the lineup "indefinitely" but the slugger has not been put on the disabled list.' (Victor Valley Daily Press)

    Stephen Drew, under a microscope in the California League :

" ... Stephen Drew rode the bus from Lancaster to The Epicenter with the rest of the JetHawks on Friday afternoon. He sprayed hits all over the field during batting practice, fielded grounders during infield work and sat in on meetings like everyone else. Drew did not, however, take the field with the rest of the team and he won't officially get an at-bat until Tuesday ... Drew did not sign the contract ... by a 5 p.m. EST deadline that would have allowed the JetHawks to activate Drew for the weekend series against the Quakes ...  "I think people are going to expect a lot," Drew said. "The only thing I'm going to do is expect to go out and play hard and do the best I can and hope everything works out for the best." When activated, Drew will play shortstop five days a week and step into the designated hitter rotation."  (Antelope Valley Press)

   Jesse Foppert ... blister, no big problem :

" ...  San Francisco trainer Stan Conte said Saturday that while a small blister was developing, Foppert appears OK and will make his next start. "It was maybe a little overreaction and panic on our part, but rightfully so since he had gone through that stuff," said Conte. "As we talked today, he's fine. The trainer in Fresno didn't know if he was going to take him out or not, so he called, and we erred on the cautious side." Foppert, 3-1, struck out five batters over five frames in the Grizzlies' eventual 6-0 victory over the Sidewinders. The former University of San Francisco pitcher has a 4.40 ERA over nine games and has struck out 41 over 43 innings." (MLB.com)

   Chad Billingsley LA ...  soaking in the success of his last start, a three-hit win :

" ...  gave up a lead-off triple ...then retired the next three batters ... Billingsley then struck out the next six batters he faced, just missing the Suns' team record of seven  ... Two doubles in the fourth inning produced Mobile's only run, but those were the last BayBears to reach base against Billingsley. He retired the final 10 batters he faced. To add a little luster to his gem, the 20-year-old right-hander struck out a career-high 12. "You have your good days and your bad days in this league," he said. "What you try to do is limit the amount of bad days you have." Billingsley was able to get ahead of hitters, which is exactly what Suns pitching coach Ken Howell wants. That and to slow his pace. "That's what Chad did Thursday. He slowed the game down," Howell said. "He wasn't so antsy around the mound and was taking time to go through some thought process as to what pitch to throw instead of just getting up there and guessing. "The kid has a lot of pitch ability and his mind is going to catch up with his talent. Remember, he and [Suns catcher] Russ [Martin] are only 20 and 22. They're going to scrap a bit out there until they learn some things. But once they do, they're both going to go to the big leagues ... quick."  (Florida Times-Union)

04 June 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Kenny Kelly CF CIN 3-5, R, RBI ... rehab, Wily Mo Pena RF CIN 2-5, 2 RBI ... James Jurries LF ATL 1-4, 7th HR, R, 3 RBI ... Andy Marte 3B ATL 3-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI ... Billy McCarthy RF ATL 2-5, R, RBI ... John-Ford Griffin LF TOR 2-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI ... fielding improvement stalls, B.J. Upton SS TB 1-4, SB, 3 errors ... Kazuhito Tadano CLE 4 11 8 8 1 7, 4.37 ... Lenny DiNardo BOS 4-2/3 10 3 3 1 3, 4.19 ... Ryan Doumit C PIT 1-2, 12th HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, HBP ... Brad Eldred DH PIT 2-3, 2 2B, R, RBI ... Zach Duke PIT 7-2/3 9 3 3 1 3, 3.10 ... Jae Seo NYN 6 8 3 3 3 4, 3.60 ... Brandon McCarthy CHA 6-1/3 5 5 5 0 8, 5.00 ... Walter Young 1B BAL 3-5, RBI

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Luke Scott HOU 2-4, double, 7th homer, 2 RBI, 2 runs, .233 ... ouch! Right after being named the Cards' Minor League Player of the Month for May,  Anthony Reyes STL 1 5 5 5 2 1, L, 3.15 ...  Taylor Buchholz HOU 6 4 0 0 1 3, (W, 3-0), 4.23 ... Ian Kinsler TEX 1-4, RBI, run, .268  ...  Adrian Gonzalez TEX 1-3, 2 runs ...  Mike Fontenot CHN 2-4, double ...  Ronny Cedeno CHN 2-3, double ...  Dave Kelton RF CHN 2-4, solo homer ...  another fine start; Ricardo Rodriguez TEX 8 7 3 3 3 3, (W, 7-3), 2.95 ...  JJ Furmaniak SD 3-5, 2 doubles, 2 runs ...  Josh Barfield SD 2-5, RBI, SB (8) ...  Jeff Mathis ANA 0-3, walk, run, .266 ...  Ervin Santana ANA 6 10 4 3 0 4, 3.65 ... Brendan Harris WAS 0-4, 2 walks, 2 runs ... Brandon Watson WAS 3-5, double, homer, 3 RBI ...  Ken Harvey KC 2-5, RBI, run ... Rickie Weeks MIL 1-4, triple, 2 runs  ...  Prince Fielder MIL 2-5, double ...  Brad Nelson MIL 2-4, RBI, run ...  Josh Willingham FLO 2-3, double, run ... Jose Capellan MIL 6 4 1 1 0 4, W, 4.39 ...  Choo Freeman COL 2-4, 8th homer, .298 ... Ryan Shealy COL 2-5, double, 8th homer, 3 RBI, .314 ... Felix Hernandez SEA 6 3 2 2 3 8, 2.74 ... Kiko Calero OAK 1 0 0 0 0 1 ... Carlos Quentin ARZ 0-3, .304 ... Conor Jackson ARZ 0-4, .368 ... Scott Hairston ARZ 2-3, 10th & 11th homers, 3 RBI, .315 ... Matt Cain SF 4 4 6 5 5 5, 3.52

EASTERN (AA)  --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 0-4, .306 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 1-4, .298 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 2-3, 2B (12), RBI (22), .276 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 2-5, 2B (9), 2 RBI (26), .308 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 1-3, 2B (12), 2 RBI (30), .245 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 2-5, .296 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-4, 2B (9), RBI (33), .277 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 2-4, 2B (8), .217 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 2-4, 2B (15), HR (3), 2 RBI (23), .314 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 0-4, .227 AVG … Cameron Reimers TOR 7 7 3 3 2 4, W (6), 4.06 ERA … Jonathan Lester BOS 5 3 1 0 1 6, W (3), 2.98 ERA … Richard Rundles WAS 4-1/3 7 2 2 2 2, 3.12 ERA

SOUTHERN (AA) --  TB 2B Fernando Cortez 4-4, double & 0-3, .333 ... Delmon Young TB 1-3, triple & 0-3, .332  ...  Renyel Pinto CHN, superb since a demotion from AAA, 8 2 0 0 5 7, 1.77 ... Felix Pie CHN 0-5, .307 ... Brandon Sing CHN 2-4, 16th double, 12th homer, .305 ... Joel Guzman LA 2-3, 2 walks, .299 ... Russell Martin LA 2-3, 3 RBI, .306 ... Jeff Francoeur ATL 2-5, 8th homer, .271

TEXAS (AA)  --  Jeff Salazar COL 2-4, R, 2B, SB(9), .276 ... Josh Anderson HOU 2-4, SB(22), 302 ... Jonathan Asahina COL (W,7-2) 6 7 2 2 1 2 (2.59) ... A bit overlooked? - PJ Bevis COL (S,10) 1 1 0 0 0 1 (1.80) ... Fernando Nieve HOU (L,3-3) 6 6 4 3 1 9 (2.96) ... Ruddy Yan TX 1-4, R, HR(1), 2RBI(22), .323 .. Joaquin Arias TX 2-4, 2B, RBI(17), .275 ... Wilfredo Rodriguez HOU (L,4-3) 8 7 4 3 3 8 (2.91) ... Randy Leek STL (W,6-2) 7-2/3 7 3 1 5 (2.91) ... Andre Ethier OAK 1-5, R, RBI(41), 3K, .363 ... Brian Stavisky 3-4, R, .318 .. Jeremy Brown OAK 2-4, 2R, .276 ... Omar Quintanilla OAK 3-5, 2B, .278 ... Aybar, Callaspo, Murphy, Napoli ANA 3-13

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Ian Stewart COL 3-5, double, triple ... George Kottaras SD 3-5, double, homer, .3 RBI, .305 ... Wladimir Balentien SEA 2-4, double, triple, .294 ... Miguel Montero C ARZ 3-5, 13th homer, .357 ... Thomas Diamond TEX 5 3 2 2 3 4, 2.56 ... Daric Barton OAK 1-3, walk, .280 ... Kevin Mahar CF TEX 3-4, walk, 2 homers, 5 RBI, .295

CAROLINA (A+) --  Javier Guzman PIT 1-3, R, double, K, error (20) ... Robert Valido CHA 2-4, R, RBI ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 1-3, R, triple, RBI ... Thomas Collaro CHA 3-4, R, HR (14), 3 RBI (39) ... Josh Burrus ATL 0-4, 4 K, OUCH! ... Matt Esquivel ATL 0-4, 2 K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 1-3, R, HR (6), RBI, BB, K ... Kory Casto WAS 1-4, double (19), K ... Jake Stevens ATL 6 4 1 1 3 6

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Jake Blalock LF PHI 2-4 2RBI … Scott Mathieson PHI 5 1/3 6 5 5 1 4 … Chip Cannon DH TOR 2-4 2HR(13) 3R 4RBI … Jordan Tata DET 7 5 0 0 3 6 W(5-1, 1.94) … Vincent Blue CF DET 2-4 RBI 2SB(18) … Reggie Abercrombie CF FLO 3-4 2B HR(11)

MIDWEST (A) --  Andrew Sonnanstine TB 8 1 0 0 0 8, 2.70 ... Ryan Harvey CHN 0-3, .260 ... Eric Patterson CHn 1-4, .379 ... Luis Cota KC 5 8 3 2 2 3, 2.04

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Chris Nelson SS COL 0-3, walk, .143 ... Marcus Sanders SS SF 3-5, triple, 3 RBI, .320 ... John Otness C BOS 1-1, 5th homer, walk, .377 ... Hunter Pence HOU 2-4, 19th homer, .333 ... Van Pope 3B ATL 2-4, double, 2 walks, 3 RBI, .290 ... Tim Battle NYA 4-7, 15th double, 9th homer, .277

  Troop Movements ... SEA -- Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez up to AAA ... ARZ - claimed Claudio Vargas off waivers, traded Doug Devore to SF for Matt Herges, Matt Chico demoted to A+ ... OAK - Ryan Glynn up, Britt Reames designated for assignment ... TB - Seth McClung to AAA, Lee Gardner up ... KC - Mitch Maier promoted to AA, Billy Butler likely DL bound, hand injury (hit by pitch)  ... TEX - Edison Volquez promoted to AA ... LA - Milton Bradley DL, Jason Repko up ... CLE - Brian Tallet to AAA ...

    Zach Chalifour, RotoTimes, includes hits on Rich Hill and Josh Willingham in his latest prospect report :

" ...  Hill may be one of the most interesting pitchers in the minor leagues in 2005. Despite the fact that his dominance was never reflected in his ERA (entered the season with a 4.23 career ERA), he has been one of the most overpowering pitchers in the minor leagues since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2002 draft. Hill used his dominant curveball to strike out a total of 297 batters in his first 221 professional innings, and he has taken it a step further this season. The 25-year-old southpaw began the year at Double-A West Tennessee, where he went 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 57.2 innings. Those numbers earned Hill a quick promotion to Triple-A Iowa, where he recorded 14 strikeouts in just 6 2/3 innings in his first start."

" ...  24-home run season last year for Double-A Carolina. Willingham is already on pace to shatter his career high so far with the Isotopes, batting .324 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in only 44 games. The biggest question remains with his long-term position. Though fantasy general managers would like to see his bat stay behind the plate, chances are strong that he will eventually move to either first base or even the outfield ... Willingham should continue to slug one way or another, and it's only a matter of time before he takes his power production to South Florida."

    KC Star salutes Billy Butler as the club's top hitting prospect in its weekly farm report :

" ... 1. 3B Billy Butler, High Desert: Batted .357 in April and .356 in May ... 2. 1B Justin Huber, Wichita: Getting one hit in his last 17 at-bats dropped average to .325 ... 3. OF Mitch Maier, High Desert: Batted .348 with 19 doubles in 27 May games."

   A teenage righthander ranked among the best of the Royals' pitching prospects :

" ... The next hot, young prospect that could be making his way toward the mound at Kauffman Stadium? Keep an eye on 19-year-old Luis Cota, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander who was drafted by the Royals in the 10th round in 2003 ... recently put up a 22-inning scoreless innings streak and has been wowing opponents and scouts alike. “I don't know whether he's ready to make the move up here yet,” said Royals assistant general manager Muzzy Jackson. “But he certainly is making a name for himself. He's getting noticed.” ... a kid with a 97-mph fastball who has yet to fail at any level.”  (KC Star)

   Rangers ... Ricardo Rodriguez, Juan Dominguez, John Hudgins, now three more :

" ...  John Danks and Thomas Diamond may be the most talked about minor league pitchers in the Rangers' system. Edison Volquez, who makes his Double-A debut for the RoughRiders on Sunday, may be the most respected by his peers. "He's got the best stuff I've seen in the minor leagues," Danks said. "He's another version of Pedro [Martinez]." For those surprised Volquez made it to Frisco before Diamond, don't be. Volquez was throwing as well as Danks or Diamond for Class A Bakersfield. He left the California League with 77 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. His strikeout total was tied for fourth in all of minor league baseball ...  The Martinez comparisons are unfair. Volquez, 21, draws them because he is from the Dominican and because he studies Martinez on film. Volquez can mix a 93-95 mph fastball with a 77-80 mph change-up. His slider is also considered above average."  (Dallas Morning News)

   Notes from the International League [previous to Friday's action, as Durham made another five errors] :

" ... Durham has committed 82 errors in the team's first 54 games, leading to 74 unearned runs. For the entire 2004 season, the Bulls gave up only 83 unearned runs. The 82 errors are second in all of Minor League Baseball, to the 110 by the Delmarva Shorebirds in the South Atlantic League."

" ... Indians RHP Ian Snell improved to 8-0 with the win over Louisville on Tuesday night (5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO). The 23-year-old, who leads the International League in strikeouts (71) and ties for first in wins (8), has registered a microscopic 0.67 ERA over his last four starts. He has yielded just two earned runs and six walks while striking out 28 over the 27-inning span. Snell, who hurled the Tribe’s first single-pitcher, nine-inning no-hitter since 1974 when Indianapolis knocked off Norfolk on May 15, has already been named the IL’s Pitcher of the Week on two occasions this year."

" ... Over the last five games Ryan Howard has been about as productive as is possible batting .500 (10-20) with 6 HR and 13 RBI. In his last 81 Triple-A at bats he now has 10 HR."

03 June 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  William Bergolla 2B CIN 3-3, BB & 1-3 ... rehab, Wily Mo Pena CF CIN 3-4, 1st HR, R, 2 RBI ... Steve Kelly CIN 4 9 6 6 1 2, 3.06 ... John-Ford Griffin LF TOR 2-5 ... Gabe Gross RF TOR 3-4, R ... Brandon League TOR 6 9 2 2 2 6, 6.52 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 0-4, BB, 1 error ... Joey Gathright RF TB 2-3, RBI, BB ... Ryan Raburn 2B DET 2-4 ... Kenny Baugh DET 4-1/3 10 8 7 2 0, 3.86 ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 2-6, R ... Francisco Cruceta CLE 5 5 1 1 3 6, 4.75 ... Nate McLouth LF PIT 2-4, R, RBI, 2 SB & 0-3 ... Ryan Doumit C PIT 2-4, R ... Brad Eldred 1B PIT 2-3, 4th HR, R, 2 RBI & 0-3 ... Bryan Bullington PIT 5 7 2 2 2 3, 6.66 ... Jeff Keppinger 2B NYN 2-4, 2B ... Boof Bonser MIN 6 3 0 0 1 7, 3.63 ... Eli Whiteside C BAL 2-3 ... no prospect, but Dusty Wathan CLE with the game of his life,

" ... hit three home runs -- including a grand slam -- and had a club-record nine RBIs in the Buffalo Bisons' 13-1 win over the visiting Toledo Mud Hens. The usually light-hitting catcher Wathan, whose father, John, played and managed a combined 15 years in the Major Leagues, hit a two-run homer in the fourth, a three-run shot in the fifth and a grand slam in the eighth." (MLB.com)

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Brendan Harris WAS 3-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 2 runs & 1-4, RBI, .288 ...  Brandon Watson WAS 1-5 & 2-4, RBI, .403 ...  Justin Huisman KC 4-2/3 7 2 2 1 3, 3.68 ...  Ian Kinsler TEX 1-4, RBI, run ...  Jason Botts TEX 1-3, homer, 2 RBI  ...  Ronny Cedeno CHN 2-4 ...  Mike Fontenot CHN 1-5, double ...  Chris Duncan STL 1-4, solo homer ...  Luke Scott HOU 1-4, triple, 2 RBI ...  Ezequiel Astacio HOU 3 0 0 0 1 1, (S, 1) ... Jesse Foppert  SF, removed after pitching to one batter in the 5th (blister), 4 3 0 0 2 5 ... JJ Furmaniak SD 3-5, solo homer, 3 runs & 1-2, double ... Josh Barfield SD 3-4, double, solo homer, 2 RBI & 1-3, .261 ... Tagg Bozied SD 4-5, double, homer, 5 RBI, 2 runs & 0-3 ... Jeff Mathis ANA 0-4, 2K ... Brian Specht SS ANA 3-4, double, 2 RBI, SB & 1-3, triple ... Dustin Moseley ANA 3 13 11 9 1 3, L, 5.91 ... Rickie Weeks MIL 2-5, 11th homer, .326 ... Prince Fielder MIL 0-3, 2 walks, 2 Ks, .253 ... Helping out his own cause in a rare start: Justin Lehr MIL 3-3, homer, 5 RBI & 6 5 1 1 3 4, 5.63 ... Corey Hart MIL 5-5, triple, .271 ... Josh Willingham FLO 1-2, 16th homer, 2 walks, .324 ... Chris Snelling SEA 2-4, .399 ... Matt Watson OAK 3-4, 2 homers, 4 RBI, .345 ... Josh Kroeger ARZ 3-4, .267 ... Todd Linden SF 2-4, 16th homer, .316

EASTERN (AA)  --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 1-4, 2B (11), 2 RBI (29), .312 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 1-4, 2B (8), .298 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 1-4, 2B (10), .268 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 1-4, .304 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 2-4, HR (10), 2 RBI (28), .244 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 2-5, 3B, HR (6), RBI (25), .241 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 1-5, 2B (6), .284 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 0-3, .293 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-5, .277 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 1-2, .211 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 1-3, 2 RBI  (21), .310 AVG …Michael Bourn OF PHI 2-4, 2 SB (15), .251 AVG … Randy Ruiz 1B PHI 0-4, .353 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 2-4, .230 AVG … Paul Bonifay 1B PIT 0-3, .248 AVG … Fausto Carmona CLE 5-2/3 11 5 5 1 2, W (4), 3.89 ERA … Josh Banks 6 9 5 5 0 6, 3.67 ERA

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Chad Billingsley LA, yo-yo season continues, 7 3 1 1 0 12, 4.45 ... James Loney LA 1-3, 6th homer, 2 walks, .254 ... Russell Martin LA 2-3, 4th homer, .300 ... Jeff Francoeur ATL 0-3, .269 ... Brian McCann ATL 0-2, .267

TEXAS (AA)  --  Very hot as of late - Erick Aybar ANA 2-4, SB(12), .274 ... Ruddy Yan TX 2-5 .324 ... His avg. is climbing - Joaquin Arias TX 4-4, R, 2B, RBI(16), .270 . Ryan Spilborghs COL 1-3, 2RBI(42), .340 ... Andre Ethier OAK 2-4, R, 2B, 367 ... Brian Stavisky OAK 1-4, R, HR(4), 3RBI(32), .309 ... Travis Hanson (3B) STL 2-5, RBI(34), .279 ... Cooling off a bit - Justin Huber KC 1-4, R, 2B, RBI(40), .328 ... Kyle Middleton KC 7 6 3 3 1 5 (2.70)

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Mitch Maier KC 2-6, triple, 8th homer, .336 ... Chris Lubanski KC 3-4, double, walk, .218 ... Adam Keim KC 2-5, 10th homer, .286 ... Seung Song, now in the  SF system in his 7th pro season, 7 4 1 0 1 13, 4-1, 1.33 ... Kurt Suzuki OAK 3-4, 3 doubles, .287 ... finally, some noise from Ian Stewart COL, 2-4, triple, homer, walk, 4 runs, but 12th error (in 30 games) ... Kendry Morales ANA 0-1, 2 walks, .269 ... Brandon Wood ANA, at leadoff, 1-3, double, walk, .311 ... Billy Butler KC out of the lineup for the second straight day, no word of an injury/promotion

CAROLINA (A+) --  Brad Snyder CLE 0-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 K, SB (11) ... Ryan Goleski CLE 1-4, 2 K ... Nate Spears BAL 0-4 ... Nick Markakis BAL 1-4, R, BB, K ... Nick Pesco CLE (L, 6-4, 3.45) 5-1/3 11 6 6 0 4 ... James Johnson BAL (W, 5-2, 3.07) 6 3 3 2 4 5 ... Josh Burrus ATL 1-3, 2 R, BB, SB (14) ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-4, HR (6), 3 RBI, 2 K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 1-4, RBI, K ... Kory Casto WAS 1-4, R, RBI, BB, K ... Mitch Talbot HOU  7 6 3 2 1 3

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Little Unit Ryan Anderson MIL 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 2 … Ty Taubenheim MIL 6 1/3 10 5 5 2 6 W(8-1, 2.55) … Steve Moss CF MIL 2-4 2B RBI … Lou Palmisano C MIL 2-4 & 1-1 3B R 2RBI … Scott Moore 3B CHN 1-4 HR(11) & 2-4 HR(12) 2R  … Kody Kirkland 3B DET 2B 3B R 2RBI … Nate Bumstead DET 7 8 4 3 1 4 W(7-1, 2.84) … John Urick 1B NYA 2-4 HR(9) 5RBI … Jake Blalock LF PHI 2-4 HR(7) … A couple of Philly prospects trying to work their way back from injuries, Jorge Padilla RF PHI 2-4 & Keith Bucktrot PHI 4 2/3 7 4 4 3 1 L … Kurt Isenberg TOR 5 2/3 6 3 3 1 1 W(6-3, 2.85) … Back in A+ after hitting .182 in 159 AA at bats, Reid Gorecki CF STL 0-2 BB

MIDWEST (A) --  Wilkin Ramirez DET 2-4, 5th HR (.284) ... Jarrett Hoffpauir STL 0-4, 5th error (4-26 skid, .315) ... Asdrubal Cabrera SEA 2-5 (.331) ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 3-5, BB ... Javier Brito (1B) ARZ 3-6, double, HR (.333) ... wild but somehow effective out of the 'pen Alexander Smit MIN 2 0 0 0 5 2 (6.31) .. Ryan Harvey CHN 3-4, double, BB (.266) ... Eric Patterson CHN 7th double ... free falling Reid Brignac TB 0-3 (.240) ... walk like a man Mario Lisson KC 0-1, 3 BB's (but 15th error)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Jose Sanchez NYN 7 6 2 2 1 4, 2.45 ... Carlos Perez BAL 6 8 2 2 1 4, 2.76 ... SS Alcides Escobar MIL 2-4, double, .307 ... Hernan Iribarren 2B 3-5, .309 ... Jeffrey Marquez NYA 7 7 1 1 3 1, 3.09 ...  James Barthmaier HOU 6 3 0 0 1 7, 2.16 ... it's been a long wait, but Chris Nelson COL back in the lineup, 2-5, RBI ... Scott Elbert LA, no-hitter into the 6th,  6 2 1 1 0 8, 2.65 ... Ray Liotta CHA 6-2/3 7 3 3 4 6, 2.61 ... Luis Atilano ATL 5-2/3 1 1 1 4 3, 2.98

  Troop Movements ... CLE - Double-A outfielder Franklin Gutierrez was placed on the DL with a dislocated finger ... CHA - Kevin Walker to Triple-A  (Orlando Hernandez to be activated) ... CLE - Juan Gonzalez DL, Coco Crisp activated ... BAL - Ramon Nivar up, Jeff Fiorentino back to A+ ...  MIN - Nick Punto DL, Terry Tiffee up ... NYN - Dae-Sung Koo DL, Royce Ring up, Ramon Castro activated, Mike DiFelice designated for assignment ... TB - Dewon Brazelton reinstated ... MIL - Russ Branyan DL, Dave Krynzel up ... SF - activated Al Levine from DL, Brad Hennessey to AAA ...

    Matthew Pouliot, RotoWorld.com, includes notes on Felix Hernandez, Zach Duke and Sergio Santos in his latest prospect report :

" ... Hernandez is the best pitching prospect I’ve covered since I started doing this in 1999. Better than Mark Prior, Rick Ankiel, Josh Beckett and Ryan Anderson. He could use a little better command, but that’s the closest thing there is to a negative."

" ...  Duke ... 8-3 with a 3.06 ERA, 69 H and 45/14 K/BB in 70 2/3 IP for Triple-A Indianapolis. Duke picked up a little velocity last year and zoomed up prospect lists as a result ... changes speeds on his moving fastball, typically topping out at 92 mph. His plus curveball gets him a lot of his strikeouts, and he has an average changeup. Duke demonstrates plenty of command and records grounders with his fastball. He has No. 3 starter written all over him."

" ... Maybe Santos could have used a second year in Double-A, but the Diamondbacks did promote him after he hit .282/.332/.461 for El Paso last season. Santos hasn’t put up overwhelming numbers at any level, but he’s been very young for his leagues. After spending a second year in Triple-A in 2006, he might be ready to help the Diamondbacks in 2007. Where he’ll play remains a mystery, and the Stephen Drew signing doesn’t serve to clear things up."

    Dayn Perry, FoxSports, wraps his "prospects-by-position" series with his picks as the top lefty pitchers. The top two are already major leaguers -- Scott Kazmir and Jeff Francis. Then, a bit of a surprise at No. 3, before a fast-moving Texas star :

" ... 3. Jeremy Sowers ...  Sowers has command of four pitches and boasts good movement and a deceptive delivery. He signed too late to play in '04, but this season he's pitching tremendously well at High-A Kinston. With Francis and Kazmir set to exhaust their rookie status, Sowers will soon become the best lefty prospect in baseball."

" ... 4. John Danks ... has a low-90s fastball, hammer curve and changeup that's making progress. Last season, he dominated the Low-A Midwest League but scuttled a bit after a promotion to Stockton. Then again, the hitter-friendly Cal League is a hostile place for 19-year-old hurlers, and he was under orders not to use his curveball. This season, he's back on track, blowing away the Cal League in his second look and recently earning a promotion to AA-Frisco."

With the above, we've also posted our updated Prospects by Position chart.

    Time to dust off those old prospect reports ... seems Todd Linden (first rounder in 2001) might be a late bloomer.

" ... "I've just been seeing the ball well lately," Linden said before the game. "I'm more relaxed. … The more confidence you have the better you perform."

Quietly, Linden has become one of the top hitters in the Pacific Coast League.  Going into Thursday's action, Linden was tied for the league lead in homers, tied for the RBI lead, 5th in OBA, 3rd in SLG, 1st in walks, 5-0 in SBs.  Major improvement in plate discipline ... from a 63-149 BB/K ratio in 2004, it's now 45-49.  From .260 .349 .466 last season, Linden sits at .312 .448 .656.

    Hanley Ramirez wowing 'em in the Eastern League :

" ...  The 21-year-old, who signed with the Red Sox as a 16-year-old in the Dominican Republic, has played himself into one of Boston's top minor league prospects the past few years. It's easy to see why. Ramirez is one of those rare players blessed with all five of baseball's athletic tools ... Though he hasn't played a lick in the outfield with Portland, there has been plenty of speculation Ramirez could replace Johnny Damon as Boston's center fielder next season ...  brought a .308 average, two homers and league-leading seven triples into last night's game. The power stroke, say scouts, is usually the final tool to develop. To fully appreciate Ramirez's ability, just check with a teammate. First baseman Jeremy West usually has the best seat in the house for displays of athletic excellence. "I've seen many times there are balls in the deep hole at short, and he gets there with no problem, without diving. I'm thinking it might be an infield hit, but he's got a cannon. He gets the guy no problem," West said. "He's our No. 1 prospect, and that's for a reason. He's very talented and very gifted. He's got all the tools that you need and more. His baseball instincts are very good as well." (Manchester Union Leader)

    And, infield partner Dustin Pedroia performing well above expectations :

" ... The smallest member of the Portland Sea Dogs, 5-foot-9 Dustin Pedroia, leads the club with 29 RBI. Pedroia plays second base with the range and throwing arm of a shortstop ... already turns the double play a shade quicker than Mark Bellhorn. No wonder Red Sox fans already can picture him playing second base at Fenway Park next season. Pedroia, the NCAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2003, has given evidence that he's ready for the majors. The kid is 21 years old going on 28. In this new-millennium era that has teams putting more emphasis on the OPS statistic (the sum of on-base percentage and slugging percentage), Pedroia is a prototype player. With a bases-loaded double in the second inning yesterday, Pedroia raised his OPS above .900 — putting him with elite company in Eastern League." (Manchester Union Leader )

   TEX prospect now ready to rumble :

" ... Frisco shortstop Joaquin Arias's 2005 is looking a lot like his 2004. He hit .197 this April after hitting .213 in last year's opening month. Last year, the shortstop hit .308 in May and at least .300 in every month thereafter. He didn't quite make it to that level this past month, but the 20-year-old did hit .289 and appears to be settling in well as one of the youngest players in Class AA." (Jamey Newberg)

   Stephen Drew apparently in no rush to suit up for the D'Backs CAL franchise :

" ... JetHawks manager Bill Plummer said that there is no set time table on when Stephen Drew, the Diamondbacks No. 1 pick from last years amateur draft, will be reporting to the team. "He may join us by as early as this weekend," Plummer said. "If not then he'll be here some time next week. He's a very talented player who can add some things to our ball club and we're excited to get him."  (Antelope Valley Press)

   TOR lefty mighty impressive in his first taste of Double-A :

" ... Zach Jackson pitched eight innings of five-hit, one-run ball ... A 6-foot-5 left-hander, Jackson, 22, was pitching for Texas A&M a year ago. He was elevated from Dunedin of the Florida State League, where he was 8-1 in 10 starts with a 2.88 ERA ...  With Toronto General Manager J.P. Ricciardi on hand, Jackson faced just two batters over the minimum through six innings ... From the windup, Jackson featured a high leg kick, with his right knee nearly touching his chin. From the stretch, he showed he could work out of trouble. "I didn't really know what to expect but I knew I was facing one of the best, if not the best, hitting teams in the Eastern League," Jackson said. "I tried to miss as many barrels as I could and let my teammates do their job." (Portland Press Herald)

   Things looking up a bit in the DET system ... nine Tigers named to the FSL All-Star team, including :

" ... Leading the way for the pitchers is Justin Verlander, who has come to Lakeland and dominated Florida State League batters by going 7-2 in 10 starts. Verlander leads the league in Strikeouts (76) and ERA (1.66) and has been very impressive in his first season of professional baseball after being drafted #2 overall last summer."

" ... RF Brent Clevlen has made a remarkable turnaround this year. After struggling for most of last season at the plate and in the field, Clevlen has been one of the best hitters in the league this season and has played a steady rightfield for the Tigers. Clevlen is hitting .302/.357/.532 and leads the Tigers with 10 homeruns. Clevlen’s 48 RBI lead the Florida State League." (Lakeland Tigers)

   BOS catcher/first baseman, undrafted, selected as the Player of the Month in the South Atlantic League :

" ...  John Otness earned ... honors after compiling a .406 batting average in which he collected 43 hits in 106 at bats during 29 games played in May Otness had 11 doubles, scored 13 runs and knocked in 14 RBI for the month. The 24-year old posted an on-base percentage of .459 and a .548 slugging percentage during May. He raised his batting average by 66 points to currently lead the South Atlantic League at .386 this season. Otness is also 2nd in the league with a .439 on-base percentage." (Greenville Bombers)

02 June 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Zach Minor ATL 6 9 5 4 3 4, 4.58 ... Francisco Rosario TOR 3-1/3 8 6 6 2 3, 3.71 ... B.J. Upton SS TB 2-4, 5th HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, 1 error ... Ryan Raburn DH DET 2-6, R, RBI ... Ryan Garko C CLE 2-5, 7th & 8th HRs, 2 R, 2 RBI ... Abe Alvarez BOS 5-2/3 4 2 2 4 7, 4.35 ... Jeff Keppinger 2B NYN 2-5, 2 RBI, BB ... Dave Gassner MIN 7 1 0 0 2 4, 3.86

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Chris Snelling SEA 3-4, double, run … Miguel Olivo SEA 0-4, 2K … Cha-Seung Baek SEA 5 6 2 2 1 4, 3.35 … Skip Schumaker STL 2-5, double, RBI, run … Brooks Conrad HOU 2-3, double, run … knocked around a little; Adam Wainwright STL 6 8 5 4 0 2, 2.72 … Brendan Harris WAS 1-4, 2 runs … Adrian Gonzalez TEX 2-4, run … moved to 4th in the order; Marshall McDougall TEX 1-4, homer, 2 RBI … Ronny Cedeno CHN 1-4, double, run … Richard Hill CHN, 14 Ks in AAA debut, 6-2/3 4 4 4 2 14, not giving up much in the promotion, L, 5.40 … Tagg Bozied SD 3-5, double, solo homer … Jon Knott SD 2-5, double, homer, 2 RBI … Josh Barfield SD 1-5 … Jeff Mathis ANA 0-3, didn’t he get lonely last year, too? … Chris Oxspring SD 8-1/3 6 2 2 1 5, (W, 3-2), 5.43 … Brad Baker SD 2/3 0 0 0 0 1, (S, 16) … nice night for MIL kids - Dave Kryznel  2-6, 6th homer, 3 RBI …Rickie Weeks  3-4, .324  … Prince Fielder  2-5, 11th double, 11th homer, 3RBI, 3Ks, .257 … Brad Nelson  2-5, double, 4th homer … Josh Willingham FLO 2-4, double, .322 … Ryan Shealy COL  2-4, 2 doubles (14), .318 … Conor Jackson ARI 2-4, 21st double, 6th homer, .379 … Scott Hairston ARI 2-5, 9th homer, .308  … Sergio Santos ARI  2-4, triple, 8th homer, .219 …Todd Linden SF 2-4, 15th homer, .312

EASTERN (AA)  --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 0-4, .314 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 0-4, .301 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 2-3, .268 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 0-1, .306 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 1-3, RBI (27), .237 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 2-4, RBI (24), .232 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 2-4, 2 3B (3), .286 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 3-5, 3B, RBI (28), .290 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-3, HR (8), RBI (32),.279 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 0-2, SB (6), .208 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 1-4, 2B (19), .310 AVG …Michael Bourn OF PHI 0-4, .246 AVG … Randy Ruiz 1B PHI 1-4, .362 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 3-4, 2B (8), 3 RBI (17), .223 AVG … Paul Bonifay 1B PIT 0-4, .255 AVG … Brian Bannister NYN 6 5 1 1 2 8, 2.15 ERA … Dan Denham CLE 6 3 1 1 3 3, 2.98 ERA … Merkin Valdez SF 6 5 2 2 0 10, W (4), 2.81 ERA… Kason Gabbard BOS 6 9 3 3 1 6, 4.47 ERA … Eric DuBose BAL 7-2/3 7 1 1 0 6, W (4), 1.78 ERA … Jeffrey Karstens NYA 5-1/3 14 9 9 2 3, 3.76 ERA

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Russell Martin LA 2-5, homer, 3 RBI, .293 ... Joel Guzman LA 2-5, double, .296 ... Wes Bankston TB 1-4, double, walk, RBI ... Felix Pie CHN, mini-slump a distant memory, 5-6, 16th double, 11th homer, .321 ... Matt Murton CHN 3-5, double, 3 RBI, .385 ... Dan Uggla 2B ARZ 4-5, double, 6 RBI, .342 ... Adam Haley SS ARZ 5-5, double, .346 ... Ricky Nolasco CHN 4 10 5 5 1 7, 2.64 ... Manny Parra MIL 7 5 2 2 1 10, 3.86 ... Delmon Young TB 0-4 & 1-2, 12th homer, .337 ... Josh Fields CHA 0-3 & 0-3, .207 ... Josh Johnson FLO 5 3 0 0 1 6, 2.63 ... Jason Hammel TB 7 5 1 1 1 5, 3.82

TEXAS (AA)  --  Andre Ethier OAK 2-4, R, HR(10), RBI(40), .364 ... Rollin' along - Dallas Braden OAK (W,3-1) 7 5 1 1 2 8 (2.28) ... Alex Santos OAK (S,5) 1 0 0 0 0 2 (0.00) ... A not so nice welcome to AA - Chris Lambert STL (L,0-1) 5 6 4 4 2 2 (7.20) ... Erick Aybar ANA 1-5, 2K, .269 ... Alberto Callaspo ANA 2-4, R, 311 ... Michael Napoli ANA 1-4, R, HR(8), RBI(34), 2K, .295 ... Ruddy Yan TX 2-4, 2RBI(20), SB(20), .322 ... Joaquin Arias TX 2-4, 2R, 3B, SB(20), .253 ... A nice intro to AA - John Danks TX (W,1-0) 5 2/3 5 2 1 4 6 (1.59) ... TJ Bohn SEA 2-5, R, HR(4), RBI(21), .294 ... Ryan Spilborghs COL 2-5, R, .340 ... Wichita / Corpus Christi went 20 innings (a game which produced 39 Ks & Wichita won as CC ran out of pitchers & INF Eric Riggs gave up five runs in the 20th)  ... Justin Huber KC, big-time ofer,  0-8, .330 ... Cory Aldridge (LF) KC 3-9, 2R, 2B, HR(13), RBI(40), .294 ... Carlos Rodriguez (LF) HOU 4-9, SB, .283 ... JP Howell KC 6 5 2 2 1 11 (2.50)

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  wasn't he a prospect once? BJ Garbe, now in the SEA system, 3-3, double, 2 homers, HBP, 3 RBI, 3 runs, .275 ... Jesse Floyd SF 7 5 1 0 2 5, 6-1, 2.73 ...  Nate Schierholtz SF 3-4, double, .319 ... Ian Stewart 1-4, .212 ... Chris Carter ARZ 2-3, 2 homers (12), .305 ... Richie Robnett OAK 2-5, double, 3 RBI, .266 ... Daric Barton OAK 2-3, 3 walks, 2 doubles, 4 runs, 3 RBI, .279

CAROLINA (A+) --  Martin Prado ATL 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K ... Josh Burrus ATL 2-4, R, double (16), 2 BB, K ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-5, RBI, 2 K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 1-4, R, double, 2 RBI, BB ... Robert Valido CHA 0-3 ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 1-4, double ... Thomas Collaro CHA 0-4, K ... Brady Endl ATL (W, 4-3, 1.85) 7 7 1 1 1 2 ... Kory Casto WAS 0-3 ... Javier Guzman PIT 1-4, RBI ... Nate Spears BAL 2-4, R, double (15), triple, RBI, .316 ... Nick Markakis BAL 1-4, 2 K

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Andy LaRoche 3B LA 1-3 HR(20) 2RBI … Justin Orenduff LA 6 4 0 0 3 12 W(4-2, 1.86, 68Ks in 48 1/3IP) … Juan Francia 2B DET 3-5 2B RBI SB(20) … Preston Larrison DET 1 3 2 2 1 0 L(0-2, 5.79) … Jason Jones NYA 6 6 1 1 1 4 W(4-4, 3.71) … Not very sharp in his return from Tommy John surgery, Dustin McGowan TOR 1 1/3 7 7 7 1 2 L … Gabe Ribas PHI 6 4 2 1 1 3 W … Tim Moss 2B PHI 2-5 R … Marc Tugwell C PHI 2-4 HR(4) 2R 3RBI … Jake Blalock LF PHI 2-5 R RBI … Reggie Abercrombie CF FLO 2-4 R … Jason Vargas FLO 6 3 0 0 2 8 W(6-2, 1.66)

MIDWEST (A) --  an awakening? Ian Gac (1B) TEX 2-4, HR's #4 and 5 (.228) ... A.J. Wideman TOR 5 7 5 3 1 3 (4.30) ... Trevor Plouffe MIN 2-5 ... Rafael Rodriguez ANA 8 6 3 3 1 9 (3.00) ... Matt Bush SD 2-4 ... Michael Ekstrom SD 7 5 1 1 0 2 (W, 7-1, 1.43) ... Javier Herrera OAK 0-4 ... Dallas Trahern DET 9 7 4 4 1 2 (3.53) ... Wilkin Castillo (C) ARZ 2-3, double, BB (.298) ... Sean Gallagher CHN 5 1/3 6 1 1 3 4 (ERA balloons to 0.83)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Philip Hughes, Yankees got a good one, 7 2 1 1 1 4 (CG), 6-1, 1.62 ... Yosvany Almario-Cabrera OF NYA 4-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI & 1-2, .327 ... Tony Sipp CLE 5 5 3 3 1 6, 1.95 ... Hunter Pence HOU 1-4, 18th homer (just one behind Andy LaRoche), 2 RBI (40), .333

  Troop Movements ... DET - SS Tony Giarratano up from AA, Jason Smith designated for assignment ... ANA - Francisco Rodriguez activated, Chris Bootcheck to AAA ... CHN - John Koronka up from AAA,  Jon Leicester to AAA ... HOU - Humberto Quintero up from AAA, Raul Chavez designated for assignment ... TB -- 1B Wes Bankston promoted to AA :

" ... The 21-year-old was hitting .387 after joining the Oaks in mid-May following preseason knee surgery. In 17 games, he totaled 23 RBIs, 15 runs scored and 15 walks. Last year, Bankston was Tampa Bay's most valuable player at Class A Charleston (S.C.). Hitting behind current Biscuit Delmon Young, Bankston finished with a .289 average, 23 home runs and 101 RBIs. He scored 82 runs. Bankston was a fourth-round draft pick in 2002."  (Montgomery Advertiser)

    Bryan Smith, at TheBaseballAnalysts, with an insightful and helpful look at some of the top hitting prospects in the minors, including a few of the not-so-hyped :

" ... Eric Patterson, 2B, Cubs ... has all the skills that add up to being the Cubs next leadoff hitter: contact, speed, patience. His one problem is that Patterson is a hitter too advanced for the league [Midwest] the Cubs have him in."

" ... Eddy Martinez-Esteve, OF/DH, Giants  ...  has quickly become one of my personal favorites in the minors, as he could be the one given the job of replacing Mr. Barry Bonds. All this kid does is get on base, and also has some power that could even increase after returning to full health. I'm worried that EME will even be a liability in left field, and will need some sort of Carlos Lee-type improvement to even be sustainable."

" ... Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B/SS, Mariners ...  Another breakout pick that looks to be succeeding. In his last 43 at-bats, worth about 1/3 of his season, Cabrera has just nine hits. Luckily for Cabrera, he had a .402 average before that, so there was a lot of room left to fall. Cabrera isn't going to offer much more than solid contact skills and great defense, but that would be enough for some offenses."

" ... Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox ... Pedroia has the heart of David Eckstein, but the bat of Jeff Kent. His defense is as steady as they come, and all signs point to him being an All-Star up the middle."

    Gerry McDonald and the guys over at Batter's Box have a review of their Jays' Top 30.  Not much for hitters on the way, but lots of intriguing arms :

Brandon League  " ...  has gone from the joy of being an opening day major leaguer, to the pain of a 6.00 ERA at AAA. League's problem is location, he has the "stuff", he just needs to know where to put it ... just 22 years old, and has time to find his groove."

Josh Banks  " ...  promoted to AA in mid 2004 and had struggled initially but finished well. Banks's objective for 2005 was to build on the end of the season and he has done that. Banks has pitched very well in AA and continues to allow less than a hit per inning, to walk very few, and strikeout close to a hitter an inning. Banks is still young and should see AAA later this year."

Vince Perkins  " ... After an injury filled 2004 Perkins jumped to AA and his been right at home. His control is improving and he is not allowing many hits, a good step forward."

Casey Janssen  " ...  arguably the most pleasant surprise of 2005. Janssen's ERA at Auburn last year was 3.48, a good number, but not a "knock your socks off" one. Janssen started 2005 hot and has not cooled down. Even after a promotion to Dunedin Janssen's ERA is almost the same at High A as it was at A."

Francisco Rosario  " ...  has pitched well in AAA and opponents are hitting under .200 against him. Rosario needs time in AAA to improve his control, he walks a few too many and the hit batters and wild pitches add up, but May has been better than April, and if June is better than May, the Jays will have to seriously think about giving him a look."

Dustin McGowan  " ...  McGowan is throwing, and reportedly at similar velocities to 2004. Hopefully he pitches for Dunedin soon."

    LA's Edwin Jackson battered again ... hints that the Dodgers losing patience with the former top prospect :

" ... Those are the things you can't really explain," 51s manager Jerry Royster said. "He was going good as he has all year for three innings and then he just couldn't do anything right." ... The six-run fourth inning was followed by a five-run fifth by the Sky Sox, leaving Jackson with his worst outing of the season. He had four walks and no strikeouts. "He's got to get streaky," Royster said. "He's got to put together a streak. There's a lot of confidence involved. I thought he did a real good job with his offspeed pitch today, his changeup especially. Then he gets hit." Royster said Jackson was regularly registering 98 mph on the radar gun, even hitting 99 mph at least once. ... Thompson's promotion might be a sign of things to come for Jackson, at one time the Dodgers' top prospect. "It wasn't fun for him to watch Thompson being called up," Royster said. "Guys are going by him. He's well aware of that. There's guys coming. We've got some good, good young pitching. He's got to figure that out. To me, it's taken too long."  (Las Vegas Sun)

   The MIN farm keeps producing :

" ... Attention, fantasy baseball zealots: Remember the name Francisco Liriano. Hide him on your minor league roster and wait for a few more nights like this. And then you and the Minnesota Twins will have a reliable left-handed starter. Liriano, pitching for the Double-A Twins ...  haunted his old organization. He struck out the side in the fifth and sixth, working 6 2/3 innings ...  Liriano, 22 in October, was traded from the Giants' organization two years ago along with Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser for catcher A.J. Pierzynski ... . Liriano (2-5, 3.43, with 80 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings) ...  “He threw great,” Norwich manager Dave Machemer said. “He had a lot of life on his fastball and it was moving, too. Any time you strike out six in a row, you have pretty good stuff.” Liriano, who hit as high as 97 mph on the speed gun, allowed five hits and an earned run before yielding to Matt Yeatman with two on and two out in the seventh." (New London Day)

   For those still with hopes of a Ryan Anderson revival ... the former "Little Unit" makes his first start since the fall of 2000 on Thursday ... now in the MIL system ... Brevard County, Florida State League.

01 June 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  William Bergolla 2B CIN 2-4 ... T.J. Pena SS ATL 2-4, HBP ... Gabe Gross LF TOR 4-5, 2 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI ... B.J. Upton SS TB 1-3, SB, 0 errors ... Joey Gathright CF TB 2-4, R, BB ... Nelson Cruz DET 2-1/3 9 6 6 2 1, 4.82 ... Brandon Phillips SS CLE 3-6, 2 R ... Ryan Garko C CLE 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB ... Chris Narveson BOS 6 4 1 1 2 7, 3.91 ... Nate McLouth LF PIT 2-4, 2 R, RBI, SB ... Ryan Doumit RF PIT 4-6, 2 R ... Ian Snell PIT 5 5 0 0 1 7, 2.84 ... Angel Pagan DH NYN 2-5, R, SB ... superb, Sean Henn NYA 9 2 0 0 0 3, 1.35 ... great start, Scott Baker MIN 8 4 0 0 0 5, 1.97 ... John Maine BAL 6 6 2 2 2 7, 3.58

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  John Nelson STL 1-4, solo homer, .280 … Humberto Quintero HOU 2-3, RBI, run … Carlos Hernandez HOU 5 5 2 2 4 3, L … Ian Kinsler TEX 3-5, double, 2 runs (15 for 31 in his last 8 games, 5 doubles, homer) … Marshall McDougall TEX 3-5, triple, 3 RBI, 2K … Adrian Gonzalez TEX 3-5, double, solo homer, 2 runs … Ronny Cedeno CHN 2-4, .380 … John Hudgins TEX 6 7 2 2 3 3, 3.00 … Nice change of scenery, Jerome Williams CHN 6 8 2 2 0 4, still 8.35 … JJ Furmaniak SD 3-5, 2 homers, 4 RBI, 3 runs … Josh Barfield SD 2-5 … Jon Knott SD 3-5 … The only one left; Jeff Mathis ANA 4-5, 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 2 runs … Rickie Weeks MIL 0-3 … Prince Fielder MIL 1-4, double, run … Brad Knox MIL 2-4, double, 2 RBI … Scott Hairston ARI 1-4, homer, 2 RBI … Todd Linden SF 3-5, solo homer … Choo Freeman COL 2-4 … Willy Aybar LA 2-4, 2 doubles … A little family party: Tim Drew P COL 3-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBI & 5-1/3 6 4 4 3 2, (W, 4-3) … Edwin Jackson LA 4-1/3 10 11 5 4 0, wow, (L, 3-5) Chris Snelling SEA 1-4, run

EASTERN (AA)  --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 2-6, .321 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 1-6, .308 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 2-5, HR (5), RBI (21), .260 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 2-6, RBI (24), .309 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 0-5, .235 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 1-4, .232 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 2-4, .281 AVG … Tony Giarratano SS DET 1-4, 2 RBI (22), SB (5), .253 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 2-4, RBI (27), .290 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-4, 2B (8), SB (15), .279 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 0-3, .210 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 2-3, 2 RBI (19), .311 AVG …Michael Bourn OF PHI 0-4, .251 AVG … Randy Ruiz 1B PHI 1-4, .366 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 3-4, 2B (8), 3 RBI (17), .223 AVG … Paul Bonifay 1B PIT 0-4, .255 AVG … Francisco Liriano MIN 6-2/3 5 1 1 2 9, W (2), 3.43 ERA … Jon Papelbon BOS 8 1 1 1 1 4, 2.10 ERA … Vance Perkins TOR 7-1/3 3 1 1 0 1, 3.04 ERA … Joel Zumaya DET 5 5 3 3 2 4, 4.15 ERA

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Tony Pena ARZ (former Ramon Antonio Pena, once known as Adriano Rosario) 7 5 4 4 2 3, 6.95 ... Felix Pie CF CHN, slide continues, 0-4, .305 (but, threw out a runner at home and part of a double play) ... Jeremy Hermida FLO 2-4, walk, .312 ... Anthony Lerew ATL, better, 6 3 1 1 2 6, 4.29

TEXAS (AA)  --  Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez SEA 2-3, double, .275 ... Bobby Livingston SEA 7 2 4 1 0 5, 2.90 ... Zach Parker COL 7-2/3 8 2 1 2, 1.19 ... Mark McLemore HOU 5 4 2 0 0 4, 2.41 ... Josh Rupe TEX 5 7 5 5 3 6, 3.74 ... Erick Aybar ANA 2-3, walk, triple, 3 runs & 1-4, .271 ... Alberto Callaspo ANA 2-4 &2-4, .307

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Billy Butler KC 3-5, 14th & 15th homers, 4 RBI, walk, .355 ... Brandon Wood ANA 1-4, double, .309 ... Adam Keim 2B KC 4-5, 3 homers (9), 5 RBI, .275 ... Mitch Maier KC 3-6, 26th double, 7th homer,  .335 ... Miguel Montero ARZ 1-3, 12th homer (among the CAL leaders in BA, OBA, SLG, HR) league-leading 49th RBI ... Edison Volquez TEX 8 9 2 2 0 9, 4.18 ... Ubaldo Jimenez COL 4 8 6 6 5 3 ... Seth Smith COL 3-4, 2 doubles (19), 4th homer, .286 ... Ian Stewart COL 0-4, 2 Ks, .211 ... Kendry Morales ANA 0-4, .277

CAROLINA (A+) --  Kory Casto WAS 1-3 & 1-3, 2 R, BB ... Javier Guzman PIT 1-3, RBI, K & 0-3 ... Mike Hinckley WAS (L, 0-3, 6.86) 6 9 4 3 3 5 ... Wardell Starling PIT (W, 5-2, 4.20) 6 3 2 2 3 4 ... CLE kids Snyder, Kouzmanoff, Goleski combined 0-15, 6 K in the double header ... Martin Prado ATL 1-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K, SB (4) ... Josh Burrus ATL 2-4, 2 R, double (15), HR (6), 3 RBI ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-4, R, K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 1-4, double, 2 RBI, 2 K ... Robert Valido CHA 0-3, BB ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 0-2, BB ... Thomas Collaro CHA 0-4, 2 K ... Nate Spears BAL 2-4, double (14), BB, SB (5) ... Nick Markakis BAL 2-4, 2 R, 2 K ... Matt Albers HOU (W, 3-6, 4.47) 6 5 2 2 3 10

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

MIDWEST (A) --  nice bounceback effort Kyle Waldrop MIN 6 4 1 0 0 5 (4.45) ... Ryan Harvey CHN 0-4 (.257) ... yet another hard-luck loss Matt Weber CHN 6 2/3 9 3 2 1 3 (3-6, 2.79) ... Javier Herrera OAK 7th double, 4th HR (.264) ... James Houser, Jr. TB 7 4 1 1 1 5 (3.44) ... still not untracked Yuber Rodriguez TOR 0-3 (.173) ... Eric Hurley TEX 6 2 2 2 2 8 (3.74) ... mixed bag Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 2-4, 2 K's, 13th error ... Jair Jurrjens DET 6 3 1 1 0 7 (2.38) ... Michael Collins ANA 2-4, double (.295) ... terrific game from the 18-year-old Angulo (Fabian) Jimenez SD 8 5 0 0 1 5 (W, 4-4, 4.17)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Michael Dzurilla 2B PHI 3-5, double, 2 RBI, .363 ... Ofilio Castro 3B WAS 4-6, 3 doubles, homer, .258 ... Hunter Pence HOU 1-4, 17th homer, .335 ... Gio Gonzalez CHA 8 1 0 0 2 9, 1.77 ...  Chris Malone RHP LA (non-drafted free agent), close to  perfect,  9 1 1 0 1 7, 5-2, 2.36 (lone run scored on a passed ball):

" ...  Malone took a perfect game into the 9th inning...  before allowing a leadoff single ... completed his second straight game en route to a 3-1 Catfish win ...  finished the game allowing just one unearned run on one hit and one walk, striking out seven on 100 pitches for his team-leading 5th win of the year ... .  In five starts this season, he has allowed just four earned runs in 35.1 innings pitched, walking just five and striking out 26 and has thrown two straight complete games."  (Columbus Catfish)

  Troop Movements ... ANA - Curtis Pride DL, Casey Kotchman back up ... CLE - activated Juan Gonzalez, designated Ryan Ludwick for assignment ... ATL - Mike Hampton activated, Raul Mondesi designated for assignment ... DET - Chris Shelton up, Carlos Pena to AAA ... KC - Shane Costa up from AA, Eli Marrero designated for assignment ... MIN - Luis Rivas DL, Terry Tiffee to AAA, recalled Michael Ryan, purchased the contract of Brent Abernathy ... HOU - recalled Chris Burke, Ezequiel Astacio to AAA

Cards make some changes :

" ...  Outfielder Reid Gorecki was transferred to Palm Beach of the Florida State League. Replacing Gorecki on the roster will be Cody Haerther ...  Cardinals will also have to make another roster move, as they will send Chris Lambert to the mound on Wednesday night ... Lambert, who was 7-1 with an ERA of 2.63 with the Palm Beach Cardinals, will join the club on Wednesday and make his Double-A debut. Lambert was St. Louis’ 2004 first round pick in the June Draft ... Haerther, primarily used in left field defensively, was hitting .318 with eight homers and 30 RBIs in 46 games at Palm Beach." (Springfield Cardinals)

Mike Morse gets a shot at the SS job in SEA (Wilson Valdez designated for assignment)  :

" ... “It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Morse said. “I feel like I’ve been doing good, but you’re always surprised when something like this happens.” Morse batted .253 with four homers and 23 RBI for the Rainiers, and he was charged with four errors in 49 games. “It’s a great feeling,” Rohn [Tacoma manager Dan Rohn] said of seeing one of his players promoted, “especially a kid who has worked so hard.” Olivo and Morse were obtained last summer from the Chicago White Sox – along with outfielder Jeremy Reed – for pitcher Freddy Garcia." (Tacoma Tribune)

" ... He’s expected to get significant playing time at shortstop as the M’s hope to inject some life into the bottom of the order. The fact that he was hitting just .253/.317/.407 in the PCL is apparently not a concern ...At best, I think Morse projects as a utility player, but if his defense has improved to the point where he can at least be competent up the middle, he’s a better option on the bench than, say, Greg Dobbs." (David Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner)

    Jim Callis, Baseball America, reports both Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver likely to make their pro debuts in the California League. 

    It's Rickie Weeks (more below) atop the latest edition of Kevin Goldstein's Prospect Hot Sheet at Baseball America :

" ... If you downgraded Weeks from "potential superstar" to "potential solid player" after last year's .259-8-42 showing at Double-A Huntsville, it's time to re-evaluate. Weeks needed just 46 this year to match his 2004 RBI total, and is 8-for-19 with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs in five games since a two-day break to attend his brother's graduation."

LA's Andy LaRoche, No. 1 last week, dips to the runner-up slot, ahead of ATL lefty Chuck James :

" ... James had arguably his worst start since being promoted to Double-A on Monday, which means he gave up a pair of earned runs over six innings. On the season, lefthanded batters facing him are 5-for-70 with 32 whiffs."

Sean Gallagher of the Cubs is No. 4, Billy Butler KC No. 5.

    Ryan Howard is the hottest of the hot in the latest Who's Hot at RotoAmerica :

" ... 1.) He's pretty good. Six HR in his last four games. 1.127 OPS in the International League overall. I still expecct he'll be gone in July. A deal that NEEDS to happen: Howard to Tampa Bay for either Rocco Baldelli or a package of Chad Orvella and Elijah Dukes."

" ... Eddy Martinez-Esteve, OF...  2.) Now up to .360/.457/.629 on the year after going 9-14 over the last few days. I think he's ready for AA, but Brian Sabean is too busy working on a Matt Cain and Jesse Foppert for Rob Mackowiak deal."

    David Regan, RotoAmerica, picks LA 3B Andy LaRoche as the top prospect in the Florida State League :

" ... LaRoche has certainly rocketed to the top of these charts and is probably in the lead for Minor League Player of the Year ...  Last year was more about taking walks and this year it's about hitting homeruns for Andy LaRoche. 19 of them to be exact, along with a .352 batting average. Lots of folks around baseball think that HE is the future for the Dodgers at the hot corner with Joel Guzman patrolling the outfield. Willy Aybar could be a stop gap with LaRoche taking over in 2007."

Regan goes with Justin Verlander as No. 2, ahead of MIN third baseman Matt Moses :

" ... Former Twins first rounder (2003) seems to have come into his own this year. Hit just .223 in the Midwest League last year, but Moses, who just turned 20 in February, has been all over FSL pitching. .342/.402/.542. Has a sweet line-drive stroke from the left side and is generating nice lift this year after coming into 2005 with just 3 career HR's in 181 at-bats."

    He's a worry, but Michael Aubrey seems about ready to return :

" ... Aubrey hopes to return to action soon after sitting out since May 9 due to lower back problems ... had a CAT scan last week and it came up clean, though he still has pain and is on anti-inflammatory drugs. "We're basically waiting for the swelling to subside," Indians assistant farm director Mike Hazen said. "There's nothing structurally wrong with him, and he should be back soon." In 104 at-bats, Aubrey is hitting .288/.345/.471 with four homers and 19 RBIs." (Baseball America)

   Seattle Times with its weekly look at the M's top prospects :

" ... 1. RHP Felix Hernandez  ...  Is 6-3 (2.72 ERA) after up-and-down week ... 2. OF Shin-Soo Choo ... An on-base machine with seven BB, six Hits ... 3. SS Matt Tuiasosopo ...AVG (.293) in unfamiliar, sub-.300 territory ...
4. OF Wladimir Balentien ...Back to bashing (.573 SLG), plus nine RBI  ... 5. LHP Bobby Livingston ... Dominant: eight-inning, three-hit effort ... 6. OF Chris Snelling ... Second in the PCL with his .388 average ... 7. SS Adam Jones ...On a 17-for-35 (.486) tear; AVG at .306 ... 8. LHP Cesar Jimenez ... Hasn't allowed earned run since May 13 ... 9. 2B Asdrubal Cabrera ...Fourth in MWL in AVG (.333); just one E ... 10. 3B Jesus Guzman ...  Consistently cranks out the hits (.279 AVG)."

   The Seattle Post-Intellegencer also with a weekly review of the SEA farm system.  Joe Kaiser includes a feature this week on Adam Jones :

" ...  Gifted athletically but young and largely unproven, Jones' selection was questioned by critics who felt the Mariners should have gone after a "safer" player. In the two years since draft day, Jones' confident demeanor ... has allowed him to shut out his critics and focus on the task at hand ...  4-for-5 day at the plate on Sunday raised his average to .306 at Class A Inland Empire ... is a much more complete player now than he was coming out of high school. "I've gotten a whole lot stronger and I know the pitches that I can hit," he said ...  Offensively, things are coming together for Jones, who has the physique of a young Darryl Strawberry. At 19, he leads the organization with 26 extra-base hits -- seven home runs, 15 doubles, four triples -- and is driving the ball as well as anyone in the system. Further improvement is needed on defense, with many still questioning whether Jones can handle the shortstop position for the long haul. He already has 15 errors this season, but maintains that the more he plays, the better he feels at short. "Sometimes I look up too quick, and sometimes I'm not being aggressive to the ball and letting it come to me," said Jones, whose errors have mostly come on fielding mistakes as opposed to errant throws. "But for the most part, if I catch it, I haven't had a problem. It all comes down to repetition."

Kaiser also offers an M's Top 10 :

" ... 6. Asdrubal Cabrera, INF, Wisconsin: Making up for lost time after missing three weeks with a sprained ankle, Cabrera is one of Wisconsin's best players both at the plate (.333, 3 HR, 19 RBIs) and in the field at shortstop and second."

" ...  7. Matt Tuiasosopo, SS, Wisconsin: In a bit of a free fall after a torrid April, saw his batting average drop below .300 last week for the first time all season. He has just 10 extra-base hits."

   News on yet another SEA infield prospect :

" ... Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez has had a lot of adjusting to do after defecting from Cuba. Apparently, he's got the baseball part down, though. After a few struggles in April, Betancourt-Perez has stepped up in May ...   hitting .288 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. He's also struck out only six times in 125 at-bats. Most impressive has been his defense. At shortstop, he committed only two errors during the month." (Texas League)

   Rickie Weeks ... looking All-World :

" ...  As manager of the Class AAA Nashville Sounds, Frank Kremblas is required to submit an evaluation on each of his players to the Milwaukee Brewers at the end of the season.  One comment Kremblas intends to put in the file on second baseman Rickie Weeks might raise a few eyebrows back at the home office. "I'm going to say he's going to be a 40-home-run guy, without a problem. That's what I believe," Kremblas said. First, let it be known that Kremblas does not come from the Tommy Lasorda School of Managerial Exaggerations. He is more apt to be reserved in evaluations of players than exuberant ...  "Rickie has more power than Prince (Fielder)," Kremblas said. "People don't believe me, but he does. And he's only going to get better. He's not a man yet." ...  Weeks generates power primarily through extraordinary bat speed. The ball jumps off his bat as if shot from a cannon, leaving outfielders with their backs to the infield more often than they'd prefer. "The last guy I saw hit the ball consistently as hard as Rickie, day in and day out, was Julio Franco, when he won the batting title (with Texas in 1991)," said Nashville coach Gary Pettis ...  Weeks knows better than to worry about his power numbers. He's far more concerned with being a complete hitter, as evidenced by his .320 batting average and .432 on-base percentage." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

   Over at RotoJunkie, Jason Collette and Brad Dowdy offer a great wrapup on kids to target, A-Ball through AAA :

" ... Marcus Sanders is another player who I doubt was drafted in the majority of leagues, but his stolen base ability is second to none. If he was drafted in one of your leagues, he may be worth acquiring. Matt Tuiasosopo is another player you may be able to trade more highly on his name than his ability. I think he is getting by on pure athleticism at this point, and will be exposed as he moves up the ladder ... Kyle Waldrop was the 25th overall selection in the 2004 draft by the Twins, but 2005 hasn’t been to kind to him so far. Still, a 45/8 K/BB ratio shows that the talent is there, he just needs to start missing a few more bats. He is a solid buy low candidate."

   Adam Miller CLE ... two or three weeks from returning to the mound :

" ...  Miller is progressing as scheduled in his recovery from a shoulder injury ... threw his third bullpen session of the spring Friday at extended spring training in Winter Haven, Fla., and should be in uniform somewhere by mid- to late June, Indians assistant director of player development Mike Hazen said ... "It's going good," Miller, 20, said by phone ...  "I'm taking it slow. As far as recovery and healthy-wise, I've got nothing to complain about." Although the Indians have not announced where Miller will begin the season, all signs point to the short-season Class A club at Mahoning Valley (Ohio) of the New York-Penn League. Miller's mid- to late June time table coincides with the start of that league's season on June 21 ... As for Miller, who will start by pitching an inning in his first game and gradually work up, he's just eager to get into a uniform. "Everything feels great," he said. "I'm definitely ready."  (Kinston Free Press)

   ANA catcher Mike Napoli, Player of the Week in the Texas League :

" ...  Napoli batted .476 avg (10 hits – 21 ab), with 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 2 doubles, 6 runs scored and 4 walks ... Napoli, 23, is currently in his sixth professional season after the Angels drafted him in the 17th round of the 2000 draft... With 47 games played, Napoli is hitting .301 avg. with 7 home runs, 32 RBI, 14 doubles, 35 runs scored and a league." (Texas League)

31 May 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Dane Sardinha C CIN 2-4, R ... Andy Marte 3B ATL 2-4, 2B, 9th HR, R, 2 RBI ... T.J. Pena SS ATL 2-4, 2B, R, SB ... Ryan Howard 1B PHI 2-5, 9th & 10th HRs, 2 R, 4 RBI (quite a streak, in his last four games 9-17, 2 doubles, 6 homers, 13 RBI)  ... Shane Victorino CF PHI 2-5, 9th HR, R, RBI ... Eude Brito PHI 5-2/3 4 2 2 2 6 8.07 ... Gabe Gross LF TOR 1-4, 2nd HR, R, RBI ... B.J. Upton SS TB 2-5, 0 errors ... Jonny Gomes LF TB 1-4, 13th HR, 2 R, RBI, HBP ... Joey Gathright CF TB 2-6 ... Chris Seddon TB 4 6 4 2 2 6 4.50 ... Curtis Granderson CF DET 1-5, 3rd HR, R, RBI ... Chris Shelton DH DET 2-3, R, RBI, BB ... Ryan Raburn 2B DET 2-4, 8th HR, R, 2 RBI ... Ryan Garko C CLE 1-4, 6th HR, R, RBI ... Jeremy Guthrie CLE 5-2/3 9 4 4 1 6 6.00 ... Adam Stern CF BOS 2-5, R, 3 RBI ... Cory Stewart PIT 6 3 1 1 1 5 4.01 ... Angel Pagan CF NYN 2-4 ... Craig Brazell DH NYN 1-4, 6th HR, R, RBI ... J.D. Durbin MIN 4 2 4 4 5 6 4.68

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Ian Kinsler TEX 3-5, solo homer, 2 runs … Adrian Gonzalez TEX 2-4, solo homer … Jason Botts TEX 2-4, double, 2 RBI … Skip Schumaker STL 3-4, double … John Gall STL 2-4 … Dave Krynzel MIL 3-4, triple, RBI, run … Rickie Weeks MIL 2-4, RBI, run … Prince Fielder MIL 0-4, 2K … Ben Hendrickson MIL 6 6 2 2 5 3, (W, 2-4), 3.90 … Josh Barfield SD 1-4, 2 RBI … Choo Freeman COL 1-3, solo homer … Brad Baker SD 1 2 0 0 0 2, (S, 15) … Jeff Mathis ANA 0-3 … Mike Fontentot CHN 3-5, 3 RBI … Luke Scott HOU 2-4, double … Humberto Quintero C HOU 4-5, double, .293 … Shin Soo Choo SEA 2-4, 2K … Chris Snelling SEA 2-5, 2 RBI … Jorge Campillo SEA 5 4 0 0 2 2, (W, 3-1), 2.68 … Norihiro Nakamura LA 0-4, 2K … Carlos Quentin ARI 1-5, run … Scott Hairston ARI 2-5, double, triple, .296 … Sergio Santos ARI 1-5, solo homer, 3K … Edgar Gonzalez ARI 7 8 3 3 1 5, (W, 6-1), 3.04

EASTERN (AA)  --  Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS 1-3, SB (5), .308 AVG ... Hanley Ramirez SS BOS 2-4, 2B (7), 3 RBI (19), .311 AVG ... Brandon Moss OF BOS 3-5, 2B (9), 2 RBI (20), .255 AVG … Christopher Durbin OF BOS 2-4, HR (5), 2 RBI (23), .307 AVG … Jared Sandberg 3B BOS 1-5, HR (9), 3 RBI (25), .243 AVG … Eric Duncan 3B NYA 0-4, .232 AVG … Melky Cabrera OF NYA 3-5, 2B (5), HR (6), 4 RBI (29), .263 AVG … Tony Giarratano SS DET 2-5, 2B (13), .253 AVG … David Espinosa OF DET 0-4, .286 AVG … Franklin Gutierrez CLE 0-0, .238 AVG … Daniel Ortmeier OF SF 1-3, .279 AVG … Fred Lewis OF SF 1-3, RBI (9), .213 AVG … Carlos Valderrama OF SF 0-4, .305 AVG …Michael Bourn OF PHI 0-2, .257 AVG … Randy Ruiz 1B PHI 2-4, HR (13), 2 RBI (35), .369 AVG … Alexander Romero OF MIN 3-4, 2B (8), 3 RBI (17), .223 AVG … Paul Bonifay 1B PIT 0-4, .255 AVG … Paul Stewart PIT 5 10 6 5 4 4, 4.53 ERA … Jake Dittler CLE 6-1/3 9 1 1 4 1, 2.22 ERA … Matt Lindstrom NYN 4 7 2 2 0 2, 4.70 ERA … Ismial Ramirez TOR 5 7 4 4 1 10, 4.86 ERA

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Cubby kids in a little funk, Felix Pie 0-4, .312 ... Matt Murton 1-4, triple, .379 ... Brandon Sing 1-3, .307 ... Dana Eveland MIL 7 1 1 0 3 4, 3.22 ... Scott Olsen FLO 6 7 2 2 1 7, 3.81 ... Jeremy Hermida FLO 1-3, 11th homer, .308 ... Joel Guzman LA 3-5, double, 2 RBI, .294 ... Chuck James ATL 6 4 2 2 3 3 ... Delmon Young TB 2-4, 11th homer, .342 ...

TEXAS (AA)  --  Erick Aybar ANA 2-3, .265 ... Alberto Callaspo ANA 0-4, .297 ... Michael Napoli ANA 2-4, 2R, 2B, .301 ... Joaquin Arias TX 2-4, R, SB(7), .244 ... Yuniesky Betancourt-Perez SEA 3-5, R, 2 2B, SB(11), .269 ... Jayson Nix COL 2-4, 2R, 2HR(4), 2RBI(25), .229 ... Andre Ethier OAK 1-5, .367 ... Jeremy Brown OAK 2-3, 2B, RBI(22), .286 ... Robinson Cancel STL 2-3, .337 ... Justin Huber (1B) KC 0-3, R, .346 ... Josh Pressley (DH) KC 3-3, R, HR(6), 3RBI(20), .333 ... Josh Anderson HOU 2-4, R, SB(21), .305 ... Brooks Conrad HOU B, 3RBI, .222 ... Jason Hirsh HOU 4 7 3 3 1 4 (3.82)

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Daric Barton OAK 1-3, double & 0-3, .277 ... Kurt Suzuki OAK 2-3, .286 ... Brett Wayne TB, first start after 13 relief appearances, 4 2 2 2 1 6, 3-1, 1.26 ... Eddy Martinez-Esteve SF 2-4, double & 2-2, 2 doubles, 3 RBI, .360 ... Travis Ishikawa SF 3-3, triple, 6th homer & 0-3, .290 ... Miguel Montero ARZ 2-4, 2 doubles, .357 ... Wladimir Balentien SEA 2-4, 11th double, 13th homer, .298 ... Adam Jones SEA, on a hot streak, 3-4, 8th homer, .315 ... Michael Garciaparra SEA, finally some success, 3-5, .318 ... Kendry Morales ANA 1-4, double, .302 ... Derek Bruce ARZ (4-4, 4 doubles on Sunday), 3-3 for hits in 10 straight appearances

CAROLINA (A+) --  Martin Prado ATL 1-4, R, BB, 2 K ... Josh Burrus ATL 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 K ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-4, R, HR (5), RBI, 2 K ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 1-3, 2 RBI, BB ... Robert Valido CHA 0-4, R, BB, 2 K, SB (12) ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 2-4, R, HR (4), 3 RBI ... Thomas Collaro CHA 1-4, BB, K ... Dan Haigwood CHA 6 6 6 6 0 7 ... Brad Snyder CLE 0-2, RBI, BB, K ... Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 3-4, R, 2 doubles (17), RBI (45), .356 ... Ryan Goleski CLE 0-3, BB ... Rafael Perez CLE (W, 6-3, 3.29) 6 3 1 0 2 6 ... Kory Casto WAS 0-3, K ... Javier Guzman PIT 2-3 ... Nate Spears BAL 3-5, R, triple, K ... Nick Markakis BAL 0-1, 3 BB, K ... finally a game worth noting ... Adam Loewen BAL (W, 1-2, 2.70) 7 6 0 0 2 10

" ... Loewen (1-2) earned his first win of the season, lasting 7.0 innings in his second consecutive start ...   Loewen would cruise until the seventh inning, when he worked his way out of a bases loaded situation ... has allowed just two earned runs in his last 14.0 innings."  (Frederick Keys)

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Phil Humber NYN 5 2/3 7 2 2 1 3 ND, 5.06 … Steve Moss CF MIL 2-4 RBI SB(6) … Complete game shut-out for Tim Dilliard MIL 9 8 0 0 0 4 W(2-5, 2.90) …Denard Span CF MIN 3-4 … Brent Clevlen RF DET 2-4 HR(10) 3B 2R 3RBI … Vincent Blue CF DET 2-4 R RBI … Lee Mitchell 3B FLO 3-4 2B HR(7) 3R 2RBI … David Purcey TOR 7 6 1 1 2 3 L(3-3, 3.81) … Andy LaRoche 3B LA 2-5 2B R RBI … Tyler Clippard NYA 7 7 3 2 2 10 L(6-4, 3.92) … Eric Haberer STL 6 3 1 1 4 3 W(5-2, 2.05)

MIDWEST (A) --  not great, but solid Anthony Swarzak MIN 5 8 3 1 1 2 (2.14) ... butterfingers David Winfree MIN 1-4, 16th error (.277) ... just too good for the MWL Eric Patterson CHN 4-5, 12th SB (.397) ... Ryan Harvey CHN 0-4 ... A.J. Shappi ARZ 7 8 4 4 2 3 (W, 8-1, 2.76) ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 2-5, 3rd HR ... longballs & wrongballs Rick Ankiel (OF) STL 4th HR, 3rd error in his first week ... Matt Tuiasosopo SEA 4-5, 3 doubles ... tough, brief afternoon for the kid Homer Bailey CIN 2 4 5 4 2 3 (L, 1-2, 2.97)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Gaby Hernandez NYN 5-2/3 5 1 1 1 6, 2.63 ... Dante Brinkley NYN 2-3, 2 walks, 9th homer, .377 ... Luis Ramirez BAL 5-1/3 8 5 4 2 4, 2.37 ... Alcides Escobar SS MIL 3-5, 5th triple, .315 ... Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 2-4, .308 ... Joseph Koshansky 1B COL 2-4, 11th double, 11th homer, 3 RBI, .311 ... Chuck Lofgren CLE, nice 2005 debut,  6 1 0 0 1 3 ... Troy Patton HOU 6 2 0 0 2 5, 1.22 (64 Ks in 51 2/3s innings)

  Troop Movements ... SEA - Miguel Olivo to AAA, catcher Rene Rivera up ... OAK - activated Bobby Crosby from the DL, Keith Ginter to AAA ... COL - Jose Acevedo DL, Matt Anderson up ... WAS - activated Wil Cordero and John Patterson, Tyrell Godwin and Brendan Harris to AAA ... TB - recalled Chad Orvella ... LA - Mike Rose up, Dioner Navarro to AAA ...

    Last minute deals take a pair out of the 2005 draft :

" ... The Los Angeles Angels signed top draft pick Jered Weaver to a minor league contract Monday night after months of failed negotiations ... "While it certainly has been a long process, we are extremely pleased to add one of the premier amateur pitchers in the country to our organization," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said. "Jered's natural abilities and competitive nature are traits we anticipate will result in a long and successful career." No details of the terms were released. The agreement is pending Weaver passing a physical." (Associated Press)

" ... Shortstop Stephen Drew ... agreed to terms Monday night on a five-year contract worth at least $5.5 million ... "We're extremely pleased to have Stephen be a Diamondback," managing partner Ken Kendrick said. "He's an engaging young man and a player we'll hopefully see in the major leagues in the near future." ...  not known where Drew initially would play in Arizona's minor league system. The Diamondbacks already have a top shortstop prospect, Sergio Santos, playing for Triple-A Tucson."  (Associated Press)

    Things are going so well for Justin Verlander he might well be on the move :

" ... Tigers pitching phenom ... Justin Verlander has a repertoire many pitchers would kill for. First, there's the heat, a fastball thrown consistently with movement and command in the mid-90s range. Throw in a knee-buckling curve with a hard downward bite and complement that with a plus-changeup ... Tigers' 2004 first-round draft pick, has dominated Florida State League hitters in his first season of professional ball. Now he's pushing hard for a promotion, and there's a good chance that Verlander's anticipated call-up to the Erie SeaWolves could occur in June ... "We're going to be discussing his future, but we feel he's progressing well and getting to the point where he'll probably make the jump," said Glenn Ezell, the Tigers' minor league field coordinator. "He's getting better and better." The ace of a talent-rich Lakeland rotation, Verlander's first nine Class A starts yielded a 6-2 record with a 1.55 ERA. In 58 innings, Verlander has struck out 73, walked 14 and allowed 10 earned runs and 45 hits."  (Erie Daily Times/Morning News)

    Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, no longer singin' the blues in Nashville :

" ...   "Finally,'' said Frank Kremblas, throwing on a poker face with barely a hint of a smile, "we're getting our money's worth.'' To which Rickie Weeks, a platter of pork and pasta in hand, merely responded with, "Forget you, Frank,'' and a back turned quickly toward his manager. Sweet music in Nashville, the good-natured teasing.  Sweet music in Nashville, the percussive explosion of home runs. The Nashville Sounds ...  put on a five-homer barrage Sunday ... Prince Fielder had two of them, more reminiscent of the high-arcing moonshots of a slowpitch softball slugger. Weeks, Corey Hart and Trent Durrington had one apiece. That's seven in seven games for Fielder, who has always been an offensive guard disguised as a baseball player. Now he even has the jersey number. He's wearing No. 66. "Just the biggest uniform they had,'' he shrugged. Between Weeks and Fielder, that's about $7 million in bonus money beginning to show its worth. The only thing in Nashville hotter than Faith Hill is Rickie Weeks." (Huntsville Times)

   Weekly award winners ... Ricardo Rodriguez, Pitcher of the Week in the PCL ... Delwyn Young, Hitter of the Week in the Southern League :

" ...  After allowing one run in eight innings on May 23, Ricardo Rodriguez was one run and one inning better his next time out, throwing a complete-game three-hit shutout against Memphis ... The right-hander, who has seen Major League action in each of the past three seasons, improved his record to 6-3 while lowering his ERA to 2.90. He leads the league in complete games (three), shutouts (two) and innings pitched (71 1/3). His six wins are tied for second-most in the PCL and his 2.90 ERA is 10th." (minorleaguebaseball.com)

" ... Although perhaps not the most highly touted Del_ _n Young in the Southern League, Delwyn Young is putting together another solid season, and had more than a solid week, hitting .433 with three homers and nine RBIs for the Jacksonville Suns. The 22-year-old second baseman -- no relation to the Montgomery Biscuits' Delmon Young -- had three three-hit games on the week and drove in two or more runs on four different occasions." (minorleaguebaseball.com)

30 May 2005

    INTERNATIONAL (AAA) --  Jae Seo NYN 7-2/3 7 0 0 2 6, 3.49 ... Ryan Howard PHI, hot streak continues, 2-5, double, 8th homer, .324 ... much bettter, Gavin Floyd PHI 7 4 1 1 3 4 ... Kenny Kelly CIN 2-4, homer, .343 ... Lenny DiNardo BOS, in a starting role, 5 3 0 0 1 6 ... BJ Upton TB 3-4 ... Jason Davis CLE 6 2 1 0 3 5 ... Juan Gonzalez CLE 2-3

PACIFIC COAST (AAA)  --  Brandon Watson WAS 3-5, double … Rickie Weeks MIL 1-4, solo homer … Prince Fielder MIL 2-3, 2 solo homers … Jose Capellan MIL 5 6 2 2 2 2 … Mike Fontenot CHN 1-4, solo homer … Chris Burke HOU 2-4, 2 SB … Luke Scott HOU 1-4, solo homer … Taylor Buchholz HOU 6 5 2 2 0 3 … Josh Barfield SD  1-3 & 0-1, 2 walks … Jon Knott SD 2-3 & 1-3, solo homer, 2 runs … Ryan Shealy COL 2-3, double & 2-3, double … Brad Baker SD 1 1 0 0 0 3, (S, 14) … Casey Kotchman DH ANA 0-3, walk, run, .268 … Ervin Santana ANA 6-1/3 2 2 2 2 5, 2.84 … Shin Soo Choo SEA 1-2, 3 walks … Justin Knoedler SF 2-4, double, 2 runs … Narahiro Nakamura 1B LA 2-4, 2 homers, 6 RBI & 1-4 … Willy Aybar LA 1-4 & 1-4  … Carlos Quentin ARI 0-3 & 0-1 … Conor Jackson ARI 0-3 & 1-2, 5th homer, 4 RBI  … Josh Kroeger ARI 2-3, solo homer & 1-4, 3 Ks  … Ian Kinsler TEX 1-4, double … Marshall McDougall TEX 2-5, RBI … Jason Botts TEX 1-4, solo homer … Anthony Reyes STL 4 5 1 1 2 3, L, 2.51 … Josh Willingham FLO 0-3 ... Ricardo Rodriguez TEX 9 3 0 0 3 5, 6-3, 2.90 ... and, the battle of the future all stars ! Felix Hernandez SEA 5 4 2 2 5 4, 2.72 vs. Matt Cain SF 5 5 0 0 4 4, 2.98, neither got a decision :

" ... The much-anticipated match up of the Grizzlies Matt Cain and the Rainiers Felix Hernandez was everything it was cracked up to be for the first five innings. Cain left the game in the sixth with a 2-0 lead after the Grizzlies touched Hernandez for two runs in the bottom of the fifth to chase him from the ballgame. Cain (3-2) went five innings with four strikeouts, dancing in and out of trouble throughout his outing. Hernandez (6-3) was in complete control until the bottom of the fifth inning when CF Adam Shabala broke a 2-2 tie with a single to center field bringing home C Justin Knoedler and was later brought home on an RBI single by 1B Michael Cervenak." (Fresno Grizzlies)

" ... Rodriguez tossed his second complete-game shutout of the year Sunday night, blanking Memphis on three hits  ... The 27-year-old allowed a single in the second, a single in the third and another in the eighth. He issued three walks with five strikeouts while delivering 107 pitches, 66 for strikes." (Oklahoma RedHawks)

EASTERN (AA)  --  JD Martin CLE 3-1/3 3 2 2 0 6, 1.86 ... Dee Haynes WAs 4-4, .414 ... Jonathan Lester BOS 7 5 3 3 3 8, 3.44 ... Hanley Ramirez BOS 2-4 & 1-4, double, .308  ... Dustin Pedroia BOS 2-3, walk, 6th & 7th homers, 3 runs & 1-4, .323 ... Paul Maholm PIT  5-1/3 6 1 1 1 6, 3.48

SOUTHERN (AA) --  Renyel Pinto CHN, much better after a demotion from AAA, 5-2/3 3 2 1 2 6, 2.28 ... Ryan Sweeney CHA 2-4, double, triple, .310 ... Josh Fields CHA 0-3, .218 ... Jeff Francoeur ATL 2-4, 7th homer, .277 ... Elijah Dukes TB 2-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, .306 ...  Drew Niles FLO 3-5, double, .329 ... Ben Kozlowski CIN 7 10 3 3 1 5, 3.81

TEXAS (AA)  --  Randy Leek STL 7 3 0 0 0 6, 2.85 ... Steve Karsay TEX 1 3 1 1 0 3 ... Juan Dominguez TEX, in relief, 5 5 1 1 1 4, 2.70 ... Mike Napoli C ANA 1-3, 7th homer, .296 ... Alberto Callaspo ANA 2-4, double, .304 ... Fernando Nieve HOU (also see below) 8 2 0 0 2 9, 2.82

CALIFORNIA (A+) --  Richie Robnett OAK 3-5, double, homer, .259 ... Nate Schierholtz SF 3-5, .300 ... Eddy Martinez-Esteve SF 2-5, 9th homer, 3 RBI, .350 ... Miguel Montero ARZ 1-4, 11th homer, 4 RBI, .354 ... Derek Bruce 2B ARZ 5-5, 4 doubles, .351 ... Brandon Wood ANA 2-4, .315 ... Adam Jones SEA 4-5, 2 doubles, .306 ... Mitch Maier KC (moved up to leadoff) 2-5, minor league leading 24th double, .332 ... Thomas Diamond TEX 6 4 1 0 4 10, 2.47

CAROLINA (A+) --  Robert Valido CHA 3-5, double, .324 ... Micah Schnurstein CHA 0-3, BB, K ... Brad Snyder CLE 2-4, 2 K ... Kevin Kouzmanoff CLE 1-4, RBI ... Ryan Goleski CLE 0-3 ... Wes Whisler CHA (W, 1-1, 2.73) 7 5 1 0 1 5 ... Nick Markakis BAL 1-4, R, HR (5), RBI (31) ... Javier Guzman PIT 2-4, R, double, SB (12), 16th error ... Kory Casto WAS 1-4, 18th double ... Martin Prado ATL 1-3, RBI ... Josh Burrus ATL 1-4, RBI, SB (13) ... Matt Esquivel ATL 1-3, BB ... Jarrod Saltalamacchia ATL 0-4, 2 K ... Anibal Sanchez BOS 5 3 2 2 5 3 ... Jake Stevens ATL 6 3 2 2 3 4

FLORIDA STATE (A+) --  Justin Verlander DET 7 9 2 2 1 3 W(7-2, 1.66) … Kody Kirkland 3B DET 4-5 2R … Chuck Tiffany LA 5 5 4 4 0 7 L(4-4, 3.12) … Cody Haerther LF STL 2-4 SB(8) … Buddy Blair STL 5 4 0 0 0 4 W(2-0, 0.75) … Jeremy King NYA 5 1/3 5 3 2 4 6 L(0-2, 2.30) … Brett Harper 1B NYN 2-4 3B R … Chuck Smith NYN 6 7 3 2 2 2 ND, 3.12 … Scott Mathieson PHI 7 7 2 2 0 9 ND, 3.03 … Scott Moore 3B CHN 2-4 HR(10) … Sean Marshall CHN 7 2 0 0 2 5 W(4-2, 1.73) … Justin Mallett CIN 5 3 2 2 1 3 L(2-2, 2.60) ... Taking a no-hitter into the eighth, Adam Harben MIN 7 2/3 1 0 0 2 12 W(4-4, 3.38) :

" ... Harben used his 90+ MPH and sharp, breaking curve to keep the Manatees hitters off balance all day long. With the no-hitter in tact through seven, Harben started off the eight by getting Wandel Campana to strike out on a curve ball in the dirt. The ball, however, went through the legs of Kyle Phillips and allowed Campana to reach on the dropped third strike. The next hitter, Ozzie Chavez, sacrificed him to second. Travis Ezi, who spent the last three weeks at Double-A, looped a 1-0 pitch into left field for the first hit of the game for the Manatees ...  Harben went 7.2 innings allowing one hit, while walking two and striking out a Miracle season high 12. He threw 105 pitches, 73 for strikes." (Fort Myers Miracle)

MIDWEST (A) --  Asdrubal Cabrera SEA 3rd HR (.333) ... Trevor Plouffe MIN 1-6 (.172) ... back on track Luis Cota KC 6 4 2 1 0 1 (1.91) ... Ryan Harvey CHN 6th and 7th HR's ... Carlos Gonzalez ARZ 2-4, double (.279) ... somewhat encouraging Joel Santo SD 8 3 2 2 1 4 (W, 2-4, 5.29) ... Matt Bush SD 0-4 (.239) ... Javier Herrera OAK 0-1, 3 BB, 8th SB, 1st CS (.268) ... Raul Padron (C) OAK 2-5, triple (.286)

SOUTH ATLANTIC (A) --  Kyle Bloom PIT 6 4 1 1 4 3, 4-1, 1.73 ... Alcides Escobar SS  MIL 2-4, double, .308 ... Hernan Iribarren 2B MIL 2-4, walk, .303

  Troop Movements ... CIN - activated Rich Aurilia from DL, William Bergolla to AAA ... ATL - Kelly Johnson up ... FLO - Travis Smith up, Frank Castillo designated for assignment ... WAS - signed Dee Brown for AA Harrisburg ... TOR - activated Frank Catalanotto, Gabe Gross to AAA, David Bush to AAA, Chad Gaudin up, RHP Shaun Marcum promoted to AAA (3rd round pick in 2003),  LHP Zach Jackson (2004 supplemental 1st rounder) up to AA, RHP Danny Hill to A+ (thanks to Gerry McDonald of Batter's Box for sending along the Jays' updates) ... SF - designated Matt Herges for assignment ...  TB - Jon Switzer to AAA ... TEX - John Danks promoted to AA :

" ...  Danks, the Rangers' 2003 first-round draft pick, will make his first start for the RoughRiders on Wednesday ...  Danks, 20, dominated in 10 starts for Bakersfield. The left-hander was 3-3 with a 2.50 ERA, going a season-high seven innings in each of his last two starts. He was second in the California League in ERA. Danks had 53 strikeouts and 16 walks in 57 2/3 innings." (Dallas Morning News)

    Vincent Sinisi TEX, just happy to to playing again :

" ... Sinisi returned to minor-league game action a week ago after a roller coaster 11-month rehabilitation from a broken left forearm suffered in a collision with shortstop Joaquin Arias ...  Sinisi missed the rest of the 2004 season as what was expected to be a two-month rehab turned into a year-long nightmare ... appeared to be on the fast track for a promotion to Double-A Frisco (Texas) of the Texas League a year ago before getting injured. He hit .306 in 252 at-bats with 13 doubles, seven homers, seven stolen bases and 40 runs batted in for Stockton last season. But now he's just trying to get back in game shape and regain the form that made him a top prospect. "It's good to be back, man," Sinisi said. "It's been a long wait." In his first nine games back, Sinisi was hitting .333 with four doubles, two runs batted in and a stolen base through Friday. "The guy hasn't played a whole bunch in a year and a half," Blaze hitting coach Bob Skube said. "He's definitely got a great swing. He's just got to get his timing down. "He's a pure hitter. He's a gap-to-gap guy with high average."  (Bakersfield Californian)

    Jered Weaver faces game action for the first time in a year :

" ... With one day left to sign 2004 first-round pick Jered Weaver or allow him to reenter the draft, the standoff continued between the Angels and Weaver's agent, Scott Boras. General Manager Bill Stoneman on Saturday repeated his intent to stand firm on the club's offer ... Stoneman said none of the Angels' Eastern scouts had been told to watch Weaver pitch a simulated game for the Camden (N.J.) Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League on Saturday."  (LA Times)

" ...  scheduled to pitch in relief for the Riversharks ... on Tuesday, and he will start a game on Friday ... After that, it's anyone's guess what will happen to Weaver, the No. 12 pick of last spring's draft, who failed to sign with the Los Angeles Angels. His hope is that he will be a high selection again when the draft is held June 7 and 8, and that he will finally be able to begin his climb to the major leagues. Until then . . . "I just came out here to show people my arm hasn't fallen off," said the right-hander out of Long Beach State University. "I'm still Jered Weaver. I can still compete, and win ballgames." (Camden Courier-Post)

   Scott Rex, OnDeck, updates his California and Texas League prospect lists -- the top 10s :

1. Billy Butler, 3B, KC         6. John Danks, LHP, TEX
2. Ian Stewart, 3B, COL         7. Eddy Martinez-Esteve, OF, SF
3. Thomas Diamond, RHP, TEX     8. Daric Barton, 1B, OAK
4. Jeff Niemann, RHP, TB        9. Howie Kendrick, 2B, ANA
5. Brandon Wood, SS, ANA       10. Kendry Morales, 1B,  ANA

1. Fernando Nieve, RHP, HOU     6. Jason Hirsh, RHP, HOU
2. Ervin Santana, RHP, ANA      7. Dallas Braden, LHP, OAK
3. J.P. Howell, LHP, KC         8. Erick Aybar, SS, ANA
4. Andre Ethier, OF, OAK        9. Joaquin Arias, SS, TEX
5. Justin Huber, 1B, KC        10. Yuniesky Betancourt, SS, SEA

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

 
 

    
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  May 16-22  May 23-29  May 30-June 05 

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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