Thursday April 26, 2012 Minor League updates

[mace]

And I regret but have to say that Mark Fleury does not resemble a big-league catcher. At least, arm-wise. On the first steal attempt, he floated the ball wide and over Brodie Greene's head. On the second, there were runners on first and third. It was a slow breaking ball. What's more, he sort of double-pumped. When he started to throw to second base, I couldn't help myself. I shouted, "No, you idiot!" (Yes, I'm ashamed of that. Don't usually refer to ballplayers as idiots in a public setting. But it was one of the dumbest plays I've seen at the professional level.) Needless to say, the runner on third scored easily. Even worse, Fleury again threw high--way high--to second base and the play there wasn't the least bit close. Even his throws after the warmup pitches were making Greene jump. I should note, though, that he made a solid throw to third to get a guy trying to stretch a double that drove in a couple runs.

[mace]

Originally Posted by JaxRed

I'll be there next 3 days if you change your mind. Corcino on Friday !! I'm section 105 Row H on the aisle. Look for gray hair.

Thanks, but I think we're maxed out. And we're leaving Saturday.

Nice ballpark. Good french fries. Bad sound system. (We heard more clearly from a block and a half away when we left tonight after seven.) Nice people.

[mace]

Gregorius again looked smooth in the field, making a nice play and throw going left tonight. He disappointed me baserunning, however. He was on first when HenryR pulled a single to right. The right fielder had to move quite a bit to his left to field the ball. I thought that Didi would make third easily, but he didn't try.

Hitting-wise, he pulled a couple balls very hard down the right-field line. He got nothing to show for it, but at least demonstrated that he could turn on a ball and lace it with some authority--which seems kind of important for a guy without an extra-base hit on the season.

[mace]

HenryR made a nice, aggressive play cutting in front of Didi, bobbling the ball but recovering to make a strong throw and get the guy easily. I didn't see him do a lot at 3B, but he's into it.

Also, I haven't looked at the splits but he looks better to me hitting left-handed. Last night, batting right, he struck out twice looking (if I recall correctly) on outside-corner fastballs.

Joel Guzman is playing well. He's making contact and driving the ball in both directions. He also made a nice play fielding a ball right on first base, then quickly throwing to second. He didn't get the runner, but it was a good, heads-up attempt.

Brodie Greene is a guy I like and pull for, but he didn't show me anything the last two nights. Took some very weak swings when he was fooled. He did drive in a run and advance a runner with a one-out grounder, but I don't recall seeing him hit a ball hard. Mini-slump, maybe. I hope.

Dang it, by leaving early I missed Wirfin Obispo.

[The DARK]

Billy Hamilton with a fielding error, but 3 hits and 4 steals on the day so far. Lutz with a HR and triple. Cingrani only with 1 hit allowed through 6.

[mace]

Arias, Sierra and Wright all singled in a 2-run tenth to give Dayton a 3-1 victory. Brooks Pinckard and Kyle McMyne pitched four hitless, walkless innings of relief, with 5 K.

[mace]

Originally Posted by The DARK

Billy Hamilton with a fielding error, but 3 hits and 4 steals on the day so far. Lutz with a HR and triple. Cingrani only with 1 hit allowed through 6.

Cingrani is done after six. He struck out 8. His ERA is 0.39.

Lutz also has a triple. Big guy can run.

It's 7-0.

[JaxRed]

Originally Posted by mace

Cingrani is done after six. He struck out 8. His ERA is 0.39.

Lutz also has a triple. Big guy can run.

It's 7-0.

But it's a hitter's league

[Blitz Dorsey]

Originally Posted by JaxRed

Tony Cingrani doing it again ! 5 innings, 1 hit 7 K's 1 BB

Hamilton with 4 steals and Lutz hits his 4th HR

I absolutely love it! Was anxious to read about how Cingrani performed tonight after the rainout last night. Great to see Hamilton and Lutz have big games on top of ANOTHER dominant performance from Cingrani. Wow is he good. What a steal in the third round last year.

[texasdave]

John Holdzkom pitched a quiet ninth for Bakersfield. 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 Ks.
David Vidal 2 for 4, batting .324.
Billy Hamilton with 23 steals in 27 attempts.
Blaze winning streak hits double digits at 10.


After a frigid start, Torreyes now 10 for his last 22 to up his average to .276.

[dougdirt]

Wirfin Obispo certainly has some interesting mechanics going on. I am going to go back and watch his inning from last night when I get a chance later today to get a better idea of everything he was doing.

[Scrap Irony]

Some fun with Bakersfield numbers

Lutz, Hamilton, and Vidal all with OPS numbers of 967 or better, batting averages 324 or better, slugging 588 or better.

Lutz's K rate is down to 21%, and his BB rate is just under 10%.
Hamilton's K rate is just under 18%, but his BB rate is over 12%.

Hamilton has 23 steals in 20 games. At that rate, he would steal around 150 bases at the High A level.

Tony Cingrani has given up 9 hits in 23 IP. One earned run. 28 Ks. 5 BBs. His WHIP is .609. 5.5 K:BB ratio. He's 22 (will be 23 in July) and the move up two levels hasn't hurt at all. LH to boot.

Defensively, yes, Hamilton has six errors. Vidal has three. Devin Lohman, a supposedly exceptional glove man, also has six errors. Perhaps the field at Bakersfield is baked a bit too hard?

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Defensively, yes, Hamilton has six errors. Vidal has three. Devin Lohman, a supposedly exceptional glove man, also has six errors. Perhaps the field at Bakersfield is baked a bit too hard?

It's easily one of the worst there is in professional baseball.

[mace]

All three affiliates who played last night saw their pitchers strike out 13. That's 39 K in 28 innings (Dayton played 10). Nice.

Cingrani and French each fanned 8 in 6 IP, and Serrano had 6 in 3 IP.