7/10 Minor League Updates (Cueto Pitching)

[Danny Serafini]

So Balfour's rehab stint has officially started?

[medford]

Went to the game last night and had a couple of observations:

I wonder how much EZ was just going thru the motions. In the first, he came out and mixed in a couple of breaking balls and offspeed stuff, and really had the hitters fooled. Then in the second, it seemed like he threw mostly upper 80s fastballs (w/ a couple in the low 90s) and some of the better Swing prospects really drilled him. Seems like a lot of the "hard" hits were done w/ 2 outs, so perhaps once he got thru the first 2 batters, he was just chucking it out there, and seeing whom could hit it.

Quad City SS Tyler Greene was very impressive. Smooth in the field and he crushed a homer high off the scoreboard.

Adam Rosales look quite good. Made an error on a ball that was slighty above routine, but came back to make a spectacular play later in the game. His first homer was no cheapy as it hit around the left field concessions. His 2nd homer was down the left field line a bit, but was solidly hit.

I didn't see Jay Bruce's first double, but his second was a solid hit back thru the infield, then great hustle as he took advantage of the outfielders not getting to the ball quick enough. He must have been firing out of the box to turn that into a double.

Balfour looking impressive in his inning.

It appears to this novice, that Bo Lanier has a very quick arm. However he seems to be a bit wild which lead to him loading the bases before strinking out the final batter of the 8th.

Justin Mallett is apparently back from his 50 day drug suspension and on the Dragon's roster (he spend most of 2004 there). They didn't list him in any stats so he may not have played yet, but they included his picture with the rest of their individual photos of the team. He's probably a middle reliever at best if he ever makes the majors, but he put up solid number at Dayton in 2004 & in Sarasota in 2005. I believe he got promoted late to AA for a game or 2, then seem to dissappear from the radar. Perhaps he was under suspension at the end of last year, which in turn lead to his 50 gamer this year?? Pure speculation on his dissapearance towards the end of last year. Anyways, Mallett appears to be a tall late blooming right hander with a solid changeup. He became one of my favorites during his first stint w/ the Dragons. Hopefully he's over what ever ills he was suspended for and can continue his career and perhaps make the majors somewhere someday.