Minor-League Player of the Day (2014)

[mace]

If people are sufficiently interested, I wouldn't mind doing the Minor-League Player of the Day again this year. But if so, I'd like to enlist some regular help to ease the grind. I'm thinking in terms of maybe two to five folks taking a particular day of the week on a steady basis. Sunday morning, especially, is one that's tough for me. But any ol' day will do.

I'd like, if possible, to retain a consistent form. To that end, I've pasted a template day from last August.

So, what do you think . . . texasdave? lollipop? M2? RedlegJake? Van Hot? mth? OGB? OnBase? Anybody?

Here's the rough template:

Saturday, August 24: Ismael Guillon, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K. After a wild and wretched first half of the season, the 21-year-old lefty is finally on a roll. Over his last six starts, he has permitted just 6 ER in 33.2 IP (1.60 ERA). His OPS-against for August is .583.

Also notable . . .

Ryan LaMarre: 3-3, 3B, SB (22). Has hit in eight straight games. Seems like a different player lately.

Mike Costanzo: 2-3, 2B, BB, R, RBI.

Daniel Renken: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.

Chris Manno: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Trevor Bell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Sv (17). ERA 1.50.

Sharky Rogers: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Billy Hamilton: 2-5, 2B, R, RBI. Delivered a walkoff single in the ninth.

Neftali Soto: HR #14, 2 RBI.

Henry Rodriguez: 2-4, 2B.

Kris Negron: 2-4, SB (10).

Emmanuel Burris: 1-2, BB, R.

Feliz Perez: 1-3, 2B, BB, R.

Daniel Pigott (Dayton): 2-4, 2 2B, R, 4 RBI.

Seth Mejias-Brean: 2-3, BB, 2 R. Up to .306.

Beau Amaral: 3B, R.

Ben Lively (Billings): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. It's getting a little ridiculous, as the 0.73 ERA would attest.

Avain Rachal: 3-4, HR #4, 3 RBI. The 19-year-old second baseman might start popping up in the prospect ratings (within the organization, that is).

Adam Matthews: 2-3, 3B, BB, R.

Daniel Wright: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.

Joe Mantoni: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, Sv (5). At 22, this year's 18th-rounder has flashed an 0.57 ERA in his 15.2 IP.

Joey Housey (Bakersfield): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. The former Oregon star is on his third club this year.

Junior Arias: 2-4, 2B, R.

Steve Selsky: 2-4, 2 RBI.

John De Leon (DSL Rojos): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. He's 6-foot-4 and 19.

Anthony Rubicondo: 2-4, 2 RBI. The young second baseman has been making a little noise.

[lollipopcurve]

On board for keeping this good thing going. Just assign me a day, mace. Sundays are fine.

[texasdave]

I will take a day. But it has to be a weekday. I work 12-hour shifts on the weekend. Just sign me up for whichever day. Player of the Day is a great thread.

[mace]

Outstanding, fellas. Lollipop, Sunday is yours. (By that, I mean Sunday's post for the games of Saturday). That should start this week, since games begin on Thursday night.

Tex, how about Wednesday (games of Tuesday night)? That means you're off until next week.

Thank you thank you.

The floor is still open.

[texasdave]

Fine by me.

[lollipopcurve]

I'm on for some Sunday minor league ministering.

[mth123]

I love this stuff Mace, but I've been super busy the last month or so. The wife has a serious illness and takes almost 100% of my free time to care for her. I sneak posting in when she's sleeping and I'm not worn out myself, but can't really commit to anything on a such a regular schedule. Otherwise, I'd take a couple of days. Love this stuff and looking forward to it. Sorry I can't be more help.

[mace]

Thanks for the response, mth. I'm sure your wife appreciates your devotion, and I applaud you for it.

[REDREAD]

I love reading this thread.. Would love to see in 2014, even if a few days get skipped due to lack of time for people to do their day.

[SirFelixCat]

I can't commit yet, but I'd be willing to do a day, I think. Will know by the end of the weekend.

[mace]

That'd be awesome, Felix. We can revisit when you're ready. Thanks.

[Kc61]

I love this stuff Mace, but I've been super busy the last month or so. The wife has a serious illness and takes almost 100% of my free time to care for her. I sneak posting in when she's sleeping and I'm not worn out myself, but can't really commit to anything on a such a regular schedule. Otherwise, I'd take a couple of days. Love this stuff and looking forward to it. Sorry I can't be more help.

I hope for her speedy recovery. Best wishes.

[RedlegJake]

I love this stuff Mace, but I've been super busy the last month or so. The wife has a serious illness and takes almost 100% of my free time to care for her. I sneak posting in when she's sleeping and I'm not worn out myself, but can't really commit to anything on a such a regular schedule. Otherwise, I'd take a couple of days. Love this stuff and looking forward to it. Sorry I can't be more help.

My thoughts are with you both, mth - I've had to let Redszone slide a bit in the past myself so I completely understand. Family is always first!!

[OGB]

I'd be happy to help out. This thread was my favorite of 2013. Thursday is my day off, so I can take it.

[mace]

Well, then, Thursdays for you, OGB (games of Wednesday night). Outstanding, and thanks!

[dougdirt]

I love this stuff Mace, but I've been super busy the last month or so. The wife has a serious illness and takes almost 100% of my free time to care for her. I sneak posting in when she's sleeping and I'm not worn out myself, but can't really commit to anything on a such a regular schedule. Otherwise, I'd take a couple of days. Love this stuff and looking forward to it. Sorry I can't be more help.
Best of luck to you and your wife mth. I spent most of the fall and winter taking care of my father and I had some help, it still took a lot out of me. Seriously, all the best for you guys.

[mace]

Thursday, April 3: Juan Silverio, Pensacola . . . 2-2, 2 2B, BB, 3 R. The 22-year-old (nearly 23) Dominican, an early favorite for the Silverio Slugger award at third base, is now just 10 walks short of his total last year, in 534 PA. By most accounts Silverio, ranked by Redszone as the #46 prospect in the system, can play some Goldio Glove defense, as well.

Also notable . . .

Carlos Contreras (RZ prospect #12): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. The stuff-loaded righty, a starter last year, came out of the Wahoo bullpen (if that means anything. Latos got the start).

Bryson Smith: 2-4, BB, R. Batted out of the 2-hole for Pensacola.

Mikey O'Brien: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Organizational debut.

Drew Hayes: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv.

Kyle Waldrop (RZ #20): 3-4, R, BI. The big RF batted 5th for Bakersfield.

Ryan Wright: 3-5, R, BI.

Junior Arias (RZ #17): 2-5, HR.

Marquez Smith: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI. The veteran corner infielder was hitting very nicely last year until his season was cut short by injury.

Seth Mejias-Brean (RZ #9): 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R. Looking to add another hyphen, followed by "Votto".

James Allen: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Jake Johnson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Nick Travieso: (RZ #8): 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Responded nicely to Opening Night honors for Dayton.

Sebastian Elizalde (RZ #55): 1-3, HR, BB, 2 BI. Auspicious start for the former Mexican Leaguer.

Beau Amaral: 2-4, 2B, R, BI, SB.

[mace]

To recap and formalize, here's how we stand on the MiLPOD schedule . . .

Monday morning (games of Sunday): mace
Tuesday (Monday games): mace
Wednesday (Tuesday games): texasdave
Thursday (Wednesday games): OGB
Friday (Thursday games): mace
Saturday (Friday games): mace
Sunday (Saturday games): lollipopcurve

If anyone else is interested in taking a day, it's available. Saturday would be good, but so would any other day.

Thanks, folks.

[mace]

Friday, April 4: Junior Arias, Bakersfield . . . 3-3, BB, 2 R, 2 SB. The fleet center fielder (RZ #17) is clearly off and running (he was also caught stealing once). Following up his half-season in the California League last year, he's now 5 for 8, batting second in a productive (so far) Blaze lineup.

Also notable . . .

Kyle Waldrop: 3-4, 2B, 2 R, BI. A return to Bakersfield--he spent all of last season there--apparently agrees with the lefty outfielder (RZ #20). He's 6 for 8 on the young season.

Marquez Smith: 2-4, 2B, 2 BI.

Drew Cisco (RZ #29): 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Good work by the control freak.

Tim Adelman: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. It was the tall right-hander's first appearance in affiliated ball since 2011.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Jeff Francis: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. The veteran lefty got the ball in Louisville's opener, and delivered. In a tidy 77 pitches, he induced 7 ground balls to just 1 fly.

Mike Costanzo: 2-4, 2B, HR.

Jason Bourgeois: 2-4, 2B, BB.

Ruben Gotay: 2-4, 2B, R, BI. The veteran infielder might prove to be an underrated offseason pickup.

Jumbo Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, K, Sv.

Daniel Corcino (RZ #15): 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Just what we all wanted to see, in the context of bounce-back. The run was a seventh-inning homer.

Yorman Rodriguez (RZ #5): 1-2, 2 BB, SB.

Jonathan Broxton: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. The rehab assignment was officially a start.

Jamie Walczak: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Beau Amaral: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, BI, SB. Doing the job as Dayton's leadoff man.

Tanner Rahier (RZ #34): 1-3, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 BI. A repeat of Dayton might be just the ticket for the 20-year-old 3B.

Sebastian Elizalde: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R, BI. At this rate, the 22-year-old Mexican won't be long for the Midwest League.

Joe Hudson: 2-4, 2 R, BI. The catcher from Notre Dame is off to a 4-for-8 start.

Daniel Mateo: 1-2, 2B, BB, 3 BI. It was the organizational debut for the former Royals farmhand, who was deployed at first base but has played all around the infield.

Zach Weiss: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Layne Somsen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Picking up where he left off last year in Billings.

[Kc61]

For all involved, thanks for this thread. Very enjoyable.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, April 5: Robert Stephenson, Pensacola . . . 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K. RZ's top prospect asserted his ranking with a dominant start, striking out 11 using only 74 pitches. On a night when 3 of 4 starters turned in great efforts (as did Cueto for the Reds), Stephenson's was the best. Plus, he stroked a double at the plate.

Also notable . . .

Tim Crabbe, Louisville: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K. The 1 run was a HR that replay showed should not have counted.

Ismael Guillon, Dayton: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. The just-turned 22-year-old has been dominating the Midwest League since the tail end of 2013.

Josh Smith, Louisville: 4 IP, 3 H 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. Put the Bats on his back in the extra innings win.

Jonathan Broxton, Pensacola: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. The big guy threw 14 pitches in this back-to-back outing.

Daniel Wright, Dayton, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 Ks. The 2013 10th rounder, a senior sign, debuts impactfully in 2014.

Devin Lohman, Pensacola: 3 AB, 2 R, 2 BI, BB, HR, SB. Is there still hope for this 3rd rounder and pure SS, hitting leadoff as he repeats AA?

Felix Perez, Louisville, 6 AB, 3 H, 2B

Sebastian Elizalde, Dayton: 2 AB, 1 R, 2 BB. The polished import from Guaymas, Mexico has reached base in 7 of 12 PAs.

Now, for the 3-0 Bakersfield Bashers portion of the post...

Ryan Wright: 5 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 2 RBI

Junior Arias: 4 AB, 3 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SB.

Jesse Winker: 4 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2B, HR, 6 BI. (Full disclosure: The HR, reportedly, barely cleared Sam Lynn Ballpark's 370-ft CF fence.)

Seth Mejias-Brean: 3 AB, 2 BB (5 walks in 14 ABs so far)

Kyle Waldrop: 4 AB, 2 H (hitting .6666666666666666666666666...)

Marquez Smith: 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, HR, BI (2nd dinger)

Chris Berset 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2B

Juan Perez 4 AB, 3 R, 3 H

Brooks Pinckard 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

[texasdave]

Winker picked the wrong night to double, homer, score twice and knock in six.

[mace]

Sunday, April 6: Ben Lively, Bakersfield . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K. It would figure that the big right-hander couldn't pitch much better than he did last year. And yet, he was effectively twice as good, having been limited, as a rookie, to generally 3-inning stints. Going six in his first start of 2014, Lively (RZ prospect #10) faced only one batter over the minimum. That one, unfortunately, took him deep--which, in the California League, isn't necessarily saying much.

Also notable . . .

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bakersfield): 2-2, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, SB. In three of the four games this year, the Blaze cleanup hitter (RZ #9) has walked twice; in the other, once.

Kyle Waldrop: 2-3, R, 2 RBI. While Mejias-Brean has a .611 OBP, the guy batting behind him has a .667 batting average. All of which has made the middle of the Bakersfield lineup fairly stout. (Its third party is Jesse Winker.)

Marquez Smith: 2B, 4 RBI.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville): 1-3, HR, BB.

Zack Weiss (Dayton): 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Fabian Williamson (Pensacola): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. In the FWIW department, the 25-year-old southpaw was once traded for David Aardsma.

Jon Moscot: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Sean Black: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. In previous lives, the right-hander was primarily a starter.

Donald Lutz: 1-3, 2B, BB.

[SirFelixCat]

To recap and formalize, here's how we stand on the MiLPOD schedule . . .

Monday morning (games of Sunday): mace
Tuesday (Monday games): mace
Wednesday (Tuesday games): texasdave
Thursday (Wednesday games): OGB
Friday (Thursday games): mace
Saturday (Friday games): mace
Sunday (Saturday games): lollipopcurve

If anyone else is interested in taking a day, it's available. Saturday would be good, but so would any other day.

Thanks, folks.

I can't commit to a day per week, but if you need me to fill in thru the season, here and there, I will do my best to do so. This was awesome last year!

[mace]

I can't commit to a day per week, but if you need me to fill in thru the season, here and there, I will do my best to do so. This was awesome last year!

That's handy to know, Felix. There surely might be such days. Thanks.

[mace]

Monday, April 7: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. The skepticism has abounded regarding Lorenzen's capacity to be an ace starter. But in his first opportunity of the season, the pea-throwing right-hander (RZ prospect #6) strutted his stuff. He delivered 78 pitches and produced a 12-1 GO/FO ratio. He also doubled.

Also notable (on a light night of only two games) . . .

Travis Mattair (Pensacola): 2-3, BB, RBI.

Donald Lutz: HR (a long one).

Marquez Smith (Bakersfield): 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI. Leads the California League in RBIs (11 in 5 games).

Jake Johnson: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

[texasdave]

Tuesday, April 8: Ruben Gotay, Louisville....Born on Christmas Day, this switch-hitting veteran delivered Bats' fans a present on Tuesday night, going 2-4. He scored twice and knocked in three. Both his hits left the ballpark, one from each side of the plate, giving him three round trippers on the young season. Gotay has baseball in his veins as his uncle, Julio, played ten seasons in the bigs. He was signed over the winter as a free agent.

Kris Negron (Louisville) joins the list as he gets off his season-long schneid. His first hit in 2014 also left the yard.

Junior Arias (Bakersfield) went 2-6 as Bakersfield wins one in extras. He scored twice and drove in three. One hit was a home run, his second of the season. He is hitting .409.

Jesse Winker (Bakersfield) continues to hit as he works his way up the ladder. Winker went 2-5, stroking a pair of doubles and a sacrifice fly. He scored once and drove home a run.

Seth-Mejias Brean (Bakersfield) singled twice in six trips to the plate. He also scored a run and drove one home

Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield) singled twice but saw his batting average tumble to .522 for the year.

Marquez Smith (Bakersfield) had himself another fine outing. If there is a hit parade in Bakersfield, Smith is sure to be part of it. Bakersfield rallied from four down in the ninth, eventually winning in extras. And Smith lent a big helping hand. He went just 1-3 for three but also walked twice. His lone hit was his third bomb on the young season. He scored a run and drove in a pair. He is also batting .409. Marquez now has 13 ribbies for the (5-1) Blaze.

Tanner Rahier (Dayton) had two singles in four trips.

Carlton Daal (Dayton) also singled twice but also drew a base on balls in four plate appearances.

David Holmberg (Louisville) with a solid effort in his first start as a Reds' farmhand since coming over in the Ryan Hanigan trade. His line: 5IP 5H 2R 2ER 1BB 4K.

Edgar Gonzalez (Louisville) struck out two in a hitless inning of work out of the bullpen for this veteran righthander.

Jimmy Moran (Bakersfield) held the opposition in check for 2.1 innings, allowing Blaze bats to go to work on a 4-run deficit. He allowed nary a hit and walked just one batter. He struck out an impressive five hitters in his two-plus innings of relief.

Kyle McMyne (Bakersfield) hurled three shutout innings of relief. He allowed a single safety and two walks. McMyne struck out one.

Junior Morillo (Dayton) left a scoreless game in the sixth due to soreness in his elbow. He had pitched extremely well to that point. He was replaced while facing Mason Katz. Wright walked Katz but the walk was charged to Morillo. A balk and a single later and the only run of the game scored.

Layne Somsen (Dayton) worked a scoreless perfect frame. He struck out one.

[Kc61]

Winker and Brean are the kind of hitters who eventually can help the Reds. Both seem very sound guys. Winker obviously a greater prospect, but Brean seems to constantly be on base.

If these guys are promoted rather than traded, I can see them adding much to the offense eventually.

[texasdave]

Early returns show Sebastian Elizalde as being the type of hitter the Reds need. Only batting .188 (3-16), his OBP is well over .400 thanks to 8 walks. He has walked 8 times and only struck out 3. It will be interesting to see how those rates play out as the season progresses.

[texasdave]

Wednesday, April 9: Jeff Francis, Louisville...Francis turned in his second strong outing to begin the 2014 season. He was named I.L. Pitcher of the Week for his Opening Day performance. He built on that with another fine outing yesterday. 6IP 6H 1R 1ER 0BB 6K.

Jumbo Diaz (Louisville) worked a five-batter save. He struck out one.

Drew Cisco (Bakersfield) pitched five innings giving up only one run. He allowed five hits and walked three while striking out three.

Carlos Gonzalez (Bakersfield) turned in a perfect ninth to pick up the save. He struck out one.

Nick Travieso (Dayton) with another fine outing. He hurled five innings of one-run baseball. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out six.

Dragon's bullpen (Dayton) was unscored upon in four innings of relief. Zack Weiss, Joel Bender, Alejandro Chacin and Scott Brattvet only allowed two hits and fanned five.

Chris Nelson (Louisville) recently back with Louisville after testing the free agent waters went 2-4. His seventh-inning salami accounted for all for Bats' runs.

Corky Miller (Louisville) singled twice in three trips to the plate.

Devin Lohman (Pensacola) singled and doubled in five at-bats.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pensacola) singled twice in five trips to the plate. He also stole two bases and scored a run.

Donald Lutz (Pensacola) hacked out three hits on the day. He scored once and touched home once.

Bryan Anderson (Pensacola) went just 1-4. But that one hit was a two-run blast.

Juan Silverio (Pensacola), known to his teammates as 'Walking Juan', Silverio chipped in a couple of base hits. He is now hitting .389 on the season.

Jesse Winker (Bakersfield) was 2-4 on the day. He singled, doubled, drew a walk, scored once and drove in a couple of Blaze runners. He also gunned down a runner at the plate. One could make a strong case for Winker to be have been named Player of the Day.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bakersfield) slapped two singles in three official trips to the plate. He also drew a walk. SMB plated two in the game.

John Tolisano (Bakersfield), signed by the Reds as a free agent in January, cracked a two-run bomb in four trips to the dish.

Chris Berset (Bakersfield) went 2-4. He singled, homered, scored a pair of runs and drove in one.

Juan Perez (Bakersfield) stroked a home run and scored twice.

Sebastian Elizalde (Dayton ) was hitless in two at-bats. He walked twice and came around to score each time. He has walked eight times and struck only three early in the 2014 campaign.

Sean Buckley (Dayton) rapped out a couple of singles and drove in a runner.

Jeff Gelalich's (Dayton) two-run single gave Dayton a 2-1 lead which they never relinquished.

Farmhand Notes:
Jeff Francis now has struck out 12 and walked none in his first two starts.

Ryan LaMarre is off to a slow start at the plate (.056). But he did gun down a runner on the basepaths yesterday.

Corky's two singles were hit numbers 406 and 407 in his tenth season as a Louisville Bat.

Bakersfield completed a seven-game homestand with a 6-1 record.

Louisville completed their season-opening roadie with a 3-2 record.

Dayton is 3-3 and a game out of first place in their division.

Pensacola's record stands at 4-2. They are currently in a first-place tie in their division.

Dayton's pitching staff has recording a Midwest League-leading 1.87 ERA.

Dayton's Junior Morillo is undergoing an MRI and will more than likely be placed on the D.L.

[OGB]

Thanks texasdave, but I was about to post this. I'll generally be able to do it before early afternoon, but I work second shift and keep late hours, so I generally wont be updating on Thursday before 11 or 12.

[mace]

Thanks, Dave and OGB.

"Walking Juan." Chuckled out loud.

After a dismal organizational performance last year in the win-loss context, it's nice to see the farms standing at a collective 16-8. I attribute a good bit of it to the decision to stock AAA with veteran free-agent types, and the corresponding trickle-down. A lot of folks have criticized that move, preferring to see the truer prospects promoted, but it appears to me that the plan is working. One, there is now an inventory of experienced players who can be called-up in a pinch without burning a prospect option. And two, young guys are finding success. They're forging a foundation to build on. That's not to mention the value of winning, and developing an identity in that regard.

[texasdave]

Thanks texasdave, but I was about to post this. I'll generally be able to do it before early afternoon, but I work second shift and keep late hours, so I generally wont be updating on Thursday before 11 or 12.

I wasn't sure so I went ahead. I wasn't trying to step on any toes. From now on I will know.

[Reds Freak]

I've enjoyed reading the mix of styles of the folks handling this thread this season. Thanks again for your contributions. Hoping to start to see Phil Ervin popping up on these reports soon.

[mace]

Thursday, April 10: Sal Romano, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. The strikeouts were a little light, but the big Connecticut Red (RZ prospect #40) made up for it by throwing a dozen ground balls. On a club with a team ERA of 1.60, his 3.00 is the highest among the starters.

Also notable . . .

Layne Somsen, Evan Mitchell, Pedro Diaz (Dayton): Romano's relievers combined for a line of 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, preserving the shutout. All three sport early ERAs of 0.00.

Carlton Daal: 3-5, 2B, R. The slender Dragons SS is batting .348, and his strong suit is defense. Redszone's prospect #56 is rising rapidly, as some thought he would.

Sean Buckley: 2-5, 2 RBI, SB.

Sebastian Elizalde: 2 BB, R. The Mexican god of walks.

Chris Nelson (Louisville): 3-4, BB, 3 RBI. The Bats' third baseman won the game with a walkoff single. His bat has made a big and immediate impact.

Ruben Gotay: 2-5, 2B, 2 R. Second baseman opened the decisive 9th with a double and scored the winning run.

Felix Perez: 2-4, R, RBI.

Mike Wilson: HR.

Josh Smith: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K. Righted himself after a shaky first.

Chad Reineke: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 B, 0 BB, 1 K.

Jumbo Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Daniel Renken (Pensacola): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Sean Black: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Rey Navarro: HR.

Ryan Wright (Bakersfield): 3-4, 2B, R. Leading off for the Blaze and batting .344, Wright should score approximately 700 runs.

Juan Silva: 2 BB, SB.

Jimmy Moran: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. For the season--6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Didn't see that one coming.

[mace]

Friday, April 11: Ben Lively, Bakersfield . . . 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. He's at it again. After posting a dizzying 0.88 ERA in his rookie season, the 6-4 righthander (RZ prospect #10) is flashing an 0.82 after two starts in the hitting-heavy California League. In 11 IP, Lively has walked nobody. Friday night, featuring a brisk (shall we call it lively?) fastball and a big, slow curve, he threw 54 strikes in 76 tries.

Also notable . . .

Junior Arias (Bakersfield): 2-2, 2B, BB, R, SB. After his fifth-inning double, the swift center fielder (RZ #17), who's off to a sizzling start and leads the Cal League in steals, hurt his ankle attempting to swipe third. He was, in effect, carried off the field.

Seth Mejias-Brean: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI. The rare game in which he didn't walk.

Zach Vincej: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Sv (2).

Sebastian Elizalde (Dayton): 3-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. The former Mexican Leaguer sports a .485 OBP.

Ismael Guillon: 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K. The control slipped a bit, but the stuff did not.

Alejandro Chacin: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Joel Bender: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Beau Amaral: 2-4, BB, K, 3 SB (7).

Sammy Diaz: 2-5, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI, SB. It's the switch-hitting infielder's third season in Dayton.

Chris Nelson (Louisville): 3-4, 2B, RBI. The tiny sample size has him at .571/.600/.857/1.457.

Tim Crabbe: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.

Ryan Dennick: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Finding a niche in the bullpen?

Juan Duran (Pensacola): HR, 2 RBI.

Bryan Anderson: 2-4, HR.

Rey Navarro: Homered for the second straight night.

Daniel Renken: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. A full-time starter the past three years, his early line from the bullpen is 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, April 12: The Corkster, Louisville . . . 4 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 2 2B, 3 BI. The mustachioed legend grows. Corky tied and eclipsed the all-time Louisville Bats record for doubles, crashing numbers 97 and 98 in a 12-4 win over the awed Columbus Clippers. Sitting -- no, crouching -- at .375 on the season so far.

Also notable . . .

Ruben Gotay, Bat: 2-4, 2 2b (4 on the year), 2 BI, 1 BB

Felix Perez, Bat: 3-5, 2 R, 2 BI, 1 HR. A .423 average for the Cuban who seemingly plays year round.

Rey Navarro, Blue Wahoo: 1-4, go-ahead HR (#3) in the 10th. Switch-hitting middle infielder is still 24 and off to a strong start.

Jon Moscot, Blue Wahoo: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. 57 of his 79 pitches were strikes. Departed with a blister.

Jamie Walczak, 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Through 5.1 innings so far, 1 run allowed with 1 BB and 9 K for the Ohio native.

Ryan Wright, Blaze: 2-6, 2 R, 1 BI, 3B

Jesse Winker, Blaze: 2-5, 2 R, 1 BI, BB

Kyle Waldrop, Blaze: 0-2, 2 BB. Moved to cleanup with Arias out of the lineup.

Marquez Smith, Blaze: 2-4, R, 2 BI, 2B, BB. Now at 16 RBI on the year.

John Tolisano, Blaze: 1-4, 2 R, 2 BI, BB, HR (#2)

Juan Silva, Blaze: 2-5, 2 BI

Zach Vincej, Blaze: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB

Brooks Pinckard, Blaze: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, K. Unblemished in 7.1 IP so far, 1 BB, 5 K.

Sebastian Elizalde, Dragon: 4-5, 2 R, BI, 2 2B. Hitting .357 with an OPS of 1.205

Tanner Rahier, Dragon: 3-4, 2 R, BI, 2B. Up to .303.

Beau Amaral, Dragon: 1-5, HR, 3 BI, outfield assist.

Amir Garrett, Dragon: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR allowed. Not a bad outing for the lanky one.

Layne Somsen, Dragon: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.. He'll turn 25 this year, and he'll strike you out. 12K in 5.1 so far.

[Kc61]

Mr. Elizalde just filed a protest with the MiL Player of the Day Commissioner's Office.

[texasdave]

If you want to catch Elizalde in a Dragons' uniform, you might want to plans soon. He was signed out of the Mexican League where he put up good numbers. I always thought the Mexican League was the equivalent of AAA. I was surprised when they started him in Low-A.

[dougdirt]

If you want to catch Elizalde in a Dragons' uniform, you might want to plans soon. He was signed out of the Mexican League where he put up good numbers. I always thought the Mexican League was the equivalent of AAA. I was surprised when they started him in Low-A.

The Mexican League is considered to be AAA. Personally I think it's more around a AA level with a wide range of talent. Some guys there are true AAAA types who can crush AAA but never could figure out the bigs. Then there are some guys out there playing as teenagers (not many, but there are some) who wouldn't handle AA.

[mace]

Mr. Elizalde just filed a protest with the MiL Player of the Day Commissioner's Office.

There is no commissioner on the planet secure enough in his position to render judgment against The Corkster.

[mace]

Sunday, April 13: Donald Lutz, Pensacola . . . 3-4, 2 HR, BB, 3 RBI. The burly outfielder--arguably, the Reds farmhand most likely to club 30 homers this year--is OPSing 1.114 and justifying his place on the 40-man roster.

Also notable (only three games, since Dayton was rained out) . . .

Marquez Smith (Bakersfield): 3-4, 2 2B, 3B, 3 R, 3 RBI. Too bad he's 29. The guy can rake. He has 19 RBIs in 11 games, tops in the Cal League.

Juan Silva: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI.

Kyle Waldrop: 2-4, BB, 2 R, SB. Batting .436.

Seth Mejias-Brean: 2-5, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB.

Jesse Winker: 2-4, 2 BB, 2 R.

James Allen: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Jimmy Moran: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Sv. This is getting serious. Moran, previously inconspicuous, has now thrown 9.1 innings on the season and yielded only three hits, with 1 walk and 8 K.

Rey Navarro (Pensacola): 2-5, 2B, R. For the first time in four games, the Puerto Rican infielder neglected to homer.

Rossmel Perez: 2-4, BB, 2 R.

Juan Silverio: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI.

Yorman Rodriguez: HR (#1).

Michael Lorenzen: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K. So far, so good, on the conversion to starting. His GO-FO: 8-1. ERA: 1.32.

Mikey O'Brien: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville): 2-4, 2B, HR (#4), BB, 2 R, 3 RBI. The Marquez Smith of AAA.

Tucker Barnhart: 2-4, HR, 2B.

Jumbo Diaz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Corky Miller: 1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 2 BB, 1 K. Well, it was notable. The Corkster also teamed with Diaz in setting a minor-league record for combined poundage of successive relief pitchers (565).

[RedTeamGo!]

Mikey O'Brien: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.



Rooting for this guy because his name is Mikey O'Brien.

[mace]

Monday, April 14: Beau Amaral, Dayton . . . 3-5, 2B, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI. The lefty leadoff man is off to a blazing start, with a .925 OPS and seven steals, second in the Midwest League. Perhaps underrated on RZ, he's reputed to be an exceptional center fielder.

Also notable . . .

Zach Weiss (Dayton): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K. For the season, the UCLA product is unscored upon, having surrendered just 3 hits in 8.1 IP, with 10 K.

Daniel Wright: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. First career start an attention-grabber.

Jeff Gelalich: 2-4, BB, 3 R, RBI. Amaral's more heralded and higher drafted college teammate makes his first appearance of the season on the list.

Joe Hudson: 2-3, 2 2B, BB, R, 4 RBI.

Daniel Mateo: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, 3 R, 2 RBI.

Sebastian Elizalde: 2-5, RBI, SB.

Tanner Rahier: 2-5, 2B, R, RBI. Early .316 BA is encouraging.

Phil Ervin: 2-5, R, RBI.

Jamodrick McGruder: 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, R, 2 RBI.

Max Ramirez (Louisville): 2-3, R.

Tucker Barnhart: 1-2, 3B, BB, 2 RBI.

Jason Bourgeois: 1-2, BB.

Kris Negron: 1-2, 2B, R.

Lee Hyde: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Donald Lutz (Pensacola): 1-3, 3B, RBI. When the big fellow does something like hit a triple, it's mandatory to say, "He really runs well for a guy his size."

Juan Duran: 1-2, 2B.

Juan Silva (Pensacola): 2-4, RBI, 2 SB. Responded well to his leadoff opportunity.

Jon Matthews: 1-1, R, RBI. First AB of the season.

Juan Perez: HR, BB, 2 RBI.

Yovan Gonzalez: 2-4, 2B, R.

Ben Klimesh: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Gratuitous stat of the day: Layne Somsen is tied for 8th in the Midwest League in strikeouts, and he has pitched only 5.1 innings.

[texasdave]

I have gotten pressed into emergency babysitting duties. I will post the MLPOTD probably some time after the noon hour. Sorry.

[mace]

Thanks, td. You've got a tough call after a four-game sweep (raising the collective record to a very pleasant 31-16). But you know that from doing the updates last night. Appreciate it.

[texasdave]

Tuesday, April 15: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield....3-5, Single, Triple, Homer, 3 RS, 2 RBI. Mejias-Brean came up a double shy of a cycle last night. One of two Blaze hitters that flirted with the cycle. Ryan Wright needed a triple to turn the trick.

Pitching stars:

Pedro Villarreal (Louisville) worked two innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just two singles in his stint on the mound.
Jumbo Diaz (Louisville) picked up his third save. He worked an inning and a third of shutout baseball. He gave up a pair of singles, while striking out one. He picked up his third save.
Daniel Corcino (Pensacola) received consideration for POTD. He battled his control in the first (two walks and a hit batsman) while giving up a run. He strung five goose eggs thereafter. 6IP 2H 1R 1ER 4BB 2K.
Drew Hayes (Pensacola) picked up his fourth save with a hitless inning of work. He did walk two batters.
Brooks Pinckard (Bakersfield) was solid in three innings of relief. 3IP 1H 1R 0ER 1BB 2K.
Jimmy Moran (Bakersfield) followed up with a scoreless inning on the mound. 1IP 2H 0R 0ER 0BB 2K.
Carlos Gonzalez (Bakersfield) hurled a scoreless ninth. 1IP 1H 0R 0ER 0BB 1K.
Pinckard, Moran and Gonzalez have worked a combined 26.1 innings to date without giving up an earned run for the Blaze.
Sal Romano (Dayton) nearly reprised his last start and nearly garnered another POTD award. 6IP 7H 0R 0ER 1BB 4K.
Alejandro Chacin (Dayton) kept it real with two perfect innings out of the bullpen. 2IP 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 3K.
Scott Brattvet (Dayton) earned his second save. He struck out the side in the ninth around a base on balls. 1IP 0H 0R 0ER 1BB 3K.

Hitting stars:

Max Ramirez (Louisville) went 1-2. He walked twice, scoring once and driving a run home.
Mike Wilson (Louisville) was also 1-2 with two bases on balls. He touched home once.
Bryson Smith (Pensacola) singled three times in five trips to the plate. He scored a run.
Donald Lutz (Pensacola) went 2-4. He singled, doubled and walked. He came around to score a run.
Steve Selsky (Pensacola) also singled three times in five at-bats. He scored twice and brought a run home.
Bryan Anderson (Pensacola) had a 1-3 night. The lone hit was a two-run triple. He walked and scored both times he reached base.
Juan Duran (Pensacola) went 2-4. He singled twice, plating one runner in the process.
Ryan Wright (Bakersfield) came up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He singled, doubled, and homered in five trips to the dish, scoring twice and driving a run home.
Jesse Winker (Bakersfield) drilled a pair of doubles in five at-bats. He scored twice and drove two in.
Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield) is still above the Williams Line (.400). He enjoyed a 2-5 game. Included was a single, a double a run scored and a run batted in.
Chris Berset (Bakersfield) had a hit in three trips and a walk. His lone hit left the yard. He scored once and drove in a runner.
Beau Amaral (Dayton) collected half of his team's six hits. Two singles and a double. He drove in both Dragon's run on the evening.

Notes:

Sean Marshall started the game for Louisville and pitched a scoreless first. He gave up a single and walked a batter before striking the last two Mud Hens he faced. He is slated to pitch the first inning again tonight. It seems as if he is pitching back-to-back games that he must be fairly close to being ready. Good news.
The Dayton pitching staff is having an excellent start to the season. Team ERA is 1.74. That will win you a lot of games. The Dragons are currently on a six-game winning streak.
Bakersfield keeps Blazing along. They now have won 10 games on the campaign. Bakersfield has scored 10 or more runs in 6 of their 14 games and are averaging just over 7 runs scored per contest.

[OGB]

Wednesday April 16th: Ben Lively (Redszone Prospect #10) Had another dominant outing last night for the Blaze, working 6 strong. His line: 6IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 10K. Over 3 starts in the hit happy California League Lively's line looks like this: 17IP, 7H, 1R, 0BB, 23K. He may be moving up the ladder quickly.

Around the farm

Louisville
Hernan Iribarren: 2-4, 2B, 2RBI
Ryan Lamarre: 2-3, Grand Slam HR, 4RBI. Lamarre is hitting only .115 in the early going (Redszone #35)
Ryan Dennick: 2.2IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K, S

Pensacola
Devin Lohman: 2-4

Bakersfield
Juan Silva: 1-4 BB, 2R, 2RBI
Ryan Wright: 2-4 2R, 2RBI Hitting .328 (Redszone #51)
Jesse Winker: 2-5 HR, 2RBI Hitting .339 (Redszone #4)

Dayton
Beau Amaral: 3-4 2B, 2RBI Hitting .341
Sebastian Elizalde: Game winning sac fly in the 11th. Hitting .324
Sal Romano: 6IP, 7H, 0R, 1BB, 4K ERA stands at an even 2.00 (Redszone #40)
Alejandro Chacin: 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K Still unscored upon this year in 7.2 IP (Redszone #41)
Scott Brattvet: 1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 3K S

Standings
Louisville: 7-5 2 games back
Pensacola: 7-6 in a 3-way tie for 1st
Bakersfield: 11-3 2 game lead
Dayton: 9-3 1.5 game lead

Highlights
http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=32138435&sid=t416 Ryan Lamarre grand slam

Redszone Top Ten
1. Robert Stephenson: was disappointing yet again, hurling 4.1, walking 7, and getting touched up for a grand slam (4ER, 5R)
3. Phillip Ervin: 1-4, BB hitting .200
5. Yorman Rodriguez: 1-4 CS hitting .190
9. Seth Mejias-Brean: The man so nice they named him twice was 1-4 BB, RBI and is hitting .309 on the year

Notes
The Dragons have won 6 straight, their longest winning streak since 2011.
Dayton's team ERA is 1.74, their bullpen ERA is an astonishing 1.16
Juan Duran (Redszone #32) has an 8 game hitting streak.
Jason Bourgeois is keeping the proletariat in it's place with a HR to extend his hitting streak to 8 as well.
Sean Marshall pitched an inning on consecutive nights allowing a HR of his own before setting down the next three Indians.

[OGB]

Sorry for the tardiness, I was called in to work earlier (on my day off) for an emergency
*cue Dante Hicks "I'm not even supposed to be here to day" whine*

[76Rabbit]

Chacin and Bratvett didn't pitch yesterday. They threw Tuesday.

[mace]

Thursday, April 17: Ruben Gotay, Louisville . . . 2-4, HR (5), 2 RBI. It was pretty much a lost night on the farms, but there's this: Gotay's uncle, Julio, was an infielder with the Cardinals and later Houston. Playing SS one night for the Astros, he approached his old keystone partner, Julian Javier, who had just arrived at second base on a double or whatever. Gotay whispered something, Javier jumped off the bag, and Gotay tagged him out. Javier then raced back to the Cardinal dugout, exclaiming, "Voodoo! Voodoo! No mas!" . . . Meanwhile, the nephew, a 31-year-old switch-hitter with major-league experience, leads the International League in slugging percentage. His credentials are not unlike Chris Nelson's.

Also notable . . .

Alejandro Chacin (Dayton): 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. A 20-year-old righty from Venezuela, Chacin (RZ prospect #41), has not allowed an earned run in 9.2 innings this year, striking out 15 and walking 2.

Sebastian Elizalde: 1-3, 3B, BB, R.

Bryson Smith (Pensacola): 2-4, 2 2B.

Steve Selsky: 2-3, 2 RBI.

Juan Silverio: 2-2, BB, R. The bold is for those familiar with Silverio's M.O. He's now batting .385.

Jon Moscot: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

Fabian Williamson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Chad Rogers (Louisville): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Good to see, since Sharky has been struggling.

Lee Hyde: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Pedro Villarreal: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Pitching strictly in relief, Villarreal has had a nice start to the season: 1 ER in 7 IP.

Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield): 2-5, 2B. Batted third on Winker's night off.

Marquez Smith: 2 R, 3 BB, SB.

Zach Vincej: 0-0, 3 BB, RBI. The RBI came on a sac fly.

Note: Junior Arias, thought to have sprained his ankle sliding into third base a few nights ago, actually broke it. He'll be out for a while. Too bad. He was tearing it up for the Blaze.

[mace]

Friday, April 18: Kyle Waldrop, Bakersfield: 2-2, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 R. It has seemed, this year, as though the lefty outfielder had swapped out some of his traditional extra-base power for the boatload of singles that has produced his gaudy .414 batting average. But he packed his wallop last night, resulting in his first home run. A 22-year-old Floridian (RZ prospect #20), Waldrop has applied his 216 pounds to a seasonal slash line of .493/.534/.1.027. The relative lack of slugging suggests he's not merely taking advantage of the California League.

Also notable . . .

Nick Travieso (Dayton): 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. The former first-rounder (RZ #8) could have easily been the pick of the day. He brought his ERA down to 1.59, cooling off a Kane County team that had piled on the night before.

Layne Somsen: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Can't imagine that the 24-year-old righthander will be in Dayton much longer. He has outclassed the Midwest League over 8.2 innings of scoreless, 4-hit baseball, with 1 walk and 15 K.

Tanner Rahier: 2-4, 2B, HR (2), 2 R, 3 RBI.

Jeff Gelalich: 2-5, HR, 2 R, SB. Starting to step up.

Carlton Daal: 2-4, 3B, RBI, SB. The .311 BA looks good on a shortstop who can pay his way with defense.

Sebastian Elizalde: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, SB. The young man can stuff a box score.

Phil Ervin: 2-5, 2B, RBI, SB.

Sammy Diaz: 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI, SB.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pensacola): 4-4, 2B. The 21-year-old outfielder (RZ #5) apparently found the DH role quite agreeable.

Michael Lorenzen: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K. The lack of strikeouts is puzzling, given the fastball. But a nice night nevertheless for a fellow just learning the art of starting, leaving his ERA at a very encouraging 1.45.

Mikey O'Brien: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville): 3-5, 2B, R, RBI, SB. A handy guy to have at AAA.

John Tolisano (Bakersfield): 2-4, 2B. The 25-year-old utility dude has had considerable experience, and some success, at the AA level.

Jimmy Moran: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. One of the early surprises of the season. The South Florida product hasn't allowed an earned run in 12.1 IP, walking 1 and fanning 11.

[RedlegJake]

Love what Travieso is doing so far. And Somsen needs a promotion just to see if he can keep similar numbers at a higher level - his age waters down things a bit at Dayton. Daal has several errors - are they arm, range (getting to balls others wouldn't anyway) etc? Anyone know?

[dougdirt]

Love what Travieso is doing so far. And Somsen needs a promotion just to see if he can keep similar numbers at a higher level - his age waters down things a bit at Dayton. Daal has several errors - are they arm, range (getting to balls others wouldn't anyway) etc? Anyone know?

He has had a few throwing issues. He was working on it yesterday during and after team practice with the coaches.

[RedLegsToday]

It's been awhile since I've been on here. Glad this thread is happening again this year. Best thing on the site, imo. Ben Lively... the new Cingrani?

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, April 19: Jeff Francis, Bat: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10K. The veteran Canadian portsider is looking to resurrect (sorry) his major league career, and he just might do it. Last night he dialed up 72 strikes in 103 pitches and an 8:1 GB|FB vs. 11-4 Indianapolis. Francis currently sports a 1.99 ERA and a 3-1 record.

Also notable . . .

Jose Jumbo Diaz, Bat:1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB 2 K, Save (4). No question the Reds pen could use some ballast.

Corky Miller, Bat: 2-4, RBI. May deserve a little credit for Francis' outing, too.

Yorman Rodriguez, Blue Wahoo: 3-4, RBI, SB (3). 7 for his last 8 and up to .302.

Juan Duran, Blue Wahoo: 3-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR (2). Both EBHs off a righthander -- good sign.

Jamie Walczak, Blue Wahoo: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB.

Jesse Winker, Blaze: 2-4, R, BB.

Seth Mejias-Brean, Blaze: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR (3).

Kyle Waldrop, Blaze: 2-4, R. Lather, rinse, repeat. Hitting .419.

Marquez Smith, Blaze: 3-4, 2 R, 2B.

Carlos Gonzalez, Blaze: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save (3). Gonzalez is unscored on in 6.2 innings, yielding 1 walk and a .130 average to opposing hitters.

Beau Amaral, Dragon: 2-4, RBI, OF assist at home. A hefty 10 RBI so far for the leadoff hitter.

Phil Ervin, Dragon: 2-4. Playing LF, like Winker one rung above him.

Tanner Rahier, Dragon: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B. The .464 SLG in April in the MWL is a good sign for the 20 year old.

Daniel Wright, Dragon: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB. 4 K, 1 HBP.

Zach Weiss, Dragon: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Unscored on in 11.1 IP with 13 K. Only 6 batters have reached based against the former teammate of Beau Amaral and Jeff Gelalich. They won a College World Series together at UCLA.

[mace]

Easter Sunday, April 20: Josh Smith, Louisville . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Also 1-2, 2B, R, RBI. The 26-year-old righthander (RZ prospect #38) improved significantly upon his first start, which wasn't bad, and ran his record to 3-0. In six stops over five minor-league seasons, the Floridian's highest ERA is 3.80. This year, it stands at 2.18, with 22 K over 20.2 innings. A stealthy prospect.

Also notable (only two games) . . .

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville): 2-3, 2 BB, R, RBI, SB. That there is some pretty good leading off.

Mike Costanzo: 2-4, HR, BB.

Argenis Diaz: 2-4, R, RBI.

Lee Hyde: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. As he demonstrated last year, the lefty is capable of getting on a major roll.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pensacola): 2-4, R. Over the last three games, that's 9-12, bumping his average from .200 to .316.

Rey Navarro: 2-4, R, RBI.

Travis Mattair: 2B, 2 RBI.

Tim Adleman: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Gratuitous stat of the day . . .

The following relievers still sport ERAs of 0.00 (not counting Tony Amezcua, who has thrown only 2.1 innings in two appearances):

Jimmy Moran, Bakersfield, 12.1 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 11 K, 1 Sv.
Zach Weiss, Dayton, 11.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 13 K.
Alejandro Chacin, Dayton, 9.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 15 K, 1 Sv.
Layne Somsen, Dayton, 8.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 15 K.
Jumbo Diaz, Louisville, 7.2 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 4 Sv.
Ryan Dennick, Pensacola-Louisville, 7.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 Sv.
Evan Mitchell, Dayton, 7 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K.
Carlos Gonzalez, Bakersfield, 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 3 Sv.

[OGB]

Nice touch with the relievers, mace

[mace]

Monday, April 21: Donald Lutz, Pensacola . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR (#4), 4 R, 2 RBI. What, no stolen base? He does, as you know, run well for a guy his size. At any rate, Big Lutz became the first Reds farmhand to hit for the cycle since some other guy a while back. (The triple came last. As the ball traveled deep to right-center, he was muttering, "Please don't go out. Please don't go out." Seriously.) He's now sitting at .362, with a 1.146 OPS. Makes you wonder if, for him, Louisville will forever be a flyover.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140422&content_id=72910116&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&tcid=fb_article_72910116

Also notable . . .

Robert Stephenson (Pensacola): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K. Also 2-4, 3 RBI. Nice bounce-back for the system's best prospect.

Shane Dyer: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Rey Navarro: 3-7, 2B, HR (4), 2 R, 3 RBI.

Yorman Rodriguez: 2-6, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI. The kid is highly warm.

Travis Mattair: 3-6, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Juan Duran: 2-5, R, 3 RBI.

Devin Lohman: 2-6, 2B, 2 R.

Kris Negron (Louisville): 4-5, 2B, R. Played CF.

Argenis Diaz: 2-5, 2 RBI.

Max Ramirez: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R.

Chris Nelson: HR (2).

Mike Wilson: 2-5, HR (2).

Pedro Villarreal: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. The numbers--an ERA of 0.87 and BA-against of .171--suggest that he's throwing the ball the best, perhaps, that he ever has, although it's only 10.1 IP.

Tim Crabbe: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

Ryan Wright (Bakersfield): 2-4, 2B, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB. Pushed the Blaze to a 5-0 lead that they couldn't hold.

Kyle Waldrop: 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI. Williams watch--.418.

Marquez Smith: 0-2, 3 BB. Guess they won't pitch to him anymore.

Seth Mejias-Brean: 1-3, 2 BB. He walks as soon as he rolls out of bed. Well, I guess most of us do.

Michael Dennhardt: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K.

[lollipopcurve]

Donald Lutz, Pensacola . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR (#4), 2 R, 2 RBI.

He's a cycle machine.

I don't discount Lutz in the derby to eventually take over LF. There's minor league surplus there, and I imagine a trade or two will eventually relieve it. In any case, Lutz is likely the first in line after Heisey.

[OGB]

Mace, how would you feel about selecting a minor league player of the week /month? Week should be easy, month might be a bit more work. Im just throwing it out there, and I think you deserve first dibs if you'd want to.

[mace]

Mace, how would you feel about selecting a minor league player of the week /month? Week should be easy, month might be a bit more work. Im just throwing it out there, and I think you deserve first dibs if you'd want to.

I think it's a nice idea. Last year, I didn't pick a Player of the Month or Week, but I did do a monthly recap, then noted the best single-game performances by a hitter and pitcher. (Example below).

A Player of the Week has value in that some guys get on a roll and never really separate themselves to be Player of the Day, although they challenge for it consistently. Lately, Ryan Wright is a guy who falls into that category. Kyle Waldrop's roll is also deserving of that kind of notice. It's also a way for a hot relief pitcher to get recognition--Lee Hyde last year, or Layne Somsen and Alejandro Chacin this year. I suppose the same could apply to a Player of the Month.

OGB, if you have an interest in doing this, I'd urge you to go ahead. I like the way different voices have energized the thread this year.

Meanwhile, here's an example of last year's monthly recap, which I'll be happy to reprise this year.

August-plus recap

( ) indicates how many times the player has been selected as the MiLPoD (if more than one).

8-1: Carlos Contreras (4) . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.
8-2: Henry Rodriguez . . . 5-5, 3 R.
8-3: Juan Silverio (3) . . . 5-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI.
8-4: Greg Reynolds (5) . . . 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
8-5: Amir Garrett . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
8-6: Jake Johnson . . . 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
8-7: Jon Moscot (4) . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
8-8: Jeremy Kivel . . . 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
8-9: Phillip Ervin (2) . . . 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI.
8-10: Robert Stephenson (6) . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K.
8-11: Nobody.
8-12: Jose Ortiz (3) . . . 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI.
8-13: Aristides Aquino . . . 4-6, 2 3B, 3 R, 3 RBI.
8-14: Kyle Waldrop (4) . . . 4-4, 2B, HR, 2 R.
8-15: Nick Travieso (3) . . . 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
8-16: Robert Stephenson (7) . . . 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.
8-17: Carlos Sanchez . . . 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
8-18: Adam Matthews . . . 4-4, 2 2B, 3B, BB, 3 R, 3 RBI.
8-19: Jon Moscot (5) . . . 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Also 1-2, 2B, R.
8-20: Greg Reynolds (6) . . . 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.
8-21: Juan Silva . . . 3-3, 3B, BB, 2 R, 3 SB.
8-22: Robert Stephenson (8) . . . 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K.
8-23: Yohan Pino (2) . . . 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.
8-24: Ismael Guillon . . . 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K.
8-25: Tim Crabbe (5) . . . 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K.
8-26: Luke Moran . . . 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
8-27: Tyler Mahle . . . 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
8-28: Kevin Franklin . . . 3-4, 2B, BB, R, 2 RBI.
8-29: James Allen (3) . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.
8-30: Ismael Guillon (2) . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K.
8-31: Mike Hessman (2) . . . 3-4, 2 HR (25), BB, 2 R. 5 RBI.
9-1: Pedro Villarreal (2) . . . 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
9-2: Juan Duran (2) . . . 3-3, 3 HR, BB, 3 R, 3 RBI.

Pitching Performance of the Month: Ismael Guillon, 8-24 . . . 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. Over his final five starts of the season, the Venezuelan lefty permitted just 11 hits in 29.1 innings.

Hitting Performance of the Month: Juan Duran, 9-2 . . . 3-3, 3 HR, BB, 3 R, 3 RBI. The breakout came on the big fellow’s 22nd birthday, and it gave him 6 home runs in the last 5 games of the season.

[AtomicDumpling]

This is a fantastic thread. A must-read every single day. Thanks for all the hard work guys. :clap:

[mace]

Although the amazing Ben Lively has rendered this thread academic every fifth day, texasdave will nevertheless post the update sometime this afternoon, when his babysitting detail is up. (Note to dave: Ben, not Blake; Ben, not Blake; Ben, not Blake . . .)

[SirFelixCat]

This is a fantastic thread. A must-read every single day. Thanks for all the hard work guys. :clap:


Absolufreakinglutely!

[texasdave]

Tuesday, April 22: Ben Lively, Bakersfield....turned in another stalwart effort to garner the nod. For the game, Lively spun six shutout innings. He allowed a hit and a walk while fanning 10. The walk was the first one he has issued in four start. His line for the year: 23.0IP 8H 1R 1ER 1BB 33K.

Curtis Partch (Louisville) made his first appearance as a Bat this year a successful one. He pitched two shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk. He struck out three.
Lee Hyde (Louisville) was also stellar out of the Bats' bullpen. He worked two hitless frames, walking a batter and striking one out.
Brooks Pinckard (Bakersfield) faced just seven batters in his two innings on the bump. He allowed a lone single.
Carlos Gonzalez (Bakersfield) was dealing. He struck out the side in the ninth for the Blaze.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville) went 2 for 4 at the dish. He singled, doubled and drove in a run. He is hitting a robust .338 for the season.
Rey Navarro (Pensacola) went 2 out of 5 from the leadoff slot. He singled twice, scoring once and driving a runner home.
Travis Mattair (Pensacola) whacked his first home run of the year. He was 2-4. He added a double a walk to his roundtripper. He drove two in and stepped on home twice.
Bryan Anderson (Pensacola) singled twice and walked. He drove a pair of Wahoos home.
Seth Mejias-Brean (Bakersfield) had a lone single in two official at-bats. He tacked on three bases on balls and stole a base.
Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield) reached base twice on a double and walk. He drove in a run and is batting .408 on the campaign.
Zach Vincej (Bakersfield) singled twice in four trips and drove home a run.
Beau Amaral (Dayton) was 2-4 in game one of a doubleheader. His single and double resulted in one run being scored and one run batted in.
Daniel Mateo (Dayton) doubled in the first game. He came around to score.
Carlton Daal (Dayton) went 2-3 in game two. He singled twice and came around to score both times.
Sebastian Elizalde (Dayton) homered in the nightcap. He drew a base on balls as well. He scored once and drove home a pair.
Tanner Rahier (Dayton) both singled and doubled in the second game. He plated two runners.

[mace]

With a career ERA of 0.70 (two seasons, 17 starts), Lively has now evened his record at 4-4.

I guess it's not quite as weird as it looks. He never went five innings last year, so he couldn't qualify for wins. And although he only gave up 4 earned runs in his 13 starts, he did give up 5 unearned runs. But still.

Here's a Lively stat that (among several) blows me away: In 17 games as a pro, never pitching less than 3 innings (64 in all), he has allowed only 31 hits. That's less than two hits a game! And as we know, he doesn't walk many.

[mace]

OGB is gonna have a tough call today between Guillon and Winker. But that's why he makes the big bucks.

[lollipopcurve]

OGB is gonna have a tough call today between Guillon and Winker. But that's why he makes the big bucks.

Is there precedent for having co-winners?

Glad it's not my day....

[mace]

Is there precedent for having co-winners?

Glad it's not my day....

Oh no. You gotta man-up.

Since OGB usually can't get to it until later in the day, anybody care to state a preference in the meantime? It's a pretty classic case of a dominating pitching day against a monster hitting day.

[texasdave]

I would take seven innings of dominating shutout baseball every time. JMO. I wonder what a team's winning percentage would be if they got seven shutout innings from their starter each time out? More than likely, it would be higher than if a team had a hitter go 4-4 with a walk each game. Tough decision, but I am a pitching guy.

[dougdirt]

I would take seven innings of dominating shutout baseball every time. JMO. I wonder what a team's winning percentage would be if they got seven shutout innings from their starter each time out? More than likely, it would be higher than if a team had a hitter go 4-4 with a walk each game. Tough decision, but I am a pitching guy.

What about 4-4 with a walk and 4 RBI though? 4-4 with a walk and four singles and no runs driven in is a lot different than 4-4 with a walk, two doubles, a homer and 4 RBI.

[mace]

I would take seven innings of dominating shutout baseball every time. JMO. I wonder what a team's winning percentage would be if they got seven shutout innings from their starter each time out? More than likely, it would be higher than if a team had a hitter go 4-4 with a walk each game. Tough decision, but I am a pitching guy.

I'm with this. Plus, the zero walks is a great signpost for Guillon (especially with 11 K), whose control seems to be the only thing keeping him out of the upper reaches of prospectdom.

[OGB]

MLPotD for April 23rd
Last night Bakersfield's Jesse Winker and Dayton's Ismael Guillon went toe to toe in the ring for the MLPotD belt. It came down to a decision, and the irreproachable, unimpeachable judge from Covington, KY cast the deciding vote in Guillon's favor. Let's be clear though, folks, this was Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa far past exhaustion yet hugging it out--there were no losers here.
Ismael Guillon (Redszone prospect #22) toed the rubber for the Dragons last night in South Bend and gave you everything you could reasonably ask for in a start from a top pitching prospect. Guillon went 7 strong, surrendering 2 hits, and no runs while fanning 11 SilverHawks. After a 2013 season plagued by control issues, Guillon issued a refreshing 0 free passes. With 186 strikeouts, Guillon has passed Daniel Corcino to become Dayton's career leader. Guillon leads the Midwest league with a .116 BAA. His ERA is a superlative 1.16

Around the Farm

Louisville
Felix Perez: 1-3 2B, BB
Chad "Sharky" Rogers: (Redszone #14) 2.1 IP, 0H, 0R, 3BB, 2K Sharky's ERA is 5.40

Pensacola
Rey Navarro: 2-5, 2R, HR, 2RBI Hitting .279
Yorman Rodriguez: (Redszone #5) 2-5 Hitting .315
Donald Lutz: 2-5, R Hitting .353
Travis Mattair: 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3RBI The 1B/3B and Redszone #64 is hitting .238, but has homered in back to back games
Michael Lorenzen: (Redszone #6) 5 IP, 4H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 5K Also 1-2, 2B, R, RBI

Bakersfield
Ryan I Know That's Wright: 2-5, 2B, 2R, RBI
Jesse Winker: 4-4, R, 2 2B, HR, 4RBI, BB Winker's monster day puts him at .338 in the early campaign
Marquez Smith: 2-5, R, 2B
Juan Perez: 1-2, R, RBI, 2BB The 23 year old lefty SS is hitting .234
Yovan Gonzalez: 2-4, R
Jon Matthews: 2-4, R, RBI
Wandy Peralta: 6 IP, 6H, 0R, 3BB, 4K
Jake Johnson: 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K

Dayton Dragons
When you can't get a win for a guy that pitched like Guillon did Wednesday, the odds are good that nobody will deserve mention here

Standings
Louisville: The 9-10 Bats are 4 games back of Pittsburgh affiliate Indianapolis, and are on a 3 game losing streak that has fans saying, "Guano!"
Pensacola: The club with (possibly) the most talent is 8-12 and 5 games back in fourth place.
Bakersfield: at 14-6, the Blaze are a game behind the Visalia Rawhide (Arizona)
Dayton: The Great Lakes Loons (like pantaloons?) lead the intrepid Daytonians by 1.5. The Dragons are third at 11-7.

Redszone Top Ten
3. Phillip Ervin: 1-4, 2K Ervin has yet to fill up the boxscore much this April. He's hitting a paltry .215
9. Seth Mejias-Brean: 0-4, BB, K Hitting .280 with a .426 OBP

Notes
(Redszone #34) Tanner Rahier is 6 for his last 18 with 3 doubles and a home run.
Chad Reineke made a franchise best 98th start for Louisville, an inauspicious record to say the least
Yorman Rodriguez has an 8 game hitting streak
Masters champion Bubba Watson will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight's game. Fans are encouraged to wear green. They are also encouraged to remain quiet and refrain from photography while Watson is in his wind up and pitching motion.

[texasdave]

Masters champion Bubba Watson will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight's game. Fans are encouraged to wear green. They are also encouraged to remain quiet and refrain from photography while Watson is in his wind up and pitching motion.

Any word yet on whether his caddy will be tending a flag stick at home whilst Bubba is in his windup?

Also, speaking of Covington, whatever happened with Reds prospect
Vaughn Covington?

[OGB]

Any word yet on whether his caddy will be tending a flag stick at home whilst Bubba is in his windup?

Also, speaking of Covington, whatever happened with Reds prospect
Vaughn Covington?

He was suspended 50 games at the start of last season, but that doesn't explain his current absence. According to his twitter, he is still a member of the Reds' organization. I'd warn you against actually reading his tweets, though, I think I lost a few IQ points after seeing a dozen or so. He's still a young guy, though, I suppose...

[camisadelgolf]

Covington was released last month.

[texasdave]

Thursday, April 14: Donald Lutz, Pensacola....The big man brought some big lumber to the park with him Thursday night. Lutz went 3 for 5. All three hits went for extra bases, as he doubled twice and left the yard once. The home run was #5. He scored three times and drove home four. Lutz is batting .370 on the season. His line for his last 11 starts: .417/.451/.875/1.326.

Tucker Barnhart (Louisville) went 3 for 4 down in Derby City yesterday. He singled twice, tripled and scored both Bats' runs. He was mired in a 1 for 19 skid. Hopefully, he is digging his way out of it.
Argenis Diaz (Louisville) had a nice night at the plate. He singled in four trips and drove in a run.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pensacola) kept right on stroking the ball. Rodriguez went 2 for 4. He singled, tripled and drew a base on balls. He scored all three times that he reached base. YRod has his average up to .325. After a slow start, Rodriguez has been raking over his last seven games to the tune of: .500/.515/.688/1.203.
Travis Mattair (Pensacola) singled and doubled in his five at-bats, scoring once and plating a pair.
Bryan Anderson (Pensacola) The 27-year-old backstop is enjoying a fine April in his first campaign as a Reds farmhand. He pounded out three hits last night, two singles and his third homer of the season. He scored a run and brought home three. Anderson is now hitting .313, and his OPS is a lofty .921.
Juan Duran (Pensacola) The elongated outfielder stroked a pair of singles in a losing cause.

Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield) dipped under .400 for the first time in a long while on Wednesday and decided that he did not like it. So, he singled in his first three plate appearances on Thursday. He scored once and is batting an even .400.
Chris Berset (Bakersfield) went 2 for 4. His hits included a single and a double.

Beau Amaral (Dayton) is having a much better second season as a Dragon. And Thursday night was no exception. Dayton managed just three hits and Amaral garnered two of them. He singled, tripled and scored a run. His triple in the seventh inning was the first hit of the game for Dayton.

Jaime Walczak (Pensacola) sparkled once again out of the pen. He hurled a hitless inning and a third, while striking out three. His ERA now stands at 0.90.
Shane Dyer (Pensacola) chipped in with a scoreless frame. His ERA for the year is a fine 1.08.
James Allen (Bakersfield) turned in a strong starting effort. 6.IP 7H 2R 2ER 0BB 2K. Allen retired 13 consecutive batteries at one point during the contest.
Jimmy Moran (Bakersfield) continues to pitch well. His relief stint last an inning and two-thirds. He did not give up a hit and walked just one, striking a batter out as well. His ERA stands at (0.57).
Carlos Gonzalez (Bakersfield) has yet to give up an earned run in 2014. He set down all four batters he faced in picking up save #4.
Amir Garrett (Dayton) produced his best starting effort on the year. He allowed just two hits in five innings of moundsmanship. He allowed just one run (earned). He was a bit wild with his four walks and struck out two.
Alejandro Chacin (Dayton) kept his ERA a spotless 0.00. In two innings out of the pen, he did not allow a hit. He did walk three, while fanning one.
Scott Brattvet (Dayton) also pitched two innings of hitless baseball. He faced the minimum six batters, striking out one and picking up his third save. His ERA is 1.08.

[mace]

Hate to be self-indulgent on here, but . . . lollipopcurve, did you happen to see my PM? (It regards tomorrow.)

Edit with program notes: lollipop will be guest-hosting tomorrow. And as you may have noticed today, texasdave has taken over Fridays for the time being, swapping out his conflicted Wednesday detail.

[lollipopcurve]

I'm a lefthander, and I'm relieving 250-inning horse Mace today...

Friday, April 25: Bryan Anderson, Blue Wahoo: 2-3, 2 HR (#s 4,5) 3 RBI, BB. The 27-year-old exile from the Cardinals organization (drafted under Jocketty) went the other way for his two dingers off rehabbing Braves starter Mike Minor and steered eventful Daniel Corcino through 112 pitches to a one-run outing on a night the wind was blowing out. The LH-hitting backstop is up to .333 on the season and is OPSing 1.072.

Also notable . . .

Daniel Corcino, Blue Wahoo: 6.2 IP, 3 H 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K.

Shane Dyer, Blue Wahoo: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, Save (1). The 26-year-old former starter is throwing well out of the Pensacola pen.

Travis Mattair, Blue Wahoo: 2-4 HR (3). All 8 of his EBHs have come in the last 6 games.

Juan Silverio, Blue Wahoo: 2-3, HR (2). Hitting .323.

Jason Bourgeois, Bat: 3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI.

Ruben Gotay, Bat: 2-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2B. Now at .342.

Chris Nelson, Bat: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB

Tucker Barnhart, Bat: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2B. 5 for his last 7, and could be at Turner Field tonight.

Argenis Diaz, Bat: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B.

Jose Jumbo Diaz, Bat: 1.1 IP, 1 H 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Save (5).Unscored on in 10 IP, yielding a BAA (batting average against) of .121.

Kyle Waldrop, Blaze: 3-4, 2 R, SB. Your daily dose of the .417 hitting corner outfielder. In LF last night for the injured Winker.

Zach Vincej, Blaze: 2-3, BB.

Beau Amaral, Dragon: 2-5, R, BB. Sounds like the son of Rich Amaral is on his way to AA.

Phil Ervin, Dragon: 2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, 2B. May be stirring.

Sebastian Elizalde, Dragon: 2-4, 2 BB. OBP at .450, OPS .991.

Sean Buckley, Dragon: 2-6, 3 RBI, SB.

Carlton Daal, Dragon: 3-5, R. The youngster's keeping is AVG and OBP (.370) up.

Sammy Diaz, Dragon, 2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B.

Nick Travieso, Dragon: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. The 20-year-old keeps up his impressive start to the season. 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA.

Zach Weiss, Dragon: 1 IP, all zeros with a K. His scoreless streak reaches 12.1 IP, and hitters are hitting .100 against him.

[texasdave]

What is everyone's opinion on Corcino throwing 112 pitches this early in the season?

[Kc61]

What is everyone's opinion on Corcino throwing 112 pitches this early in the season?

If he would walk fewer batters he would throw fewer pitches. He's not going to turn things around throwing four inning stretches of 80 pitches. No problem at all.

[Hillsdale87]

Any word on Travieso's velocity this season? Is it up from last year? Results look great so far, so whatever he's doing is clearly working.

[lollipopcurve]

Any word on Travieso's velocity this season? Is it up from last year? Results look great so far, so whatever he's doing is clearly working.

I've seen a couple of his games on MILB TV. Velocity is better. In the first game he was up to 93-94 pretty consistently, per the announcer. Slider looks sharper, and he's also developing a changeup. IMO, he's taken a significant step forward.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, April 26: Daniel Wright, Dragon: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Win (1). Wright has stepped into the Dayton rotation and helped the staff continue its dominance of the Midwest League. The 23-year-old 2013 10th rounder and senior sign out of Arkansas State is getting his first run as a starter in pro ball. Over 3 starts and 2 relief outings, his ERA sits at 1.69.

Also notable . . .

Joel Bender/Evan Mitchell/Scott Brattvet, Dragons: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 Ks. They're lines were identical -- you do the math.

Carlton Daal, Dragon: 3-5, R, RBI. Replaced Beau Amaral in the leadoff spot.

Sebastian Elizalde, Dragon: 2-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB(7). Replaced Amaral in CF.

Juan Silva, Blaze: 1-4, 2 R, H, BB, 2B, 2 SB(13). 13-14 in SB attempts.

Ryan Wright, Blaze: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2B, SB.

Seth Mejias-Brean, Blaze: 2-5, RBI, BB.

Chris Berset, Blaze: 3-4, 2B. The 26-year-old switch-hitting catcher is hitting .341 with an OPS of 1.011 in part-time duty.

Mike Dennhardt, Blaze: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K. Special honors -- 2014 is the 3rd consecutive season he's spent time in Bakersfield.

Jimmy Moran, Blaze: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, Win (3). 2011 18th rounder out of South Florida now has an ERA of 0.49 in 18.1 IP.

Carlos Gonzalez, Blaze: 1 IP, 1 H 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Save (5). The scoreless streak continues.

Robert Stephenson, Blue Wahoo: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 3 HR allowed. 64 strikes in 100 pitches.

Tim Adleman, Blue Wahoo: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R. 2 BB, 2 K. The Independent League signee has a 2.16 ERA out of the Pensacola pen.

Juan Silverio, Blue Wahoo: 1-3, HR (3).

Ryan Dennick, Bat: 1 IP, 1 H. The 27-year-old Buckeye (North Olmstead) is back to the pen and having a good early run -- 0.87 ERA.


Injury notes: Reds OF prospects a MASH unit. Yorman on the DL with an oblique. Lutz nursing a hamstring.

[Kc61]

Tough break for Jimmy Moran. He had my vote.

[lollipopcurve]

Tough break for Jimmy Moran. He had my vote.

Cry me a river. You could have volunteered for a day.


Moran's been stalwart. But he threw less than half the innings Wright did.

[Kc61]

Cry me a river. You could have volunteered for a day.


Moran's been stalwart. But he threw less than half the innings Wright did.

Somebody has to stick up for the relievers, LOL.

List was great, as usual, not being critical. Just want to highlight a relief pitcher, sometimes they don't get a lot of notice.

[mace]

Sunday, April 27: Jon Moscot, Pensacola . . . 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K. It took a manly effort--8 shutout innings in a tight game--for somebody to finally decision the undefeated MiLPOD champion, Ben Lively, who was unscathed over six rounds of his own. The tall righthander (Redszone prospect #11) from the nation's most beautiful campus (that would be Pepperdine) lowered his ERA to 2.08.

For starters . . .

Lively (Bakersfield): 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K. The leading man of the theater of the absurd, the Central Florida product (RZ #10) lowered his ERA to a comical 0.31. Think that's ridiculous? His K:BB is 40:1.

Sal Romano (Dayton): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K. A winning hand on most days. The 250-pound righty (RZ #40) finished the afternoon with a 2.33 ERA.

Chien-Ming Wang (Louisville): 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K. The 34-year-old former Yankee produced his best effort as a Bat, by far.

Add in Johnny Cueto's performance in Atlanta, and the starting pitchers of the Cincinnati organization posted a line Sunday of 35 IP, 17 H, 1 R, 7 BB, 37 K.

Saves . . .

Jumbo Diaz (Louisville): His 6th was a struggle, but the big fella maintained his 0.00 ERA.

Jamie Walczak (Pensacola): Number 1 for the native of Painesville, Ohio. He's fanned 15 in 11 IP, surrendering only 1 run and 3 hits.

Layne Somsen (Bakersfield): The game wasn't close, but he earned the stat with a 3-inning stint. It was Somsen's High-A debut.

Scott Brattvet (Dayton): A clean inning produced #4 for the Californian, who struts an 0.87 ERA. A promotion to Bakersfield would send him back to where he attended college.

Sticks and such . . .

Juan Silva (Bakersfield): 1-4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (15). Only began to play regularly when Junior Arias broke his ankle.

Marquez Smith: 1-3, HR (4), 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 old for the California League.

Ryan Wright: 2B, 3 RBI.

Juan Perez: 2-3, 2 BB, R, RBI.

Yovan Gonzalez: 2-3, BB, R, RBI.

Juan Silverio (Pensacola): 2-3, R, .338 BA.

Steve Selsky: 1-2, 2 BB, RBI filling in at LF for Donald Lutz, who, much like Mesoraco, picked an unfortunate time to do the hamstring thing.

Beau Amaral: 1-4, 2B, R in his first start for the Wahoos. Skipped Bakersfield.

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville): 1-3, R, 2 BB.

Daniel Mateo (Dayton): HR #1, BB.

Jeff Gelalich: 2-5, 3B, R.

Sebastian Elizalde: 0-1, 3 BB.

Gratuitous stat of the day . . .

Sunday walks drawn by Reds batters: 28.

Sunday walks issued by Reds pitchers: 5.

(Louisville 12-0. Pensacola 2-1. Bakersfield 9-0. Dayton 5-4.)

[texasdave]

Ben Lively, Bakersfield
(2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 17 K)
That being said about Winkler, there hasn't been a more consistently outstanding pitcher in the entire Minor Leagues so far than Lively. The Reds' No. 13 prospect did not allow a run in a pair of six-inning gems last week, including a 10-strikeout, one-hit effort Tuesday, and hasn't allowed a run at all since April 6. That's 24 consecutive innings of scoreless ball. His 0.31 ERA is second-lowest among Minor Leaguers who have made four starts or more. But what really stands out is his 40-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Only Buffalo's Liam Hendriks, who hasn't walked anyone in 21 2/3 innings, has a lower BB/9 than Lively (0.31) among qualifiers.

California League POTW

[mace]

Monday, April 28: Marquez Smith, Bakersfield . . . 2-2, 2 HR (6), 2 BB, 2 R, 4 RBI. Clearly, this dude doesn't belong in High-A. He's 29. He leads the California League in RBIs (28) and OPS (1.134). A third and first baseman, he's had eight years in the minors, including nearly 700 plate appearances in AAA with an .872 OPS. In the meantime, however, he's a huge reason why the Blaze are in first place at 18-7.

Also notable . . .

Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield): HR (2), BB, 2 R. Leads the Cal League--by 37 points--with a .388 average.

Juan Perez: 2-3, 2B, BB.

Jon Matthews: 2-3, 2B, RBI. Nice to have a guy like this to fill in for Winker (concussion).

Juan Silva: 2 BB, SB (16). Having stepped in for the guy (Junior Arias, broken ankle) who was leading the league in steals, he now leads the league in steals.

Wandy Peralta: 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Second strong start in a row for the Dominican lefty.

Sean Black: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Sv (6). Tied for league lead in the latter. ERA still zeroes.

Phillip Ervin (Dayton): 2-3, 2 2B, BB, 2R. Last year's first rounder (RZ prospect #3) is starting to come around.

Sebastian Elizalde: 2-3, 2B, BB, 3 RBI, SB. Leads the Midwest League in walks and OBP (.495). Second in OPS (1.053).

Jeff Gelalich: 3-5, R, 2 RBI. Signs of life.

Tanner Rahier: 2-3, R, RBI.

Joe Hudson: 2-4, RBI.

Ismael Guillon: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K. ERA 1.59. The walks all came within 5 batters in the 2nd inning.

Tony Amezcua: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Skip Schumaker: 3-4, 2 2B, R, RBI. Looked good in first rehab start.

Ruben Gotay: 2-4, BB, RBI. Veteran infielder is batting .318.

Thomas Neal: 2-5, R, RBI.

Michael Lorenzen (Pensacola): 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K. ERA 1.88. Conversion (to starter) on track.

Drew Hayes: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Beau Amaral: 1-3, 2 BB, R, RBI. So far, a nice transition to AA for the swift center fielder.

[OGB]

I'm certainly not criticizing your pick, but I'm always a bit disappointed when it's a journeyman like Smith or Francis as opposed to a real prospect. They all play in the minors, though, I suppose.
I'll just add I agree with the Smith selection.

[OGB]

California League POTW

Might as well consider Lively the Redszone minor league player of the week.

[mace]

Might as well consider Lively the Redszone minor league player of the week.

Yeah, but which week?

[mace]

I'm certainly not criticizing your pick, but I'm always a bit disappointed when it's a journeyman like Smith or Francis as opposed to a real prospect. They all play in the minors, though, I suppose.
I'll just add I agree with the Smith selection.

I kinda like it when the yeomen see some fruits for their labors. On the other hand, ties go to the prospect.

[dougdirt]

I kinda like it when the yeomen see some fruits for their labors.

mace, you are such a big softie. ;)

[Rojo]

Bakersfield has a team OBP of .377. Yowza.

[corkedbat]

I kinda like it when the yeomen see some fruits for their labors. On the other hand, ties go to the prospect.

Right before a Gorn crushes them with a rock. :D

[texasdave]

To be honest, I would rather see Marquez on the Reds' bench and Soto getting regular at-bats in Louisville.

[mace]

Light slate last night, due to Pensacola being off and Dayton being suspended after 3.5.

Tuesday, April 29: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield: 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI. The Hyphenator (Redszone prospect #9) leads the California League in walks and sits fourth in OBP (.430). Kudos to SMB and his co-conspirators (namely Waldrop, Smith, Wright, and Silva) for keeping the Blaze ablaze in the absence of Arias and Winker.

Also notable . . .

Juan Silva (Bakersfield): 2-5, HR (1), 2 RBI. The league's leading base-stealer ended the game with a walkoff blast in the 9th, in front of the remnants of a teeming Taco Tuesday crowd of 474.

Kyle Waldrop: 2-3, R, RBI, .396.

Jake (nee Harold) Johnson: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville): 1-3, 2B, R.

Jeff Francis: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.

Daniel Mateo (Dayton): 2-2, 2B, R. The line is presumably incomplete, seeing as how the game will resume tonight.

Farmhands in the top 3 of their leagues . . .

International (AAA)

Jeff Francis: 1, IP (36.1). 3, K (34)

Jumbo Diaz: T2, Sv (6).

Southern (AA)

Donald Lutz: 1, OPS (1.144). 1, Slg (.726). 1, TB (53). T1, HR (5). 2, BA (.370).

Bryan Anderson: T1, HR (5).

Rey Navarro: T1, HR (5).

Robert Stephenson: 3, K (29).

Bakersfield (High-A)

Marquez Smith: 1, OPS (1.110).* 1, Slg (.655). 1, RBI (29). 2, OBP (.455).* 2, BB (21).

Kyle Waldrop: 1, BA (.396). 1, H (40). 3, OBP (.451).

Seth Mejias-Brean: 1, BB (25).

Juan Silva: T1, SB (16).

Ben Lively: 1, ERA (0.31). 1, K (40). 1, WHIP (0.48).

Carlos Gonzalez: 2, Sv (6).

Dayton (A)

Sebastian Elizalde: 1, OBP (.495). 1, BB (23). 2, OPS (1.053).

Beau Amaral: T1, 3B (3).

Nick Travieso: 3, ERA (1.23).

Ismael Guillon: 3, K (31). 3, WHIP (0.78).

Scott Brattvet: T2, Sv (4).

* Bakersfield players occupy 3 of the top 5 spots in the Cal League in both OPS (Waldrop 4th, Jesse Winker 5th) and OBP (Mejias-Brean 4th).

[OGB]

Another instance of an unexpected call to work messing with my one day off. Update is on the way

[OGB]

I'm a bit pressed for time, so I'll be doing this update with slightly less panache than usual. It was a night on the farm that is deserving of very little flair, though, as Louisville had the night off yet the remaining three clubs still managed to lose four games.

MLPotD for April 30th
This could be considered a nod to Kyle Waldrop as the organization's offensive player of the month as much as anything, but the 22 year old left hander did have a solid night at the plate, stroking three hits in five at bats. His line was a nifty 3-5, R, 2 2B. He didn't fair quite as well in the field committing a throwing error, his second of the year. In 119 plate appearances, Waldrop finished April with the following line .406/.458/.547, easily the best numbers of anyone wielding the lumber.

Around the Farm

Pensacola
Honestly, nobody from this 2 hit debacle is deserving, even from a pitching staff that limited the Jackson Generals to 7 hits

Bakersfield
Seth Mejias-Brean: 2-5 for the Big Hyphen
Juan Perez: 2-3, BB, R
Jon Matthews: 3-4, RBI The 23 year old, 2011 8th round pick is making good use of limited playing time, hitting .357/.367/.429 in 30 PAs
Sean Lucas: 3 IP, 0H, 0BB, 2K

Dayton
Jeff Gelalich: 2-3, SB, CS I refuse to take cumulative numbers and add his first game hit, because 1-5 with 3K is not worthy of recognition
Daniel Mateo: 2-4, 2R, 2B
Brandon Dailey: 1-2, 3R, HR, 2BB
Nick Travieso: 7 IP, 4H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 5K Travieso went the distance and got the loss in the abbreviated game





Yuck

[mace]

April recap

April 3: Juan Silverio, Pensacola . . . 2-2, 2 2B, BB, 3 R.
April 4: Junior Arias, Bakersfield . . . 3-3, BB, 2 R, 2 SB.
April 5: Robert Stephenson, Pensacola . . . 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K.
April 6: Ben Lively, Bakersfield . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K.
April 7: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
April 8: Ruben Gotay, Louisville . . . 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI.
April 9: Jeff Francis, Louisville . . . 6 IP, 6H, 1R, 0BB, 6K.
April 10: Sal Romano, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
April 11: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (2) . . . 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
April 12: Corky Miller, Louisville . . . 3-4, 2 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI.
April 13: Donald Lutz, Pensacola . . . 3-4, 2 HR, BB, 3 RBI.
April 14: Beau Amaral, Dayton . . . 3-5, 2B, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI.
April 15: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield . . . 3-5, 3B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI.
April 16: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (3) . . . 6 IP, 2 H, 0R, 0BB, 10K.
April 17: Ruben Gotay, Louisville (2) . . . 2-4, HR, 2 RBI.
April 18: Kyle Waldrop, Bakersfield . . . 2-2, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 R.
April 19: Jeff Francis, Louisville (2) . . . 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10K.
April 20: Josh Smith, Louisville . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
April 21: Donald Lutz, Pensacola (2) . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI.
April 22: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (4) . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K.
April 23: Ismael Guillon, Dayton . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K.
April 24: Donald Lutz, Pensacola (3) . . . 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI.
April 25: Bryan Anderson, Pensacola . . . 2-3, 2 HR, BB, 3 RBI.
April 26: Daniel Wright, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
April 27: Jon Moscot, Pensacola . . . 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K.
April 28: Marquez Smith, Bakersfield . . . 2-2, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 4 RBI.
April 29: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield (2) . . . 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI.
April 30: Kyle Waldrop, Bakersfield (2) . . . 3-5, 2 2B, R.

Hitting Performance of the Month: Donald Lutz, April 21 . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI. Remarkably, it was the third cycle of the big fellow’s career.

Pitching Performance of the Month: Ismael Guillon, April 23 . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K. This is what he can do when he throws strikes.

[OGB]

A lot of great pitching performances to choose from this month, mace. They didnt make it easy on you and that's a good thing

[mace]

A lot of great pitching performances to choose from this month, mace. They didnt make it easy on you and that's a good thing

Yeah, Lively's outing the night before (April 22) was very much like Guillon's, but I credited Guillon for the extra inning (and extra K to go with it), plus the significance of him not allowing a walk.

[texasdave]

Hitting Performance of the Month: Donald Lutz, April 21 . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI. Remarkably, it was the third cycle of the big fellow’s career.


I am hearing from my sources, that he runs well for a big man.

[mace]

Following are the slash lines for the outfielders whom the Reds' farms are currently playing without:

Donald Lutz (Pensacola): .370/.418/.726/1.144

Yorman Rodriguez (Pensacola): .325/.361/.442/.803

Jesse Winker (Bakersfield): .333/.413/.551/.964

Junior Arias (Bakersfield): .394/.459/.606/1.066 (also 8 SB. only 8 G.)

Sebastian Elizalde (Dayton): .311/.475/.527/1.002

Ouch.

[texasdave]

Thursday, May1: Josh Smith, Louisville...The righthander out of Lipscomb College in Tennessee earns the Player of the Day award for his performance on the Thursday. He was selected in the 21st round of the 2010 MLB Player Draft. Twice Smith struck out 15 batters in a game in college. Josh has been solid numbers every step of the way as a Reds' farmhand. Yesterday's line: 7.0IP 2H 1R 1ER 4BB 5. He picked up the win to run his record to 5-0. His ERA fell to 2.20

Ryan Dennick (Louisville) continues to pitch well out of the bullpen since his promotion from Pensacola. His one-inning, shutout game yesterday lowered his Bats' ERA to 0.73.

Jumbo Diaz (Louisville)...If not for roster considerations, Jumbo might well be pitching in the Queen City. He picked up his 7th save on the year yesterday, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth while striking out one. He has yet to allow an earned run this season.

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville) garnered two of the three Louisville hits. He singled, doubled, scored a run and drove one in.

Timothy Adleman (Pensacola) pitched a scoreless inning and a third. He struck out three. ERA is 1.80.

Justin Freeman (Pensacola) made his 2014 debut. Freeman saw some time with the big club in 2013 before being injured. He worked a perfect inning yesterday.

Rossmel Perez (Pensacola) received serious consideration for POTD. Rossmel slapped out four hits in five trips to the plate. He singled three times and tripled. The Venezuelan is 24 years old and was signed out of the Diamondbacks organization this past winter.

Mike Dennhardt (Bakersfield) threw a fine game out in California on Thursday. It was just a touch below the start of Josh Smith. 6.0IP 3H 1R 1ER 4BB 3K.

Layne Somsen (Bakersfield) was recently promoted from Dayton and made just his second appearance for the Wahoos. He hurled two scoreless frames, allowing a hit and striking out a batter.

Carlos Gonzalez (Bakersfield) is having a strong season to date. His scoreless work in the ninth inning kept his ERA spotless and earned him save number 7.

Juan (Hi-Ho) Silva (Bakersfield) hit his second homer of the season and the second in as many nights. The three-run shot accounted for all of the Blaze runs. He also drew a walk. Silva has 17 RBI on the season.

Seth Mejias-Brean went 2-3 on the night. The two singles pushed him right up to the .300 mark. His average stands just under at .298.

Daniel Wright (Dayton) turned in another solid starting effort. 5.0IP 4H 2R 2ER 3BB 7K. His ERA stands at 2.08.

Scott Brattvet (Dayton) threw a scoreless inning. The Dayton closer's ERA is 0.79.

Jeff Gelalich (Dayton) has responded well since being inserted into the leadoff spot following Beau Amaral's promotion. Gelalich was ice cold to start the season, but in his last five games he is hitting .429.

Tanner Rahier (Dayton) reached base four times - two singles and two bases on balls. He scored a run and plated one as well.

Jamodrick McGruder (Dayton) yanked his first home run of the season. He also walked, score twice and drove in a run.

Random Notes:
Louisville - Josh Smith's two-hit effort came against the Rochester Redwings, the team with the highest batting average in the I.L.
- Scott Schumaker's rehab effort seems to be going well. First of all, he managed to not get himself ejected from the game. Secondly, he doubled home a run. Last of all, he got work in at both second base and left field.

Pensacola - Earlier in the week, Pensacola received over 15 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Last night, Juan Silverio walked twice in one game. Folks will be debating for years over which event was the more unlikely.
- The Blue Fish stranded 15 runners. Ouch.

Bakersfield - Superfluous J triggered the three-run Blaze rally which provided all the runs they would need on the night. He lasered an infield single to start things off. Superfluous then stole second, which so unnerved the Stockton that a wild pitch, a walk and a three-run jack followed in short order. After that awe-inspiring display a new tradition was started in Bakersfield's home park. All the fans on the third base side will stand and scream 'Superfluous'. The fans on the first base side will then stand and answer loudly 'J'. I think there is a video on YouTube. Expect chills.

Dayton - Aroldis Chapman made his first rehab appearance and broke the radar gun with a 101 MPH pitch. He worked a perfect inning, striking out two.
- Sebastian Elizalde was placed on the DL. Avain Rachal has been added to the roster.

[marcshoe]

Would it be picky to point out that it's Lipscomb University, not Lipscomb College (at least according to my diploma)?

;)

Go Bisons!

Seriously, great job on these.:thumbup:

[dougdirt]

Would it be picky to point out that it's Lipscomb University, not Lipscomb College (at least according to my diploma)?

;)

Go Bisons!

Seriously, great job on these.:thumbup:

Ok, which one of you has a fake diploma from Lipscomb? :p

[texasdave]

Would it be picky to point out that it's Lipscomb University, not Lipscomb College (at least according to my diploma)?

;)

Go Bisons!

Seriously, great job on these.:thumbup:

I was too lazy to look it up and flipped a coin. My bad.

[mace]

Friday, May 2: Jon Moscot, Pensacola . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. In a stunning accomplishment, Moscot has now edged out Ben Lively two starts in a row. The polished righthander's ERA stands at 1.93. How long before we see Moscot on the Ohio?

Also notable . . .

Ben Lively (Bakersfield): 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K. He was doing his usual thing until the crashing sky brought two runs in the seventh, ballooning his ERA all the way up to 0.76.

Kyle Waldrop: 3-5, 2B, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI. Back at .400, amidst rumors that Ted Williams has been thawed.

Ryan Wright: 3-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI. His strong season has progressed quietly under the thunder of the Bakersfield bats.

Juan Perez: 3-4, 2B, R, RBI. The middle infielder sits at .297.

Marquez Smith: 2B, 2 RBI.

Zach Vincej:1-3, 2B, BB, R.

Carlos Gonzalez: .2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (8). ERA 0.00.

Donald Lutz (Pensacola): 2-2, BB, 2 RBI. Returning after a week nursing a hamstring, Lutz raised his average to a luzty .387. Anybody know why he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh?

Rey Navarro: 3-4, 2 2B, BB, R, RBI.

Jamie Walczak: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Sv (2).

Elvin Ramirez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Never heard of him before last night.

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville): 2-4, 2B, R.

Skip Schumaker: 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI. Looking about ready.

Julio Morillo (Dayton): 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Daniel Mateo: 3-5, 2B, 2 R.

Jamodrick McGruder: 3-6, 3B, 2 RBI.

Phil Ervin: 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 R.

Carlton Daal: 2-4, BB, 2 RBI.

Sal Romano: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 9 K.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, May 3: Michael Lorenzen, Blue Wahoo . . . 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K. 9/3 GB|FB over 81 pitches. Displaying impressive consistency for a guy who has never taken regular turns in a starting rotation, Lorenzen has gone at least 5 IP in each start and has never allowed more than 2 runs. His ERA is 1.82 and his GB/FB ratio is over 2. There's a lot of talk about Stephenson and Lively, but what Lorenzen is doing at the AA level belongs in that conversation.

Also notable . . .

Chien-Ming Wang, Bat: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. 9/3 GB|FB over 99 pitches. Nosed at the wire by Lorenzen. Second straight strong outing for the Taiwanese righthander.

Bryan Anderson, Blue Wahoo: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB. Still OPsing over 1.000.

Steve Selsky, Blue Wahoo: 1-3, 2B, R, BB, outfield assist at home.

Ray Chang, Blue Wahoo: 2-4

Brooks Pinckard, Blue Wahoo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K, HBP.

Shane Dyer, Blue Wahoo: 1 IP, zeros, Save (2). 3 GB outs for the converted starter. ERA now 0.77.

Juan Silva, Blaze: 2-5, 2 R, RBI.

Ryan Wright, Blaze:2-5, R, RBI.

Seth Mejias-Brean, Blaze: 2-4, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI.

Jon Matthews, Blaze: 2-4, R, 2B, SB (6). Making the most of a little playing time, now at .382.

Wandy Peralta, Blaze: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.

Jake Johnson, Blaze: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Kyle McMyne, Blaze: 1 IP, K, Save (1)

Jamodrick McGruder, Dragon: 2-4, 2 R, 3B, SB (3), HBP. Atop the Dragons order now.

Tanner Rahier, Dragon: 2-3, 2 R, BB, 2B (7), HR (3), RBI. The 20-year-old continues to flash good RH power.

Phil Ervin, Dragon: 0-5, SB (10).

Carlton Daal, Dragon: 2-4, R, RBI. The other 20-year-old on the left side of the Dayton INF keeps his average above .300.

Aroldis Chapman, Dragon: 1 IP 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, pickoff. Watch this guy pitch -- he is a dragon.

[mace]

Sunday, May 4: Zach Weiss, Dayton . . . 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. Let's give it up for the bullpen. Weiss, a sixth-rounder last year out of UCLA, relieved Amir Garrett in the fifth inning with the Dragons up 5-4, one out, runners on second and third. When he completed the eighth, it was still 5-4. On the season, the righthander rocks a 1.37 ERA, with 20 K in 19.2 IP. He's given up runs in only one of his nine appearances.

Also notable . . .

Marquez Smith (Bakersfield): 3-6, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. His second double drove in Waldrop with the eventual game-winner in the top of the ninth. The Blaze are 23-8.

Ryan Wright: 3-6, R. Up to .302. Seems like more.

Kyle Waldrop: 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (5).

Chris Berset: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI. What's not to like about a heady catcher hitting .310 with a .403 OBP?

Zach Vincej: 2-4, BB, 2 RBI. The J is making hay.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Blew the save in the eighth. Blew away Modesto in the ninth.

Bryan Anderson (Pensacola): 3-4, 3B, BB, 3 RBI. And speaking of catchers with high averages and OBP . . . .343./.432. Anderson, 27 and a left-handed hitter, has major-league experience.

Brodie Greene: 3-6, 2B, HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI. Apparently not an infielder anymore.

Devin Lohman: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI.

Juan Silverio: 2-5, 2 R, RBI.

Rey Navarro: 1-3, BB, 2 R, RBI.

Mikey O'Brien: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K. It was the first start of the season for the 24-year-old righty. He started 50 games over the past two years in the Yankee organization, mostly at the AA level.

Fabian Williamson: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Justin Freeman: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. His second appearance after a long injury absence.

Carlton Daal (Dayton): 3-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI. Batting a handsome .323. Best SS prospect in the organization?

Daniel Mateo: 1-2, 2 BB, R.

Alejandro Chacin: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, Sv (2). ERA 0.61, with 21 K in 14.2 IP. In his fifth season, and has never had a bad one.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville): 2-5, HR (6), 2 R.

Mike Costanzo: 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI.

Felix Perez: 2-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI.

Sharky: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. Coming around nicely after a very shaky start to the season.

Adam Russell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. The Reds debut for the 6-8, 280-pound righthander from Ohio U, who has been instructed not to sit on the same side of the bullpen bench as Jumbo Diaz. Recently signed after being released by Arizona in March, Russell, at 31, has (parts of) four years of major-league experience.

[mace]

Too late to edit the above, but for the record it's Zack Weiss, not Zach, even though his real name is Zachary, not Zackary. He has Cozart disease.

[Benihana]

Carlton Daal (Dayton): 3-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI. Batting a handsome .323. Only SS prospect in the organization


Fixed that for you.


(With all due respect to Superfluous J)

[dougdirt]

Fixed that for you.


(With all due respect to Superfluous J)

Nah, he isn't the only one. There are some young kids at shortstop that just aren't playing yet because rookie ball hasn't started. I am also not sure I am ready to write off Rey Navarro either. Not a sexy pick exactly, but in a league where Cozart's bat (last year) was not close to the worst among starters, it isn't worth writing him out just yet either.

[mace]

Monday, May 5: Dan Langfield, Dayton: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Technically, it wasn't the best pitching performance on the day, or on his team, for that matter (Travieso). Or even the best relief effort on the farms (Somsen). But in terms of impact and significance, this was big-time. To wit, it was Langfield's first appearance after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury. This is a guy who, as a third-round rookie in 2012, struck out 54 in 37 innings. Welcome back, Dan Langfield.

Also notable . . .

Nick Travieso (Dayton): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. As well as he has pitched (1.32), folks have been looking for an uptick in the K totals. This will suffice.

Evan Mitchell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Scott Brattvet: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Sv (5).

Tanner Rahier: HR (4).

Phil Ervin: 3B, R. Last year's first-rounder (RZ prospect #3) is still dragging along at .195.

Juan Silverio (Pensacola): 3-4, HR (4), 2B, BB, 2 R, 3 RBI. Hitter of the day, at the least. With 7 walks, Silverio needs only 5 more to eclipse last year's total.

Rossmel Perez: 2-3, 2 RBI. The catcher's left-handed bat made an impression in spring training, and it continues to do so (.308). Batted cleanup for the Blue Wahoos.

Beau Amaral: 2-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI. Stock is rising.

Steve Selsky: 1-2, 2 BB, R. Seems kind of like a right-handed Danny Dorn.

Rey Navarro: 1-3, BB, R, RBI.

Daniel Corcino: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K.

Shane Dyer: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Sv (3). ERA 0.71.

Layne Somsen (Bakersfield): 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. Putting himself on the radar.

Kyle McMyne: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Sv (2). Actually saved a perfect night on the farms.

Juan Silva: 2-3, 2 2B, R, RBI.

Kyle Waldrop: HR (4), 2 RBI.

Marquez Smith: 2-4, RBI.

Zach Vincej: 2B, R, RBI. Batted out of the 2-hole.

John Tolisano: 1-2, 2 BB, R.

Nick Benedetto: 2B, R.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville): 2-5, HR (7), 5 RBI. Leads the organization in HR.

Corky: 2-4, 2B, R.

Argenis Diaz: 2-3, 2 R, RBI.

Mike Wilson: HR (3), BB, 2 R.

Thomas Neal: 2B, 2 RBI.

Jeff Francis: 7 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. ERA 2.91.

[mace]

Tuesday, May 6: David Vidal, Bakersfield . . . 4-4, 3 2B, BB, R, 5 RBI. Well, this was interesting. Not only was it Vidal's first game of the season, but his first professional game ever as a catcher. In his previous life, he was a fine-fielding third baseman who hit well until dropping off sharply the last two years. Maybe this marks a rejuvenation of an erstwhile decent prospect.

Also notable . . .

Ryan Wright (Bakersfield): 4-5, 2 2B, 2 R. The second sacker from U of L (RZ prospect #51) is up to .321.

Juan Silva: 2-4, 3B.

Seth Mejias-Brean: 2-4, BB, 3 R, RBI.

John Tolisano: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI.

Jacob Johnson: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Daniel Wright (Dayton): 5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. ERA 1.67. Good day for the Wright brothers.

Joel Bender: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Ryan Kemp: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Alejandro Chacin: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Sv (3). Finished off the 4-pitcher, 1-0 shutout.

Joe Hudson: 2B, R. Caught the 4-pitcher, 1-0 shutout.

Carlton Daal: 1-3, RBI. The tall, skinny SS (RZ #56) is hitting .324.

Rossmel Perez (Pensacola): 3-4, R. The squatty (5-9, 200), 24-year-old, left-handed hitting catcher, hailing from Venezuela and batting cleanup for the Wahoos, checks in now at .349.

Juan Silverio: 2-4, R. The Silverio Slugger stands at .326.

Devin Lohman: 2-4, 2B, RBI. Evidently, the former third-rounder, now 25, is not entirely satisfied with being the Lohman on the totem pole.

Ray Chang: 1-2, 2B.

Chris Berset: 1-1, R. It was the former Wolverine's AA debut. His was the spot that Vidal assumed in Bakersfield, where the switch-hitting catcher put up a slash line of .310/.403/.500/.903.

Robert Stephenson: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. The top prospect's line was salvaged by the runs being unearned. And, of course, the strikeouts.

Drew Hayes: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 B, 0 BB, 3 K.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville): 2-4, 2B, R, RBI. The infielder has become the Bats' standing delegate to the MiLPOD list.

Felix Perez: 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI.

Lee Hyde: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Adam Russell: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. Early returns are good on the great big Bobcat.

[OGB]

If anyone could fill in tomorrow I would appreciate it.

[texasdave]

Wednesday, May 7:Ben Lively, Bakersfield....7IP 4H 0R 0ER 1BB 6K. Yawn. Another superlative outing for Mr. Lively. This one drops his ERA to 0.63. The bullpen let him down late, and so he didn't get the win. Aside from that, it was business as usual.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville) Born on Christmas Day in 1982, this season Ruben Gotay appears to be the gift that keeps on giving for the Bats. He went 2-4, including a single and a home run. He scored twice and pushed a pair of Bat's runners across the plate. This was Ruben's fourth consecutive multi-hit game. He is second in the I.L. in both home runs (8) and RBIs (26). His OPS is .965.

Felix Perez (Louisville) had himself a nice 3-4 night at the dish. He singled, doubled twice and touched the home plate a couple of times. After a slow start in April (OPS-.656), Perez is heating up in May (OPS-.855).

Kris Negron (Louisville) is working on a five-game hitting streak. Last night he went 3-4, coming up a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. He scored twice as well.

Tim Crabbe (Louisville) might well have been named POTD honors for his performance yesterday. However, Ben Lively is not a team player and once again took that honor home. 6IP 5H 0R 0ER 2BB 5K. This was Crabbe's best starting effort on the season.

Jumbo Diaz (Louisville) earned his 8th save, second in the league.

Louisville notes: The Bats' record stands at 14-18 and they are currently residing in third-place in the I.L. West. They nearly blew an 8-0 lead yesterday, but hung on to win by the score of 8-6. Their magic number to be eliminated is 108. =) Aroldis Chapman is being roughed up in his Louisville rehab. Maybe it is just a dead-arm period. His Louisville numbers: 1IP 7H 8R 8ER 2BB 2K. 72.00 ERA. Corky Miller played last night and now, I believe, needs just two more appearances to become the all-time leader in games played as a Louisville Bat. Corky vowed to shave his mustache for the occasion, and my nose just got a little bit longer.

Juan Duran (Pensacola) singled and doubled in two trips.

Jon Moscot (Pensacola) did not turn in one of his better outings, but it was still a quality start. 6IP 7H 3R 3ER 3BB 5K. His ERA stands at 2.28.

Fabian Williamson (Pensacola) turned in a scoreless inning of relief. He walked a batter and committed an error. And that is pretty sad when a walk and an error lands you on this list.

Pensacola notes: The Wahoo of Blue were whitewashed 6-0. After a decent start, Pensacola finds themselves holding up the South Division of the Southern League. They have a losing record both home (8-10) and away (6-9). But they have one of the nicer ballparks in the minors. And, after all, it is still Pensacola.

Jesse Winker (Bakersfield) returned to the lineup on Wednesday. He singled twice in five trips to plate and scored a run. Nice to see him back in action.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bakersfield) mirrored Winker with 2-5 effort. He also scored once.

Kyle Waldrop (Bakersfield) reached base three times. He singled and walked twice. He scored a run and plated one as well.

Marquez Smith (Bakersfield) cracked a two-run double, pushing his league-leading RBI total to 37.

Yovan Gonzalez (Bakersfield) singled twice in four trips. He brought a run home with one of his hits.

Bakersfield notes: The Blaze continue to roll along with their 7th win in a row. Jamie Walczak blew the save in the 9th, but stuck around to vulture the win in the 10th. Bakersfield is 9-1 in their last ten games. It does not seem to matter where they play as they have identical 13-4 records at home and on the road. They are 26-8 and lead the California League North Division by 6 games. It will be Tecate Thirsty Thursday tonight. Dollar beers should get the crowd in a festive mood. Get there early and stay late.

Pedro Diaz (Dayton) retired all four batters he faced, striking out two.

Dayton notes: When a team only places one person on the POTD list, it is a good bet that the team did not fare well. This was no exception. Dragons fell 8-1. Dayton had three hits for the game, the last coming with no outs in the third. That was also the last Dayton baserunner in the contest, which was anything but. Sal Romano started the game off with four scoreless frames, pushing the team's streak to 28 innings. Two unearned runs in the fifth stopped that, and then Romano melted down in the sixth. Gratuitous cheesy pun. The loss knocked the Dragons out of first place in the Midwest League Eastern Division. Their record is 19-14 and they are a half a game out of first.

[mace]

Thanks for stepping up again, dave. You da man.

If I had a travel window, which I don't, I'd suggest we meet in Bakersfield. Could have our pick of seating, no doubt.

(btw, looks like it was McMyne who vultured the Blaze win, as opposed to Walczak.)

[klw]

Wednesday, May 7:Ben Lively, Bakersfield....7IP 4H 0R 0ER 1BB 6K. Yawn. Another superlative outing for Mr. Lively. This one drops his ERA to 0.63. The bullpen let him down late, and so he didn't get the win. Aside from that, it was business as usual.


Only a 6/1 k/BB ratio????? Bust

[OGB]

Thanks, Dave, it was a long, unforgiving day that I am just now sitting down with some Burger beers to make peace with.

[texasdave]

Thursday, May 8:Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola...seems to be getting the hang of this starting thing. Lorenzen lowered his ERA on the season to 1.73. After just four batters, Lorenzen had given up a run and was staring at a bases-loaded, no-outs situation. He then retired the next 20 batters he faced. 7IP 3H 1R 1ER 1BB 6K.

Louisville - Louisville trailed at one point in the game 7-2, before walking off in the bottom of the ninth with six runs.

Jason Bourgeois (Louisville) reached base four times on two singles, a double and a walk. He scored a couple of runs and drove one home.

Josh Fellhauer (Louisville) in just his second game back, had a pair of singles and an RBI.

Ruben Gotay (Louisville) keeps rolling along. He singled, drew a base on balls, scored a run and drove two home, giving him 28 on the season.

Mike Costanzo (Louisville) was looking at a size-5 collar in the ninth. Instead he came up with his only hit of the day. It turned out to be the biggest hit of the game as it was a walk-off grand slam (4).

Kristopher Negron (Louisville) stretched his modest hitting streak to six games with solo blast (2).

Argenis Diaz (Louisville) reached base on a single and a walk, and scored both times.

Nick Schmidt (Louisville) was solid in middle relief, working 2.2 scoreless innings while fanning 3.

Adam Russell (Louisville) faced just two batters in the ninth, but struck them both out to get win number 1 as a Bat.

Pensacola - Pensacola scored late to take a 3-2 victory. The game saw the return of Yorman Rodriguez to the Wahoo's lineup.

Juan Silverio (Pensacola) lifted his average up to .333 with three singles. He came home one time.

Steve Selsky (Pensacola) also banged out three hits - two singles and a double. He drove home a run.

Devin Lohman (Pensacola) reached base three times. He singled a couple of times and was hit by a pitch. He scored a run as well.

Jamie Walczak (Pensacola) pitched a scoreless inning to pick up the win.

Shane Dyer (Pensacola) worked the ninth inning for his fourth save. His ERA is still spotless. (0.00)

Bakersfield - Bakersfield looked as if they were going to cruise, scoring four times in the first. But that was all the runs they would get. They kept the pressure on (11 hits and 5 walks) but could not push across anymore runs. The result was a 6-4 loss as the Inland Empire struck back for six runs in the fourth inning.

Juan Silva (Bakersfield) singled twice, walked and scored a run.

Ryan Wright (Bakersfield) got the Blaze on the board first with a two-run dinger (4) in the first.

Jesse Winker (Bakersfield) picked up right where he left off before running into a wall a week or so ago. Winker rapped out a pair of singles and walked. He scored a run, and is now hitting .345.

David Vidal (Bakersfield) is in Dickens' mode. It is the best of times; it is the worst of times for Vidal. In just his second game out of extended spring, he laced a pair of doubles. He now has six hits in two games, five have gone for two bases. However, Vidal did allow passed ball number 4. Ouch!

The bullpen trio of Sean Lucas (2.1), Jimmy Moran (1.0) and Layne Somsen (1.0) gave the Blaze the chance to comeback, but a clutch hit was not forthcoming.

Dayton - Dayton also scored late in the game to grab the victory. The Dragons plated three runs in the bottom of the 8th to gain a 7-4 victory.

Jeff Gelalich (Dayton) stroked two singles and a double, which produced two runs scored and one driven in.

Philip Ervin (Dayton) had his singles-stroke working well. The end result was three singles, a run scored and a run batted in.

Zack Weiss (Dayton) came on in middle relief and kept the game in check. He gave up just a single run in 2.1 innings on the mound.

Daniel Langfield (Dayton) is another recent extended spring training graduate who is excelling. Langfield made just his second appearance, and it mirrored his first outing. 2IP 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 4K. In his first two trips to the mound, Langfield has faced 12 batters, retiring them all. 8 have come via the strike out.

[mace]

Friday, May 9: Travis (Moose) Mattair, Pensacola . . . 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI. Okay, that's a pretty mediocre line for a MiLPOD selection. But there wasn't much shaking last night on the farms. Moose's two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth provided the evening's only victory.

Also marginally notable . . .

Devin Lohman (Pensacola): 1-2, HR (2), BB.

Rossmel Perez (P): 2-4, R. Venezuelan catcher is batting .333.

Rey Navarro (P): 2-4, 2B, R.

Mikey O'Brien (P): 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Elvin Ramirez (P): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.

Justin Freeman (P): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Appears to be on the comeback trail after throwing just 8 innings last year, including 1 for the Reds in April.

Amir Garrett (Dayton): 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. The K/BB is encouraging.

Joel Bender (D): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Sammy Diaz (D): 2-4, R.

Thomas Neal (Louisville): 2-4, 2B.

Lee Hyde (L): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Jumbo (L): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Marquez Smith (Bakersfield): 2-3, BB.

James Allen (B): 6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Jacob Johnson (B): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.The tall Floridian is scoreless over his last 4 appearances, covering 9 innings.

Ben Klimesh (B): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

For lack of anything newsier . . .

Beau Amaral has relocated to Bakersfield, after an odd, short-lived promotion from Dayton to Pensacola. With Junior Arias recovering from his broken ankle, it makes sense that Amaral would take his spot. He led off for the Blaze (0-4, 3 K) and manned CF. Juan Silva played RF and batted second. Kyle Waldrop was a hitless DH, his average dropping to .364.

The irrepressible Bakersfield boys were, in fact, shut out. They've now been scoreless for 17 straight innings.

What's going on with Donald Lutz?

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, May 10: Nick Benedetto, Dragon: 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR (1). Benedetto homered in his first Dragons AB in the 1,000 consecutive sellout at Dayton's Fifth Third Field. The 21 year old "defensive specialist" from Venezuela, hitting ninth, was the offensive catalyst for the 14-hit Dragon attack. Congrats to him and to Dayton on a big night.

Also notable . . .

Nick Travieso, Dragon: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K. A good night for Nicks.

Pedro Diaz, Dragon: 1 IP, zeros, Save (1).

Jon Matthews, Dragon: 2-5, SB (9)

Jamodrick McGruder, Dragon: 2-4, 2B, BB.

Tanner Rahier, Dragon: 2-5, RBI (19).

Carlton Daal, Dragon: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 3B.

Zach Vincej, Blaze: 2-3, 2B.

Jesse Winker, Blaze: 1-4 2B (9)

Ryan Wright, Blaze: 1-3, 2B (11)

Drew Cisco, Blaze: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Daniel Corcino, Blue Wahoo: 6 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K. 8:4 GB/FB, 103 pitches, 62 strikes. Still 23, still grinding through.

Brooks Pinkard, Blue Wahoo: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, pickoff.

Chris Nelson, Bat: 1-3, 2 R, BB.

Bryan Anderson, Bat: 3-4, R, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI. Today's runner-up transitions the raking from AA to AAA.

Adam Russell, Bat: 2.1 IP, BB, HBP. The big Buckeye (6'8", 280) is unscored on in 5.1 AAA innings. At 31, it's undoubtedly time.

Pedro Villareal, Bat: .1 IP, K, Save (1). The erstwhile Red vanquished tatman Ryan Roberts in an 8 pitch AB for the save.

[mace]

Sunday, May 11: Robert Stephenson, Pensacola . . . 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. While it wasn't as dominating as Stephenson's first start of the season (5 IP, 1 H, 11 K), it was his next-best. And it continued to put his outbreak of control problems (most of it concentrated in one game in mid-April, 7 BB in 4.1 IP) in the past. At age 21, the organization's top prospect has fanned 47 in 38.2 IP.

Also notable . . .

Brodie Greene (Pensacola): 3-5, 2 2B, RBI.

Steve Selsky (Pen): 3-3, BB, R.

Drew Hayes (Pen): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Averaging a K an inning (although the walks are problematic).

Ryan Wright (Bakersfield): 3-5, 2B, HR (5), 2 RBI. His third-inning RBI ended a mystifying 28-inning streak of zeroes for a team that, until then, couldn't stop scoring. The second baseman is slugging .510.

Marquez Smith (Bake): HR (7).

Layne Somsen (Bake): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. The beat goes on for the South Dakotan.

Carlos Gonzalez (Bake): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA stays at 0.00.

Felix Perez (Louisville): 1-3, 2B, R, RBI. Has been hitting cleanup for the Bats.

Josh Smith (Lou): 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K. ERA stands at 2.58.

Curtis Partch (Lou): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Dayton didn't play.

Farm record for the day: 0-3.

Farm record for the season: 79-67.

[mace]

Monday, May 12: Jon Moscot, Pensacola . . . 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. With a 1.97 ERA, it's hard to imagine that this is only the second MiLPOD recognition for the crafty, 6-4 righthander. Guess that's the hazard of bumping up against Ben Lively now and again. The pride of Pepperdine has put up six consecutive quality starts, falling short only in his first couple outings because he wasn't asked to work six innings. It's easy to forget that Moscot was 2-14 last year at Bakersfield.

Also notable . . .

Jeff Gelalich (Dayton): GS (HR #2), BB. Gelalich's big blow came up two outs in the seventh inning, capping a 5-run frame and wiping out an early 3-0 deficit. For the evening, the Dragons scored six runs--all earned--on only three hits.

Jon Matthews (Day): 3 BB, R, RBI, 2 SB. That's some nifty leading off.

Tanner Rahier (Day): 1-3, HR (5), 2 R.

Daniel Wright (Day): 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. His five starts have all gone well, resulting in an unforeseen ERA of 1.93.

Evan Mitchell (Day): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Scott Brattvet (Day): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, Sv (6).

Rey Navarro (Pensacola): 3-5, 3B, HR (6), 3 RBI.

Rossmel Perez (Pen): 3-4, 2B, BB, 3 R. This is a left-handed-hitting catcher checking in at .356.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pen): 2-4, BB, R, SB.

Moose Mattair (Pen): 2-5, 2B, BB, R.

Devin Lohman (Pen): 1-2, 2B, BB, R, 2 RBI. Has had a very nice week or so.

Tim Adleman (Pen): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Mike Wilson (Louisville): 3-4, 2 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI. For the big veteran, there figures to be more of this.

Kris Negron (Lou): 2-4, HR (3), 3 RBI.

Bryan Anderson (Lou): 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI. Between Anderson and Perez, the organization has added some punch to the catcher position.

Jason Bourgeois (Lou): 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R.

Mike Costanzo (Lou): 2-4, 2B, BB.

Thomas Neal (Lou): 2-5, 2B, R.

Adam Russell: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Has given up but one hit in 6.1 IP as a Bat.

Ryan Dennick: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

. . .

Bakersfield was off.

Donald Lutz (0-5) and Sebastian Elizalde (0-4) returned to their respective lineups. Unfortunately, their bats did not.

Record for the day: 2-1.

Record for the season: 81-68.

[mace]

A pretty grim day on the farms. One team (Bakersfield) gets no-hit, another (Louisville) blows an 8-run lead, and the remaining two plain lose. Anyway . . .

Black Tuesday, May 13: Chris Nelson, Louisville . . . 4-5, 2 R, RBI. A lot of people thought the 28-year-old infielder should have started the season with the Reds. But there hasn't been enough of this to support the case (.268 BA, .685 OPS). On top of that, his middle name is Lars. That's a lot to overcome.

Also notable . . .

Ben Lively (Bakersfield): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K. For all the accolades surrounding Lively this year, he has yet to win a game when the Blaze have been no-hit.

Sean Lucas (Bake): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Devin Mesoraco (Louisville): 2-3, R, RBI. His first rehab assignment. Mez for Prez.

Felix Perez (Lou): 2-5, 2B, HR (2), 2 R, 3 RBI.

Thomas Neal (Lou): 2-4, 2B.

Jumbo (Lou): 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K. Weird. So is the fact that he still has never pitched in the major leagues.

Sebastian Elizalde (Dayton): 2-5, HR (4). Back in the swing of things, evidently. With Elizalde, Lutz, Winker and Yorman returning to their lineups, the only top outfield prospect still sidelined is Junior Arias (broken ankle).

Joe Hudson (Day): 2-3, 2B, R.

Sammy Diaz (Day): 2-3, BB, RBI.

Jeff Gelalich (Day): 3B, RBI.

Sal Romano (Day): 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Pedro Diaz (Day): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pensacola): 2-4.

Steve Selsky (Pen): 1-3, R, RBI.

Rey Navarro (Pen): 1-3, BB, RBI. Here's a question . . . Rey Navarro or Ryan Wright? Both are second basemen born in December of 1989. Navarro, a switch-hitter, is having a pretty good season in AA (.762 OPS). Wright, a RH hitter, is having a better season in High-A (.842 OPS).

Elvin Ramirez (Pen): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Jamie Walczak (Pen): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Record for the season: 81-72. And falling fast.

[lollipopcurve]

Rey Navarro (Pen): 1-3, BB, RBI. Here's a question . . . Rey Navarro or Ryan Wright?

Heart: Ryan
Head: Rey

[dougdirt]

Heart: Ryan
Head: Rey

Look at who just crossed 10,000 posts! High five!

[lollipopcurve]

Look at who just crossed 10,000 posts! High five!

Whoa. Thank you. I never would have noticed.

I still remember my first post.

One of these days it'd be fun to run into some of the characters around here.

[OGB]

I hate to have to do this, but the Reds double header means I'll be working open to close at the bar tomorrow. Can anyone pick up my slack?

[mace]

I hate to have to do this, but the Reds double header means I'll be working open to close at the bar tomorrow. Can anyone pick up my slack?

I'll do it.

[mace]

Wednesday, May 14: Wandy Peralta, Bakersfield . . . 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K. The 22-year-old lefty submitted a nice answer to the no-hitter of the night before. It was also a solid response to his previous outing, which wasn't so good. Peralta, in fact, has been plagued by inconsistency, in spite of the fact this his 3.76 ERA closely resembles his 3.80 last year in Dayton. It was his second scoreless performance of the season.

Also notable . . .

John Tolisano (Bakersfield): 3-4, 2B, HR (3), 3 R, 2 RBI. The DH paced the Blaze's 10-0 rout.

Juan Perez (Bake): 2-2, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI.

Beau Amaral (Bake): 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, SB. Nice job in relief of Jesse Winker, who was tossed after being called out at first on a ground ball.

Ryan Wright (Bake): 2-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI. Has been a regular presence on these lists.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 2-4, BB, 2 R.

Yovan Gonzalez (Bake): 1-3, BB, R, 2 RBI.

Juan Silva (Bake): 1-3, BB, R.

Jacob Johnson (Bake): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Has now put up 10.2 consecutive shutout innings over four appearances.

Ben Klimesh (Bake): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Phillip Ervin (Dayton): His first HR of the season won't count, as the Dragons' game was suspended in the fourth inning and won't be completed.

Avain Rachal (Day): 1-1, R.

Pedro ? Diaz (Day): 1-1, 2B, RBI. The box score says the DH was Pedro, but I have to believe it was Sammy. Pedro's a pitcher.

Dan Langfield (Day): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K. Langfield has now pitched in three games, each time going two innings and permitting no hits or runs while striking out four. The walks were his first of the year. Of course, they won't show up in the stats.

Mikey O'Brien (Pensacola): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. This was a complete-game win, thanks to the rain. O'Brien has now made three starts, each lasting 5 innings, never permitting more than two runs. As a starter, his ERA is 1.80.

Donald Lutz (Pen): 2-3, HR (6), SB. The Wahoo lineup is just different with him in it.

Juan Silverio (Pen): 2-2, 2 2B, 2 RBI. Batting .312.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pen): 2-3, 2B.

Josh Fellhauer (Louisville): 2-4, 2 2B, R.

Kris Negron (Lou): 2-4, R, SB. The utility fellow is on a sporty little roll.

Felix Perez (Lou): HR (3), 3 RBI.

Jason Bourgeois (Lou): 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI.

Chris Nelson (Lou): 2-4, 2B, R, RBI.

Chien-Ming Wang (Lou): 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Quality start.

Ryan Dennick (Lou): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Record for the day: 3-0.

Record for the season: 84-72.

[camisadelgolf]

... and then Romano melted down in the sixth. Gratuitous cheesy pun.
Just to add to that, PepperJack liked your comment.

[mace]

Friday, May 16: Nick Travieso, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Folks seem to be holding back a bit on Travieso because, in spite of his shiny, league-leading, 1.58 ERA, he hasn't overwhelmed with strikeouts. On the other hand, 40 K in 45.2 IP is pretty darn good, and even better when contrasted with his mere 6 walks. The kid is looking like a first-round draft choice.

Also notable . . .

Jesse Winker (Bakersfield): 2-3, 2B, HR (4), 2 BB, 3 R, RBI. Had a day off after being ejected for barking at an umpire. Came back with a vengeance.

John Tolisano: 2-4, HR (4), 2 R, 2 RBI. After a long slumber, the 25-year-old switch-hitter, signed over the winter as a free agent, is now up and at 'em.

Marquez Smith: 2-5, 2 RBI.

Joe Hudson (Dayton): 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, 4 R . Doesn't look like a catcher's line.

Carlton Daal: 2-4, BB, 2 R, RBI, SB.

Jeff Gelalich: 2-5, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI. His third triple.

Sammy Diaz: 3-5, 2 R, RBI.

Sebastian Elizalde: 2-4, BB, 2 R.

Jamodrick McGruder: 2-6, R, 2 RBI.

Robert Stephenson (Pensacola): 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K. He also looks like a first-round draft choice (in spite of the two home runs).

Juan Duran: HR (3), 2 RBI.

Moose Mattair: 1-2, BB.

Drew Hayes: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Justin Freeman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Argenis Diaz (Louisville): 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Thomas Neal: 2-4, 2B, 2 R.

Jason Bourgeois: 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI.

Josh Smith: 6 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K. ERA 2.81.

Pedro Villarreal: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Jumbo Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Sv (10).

Record for the day: 2-2.

Record for the year: 88-76. (Those 12 games over .500 belong to Bakersfield, which, however, has lost 7 of 8 and not looked good doing it.)

. . . .

We seem to have missed a day. So, just to keep the record straight . . .

Thursday, May 15: Bats bullpen . . . 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K. Curtis Partch, Sharky Rogers, Ryan Dennick and Adam Russell, respectively, went the distance, filling in for Jeff Francis, who was unable to do the same in Cincinnati.

Also, Amir Garrett (Dayton) put up five zeroes before yielding one earned and one unearned run in the sixth (which he departed with no outs) . . . Sebastian Elizalde homered (5) . . . Phil Ervin scored 3 times . . . Beau Amaral (Bakersfield) went 2-3 with a double.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, May 17: Ryan Wright, Blaze . . . 3-5, 2B (13), HR (6), 2 R, 2 RBI (28). The freeswinging Louisville Cardinal from Ft. Wayne is scorching in May (.387 with an OPS over 1.000). At 24, you have to think he's going to be playing closer to home before long.

Also notable . . .

Jason Bourgeois, Bat: 2-4, 2B (15), BB, R. .400 over his last 10 games with 4 BB and 1, that's one, K in 45 PAs.

Ruben Gotay, Bat: 2-4, HR (9), 3 RBI, BB, R. Leads the organization in longballs.

Big Lutz, Bat: HBP, R. Plunked in his first at bat for the Bats. What else?

Felix Perez, Bat: 1-4, HR (4), BB.

Bryan Anderson, Bat: 2-3, BB. Composite .352 in about 100 ABs between AA and AAA.

Ryan LaMarre, Bat: 1-3, BB, R, SB (1). First start in a month.

Adam Russell, Bat: 1.1 IP 2 H 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. 15 pitches 10 strikes. 3 groundball outs. Unscored on in 9.2 IP. Bring up the big Buckeye?

Jose Jumbo Diaz, Bat: .2 IP, K, Save (11). Bring up the big La Romanan?

Devin Lohman, Blue Wahoo: 3-4, HR (3), SB (3). Homer was off Marlins top prospect Andrew Heaney.

Juan Duran, Blue Wahoo: 2-3, 2B, BB.

Jon Moscot, Blue Wahoo: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

Brooks Pinckard, Blue Wahoo: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K. The ex-Baylor outfielder may be growing slowly into a reliever. 2.00 ERA over his first 9 AA innings.

Fabian Williamson, Blue Wahoo: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Lefty's got a live arm.

Marquez Smith, Blaze: 3-4, 2 2B (14), BB. Blaze scored 10, and Smith had nary an RBI. Didn't think that could happen.

SMB, Blaze: 2-5, 2B, RBI.

Mike Dennhardt, Blaze: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

Carlos Gonzalez, Blaze: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Save (9). Little CarGo now unscored on in 19.1 IP with a 22:2 K/BB.

Jeff Gelalich, Dragon: 3-5, 2 R SB (7)

Carlton Daal, Dragon: 1-3, BB. Another week has passed and the 20 year old SS from the Netherland Antilles is still above .300 (.321).

Alejandro Chacin, Dragon: 1.2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

[mace]

Good stuff, lollipop.

Actually, Adam Russell is a Bobcat (Ohio U) as opposed to a Buckeye. He's also, as pointed out, a big'un (6-8, 280). He and Diaz have packed the back end of the Louisville bullpen with about 600 pounds of awesomeness. The rest of the pen is literally overshadowed.

Anyway, with those two, and Lutz promoted, and Barnhart back there, and Perez looking a bit interesting, and Bourgeois and Gotay producing, and Bryan Anderson tearing it up, I don't think Louisville is as uninteresting as some folks have stated. Meanwhile, I'll be curious to see the ripple effect, if there is one, of losing Francis.

[mace]

Sunday, May 18: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola . . . 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K. The first-rounder (Redszone prospect #6) was excused after 81 pitches, on which he surrendered only one fly ball. Between that, the walks, the strikeouts, and, well, the no hits, Lorenzen was evidently about as unhittable as we might wish. In his first season as a starter, the tall righthander's ERA stands at 2.26. This gem, by the way, comes after his worst start of the year. So I guess that's behind him.

Also notable (pitchers) . . .

Ben Lively (Bake): 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K. There's a pattern here. And an ERA of 0.81.

Sal Romano (Day): 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K.

Zack Weiss (Day): 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. That's 25 K in 24 IP for last year's sixth-rounder, with a 1.35 ERA.

Kyle McMyne (Bake): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Sv (3).

Elvin Ramirez (Pen): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Also notable (hitters) . . .

Phillip Ervin (Day): 3-5, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI. The big day brought last year's top choice (RZ #3) within a point of .200.

Jeff Gelalich (Day): 3-5, 2B, R. Finally answering skeptics, the 2012 first-rounder is 8-15 in his last three games, with 3 extra-base hits.

Tanner Rahier (Day): 3-5, 2B. The 20-year-old third baseman is outpacing last year's OPS (also at Dayton) by nearly 200 points.

Carlton Daal (Day): 2-4, SB (6). Batting a catchy .326.

Juan Perez (Bake): 2-4, 2B, HR (3), 3 RBI. A quietly fine season so far for the middle infielder, a lefty swinger.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 2-4, HR (4), 3 R.

Beau Amaral (Bake): 2-4, 3B, 2 R.

Marquez Smith (Bake): 2-4, 2B. No RBIs for the second straight day. This is concerning.

Jesse Winker (Bake): 2B, 2 RBI.

Kris Negron (Lou): 1-3, 2B, BB.

Felix Perez (Lou): 1-3, BB, RBI.

Devin Lohman (Pen): 1-3, 2B.

Jon Moscot (Pen): 1-1. As a pinch-hitter.

. . . .

Record for the day: 1-3.

Record for the season: 91-81.

Rhetorical question of the day: How does a team outhit its opponent 14-5, strike out 14 bad guys, and lose the game? (Talking to you, Dayton.)

[mace]

Monday, May 19: Felix Perez, Louisville . . . 3-5, 2B, 3B, HR (5), R, 3 RBI. The triple drove in the winning run in the top of the 10th. The 29-year-old Cuban has homered 4 times in his last 7 games.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Sebastian Elizalde (Day): 3-4, HR (6), 2 RBI. The skilled Mexican sports an OPS of 1.009.

Jamodrick McGruder (Day): 3-5, 2B, 3B, R, 2 RBI.

Juan Duran (Pen): 2-4, 3B, HR (4), 2 R, 2 RBI.

Rey Navarro (Pen): 3-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Juan Silva (Bake): 4 BB, R, RBI, 2 SB (19). The outfielder's 23 walks have added 96 points to his OBP.

Tanner Rahier (Day): 2-3, 2B, BB, R.

Sammy Diaz (Day): 2-5, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Carlton Daal (Day): 2-4, 2 R. The shortstop's steadily climbing BA reaches .331.

Brodie Greene (Pen): 1-2, HR (2), BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Beau Amaral (Bake): 2-4, BB, R, RBI.

Ruben Gotay (Lou): 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R.

Kris Negron (Lou): 2-4, RBI.

Juan Silverio (Pen): 2-4, R, RBI.

Devin Lohman (Pen): 2-5, 2B, R, RBI.

Rossmel Perez (Pen): 2B, 3 RBI.

Yorman Rodriguez (Pen): 3B, R.

Pitchers

Ben Klimesh (Bake): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. The 6-4 reliever has 24 K in 20 IP.

Chien-Ming Wang (Lou): 7.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

Ismael Guillon (Day): 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

Brooks Pinckard (Pen): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. The righty is scoreless over his last 9 IP, covering 6 appearances.

Jamie Walczak (Pen): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Pedro Diaz (Day): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Record for the day: 3-1.

Record for the season: 94-82.

Fruitless stat of the day: Bakersfield drew a dozen walks in defeat.

[Old school 1983]

Is there any reason that Perez doesn't get a look on the big club? I recall he had a decent year last year too.

[OGB]

Is there any reason that Perez doesn't get a look on the big club? I recall he had a decent year last year too.

Spot on the 40 man is probably one of few reasons he hasn't been swapped with Soto

[mace]

Is there any reason that Perez doesn't get a look on the big club? I recall he had a decent year last year too.

Certainly makes you wonder if it wouldn't make sense to DFA Bernadina (again) and give Perez a crack at that spot.

[HokieRed]

How good (or not) is Perez's defense? That's the only I can figure that keeps Bernadina ahead of him.

[CoachBombay]

Just out of curiosity, Is the pitching in AAA that much or better at all than AA? If so, why wouldnt they want to move Lutz up to AAA to face better pitching?

Or is AAA the stomping grounds of the Jeff Francis guys who come up every now and then for a spot start and AA is where the promising young arms with potential are?

[PepperJack]

Just out of curiosity, Is the pitching in AAA that much or better at all than AA? If so, why wouldnt they want to move Lutz up to AAA to face better pitching?

Or is AAA the stomping grounds of the Jeff Francis guys who come up every now and then for a spot start and AA is where the promising young arms with potential are?

Lutz is in AAA now.

[Hillsdale87]

Just out of curiosity, Is the pitching in AAA that much or better at all than AA? If so, why wouldnt they want to move Lutz up to AAA to face better pitching?

Or is AAA the stomping grounds of the Jeff Francis guys who come up every now and then for a spot start and AA is where the promising young arms with potential are?

Lutz is in Louisville now. Just got moved up the other day

[PepperJack]

Is there any reason that Perez doesn't get a look on the big club? I recall he had a decent year last year too.

I just think that Perez must not have a scout or someone in the front office pushing for him to Walt.

Because he has had a couple of pretty decent seasons, plays all three OF spots, and got a fair signing bonus($500,000).

The team however, keeps going for guys like Xavier Paul, Derrick Robinson, and Benadina instead.

[Old school 1983]

Yeah. The entire Perez situation makes me scratch my head. I'd rather see him on the 40 than a couple guys that are there.

[BillDoran]

Yeah. The entire Perez situation makes me scratch my head. I'd rather see him on the 40 than a couple guys that are there.

The treatment of Perez feels very Danny Dorn-like, in that they continuously pass him over for less established prospects or retreads.

He hasn't exactly torn the cover off the ball in Louisville (RC+ 111, 95, 128), but you think at some point they'd give him a chance, especially with his defensive versatility.

There's probably more in play than Perez's statistics (perhaps no cheerleader in the front office, as PepperJack mentioned). The fact that no other team's are willing to give him a shot probably says a lot as well, and just as Dorn hasn't been any great shakes since leaving the org., I imagine they likely have Perez sized up pretty well.

Doesn't mean I don't want to know what's behind Door #Perez. We seem to know what Bernadina is capable of.

[mdccclxix]

AAA rot can also set in, so I say give the guy a chance soon or cut bait.

[mace]

Tuesday, May 20: Donald Lutz, Louisville . . . 2-4, HR (1, 7), 3 RBI, SB. His first AAA homer was the big blow in the Bats' one-run victory. He played first base, which may not be insignificant. Also runs well for a big man, they say.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Sammy Diaz (Day): 3-5, 2B, 3B, R. Known for being a handy guy to have around, mostly for defense--an organizational type--the 23-year-old switch-hitter is now 16-34 in his last 8 games, with some extra-base damage. Not sure where it came from.

Argenis Diaz (Lou): 2-3, 2B, BB.

Sebastian Elizalde (Day): 2-4, BB, 2 RBI. OBP of .456.

Carlton Daal (Day): 2-4. His fourth 2-hit game in the last five, raising his BA to .336. He's also finding the gaps with his arm from SS.

Jamodrick McGruder (Day): 2-4, BB, R. Settling into the leadoff role.

Tanner Rahier (Day): 1-3, BB, SB.

Bryan Anderson (Lou): HR (1, 6).

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 2-4, HR (5).

Marquez Smith (Bake): HR (8).

Juan Perez (Bake): HR (4).

Juan Silva (Bake): 1-3, 2B, BB, R, SB (20).

Pitchers

Amir Garrett (Day): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K. In his last two starts, he's given up 6 hits and fanned 12 over 11 IP.

Alejandro Chacin (Day): 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Jacob Johnson (Bake): 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. The tall righthander has surrendered but one run in his last 14.2 IP.

Curtis Partch (Lou): 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Got the start for the second time in a row.

Nick Christiani (Lou): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K.

. . .

Record for the day: 1-2.

Record for the year: 95-84.

[OGB]

Minor League Player of the Day for Wednesday, May 21st, in the year of our Lord, 2014--the George Grande edition

Ryan Wright - Besides being just a fantastic all around young man, the Wrightster (Redszone prospect #51) has finally been capitalizing on some of his potential this season. Last night in the Blaze victory, Wright went 4-5 with a double, run scored, and an RBI. On the year the 2011 5th round pick out of the University of Louisville and hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana--one of the nicest cities there is--is hitting an impressive .314/.338/.505. With only minor league journeyman ahead of him, the 24 year old may be looking at a mid season promotion.

Around the Farm

Pensacola

Daniel Corcino: 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K Hopefully a return to form for (RZ #15) Daniel as he picks up his fourth win for the Way-hoos, evening his record.
Rey Navarro: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
Rossmell Perez: 2-3, R, BB The diminutive (5'9") Venezuelan catcher ups his average to a swell .325
Juan Duran: (RZ #32) 3-4, 2R, 2B
Brodie Greene: 1-3, 3B, 4RBI Holy smokes, ladies and gents, fire up the old Weber grill because Brodie Greene brought the rib eyes!
Fabian Williamson: 2IP, H, 2BB, 3K

Bakersfield
Carlos Gonzalez: 2IP, 2H, BB You could call Cargo the Windex man, because his ERA (0.00) is still spotless as he gets the win!
Seth Mejias-Breen: (RZ #9) 1-5, HR Muh-ji-us Breen puts the boys from southern California on the smiling side of the scoreboard with his walk-off dinger!
Beau Amaral: 3-4, R 2B, RBI

Dayton
Nick Travieso: (RZ #8) 5IP, H, ER, 0BB, 3K Another nifty night for the 20 year old from Archbishop McCarthy HS in Southwest Ranches, Florida!
Phillip Ervin: (RZ #3) 2-4, RBI Dayton manager Jose Nieves hopes Ervin will continue to fill up the stat sheet!*
Sebastian Elizalde: (RZ #55) 1-4, HR The 22 year old former Mexican leaguer hit one pretty good!
Avain Rachal: (RZ #37) 2-4 The 20 year old second baseman is hitting .079 in his first 38 at bats.

Redszone Top Ten
Jesse Winker: 1-4, BB, 2K It wasn't quite a stinker of a night as Jesse managed to get on base twice.

Standings
The Batsmen of Louisville (22-23) have climbed to within 4 games of Indianapolis (PIT) and sit in third place
The Wayhoos (20-26) are in last place, 8.5 behind the Mobile BayBears (AZ), but to be fair, they are smarter than the average bears.
The Blazers remain in first place (30-17) ahead of the Visalia Rawhide (AZ) by 2 games. By the way, Chris, did you see that cat pitch the other night? Meow! We might need to get Terry Reynolds over there to give him a look!
The Dragons (25-19) sit comfortably 1.5 games back of the South Bend Silverhawks (AZ). I'm sensing a trend here, Chris.

Notes
Kyle Waldrop's last ten games find him mired in a struggle of Steinbeckian proportions, hitting .194 with one two bagger and a strike out every three trips to the dish.



*I realize I made this joke before but nobody acknowledged it and it seemed perfectly George Grande.

[RedTeamGo!]

That is fantastic

[OGB]

I really wanted to use the struggle of Steinbeckian proportions line even though it sounds less like George Grande and more like Dennis Miller.

[RedlegJake]

Rachal's dismal start is teaching me not to like Pioneer League numbers too much

[Benihana]

Rachal's dismal start is teaching me not to like Pioneer League numbers too much

Especially when they come from guys drafted outside of the Top 10 rounds

[mace]

Is anybody available and willing to relieve lollipopcurve this Sunday (while he attends his son's college graduation)? That would be the MiLPOD for Saturday's games.

For that matter, anyone for Saturday (the Friday games)? I'll be out of town. I could probably do it, but it'd be smoother not to.

Meanwhile, anybody heard from our friend texasdave? He's been MIA for a little more than a week, which is unusual. And he didn't reply to a PM, which is also unlike him.

[OGB]

Call me a maybe for tomorrow, but this whole weekend is about to be a work nightmare for me between taste of Cincinnati and the Reds' series.

[mace]

Thursday, May 22: Jamodrick McGruder, Dayton . . . 3-4, BB, 2 SB (5). The really small second baseman (5-8, 155) might be filling a void that some of us have felt since the trade of Ronald Torreyes. Signed in the offseason as a free agent, the former Northwest League stolen-base champ has gone fairly unnoticed this year, due to a BA that has only lately reached the upper 200s. But the walks have been there, and all of a sudden McGruder's OBP sits at a healthy .403. Nice little leadoff man.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Daniel Wright (Day): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K. In 43.2 IP, the righthander has struck out 42 and walked only 7. His ERA is 2.06. And nobody is talking about him.

Robert Stephenson (Pen): 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 6 K. The organization's top prospect has fanned 61 in 51.2 IP, allowing just 37 hits. His ERA drops to 3.48.

Ben Klimesh (Bake): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Jimmy Moran (Bake): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Mike Dennhardt (Bake): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

Sharky Rogers (Lou): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Pedro Villarreal (Lou): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Scott Brattvet (Day): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Drew Hayes (Pen): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Hitters

David Vidal (Bake): 2-3, BB, HR (1), 3 RBI. The switch to catcher certainly hasn't hurt his bat, FWIW.

Kyle Waldrop (Bake): 2-4, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, SB (8). Maybe the slump is over.

Juan Perez (Bake): 2-4, R, RBI.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 2-4, R.

Marquez Smith (Bake): HR (9), 2 RBI.

Beau Amaral (Bake): 2-5, 2 R, SB (3, 13).

Josh Fellhauer (Pen): 2-3, 2B, BB, RBI. Apparently not moping over the demotion to AA.

Steve Selsky (Pen): 2-3, BB.

Juan Duran (Pen): HR (5).

Ruben Gotay (Lou): HR (10), 2 RBI. Leads the organization in HR.

Phillip Ervin (Day): 2-5, HR (1), 2 R. It's the second time last year's top pick (RZ prospect #3) has hit his first HR of the season. The other was rained out.

Sammy Diaz (Day): HR (1), 2 RBI. Has been eating his Wheaties the last couple weeks.

Jeff Gelalich (Day): 2-5, 2 R.

Avain Rachal (Day): 3B, R, RBI. Sluggish start for the young infielder.

. . .

Record for the day: 2-2

Record for the year: 99-87

[RedsfaninMT]

Working on it for yesterday's games...

[RedsfaninMT]

Friday, May 23: Jessie Winker, Bakersfield. 4-4, HR (5), BB 3 RBI. Winker served as DH and had his first multi-hit game since May 16 and got on base in all 5 plate appearances. Tough call between Winker and Seth Mejias-Brean, who went 2-4, 2HR (8), 3 R, 4 RBI, BB. Both standout performances in the Blaze 12-8 slugfest over High Desert.


Blaze:

Juan Silva: 1-2, 2 BB, 2B (7)

Marquez Smith: 2-4, 2B (16), 3 RBI

Yovan Gonzale:, 2-5

Ben Lively: 5.1 IP, 2 BB, 2 ER, 1 HR, 8 K, ERA "climbs to 1.03

Jake Johnson: 2.2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 ER

Bats, loss 7-5 to Buffalo

Chris Nelson: 2-5, R, 2 RBI

Ryan LaMarre: 2-4, R, RBI

Lee Hyde, 1 IP, 3K, BB, 0 ER

Ryan Dennick, 1 IP, 1K, O ER

Jumbo Diaz, 1 IP, 1K, ERA sits at 1.61, 0 ER

Blue Wahoos (3 runs in the bottom of the 9th for a walk-off 10-9 thriller)

Chris Berset, 1-4, 2B (1), 3 RBI. Berset knocked in the winning runs in the bottom of the 9th with his first double of the season.

Ray Navarro: 3-5, 2B (13), 3B (1), 3 R, 2 RBI

Steve Selsky: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 RBI

Travis Mattair, 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB

Ray Chang, 1-3, 2 R

John Moscot: 6 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR ERA sits at 2.35

Timothy Adelman, 1 IP, 2 H, W (4-4)

Dragons loss 1-0 to W. Michigan

Sebastian Elizade: 3-4, now hitting .325 (3 of the Dragons total 5 hits)

Sal Ramano: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 R (0 ER), tough-luck loss, but lowers ERA to 3.00

Dan Langfield: 2 IP, 1K, 1BB, 0 ER

Ryan Kemp: 1 IP, 2K, O ER

[mace]

Thanks, montana. Great work. You did indeed have a tough call to cut your teeth on, and you did it in the most agreeable manner. Most impressive -- it's still early in Bozeman.

The only minor note I might add is that Shelley Duncan made his organizational debut, playing 1B for Louisville and going 1-3 with a double.

I hate to abuse a good thing, but I don't suppose you could bail out lollipop tomorrow, could you?

[RedsfaninMT]

Thanks, montana. Great work. You did indeed have a tough call to cut your teeth on, and you did it in the most agreeable manner. Most impressive -- it's still early in Bozeman.

The only minor note I might add is that Shelley Duncan made his organizational debut, playing 1B for Louisville and going 1-3 with a double.

I hate to abuse a good thing, but I don't suppose you could bail out lollipop tomorrow, could you?

Sorry for the mistake. I will endeavor to improve my performance tomorrow...the bird "symphony" in our yard gets going early, so 4:45 it starts, and by 6:45 I have no idea how my wife can stay in bed. I will take it on tomorrow as well.

[Bernie Carbo]

Sorry for the mistake. I will endeavor to improve my performance tomorrow...the bird "symphony" in our yard gets going early, so 4:45 it starts, and by 6:45 I have no idea how my wife can stay in bed. I will take it on tomorrow as well.

Gotta love this time of year in Montana. The daylight hours are artic like in length.

[RedsfaninMT]

Gotta love this time of year in Montana. The daylight hours are artic like in length.

Yep. But I lived in Northern Idaho for a couple of years, and that was positively absurd. Sunrise would be before 5 am and sunset after 10.

[mace]

Sorry for the mistake. I will endeavor to improve my performance tomorrow...the bird "symphony" in our yard gets going early, so 4:45 it starts, and by 6:45 I have no idea how my wife can stay in bed. I will take it on tomorrow as well.

Mistake? I didn't see any mistake. And you didn't leave a lot of room for improvement. If you're able to do tomorrow, it'll simply double your gracious contribution.

You ever trek the couple hours to see our rookies in Billings?

[RedsfaninMT]

Chien-Ming Wang, in one of the stranger lines of the season, W (4-4), 8 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 0K and 0 ER. Don't how you don't strike anybody out but pitch a shutout for 8 innings.

Bats win 6-0 over Bison

Felix Perez: 2-4, 2B (15), 2 RBI

Thomas Neal: 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI (homer traveled 428 feet)

Kristopher Negron: 2-3, BB, 2 R, 2B (5), 2 RBI

Curtis Partch: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER


Blue Wahoos hang in for 7-6 win

Brodie Greene: 2-3, 2B (6), R

Steve Selsky, 2-4, R

Juan Silverio (runner-up): 2-4, 2 HR (6), including game winner in the 8th (Former #9 prospect of White Sox)

Ray Navarro: 1-4, HR (7), 2 RBI

Shane Dyer: S (6), 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3K


Blaze crushed 8-1, No Blaze player hits for extra bases…

Jessie Winker, 1-3, BB and back in LF

Marquez Smith, 1-2, 2 BB

Jimmy Moran, 2.3 IP, 3 H, 1 H, 3K, O ER


Dragons win 5-3 over W. Michigan, taking over 2nd place solely.

Phil Ervin: 2-3, 2B (10), SF, 2 RBI. That’s 3 of the last 4 games as multiple hit games for Ervin!

Jamodrick McGruder (HOF of names): 2-4, 2 R, 2B (5)

Sebastian Elizalde: 2-4, 2B (6), 1 R, 1 RBI

Sean Buckley: 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI

Ismael Guillon: Another nice pitching performance, W (3-0) 5 IP, 5H, 3R (2 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, but did give up 2 HR

Aleajandro Chacin: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER

Scott Braftvett: S (8), 1 BB, 1 K, 0 ER

[RedsfaninMT]

Mistake? I didn't see any mistake. And you didn't leave a lot of room for improvement. If you're able to do tomorrow, it'll simply double your gracious contribution.

You ever trek the couple hours to see our rookies in Billings?

Mustangs games are not easy tickets, but if I get over, I will do a report for sure.

[Bernie Carbo]

Good to see Ervin getting hot. I always go to multiple Mustang games in Helena. No problem ever finding a good seat in that ballpark.

[RedsfaninMT]

Have no idea why I've never done that...major brain fart, because that's a half-hour closer. I'll send a private message when I'm going and perhaps we can connect.

[Bernie Carbo]

Sounds good, not many Reds fan show up in Helena. It's a good place to watch a game--kind of an old school park. I saw Ervin hit two home runs in one game last year. I was able to pick up the first one.

[mace]

Sunday, May 25: Joe Hudson, Dayton . . . 4-4, 2 2B, 2 R. The 22-year-old catcher from Notre Dame needed a day like this to cross the Mendoza Line. For the most part, his defense carries him.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Michael Lorenzen (Pen): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. In his last 2 starts, he hasn't given up an earned run over 12 IP. The first-rounder (the pick is looking good, BTW) crossed the Mendoza Line going the other way (1.99 ERA).

Mat Latos (Lou): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. First rehab start.

Tony Amezcua (Day): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Kyle McMyne (Bake): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Hitters

Jesse Winker (Bake): 4-5, 2B, R. That's 10-13 over his last 3 games. It also broke a 6-game walking streak.

Zach Vincej (Bake): 3-4, 2 2B, 1 R. Very Hudson-like; and a similar kind of player, except a SS.

David Vidal (Bake): 1-2, HR (2), 2 BB, 2 R. Not sure why converting to C would make a guy a better hitter.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 2-4, BB, 2 R, RBI.

Juan Silva (Bake): 3-5, R, RBI.

John Tolisano (Bake): 1-2, HR (5), BB, 4 RBI.

Juan Silverio (Pen): HR (7). That's 3 of those in 2 games.

Rey Navarro (Pen): 1-3, BB, SB.

Phillip Ervin (Day): 2-5, 2B, R, SB (15).

Avain Rachal (Day): 2-4, 2 RBI.

Sammy Diaz (Day): 1-2, RBI.

Neftali Soto (Lou): 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI. First minor-league appearance of the season.

Jason Bourgeois (Lou): 2-4, R, RBI.

Shelley Duncan (Lou): 2-4, R. The power-hitting vet is off to a nice start.

[RedsfaninMT]

And for Ervin, four out of five games with multi-hits. Sure would be nice to see him keep it upl

[Old school 1983]

When is Jurrjens supposed to make his first appearance?

[WrongVerb]

I still think Ervin's slow start was less due to an inability on his part, and more to do with changing some of his hitting techniques. If he's a first round talent, and I have no reason to not think that, then he's made his adjustments and we're going to see him tear it up through the end of the year.

[mace]

Memorial Day, May 26: Juan Silva, Bakersfield . . . 3-4, HR (3), 2 RBI. The unsung outfielder, a 23-year-old, LH hitter from Puerto Rico, is 7-11 over his last 3 games, lifting his OBP to .376. That happens to be his career figure, as well. Silva became a regular in the Blaze lineup only as a consequence of the ankle injury to Junior Arias.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Felix Perez (Lou): 2-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI. The Cuban OF has 7 extra-base hits in his last 7 games.

Chris Nelson (Lou): 3-4, BB, RBI.

Ruben Gotay (Lou): HR (org-leading 11), BB, 2 R.

Travis Mattair (Pen): HR (4), 2 RBI.

Josh Fellhauer (Pen): 2-4, R.

Sammy Diaz (Day): 2-3, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI. The Venezuelan infielder sports a 1.055 OPS over his last 13 games. That qualifies as unforeseen.

Carlton Daal (Day): 3-5, R, RBI, SB (7).

Joe Hudson (Day): 2-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI. Yesterday's MiLPOD kept it rolling.

Jamodrick McGruder (Day): 1-3, 3 BB, RBI, SB (6). Tiny strike zone.

Ryan Wright (Bake): 2-4, 2B, RBI.

David Vidal (Bake): 1-2, 2B. Has 9 EBH in 9 games.

Yovan Gonzalez (Bake): 1-2, 2B, R, RBI. The 2B drove in the winning run in the 8th.

Tucker Barnhart (Lou): 3B, RBI.

Thomas Neal (Lou): 2-4, R, RBI.

Jason Bourgeois (Lou): 2-4, R, RBI.

Bryan Anderson (Lou): 2-5, 2B, R, RBI.

Pitchers

Daniel Corcino (Pen): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K. Second straight 6-inning, low-hit, one-run, 6-K outing. Left with the lead. ERA down to 3.66.

Pedro Diaz (Day): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Drew Cisco (Bake): 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K. More walks and strikeouts than normal for the control specialist.

Carlos Gonzalez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Sv (10). His 0.00 ERA now covers 23.1 IP.

[Kc61]

Corcino is one of those guys who can help the Reds bullpen next year, if given some time to adapt. There's a longer line for rotation spots, why not let him work relief? He's doing better now, break it down to two inning slots, seems like his best chance to succeed. And fills a Reds need.

[PepperJack]

When is Jurrjens supposed to make his first appearance?

It might be a week or more.


John Fay ‏@johnfayman 1h
RT @BrandonMoore07: where is jair jurrjens pitching in the reds system?//Extended spring, getting his arm ready

[Old school 1983]

It might be a week or more.

Thanks for the update :beerme:

[WrongVerb]

Corcino is one of those guys who can help the Reds bullpen next year, if given some time to adapt. There's a longer line for rotation spots, why not let him work relief? He's doing better now, break it down to two inning slots, seems like his best chance to succeed. And fills a Reds need.

While I hope the guy goes on to have a successful career, I think Corcino's biggest value to the team is as a trade chip.

[Kc61]

While I hope the guy goes on to have a successful career, I think Corcino's biggest value to the team is as a trade chip.

Not in the near future. The other teams will see his numbers and Reds will get next to nothing in return. Not a big, projectable pitcher, didn't do well at AAA. He's a throw in right now in a deal.

Best idea for Corcino is to make him as useful as possible, which is the bullpen, and see where it goes.

[mace]

Tuesday, May 27: Jesse Winker, Bakersfield . . . 2-3, 2 2B, 3 BB, R, 2 RBI. It's the second MiLPOD prize in five days for the lefty slugger, during which time he's 12-18 with 6 walks. Ridiculous. Winker's now batting .324 with a .425 OBP.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Robert Stephenson (Pen): 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. That's four good starts in a row for the org's top pitching prospect, whose ERA sits at 3.26.

Elvin Ramirez (Pen): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Brooks Pinckard (Pen): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K. Outstanding athlete is cobbling together his best season, by far.

Jacob Johnson (Bake): 3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Becoming a fixture here. Has given up 1 earned run in last 20.1 IP.

Nick Routt (Day): 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K. Lefty's seasonal debut.

Dan Langfield (Day): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Has 15 K in 9.2 IP.

Josh Smith (Lou): 6 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Kris Negron (Lou): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. The IF-OF was the only one of five Bats pitchers not scored upon. Hmm.

Hitters

Ryan Wright (Bake): 4-6, 2B, R, 2 RBI. The second baseman's second 4-hit game within a week.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 2-3, 3 BB, R, RBI. The hyphenated god of walks.

Beau Amaral (Bake): 3-6, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI. The CF is putting himself on the map.

Juan Silva (Bake): 3-7, R, 2 RBI, SB (22).

Zach Vincej (Bake): 2-5, 2B.

Rey Navarro (Pen): 2-4, 2 2B. Did you know that the 24-year-old 2B (a switch-hitter) has been an all-star in three different minor leagues?

Carlton Daal (Day): 2-3, BB, R. Out of his brief slump.

Phil Ervin (Day): 1-3, BB, SB (17).

Sebastian Elizalde (Day): 1-3, BB, R, RBI.

Sean Buckley (Day): HR (2), BB, 2 RBI.

Ryan LaMarre (Lou): 1-2, 2B, BB.

Jason Bourgeois (Lou): 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R. Playing well.

Tucker Barnhart (Lou): 1-3, BB, 2 RBI.

. . .

And yet, our boys were swept. Contributing to that was . . .

The absurd stat of the day: This wouldn't be so troubling if it weren't a case of the apple falling so close to the tree. But Bakersfield left 19 men on base in nine innings. Think of that. If you leave the bases loaded six times, that's only 18. Good heavens.

[OGB]

Minor League Player of the Day Wednesday May 28

The "I Can't Believe It's Not Ben Lively" Edition

On a day where there wasn't a whole lot to get excited about on the old back forty, Seth Mejias-Brean (RZ prospect #9) had what is quickly becoming a typical night for himself. Big Hyphen was 2-3 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 free passes. The 23 year old out of U of Arizona gets on base, something this organization has a great need for at the higher levels. On the season, SMB's OBP is a pleasant .396. He also has 37 walks to 36 Ks in 246 PAs this year. Count me amongst the bunch anxiously waiting to see what he can do in Pensacola, where Juan Silverio (who could easily take over for Chris Nelson in AAA) stands in the way.

The Rest

Tim "All You Can Eat" Crabbe: (RZ #44) 6IP, 7H, 0R, 2BB, 7K Crabbe was a very close second after turning in one of his best starts of the year. His ERA now stands at 4.71. I just prefer the guy that gets on base 4 out of 5 trips, nothing personal.

Hernan Iribarren: 3-4, 2B, RBI, CS

Ruben Gotay: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI

Felix Perez: 2-4, RBI

Bryan Anderson: 2-4

Krristopher "Kris" Negron: 2-4 2R, 3B, 2 RBI, SB

Brodie Greene: 3-4, 2R, 2B

Drew Hayes: (RZ #63) 2IP, BB, 2K

Timothy Adelman: 3.2 IP, 2H, R, 3K

Marquez Smith: 2-5, R, 2B

David Vidal: 1-3, 3R, 2B, RBI, 2BB

Jon Tolisano: 1-1, 2BB

Beau Amaral: 2-4, 2B, 2RBI

Sean Lucas: 2IP, 2K

Carlos Gonzalez: 1IP, K Save #11 The 23 year old from Cal St Northridge should make next years prospect list after a head turning start to 2014--still unscored upon in 24.1 innings.

Jeff Gelalich: (RZ #53) 2-4, RBI, SB

Sebastian Elizalde: (RZ #55) 2-3, 2B, BB, CS Slash line .326/.456/.556

Sammy Diaz: 2-3


Redszone Top Ten
3. Phil Ervin: 0-4, K
5. Yorman Rodriguez: 1-3, 3B, RBI
10. Ben Lively: 6IP, 7H, 4ER, 4BB, 6K He only surrendered one extra base hit (double), so maybe this was a fluke...not terrible either way.

[_Sir_Charles_]

I must admit, Beau Amaral is getting my attention rather quickly.

Anybody got a decent report on him? How does he project?

[BillDoran]

Tim "All You Can Eat" Crabbe

:thumbup:

[marcshoe]

Better than calling him 'Krusty' (no offense, Krusty).

[RedlegJake]

Elizalde's numbers are at Dayton, in a hitting neutral league. Next step Bakersfield and a big hitter's league. Oh boy...

[mace]

Thursday, May 29: Wandy Peralta, Bakersfield . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. The 22-year-old lefthander, unranked and unvoted for in the Redszone prospect polls, continues his pattern of periodic brilliance. This was his third start of similar dominance. The rest have been, to be charitable, lackluster. Peralta's big effort Thursday night came against the club chasing the Blaze in their Cal League division.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Felix Perez (Lou): 2-2, HR (6), 2 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI. It was the outfielder's fourth 2-hit game in the last six. Look, I've never been a big fan of Perez. But, two years removed from batting .301 in Louisville, it has reached the point of "What's a fella got to do around here to get a call?"

Chris Nelson (Lou): 2-4, 2 2B, RBI.

Kris Negron (Lou): 2-4, 2B.

David Vidal (Bake): 3-4, RBI. The newly christened catcher is batting .441 in his small sample.

Kyle Waldrop (Bake): 2-4, 2B, R, SB (9).

Beau Amaral (Bake): 1-3, R, 2 RBI. Having one of the better seasons among the farmhands.

Seth Mejias-Brean (Bake): 1-3, BB, RBI. OBP is up to .398.

Jesse Winker (Bake): HR (6).

Avain Rachal (Day): 2-3, 2B, BB, SB.

Phil Ervin (Day): 1-3, 2B, BB.

Joe Hudson (Day): 1-3, HR (2), BB, 2 RBI.

Pitchers

Ismael Guillon (Day): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K. Righted himself impressively after a shaky start. Brought ERA down to 2.87.

Chien-Ming Wang (Lou): 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K. The tall veteran has lately shown some value. Threw six scoreless before weakening.

Ben Klimesh (Bake): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Completed Bakersfield's shutout.

. . . .

Pensacola was postponed.

Record for the day: 2-1.

Record for the year: 110-103.

[Kc61]

Winker second in BA's Hot Sheet for this week and got some very serious praise in their prospect chat. Elizalde also with good mention.

These guys are the type of hitter you wish the Reds currently had. Hope they both move up soon, with a few others. Also hope the Reds get some more solid approach hitters in the draft this coming week.

[RedsfaninMT]

Mace...after today, I'd be able to take on Saturday posts (Friday night games) if you're interested?

[mace]

Mace...after today, I'd be able to take on Saturday posts (Friday night games) if you're interested?

That would be splendid. Thank you!

[mace]

Friday, May 30: David Vidal, Bakersfield . . . 3-4, 2B, HR (3), BB, 2 RBI. It was a tight call between Vidal and Amir Garrett (6 shutout innings), but Vidal's body of work tips the balance. The nascent catcher, formerly a third baseman, has made only 48 plate appearances this year, but they've been dandies. Check out this slash line: .474 (BA)/.583/.947/1.531. Astonishing. They say his defense is rapidly improving. I'm not declaring him the next Mike Piazza, but hey, they both attended Miami Dade.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Amir Garrett (Day): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K. His best outing of the season, by far. Basketball schmasketball.

Pedro Diaz (Day): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. That's 9 shutout innings between the two of them. Unfortunately, the Dragons never scored and lost in 11.

Mat Latos (Lou): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Does this hasten Tony Cingrani to the bullpen?

Fabian Williamson (Pen): 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Sad to say, that was the Blue Wahoos' highlight in a pair of punchless defeats.

Curtis Partch (Lou): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Jimmy Moran (Bake): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Hitters

Thomas Neal (Lou): 3-5, 2B, R. Had expected more of this from him.

Chris Nelson (Lou): 2-5, 2B, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI.

Hernan Iribarren (Lou): 2-3, BB, R.

Jason Bourgeois (Lou): 2-5, 2B, RBI.

Felix Perez (Lou): 2-5, R. We'll say nothing more today, since Bernadina had a good game last night.

Juan Perez (Bake): 3-5, 2 R, RBI.

Kyle Waldrop (Bake): 2-3, R, SB (10).

Beau Amaral (Bake): 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB (4, 14). Looks like a nice 7th-round pick from 2012. And to think that his outfield teammate at UCLA (Jeff Gelalich, round one) was much more heralded.

Sammy Diaz (Day): 2-3, BB.

Rey Navarro (Pen): 2-3 (game two).

Steve Selsky (Pen): 1-2 (game one).

Devin Lohman (Pen): 1-1 (game one).

Michael Lorenzen (Pen): 1-1, 2B (game one). Yes, he pitched. And no, he didn't make that list. Not at all.

. . . .

Note: Daniel Wright, promoted from Dayton, made his first start for Bakersfield. He gave up 6 runs in 5 innings. Even so, the Blaze led until High Desert scored 3 in the bottom of the 8th.

Early on, and for what it's worth, it looked as though the organization had decisively turned around its losing ways of the last couple years. Lately, not so much.

Record for the day: 1-4.

Record for the season: 111-107.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, May 31: Ryan Wright, Bakersfield . . . 3-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB (7). Reached base in 5 out of 6 plate appearances. His 7 bags are in 8 attempts. At the plate, he's having success against both lefties and righties. Wright doesn't have much, if anything, left to prove in high A. It likely will not be long before the Louisville Cardinal is part of a contingent of Blaze that spreads to Pensacola.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Jason Bourgeois, Bat: 3-4, HR (2) Bourgeois showing he can do it in AAA (.961 OPS in his last 10, and a .384 OBP for the month of May). Will he join the nouveau riche in the the major leagues?

Bryan Anderson, Bat: 1-3, HR (7, between AA and AAA). The 27-yr-old LH-hitting backstop now slashing .339/.412/.617 across AA and AAA.

Felix Perez, Bat: 2-7, 2B (17), OF assist at home. Felix also twirled 2/3s of a frame in the Bats' 19-3 loss to Columbus (game 1 of a doubledip). He threw 53 pitches, 24 for strikes, allowed 11 baserunners, and gave way to Hernan Iribarren, who stranded all remaining baserunners, leaving Perez's ERA at a deceptively low 121.50.

Kris Negron, Bat: 1-2, 2B. Swinging a hot stick lately, the uber-utilityman is up to .280 and has a 1.000+ OPS over the last 10.

Rossmel Perez, Blue Wahoo: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB.

Moose Mattair, Blue Wahoo: 2-4, HR (5), 3 RBI.

Juan Silverio, Blue Wahoo: 2-4, 2B (9), HR (8).

Beau Amaral, Blaze: 2-5, 3 R, 2B, 3B, BB. Amaral now has 16 doubles and 6 triples between Dayton, Bakersfield and Pensacola.

Jesse Winker, Blaze: 2-6, HR (7), 4 RBI

Marquez Smith, Blaze: 3-5, 3B, HR (10), 3 RBI, BB.

Kyle Waldrop, Blaze: 2-5, BB

SMB, Blaze: 3-5, RBI.

David Vidal, Blaze: 2-5, RBI. Hitting .465 over his first 50+ plate appearances.

Sebastian Elizalde, Dragon: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI.

Jon Matthews, Dragon: 2-3, 2 R, BB, SB (12, across 2 levels)

Nick Benedetto, Dragon: 2-3, 2 RBI.

Pitchers

Daniel Corcino, Blue Wahoo: 7 IP, 10 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K. DC must like pitching out of the stretch, eh? Solid 3.27 ERA now for the still-young righthander. Corcino also doubled in 3 trips and features a respectable-for-a-pitcher AVG of .231.

Mini CarGo, Blaze: 2 IP, 1 H 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, Save (12). In a hitfest in High Desert, Gonzalez managed to keep his ERA at 0.00 while extending his scoreless inning streak to 26.1.

Nick Travieso, Dragon: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Things got away from him in the 7th, but threw a very solid 6, and got his 6th win vs 2 losses.

Hernan Iribarren, Bat: .1 IP, 2 pitches, 2 strikes, 1 groundball out. In mid-inning, relieved OF Felix Perez on the mound and slammed the door shut before the Clippers of Columbus could plate run #20.

[mace]

May recap

May 1: Josh Smith, Louisville . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K.
May 2: Jon Moscot, Pensacola (2) . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
May 3: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola (2) . . . 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K.
May 4: Zack Weiss, Dayton . . . 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
May 5: Dan Langfield, Dayton . . . 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
May 6: David Vidal, Bakersfield . . . 4-4, 3 2B, BB, R, 5 RBI.
May 7: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (5) . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
May 8: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola (3) . . . 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
May 9: Moose Mattair, Pensacola . . . 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI.
May 10: Nick Benedetto, Dayton . . . 3-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
May 11: Robert Stephenson, Pensacola (2) . . . 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
May 12: Jon Moscot, Pensacola (3) . . . 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
May 13: Chris Nelson, Louisville . . . 4-5, 2 R, RBI.
May 14: Wandy Peralta, Bakersfield . . . 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K.
May 15: Bats bullpen (Partch, Rogers, Dennick, Russell) . . . 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K.
May 16: Nick Travieso, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
May 17: Ryan Wright, Bakersfield . . . 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
May 18: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola (4) . . . 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K.
May 19: Felix Perez, Louisville . . . 3-5, 2B, 3B, HR, R, 3 RBI.
May 20: Donald Lutz, Louisville (4) . . . 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, SB.
May 21: Ryan Wright, Bakersfield (2) . . . 4-5, 2B, R, RBI.
May 22: Jamodrick McGruder, Dayton . . . 3-4, BB, 2 SB.
May 23: Jesse Winker, Bakersfield . . . 4-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI.
May 24: Chien-Ming Wang, Louisville . . . 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K.
May 25: Joe Hudson, Dayton . . . 4-4, 2 2B, 2 R.
May 26: Juan Silva, Bakersfield . . . 3-4, HR, 2 RBI.
May 27: Jesse Winker, Bakersfield (2) . . . 2-3, 2 2B, 3 BB, R, 2 RBI.
May 28: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield (3) . . . 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R.
May 29: Wandy Peralta, Bakersfield (2) . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
May 30: David Vidal, Bakersfield (2) . . . 3-4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 RBI.
May 31: Ryan Wright, Bakersfield (3) . . . 3-4, 2 BB, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB.

Hitting Performance of the Month: David Vidal, May 6 . . . 4-4, 3 2B, BB, R, 5 RBI. After converting to catcher in extended spring training, this was Vidal’s debut for both his season and his new position. It was a preview of more to come. For the month, the native Puerto Rican slashed an incredible .465/.566/.884/1.450. It wasn’t the first time he’s hit well. In a full season in Dayton in 2011, he put up an OPS of .847. By last year, however, it had fallen off to .596. His May, consequently, was both wonderful and inexplicable.

Pitching Performance of the Month: Wandy Peralta, May 29 . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. Three times this season, Peralta has dominated his California League opponent. His bugaboos are control and inconsistency, and no doubt the latter is closely linked to the former. But the 22-year-old lefty has lately been good enough often enough to put himself on the prospect radar.

Previous recaps

April

April 3: Juan Silverio, Pensacola . . . 2-2, 2 2B, BB, 3 R.
April 4: Junior Arias, Bakersfield . . . 3-3, BB, 2 R, 2 SB.
April 5: Robert Stephenson, Pensacola . . . 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K.
April 6: Ben Lively, Bakersfield . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K.
April 7: Michael Lorenzen, Pensacola . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
April 8: Ruben Gotay, Louisville . . . 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI.
April 9: Jeff Francis, Louisville . . . 6 IP, 6H, 1R, 0BB, 6K.
April 10: Sal Romano, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
April 11: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (2) . . . 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
April 12: Corky Miller, Louisville . . . 3-4, 2 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI.
April 13: Donald Lutz, Pensacola . . . 3-4, 2 HR, BB, 3 RBI.
April 14: Beau Amaral, Dayton . . . 3-5, 2B, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI.
April 15: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield . . . 3-5, 3B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI.
April 16: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (3) . . . 6 IP, 2 H, 0R, 0BB, 10K.
April 17: Ruben Gotay, Louisville (2) . . . 2-4, HR, 2 RBI.
April 18: Kyle Waldrop, Bakersfield . . . 2-2, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 R.
April 19: Jeff Francis, Louisville (2) . . . 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10K.
April 20: Josh Smith, Louisville . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
April 21: Donald Lutz, Pensacola (2) . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI.
April 22: Ben Lively, Bakersfield (4) . . . 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K.
April 23: Ismael Guillon, Dayton . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K.
April 24: Donald Lutz, Pensacola (3) . . . 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI.
April 25: Bryan Anderson, Pensacola . . . 2-3, 2 HR, BB, 3 RBI.
April 26: Daniel Wright, Dayton . . . 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
April 27: Jon Moscot, Pensacola . . . 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K.
April 28: Marquez Smith, Bakersfield . . . 2-2, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 4 RBI.
April 29: Seth Mejias-Brean, Bakersfield (2) . . . 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI.
April 30: Kyle Waldrop, Bakersfield (2) . . . 3-5, 2 2B, R.

Hitting Performance of the Month: Donald Lutz, April 21 . . . 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI. Remarkably, it was the third cycle of the big fellow’s career.

Pitching Performance of the Month: Ismael Guillon, April 23 . . . 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K. This is what he can do when he throws strikes.

[mace]

Sunday, June 1: Phillip Ervin, Dayton . . . 3-4, 3B, R, RBI. Slim pickings today. But Ervin's prospect status--top pick last year, Redszone prospect #3--makes him newsworthy, particularly in light of his dreadful start to the season. Last year's wrist injury may or may not be a factor; but at any rate, he now, finally, appears safely over .200 (.221). He also got his OPS up over .600. It's a start. He does have 17 SB.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Josh Smith, Lou: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

Tim Crabbe, Lou: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. Odd that he would relieve four days after a 6-inning, no-run start.

Jumbo Diaz, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Sv (13).

Nick Routt, Day: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Making his second start of the season, the lefty from Jeff Brantley's alma mater (Mississippi State) had a no-hitter going through five innings.

Elvin Ramirez, Pen: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Tim Adleman, Pen: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Hitters

Jon Matthews, Day: 3-4, R, RBI.

Carlton Daal, Day: 2-4, RBI.

Sebastian Elizalde, Day: 1-3, 2B, BB, R.

Felix Perez, Lou: 2-4, 2 R. Up to .301.

Ruben Gotay, Lou: 2-4, 2B, R.

Chris Nelson, Lou: 1-2, 2 RBI.

Steve Selsky, Pen: 2-4.

Seth Mejias-Brean, Bake: 2-4, 3B, R. Sits two points under a .300 BA, .400 OBP.

Marquis Smith, Bake: HR (11), 2 RBI. Ties (or is it tays?) Gotay for system HR lead.

. . . .

Rhetorical question of the day: Not that it matters, but does anyone else get a little dispirited watching these teams blow lead after lead? Yesterday, Dayton led 3-0 and lost 7-3; Bakersfield led 4-0 and lost 8-4. It's a drumbeat.

Concerning note of the day: Robert Stephenson left the game after 3 innings and 56 pitches. He had given up 4 runs, 2 earned. (Edit: Just saw on another thread that he had a stiff neck and was beginning to alter his delivery. Alright then.)

Record for the day: 1-3

Record for the year: 117-112*

* includes the DSL teams

[mace]

Monday, June 3: Jair Jurrjens, Louisville: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K. On a day rife with successes and story lines, none could top the former all-star's return to the mound. It was his first appearance of the season, and the most strikeouts the righthander has racked up in a game since July, 2011, when he was the 25-year-old ace of the Braves. This was most encouraging.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Sal Romano, Day: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. Romano was nosed out only by a better narrative. His stuff was overwhelming. The big righty's ERA dropped to an even 3.00.

Jon Moscot, Pen: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Finished by fanning the side in the 7th. ERA down to 2.33.

Adolfi Telleria, DSL Reds: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Ben Lively, Bake: 7 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 7 K. The line doesn't look like much--especially for him--but it came on a day when the tumbleweeds were racing across High Desert.

Jamie Walczak, Pen: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (3).

Adam Russell, Lou: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Curtis Partch, Lou: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Hitters

Juan Silva, Bake: 4-6, 3 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB (23). The Puerto Rican OF is making a statement.

Jesse Winker, Bake: 2-4, 2 HR (9), 2 BB, 2 R, 5 RBI. Can this guy hit, or what? OPS .976.

Seth Mejias-Brean, Bake: 3-5, HR (9), BB, 2 R. BA up to .304.

Beau Amaral, Bake: 3-5, 2B, HR (2), 2 SB (17). The round-tripper was inside the park. (On this day, bear in mind, it wasn't easy to keep the ball in the park.) Also made two nifty catches in CF.

Zach Vincej, Bake: 3-5, 3 R, RBI, SB (5).

Ryan Wright, Bake: 2-5, HR (7), BB.

*Yovan Gonzalez, Bake: 2-5, 2B, R, RBI.

Hernan Iribarren, Lou: 3-3, BB, R, RBI. The Venezuelan started at SS.

Felix Perez, Lou: HR (7), BB. The daily Felix fix.

Bryan Anderson, Lou: 1-3, 2B, BB.

Shelley Duncan, Lou: 1-2, 2 BB, R.

Jason Bourgeois, Lou: 3B, 2 RBI.

Sammy Diaz, Day: 3-5, 2B, 3 R, RBI. Third season in Dayton is proving a charm.

Gabriel Rosa, Day: 1-2, BB, SB. Former second-rounder made his seasonal debut, started in CF, left early.

Carlton Daal, Day: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (8). Theft was of home on an attempted double steal.

Sebastian Elizalde, Day: 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 RBI. Same old.

Jon Matthews, Day: 1-1, 3 BB, R, SB (6).

Avain Rachal, Day: 2 BB, 2 R.

Phil Ervin, Day: 3B.

Rossmel Perez, Pen: 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI.

Josh Fellhauer, Pen: 2-3, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI.

Juan Duran, Pen: 2-4, 2B.

Ray Chang, Pen: 2-5, 2 2B.

Raul Wallace, Reds: 2-3, HR, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI. An 18-year-old CF.

Gabriel Ovalle, Reds: 3-5, 3B, 3 R, SB. Played SS.

Raynay Guerrero, Reds: 2-3, 2B, BB. Yes, Raynay.

Francis Guerrero, Rojos: 2-4, 2 2B.

. . . .

Record for the day: 5-1.

Record for the year: 122-113.

* Hot-hitting David Vidal started the game behind the plate, but was carried off the field in the first inning. He was later spotted walking around.

[mace]

(For the record's sake, would like to point out that yesterday's entry should have been marked as June 2.)

Tuesday, June 3: Neftali Soto, Louisville . . . 3-4, 2 2B, HR (1), 2 RBI. The guy really can hit a little. Maybe a lot. Now, the question of whether he can do it at the next level might still be open for discussion.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Mikey O'Brien, Pen: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.

Tim Adleman, Pen: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Anybody know anything about this guy? The last time he pitched in organized ball was 2011, when he gave up a MattMaloney-like 123 hits in 88.1 IP.

Sean Lucas, Bake: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

Chien-Ming Wang, Lou: 6 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Prefers the stretch, obviously.

James Allen, Bake: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. In a well-advised move, Allen has apparently been switched to the bullpen.

Jumbo Diaz, Lou: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Sv (14).

Nick Christiani, Lou: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Justin Freeman, Pen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Kyle McMyne, Bake: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Kinda reminds me of Josh Ravin.

Yerry Santos, Reds: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Out of the pen.

Hitters

Marquez Smith, Bake: 2-4, 2B, R.

Beau Amaral, Bake: 2-4. Now hitting .361 at High-A, in 102 PA. Including Dayton and a brief stint in Pensacola, the center fielder sits at .320 for the season, with an .868 OPS and a lot of speed.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 1-3, BB, R, RBI.

Travis Mattair, Pen: 2-4, 2B, R.

Brodie Greene, Pen: 2-4, R.

Michael Beltre, Rojos: 2-3, RBI. Switch-hitting, 18-year-old OF has hit in all three games (5-10).

Jason Bourgeois, Lou: 2-4, 2B, RBI. Hitting .354 with runners in scoring position, FWIW (48 AB).

Felix Perez, Lou: 2-4. Up to .307. Hitting .375 with RISP (56 AB). Just sayin'.

[OGB]

I was about to start this soon, but something came up at work and now I have to leave immediately. If someone wants to step in, thatd be fine, otherwise I'll do it tomorrow morning.

[mace]

I'll do it.

[mace]

Wednesday, June 4: Kyle Waldrop, Bakersfield . . . 4-5, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI. The newly minted all-star cranked his league-leading average back up to .345.

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Daniel Wright, Bake: 8 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K. His first California League start was a bit of a struggle, but his second was a dandy.

Michael Lorenzen, Pen: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Validated his all-star selection.

Sharky Rogers, Lou: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Curtis Partch, Lou: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Jairo Martinez, DSL Reds: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Good news--he's a lefty. Bad news--he's 21.

Hitters

Michael Beltre, Rojos: 2-3, 2B, BB, R. A sporty 4-game start of .538 (BA) and 1.750 (OPS).

Rey Navarro, Pen: 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R. Has been playing a lot of SS lately. The Southern League becomes the fourth in which he has been named a midseason all-star.

Travis Mattair, Pen: 2-4, 3B, 2 R, RBI.

Juan Duran, Pen: 3B, R, RBI.

Juan Perez, Bake: 2-5, 2B, HR (6), 2 R. Unfortunately, he was not the only Juan Perez who doubled and homered last night.

Beau Amaral, Bake: 3-5, RBI, SB (18). Shows no sign of letting up.

Juan Silva, Bake: 1-2, 3 BB, R. The same goes.

Marquez Smith, Bake: HR (12), 2 R, 3 RBI. Padded his league lead in RBIs. Failed to make the all-star team.

John Tolisano, Bake: 2B, R, 3 RBI.

Kris Negron, Lou: 2-4, 2B. Up to .292. Turning some heads (well, mine anyway).

Thomas Neal, Lou: 3-4, RBI.

Ruben Gotay, Lou: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Chris Nelson, Lou: 2-4, RBI.

Jason Bourgeois, Lou: 2-5, 2B, R.

Felix Perez had the night off.

[mace]

Thursday, June 5: Juan Duran, Pensacola . . . 4-4, 2 HR (7), BB, 4 R, 3 RBI. How cool would it be to see this big guy explode? At 6-7, could he have some Kingman in him?

Also notable . . .

Pitchers

Daniel Corcino, Pen: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. The regrouping prospect has given up just 3 runs in his last 4 starts (25 IP), lowering his ERA to 3.13. He evidently hasn't fallen as far as we'd feared.

Amir Garrett, Day: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K. Had a no-hitter through five, with just one walk, before crashing in the sixth.

Dan Langfield, Day: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.

Layne Somsen, Day: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Franklin Montilla, DSL Reds: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. In two starts, the 19-year-old Venezuelan has surrendered just 4 hits and no earned runs in 9 IP.

Miguel Estevez, Rojos: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.

Hernando Guzman, Rojos: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. An 18-year-old Panamanian.

Pedro Diaz, Day: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (2).

Carlos Marmol, Lou: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Organizational debut for the erratic former Cub.

Jumbo Diaz, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (15). Took control of a crazy game.

Ben Klimesh, Bake: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Carlos Contreras, Pen: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. First appearance since April 24.

Hitters

Seth Mejias-Brean, Bake: 3-4, 2B, HR (10), 2 R, 3 RBI. Looking like big seasons back-to-back for the athletic 3B.

Jesse Winker, Bake: 2-4, BB, 2 R, SB. Batted out of the 2-hole, in the Votto tradition.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI.

Juan Silva, Bake: 2-4, BB, R, RBI, 3 SB (26). What's not to like about the way this guy has played (.395 OBP) filling in for Junior Arias?

Marquez Smith, Bake: 2B, BB, R, 2 RBI. The RBI total is now at 56 in 60 games.

Ray Chang, Pen: 3-4, 2B, R, 4 RBI. Now that's veteran leadership.

Juan Silverio, Pen: 2-4, 2B, HR (9), BB, 3 R. Anytime the Silverio Slugger walks, he's had a good day.

Moose Mattair, Pen: HR (6), 2 RBI.

Steve Selsky, Pen: 2-4, 2 RBI. A pile of singles have made him a Southern League all-star.

Hernan Iribarren, Lou: 3-5, 3 R, RBI. The Venezuelan infielder has batted over .300 in five minor-league seasons, including three in the PCL.

Thomas Neal, Lou: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Chris Nelson, Lou: 3-5, 5 RBI. That's a lot of RBIs for 3 singles.

Felix Perez, Lou: 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI.

Jon Matthews, Day (2 games): 5-7, BB, 2 RBI. Smacking the ball at a .378 clip for the Dragons, .354 overall (94 PA).

Brandon Dailey, Day: 2-2, HR (2), BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Sammy Diaz, Day: 1-3, R, RBI.

Avain Rachal, Day: 1-1, 2B, 2 R, SB (3).

Carlton Daal, Day: 2-3, BB, R.

Tomas De Los Santos, Reds: 2-3, R.

Michael Beltre, Rojos: 2-3, HR (1), BB. The 18-year-old switch-hitter is now 9-16 on the season.

. . . .

Louisville: 31-30
Pensacola: 26-35
Bakersfield: 40-22
Dayton: 30-28
Reds: 2-3
Rojos: 1-4

[mace]

Friday, June 6: Daniel Pigott, Dayton . . . 3-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. The Dragons were the only team in the organization to win yesterday (Pensacola was rained out), and had to score 7 times in the 7th and 8th to do it. Pigott doubled in both rallies. The former Gator's season began only six games ago, but he's been installed in the cleanup spot and should be a very helpful bat for Dayton, where he batted .280 last year, playing mostly at 1B. He was drafted in 2012 (9th round) as an outfielder. Pigott received one vote in the Redszone prospect polls.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Seth Mejias-Brean, Bake: 2-3, HR (11), 3 RBI. Last year, SMB took off in early July. This year, he has a head start (and a little more power, unless the Cal League has snookered us again). Over the past four weeks, he's sporting a .359 BA and 1.069 OPS. Although he's been overshadowed at Bakersfield by Kyle Waldrop, Jesse Winker, and Marquez Smith, the former 8th-rounder (RZ prospect #9) currently sits at .310/.404/.498/.902. And plays a very good third base.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: Eight hits in his last 3 games have lifted the Cal League batting leader back up to .349.

Michael Beltre, Rojos: 1-2, 2 BB, R. The young outfielder's ridiculous .OBP (6 games) stands at .652.

Daniel Jimenez, Rojos: 2-3.

Neftali Soto, Lou: 2-3, 2B.

Felix Perez, Lou: HR (8).

Argenis Diaz, Lou: 2-3, R.

Avain Rachal, Day: 3-5, 2 R, RBI.

Carlton Daal, Day: 2-4, 2 RBI. (We won't mention his 4 errors at SS.)

Phil Ervin, Day: 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 R.

Sammy Diaz, Day: 1-2, 2B, RBI.

Tomas De Los Santos, DSL Reds: 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R.

Leandro Santana, Reds: 2-2, 2 BB.

Pitchers

Nick Travieso, Day: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.

Joel Bender, Day: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Alejandro Chacin, Day: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (4).

John De Leon, Reds: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Adam Russell, Lou: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Brett Marshall, Lou: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 1 K. First appearance of the season. Apparently rusty.

Trevor Bell, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. He, too, came off a long stretch on the DL. So there's that.

. . . .

With Marshall and Bell back (although Marshall could conceivably move to the rotation when he's ready), the Bats' bullpen seems uncommonly well-stocked:

Jumbo
Bell
Russell
Partch
Marmol
Marshall
Christiani
Rogers
Dennick
Villarreal

Meanwhile, Jair Jurrjens gets his second start tonight.

[lollipopcurve]

Saturday, June 7: Michael Beltre, DSL Rojos . . . 0-1, R, RBI, K, 5 BB. How do you go 0 for 1 with a K and notch MiLPOD honors? You walk 5 times. You could be playing softball on Delta Avenue for a team that wears red shirts, and you walk 5 times… you're the MiLPOD. We do give people what they want.

Beltre, after a couple of notables this week, ascends to the top spot while batting six times without putting the ball in play. They say you don't walk your way off the island, but Beltre may prove them wrong. The soon-to-be 19 year old switch-hitting OF, who goes 6'3", has been on base 19 times in 30 ABs, and 3 of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases.

Also notable . . .

Hitters

Neftali Soto, Bat: 3-4. Off to a nice .347 start in his first 50 AAA ABs.

Kris Negron, Bat: 2-3. Now up to .299. Has hit safely in his last 10, at least, with a .448 AVG and 1.122 OPS. The New Jersey native making a case to be the backup SS of the future, so he can play next to Frazier.

Brodie Greene, Blue Wahoo: 3-4. Played game 1 of Pensacola's doubleheader split. Long day for the Blue Wahoo hitters in what is becoming a long season down there. That's OK, because there's always that club out in Bakersfield...

Juan Silva, Blaze: 1-3, 2 BB

Jesse Winker, Blaze: 1-4, 2 R HR (10), 2 RBI, BB. OPS at .950. In 2 months Winker will be as old as Jay Bruce was when he was promoted to the Reds.

Marquez Smith, Blaze: 2-3, R, 2 BB. OPS at .959.

Kyle Waldrop, Blaze: 2-5. Hitting .350, OPSing .884.

Juan Perez, Blaze: 2-5, 3B, 3 RBI.

Sebastian Elizalde, Dragon: 2-3, R. Also did a little thing, a sacrifice bunt.

Avain Rachal, Dragon: 2-4, R. Coming around after a testudinate (could not resist) start. .355 over the last 10 for the 20 year old.

Francis Guerrero, DSL Rojo: 2-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB.

Maikel Lopez, DSL Rojo: 2-4, BB, 4 RBI.


Pitchers

Robert Stephenson, Blue Wahoo: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

Jon Moscot, Blue Wahoo: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Ben Lively, Blaze: 5 IP. 7 H, 4 R. 3 BB, 9 K. Now 10-1.

Nick Routt, Dragon, Reds: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Tall left-hander coming off of TJ surgery has received some positive press in his 3 years in the organization. Seems to be showing why, now that he's healthy. A 16th rounder out of Mississippi State.

Justin Freeman, Blue Wahoo, 1 IP, zeros, Save (1).

Ben Klimesh, Blaze: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Over last 10, 1.08 ERA, 3 BB and 17 K in 16.2 IP.

CarGo II, Blaze: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K, Save (13). It was the first run off Gonzalez this year, but, appropriately, he struck out the side in the 9th as the Blaze clinched the first half CAL League North title.

[RedlegJake]

2nd straight solid start for Nick Routt. 2 ER and 11Ks/11.2 IP in his last 2 starts. Last year he was very limited due to the TJ recovery but still pitched pretty well. Could push his name into the pitching ranks within the organization by years end.

[mace]

I was hoping you'd pick Beltre. Gotta wonder if his eye is that good or they're pitching around him because he's batting over .500. Either way, it'll play. It has quickly gotten to the point that you seek him out every day in the box score.

[klw]

I don't know if I approve of the Beltre POD selection. I need more information. Are the Reds paying Beltre to walk? Can you walk off the island? Did he run to first after the walks?

[mace]

Sunday, June 8: Ismael Guillon, Dayton . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K. The 22-year-old lefthander (RZ prospect #22) stands 3rd in the Midwest League in Ks and second in WHIP, one spot ahead of teammate Nick Travieso. The WHIP is especially encouraging, given the Venezuelan's recent proclivity for the base on balls. He's given up only 35 hits (and 24 walks) in 61.1 IP, posting an ERA of 2.79.

Also notable on an unexciting day in which only three teams played (Pensacola was rained out), only one (Dayton) won, and Michael Beltre didn't even reach base (Rojos were off) . . .

Hitters

Beau Amaral, Bake: 2-4, 3B, R. The triple was his 7th, combining his Dayton and Bakersfield numbers. Seven would tie for the California League lead.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 2-5, HR (5).

Juan Silva, Bake: 2 BB, 2 SB (28). Leads the Cal League in stolen bases. The guy he replaced, Junior Arias, has another 8.

Jesse Winker, Bake: 3 BB.

Joey Votto, Lou: 1-3.

Bryan Anderson, Lou: HR (8), 2 RBI.

Felix Perez, Lou: HR (9).

Sebastian Elizalde, Day: 2-5, RBI.

Jamodrick McGruder, Day: 1-3, 3B, 2 BB, R.

Tanner Rahier, Day: 1-3, 3B, BB.

Avain Rachal, Day: 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB (4).

Pitchers

Wandy Peralta, Bake: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.

Kyle McMyne, Bake: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Layne Somsen, Day: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Sv (1).

Nolan Becker, Day: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Chien-Ming Wang, Lou: 6 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. They call it a quality start.

Curtis Partch, Lou: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Carlos Marmol, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K. Has quickly hit his stride.

[Kc61]

Sunday, June 8: Ismael Guillon, Dayton . . . 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K. The 22-year-old lefthander (RZ prospect #22) stands 3rd in the Midwest League in Ks and second in WHIP, one spot ahead of teammate Nick Travieso. The WHIP is especially encouraging, given the Venezuelan's recent proclivity for the base on balls. He's given up only 35 hits (and 24 walks) in 61.1 IP, posting an ERA of 2.79.

Also notable on an unexciting day in which only three teams played (Pensacola was rained out), only one (Dayton) won, and Michael Beltre didn't even reach base (Rojos were off) . . .

Hitters

Beau Amaral, Bake: 2-4, 3B, R. The triple was his 7th, combining his Dayton and Bakersfield numbers. Seven would tie for the California League lead.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 2-5, HR (5).

Juan Silva, Bake: 2 BB, 2 SB (28). Leads the Cal League in stolen bases. The guy he replaced, Junior Arias, has another 8.

Jesse Winker, Bake: 3 BB.

Joey Votto, Lou: 1-3.

Bryan Anderson, Lou: HR (8), 2 RBI.

Felix Perez, Lou: HR (9).

Sebastian Elizalde, Day: 2-5, RBI.

Jamodrick McGruder, Day: 1-3, 3B, 2 BB, R.

Tanner Rahier, Day: 1-3, 3B, BB.

Avain Rachal, Day: 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB (4).

e.

Is this Votto guy any good? Haven't seen his name in the player of the day reports before.

(Just kidding. He's a good prospect.)

[corkedbat]

Is this Votto guy any good? Haven't seen his name in the player of the day reports before.

(Just kidding. He's a good prospect.)

Solid eye, god bat, but won't drive in many runs. :evil:

[Tom Servo]

Is this Votto guy any good? Haven't seen his name in the player of the day reports before.

(Just kidding. He's a good prospect.)
bullpen or whatever

[klw]

Is this Votto guy any good? Haven't seen his name in the player of the day reports before.

(Just kidding. He's a good prospect.)

He is being rushed. They start him off at AAA and there is already talk of a promotion.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Solid eye, god bat, but won't drive in many runs. :evil:

typo of the year. Accurate too. GOD BAT! :O)

[WrongVerb]

I just wanted to thank everyone who does this. This thread is, for me, a must-visit every morning. I really enjoy following these players on a day-to-day basis. Thank you.

[WrongVerb]

bullpen or whatever

I think we should trade him to the Astros for a reliever.

[RedTeamGo!]

Is this Votto guy any good? Haven't seen his name in the player of the day reports before.

(Just kidding. He's a good prospect.)

He's OK, but I think this Elizalde kid has a better future.

[corkedbat]

nm

[corkedbat]

typo of the year. Accurate too. GOD BAT! :O)

Must be devine will, because I caught it as soon as I posted. Edited three times to correct it, but its back.

[mace]

Monday, June 9: Daniel Wright, Bakersfield . . . 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. The only blemish on his night was a harmless 6th-inning single. It was the second straight domination for the fast-rising righthander from Tennessee. Last year, after being drafted in the 10th round out of Arkansas State, Wright did little to distinguish himself, giving up 57 hits in 42.2 IP with a 5.91 ERA. This year, he pitched his way out of Dayton at 2.06, and in his second and third Cal League starts has given up one run, walking nobody in 15 innings.

Also notable on a day in which Pensacola swept a pair, another starter put up zeroes, and two outfielders combined to go 8 for 8 . . .

Hitters

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 4-4, 2 2B, 2 R, SB 11. Back up to .361, the scorching 22-year-old lefty has 16 hits in his last 6 games.

Juan Silva, Bake: 3B, BB, R, SB (29).

Zach Vincej, Bake: 2-5, RBI.

Juan Duran, Pen: 2-3, 2B, HR (8), 3 RBI.

Devin Lohman, Pen: 2-2, 2B, BB, 3 RBI.

Ray Chang, Pen: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB, 3 R.

Juan Silverio, Pen: 2-2, R, 2 RBI.

Rey Navarro, Pen: 2-3, HR (8), BB, 2 R.

Steve Selsky, Pen: 2-4, 2B, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI.

Rossmel Perez, Pen: 2-4, R.

Josh Fellhauer, Pen: 2 BB, 2 R.

Travis Mattair, Pen: 1-3, R, RBI.

Yorman Rodriguez, Pen (2 G): 4-7, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (5).

Dario Saunders, Rojos: 4-4, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB. The 21-year-old CF, small and speedy, hails from the Bahamas.

Michael Beltre, Rojos: 2B, BB, RBI. Fell under .500.

Anthony Rubicondo, Rojos: 2-4, 2B, RBI.

Raul Wallace, Reds: 2-3, 3B, R, 2 RBI.

Ruben Gotay, Lou: HR (12), 2 RBI.

Tucker Barnhart, Lou: 1-2, 2B, RBI.

Neftali Soto, Lou: 1-3, 2B, R. Has made an impact in the Bats' lineup.

Joey Votto, Lou: 1-3, R.

Jason Bourgeois, Lou: 2 BB, SB (7).

Pitchers

Michael Lorenzen, Pen: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. ERA 2.41. Threw 64 pitches. Southern League all-star hasn't given up a run over 10 IP in his last 2 games.

Mat Latos, Lou: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K. Had tossed 82 pitches when the rain came. Threw another 18 inside.

Dan Langfield, Day: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K. Stretching him out?

Sandy Lugo, Rojos: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Marcos Encarnacion, Reds: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Mikey O'Brien, Pen: 5 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Drew Hayes, Pen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Carlos Contreras, Pen: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Carlos Gonzalez, Bake: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K, Sv (14). ERA soars to 0.59.

. . . .

Record for the day: 5-2

Record for the year: 139-135 (includes the 2 DSL teams, 4-12 between them)

[mace]

Tuesday, June 10: Wendolyn Bautista, DSL Reds . . . 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K. At 21, playing in the Dominican Summer League, this won't put him immediately on the coveted Redszone prospect list. On the other hand, he shares my birthday, separated by a mere 41 years. (Slow day, OK?)

Also notable on a wildly unexciting date when Dayton was rained out, Louisville lost, and Pensacola and Bakersfield were off . . .

Dario Saunders, Rojos: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 SB (5). In the last 2 games, the Bahamian outfielder has reached base 8 times in 9 plate appearances.

Erick Gabo, Reds: 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI.

Raul Wallace, Reds: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 R. The 18-year-old outfielder hits in the three hole.

Jesus Roman, Reds: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Eriberto Garcia, Reds: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Sv (2). The 18-year-old's save ended the Reds' 6-game losing streak.

Thomas Neal, Lou: 2-4, 2B, R.

Neftali Soto, Lou: 2B, BB, R, RBI.

Felix Perez, Lou: 1-2, RBI.

Kris Negron, Lou: 1-3, BB, R, SB (5).

Brett Marshall, Lou: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K. Threw 53 pitches in his second rehab appearance, nearly half of them balls. Has walked 8 batters in 3.2 IP.

Ryan Dennick, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Jumbo Diaz, Lou: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. ERA 1.52.

[dougdirt]

Whoever has the POTD for Wednesday.... good luck.

[klw]

Whoever has the POTD for Wednesday.... good luck.
Could easily be a tie.

[RedTeamGo!]

It's a complete joke at this point Winker is not in AA. I hope it does not negatively effect his development. This is ridiculous.

[mace]

Whoever has the POTD for Wednesday.... good luck.

OGB has it today . . . and I have to say, I'm enjoying that the dilemma's not mine.

It seems like just about every time there's a thankless call like this, Winker's involved.

[dougdirt]

It's a complete joke at this point Winker is not in AA. I hope it does not negatively effect his development. This is ridiculous.

Spending half of a season in a league, no matter how dominant one is, isn't going to negatively effect someones development.

[Edd Roush]

Spending half of a season in a league, no matter how dominant one is, isn't going to negatively effect someones development.

Doug, do you think Winker will be called up after the All-Star Break? I think most of us would be most concerned if he had to play the second half in Bakersfield as well which would not allow him to get the AA PAs to prove he could be ready on Opening Day 2015.

[dougdirt]

Doug, do you think Winker will be called up after the All-Star Break? I think most of us would be most concerned if he had to play the second half in Bakersfield as well which would not allow him to get the AA PAs to prove he could be ready on Opening Day 2015.

Yes, I think Winker gets called up before July rolls around.

[RedTeamGo!]

Spending half of a season in a league, no matter how dominant one is, isn't going to negatively effect someones development.

I think wasting your time in A+ can impede one's development. The more PA's in AA the better. He is 100% wasting his time right now. If he is not being called up because of a non-prospect in AA, it is a joke. The outfielders other than Y-Rod are Duran, Fellhauer, and Bryson Smith. You could cut any one of those three players right this second and it would have no effect whatsoever on the Reds. Zero. Zilch. Baseball/Life is not fair, sorry Bryson, enjoy working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

[dougdirt]

I think wasting your time in A+ can impede one's development. The more PA's in AA the better. He is 100% wasting his time right now. If he is not being called up because of a non-prospect in AA, it is a joke. The outfielders other than Y-Rod are Duran, Fellhauer, and Bryson Smith. You could cut any one of those three players right this second and it would have no effect whatsoever on the Reds. Zero. Zilch. Baseball/Life is not fair, sorry Bryson, enjoy working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

I'm very glad you aren't running the system.

[redsof72]

Stats are generally not a reason to assume a player is ready to move up. Players are not moved up because of their OPS. The level of competition does not increase evenly in every area from level to level. If it did, every player would perform at a relative level compared to what he did in the previous league. There would be no 4A players. A hitter is moved up because the organization sees he has progressed in the specific areas that he will need at the next level. You could go 4 for 4 against a certain Single-A pitcher that will never cut it in Double-A, absolutely own the guy, but the next night when you see a guy with the command more typical of what you might see at the next level, you go 0 for 4 with 2 Ks because you can't lay off the slider. That is 4 for 8, .500. Pretty good. Useless in terms of being ready to move up.

The other issue, probably not as much of an issue with Winker as someone else that might be performing well in Bakersfield, is that the organization is generally not going to make a move if they think it is going to weaken Pensacola, unless it is a top priority prospect. A guy might be hitting .310 in Bakersfield, and you have a guy hitting .260 in Pensacola, and the guy in Pensacola is just an organizational guy but the organization is convinced he is currently a better player than the guy in Bakersfield, that move is not getting made unless it is a top 10 prospect. They are not going to call Delino and tell him we are going to weaken your club because we have a guy in Bakersfield who has some good stats unless it is a priority guy. They are not going to move Ryan Wright up and sit Rey Navarro unless they are convinced it is going to help the Pensacola club.

[RedTeamGo!]

Winker is a top prospect though. He is better than any OF on Pensacola.

[redsof72]

Listen, I love Winker. I am the biggest Winker booster there is. But the stats don't tell you if he is ready to move up. The games do.

They will move Winker up when they are convinced he is ready. It has nothing to do with Fellhauer or Bryson Smith.

The pitcher who threw against Bakersfield last night has an 8.55 ERA. Yes, he had a monster game. That's my point. Billy Doran and others are evaluating this thing daily.

[OGB]

Minor League Player of the Day for Wednesday June 11th

Jesse Winker (Redszone prospect #4) told the Modesto Nuts to sit on it last night. In what may have been the finest night of Winker's blossoming career, his stat line read like this: 3-3, 4R, 2HR, 6RBI, 2BB. That on its own was enough to just edge the next two contenders for the top spot, but Winker also added his 5th stolen base and gunned down a runner at second base. I'll say "Wow" and leave it at that. I think we're all anxious to see him in a Wahoos uniform.

Honorable Mention
Marquez Smith: 3-5, 2R, 2HR, 6RBI The 29 year old had a grand slam in the Blaze's 19 run effort.

Amir Garrett: (RZ #21) Complete game 7IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 5K Garrett is a 6'5", 22 year old lefty. In 5 of his last 7 starts, his numbers read like this: 29IP, 18H, 4ER, 7BB, 22K

Around the Farm

Louisville
Felix Perez: 2-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB, OF assist

Pensacola
Josh Fellhauer: 2-5, 2B, RBI

Rossmell Perez: 2-4, HR

Juan Duran: 3-4, R

Fabian Williamson: 2IP, H, 0R, 3K

Bakersfield
Juan Silva: (RZ #36) 3-3, 5R, 3B, 2BB

Zach Vincej: 2-5, RBI, 3R Pronounced "Vin-cee," Superfuous J makes my list for the first time in 2014

Juan Perez: 2-5, 2R, HR It was a good day for the Juans

Dayton (played a double header, games listed individually)
Phil Ervin: 2-3, 2B, R

Tanner Rahier: (RZ #34) 2-3, R

Jon Matthews: 2-3

Tanner Rahier: 2-3, RBI

Carlton Daal: (RZ #56) 2-2, SB(9)

Franderlyn Romero: 5IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K

DSL Rojos
Francisco Guerrero: 2-4 A 6'3", 19 year old catcher

Ernesto Liberatore: 2-3, BB A 6'0", 18 year old first baseman from Venezuela.

DSL Reds
Gabrielle Oval: 3-4, 2B, R A 6'2", 19 year old, switch hitting short stop from the DR

Raul Wallace: 3-4, RBI An 18 year old center fielder from the DR

Franklin Montilla: 5IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 5K A 6'4", almost 20 year old right hander from Venezuela

Redszone Top Ten
3. Phil Ervin: (Game #2) 1-3, R
5. Yorman Rodriguez: 1-5, K
7: David Holmberg: 4IP, 8H, 3R, 2ER, 4BB, 1K
9. Seth Mejias-Brean: 1-5

[OGB]

I was tempted to go with Garrett, especially since he has yet to win the award. Winker's stat line from top to bottom was just too much to ignore.

[mace]

I was tempted to go with Garrett, especially since he has yet to win the award. Winker's stat line from top to bottom was just too much to ignore.

Well, you couldn't go wrong. And yeah, the SB and assist kind of put it over the top. It's not fair, but if Garrett had struck out another 3 or 4 . . . (That said, more meaningful is that he didn't walk anybody and was very pitch-efficient. A terrifically impressive performance for a part-time pitcher.)

[OGB]

Well, you couldn't go wrong. And yeah, the SB and assist kind of put it over the top. It's not fair, but if Garrett had struck out another 3 or 4 . . . (That said, more meaningful is that he didn't walk anybody and was very pitch-efficient. A terrifically impressive performance for a part-time pitcher.)

If he'd had 8-9 strikeouts, it would've been his for sure--6 or 7, coin flip.

[mace]

Thursday, June 12: Marquez Smith, Bakersfield . . . 3-4, HR (15), BB, 2 R, 3 RBI. That's 9 RBIs in 2 games--for a guy who already led the league in that department. Smith is a strange case. He's 29, too old and too good for Bakersfield. But he's there, leading the league in not only RBIs (67 in 66 games) but OPS (1.006). And he didn't make the all-star game. Can a guy get a little respect around here?

Also notable on a day in which the Blaze reached 20 games over .500 (44-24) and Dayton stayed alive, barely, for the Midwest League playoffs . . .

Pitchers

Luke Moran, Day: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. First appearance of the season. Don't know where he's been (though I presume the answer is extended spring training).

Ryan Kemp, Day: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Layne Somsen, Day: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (2).

Adolfi Telleria, Rojos: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K. A 20-year-old righthander.

Josh Smith, Lou: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 7 K.

Elvin Ramirez, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Mike Dennhardt, Bake: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K. Nice to see.

Jimmy Moran, Bake: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Could be the first time in MiLPOD history that two Morans have made the list (both pitchers).

Hitters

Juan Silva, Bake: 3-6, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB (31). How about this guy? Now rocking a .410 OBP.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 1-2, 2 BB, R, RBI. Batting a Cobb-like .363.

John Tolisano, Bake: 2-4, BB, 2 R.

Jesse Winker, Bake: 1-3, 2 BB, R, RBI. No extra-base hits. I assume he batted right-handed.

Juan Perez, Bake: 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB.

Rey Navarro, Pen: HR (9). Pretty strong for a 2B-SS.

Neftali Soto, Lou: 2-2. Left game for a pinch-runner.

Shelley Duncan, Lou: Game-turning 3-run, pinch-hit HR.

Big Lutz, Lou: HR (8). Second for Louisville.

Chris Nelson, Lou: 2-4, 2 R.

Derik Capitillo, Rojos: 2-4, BB, 2 R, RBI.

Carlton Daal, Day: 1-2, 2B, R.

Avain Rachal, Day: 1-2.

Jon Matthews, Day: 1-3, 2B, R. Batting .350 in 100 AB for Bakersfield and Dayton, with a .441 OBP and 14 SB. Bet you didn't know that.

[corkedbat]

Minor League Player of the Day for Wednesday June 11th
[B]

Juan Perez: 2-5, 2R, HR It was a good day for the Juans



Because Juan is just not enough (it had to be said). :evil:

[mace]

Friday, June 13: Rossmel Perez, Pensacola . . . 3-5, 3B, 2 R, 6 RBI. The 24-year-old catcher, playing in his home park (Mobile) of the two previous seasons, punished his old club, for which he never hit a triple. Nor did he hit anything close to the .333 average that he sports today. A native Venezuelan, Perez raised his OPS to .799.

Also notable on a night in which Pensacola (14-13 winners) thought it was Bakersfield, or maybe Green Bay, and two slugging Rojos split the DSL vote . . .

Hitters

Francis Guerrero, Rojos: 2-4, 2 HR, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI. A 19-year-old catcher and, judging by last night, first baseman.

Anthony Rubicondo, Rojos: 4-4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI. An 18-year-old Venezuelan who floats between 2B and 3B.

Olvis Jimenez, Rojos: 3-5, HR, 2 R. A tall, lefty outfielder.

Francis Azcona, Rojos: 2-5, 2B, R, RBI. Second baseman hit .329 (.413 OBP) last year.

Brodie Greene, Pen: 3-6, 3 R. Played SS.

Moose Mattair, Pen: 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Rey Navarro, Pen: 2-5, 2 R.

Juan Duran, Pen: HR (9), 3 RBI.

Ryan Wright, Bake: 2-5, HR (8).

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: HR (6), 2 RBI.

Jesse Winker, Bake: HR (13).

Brent Peterson, Bake: 2-2, 2 BB.

Thomas Neal, Lou: HR (2).

Sebasian Elizalde, Day: 2-4.

Leandro Santana, Reds: 1-3, 3B, R.

Cesar Mejia, Reds: 1-3, 3 RBI.

Pitchers

Wandy Peralta, Bake: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Dan Langfield, Day: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Now has 30 K in 19.2 IP.

Alfredo Mena, Reds: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

Jesus Roman, Reds: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Pedro Damian, Reds: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Jean Lara, Rojos: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Hernando Guzman, Rojos: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Tim Crabbe, Lou: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K.

Some Guys Who Threw A Scoreless Inning: Curtis Partch, Nolan Becker, Tony Amezcua, Tim Adleman, Sandy Lugo.

[lollipopcurve]

Friday, June 13: Carlos Contreras, Blue Wahoo. . . 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, win. CC dominated the 8th, 9th and 10th while the offense fought back from a 3-run deficit to win in extras. The consensus Reds top 10 prospect has been coming back from injury and has thrown only 19 innings in 2014, but has 26 Ks and an opponents BA of .203. Still only 23, the hard thrower has a 40-man roster spot and the stuff to possibly make multi-inning appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen this summer.... What bullpen?

Also notable. . .

Hitters

Jason Bourgeois, Bat: 1-3, R, BB, SB (8). The Louisville leadoffer's steal of home was the game's only run. Has more BB than K on the year (24/21)

Devin Lohman, Blue Wahoo: 3-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (4)

Steve Selsky, Blue Wahoo: 2-5, 2B, 2R, RBI, BB. Second baseman hit .329 (.413 OBP) last year.

Rossmel Perez, Blue Wahoo: 3-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR (2). Now up to .341, Perez came within a whisker of taking down back-to-back MiLPOD trophies.

Juan Silva, Blaze: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2B, SB (32). 3rd straight 3 hit night for the 9th rounder out of PR. Rocking a .571 OBP over his last 10. Kudos to Pat Kelly for putting this guy in the leadoff spot.

Marquez Smith, Blaze: 0-1, 3 BB. Finishes his dizzying stint in the ÇAL League with a .419 OBP and about 7,000 RBI. If rumors are right, next stop Pensacola.

SMB, Blaze: 2-3. Squares up the first half at .300.

Beau Amaral, Blaze: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, SB (20 on the year).

Gabriel Rosa, Dragon: 1-4, HR (1). First single A homer for the centerfielder.

Carlton Daal, Dragon: 1-3. Another week in the books and the 20-year-old Daal still dialing a plus-.300 BA (.314)

Tomas De Los Santos, DSL Red: 2-4, BB, SB (4). Lefty swinging CF.

Derik Capitillo, DSL Red: 2-4, 2B (1). Has been moved off catcher, it seems.


Pitchers

Mikey O'Brien, Blue Wahoo: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Also went 2 for 2 at the plate. No MiLPOD for Mikey, but I hope someone was ready with a Guiness for him after this effort.

Jamie Walczak, Blue Wahoo: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, save (4).

CarGo Jr: 1 IP, 0 H 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, save (15). Another day at the office.

Marcos Encarnacion, DSL Red: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. The 6'2" 18-year-old Dominican is in his first year in pro ball and off to an impressive start. He's got a 1.35 ERA in 3 starts and a sub .200 BA against.

Isaac Moncien, DSL Red: 1 IP 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, save (1).

Chien-Ming Wang, Bat: 7.1 IP, 9 H, 0 BB, 2 K. 13 ground outs vs 3 flyouts, and the Bats turned 2 DPs behind him.

Jose Jumbo Diaz, Bat: 1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, save (16). ERA still lean and mean at 1.42. Promote Jumbo!

[mace]

Sunday, June 15: Tucker Barnhart, Louisville . . . 4-4, 3B. The switch-hitting catcher is batting just .214 for the Bats, and we know he can do better. Sunday, he did. Of course, his outburst came against righthanders. His difficulties are mostly with lefties. Fortunately, he catches lefties and righties equally well.

Also notable on a day in which Louisville managed the mind-boggling feat of outhitting its opponent (12-11) and somehow losing by 10 runs (12-2) . . .

Pitchers

Alejandro Chacin, Day: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. Worked the high-stress 8th, 9th and 10th innings as the Dragons won in 11.

Layne Somsen, Day: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K. His first start of the season went very well.

Ryan Kemp, Day: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Nolan Becker, Day: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Elvin Ramirez, Lou: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Brett Marshall, Lou: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 7 R, 5 BB, 0 K. We don't usually include the unfortunate performances here, but this one was indeed notable. Is Marshall really healthy? In the 3 outings since he came off the DL, he's walked 13 in 5 innings. Remember, late in spring training, when he looked to be the Reds' fifth starter?

Drew Hayes, Pen: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Brooks Pinckard, Pen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Hitters

Steve Selsky, Pen: 2-3, 2B, RBI.

Yorman Rodriguez, Pen: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, SB (5).

Ruben Gotay, Lou: 3-5, 2B.

Thomas Neal, Lou: 2-4, HR (3), BB.

Chris Nelson, Lou: HR (4).

Hernan Iribarren, 2-3, BB. The utility dude also pitched the Bats' only scoreless (and hitless) inning.

Brandon Dailey, Day: HR (3).

Carlton Daal: 1-3, BB, R, SB (2). The SS prospect finishes his first half-season at .314.

. . . .

Billings begins play Monday night. (Roster: http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=513&stn=true&sid=t513)

The all-star games of the Southern, California and Midwest leagues will be held Tuesday night.

[mace]

Monday, June 16: David Holmberg, Louisville . . . 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K. While this was a fine outing of itself, the nod comes in recognition also of the progress it represents. Until last night, the lefty acquired for Ryan Hanigan had been, well, dreadful. Since his first start in April, he'd failed to last 5 innings, pitching 17 in all, giving up 39 hits--39!--and walking another dozen. That's 3 baserunners an inning. So, yeah, last night was welcome.

Also notable on a night when Billings got started and Bakersfield distinguished itself again, even while not playing. . . .

Hitters

Aristides Aquino, Bill: 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI. The big outfielder (Redszone prospect #26) batted cleanup for the Mustangs and served notice that he might be the bat to watch in Billings.

Jesse Winker, Bake: Won the California-Carolina home run derby, an encore of last year's triumph in the Midwest League competition.

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: Won the Cal-Carolina hitting challenge.

Felix Perez, Lou: 2-4, HR (10). Matched the personal homer high he set last year.

Thomas Neal, Lou: 1-3, 2B, BB, R.

Shelley Duncan, Lou: 1-3, BB, RBI. Looks like a nice pickup.

Tucker Barnhart, Lou: 1-2.

Gabriel Ovalle, Reds: 3-5, 2B, 3B, R. A 19-year-old shortstop whose name keeps popping up here.

Derek Capitillo, Reds: 2-3, 2B, 2 R.

Raul Wallace, Reds: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R.

Tomas De Los Santos, Reds: 1-3, 2 BB, R, SB (5). The left-swinging CF (throws right) follows Ovalle at the top of the order.

Nick Benedetto, Bill: 2-3, 2B, R.

Garrett Boulware, Bill: 1-3, 2B, RBI. Recently drafted catcher from Clemson.

Anthony Rubicondo, Rojos: 2-4, R.

Francis Guerrero, Rojos: 2-4, RBI.

Pitchers

David Jones, Rojos: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Tyler Mahle, Bill: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K. The Mustangs' game-one starter induced 9 ground outs and 0 flies (well, except for a HR).

Wendolyn Bautista, Reds: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K.

Jesus Roman, Reds: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Jairo Martinez, Reds: Save.

Justin Freeman, Lou: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Solid return to AAA.

Jumbo Diaz, Lou: Save (17). Anybody know of a big-league club looking for bullpen help?

. . . .

Ben Lively makes the all-star start for the Californias tonight.

Juan Silva has been named the Player of the Week in the Cal League, having gone 9 for 13 in his last 3 games. He also leads the league in steals.

Organizational record for the year: 158-150.

Full-season teams (at the break): 148-132.

[mace]

Tuesday, June 17: Juan Silverio, Louisville . . . 5-5, 2 2B, 2 R. Not a bad Triple-A debut for the 23-year-old third baseman (Redszone prospect #46). Had a quarter of the Bats' 20 hits.

Also notable on a night for debuts and all-stars and timely rain in Montana . . .

Pitchers

Ben Lively, Bake: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Started for the winning California League in its all-star game vs. the Carolina League.

Miguel Estevez, Rojos: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. A 20-year-old righthander in his maiden season.

Jefry Sierra, Bill: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Former infielder-outfielder picked up a save in his first duty as a full-time pitcher. Got an assist from rain that cut the game short after 8 innings.

Jeremy Kivel, Bill: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Season debut for the hard-throwing righty (RZ #19).

Soid Marquez, Bill: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K. A tall, 19-year-old Venezuelan.

Tim Crabbe, Lou: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Sv. Second career save, first since 2011.

Hitters

Kyle Waldrop, Bake: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI. Drove in all of the Cal League's runs in a 3-2 victory.

Felix Perez, Lou: 2-4, 2 2B, BB, 2 RBI. Rolling right along.

Thomas Neal, Lou: 3-5, 4 RBI, SB. 6-12 in last 3 games.

Jason Bourgeois, Lou: 3-6, 3 R.

Donald Lutz, Lou: 2-5, RBI. Also 2 OF assists.

Ruben Gotay, Lou: 2-6, 2B, 2 R.

Ty Washington, Bill: 3-4, HR. From the leadoff spot.

Jimmy Pickens, Bill: 1-2, BB. Recent 15th-rounder from Michigan State.

Aristides Aquino, Bill: 1-3, RBI.

Leandro Santana, Reds: 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI. A 17-year-old 3B.

[mace]

I neglected to include the Southern League all-star performances. Rey Navarro, the DH for his squad, was 2-5 with an RBI. Steve Selsky, entering as a sub, was 1-2. Michael Lorenzen threw a scoreless second inning (2 H, 1 BB, 1 K) and was the winning pitcher.

Note: Ben Lively's promotion to Pensacola will be sending him back to the town where he grew up.

Waldrop, needless to say, was the MVP of the California-Carolina game, which is summarized here: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140617&content_id=80325744&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_l110&sid=l110

Also: Josh Smith didn't have a notable outing for Louisville, but he did run his record to 8-1.

[OGB]

I was in an accident and had surgery yesterday. I'm currently in a hospital bed stuffed full of Percocet. If someone can take it or trade me...

[WrongVerb]

I was in an accident and had surgery yesterday. I'm currently in a hospital bed stuffed full of Percocet. If someone can take it or trade me...

Rough. Get better soon.

[OGB]

Rough. Get better soon.

Thanks. I should be okay. I think I avoided nerve damage in my right arm.

[mace]

OGB, we're going to have to establish a DL on your behalf. Take care of yourself. And thanks for thinking of this in your circumstances. I'll cover today.