2017 Minor-League Player of the Day

[cumberlandreds]

All of you folks who do these write-ups do such an outstanding, thorough, and often hilarious job. I absolutely love coming to read this thread every morning. Thanks to you all, both proactively and retroactively!!

I was about to write the same thing. You guys do a lot of good work on this and its appreciated. This is a very good overview of who is doing well in the minors on a daily basis.

[RedlegJake]

MiLPOD April 13th
The Player of the Day tonight came down to Seth Mejias-Brean for his 4 for 4 game and Luis Castillo for seven 3 hit innings. It came down to impact – Castillo was the difference maker in his game while SMB, despite a great line – had 4 singles and minimally impacted the scoring on a night when the whole Louisville lineup clobbered the ball . He earns first Honorable Mention.


Player of the Day = Luis Castillo, Pensacola. 7 innings of 3 hit/0 BB, 6 strikeout hurling marred only by a solo homer. Cincinnati bound by year's end?


Honorable Mention. Seth Mejias-Brean, Louisville 4 for 4, 2R and an RBI.
Honorable Mention. Phil Ervin, Louisville 3 for 5 and a pair of doubles, 3 RBI
Honorable Mention. Jose Lopez, Daytona 5.1 innings, 5 H/0BB, 1 ER, 4 strikeouts
********

Louisville's Bats slugged and pitched their way to an 11-4 win over Columbus. 3-5 record.

Hitting

Dilson Herrera, 2B	1 for 5, RBI
Sebastian Elizalde, DH	1 for 4, walk, RBI - saw his average fall to .457
Tony Renda, 3B	2 for 5, 2 runs, double(3) - and I ripped them for hitting him cleanup
Seth Mejias-Brean, 1B	4 for 4, 2 runs, RBI, walk
Jesse Winker, RF	2 for 5, 2 runs, RBI - average now at .323
Rob Brantly, C	1 for 4, 2 runs, 2GIDP, walk - maybe 4th in line right now and even farther back in the long run but he's hitting well (.333)
Philip Ervin, LF	3 for 5, run, 2 doubles, 3 RBI - good night raises former #1 to .321
Juan Perez, SS	1 for 3, run, homer(1), RBI, walk

even Cfer Beau Amaral got 2 RBI on a walk and SF although he was hitless in 3 trips

Pitching

Jackson Stevens, RHP

5.2IP, 7H, 3BB, 4ER, 2 HR, 5Ks GS 35 – another poor outing for JakSteve

Chacin (2.1IP) and McMyne (1IP) shut them out the rest of the way to seal the win
********

Pensacola's Blue Wahoos out a 4-1 whupping on Biloxi improving to 5-2

Hitting

Josh VanMeter, 2B	1 for 4, RBI, double(2) – sitting at .316
Brian O'Grady, CF	1 for 3, walk, run, 2 RBI, double(1), SB – O'Gritty hitting .308
Alex Blandino, 3B	1 for 4, double(3), RBI, E – Is Alex back? .333 to start his comeback
Aristides Aquino, RF	0 for 2, run, walk, SB, OF assist – yet to get off the schneid at .148
Gabby Guerrero, LF	1 for 4, run – also at .333

Castillo had the only other hit, Rocco caught 9 innings but went hitless @ .211 still rust to knock off

Pitching

Luis Castillo RHP

7IP, 3H, 0BB, 6Ks, 1HR, 1ER, GS 73 – Impressive start

Hernandez and Guillon gave up a couple hits but no runs in closing it out
********

The Daytona Tortugas scratched out a 2-1 win over Ft Meyers, record now 5-3

Hitting

Daniel Sweet, CF	2 for 4, run, double(2) – sweet bat @ .321
Alfredo Rodriguez, SS	2 for 3, CS – the kid who can't hit now at .300

Shed Long and Nick Senzel both got RBIs although hitless – Senzel a grounder with man on 3^rd, Long a SF. Both struggling a wee bit early on but still contributing

Pitching

Jose Lopez RHP

5.1IP, 5H, 0BB, 1ER, 4Ks, GS 63 – sterling start by Jose

Lugo (1.2IP), Martinez (0.1IP) and Broussard(1.2IP) finished things off in scoreless fashion.
********

The Dayton Dragons continue their winning ways with a 6-3 victory over Great Lakes. Now 6-2

Hitting

TJ Friedl, RF	2 for 4, run, walk, SB
Jose Siri, CF	2 for 5, 2 runs, no strikeouts, much improved in that department early on
Taylor Trammel, LF	2 for 4, run, RBI, double
John Sansone, 3B	1 for 4, run, RBI, double

TySteve and Beltre (DH) were both hung with 0 fer 4 nights as the talented outfield carried the offense

Pitching

Wennington Romero, LHP

4.1IP, 4H, 3ER, 1BB, 1HBP, 5Ks, GS 52, not the best of nights for the teen lefty as the Loons bunched a few hits in the 5th to drive Wen from the game

Dayton bullpen trio of Fossas, Cox and Hendrix shut the Loons down, Hendrix fanning the side in a perfect 9th to get the save, Fossas and Cox both inherited 2 runners, neither let one in
********

Starting week 2 the system has a 19-12 overall record, mostly driven by superlative pitching, both starters and bullpens. Sebastian Elizalde is scalding the ball early but overall the offenses have not been nearly as impressive as the pitchers. Let's hope the hitters start to catch up (at least our hitters! The other teams' can keep struggling...)

[Tom Servo]

Games of Friday, April 14

Ryan Olson, Dayton: 9 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 0 runs. How do you follow up a breakout, 7 inning, 9 strikeout shutout performance in your minor league debut? How about with a complete game shutout. Olson allowed only four singles and one walk the entire game, saying after the game: "I was just working off that sinker and my changeup, they got the same movement on it," Olson said. "They had [a lot of] lefties in their lineup, so I threw a lot of changeups to them. It worked well and I was fortunate enough to get through all nine and I kept the pitch count down."

Honorable Mention: Phillip Ervin, Louisville: 2-3, 2 HR, BB. It is worth remember that Mr. Magic got off to a hot start in Daytona in 2015 in April before cooling down considerably, but there's reason to believe the hot start of the now 24-year-old outfielder who has always shown a good eye at the plate ad flashed above average power indicates his true ability. Here is to hoping.


In other action, with the Pensacola starter (Mella) and Daytona starter (Gutierrez) unfortunatley having games to forget:

Tony Renda, Louisville: 1-4, 2B, BB

Seth Mejias-Brean, Louisville: 2-4

Chad Wallach, Louisville: 0-2, 2 BB.

Brandon Dixon, Louisville: 1-3, 2B, BB

Lisalverto Bonilla, Louisville: 5.1 innings, 5 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, 3 earned runs. Lisa has had the strikeout pitch working but needs to do something about the free passes and runners crossing home plate if he hopes to stick as a starter.

Evan Mitchell, Louisville: 1.2 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 0 runs.


Blake Trahan, Pensacola: 1-4, BB. Unfortunately the Louisiana native also struck out 3 times.

Josh VanMeter, Pensacola: 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI

Gabriel Guerrero, Pensacola: 2-5. Vlad's nephew and his non-nephew VanMeter are the only ones hitting in the first several games of the Blue Wahoos season.

Eric Jagielo, Pensacola: 1-4, BB

Brian O'Grady, Pensacola: 1-2, 2 BB

Domingo Tapia, Pensacola: 1 inning, 0 hits, walks, or runs, 2 strikeouts.


Shed Long, Daytona: 0-2, 2 BB

Nick Senzel, Daytona: 1-3, BB. Getting closer.

Chad Tromp, Daytona: 0-3, BB. Included to note that Chadwick is still around!

Narciso Crook, Daytona: 2-4, 2B

Austin Orewiler, Daytona: 1.1 innings, 0 hits, walks, or runs, 2 strikeouts

Juan Martinez, Daytona: 2 innings, all 0s

Tanner Rainey, Daytona: 1 inning, 0 hits, walks, or runs, 3 strikeouts. I'm starting to suspect A+ ball is not much of a challenge for a reliever Rainey.


Taylor Trammell, Dayton: 1-3, BB

Tyler Stephenson, Dayton: 1-4, 2 RBI. I went out and grabbed some drinks tonight with a friend (a Cubs fan, boo hiss) who asked what TySteve was up to, and he said he was reminded of Wieters when watching Stephenson in the 2015 Draft hype. I was happy to inform him that the young catcher seems back on track after a lost 2016.

Hector Vargas, Dayton: 1-4

[M2]

Phil Ervin asks - what's a hitter got to do?

[RedlegJake]

Phil Ervin asks - what's a hitter got to do?

Sure appears that way but every day we are getting at least 1 superlative pitching effort, Ervin and Elizalde have been red hot but can't seem to break the ice for the hitters in the POD award.

[Kc61]

Seems like close calls are going to the starting pitching performance. But can't argue about Olson last night.

Can't remember the last nine inning shutout by a starter on the farm system, really a terrific achievement. Could be the minor league performance of the season.

[texasdave]

Seems like close calls are going to the starting pitching performance. But can't argue about Olson last night.

Can't remember the last nine inning shutout by a starter on the farm system, really a terrific achievement. Could be the minor league performance of the season.

Didn't Tyler Mahle twirl a no-hitter last year? I believe he did.

[dougdirt]

Didn't Tyler Mahle twirl a no-hitter last year? I believe he did.

He did.

[M2]

Officially Mahle threw a perfecto last season.

[lollipopcurve]

Games of Saturday, April 15

Some Sunday MILPoD scripture, again from John J. McGraw's My Thirty Years in Baseball (1923): "It was in 1907 that I discovered my players were growing old and beginning to slip. Always I have made it a point never to let a club grow old on me. A manager must start reconstruction quickly or several years will be required to bring a ball club back to pennant-winning form."


Player of the Day
Shed Long, Tortuga: 3-4, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI. Good to see the ToolShed hammering after a slow start. We know he's coming off wrist surgery, so there's some breath holding to see if Shed's sock returns. Collective exhale, for today at least.

Honorable Mention: Deck McGuire, Blue Wahoo 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Some of us remember McGuire from the 2010 draft, as rumors suggested the Reds might be interested in the 6'7" righthander from GA Tech. He went 11th overall to the Blue Jays, one pick ahead of the Reds (who took Grandal). McGuire has never fulfilled what some saw as MLB starter potential, just hasn't had the putaway stuff. But maybe he'll make a late push in Pensacola, where our younger pitching prospects have had a lot of success lately.

Honorable mention: Blue Wahoo bullpen (Bernardino, Hernandez, Tapia, Herget): 5 IP, zeros, 9 Ks, win and save. We've seen the Reds pen retire 21 straight to end a game this year, and these Wahoos must have taken notes. Put a hush on the Biloxi faithful over innings 7-11, with Tapia getting the win and Herget herky-jerkying to his 4th save.

Honorable mention: Bat bullpen (Routt, McMyne, Coleman): 9 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K, win and save. The relievers are crazy this year. With 5 alarms blaring on the big league rotation, it was all hands on deck in Louisville, and Routt, McMyne -- especially McMyne. who allowed only 2 baserunners in his 4 innings -- and Coleman came to the rescue. Against a very tough Columbus lineup too (Naquin, Kipnis, Zimmer, Shaffer, Colabello and others). Win to McMyne, save to Coleman. That's 5 straight scoreless outings for McMyne. The former 4th rounder from Villanova has had stretches like this plenty of times before, only to collapse in spectacular fashion. This is the first AAA turn for the righthander we've been told can throw hard, so we'll see...

Elsewhere on another good night for winning...

Juan Perez, Bat: 2-4, HR (2). I continue to bang the drum for this guy. Hit leadoff. At .304 with an OBP of .448 so far. This is his age 25 season.

Sebastian Elizalde, Bat: 2-4. You get the sense he smells the bigs now. Off to a blazing .462 start with an OPS over 1100. Also in his age 25 season.

Chad Wallach, Bat: 1-3, HR (1), BB

Devin Mesoraco, Blue Wahoo: 0-3, 2 BB. Caught 9 innings. The durability is building.

Gabe Guerrero, Blue Wahoo: 2-4. Nice start, hitting .351. Let's see if he can start turning some hits into extra bases.

Josh VanMeter, Blue Wahoo: 2-4, BB, SB. Just like the guy back in Daytona, this lefty hitting second sacker can hit some. Just turned 22.

Taylor Sparks, Blue Wahoo: 1-5, HR (1). He's working on walking more, but on this night it was more like the old Sparks -- 3 Ks and a blast, the game winner.

Daniel Sweet, Tortuga: 2-4, 2B, 3 R. Has been dynamic at the top of the lineup (.442 OBP).

Gavin LaValley, Tortuga: 2-4, HR (2).

Robert Stock, Tortuga: 2 IP H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. The former wunderkind is now a hard-throwing 27 y-o refugee from indy ball, and making a good impression in the Daytona pen with 3 scoreless outings and a 9/1 K/BB.

TJ Friedl, Dragon: 1-3, 2 BB. OBP at .400 through 9 games.

James Vasquez, Dragon: 2-4

Tyler Stephenson, Dragon: 1-5, RBI (10). He's 3rd in the MWL in ribbies.

[RedsfaninMT]

Love that Jimmy Herget continues to impress...1 IP with 3 Ks will do just fine.

[mace]

Games of Easter Sunday, April 16

Austin Ross, Pensacola . . . 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K. The early returns suggest that the Reds made a shrewd free-agent signing in January, coming to terms with a righthander the Brewers drafted (8th round) in 2010. The LSU product--he pitched in the College World Series--was progressing nicely until he felt something in his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012. There were some setbacks after his return, but he began to find his way back when the Brewers moved him to the bullpen. At the age of 27, he pitched well in the Pacific Coast League last year. The Reds, however, have returned Ross to the starting rotation in Pensacola, and his 8 innings of scoreless Easter work would corroborate that decision. After two starts, he's flashing a WHIP of 0.79.

Honorable Mention: Joe Hudson, Pensacola . . . 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI. Not only drove in the game's only runs, but caught a shutout.

Honorable Mention: Tanner Rainey, Daytona . . . 2 IP, zeros, 3 K. A body-of-work acknowledgement. After being converted to the bullpen and turning in a blazing finish to the 2016 season (10.1 IP, 0 R, 16 K in last 6 games), Rainey has somehow raised it another notch. Over 7 hitless, runless, walkless, hit-by-pitchless innings this year (there is, however, an error involved), he's fanned 16 poor souls.

Also notable on a day when there wasn't much more . . .

Jimmy Herget, Pensacola: 1 IP, zeros, 2 K, Sv (5). The Wahoos lead the Southern League with a 2.18 team ERA.

Austin Brice, Louisville: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Nice Louisville debut. The Reds have apparently done well this year in acquiring guys named Austin. They might want to work something out with Austin Jackson, Austin Healey and Austin City Limits.

Tony Renda, Louisville: 2-4, 2B. The unlikeliest of cleanup hitters has acquitted himself nicely in that spot.

Juan Martinez, Daytona: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Mitch Piatnik, Daytona: 2-3. Bunts a lot.

[dougdirt]

Slight correction: Rainey hasn't had 7 perfect innings. He went 6.1, into his 2nd inning of work today, before a Reydel Medina dropped fly ball for an error cost him the perfect game to start the season.

[mace]

Slight correction: Rainey hasn't had 7 perfect innings. He went 6.1, into his 2nd inning of work today, before a Reydel Medina dropped fly ball for an error cost him the perfect game to start the season.

Ah, thanks. Will tinker.

[dougdirt]

Ah, thanks. Will tinker.

Yeah, was disappointed to see it. Daytona had FOUR errors today. Two by pitchers. Was not their best game of the year. Rainey just keeps on hurting feelings, though.