News that might only interest a minor league follower like myself: All premium Baseball Prospectus articles older than one year are now free to access. The top prospects list from last year is kind of interesting to read; at this point we know most of it but it's a nice overview of what the guys' strength/weaknesses.
Per WTHB.... <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="http://t.co/FTpoc6mu" title="http://MiLB.com">MiLB.com</a> is showing that 2008 2nd Round pick Jay Austin has been released by the Astros.</p>— Jayne (@whattheheck57) <a href="https://twitter.com/whattheheck57/status/235885010492719105" data-datetime="2012-08-15T23:45:43+00:00">August 15, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>OF Chris Epps has been assigned from Lancaster back to Lexington.</p>— Jayne (@whattheheck57) <a href="https://twitter.com/whattheheck57/status/235885388462448641" data-datetime="2012-08-15T23:47:13+00:00">August 15, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Chan jong's new dolce and gobana's... <a href="http://t.co/LdAMP9bg" title="http://twitter.com/bmeezytrain/status/235952959769432064/photo/1">twitter.com/bmeezytrain/st…</a></p>— brandon meredith (@bmeezytrain) <a href="https://twitter.com/bmeezytrain/status/235952959769432064" data-datetime="2012-08-16T04:15:44+00:00">August 16, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Legends finally playing in Georgia on a weekend, and it happens after DDJ has been promoted. Not going to drive 3 hours to see Nolan Fontana. Why the Braves had to move to Rome from Macon is beyond me. Just another reason for me to hate those bastards. Maybe next year the scheduling Gods will be with me, and I'll be able to catch them in Savannah or even drive to Charleston. If Correa/Ruiz/McCullers are going to be there, I'll definitely find my way to one of them.
Wednesday Stories Tri-City gonna Tri-City Uncharacteristically low-scoring California League game Greeneville goes slow and steady.... Recap OKC used a 6-run 7th to blast Fresno 7-1. Well, they singled the Grizzlies to death, as the 6 hits they had in the inning were all singles. Jimmy Paredes went 2-4 with a triple and scored twice. Angel Sanchez had a sac fly in the 1st and a 2-run double in the 7th. Brad Snyder and Jose Martinez had RBI singles, and Matt Downs had a 2-run single. Brett Oberholtzer had a solid outing, as he allowed a run on 5 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5 in 7 innings. Mark Hamburger allowed 2 hits in 2 scoreless innings to finish it out. Corpus only managed a single, solitary hit in a 3-0 loss in Arkansas. That one hit was a double from Enrique Hernandez. They only had 2 baserunners all game, as Chris Wallace drew a walk. Asher Wojciechowski blinked first in the duel, and he ended up allowing 3 runs on 8 hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out 5. Erick Abreu allowed a hit and struck out 4 in 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. In a most unusual game, Lancaster topped High Desert.... 2-1. Erik Castro had a double in the 1st and then scored on a wild pitch. Drew Muren went 2-3 with an RBI single in the 2nd. And that was all the offense the Jethawks needed. Delino DeShields went 2-4 with a steal, his 2nd with Lancaster and 85th of the season. Tyson Perez, despite being extremely homer-prone and hittable, has really held his own in Lancaster this season. In 6 innings, he allowed a run on 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Carlos Quevedo, Kenny Long, and Jorge De Leon finished it out from there. Quevedo had a strikeout as he retired all 4 men he faced. Long struck out all 3 Mavs he faced, and De Leon got his 5th save of the season by getting the final 2 outs of the 9th. Savannah jumped on Luis Cruz early in Lexington's 8-2 loss. Zach Johnson's 2-run double was the only offense for the Legends. Cruz ended up salvaging a half-decent night, as he went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits (solo homer), walked 2, and struck out 5. The Sand Gnats torched Evan Grills for 4 in the 8th. The best team in Minor League Baseball was up to their usual antics as they defeated Brooklyn 6-2 to kick off the 2nd half of the New York-Penn League season. Jarrod McKinney went 2-4 with an RBI single. On that play, 2 runs actually scored, but one came off an error. Preston Tucker went 2-5 with an RBI double in the 5th and a 2-run single in the 7th. Joe Sclafani went 3-5 with an RBI single from the leadoff spot. Neiko Johnson (12), Sclafani (13), and Jesse Wierzbicki (14) had steals. Juri Perez threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 4, and striking out 5. Jeremiah Meiners allowed 2 in the 7th, but Travis Ballew and John Neely prevented any further damage. When Pioneer Park rose up for the 7th inning stretch, Greeneville was trailing Bristol 4-1. They scraped a run across for the next 4 innings to walk off with a 5-4 victory. Before that, Brian Blasik's bases-loaded walk in the 1st was the lone tally for the Appy Astros. Francis Ramirez's night ended very early, as he only faced 6 batters and got 2 outs. He allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and walked 2 before giving way to Tanner Bushue, who allowed 2 of his own (1 earned) in the 3rd. Blasik started the long comeback process with a 2-out RBI single. Then, Jose Monzon scored on an error in the 8th which allowed D'Andre Toney to take 2nd after a single. Ernesto Genoves tied it with a sac fly, and Luis Alvarez won it by ripping a line drive single to right. Toney finished 3-5, and after a slow start, has brought his average up to .281. Yeah, I think the power is probably an illusion, but he's another great athlete in the lower levels. Carlos Correa went 2-4 with the obligatory double and walked twice. Zach Dando, Mike Dimock, and Mike Hauschild shut the White Sox down for the final 7 innings. Dando allowed 3 hits in 3 2/3 scoreless and struck out 2. Dimock and Hauschild retired all 6 batters they faced, and they both had 3 strikeouts. The GCLstros walked off with a 2-1 victory against the Marlins, as the unlikeliest promotion of the season, Yoel Silfa, executed a suicide squeeze to perfection. Silfa had a .452 OPS at the Academy this year, so I was just confused there. But in his US debut, he went 2-3 with 4 RBI, so there we go. Darwin Rivera and Yonathan Mejia each had 2 hits. Brett Phillips went 2-4 with a sac fly in the 2nd. Wallace Gonzalez also had 2 hits. Teoscar Hernandez, despite the rather low .240 average, is still displaying some 5-tool potential, as he recorded his 11th outfield assist. Edison Frias had a nice outing, as he allowed an unearned run on 7 hits and struck out 4 in 7 innings. Krishawn Holley got the win, allowing a hit in 2 scoreless innings. The Academy won! What a splash! They doubled up the Dodgers 6-3. Cristian Murillo and Luis Reynoso had RBI doubles. Reynoso finished 2-4, with both of his hits being doubles. He's definitely making a late push to come to America next year. Hector Roa, Pedro Coa, and Jarico Reynoso also drove in 1. Edwin Villarroel allowed an unearned run on 5 hits and walked 1 in 5 innings. Erick Hurtado allowed 2 in the 6th, but Yonquelys Martinez shut the door for the save. He allowed 2 hits and fanned 4 in 3 scoreless innings.
Welp, off day for the Astros, but everyone's in action tonight in the minors. Greeneville vs. Bristol: Michael Feliz vs. Jake Cose; Appy Astros can eliminate Bristol, the worst team in the Appalachian League, with a win tonight. They're 1 ahead of Johnson City for the wild-card in the West division. Tri-City vs. Brooklyn: Lance Day vs. Matt Bowman; Best team in the Minors. Lexington @ Rome: Luis Ordosgoitti vs. Fabian Williamson; Big 4-game series for the Legends, as they're looking up at Rome for that 2nd-half championship and playoff berth. Lancaster vs. High Desert: Nick Tropeano vs. Roenis Elias; Jethawks sit 1 game behind Lake Elsinore for 2nd, AKA the wild-card spot. Corpus Christi @ Arkansas: Bobby Doran vs. Mike Piazza; Hooks currently have a 4-game lead on San Antonio for the 2nd-half lead. OKC vs. Fresno: Rudy Owens vs. Jason Stevenson; Redhawks suddenly have a lot of work to do after that horrid stretch that saw them lose 10 straight at one point. Taking the 1st 2 from Fresno is a start.
Michael Feliz is pitching a good game So far too ... 5ip 7k and no runs . Does anyone have a scouting report on him from this year . I remember when we first got him he had a lot of projection and potential for a plus fastball ... Wondering if he has put some of that potential into actual velocity
Take it back about Feliz .. I jinxed it ... Final line is 4.2 ip 3er and 8k .. Still the high k numbers have me fairly excited about him
There was a guy that saw one of Feliz's starts in the GCL a few weeks ago. According to him, his fastball ranged from 91-96. So, he's probably getting consistent readings of 92, 93, or 94.
He started out slow...but in his last 25 games or so he's been hitting around 0.320+ with an OPS around 0.850ish. Someone can give more definitive stats, but he's been improving at the plate.
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=621043 He's tearing it up in 5 games in Greenville. 1.147 OPS
I have been fortunate enough to see a few at bats and have a cousin working for team prior to his recent promotion. He overall has done fine, he has shown the talent and upside people expected. He is very thin and doesn't even look 17 years old. He has struck out a little more than you would like and his plate patience and pitch selection is lacking, but he is only 17. He hit the ball hard in the few at bats I saw and that is consistent with what I have heard. Overall he has done better than I expected. He had early jitters but his talent is shinning through and hitting very well last 20 games. His biggest issue is learning plate discipline. From what I saw power will not be an issue. I don't like making comparisons with players so young and so far from the big leagues, but the ARod and Troy T and Ripken comparisons are not as accurate as Miguel Cabrera at the same age. Obviously he has a long, long way to go, but his approach and bat speed at Miguel at 17-18.
Tropeano is looking sooo impressive. He came down to earth some in the Cali league but not nearly as much as expected...a few rough outings but overall very nice product. He'll def start next season @ AA but I could see him finishing @ AAA.
