Agreed. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's like Grant Hogue, a 26 y/o OF I highlighted in my under-the-radar prospects review. The dude's hitting .482/.554/.625 in 18 games in Lancaster. Sometimes the most random guys start hitting like Ruth for a while.
Doesn't matter. In a rebuilding year, potential future value is worth more than present value. That's the basis of every prospect trade. You could look back in hind site and say Ruggiano provided Miami with more WAR this season than Jobduan will ever provide Houston, but it doesn't make the trade a poor choice at the time. Boston got good value out of Larry Anderson once upon a time.
Jonathan Singleton will hit 5th in the Futures Game <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>US lineup: 6 @<a href="https://twitter.com/b_ham_3">b_ham_3</a>, 4 @<a href="https://twitter.com/KoltenWong">KoltenWong</a>, 9 @<a href="https://twitter.com/wilmyers">wilmyers</a>, 5 @<a href="https://twitter.com/molt2222">molt2222</a>, 3 @<a href="https://twitter.com/iLLJAY_SiNG">iLLJAY_SiNG</a>, 7 @<a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyChoice">VinnyChoice</a>, 10 Castellanos, 2 @<a href="https://twitter.com/_TommyJoseph_">_TommyJoseph_</a>, 8 Gose</p>— Futures Game (@MLBFutures) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBFutures/status/221734834438021120" data-datetime="2012-07-07T22:37:58+00:00">July 7, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 1. Billy Hamilton 2. Kolten Wong 3. Wil Myers 4. Mike Olt 5. Singleton 6. Michael Choice 7. Nick Castellanos 8. Tommy Joseph 9. Anthony Gose
Greeneville just ran off 8 in the 5th against Bristol. Safe to say that game's turned into a laugher. 12-1 in the 6th. Tanner Bushue just came on... not even he could screw this one up, right? Terrell Joyce sent one out. Ariel Ovando hit a 2-run single in the 1st. 2 straight bunt singles from Delino DeShields and Nolan Fontana loads the bases for Lexington, with Chan-Jong Moon on 3rd. Perfect timing, as the Legends trail Hagerstown 3-0 in the 3rd.
I get what you're saying, but I think sometimes people get too caught up in future potential under the guise of "we're rebuilding". If Ruggiano keeps playing like this for the next 8 years, then we would have gotten swindled if Jobduan never does anything. It's just too early to tell, but Ruggiano is already performing in MLB, and Jobduan is "potential for down the road". Remember the old quote -- "potential can get a coach fired..."
If he plays like this for the next 8 years... or even next 3 years... he would be doing something that virtually nobody has ever done in the history of the game. (come out of nowhere to be not just finally a big leaguer, but an MVP candidate after age 30).
Aaron West = this year's Nick Tropeano in Tri-City? Was at 90-91 at Washington this year, now he's working at 93-94
Come on man. Ruggiano has been a AAAA/4th OF type his entire career, he's not going to pull a Jose Bautista and turn into one of the most dominating players in MLB. He's hot right now, I'll bet you he won't even be starting come September.
I'll take that bet. With how well Ruggiano is playing I see the Marlins riding the fall all the way to the bottom. A gambler on a big hot streak doesn't quit after he loses a few; he keeps playing until his stack is gone and he's lost his shirt.
Saturday Stories The OKC pitching staff was feeling.... pretty generous. Epic comeback for Corpus... and Lancaster too. Jeff Luhnow was also in attendance at the Hangar. Lexington has hit a pretty bad rut as of late. Greeneville with a huge show of power. Tri-City snapped out of their recent funk. A new streak begins??? Recap I didn't know New Orleans played at The Hangar too. Actually, their park is pretty pitcher-friendly. Well, it didn't faze their offense, as they took OKC's pitchers deep 7 times, as the Redhawks lost this one 9-5. Brett Oberholtzer bore the brunt of the assault, as he went 4 innings, allowing 7 runs on 12 hits (5 homers), walking 1 and striking out 2. Sergio Perez and Wilton Lopez each allowed 1. Marwin Gonzalez is probably ready to return from his rehab assignment, as he went 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI. Jordan Kreke and Angel Sanchez each had an RBI. Down 3-0? No problem for Corpus. They scored 7 unanswered from the 6th to the 9th to sweep NW Arkansas 7-3. Jose Martinez went nuts late, finishing 3-5 with a triple and 5 RBI. The triple came in the 6th inning and drove in 2 runs. He added an RBI single off a soft liner in the 7th, and a 2-run single in the 9th. Drew Muren went 1-5 and drove in the other 2 runs. He had an RBI single in the 8th, then grounded into a force play that scored Martinez in the 9th. Jake Buchanan went 6 innings, and he allowed 3 runs (1 earned, all on a 3-run homer to Yem Prades) on 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Kevin Chapman got the win in relief, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3 in 1 1/3 innings. Josh Zeid got the last 2 outs of the 8th, striking out 1. And Jason Stoffel worked around a walk to strike out the side in the 9th. Lancaster stormed back from a 5-0 deficit to top Stockton 9-5. The Jethawks got 7 in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th. So, no tacos, but The People's GM must have been pretty satisfied with what he saw. Domingo Santana probably saved one of his best games of the year for Jeff Luhnow, as he went 4-5 with a 2-run homer (12) in the 5th that tied the game. After Jonathan Meyer and Chris Epps walked, Enrique Hernandez ripped a 2-run double to left that gave the Jethawks a 7-5 lead. George Springer went 2-4 with an RBI single and scored twice. Erik Castro was 2-3 with an RBI single and a sac fly. Grant Hogue also drove in 1. No one in the lineup struck out. Tyson Perez went 3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits (solo homer) and walked 2. He left in the 4th as something was bothering him. Probably a blister, according to Jethawks PBP man Jason Schwartz. Brad Dydalewicz got the victory as he threw 3 in relief, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 3. Pat Urckfitz got a 3-inning save, allowing a hit, walking 1, and striking out 4. Lexington has hit a rut. After losing 9-6 to Hagerstown, they are now on a 5-game losing streak. Matt Duffy went 2-5 and cleared the bases with a double in the 3rd. Justin Gominsky was 2-4 with 2 RBI, on a single scoring Duffy in the 3rd, and a groundout in the 5th. Nolan Fontana went 3-5 with a double, a steal (2), and 2 runs scored. Jordan Scott had an RBI single in the 8th. Luis Ordosgoitti went 4 innings and allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (2-run homer). He walked 3 and struck out 2. Nathan Pettus got the loss as he allowed a run on 2 hits, walking 3 and striking out 1 in 2 innings of relief. And all good things must come to an end, as Mitch Lambson allowed his first runs of the season. He went 2 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 3. Tri-City walked all over Aberdeen in the series opener, literally. The ValleyCats walked 12 times on their way to pounding the Ironbirds 8-2. They also took advantage of 4 wild pitches in this one. Everyone drew at least 1 walk except for Tyler Heineman and... Andrew Aplin. Heineman, though, was hit by a pitch. Neiko Johnson went 1-2 with 2 runs scored, a steal (4), and 4 walks. Aplin went 2-5 with 2 RBI. Heineman went 2-4 with an RBI single and scored twice. Jesse Wierzbicki also went 2-4 with an RBI single, a double (the only extra-base hit for the ValleyCats), and 2 steals (3). Austin Elkins also drove in a run. Aaron West had another excellent start, throwing 5 shutout innings. He allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and fanned 3. Lance Day*, making his debut, got 2 outs in the 6th, but allowed 2 runs on 3 hits. A 2-run single from Torsten Boss knocked him out of the game. Kenny Long retired all 4 guys he faced, striking out 2. Brad Propst finished it out, allowing 1 hit in 2 innings. *Day, a Texas native (he's from Snyder, a little town southeast of Lubbock and a bit northwest of Abilene), went undrafted this year out of UT-Arlington, where he pitched his final 2 years after transferring from Midland Junior College. After a 4-7, 3.62 junior season in which he struck out 64 in 97 innings, he went 12-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 18 appearances (16 starts), striking out 69 in 121.2 innings of work. Prior to being signed, he was playing independent ball, with Grand Prairie in the American Association. He was 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in 4 starts for the AirHogs. Greeneville absolutely blitzed Bristol, as they took the series opener with a 14-2 laugher. A 3-run 1st pretty much opened the floodgates, and an 8-run 5th signaled that the rout was on. Ariel Ovando went 2-3 with a 2-run single in the 1st. The first run of the game was scored by D'Andre Toney, as he scored an error occurring on a sac bunt attempt by Marc Wik. Bristol starter Euclides Leyer mishandled the ball, then threw it away, allowing Wik to reach 2nd. Toney finished 3-5 with a solo homer (1), 3 RBI, and scored 3 times. He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 4th and chipped in an RBI single in that huge 5th. So, what happened in the 5th for the Appy Astros? Terrell Joyce led it off with a single, then Ernesto Genoves reached on an error, putting the first 2 batters on. Then, Jean Carlos Batista sent them home by crushing a triple. He came home on a Mike Martinez single. Josh Magee moved Martinez over to 2nd with a single. Toney's RBI single scored Martinez, and as he took 2nd on the throw home, Magee moved to 3rd. Marc Wik grounded out, scoring Magee, then Brian Blasik singled to bring in Toney. Terrell Joyce, in his 2nd at-bat of the inning, capped it off with a 2-run shot, his 1st of the season. Joyce finished 2-4 and scored 3 times. Blasik went 2-5 and also added a double. Batista, Martinez, and Magee also went 2-5. Batista and Magee scored twice; Martinez once. Everyone had a hit except for Wik and Ernesto Genoves, but the two of them scored a run. Which meant that all the starters scored at least once. Francis Ramirez had another solid start, as he allowed an unearned run on 2 hits in 5 innings, walking 3 and striking out 6. Not even Tanner Bushue could mess this one up, as he threw 3 scoreless (and hitless), walking and striking out 2. Andrew Walter uncorked a wild pitch in the 9th that resulted in the only earned run for the White Sox. He walked 4 and struck out 1 without allowing a hit. The GCLstros were blanked, walking off 1-0 losers in 12 innings to the Nationals. Carlos Correa got the day off. In his stead, Juan Santana went 2-5. Agapito Barrios threw 5 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 3, and striking out 4. Brandon Culbreth came on for the next 3 1/3, allowing 2 hits, walking 1 and fanning 3. Erick Gonzalez finally recorded his 1st strikeouts as a pro, as he went 2 1/3, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 2. Alan Abreu got the last out in the 11th and the first out of the 12th, but he allowed a single to Wilmer Difo, who came home on a Mike McQuillan double to end it. Game Scores Brett Oberholtzer: 11 Jake Buchanan: 54 Tyson Perez: 35 Luis Ordosgoitti: 27 Aaron West: 65 Francis Ramirez: 66 Agapito Barrios: 62 Three Stars 3. Jose Martinez, 2B, Corpus Christi 3-5, 3B, 5 RBI He (with a little help from Drew Muren) singlehandedly spurred the Hooks on to a win with his very timely hitting. He obviously doesn't have much to prove in AA anymore, so I think he should be on his way up to OKC soon. His long road to recovery continues. 2. Domingo Santana, RF, Lancaster 4-5, 2-R HR (12) I think Jeff Luhnow was pleased with what he saw from Santana tonight. After a .212 April, Santana has hit better than .300 in every month. Naturally, his production has picked up in dramatic fashion. After 8 homers in May, he's only gotten 3 since. But at this point I'm really picking at nits. In 67 games, he's already matched his home run total from last season, when it took him 113 to hit 12 homers. K rate is still over 30%, but at least he's got a 3:1 K:BB ratio. Right now I'm imagining a 2-3-4 combination of George Springer, Jonathan Singleton, and Santana in Corpus for the final month of the season. 1. Greeneville Astros W 14-2 vs. Bristol The Appy Astros dominated in all aspects of the game tonight. D'Andre Toney, after a bit of a slow start, has picked it up quite a bit as of late. Terrell Joyce has hit very well, but his .351 average still seems a bit hollow. Hopefully he can tap into some more of his huge raw power. Remember... he hit 11 homers in only 42 games during the JUCO season this year. Ariel Ovando hasn't homered yet, but he's showing us why he received a record bonus. There may not be any openings at the moment, but Jean Carlos Batista should get some time at Tri-City before the season is over. Honorable Mentions The other Greeneville players that I didn't mention: For obvious reasons. Lancaster: Epic comeback! And Jeff Luhnow was there to witness it all. Pat Urckfitz, P, Lancaster: 3 scoreless in the Hangar is a Herculean feat. Nolan Fontana, SS, Lexington: How fast will he move through the system? Matt Duffy, 3B, Lexington: I think he's ready to move up. Andy Simunic's having a nice season and all for Corpus, but he's just another guy in the system. Not a real roadblock. Aaron West, P, Tri-City: ValleyCats pitching has just been dominant so far. West could be a guy that will move. Drew Muren, CF, Corpus Christi: He deserves to stay in Corpus for the rest of the season. Has definitely made the most of his opportunities. Marwin Gonzalez, SS, Houston (on a rehab assignment): I think he's good to go. Jason Stoffel, P, Corpus Christi: Can he move up now? Goat 7 homers allowed? Damn, that's freaking embarrassing. Looking Ahead OKC will be playing their last game before the AAA All-Star break. They will wrap up their series with New Orleans at 1, as Aneury Rodriguez will get the start. The Zephyrs counter with Elih Villanueva. Fresh off a sweep of NW Arkansas, Corpus will begin the next leg of their roadtrip in Tulsa at 7:05. Rob Rasmussen will not only be making his AA debut, he will be making his debut with the Astros organization. He'll go up against Brandon Hynick. Lancaster and Stockton will play the middle game of their series at 5 Pacific. Jorge De Leon will go up against Jacob Brown. Lexington will be trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of Hagerstown at 1:05 Eastern. Jonas Dufek will go for the Legends. He should be good to go, as his last start ended prematurely because of a rain delay. Opposing him will be Bobby Hansen. Tri-City and Aberdeen will play the middle game of the series at 5 Eastern. Brian Holmes will go against David Richardson. Greeneville and Bristol are back at it at 6 Eastern. Chris Lee will start against Todd Kilby.
I forgot to include the Academy in the recap... they beat the Cardinals 4-2 in 10 innings. Mesac Laguna drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th with an RBI single, and Luis Reynoso scored on a wild pitch. Laguna finished 3-4 with the RBI single and a run scored. Brian Pena had a sac fly in the 7th. Tomas De La Cruz, Yoel Silfa, and Pedro Coa each had 2 hits. Silfa had the only extra-base hit, a double. Elieser Hernandez had a good start, as he allowed a run on 5 hits and struck out 5 in 7 innings. Pena was charged with a passed ball in the 8th, resulting in a blown save for Rauldison Rodriguez, who allowed a hit, walked 1, and struck out 2 in the inning. Yonquelys Martinez got the victory with 2 1-2-3 innings, striking out 2. Also, some transactions to report, from WTHB. More on the dearly departed Luca Martone: A 2B signed out of Italy in 2009, he never got out of the GCL in his 3 years with the organization. He hit 1-11 in 10 games this season. Last season, he hit .314/.385/.386 with 2 RBI in 29 games (70 at-bats).
Nice to see Quevedo move up. I hope the Astros fired their European scout from that era. Martone and Jan Baldee (Netherlands) did absolutely nothing. Glen Barker actually did a good job as Pacific Rim scout, signing Chan Moon out of Korea. Unfortunately I looked it up and he's moved to the San Diego organization as outfield/baserunning coordinator.
in 5 PA's today Fontana has 1h, 1r, 3 bb's and 1SB That bring him up to 9 walks in 21 plate appearances. The guy takes walks like he's barry bonds. He's hitting .417/.667/.500 with 3 SB and no strikeouts in 4 games
I honestly was not too happy with the Fontana pick on draft day, but he knows how to play the game. Great guy to have in the organization. At the very least, we know we have a utility guy who can play SS/2B in the bigs. Should be a fast track guy. I'm surprised he never even hit .300 in his 3 years at Florida, but he was a walk machine. Averaged 51 walks per season in college!
