Tonight's lineups: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/qcriverbandits">qcriverbandits</a> lineup Hernandez-8 Correa-6 Davidson-DH Wierzbicki-3 Ruiz-5 Ovando-9 Morales-2 Scott-7 Sclafani-4 Bircher/Velasquez-1</p>— QC River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverBandits/status/321397563754438657">April 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Lancaster is in the middle of a pretty big dust storm. The Jethawks' Twitter page says that the game will go on as scheduled, for now. Jonas Dufek's last tweet, 2 hours ago: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The difference 5 minutes can male in Lancaster CA... <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23dusteverywhere">#dusteverywhere</a> <a href="http://t.co/34TIPHkTV6" title="http://twitter.com/Jonasty41/status/321375407171596288/photo/1">twitter.com/Jonasty41/stat…</a></p>— Jonas Dufek (@Jonasty41) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonasty41/status/321375407171596288">April 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Corpus: 1. Austin Wates, LF 2. Jio Mier, SS 3. George Springer, CF 4. Michael Burgess, DH 5. Domingo Santana, RF 6. Jonathan Meyer, 3B 7. Enrique Hernandez, 2B 8. Erik Castro, 1B 9. Ryan McCurdy, C Starter: Jake Buchanan OKC: 1. Robbie Grossman, CF 2. Jake Elmore, 2B 3. Trevor Crowe, LF 4. Brandon Laird, 1B 5. Jimmy Paredes, 3B 6. Marc Krauss, DH 7. Jonathan Villar, SS 8. Che-Hsuan Lin, RF 9. Jason Jaramillo, C Starters: Rudy Owens & Jose Cisnero
I don't think so. Friday night was in the mid 60s, winds were a solid 15-20, Saturday was about 70 but wind was a bit more. They were a few with blankets Friday night but everyone seemed comfortable Saturday. My family and I were definitely comfortable. The breeze was nice considering there is no such thing at MMP. I was curious too as these were the 2nd and 3rd games. They announced Friday night's attendance at 5,000+ and I called immediate BS on it since the stadium's capacity is 5,200. Clearly the stadium was only at about 65-70% of capacity max. Saturday's crowd was better.
George Springer with a real good night: 2/3 with a single, double, 2 RBIs, 2 BBs and NO K's. If he can keep the K's down, I see no reason why he cannot be in Houston after the All-Star Break. Springer also stole 3rd base in a Hooks win over Tulsa 4-3.
hahaha lets not get ahead of ourself after 6 games. It'll be a constant battle for Springer to keep his k-rate down. I think he'll be in AA for most of the season with maybe a late season AAA callup. But even Singleton stayed at Corpus the whole year last year.
Springer is 23 years old playing in AA and looking good so far, yes its early. But he was crushing it at Lancaster (I know all about Clear Channel Stadium) and did very well in the last five games at Corpus. Springer has a big swing, he continues to work on pitch recognition whereas Singleton spent all season at CC to let his power develop as he was 20 years old and one of the youngest players in the Texas League. Little bit circumstances between the two. I'm not saying that Springer has to come up at the All-Star break, but if he keeps the K's to a minimum and a few roster moves are made, then I could see him make his way to Houston (i.e. Pence, Martinez, Altuve). Just encouraged by what I'm seeing.
Monday Stories Quad Cities dominant! So, if the two designated tandem starters were the only two pitchers to appear, I'll start calling it a technical complete game, or TCG. Recap Nashville 1, Oklahoma City 0 Pitchers' duel... Redhawks only managed 4 hits, all from the top third of the order. Jake Elmore was 2-4 and Robbie Grossman and Trevor Crowe had 1 apiece. They had an opportunity to tie the game in the 9th after Grossman and Elmore were the runners on the corners with 1 out. Both got on board with singles. Yeah... they didn't score. Redhawks batters walked once and struck out 8 times. The tie between walks and whiffs was short lived; 23 walks, 30 strikeouts. Rudy Owens completed his 5 on 57 pitches (39 strikes). But.... he had to take the loss as Blake Davis' RBI double off of him in the 2nd accounted for the lone run of the game. The run was unearned. He allowed 2 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Jose Cisnero completed the TCG by tossing 3 scoreless as the piggybacker, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and striking out 3. Corpus Christi 4, Tulsa 3 Dramatics! After Austin Wates was intentionally walked to load the bases, George Springer drew a walk to tie the game at 3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, and one batter later, Michael Burgess poked the first pitch he saw from Isaiah Froneberger into right field for the game-winner. Not often a team wins when only 3 batters get hits and constitute the entire offense... just look at OKC. Springer finished 2-3 and had an RBI single in the 1st for the Hooks' 1st run. He also had a stolen base (1) and walked twice... his 2nd one completely changed the complexion of the game. Burgess was 3-5 and had a double to go along with the walk-off hit. He had half of the Hooks' hits in this one. Enrique Hernandez had was 1-2 with an RBI single of his own in the 1st. The Hooks drew 9 walks and struck out 10 times. Their BB:K ratio is now 21:44. Jake Buchanan was left without a partner after Ross Seaton's promotion to Oklahoma City. He went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits (solo homer by Kyle Parker) and fanned 6. All of his outs that were put in play were groundballs. 9, to be exact. The 3 hits he allowed all went for extra bases. 2 doubles and the homer. Still, to allow just 3 hits is a solid start. Carlos Quevedo, in his Hooks debut, went 1 2/3, allowing a run (solo homer by Kent Matthes) on 3 hits and striking out 3. He would leave with 2 outs in the 7th, leaving 2 runners on for... Pat Urckfitz, who got out of that situation, and eventually got the win. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and fanning 1. Lancaster and Lake Elsinore was postponed A dust storm prevented this game from being played. This game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 8. Quad Cities 12, Burlington 2 Absolute ownage in all facets of the game. 11 runs in the first 3 innings allowed the River Bandits to win comfortably and remain the sole undefeated farm club. Teoscar Hernandez was a terror at the top of the order, as he went 4-6 with 2 doubles, an RBI single, and 3 runs scored. Carlos Correa was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, but he walked and scored twice. Rio Ruiz was 0-5. Chase Davidson went 3-5 with 3 RBI singles and scored twice. Jesse Wierzbicki, who was 2-4, hit a 3-run homer (1) in the 1st and finished with 5 RBI. As for the other 2, one came off a double in the 2nd, and the other was a force play in the 3rd. Joe Sclafani was 1-2 with a 2-run double in the 3rd, scored twice, and walked 3 times. River Bandits hitters walked 8 times and fanned 9 times tonight. They are the first affiliate to whiff 50 times as a team this season. They've walked 26 times, though. Joe Bircher got the start this time, and he got his 5 innings in. He allowed 2 runs (both in the 1st) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. A dominant offensive performance calls for a dominant pitching performance, amirite guys? Vince Velasquez came on and threw 4 perfect innings, striking out 6 for the TCG. There's your domination right there. Three Stars 3. George Springer, CF Michael Burgess, OF/DH Enrique Hernandez, 2B, Corpus Christi Springer: 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, SB Burgess: 3-5, 2B, walk-off single, RBI Hernandez: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, R, SB So, basically, these 3 guys were the Hooks offense tonight. Springer and Burgess were absolutely huge in the clutch. 2. Teoscar Hernandez, CF (photo courtesy of BeGreen90 on Flickr) Jesse Wierzbicki, 1B, Quad Cities Hernandez: 4-6, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R Wierzbicki: 2-4, 3-R HR (1), 5 RBI Hernandez is shaping up to be a legit breakout candidate. If Wierzbicki was 22 instead of 24, the Astros would have a somewhat intriguing 1B prospect. You don't see many first basemen steal 20 bases anymore... 1. Vince Velasquez, P, Quad Cities Save (1), 4 IP, 6 K I'm going to go out on a limb and say that his Tommy John surgery was a rousing success. Once the organization returns to the traditional rotation approach, I expect him to be one of the 5. Honorable Mentions Chase Davidson, 1B/DH, Quad Cities: The power hasn't returned just yet, but when healthy, he is an impact bat. The starting pitchers: Rudy Owens and Jose Cisnero both had excellent outings. Unfortunate that Owens was tagged with the loss. Jake Buchanan was only hurt by 2 doubles and a homer. Otherwise, he did what he does best: keep the ball down and induce groundball outs. The 6 strikeouts were an added bonus. Joe Bircher was tagged for 2 runs in the 1st, but his offense backed him up and he clamped down on the Burlington offense. Goat For being the only team that failed to score. Looking Ahead OKC and Nashville will play game 2 of their series at 7:05. There is a TBA where Paul Clemens' name used to be... with Ross Seaton joining the Redhawks, does he end up being Jordan Lyles' new partner? Well, whoever ends up being the pairing will face off against Tyler Thornburg. Also, there is a TBA next to Brett Oberholtzer's name as John Ely is now partnering with Jarred Cosart. Corpus and Tulsa will wrap up their series at 7:05, with the Hooks looking for the sweep. Bobby Doran and Nick Tropeano will take on Dan Houston. With the postponement of last night's game, Lancaster's series with Lake Elsinore is now a 2-game set. Tonight's game will be played as scheduled, 7 Pacific. Alex Gillingham will now be starting, and Mike Foltynewicz will piggyback. They'll go up against Brandon Alger. The forecast says that it'll be a sunny day with a high of 70. And the winds won't be as fierce as they were on Monday. Quad Cities will look to continue their hot start as they play the middle game of their series with Burlington at 6:30. Dan Minor and Lance McCullers will take the mound for the River Bandits. The Bees will go with Brandon Love.
Great read on Dominican academies. I never realized that they used to be terrible places. Now... look at the Astros' new facility. Anyway, here's the link: Minor League Ball: Baseball Academies in the Dominican Republic: From Sweatshops To Big Business
He's up to three doubles now. Disturbing trend: OKC 2 caught stealing, 0 stolen bases CC: 0 CS, 1 SB QC: 2 CS, 0 SB Vince Coleman better start earning his money as the base-running coordinator.
Tropeano looked great with his counterpart tonight, with the combined shutout. I am really liking our minor league teams except for OKC. But you can really tell the work that Luhnow has done down in A and AA. A few more draft classes and we should really be looking nice. Correa our future SS Fontana our future 2b?
Hopefully the two-bagger of the future is DDJ. Fontana is very attractive as a polished, high-floor middle infielder but DDJ has all-star upside. Fontana may top out as a first division regular though. ____ At a prospect level, the only dud really has been Folty. Dude was hitting 100mph in ST and looking good with the ML club but he's turned in two mediocre performances so far at Lancaster.
The Astros look to be very good in the middle infield with Altuve, DDJ, and Fontana for 2nd Base and Correa, Fontana, and Villar for SS. Correa has by far the best ceiling at SS. His value at SS will probably keep him there until later in his career. For 2nd, I think Altuve has the highest floor. DDJ has the best tools. Fontana has an eerily high OBP. His three years in college and his two pro years, he's had more BBs than Ks. Is there a track record for guys like him? Not a power hitter, but seems to do okay when he hits the ball. Is his ceiling a .400 OBP guy in majors? If Singleton, Springer, Correa, and Santana pan out, what would be worth more, a base stealer or a guy that gets on base and gets them more ABs? Fontana is just a weird prospect who will need to be in upper levels before getting a good read on him.
I would be thrilled if Fontana turns out to be a David Eckstein type. I've always been a fan of how he approached the game. Not the most gifted athlete, but he seemed to always get the job done. I have no idea though, that is more of a guess, as I do not have in-depth knowledge of our minor league system as others (tellitlikeitis - this dude is good).
