That is what is most important to me. A high K/9 is good, but if it is paired with a high BB/9, then you have a pitcher that may struggle to get out of the sixth inning. I think a respectable K/BB ratio is what makes middle and back of the rotation pitchers so good: they can give you productive innings even though they may not dominate you. Obviously, front line starters can have it too, but usually a front line starter can be identified from his actual offerings rather than statistics (I would imagine).
I like to imagine that Luhnow is pulling a rope-a-dope on some fool GM by leaving some of the hitting prospects they feel are the least promising in Lancaster to boost their numbers. Then you leave THOSE guys unprotected during the upcoming Rule V draft. I know other teams should do more homework than just looking at the raw numbers...but it is fun to imagine Luhnow is that devious.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-chat-with-j-j-cooper-3/ Steven A (Chicago): Springer continues to kill minor league pitching while k'ing too much. Are people starting to get less concerned about the k rate since it has yet to prevent him from hitting at such an elite level. Or do they still believe major league pitchers will finally exploit him? J.J. Cooper: Hey everyone, thanks for coming out. The K’s are still a concern, but it’s more of a limiting factor on his ceiling than something that should preclude him being a big league regular. Springer’s other skills (speed/defense/power) are good enough to give him a chance to play regularly while he continues to make adjustments to improve his hit tool. Jason (Austin): Who do you think will be the first player from this years draft to reach the majors? I have heard the Astros only want to get Appel to AA, but is there in any chance he gets a start in Houston before the year ends? J.J. Cooper: Can’t really see a reason for the Astros to rush him. For one, the difference between winning 58 and 60 games is pretty much insignificant and for two, after a full season at Stanford, it makes sense to keep Appel on a pretty relaxed workload this August/September. Pitching in the big leagues is not exactly low-stress innings. But I’d say Appel is a favorite to be the first 2013 draftee to make it to the majors. Rob (Alaska): So, I have to ask, is this prolonged outburst by Stassi changing the industry perception about his potential role/ceiling, or is still too SSS to evalute? J.J. Cooper: With Stassi the biggest question has been can he stay healthy? That’s the question we still don’t have an answer to. His role/ceiling is largely tied up in proving he can stay healthy for a full season, something he hasn’t been able to do up to now. Matt (Austin, TX): Does Stassi have the talent to surpass Castro in a couple of years as HOU main backstop? J.J. Cooper: I don’t see that happening. He could end up as Castro’s backup. Castro is a better all-around catcher with just as much bat.
There Stars of the Full-Season Teams: July OKC 3. Asher Wojciechowski, P July: 4 starts (1 CG shutout), 3-0, 2.00 ERA, 27 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 9 BB, 15 K, 0.88 WHIP, .163 opponent average Combined season: 22 appearances (18 starts, 2 CG, 1 shutout), 8-6, 1 save, 2.67 ERA, 124.2 IP, 93 H (11 HR), 39 R (37 earned), 40 BB, 100 K, 1.07 WHIP, .204 opponent average 2. Brad Peacock, P July: 6 appearances (5 starts), 3-0, 2.25 ERA, 32 IP, 27 H (4 HR), 8 ER, 5 BB, 30 K, 1 WHIP, .231 opponent average Season (minors only): 14 appearances (13 starts), 6-2, 2.73 ERA, 79 IP, 65 H (9 HR), 29 R (24 earned), 22 BB, 76 K, 1.10 WHIP, .226 opponent average 1. George Springer, CF July: 26 games, .347/.427/.716, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 22 R, 14 BB, 33 K, 10 SB (2 CS), 1.143 OPS Combined season: 106 games, .308/.407/.605, 29 HR, 84 RBI, 82 R, 60 BB, 136 K, 36 SB (8 CS), 1.012 OPS Corpus Christi 3. Rene Garcia, C July: 24 games, .317/.349/.413, HR, 10 RBI, 11 R, 5 BB, 13 K, 2 CS, .762 OPS Season, Corpus only: 73 games, .304/.348/.419, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 36 R, 19 BB, 44 K, SB (2 CS), .767 OPS 2. Jonathan Meyer, 3B July: 25 games, .315/.411/.446, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 17 R, 12 BB, 16 K, CS, .857 OPS Season: 103 games, .274/.334/.421, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 52 R, 35 BB, 78 K, 3 SB (3 CS), .755 OPS 1. Max Stassi, C July: 24 games, .333/.404/.782, 11 HR, 24 RBI, 17 R, 9 BB, 16 K, 1.186 OPS Season: 61 games, .288/.351/.572, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 36 R, 18 BB, 53 K, SB, .923 OPS Lancaster 3. Brandon Meredith, OF July: 29 games (yes, no days off for him), .311/.433/.612, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 24 R, 20 BB, 21 K, SB (CS), 1.045 OPS Season: 81 games, .289/.409/.536, 14 HR, 57 RBI, 70 R, 48 BB, 65 K, 4 SB (5 CS), .944 OPS 2. Delino DeShields, 2B July: 25 games, .349/.407/.500, HR, 15 RBI, 23 R, 10 BB, 16 K, 19 SB (5 CS), .907 OPS Season: 87 games, .306/.390/.433, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 69 R, 46 BB, 76 K, 39 SB (16 CS), .824 OPS 1. Matt Duffy, 3B July: 27 games, .363/.412/.637, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 19 R, 6 BB, 23 K, CS, 1.050 OPS Season: 97 games, .323/.400/.552, 18 HR, 77 RBI, 73 R, 30 BB, 77 K, 2 CS, .952 OPS Quad Cities 3. Teoscar Hernandez, OF July: 19 games, .288/.330/.500, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 18 R, 6 BB, 19 K, 2 SB (2 CS), .830 OPS Season: 93 games, .270/.324/.426, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 73 R, 30 BB, 102 K, 21 SB (9 CS), .750 OPS 2. Carlos Correa, SS July: 20 games, .295/.378/.474, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 8 R, 10 BB, 12 K, 2 SB (2 CS), .852 OPS Season: 87 games, .314/.397/.459, 7 HR, 61 RBI, 57 RBI, 43 BB, 64 K, 9 SB (7 CS), .855 OPS 1. Vince Velasquez, P July: 4 starts, 1-1, 2.35 ERA, 23 IP, 13 H (2 HR), 8 R (6 earned), 5 BB, 21 K, 0.78 WHIP, .160 opponent average Season: 24 appearances (15 starts), 8-4, 3 saves, 3.38 ERA, 104 IP, 86 H (7 HR), 43 R (39 earned), 31 BB, 116 K, 1.13 WHIP, .223 opponent average
I'm still holding out hope for Peacock. His PCL numbers are light years better than they were last year and he's gotten his walk numbers down alot, especially in July. Hopefully his next stint on the Astros will be better. (How could it not be? LOL)
Three Stars of the Short-Season Teams: July Tri-City 3. Michael Feliz, P July: 5 appearances (2 starts), 1-1, 1.77 ERA, 20.1 IP, 21 H, 5 R (4 earned), 3 BB, 23 K, 1.19 WHIP, .263 opponent average Season: 8 appearances (5 starts), 3-2, 1.49 ERA, 36.1 IP, 28 H (HR), 9 R (6 earned), 6 BB, 42 K, 0.94 WHIP, .211 opponent average 2. Chris Cotton, P July and season: 6 appearances (4 starts), 3-2, 0.79 ERA, 22.2 IP, 16 H, 4 R (2 earned), BB, 15 K, 0.77 WHIP, .193 opponent average 1. Zach Morton, P July: 6 appearances (3 starts), 1-1, 1.50 ERA, 24 IP, 11 H, 8 R (4 earned), 3 BB, 14 K, 0.58 WHIP, .136 opponent average Season: 8 appearances (3 starts), 1-1, 1.65 ERA, 27.1 IP, 14 H, 11 R (5 earned), 6 BB, 16 K, 0.74 WHIP, .151 opponent average Morton is sporting a 4.50 groundout/airout ratio and a 67.5% groundball rate this half-season. Greeneville 3. Tyler White, 1B/3B July: 14 games, .340/.414/.460, HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB, 7 K, 2 SB, .874 OPS Combined season: 32 games, .354/.449/.513, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 18 R, 13 BB, 14 K, 2 SB (2 CS), .962 OPS 2. Edison Frias, P July: 5 starts, 2-2, 1.67 ERA, 27 IP, 21 H (2 HR), 9 R (5 earned), 2 BB, 20 K, 0.85 WHIP, .206 opponent average Combined season: 8 appearances (6 starts), 2-3, 3.53 ERA, 35.2 IP, 39 H (2 HR), 15 R (10 earned), 4 BB, 25 K, 1.22 WHIP, .271 opponent average 1. Chris Lee, P July: 5 appearances (4 starts), 1-1, 2.18 ERA, 20.2 IP, 18 H (2 HR), 8 R (5 earned), 4 BB, 27 K, 1.09 WHIP, .231 opponent average Season: 7 appearances (6 starts), 1-1, 3.10 ERA, 29 IP, 26 H (3 HR), 13 R (10 earned), 6 BB, 37 K, 1.10 WHIP, .234 opponent average GCL 3. Agapito Barrios, P July: 5 starts, 2-2, 2.11 ERA, 21.1 IP, 17 H, 5 ER, 8 BB, 21 K, 1.18 WHIP, .205 opponent average Season: 7 starts, 3-2, 2.01 ERA, 31.1 IP, 24 H, 7 ER, 11 BB, 29 K, 1.13 WHIP, .198 opponent average 2. Yonathan Mejia, 1B July: 25 games, .376/.417/.494, HR, 15 RBI, 12 R, 7 BB, 9 K, 2 SB (1 CS), .911 OPS Season, counting today's game: 35 games, .344/.374/.445, HR, 22 RBI, 18 R, 7 BB, 15 K, 4 SB (CS), .819 OPS 1. Troy Scribner, P July: 5 appearances (1 start), 2-2, 1.77 ERA, 20.1 IP, 11 H (HR), 5 R (4 earned), 2 BB, 31 K, 0.65 WHIP, .151 opponent average Combined season: 9 appearances (2 starts), 3-2, 1.21 ERA, 29.2 IP, 17 H (HR), 6 R (4 earned), 5 BB, 44 K, 0.75 WHIP, .162 opponent average DSL 3. Harold Arauz, P July: 5 starts, 2-0, 1.07 ERA, 25.1 IP, 15 H (HR), 6 R (3 earned), 2 BB, 19 K, 0.68 WHIP, .160 opponent average Season: 12 appearances (8 starts), 2-0, 2 saves, 1.90 ERA, 42.2 IP, 35 H (HR), 17 R (9 earned), 7 BB, 32 K, 0.99 WHIP, .215 opponent average 2. Jean Estrella, SS/2B July: 22 games, .342/.418/.392, 9 RBI, 12 R, 9 BB, 9 K, 5 SB (6 CS), .810 OPS Season: 45 games, .313/.395/.347, 11 RBI, 22 R, 17 BB, 18 K, 6 SB (11 CS), .742 OPS 1. Luis Payano, CF July: 24 games, .311/.351/.466, HR, 13 RBI, 16 R, 5 BB, 19 K, 3 SB (4 CS), .817 OPS Season: 50 games, .241/.335/.357, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 34 R, 26 BB, 46 K, 8 SB (4 CS), .692 OPS
In Corpus, Domingo Santana unleashed a 3-run homer with 2 outs in the 8th to tie their game with Midland at 4. It's his 18th of the season.
Eric L. Smith covers the Jethawks for the Antelope Valley Press, a Lancaster paper. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>DeShields reaches on bunt single, hitting streak now at 10. He's 20-for-42 during that stretch. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23JetHawks&src=hash">#JetHawks</a></p>— Eric L. Smith (@Eric_L_Smith) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_L_Smith/statuses/363497165236080640">August 3, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> He's also stolen 2 bases (41), one of which was home. Lancaster leads 5-0 in the 4th.
Friday Stories Let's play 2 in Bristol! And Clearwater, apparently. Can Tri-City... OK, they lost. Again. Saved you the trouble of wondering. Dramatics in Corpus! What did Lancaster have in store after putting up 26? OKC with the.... Quad Cities with the sweep too!! Double brooms!!! Recap Oklahoma City 7, Reno 6 The Redhawks got the sweep, but they had to quell an uprising late, nearly blowing a 7-1 lead. That's 8 in a row for the Redhawks. Brandon Laird was 2-4 with an RBI single in the 3rd. Marwin Gonzalez went 3-3 with a solo homer (1) in the 4th. Che-Hsuan Lin hit an RBI sac bunt, and Trevor Crowe hit an RBI double. OKC got 3 more in the 5th as Rene Garcia hit a 2-run single and then scored on an error. Garcia finished 2-3. Asher Wojciechowski went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 3. Alex Sogard allowed 4 runs (3 inherited) on 4 hits as he only got 1 out in the 8th. Jorge De Leon got a 5-out save, but allowed all three runners he inherited from Sogard to score. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 2. Oklahoma City will now begin a 4-game set against Colorado Springs. Brad Peacock is scheduled to start against TBA, but according to the Redhawks' game notes for this game, Bobby Doran will be taking on Armando Galarraga at 7:05. Corpus Christi 7, Midland 5 in 10 innings The Hooks rallied from a 4-1 deficit in regulation, and after the Rockhounds put up 1 in the top of the 10th to take a 5-4 lead, Jonathan Meyer sent one over the berm in left field to give the Hooks the lead, and the win. All 7 Hooks runs were the product of homers. Enrique Hernandez hit a solo homer (10) in the 7th to put them on the board, down 3-1. After Dusty Coleman hit a solo shot to put Midland up 4-1 in the 8th, Domingo Santana tied it with a 2-out, 3-run shot (18) off of Ryan Dull in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Ladendorf hit an RBI double in the 10th to put Midland back in front, but Meyer smashed a 3-run homer (13) in the bottom of the inning for the win. The home run hitters all had 2 hits. So did Preston Tucker. Ross Seaton had a bare minimum quality start, allowing 6 hits (2 solo homers), walking 2, and fanning 3. The 3 relievers all went 1 1/3. T.J. Geith retired all 4 Rockhounds he faced. Andrew Robinson allowed the homer to Coleman in the 8th. He allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Pat Urckfitz allowed the double. He gave up 2 hits and walked 1. In game 3 of this series, Kyle Hallock will take on Carlos Hernandez. First pitch is at 7:05. Lancaster 11, High Desert 2 This was the 34th time that the Jethawks have scored double-digit runs. They battered the Mavs in the opener, after finishing off Lake Elsinore with 26. Matt Duffy got the party started with a 2-run homer (19) in the 1st. In the 2nd, Joe Sclafani hit an RBI double. Then, Delino DeShields was hit by a pitch. He proceeded to steal 2nd, advanced to 3rd on a fielder's choice, then stole home as part of a double steal with Nolan Fontana, who took 2nd. Fontana scored on a Duffy single. In the 4th, DeShields extended his hit streak to 10 games with a bunt single. He stole 2nd again, and on the same play, Sclafani scored because the throw down to 2nd was errant. DeShields scored on a sac fly from M.P. Cokinos. In the 6th, Fontana hit an RBI single, and in the 8th, he hit another one. Luis Alvarez hit a 2-run single for the Jethawks' final runs. 7 of the 9 Jethawks in the original lineup had 2 hits. Alvarez and Carlos Perdomo had the other 2. Mike Hauschild went 7 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 4, and struck out 5. Travis Ballew allowed 2 hits over the final 1 1/3. The middle game of the series has TBA going up against Jordan Shipers. First pitch is at 7:00 Pacific. Quad Cities 5, Peoria 2 The River Bandits have now won 5 in a row after sweeping the Chiefs out of Modern Woodmen Park. They have also opened up a 3-game lead over Beloit for 2nd in the Midwest League Western division. Despite falling behind 2-0, QC scored 5 unanswered to close it out. They got on the board in the 4th with an RBI double from Jobduan Morales, then took the lead in the 5th on a solo homer from Teoscar Hernandez (10) and a couple of RBI singles from Dan Gulbransen and Jobduan Morales. Hernandez got back into the action with an RBI triple in the 6th. Chris Devenski went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs (both in the 1st) on 7 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Juri Perez allowed a hit in a scoreless 6th. Mitch Lambson allowed 3 hits and fanned 1 in 2 scoreless, and Juan Minaya finished it, as he allowed a hit. The River Bandits will hit the road for 4 in Cedar Rapids. In the opener, Joe Bircher will face Mason Melotakis. First pitch is at 5:05. Aberdeen 8, Tri-City 4 The IronBirds absolutely mauled Andrew Thurman. Utterly and completely mauled him. Michael Feliz, on the other hand, went 5 innings and allowed an unearned run on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2. Thurman got torched for 7 runs on 7 hits (3-run homer), but on the bright side, he walked 1 and struck out 5 in his 2 innings. J.D. Osborne walked 1 and fanned 1 in a scoreless 8th. Mike Martinez doubled to lead off the 2nd and scored the ValleyCats' first run as Ryan Dineen grounded into a force out. Brett Booth finished 2-4 with an RBI single in the 3rd and an RBI force out in the 5th that scored Chan-Jong Moon. James Ramsay hit an RBI groundout in the 7th. Jon Kemmer finished 3-4 with a double. The middle game of the series is at 7:05 Eastern. The starters for both sides are TBA. Game 1: Bristol 5, Greeneville 3 Greeneville put up 1 in the 6th to make it a 3-1 game, but the White Sox responded with 4 in the bottom half of the inning to take game 1. Thomas Lindauer hit an RBI double in the 2nd, and Chase McDonald hit one of his own in the 3rd. McDonald scored in the 6th as Ariel Ovando hit into a force out and an error was committed on the play. Enderson Franco went 5 1/3 and allowed 4 runs (2 inherited) on 6 hits, walked 2, and struck out 1. Chris Munnelly got the final 2 outs of the 6th, but not before he served up a 3-run homer to Zach Stoner. Game 2: Greeneville 4, Bristol 1 The Appy Astros earned the doubleheader split thanks to 6 strong from Chris Lee. He allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7. Gonzalo Sanudo struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 7th to pick up his 8th save. They also earned the split because they scored 3 in the 7th to break a 1-1 tie. Before that, their only run came on a sac fly from Thomas Lindauer in the 3rd. Alfredo Gonzalez broke the tie with an RBI double. Parker Hipp followed that up with a 2-run single. Gonzalez finished 3-3. In the series finale, Troy Scribner will take on Robinson Leyer. First pitch is at 7:00 Eastern. Game 1: GCL Astros 8, GCL Phillies 3 The Kissimmee Stros broke a 2-2 tie with 6 in the 9th. Yonathan Mejia finished 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. The first double brought home 1 in the 3rd, and the other was of the 2-run variety in the 9th. In the 5th, Jason Martin scored on an error. Martin finished 2-3 with a steal (7), 3 runs scored and 2 walks. One of those walks came with the bases loaded in the 9th which gave them a 3-2 lead. Alex Gonzalez followed with an RBI single, then Mejia hit his 2-run double, and Gonzalez scored on a passed ball. Jake Nottingham finished it off with a sac fly. Samil De Los Santos went 3 1/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and struck out 4. Juan Carlos Santos went 2 and allowed 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Reymin Guduan allowed a hit, walked 2, and struck out 3 in an inning of work, and Javier Lozano allowed a run on 2 hits and struck out 3 in 2 2/3. Game 2: GCL Astros 12, GCL Phillies 2 in 7 innings For the 2nd time in 3 games, the GCLstros scored 10+ in less than 9. Pedro Coa put the GCLstros on the board with an RBI groundout in the 2nd. Yoel Silfa (on a bunt) and Jason Martin followed with RBI singles. In the 4th, Alex Gonzalez hit an RBI single, and then Silfa hit another bunt single. Martin followed that with a 2-run single, and he'd score on a Jake Nottingham single. They added 4 more in the 6th on a Yonathan Mejia single, 2 bases-loaded walks from Ydarqui Marte and Jose Solano, and Nottingham scored the final run on a double play. So, Martin, who turns 18 in September, finished 5-6 with 4 RBI, 5 runs scored, 3 walks, and a steal in the twinbill. Jose Montero went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs (both on a 2-run homer) on 5 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. Kevin Ferguson allowed a hit and fanned 1 over 2 scoreless, and Zach Dando gave up 3 hits and struck out 2 over the final 2 innings. They got one more with the Phillies at 11:00 AM Eastern. DSL Indians 2, DSL Astros 1 A run in the 9th turned out to be the difference for the Indians. Victor Tavarez scored the Academy's only run on a wild pitch in the 3rd. Luis Payano was 2-4. Gerardo Juarez went 6 innings and allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 7. Geronimo Franzua walked 3 and struck out 1 over 1 2/3 scoreless, and Cristhopher Santamaria gave up his first run of the season, which resulted in him getting the loss.
Anthony Gose hitting a cool 231/312/313 in AAA. Still can't believe anyone actually worried that we might have screwed up by getting rid of him.
Jonathan Meyer's walk-off: <iframe src='http://www.milb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=29385113&width=400&height=224&property=milb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>
What do you make of his year so far? Obviously the power is there and he is very young for the league. Do you think they start him there again next year or OKC?
