Agreed, nice lineup in Corpus. Sorry Jimmy Van Ostrand, you've been holding your own, and you've done well, but if only you were about 3-4 years younger, that would have been even better. Also, I think the platoon in center is the weak spot in the lineup. T.J. Steele has never been a model of durability as a professional. I think this is the first time he's had an extended run of health, but his plate approach is what it is. He has none. So far his K rate is identical to his stint in Corpus last year, when he had 252 at-bats. This year, he's had 296, and he's managed to drop his walk rate from 4% last year to 2.4%. Also, he seems to be having a run of poor luck, as his BABIP is .264, down from .310. However, a .228 on-base percentage and a .310 slugging percentage is totally unacceptable. 7 walks, 80 strikeouts. All that came from FanGraphs. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa454522&position=OF Jonathan Gaston? We found out he was rather.... pedestrian after seemingly breaking out in Lancaster. His BABIP in Tri-City was .271, which ballooned to .331 in Lancaster. Then, it dropped to .288 in Corpus, and now it's up to .310. This year, he's hitting for a slightly lower average despite slightly better luck, as his walk rate dropped from 9% to 7.9%, while his K rate went from just under 23% to 26.3%. He's not hitting the ball with authority either. Gaston had 37 extra-base hits in his first stint, and it has now dropped to 16. He's regressed across the board, and his time in the sun has passed. OPS is down to .648, from .720 last season. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa454776&position=OF I expect Wates to be up once JD gets the call to Oklahoma City. That should happen no later than July 15.
The second 16yo international SS signed this week. [rquoter]The Astros have signed Dominican shortstop Luis Reynoso for $700,000. Reyonoso, 16, is a 6-foot, 170-pound righthanded hitter who trains with Victor Baez and played in the Dominican Prospect League. Reynoso is the second Latin American shortstop that Baseball America has confirmed signing with the Astros since the international signing period opened on Saturday. The Astros also agreed to terms with Venezuelan shortstop Arturo Michelena for $220,000.[/rquoter] http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/07/astros-sign-luis-reynoso-for-700000/
Here's video of this dude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZm0XON1gtE BA had him projected to get the 13th highest bonus in the class.
One of the knocks on JD Martinez was his lack of power well since coming off the DL the dude has found his power stroke. Intriguing to wonder what he could do at MMP.
There is a really good core of talent at Corpus now. Brian McTaggart tweeted about it earlier, saying that the talent was "mounting" in CC. Of course, Jerome Solomon had to poo poo that talk and tweeted back to McTaggart with "define mounting." I guess he hasn't been paying attention.
OKC rode Koby Clemens' 2 solo homers to a 3-2 victory over Iowa tonight. The Hairless One allowed 2 runs (both in the 4th) on 6 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4 in 7 innings of work. Drew Locke provided the go-ahead run in the 6th with an RBI single scoring Luis Durango. Corpus tied the game at 3 with 1 run in the top of the 7th, but NW Arkansas answered with 2 in the bottom half to take a 5-3 lead, and they would end up winning by that count. J.D. Martinez hit his 8th, a solo job in the 2nd. Jonathan Gaston and Jonathan Villar also drove in a run. Xavier Cedeno got the bare minimum quality start, allowing 6 hits, walking 3, and fanning 5. Argenis Leon got the loss, getting 2 outs in the 7th, while allowing 2 unearned runs on 1 hit, walking 2. Kody Hinze has been promoted to Corpus, but he will be leaving Lancaster after tomorrow night's game, for logistical purposes. He will join the Hooks in Corpus Christi when they open against Tulsa on Thursday. As far as the Jethawks are concerned, they rolled out the welcome mat for Bakersfield. And they dominated their visitors to the tune of 10-1. Austin Wates went 2-5 with 3 RBI. Jio Mier had a 2-run single. Hinze had an RBI double. Rene Garcia and Jordan Comadena also drove in a run. Jose Cisnero was perfect through 5, but allowed his first baserunner when Comadena committed an error with 1 out in the 6th. Didi Gregorius broke up the no-hitter with an RBI single, and Cisnero was charged with an unearned run. He's looking to rebound after an abysmal June, in which he went 0-3 with an ERA of 11.25. He walked 17 in only 16 innings last month. He went 6 1/3, allowing 1 unearned run on 1 hit, walking 1, and striking out 9. There's a start. Emilio King scored for Lexington in the bottom of the 8th when Ben Orloff grounded into a force play and reached on an error. That run broke a 4-4 tie and was the winning run for the Legends in their game against WV. Telvin Nash went solo in the 6th, his 6th. Enrique Hernandez and Roberto Pena drove in 1 apiece. Luis Cruz was matched up against Jameson Taillon today. I think that's the 3rd time the Legends have faced the fireballer from The Woodlands this year. Cruz went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs, 8 hits (2 homers), walked 1, and struck out 5. Jorge De Leon got the win in relief, allowing 1 hit and fanning 3. Tri-City was held to 5 hits, but nevertheless shut out Vermont 4-0. Miles Hamblin and Justin Gominsky scored 2 runs each. John Hinson went 2-4 with an RBI. Zach Johnson got his RBI on a fielder's choice when Matt Duffy was the 3rd out at 3rd. Hamblin crossed the plate before Duffy was put out, though. Jonas Dufek shut out the Lake Monsters, scattering 6 hits in 6 innings, walking 1 and striking out 3. Greeneville parlayed a 4-run 5th into a 6-3 win over Elizabethton. Jordan Scott drove in 3, with the other 3 going to Ernesto Genoves, Chase Davidson, and Alex Todd. Ricardo Batista allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 4 2/3, fanning 7. Brad Propst got the win in 4 1/3 innings of relief, retiring all 13 Twins he faced, striking out 5. The Gulf Coasters lost 8-5 to the Nationals. Justin Shults and Jean Carlos Batista both went 2-4 and drove in 2. Jose Fernandez drove in the other run. Francis Ramirez allowed 6 runs on 6 hits (2 homers) in 4 2/3, walking 4 and striking out 3. Looks like the Dominican Summer League was postponed today.
JD Martinez is on FIRRRREEEEEEEEE...dude is making the front office look stupid, not that they any help, for not promoting him to OKC or even the big club.
Tonight is his last night in Lancaster, they wanted him to start in CC as they begin a series instead of during one...travel.
What's the rush, we're not contending this year or likely next year either. Might as well let that talent collect at AA ball then move up to AAA next year so it all hits the majors at the same time. And maybe we can start to aim at being competitive again in 2013 or so.
Age is my biggest concern, kid will be 24 this month. Leaving him in a league he is clearly dominating just doesn't make sense and holds him back. Rarely do true legit prospects reach the majors at 25 or later, not always, and again he has shown enough dominance at AA to assume he has passed that level. Also, moving him up now let's him begin to get ready for 2013 or 14 as putting a rookie right in the middle of a pennant race is hard enough. Some experience in a low pressure environment would get the kids feet wet.
Sorry, didn't feel like staying up until 1 to wait for Lancaster. Also, I wasn't feeling very well, so I fell asleep early. OKC walked off 7-6 winners against Iowa as they chipped away a 6-4 lead by scoring 1 in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Robinson Cancel went 2-5 with 3 RBI, including the walk-off single. J.B. Shuck went 2-3 with an RBI and scored twice. Oswaldo Navarro had a pinch-hit RBI single. Nelson Figueroa went 5 2/3, allowing 12 hits (1 homer), 6 runs (5 earned), walked 1, and struck out 2. Sammy Gervacio pitched 2 perfect innings of relief to pick up the win, fanning 1. Corpus, on the other hand, walked off 7-6 losers to NW Arkansas. J.D. Martinez had his 3rd straight game with a homer, a solo shot in the 5th which was his 9th. Jimmy Van Ostrand hit his 8th, a 2-runner in the 4th. Brandon Wikoff, Chris Wallace, and Jacob Goebbert drove in 1 each. Jonnathan Aristil allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 1/3, walking 2 and fanning 4. Kyle Greenwalt was charged with the loss, as he allowed a game-tying homer in the 8th, and Henry Villar, who allowed the winning hit, allowed the runner he inherited from Greenwalt to score in the 9th. In Kody Hinze's sendoff game in Lancaster, they were blanked 3-0 by Bakersfield. He doubled in 4 at-bats. Zach Grimmett allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits in 7 2/3, walked 3, and struck out 5, but was the hard-luck loser in this one. Adam Bailey's 2-run homer in the 6th was all Lexington needed as they shut out WV 2-0. The homer was Bailey's 16th on the year. Carlos Quevedo and Brian Strelein combined for a 5-hitter, as Quevedo went 7, allowing 3 hits, walking 2, and fanning 3 to get the win. Jacke Healey's 2-run homer and Miles Hamblin's RBI single was part of a 5th inning rally for Tri-City which tied their game with Vermont at 4 after the inning, but the Lake Monsters rolled off 8 unanswered with 4 each in the 6th and 7th to run away. The VCs got 4 of their own back in the 9th, but it was simply too much, as they lost 12-8. Brandon Meredith went 4-4 with a double and a triple. Justin Gominsky, Ryan McCurdy, and Hector Rodriguez also drove in a run. Euris Quezada allowed 4 in 4, off 7 hits (1 homer), walked 1, and fanned 2. Kris Bueno got the loss, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits (1 homer) after pitching a spotless 5th, but lost it in the 6th. Greeneville's game with Danville was postponed. They'll play a doubleheader tonight. Gulf Coasters lost 9-6 in 10 to the Marlins. Alfredo Gonzales got 2 RBI on outs. Jean Carlos Batista went 4-5 with a double and 2 triples and scored 4 times. Freddy Tiburcio went 4 1/3, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) off 7 hits, walking 1 and striking out 6. Blake Ford allowed 4 unearned runs in the 10th to get the loss. Academy was postponed.
He needs Pence/Lee to be traded, and not for a ML ready OF. Lee had a good chance of being waived at some point, but has really turned it around. He is actually on pace to post his best WAR since he was with the White Sox.
Martinez had a bad hammy for a month or so, has only really been 100% for a couple of weeks, which coincided with his recent power surge. I'd be shocked if he's not in OKC w/in a week or 2.
