So.... 100-101. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/streetjl">streetjl</a> Probably 1-2 mph on the high side.</p>— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregRajan/status/334826962965131264">May 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Michael Burgess was drilled in the hand by a pitch. Enrique Hernandez has played the outfield, so I would imagine that he and Drew Muren will platoon as the third outfielder.
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130515&content_id=47685422&fext=.jsp&vkey=recap&sid=t565 Quad Cities right-hander Lance McCullers worked a scoreless bottom of the first inning but was removed from the game with hip tightness.
Wednesday Stories #1 heating up? How did Mike Foltynewicz fare in his first start at Whataburger Field? Recap Oklahoma City was off The Redhawks will be starting a 4-game series in Sacramento, with game 1 beginning at 7:05 Pacific. OKC's starter has yet to be announced, but according to their game notes from Tuesday, Brett Oberholtzer will face Sonny Gray. Corpus Christi 10, San Antonio 8 The Hooks found themselves down 3-0 heading into their half of the 2nd, but they responded with 6 in the bottom to take the lead. It all started when Missions 2B Adam Buschini dropped a potential inning-ending double play ball that Drew Muren hit with the bases loaded and 1 out, which really turned the tide of the game. On that play, Erik Castro scored to put Corpus on the board. Rene Garcia made the Missions pay with a 2-run single, and then Muren was able to score, and Garcia advanced to 3rd on an error. Domingo Santana and Michael Burgess were hit by pitches to reload the bases. Burgess left the game in considerable pain after taking one on the hand, and Jio Mier entered to pinch-run. Mier would remain in the game at shortstop and went 1-1 with a run scored and a walk. As a result of Mier entering the game, Ben Orloff shifted to 2B and Enrique Hernandez went to LF. Jonathan Meyer then hit a 2-run single, and just like that, the Hooks took a 6-3 lead. Everyone had a hit except for Michael Burgess, who struck out in his only plate appearance. Meyer finished 3-5, adding a 2-run homer (3) in the 4th. Ben Orloff went 2-5 with a double and a 2-run single in the 7th. Garcia's single was his only hit of the evening. Domingo Santana went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Muren went 1-4 and was credited with an RBI despite reaching on an error. Max Stassi and Enrique Hernandez both scored twice. George Springer did not play due to illness. We could be seeing the onset of side effects of a prolonged tandem system, as mentioned in post #836. According to Greg Rajan, the umpire's strike zone was rather inconsistent. Mike Foltynewicz hit 103 according to the Whataburger Field gun. Now, that's obviously a hot reading, but he probably did hit triple digits. Folty went 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits (solo homer), walked 3, and struck out 4. David Martinez had his worst outing of the season, as he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, walked 1, and fanned 4 in 4 innings. Andrew Robinson was in a hairy situation in the 9th, as he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. The series finale has Matt Heidenreich and R.J. Alaniz taking on Keyvius Sampson at 7:05. Josh Fields is scheduled to throw 2 innings as part of his rehab. Visalia 5, Lancaster 2 Visalia jumped on Chris Devenski early as they took the series opener. Devenski went 4 innings and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits (solo homer) and walked 1. Jonas Dufek pitched a scoreless 5th, allowing a hit, walking 1, and fanning 2. Brady Rodgers allowed a run on 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3 in 3 innings. The Jethawks were held to 5 hits and both of their runs came in the 5th, courtesy of an RBI single by Delino DeShields and a sac fly from Matt Duffy. Nolan Fontana went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, and he's really tapered off as of late. He's almost striking out as much as he walks!!! David Rollins and Tyson Perez will be tonight's pairing. Their opponent on the mound is TBD. Cody Wheeler started for the Rawhide 5 days ago. First pitch will be at 7 Pacific. Quad Cities 9, Wisconsin 4 The River Bandits trailed 4-1 after the 4th, but they put up 8 unanswered (4 in the 5th and 6th) to take control. The big story, however, was Lance McCullers leaving after only 1 inning due to hip tightness. He allowed a double and walked 1 in a scoreless 1st. Mitch Lambson came on and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2 in 2 innings. Mike Dimock's mustache came on for 2 scoreless (and the win). He allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5. Dan Minor pitched well as the piggybacker, allowing 3 hits and striking out 4 over 4 scoreless for the save. The top 3rd of the order made their presence felt. Miles Hamblin hit an RBI double in the 1st to put QC on the board first and added an RBI single in the 5th which tied the game at 4. He finished 2-2 with 3 walks. Teoscar Hernandez went 4-5 with an RBI single in the 5th, a walk, and scored 3 times. Carlos Correa looks like he's getting into a groove, as he went 3-5 with an RBI single in the 5th, an RBI double in the 6th, and scored twice. #1 is now on a 6-game hitting streak, and his triple slash line of .266/.405/.404 looks pretty nice, doesn't it? Jesse Wierzbicki hit an RBI single in the 6th. Roberto Peña was 2-4 with 2 runs scored, and Jordan Scott also went 2-4 with a run scored. The series finale will be at 12:05, and the River Bandits will send Colton Cain and Mike Hauschild to the mound. They will be opposed by Austin Blaski. Three Stars 3. Teoscar Hernandez, CF, Quad Cities 4-5, RBI, 3 R, BB The guy with my favorite first name in the system has really gotten comfortable in the Midwest League. John Sickels had this to say about him on Thursday: 2. Carlos Correa, SS, Quad Cities 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R I've said this ad nauseam: he's more than exceeded expectations as the 3rd-youngest position player in the Midwest League. Correa's shown patience well beyond his years, shown a bit of pop and should continue to put more of it on display as the season progresses. He hasn't quite hit for average yet, but it's on the upswing, given what he's been doing so far this week. And can we worry about what position he'll play later? Preferably when he's a little closer to Houston? 1. Jonathan Meyer, 3B, Corpus Christi 3-5, 2-R HR (3), 4 RBI, R Corpus manager Keith Bodie noted in Tuesday's postgame show that Meyer has really come around. Meyer is basically Matt Dominguez; excellent defender, questionable on offense. He's had a very strong May after stumbling horribly out of the gate. Organizational players need some love, too 3. Ben Orloff, 2B, Corpus Christi 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI The Wizard won't really wow you. He just comes to play. I have great respect for guys like him. 2. Miles Hamblin, C, Quad Cities 2-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB Don't know much about Hamblin. I do know that he had a pretty good half-season at Tri-City in 2011. He's likely coming of an injury, which might explain why he only appeared in 2 games last season. Probably a guy who's got some pop in his bat, but with Peña and Morales getting the lion's share of the catching duties, he's probably going to DH or play 1B most of the time. 1. Michael Dimock's Mustache, P, Quad Cities W(5-0), 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K Here is John Sickels' assessment of him: No doubt... he's the top 'stache in the organization. Honorable Mentions Roberto Peña, C, Quad Cities: If his offense takes a huge step forward, I would not have a problem considering him the top catching prospect in the system. Dan Minor, P, Quad Cities: Minor has been pretty uneven so far, mainly because his numbers as the piggybacker have been better than his numbers as a starter. His BABIP is also slightly above average, and he hasn't induced as many groundballs this year as he did in Greeneville. Goat Nolan Fontana failed to reach safely for only the 3rd time this season. However, he's really starting to rack up the Ks. Hopefully he can find a way to break out of this slump and this 3-game walkless streak.
Thursday Stories OKC embarked on their long roadtrip. How did Corpus and QC do in their series finales? It's just been a tough season for a top 2B prospect. Recap Oklahoma City 7, Sacramento 2 Not only did they beat the River Cats, the Redhawks had to beat the clock, as well. Bad weather in Dallas (I guess they took a connecting flight) separated the team and resulted in most of them arriving right before game time. Brandon Laird put the Redhawks on the board and tied the game at 1 in the 4th by scoring on a wild pitch from Sonny Gray. The tie didn't last long, as Jeremy Barfield hit a sac fly in the bottom of the 4th to give Sacramento the lead again. It would remain 2-1 until the 7th, when Andy Simunic stepped up with 2 outs and the bases loaded. Simunic, who went 3-5 with 2 runs scored, popped one up to shortstop. The inning should've been over, right? Well.... Barfield called off Hiroyuki Nakajima (who's rehabbing) to try to make the catch himself. He didn't. The bases cleared on a pop-fly double from Andy Simunic, and the Redhawks took a 4-2 lead. One batter later, he scored on a passed ball. Brett Wallace, who was 2-5, iced it with a 2-run double in the 9th. Everyone in the lineup had a hit. Jonathan Villar and Austin Wates had 2 each. Brett Oberholtzer went 4 1/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 4, and fanned 4. Alex Sogard's first pitch for OKC resulted in a double play to end the 5th. He got 2 outs in the 6th to give him 1 1/3 innings, and he walked 2 and struck out 2. Josh Zeid pitched the next 1 1/3, allowing a hit, a walk, and striking out 1. Rhiner Cruz pitched a 1-2-3 8th, and Science Guy finished it out, walking 1 and striking out 2 in the 9th. Game 2 of this series will start at 7:05 Pacific. Ross Seaton will get the call for OKC, and he'll be opposed by Andrew Werner. San Antonio 6, Corpus Christi 2 The Hooks would have to settle for a split as the Missions put up 3 in the 7th to give themselves a 5-1 lead. After Corpus got 1 back in the 8th, they took it right back in the 9th. Erik Castro put the Hooks on the board first with an RBI single in the 1st. Rene Garcia went 3-4 with a solo homer (2) in the 8th, and Jio Mier, who was ill, went 2-4. George Vondracek is one of the writers covering the Hooks this season. That used to be Greg Rajan's job, but he got bumped up in the CC Caller-Times sports pecking order. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>A virus is making its way around the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23cchooks">#cchooks</a> clubhouse. OF George Springer misses his 2nd consec. gm. SS Jio Mier is ailing but in lineup</p>— George Vondracek (@Caller_GeorgeV) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caller_GeorgeV/status/335182486864797696">May 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> We may be seeing the end of the tandem system in Corpus, or a new partnership. Matt Heidenreich was removed from the rotation. R.J. Alaniz went 4 2/3 and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits (solo home run), walked 3, and struck out 5. Heidenreich allowed a hit, but got the final out of the 5th. That was all we saw of him last night. Josh Fields tossed a 1-2-3 6th and struck out 1. And finally, Jorge De Leon went 3 innings and allowed 4 runs on 2 hits (3-run homer), walked 2, and struck out 2. Hooks hit the road for a getaway series...... in Midland. Jake Buchanan and Carlos Quevedo will be on the mound for the first game and they'll be taking on Murphy Smith. First pitch will be at 7. Visalia 6, Lancaster 5 A wild pitch from Tyson Perez in the 8th resulted in the final score. Delino DeShields, in this interview with WTHB (video included), notes that he hasn't been able to get himself going because of the hand injuries that he's suffered this season. His struggles continued as he went 0-5 with a golden sombrero. Telvin Nash went 0-3 with 2 Ks. He walked twice, though. Preston Tucker had an RBI groundout and Tyler Heineman, who finished 2-5, hit an RBI single in the 3rd. Matt Duffy hit a 2-run single in the 4th. Duffy, who's been slumping this month, went 3-5 with a run scored and added another RBI single in the 7th, which gave the Jethawks a 5-4 lead. Joe Sclafani was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored, and Andrew Aplin went 2-3 with a steal (5), 2 walks and 2 runs scored. David Rollins went 3 innings and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. T.J. Geith pitched 2 scoreless, allowing a hit and fanning 2. Perez got the loss, and he went 3 innings, allowing 2 runs (both in the 8th) on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out 1. Coming off their no-hitter, Luis Cruz and Kyle Hallock will take the hill for the Jethawks in game 3 of this series. They'll face Cody Wheeler at 7 Pacific. Quad Cities 3, Wisconsin 1 A rather uneventful game saw the River Bandits take 2 of 3 in the series. All the scoring was done in the 5th by both teams. Austin Elkins scored on an error as Teoscar Hernandez reached, Carlos Correa hit an RBI groundout, and Miles Hamblin hit an RBI single to score Hernandez. Ariel Ovando went 2-4. Colton Cain went 4 1/3 and allowed a run on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. He's turned in a 3rd straight solid outing. Maybe some consultation with pitching coach Dave Borkowski? Mike Hauschild tagged in and threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 3. John Neely worked around 2 walks to get his 7th save of the season. He struck out 1. The River Bandits return home to start a 4-game set against the Beloit Snappers. First pitch will be at 7. Brian Holmes and Jordan Jankowski (whose birthday is today; he's turning 24) will be taking on Seth Streich. On Sunday, Streich was tagged for 11 runs (10 earned) in only 2 innings. In that game, Alex Muren, the younger brother of Corpus outfielder Drew Muren, got the victory.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Expect at least one minor league roster move today</p>— Brooks Parker (@Subber10) <a href="https://twitter.com/Subber10/status/335414222223724544">May 17, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He has hit 100 mph at multiple sites and on different guns. Has to be atleast 98-99 and probably right at 99-100..... that is MAJOR heat.
Not Astros related but... Anyone see Byron Buxton's stats for A ball Twins so far? Byron Buxton is now hitting .343/.445/.594 with Cedar Rapids. Midwest League average is .249/.326/.367. http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=621439 Was the # 1 overall prospect in last years draft according to most of the "experts". I still like Correa but Buxton would have been my # 1 choice. At least we got McCullers. Lunhow better not get too cute in this draft though... take Gray or Appel # 1 and don't even hesitate to do it! The Moran at # 1 rumors worry me a bit.
How about Jake Buchanan.... 5 more shutout innings against Midland. This was actually the most hits he's allowed in a start, but he hasn't allowed a run in 3 weeks. 5 IP, 5 H, BB, 5 K
With guys like Buchanan dominating... why do we have guys like Gonzales on the major league roster? I would much rather see Jake get his cup of coffee. Those numbers for this year are straight ridiculous.
Insane stat -- that was his 3rd walk. Of the season (43+ IP). To put that in perspective, the best in the NL, Adam Wainwright, has 1 walk every 13 innings this year. Bizarrely, Bartolo Colon has 2 BBs in 47 innings.
Friday Stories Jake Buchanan can't be stopped! How did Luis Cruz and Kyle Hallock do in their first appearances since throwing the 1st no-hitter in Lancaster history? Recap Sacramento 4, Oklahoma City 2 After getting a run in the 8th, the Redhawks had the tying runs on 2nd and 3rd but were unable to capitalize. Che-Hsuan Lin and Andy Simunic each had 2 hits and an RBI. Lin's came on a double in the 5th, and Simunic had a single in the 8th. Jonathan Villar went 1-4 with a steal (14). Ross Seaton continues to struggle, as he only lasted 4+ innings. He allowed 4 runs on 6 hits (2 solo homers), walked 1, and struck out 3. He couldn't get an out in the 5th, so Kevin Chapman had to do that. He walked 3 and struck out 2 in 2 scoreless innings. Jason Stoffel finished with 2 scoreless, allowing a hit, walking 2, and striking out 4. Game 3 of this series has Jarred Cosart on the mound for OKC. He'll be opposed by Bruce Billings. First pitch will be at 7:05 Pacific. Corpus Christi 1, Midland 0 The Hooks took the series opener behind another strong pitching performance from Jake Buchanan. He tossed 5 more shutout innings and allowed 5 hits (the 1st time he's allowed more than 4 in an outing), walked 1 (his first since April 22), and struck out 5. Despite that, he lowered his Texas League-leading ERA to 0.93. Josh Fields pitched a 1-2-3 6th as his rehab assignment continues. Carlos Quevedo allowed a hit and struck out 2 in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Could this be another sign of the tandem system ending? Kenny Long didn't have it, as he walked the only guy he faced. 6 of his 7 pitches were balls. Pat Urckfitz allowed a hit, but got a 4-out save. Max Stassi went 2-3 and his 5th-inning RBI double was the lone tally in this game. Jonathan Meyer scored after leading off the inning with a single, an errant pickoff throw put him on 2nd, and a long flyout from Erik Castro allowed him to take 3rd. George Springer went 2-4. Nick Tropeano and Bobby Doran, coming off their worst outings of the season, will be on the mound for the 2nd game of this series. Their counterpart for Midland will be Zach Neal. First pitch will be at 7. Lancaster 6, Visalia 4 The Jethawks got on the board in this series by opening this game up on a 6-0 run. They had to hold on for the win, as things got a little too close for comfort in the 7th. Delino DeShields was 1-2 with a 2-run single in the 2nd, scored a run, drew 3 walks, and had a steal (6). M.P. Cokinos went 2-4 with an RBI single in the 3rd, a solo homer (3) in the 7th, and scored twice. Joe Sclafani hit an RBI single in the 4th. Telvin Nash was 2-5 with an RBI double in the 5th. Good news: He only struck out once. And, Preston Tucker also went 2-5, and he scored on Nash's double. Luis Cruz allowed 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5 over 5 scoreless. Kyle Hallock wasn't as sharp, as he gave up 4 runs (all in the 7th) on 5 hits (2-run homer), walked 1, and struck out 2. Travis Ballew notched his 7th save with a 1-2-3 9th, striking out 2. Aaron West and Blair Walters will be the pairing for the series finale. They'll be opposed by Andrew Barbosa. First pitch will be at 6 Pacific. Beloit 3, Quad Cities 1 Carlos Correa's RBI single in the bottom of the 1st put the River Bandits on the board first... but that was all they could muster. He finished 2-4, and his current 8-game hitting streak has raised his average up to .275. Teoscar Hernandez went 3-4, scoring the only run. He added a double and a steal (12). Jesse Wierzbicki was 2-4. Brian Holmes went 4 innings and allowed 2 runs (both on solo homers) on 4 hits and struck out 3. On his 24th birthday, Jordan Jankowski also went 4 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits and fanned 7. Richard Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 9th, fanning 1. Vince Velasquez will look to turn things around, as he's had a really tough May. He and Jamaine Cotton will team up in the middle game of the series, and they'll take on Derek De Young. First pitch is at 7. Three Stars 3. M.P. Cokinos, C, Lancaster 2-4, HR(3), 2 RBI, 2 R Cokinos may be playing second fiddle to Tyler Heineman, but he's taken advantages of the opportunities given to him. 2. Luis Cruz, P, Lancaster W(2-3), 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K Cruz looks as if he's starting to get himself back on track after getting torched for a total of 10 runs in his first 2 appearances this month. 1. Jake Buchanan, P, Corpus Christi W(4-0), 5 IP, 5 H, BB, 5 K Not a lot has gone wrong for Buchanan this season. He's just flummoxed the Texas League. Honorable Mentions Carlos Correa, SS, Quad Cities: As the weather warms up, so has his bat. Teoscar Hernandez, CF, Quad Cities: He's having a fine season so far in his first exposure to full-season ball. Delino DeShields, 2B, Lancaster: He's worked hard to hone his patience at the plate. Once he gets going at the plate is when he gets himself going on the basepaths. Jordan Jankowski, P, Quad Cities: A very nice outing on his birthday. Max Stassi, C, Corpus Christi: Good night at the plate for him, and his RBI double turned out to be the difference. Travis Ballew, P, Lancaster: Man, he is nasty. Che-Hsuan Lin, CF, Oklahoma City: Hell, I'd trust him more in the Houston outfield than Jimmy Paredes. Goat Ross Seaton's nightmare continues.
