Pure relief guy. Was a closer at La Salle, and put up pretty good numbers, including 5th most saves all-time in D-1 ball, and a 6/1 K/BB ratio. Apparently only has throws into the mid-80s. He's 6-4 though, so I wonder if they found a couple extra miles in his fastball?
Sounds like an nice org guy. Someone who will struggle in the higher levels, but until then will help his team win games (a Luhnow emphasis). Luhnow has done a great job drafting in the lower rounds (say after round 10). These players have logged time in Greeneville and Tri-Cities (short summer leagues) and those have posted some impressive win-lose records.
Glad to see Rio Ruiz hitting .250 on the season after a slow start. Has been improving every month. Hopefully next year he'll be back at full strength and explodes.
Tuesday Stories OKC looking for a dozen. Mark Appel graces Cedar Rapids with his presence. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Another day, another Max Stassi home run. It’s getting a little silly.</p>— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kevin_Goldstein/statuses/362018525394632707">July 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Recap Oklahoma City 6, Colorado Springs 3 The Redhawks won their 12th straight and swept the Sky Sox out of Bricktown. 6 in the 3rd trumped 3 in the 7th. Jimmy Paredes put OKC on the board with an RBI double, and Brandon Laird followed with a 2-run double. Jose Martinez finished 3-4 with the big hit, a 3-run homer (4). Paul Clemens allowed 2 hits in 5 shutout innings. Philip Humber went 1 1/3 and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits (solo homer), walked 1, and struck out 1. Alex Sogard allowed a hit and struck out 1 over 1 2/3 scoreless, and finally, Kevin Chapman allowed a hit, walked 1, and fanned 1 in the 9th. The Redhawks will have Tuesday off before embarking on a West Coast roadtrip. Their first stop will be in Vegas for 4 beginning Wednesday. Asher Wojciechowski will take on Jake DeGrom at 7:05 Pacific. Corpus Christi 7, Northwest Arkansas 3 Facing the top prospect in the Royals system didn't faze the Hooks, as Preston Tucker and Max Stassi welcomed Kyle Zimmer to the Texas League by taking him deep. Well, it seems like 75-80% of the balls that come in contact with Stassi's bat leave the park. This one (16) was a solo shot in the 1st that put Corpus on the board first. In the 2nd, Ronald Torreyes hit a 2-run double. After the Naturals made it a 3-2 game with runs in the 3rd and the 4th, Preston Tucker kicked off a 4-1 run with a solo homer (8, 23 season) in the 5th. In his first game with the Hooks, Matt Duffy was 2-4 with an RBI single in the 8th and a run scored. Enrique Hernandez also hit an RBI single in the 8th, and Torreyes added an RBI groundout. Jonathan Meyer went 2-3 with 2 runs scored. David Martinez won his 14th of the season, which is a new Hooks record. He went 8 1/3 and allowed 2 runs (both on solo homers) on 8 hits and struck out 7. Andrew Robinson got the final 2 outs of the game, but not before allowing a solo homer to Jorge Bonifacio. In the middle game of the series, Mike Foltynewicz will face Brooks Pounders. First pitch is at 7:05. Modesto 2, Lancaster 1 2 Jethawks errors in the 1st resulted in Modesto's 2 runs. Luis Cruz threw 6 solid innings, despite giving up those 2 in the 1st. 1 of those runs was earned. He allowed 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7. Jordan Jankowski walked 1 and struck out 1 in 2 scoreless frames, his first 2 in the Cali League. Delino DeShields' 12-game hit streak was snapped, but he did drive in the Jethawks' only run of the night on an RBI groundout in the 7th. They had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs in the inning, but had to settle for that 1 run. In his first game with the Jethawks, Dan Gulbransen was 2-4 with a double and scored the only run. Jesse Wierzbicki was 2-4 as well. The middle game of the series features a bit of a Pac-12 flair in the pitching matchup, as Aaron West (Washington) will take on Tyler Anderson (Oregon). First pitch is at 7:05 Pacific. Quad Cities 7, Cedar Rapids 2 The River Bandits took 3 of 4 from the Kernels, moved into 1st place for the 2nd half, and Mark Appel notched his first win as a pro. Appel allowed 2 unearned runs (on a 2-run single) on 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2 in 5 innings of work. Pat Christensen threw 3 scoreless, allowing a hit and fanning 5 in his Quad Cities debut. As NIKEstrad pointed out, he has yet to issue a walk anywhere. Mitch Lambson allowed a hit in the 9th, but he struck out the side to end it. Again, QC jumped out to an early lead, which set the tone for how the rest of the game played out. Teoscar Hernandez led off the game with a single, and after Tony Kemp struck out, Carlos Correa hit a double, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Danry Vasquez hit a sac fly to put the River Bandits on the board, and then Bobby Borchering followed with a 2-run homer (3, 5 season). Brian Blasik added a sac fly in the 2nd, then he sent one out (solo, 3) in the 5th. He finished 2-3 with a double and 2 runs scored. In the 8th, Correa's 2nd double of the evening brought Blasik home. Jordan Scott had an RBI single in the 9th. Roberto Peña was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. The River Bandits will return home to take on Clinton in a 3-game series beginning at 7:00. In the opening game, Lance McCullers will take on Victor Sanchez. Tri-City 10, Williamsport 2 Down 2-1? The ValleyCats remedied that situation by running off 9 unanswered to blow out the Crosscutters. D'Andre Toney put TC on the board in the 1st by scoring an error in the 1st. Before running off 5 in the 4th, their only hit was a single from Mike Martinez. The 5-run inning was possible because they loaded the bases with no outs. Conrad Gregor led off the inning with a double, Brett Booth walked, and Martinez was plunked. Ronnie Mitchell made Williamsport pay with a 2-run single to give Tri-City the lead, which they wouldn't relinquish. Jack Mayfield added a sac fly, and then Toney clubbed a 2-run homer (2). Martinez, who finished 3-4 with 2 runs scored, hit an RBI double in the 5th. Later in the inning, Mayfield added an RBI single. Mitchell went 2-3 and added another RBI single in the 7th, and Chan-Jong Moon hit an RBI double in the inning. James Ramsay was 2-5 with a double. Gregor was 3-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. In his first game as a ValleyCat, Tyler White went 1-5 and was credited with an RBI when Toney scored on the error. Kevin Comer went 3 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits (solo homer) and fanned 3. Randall Fant struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 4th. Evan Grills tagged in for 4 innings and didn't allow a hit. He walked 1 and struck out 6. In his first inning as a ValleyCat, Tyler Brunnemann struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th. The middle game of the series is currently in progress. Adrian Houser and Tanner Bushue are on the mound for the ValleyCats; they're taking on Julio Reyes. Greeneville (Brian Holberton) 2, Bristol 1 The reason I put Holberton's name above is because he scored both of Greeneville's runs. Holberton broke up the Bristol no-hitter with a homer (3) to lead off the 6th. He doubled to lead off the 8th, stole 3rd, and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Edison Frias went 5 innings and allowed a run on 5 hits, walked 2, and struck out 8. The Appy Astros' relievers no-hit the White Sox for 4 innings after that. Chris Munnelly walked 2 and struck out 4 over 2 scoreless frames. Raul Rivera walked 1 and struck out 2 in the 8th, and Gonzalo Sanudo racked up save #9, as he struck out 2. Frederick Tiburcio will take on TBA in the middle game of the series at 7:00 Eastern. GCL Astros 6, GCL Yankees1 2 Down 2-1, the Kissimmee Stros scored 5 unanswered to top the Yankees' GCL A-team. Ydarqui Marte hit an RBI single in the 1st to put the GCLstros on the board first. They took control with 3 in the 6th: Alex Gonzalez hit a 2-run double, and Marte hit another RBI single. Javaris Reynolds scored on an errant pickoff attempt in the 7th, and Jean Carlos Batista hit an RBI single in the 9th. Luis Ordosgoitti went 3 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on a hit (not a homer), walked 2, and struck out 3. Joe Musgrove threw 3 1/3 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and fanning 3. Erick Gonzalez walked 1 and struck out 1 over 2 scoreless. The GCLstros are in Dunedin to take on the Blue Jays at noon Eastern. DSL Astros 6, DSL Athletics 4 The Academy got 5 in the bottom of the 8th to steal one from the A's. Hector Roa hit a solo homer (7) in the 2nd. That would be their only run until the 8th. Jarico Reynoso was hit by a pitch to lead off, and then Luis Payano and Kristian Trompiz walked. Jean Estrella hit a 2-run single to kick off the rally, and then Randy Cesar hit an RBI single to tie the game. With the bases loaded again, Arturo Michelena hit a 2-run single to give the Academy the lead. Cesar finished 3-4. Harold Arauz went 5 1/3 and allowed 3 runs (2 earned, 2 inherited) on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. Victor Mesa allowed a run on 2 hits (3-run homer; 2 of Arauz's runs scored) and struck out 1 in 1 2/3 innings. Juan Hernandez got the win with 2 scoreless, allowing a hit and fanning 2.
Lin should consider taking up pitching. This is a video shot by WTHB of him pitching earlier in the season. Apparently, he's touched 96 in one of his pitching appearances this year. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3JUH1ly-nu8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Can you guess who those two players are? I'll have the answer momentarily. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jorge DeLeon has been in the Astros org. longer than all but 2 current players</p>— Mike Tauser (@farmstros) <a href="https://twitter.com/farmstros/statuses/365226708653178880">August 7, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Correa is on fire. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23qctimes&src=hash">#qctimes</a> Carlos Correa with a 2-out double in the first for QC, scores when Danry Vasquez singles to right. QC 1, Clinton 0</p>— Steve Batterson (@sbatt79) <a href="https://twitter.com/sbatt79/statuses/365264506298957825">August 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Again. He needs to be promoted. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23qctimes&src=hash">#qctimes</a> Tony Kemp scores from first after walking when Carlos Correa splits the left-center gap with his fourth double in two games. QC 2-0</p>— Steve Batterson (@sbatt79) <a href="https://twitter.com/sbatt79/statuses/365272792255561729">August 8, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
