Well I'm Back! Did ya miss me? I know ya'll didn't because OremLK did an excellent job of filling in for me in this section while I got to go a not-so relaxing vacation with my family and my sister's wedding. It was fun being on the lake but I heard so much wedding stuff I was getting sick! Plus, being the brother of the bride, I was running all over the place Friday and Saturday so that my sister could attempt to relax and enjoy her day as much as a bride can. But, it was great day because I know she is happy and I can't complain about my new brother-in-law except he is a Cardinals/Cowboys/Razorback fan! But we have a good time together. So, thanks to Orem for filling in and allowing me to spend time with my family
Now, two things I want to cover. First, Mike Newman at Scouting The Sally released his Mid-Season All-Scouting Team of Hitters yesterday! There is no J.D. Martinez on the list since, well, he's in CC. But, Jose Altuve made it as first team 2B. Newman is a big fan of Altuve no matter his size. He's got great athleticism and skills but he's small. As for me, I couldn't care less about his size. He's got tools and that's what matters for the most part.
Second thing I want to cover is the format of this section. I saw some comments last week about how a few of you out there enjoy the format that Orem was doing. It would be quicker to do it that way, but right now, that is a non-issue for me. It is a little easier to check on specific prospects as well. The way I've been doing it seems to generate a little more discussion which is also nice. So, I"m going to put a poll up on here to see exactly what people like. I don't want any of you to take my time or anything like that into your decision. I want to put out there what you want to see. So, pick the style you like the best and enjoy reading. The poll will close tomorrow (Wednesday July 28th) at 11 P.M. so get your votes in!
Round Rock won 6-5
The story here is that the starting pitcher was Leandro Cespedes. Cespedes started all year in Lancaster last year and was primarily a reliever in Lancaster this year until recently he's been moved to the rotation. Cespedes is only up for a spot start and almost made a case to stay but then got knocked around. He struck out just one and walked three with eight hits (two homeruns) that led to five runs in six innings. Jeff Fulchino allowed just one hit in an inning of work for a rehab assignment. Danny Meszaros picked up the victory with two scoreless innings of work in which he allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out one. Bogey went 0 for 2 but drew three walks. Matt Kata only went 1 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout but that one hit was a walkoff hit to bring Sutil in. Edwin Maysonet went 1 for 2 with two walks. Andrew Locke went 1 for 4 with a homerun, his eleventh of the year. Oswaldo Navarro went 1 for 1 with a double as a pinch hitter to leadoff the ninth.
Corpus won 6-5
Jordan Lyles turned a rough start into a decent victory with four strikeouts to one walk with eight hits, including one homerun. He gave up five runs but only two were earned in six innings. Jailen Peguero struck out four and allowed one hit in three scoreless innings to pick up a save. Jack Shuck went 0 for 3 but drew two walks and struck out once. Freddy Parejo went 3 for 5. J.D. Martinez was batting clean-up last night and went 2 for 5, he's not putting up Lexington numbers but he's not exactly struggling to adjust. Jonathan Gaston has been tearing up since the Texas League All-Star break (July OPS .929, last 10 games 1.241) and continued it by going 2 for 4 with a triple, walk, and a strikeout. Jonathan Fixler went 1 for 3 with a double, walk, and a strikeout.
Lancaster-Off
Lexington lost 3-0
I'm a believer in Juan Minaya. He has a tall projectible frame and is the second youngest pitcher in Lexington behind Tanner Bushue. I don't know anything about him as far as scouting reports, but he can definetly strike guys out at times, like last night. He struck out seven but walked three and hit one batter in six innings. He only allowed three hits that ended up in only one unearned run. Jose Trinidad is back from injury and pitched a scoreless inning. With J.D. Martinez now gone, Lexington is struggling to find a 3-hole hitter and last night it was Jonathan Meyer. He went 1 for 4 with a double and a strikeout. J.D.'s replacement, Renzo Tello, struck out three times.
Tri-City won 8-3
The big Red Raider Robby Doran finally had a start that warranted his early round draft pick. He struck out five and walked none while allowing five hits (one homerun) that led to two runs (one earned) in five innings of work (not too shabby). The exciting part is that all five strikeouts were swinging and three were in one inning but they were accompanied by an error and a triple. Murillo Gouvea struck out six and walked just one and allowed just one hit in three scoreless innings. Wilton Infante went 1 for 3 with a triple, two walks, and a stolen base. That is definitely what you want from a leadoff hitter. Enrique Hernadez went 3 for 5 with two double and a stolen base. Both Hernandez and Infante are batting over .290 for the season right now. We discussed a little in the game thread about Tyler Burnett and his excellent plate discipline so far this year. If he can display some more power like his homerun that he hit last night in his 2 for 5 night. Mike Kvasnicka is now on an eight game hit streak thanks to his 2 for 4 night that included a strikeout. Daniel Adamson went 1 for 4 with a homerun as well. Jacke Healey went 2 for 4 with a double.
Greeneville won 4-3
Euris Quezada struck out seven and walked two in his six and two-thirds innins of work. He gave up six hits that included two homeruns that led to three earned runs. Ryan Cole picked up his first save with two strikeouts and two allowed hits in a scoreless inning and a third. Chris Wallace went 2 for 4 with a double and a stolen base while he continues to have an OPS over 1.000 since being drafted. Between him and Bubby Williams, there are two very solid catchers in Greeneville. The real story in Tennessee though is Telvin Nash. He was drafted in the 3rd Round last yeah and was very disappointing. But the highly touted slugger is coming around now. Last night, he went 1 for 3 with a homerun, walk, and two strikeouts. His OPS over .800 on the season and is 1.147 for the past 10 games. All of this is while he continues to improve his BB/K ratio that Orem pointed out last night in the game thread. And for those of you on Twitter, Nash is on there and you can find him on my list of who I follow. He and Jay Austin talk quite often on there.
GCL Astros-Off
DSL Astros-Off