Minor League Recap- April 20th, 2013

Jarred Cosart hasn't had the smoothest tenure as a professional baseball player, as far as top prospects go. The Texas native has been tantalizing but frustrating- giving onlookers just glimpses of brilliance before losing his hold on the strike zone and fluctuating between hittable and wild. Supporters of Cosart have always had valid reasons to continue backing him, and detractors have always had the lack of strikeouts and his stratospheric walk rate to point at. However, this season, Cosart is bucking trends. After starting the year in AAA Oklahoma City, he has been absolute terror for minor league hitters. Not only are the free passes coming in less often, but Cosart is finally recording the huge strikeout rates that his stuff suggests he should be able to. And, on top of that, he is still keeping the ball firmly on the ground, recording over 4 groundouts for every air-out so far in 2013. Cosart has yet to launch himself back into the upper tier of pitching prospects leaguewide, but with more performance like early 2013, it might not be long before he's there.

DeShields reaches four times, JetHawks hang 11-spot

Scouts have had mixed reviews on Delino DeShields, Jr. early this season, but after a bit of a slow start his numbers have started to look more and more impressive. He was swinging a hot bat on Saturday night, smacking two triples and a single while walking once and finishing the day 3 for 3 with two steals. However, it was not a perfect day for DeShields, who was caught stealing again to bring his season total to five in ten attempts. He was also charged with an error, his first on the year. Now hitting .342, DeShields carries all the upside generally associated with a top 10 draft pick, but needs to work the kinks out of his game in order for him to truly reach it. The JetHawks certainly enjoyed his performance last night, though, and with help from Preston Tucker, who hit his fifth homer of the year, and MP Cokinos, who had two more hits to raise his season batting average to .407, they hung 11 runs on Bakersfield to avoid a sweep.

River Bandits' pitching falters, team swept in double header

After coming out of the gates red hot, the Quad Cities River Bandits have cooled a bit, and they're struggling to regain traction. On Saturday, facing Kane County, the Quad Cities pitching staff surrendered eleven runs in two seven inning contests, losing both. #1 overall pick Carlos Correa's cold streak continued as he failed to record a hit, dropping his season average to .205 as he continues to adjust to full-season ball. Wake Forest product Brian Holmes was roughed up in his start, allowing five runs in under three innings to take the loss in game 1. On the other side, Rock Shoulders, owner of perhaps the best name in baseball, had a home run in each game of the twin bill.

Wojciechowski, Springer lead Hooks to narrow victory

The Corpus Christi lineup has been very boom-or-bust in 2013, and that should really come as no surprise. Just like the Astros' major league club, Corpus is home to several hitters known for having all-or-nothing tendencies. Though on Saturday there was more nothing than all, a combined shutout by David Martinez and Asher Wojciechowski pushed the Hooks to a 1-0 victory. Martinez threw five perfect innings with three strikeouts before handing the ball to Wojo, who finished the game with four two-hit innings and five Ks to keep his ERA at a pretty 0.00. George Springer conected on his 4th home run of 2012 for the team's lone run, but also added another strikeout to his lofty total.

Cosart dominates in start, Grossman keeps chugging as RedHawks win

Though sometimes less than brilliant, Jarred Cosart is always exciting when he is on the mound. On Saturday, in a start in Albuquerque (one of the most hitter-friendly environments in the minors), Cosart was not only interesting, but absolutely untouchable. In five one-run innings, he recorded six outs via the K and six more via the groundout while allowing just three hits and walking none, bringing his season ERA up to 1.02. Cosart is making a strong bid to be the next man in line when there is a need for a spot starter, and that time could come very soon.

Notable Lines

Quad Cities River Bandits (A) (Double header)

Teoscar Hernandez- 2 for 8, 2B, 3B, 2 K

Carlos Correa- 0 for 4, K

Rio Ruiz- 0 for 3

Ariel Ovando- 2 for 4, 2 BB

Jordan Jankowski- 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 0 K, 1 HRA

Brian Holmes- 2.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Lancaster JetHawks (A+)

Delino DeShields, Jr.- 3 for 3, 2 3B, BB, 2 SB, CS, E

Nolan Fontana- 1 for 5, 2B, 2 K

Andrew Aplin- 0 for 4, BB, K

Preston Tucker- 3 for 4, HR, K

Brandon Meredith- 0 for 4, 2 K

MP Cokinos- 2 for 4, 2B

Luis Cruz- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Aaron West- 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 5 K

Corpus Christi Hooks (AA)

Austin Wates- 0 for 3, 2 K

George Springer- 1 for 3, HR, K

Carlos Perez- 0 for 3

Jonathan Meyer- 0 for 3

David Martinez- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Asher Wojciechowski- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA)

Robbie Grossman- 2 for 3, BB

Jake Elmore- 0 for 3, BB

Marc Krauss- 1 for 4, 3B

Jimmy Paredes- 0 for 3, 2 K

Jonathan Villar- 2 for 4, K, CS

Jarred Cosart- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K

Wes Musick- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Jose Valdez- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV