Minor League Recap: Games of May 23, 2014

AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks: 12-10 win over Memphis (STL)

-> Ronald Torreyes: 5-for-5, RBI, R
-> Jon Singleton: 3-for-5, SB, R, 2 RBI
-> Robbie Grossman: 3-for-5, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R
-> Adron Chambers: 3-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI
-> Austin Wates: 2-for-4, 2 BB, 3 SB, 3 R
-> Jonathan Meyer: 2-for-4, BB, R, 2 RBI
-> Max Stassi: 2-for-5, BB, RBI, R
-> Domingo Santana: 2-for-6, HR, RBI, 2 R
-> Gregorio Petit: 0-for-4, R, 2 BB

SP David Martinez: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K (win)
RP Bobby Doran: 1.0 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 6 H, 1 BB, 0 K
RP Jason Stoffel: 2.0 IP, 4 R (0 ER), 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K

So this was a heck of a game here. You see 12-10, you think of a big competitive, intense, back-and-forth slug fest, right? Yeah, not really. OKC was up 11-0 after the top of the seventh inning. Memphis drove in two in the bottom half of the frame...and then another eight in the eighth inning to tie it. Fortunately OKC managed to plate a run in the ninth and hold the lead.

As if that weren't enough, you have a five-hit performance, Wates returning and stealing everything in sight, an error, two bombs, 22 total hits and even a steal for Singleton, of all people. You'd almost think the full moon was out if you didn't know better.

After a really nice start in April, Torreyes hadn't done much this month, so tonight was a big boost for him. One thing he's stayed consistent with is a shocking lack of strikeouts. He's whiffed seven times in 45 games, and his strikeout rate is 3.9%. Three point nine percent. I don't even...I mean, what is that number? Does not compute. Error.

Swingin' Jon Singleton has reappeared at last; first multi-hit game for Singleton since May 12, but he has been walking in the meantime, so he actually has a .391 OBP over his last ten games despite hitting just .222. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but when I see something like that, I don't see a guy struggling to stay motivated and involved, someone struggling with confidence. I see someone who's level-headed and finds ways to contribute even when it seems that the "feel" for hitting has left him suddenly, as it does for all hitters on and off again. To me, that's just as positive as sign as if he'd been hitting .350, because no one hits well all the time, and the really good, polished hitters still find their way on base when times are tough picking up hits.

Grossman has to be turning some eyes recently. He's hitting .333/.391/.524 over his last ten games. He fell a triple short of the cycle tonight, and he picked up XBHs 13 and 14 tonight with his double and dinger.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 7-1 loss to Arkansas (LAA)

-> Joe Sclafani: 1-for-3, 2B
-> Delino DeShields: 1-for-3, R, 2 SB
-> Nolan Fontana: 1-for-3, BB
-> Jiovanni Mier: 1-for-3
-> Matthew Duffy: 1-for-4
-> Andrew Aplin: 0-for-3, BB, RBI
-> Leonardo Heras: 0-for-3, BB

SP Brady Rodgers: 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 4 K (loss)
RP David Rollins: 3.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K

DeShields continues to do positive things as he gets back into his season. He's on a four game hitting streak with seven hits during it, and he's a perfect 9-for-9 in steals in his last ten games. On the season, he's 16-for-18 in just 27 games; it appears he's running like he did in that breakout season with Lexington again.

Though he has just one hit in each of his last three games, Fontana continues to be really hot when you factor in the walks. He's reached base at least twice in each of his last nine games, with 23 hits and walks combined during that span. He's hitting .356/.506/.478 for the month of May. So just to state it very clearly, he's reached base in more than half his plate appearances for this entire month. That, uh...that'll work. Yep. More of that, please.

Things certainly haven't been going Rodgers way this month. His ERA in April was 2.25, but in May, it's 7.15. He still hasn't walked more than one batter in any of his outings though; his BB/9 is now a sterling 1.07.

Duffy is quietly starting to warm up a little bit. He's on a four-game hitting streak, and is hitting .286 with a .333 OBP in his last ten.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 8-3 loss to Inland Empire (LAA)

-> Jordan Scott: 2-for-4, RBI
-> Daniel Gulbransen: 1-for-3, BB, R
-> Danry Vasquez: 1-for-4, RBI, R
-> Bobby Borchering: 1-for-4, R
-> Teoscar Hernandez: 1-for-4
-> Carlos Correa: 0-for-2, 2 BB
-> Roberto Pena: 0-for-2, RBI

SP Lance McCullers: 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 K (loss)
RP Matthew Heidenreich: 3.1 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K
RP Richard Rodriguez: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K

McCullers is really skidding now; he's allowed 14 earned runs in his last four outings. The positive here is that it was one bad inning, and, in fact, the first inning; all four of his runs tonight came in the first inning, half of them on a homer, and their were two passed balls charged against Pena, the catcher. After that, he pitched another 2.2 innings of scoreless ball. That's nice to see, a young kid having a terrible first inning but buckling down and going back out there to improve instead of crumbling mentally.

Heidenreich...yikes. Back down below AA, getting knocked around...his star is certainly falling, it seems. Not that he was ever a big name, of course.

Correa has nine hits and three walks in his last seven games.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 9-0 win over Cedar Rapids (MIN)

-> Brett Phillips: 3-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
-> Brian Holberton: 2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, 3 RBI
-> James Ramsay: 2-for-3, SB, R, 2 BB
-> Thomas Lindauer: 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R
-> Chan Moon: 1-for-4, BB, R
-> Jon Kemmer: 1-for-4, BB, R
-> Ronnie Mitchell: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Jack Mayfield: 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, R

SP Michael Feliz: 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K
RP Patrick Christensen: 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K (win)
RP Chris Cotton: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

QC is currently hitting .285/.366/.416 as a team; all three of those are the best marks in the Midwest League. They're tied for third-worst in home runs, so it doesn't always seem like they're a great offensive club, but they hit a lot of doubles and triples (leading the league in those categories as well) to make up for it.

Brett Phillips has been a big part of that; he has seven triples on the year, and now has seven doubles and three homers to go with them. He's hitting .371/.410/.657 over his last ten games.

Speaking of hot hitting, Holberton's run is getting pretty silly now. He has three straight multi-hit games, and is hitting .425/.452/.650 over his last ten games. He's punched out just 11 times in 27 games so far on the season. He has a 1.112 OPS for the month of May.

Michael Feliz has now put together a nice run of starts since returning from injury. Over his last four outings, he's allowed three earnies, for a 2.08 ERA, and he has a 2.08 BB/9 and 10.39 K/9 during those games as well. They started him at two innings, and then 3.1 each of the next two games, so you can see they've been slowly working him back to the regular routine.

Ramsay isn't hitting for a lot of average (.258), but he does have a .360 OBP for the season, thanks to 25 walks (tied for 12th in the league). Only one other player in the league who has at least 10 steals (Ramsay has 12) also has more walks than he does.

Tomorrow's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Michael Foltynewicz vs. Zach Petrick
AA: Mike Hauschild vs. Tim Melville
A+: Josh Hader vs. Yeiper Castillo
A-: TBD (Grills and Frias, I think) vs. Ethan Mildren