Minor League Recap: Games of June 9, 2014

AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks: 6-2 win over Salt Lake (LAA)

-> Matthew Duffy: 3-for-4, 3x solo HR
-> L.J. Hoes: 3-for-4, RBI
-> Domingo Santana: 2-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R
-> Marc Krauss: 1-for-3, BB
-> Gregorio Petit: 1-for-4, RBI, R
-> Enrique Hernandez: 1-for-4
-> Erik Castro: 1-for-4
-> Austin Wates: 0-for-4, BB

SP Nicholas Tropeano: 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K (win)
RP Ross Seaton: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K (hold)
RP Kevin Chapman: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Whoa. Have a day, Mr. Duffy. He has five hits in the last three days, four of which are homers. That works. He's now hitting .176/.222/.529 in 11 AAA games. Small sample sizes can be fun.

It's not every day that Santana has a multi-hit game with a long ball and he's not the big story down in AAA. First homer of the month, by the way. He's hitting .314/.415/.486 over his last ten games, with ten strikeouts. That's a slight improvement in his strikeout rate, actually, and I like that he's avoided any lengthy, bad slumps for the most part, despite having strikeout issues. He can swing and miss too much, but I do believe he has a strong hit tool.

While much of the attention at AAA has fallen on Folty and Santana (and not without reason, certainly) Nitro has kind of quietly been on a great run. Over his last ten starts, he's allowed 13 ER in 55 innings, for a 2.13 ERA. He's allowed more than two runs in just one of those ten games. He also has a 1.96 BB/9 and 8.18 K/9 during that stretch. Could the "old," dominant Nitro we loved from the lower levels be finding his way back?

Hoes hasn't done much since being demoted, so hopefully this game can kick-start a nice run for him. He has four hits in his last two games.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 7-2 loss to San Antonio (SDP)

-> Preston Tucker: 3-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
-> Ruben Sosa: 2-for-5
-> Jiovanni Mier: 1-for-3, BB
-> Tyler Heineman: 1-for-4
-> Jonathan Meyer: 0-for-3, BB
-> Carlos Perdomo: 0-for-3, BB
-> Nolan Fontana: 0-for-4, BB

SP David Rollins: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K
RP Brady Rodgers: 3.0 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K (loss)
RP Patrick Urckfitz: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K

The slow crawl up for Tucker's numbers continues. He's really hitting for power well know; four bombs in the last nine games, and 15 total on the year in 63 games. He's hitting .274/.346/.520 with 17 2B and those 15 homers on the year.

You know, Fontana is kind of having a similar year to Dexter Fowler, in terms of results. He's hitting .273/.432/.397 now through 56 games, which is pretty similar to what Fowler has down (Fowler's OBP isn't that high because, you know, crazy Fontana walk rate). I don't ever see Fontana being more than maybe a 5 HR guy or so in the Majors. but 30 doubles seems realistic. Not a lot of power, but he can hit the gaps and collect enough singles to force pitchers to take him seriously, and at that point the walks start pouring in. I still don't know how they ultimately fit him in on defense, learning some LF and RF would help, if possible.

Rough day for Rodgers again, but also again, he keeps the walks under control even when struggling. Yet another one-or-fewer-walks performance; he's walked eight batters in 58.2 innings this year, for a 1.23 BB/9.

And don't look now, but David Rollins is making a little noise. After this solid effort, he owns a 3.21 ERA, 2.89 BB/9 and 9.64 K/9 on the year in 28 innings. I'm not convinced he has rotation upside at this point, but a lefty that can miss bats and limit walks certainly has to have MLB upside in some fashion. SSS Alert; he has an 18.47 K/9 against LHB in 6.1 innings this year, so maybe there's a LOOGY in there? Keep an eye on him the rest of the way and see what he does.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 15-2 win over Visalia (ARZ)

-> Teoscar Hernandez: 4-for-6, HR, SB, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R
-> Roberto Pena: 3-for-4, 2 BB, 4 R
-> Conrad Gregor: 3-for-5, BB, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
-> Rio Ruiz: 3-for-6, RBI, R
-> Carlos Correa: 2-for-5, BB, 2B, 2 R
-> Jack Mayfield: 2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
-> Daniel Gulbransen: 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI
-> Tanner Mathis: 2-for-5, SB, RBI, R
-> Jordan Scott: 1-for-6, 3B, RBI, R

SP Josh Hader: 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K (win)
RP J.D. Osborne: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Dang. Good ole' fashioned beat down tonight, and they weren't even playing in one of the crazy parks like Lancaster or High Desert. All 15 runs game in six consecutive innings, two through seven; the break down was 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, 6 in those innings.

Hernandez has a five game hitting streak now, and he's hitting .348/.434/.696 over his last ten games. On the year, he has 16 doubles, seven triples and 12 dingers, with 21 steals in 26 tries. He's a little like Springer right now in that the only think you can complain about is that strikeout rate. No, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as Springer, just that they're similar in that regard.

The Captain has seven hits in his last three games. He has 15 walks and five strikeouts in his last ten, my gosh, it's like Nolan Fontana's walk rate and Jose Altuve's strikeout rate or something. More please.

Ruiz is almost as hot as Correa is; .409/.490/.568 for him in his last ten games, with four doubles and a long ball. He has a .925 OPS in May.

I'm trying to make sure I keep my excitement for Gregor in check, because it is the California League and a small sample, but he's really looked much better since his promotion. And this homer game in a much more normal park in Visalia. 1.117 OPS for him in 13 games post-promotion.

And last but certainly not least, Josh Hader's outing could have almost been lost in all this offensive goodness. The strikeout rate was down, but I'll take the one walk in seven innings from him in a heart beat. While still a little spotty, he appears to me making some real progress in that department; 2.36 BB/9 over his last five outings.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 8-4 loss to Peoria (STL)

-> Ronnie Mitchell: 2-for-3, BB, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI
-> Jon Kemmer: 1-for-2, 2B, R, 2 BB
-> Brett Phillips: 1-for-4, 3B, R
-> Brian Holberton: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
-> Tyler White: 0-for-2, R
-> Chan Moon: 0-for-3, BB

SP Chris Lee: 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 0 K (loss)
RP Albert Minnis: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 0 K
RP Patrick Christensen: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Ronnie Mitchell is another guy who I don't want to get my hopes up for; 38th round picks don't usually end up becoming anything, after all. But he's blazing hot right now; .393/.471/.964 in his last ten games, with five long balls during that span. On the season, he's hitting a solid .288/.357/.568 with 13 XBH in 34 games. His 23rd birthday isn't until the 21st of this month. So, who knows?

Brett Phillips is sitting at .296/.359/.468 on the season now, with 10 2B, 9 3B, 3 HR, 22 BB, 43 K and 10 SB. Seven of his last ten games have been strikeoutless. Is that a word? It's a word now.

Whew, just a plain bad outing for Lee, that hurts. He's been on a pretty rough stretch recently; he has a 10.32 ERA, 8.74 BB/9 and 5.56 K/9 over his last three starts.

Relievers tend to go unnoticed, especially in the lower levels, so a quick spotlight on Christensen; 2.49 ERA, 2.84 BB/9 and 8.17 K/9 for him this season in 25.1 innings now.

DSL Astros Blue: 5-0 loss to DSL Athletics

-> Jonathan Matute: 2-for-4
-> Juan Fuentes: 1-for-1, 2 BB
-> Marcos Almonte: 1-for-3, 2B, SB, 2 BB
-> Carlos Canelon: 0-for-1, 3 BB
-> Joan Mauricio: 0-for-2, 2 BB
-> Oliver Toribio: 0-for-3, BB
-> Nestor Tejada: 0-for-4, BB

SP Joselo Pinales: 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K (loss)
RP Carlos Hiraldo: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
RP Lachlan Madden: 0.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 K
RP Carlos Sanabria: 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K

DSL Astros Orange: 14-2 win over DSL Mets2

-> Vicente Sanchez: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Cristopher Luciano: 2-for-4, BB, RBI, R
-> Osvaldo Duarte: 2-for-5, BB, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Luis Vasquez: 2-for-5, SB, R, 2 RBI
-> Frankeny Fernandez: 1-for-2, 2B, SB, RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
-> Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-3, BB, 2 R
-> Ihan Bernal: 1-for-4, BB, R
-> Rodrigo Ayarza: 1-for-5, BB, 2B, RBI, R
-> Wilson Amador: 1-for-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI

SP Cristhopher Santamaria: 7.0 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 5 H, 0 BB, 6 K (win)
RP Juan Cuevas: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K (save)

Tomorrow's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Bobby Doran vs. TBD
AA: Mike Hauschild vs. Josh Geer
A+: Off Day
A-: Jandel Gustave vs. Aaron Siegers

Minor League Links

Hey, been a while since we had this, right?

Jane from WTHB has a nice little piece on Josh Hader with quotes from him and his pitching coach that is worth a read. Enjoy.

And here's a recap of Duffy's three homer game.