Minor League Recap: Games of June 13, 2014

AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks: 6-5 win over Las Vegas (NYM)

-> Gregorio Petit: 3-for-6, 2B, solo HR
-> Marc Krauss: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB
-> Max Stassi: 2-for-4
-> L.J. Hoes: 2-for-5, BB, 2B
-> Enrique Hernandez: 2-for-6, 3B, 2 R
-> Ronald Torreyes: 1-for-5, solo HR
-> Domingo Santana: 1-for-5, BB, RBI
-> Matthew Duffy: 0-for-5, BB
-> Austin Wates: 1-for-1, BB, R (pinch-hitter)

SP Brett Oberholtzer: 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 9 K
RP Alex White: 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 0 K (blown save)
RP Kevin Chapman: 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K
RP Jason Stoffel: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Jorge De Leon: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K (win)

OKC was down a run heading into the bottom of the ninth and then walked off in the bottom of the 12th. But that doesn't tell the full story. Here's how the bottom of the ninth went:

1. Wates pinch-hits and singles
2. Hernandez whiffs
3. Torreyes flies out
4. Wild pitch, Wates to 2B
5. Santana walks
6. Pitching change
7. Wild pitch, Wates to 3B, Santana to 2B
8. Krauss Walks
9. Pitching change
10. Wild pitch, Wates scores

I kid you not. Talk about a meltdown. Three pitchers, three wild pitches. And then a two-out, walk-off bomb in the bottom of the 12th to seal it. I wonder if the Las Vegas manager just lost his mind in the clubhouse afterwards. Insert obligatory Bull Durham "Simple Game" clip below.

Brett Oberholtzer has had kind of a weird run at AAA after being demoted. The 4.88 ERA doesn't look good, but he has a 0.75 BB/9 and 10.13 K/9 as well. 13.5 strikeouts for every walk. The secret, I imagine, lies in the home run rate; he's given up seven homers in 24 innings. That simply won't keep happening. Don't be too worried about him; I fully expect him to tear AAA up once that number regresses if he keeps those peripherals up.

Hernandez is hitting .333/.341/.452 with a triple and a homer over his last ten games. He's struck out just 18 times in 61 games this year between AA and AAA.

Stassi's season has pretty much fallen apart at this point. After posting an .845 OPS in April, it dropped to .566 in May and it's under .650 in the early going this month. Since April ended, he's hit one homer and drawn five walks. Maximus, where did you go?

Krauss has settled in at AAA so far; in nine games, he's hit .333/.444/.467 with six walks and a pair of XBH.

Kevin Chapman, aside from his walk rate, has been nigh-untouchable in AAA. So far in 23.2 innings, he has a 0.76 ERA and an 11.41 K/9. It's the 6.85 BB/9 that's going to make calling up him tough.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 4-3 win over Frisco (TEX)

-> Leonardo Heras: 2-for-3, BB, HR, SB, R, 3 RBI
-> Telvin Nash: 1-for-3
-> Nolan Fontana: 1-for-4, 2B
-> Ruben Sosa: 1-for-5, SB, R
-> Rene Garcia: 1-for-5, R
-> Carlos Perdomo: 1-for-5
-> Andrew Aplin: 0-for-3, SB, R, 2 BB

SP Kyle Smith: 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K
RP Thomas Shirley: 4.0 IP, 3 R (0 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K (blown save)
RP Travis Ballew: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K (win)

Wow, what is this, extra-inning comeback night? Frisco plates three un-earned runs in the eighth thanks to a Nash error, but Heras homers in the bottom of the ninth, and then the walk-off winner in the 11th. That walk-off was, naturally, on a wild pitch. No wonder the Astros lost to the Rays; the minor league clubs were sucking up all the organizational mojo.

Kyle Smith hasn't allowed more than one earned run since May 9th. Since being promoted to AA, he owns a 3.24 ERA, 1.94 BB/9 and 10.15 K/9.

And Shirley bounced back nicely after coughing up four earnies last time. 1.81 ERA, 1.81 BB/9 and 8.66 K/9 for him on the year. He has a 0.52 ERA and .161 BAA vs. left-handed hitters.

It has been a rough, rough year for Heras. I wouldn't blame you if you'd kind of forgotten him by now. But he's still a legit prospect with real offensive upside, and he's only recently turned 24 years old, so don't forget him just yet. He has four hits in his last three games; a single, double, triple and homer, in fact. He's also walked a couple of times and whiffed just once during them. Hopefully this will spark a run for him.

Fontana has 12 walks in his last ten games. Aplin has seven in his last ten.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 7-4 win over Rancho Cucamonga (LAD)

-> Danry Vasquez: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R
-> Anthony Kemp: 3-for-5, 2B, RBI, R
-> Daniel Gulbransen: 2-for-4, 2B, R
-> Tanner Mathis: 2-for-4, R
-> Conrad Gregor: 1-for-3, BB, RBI
-> Jordan Scott: 1-for-3, RBI
-> Jobduan Morales: 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
-> Rio Ruiz: 0-for-3, SB, R, 2 BB

SP Gonzalo Sanudo: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 K
RP Juan Minaya: 2.0 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K (win)
RP Mitchell Lambson: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K (hold)
RP Jamaine Cotton: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K (save)

Tucker up to AAA, Correa didn't play in Lancaster tonight...intrigue!

Kemp is back to smoking the ball. He's hitting .366/.509/.561 in his last ten games, and owns a .921 OPS with 42 walks and 32 strikeouts in the season in 66 games. I can't imagine he'll still be on this roster after he plays in the All-Star game next week. I mean, it's not like I know, but really, it's pretty obvious that there's no longer a challenge for him in the California League.

Well, look who's starting to get hot. Vasquez has 13 hits in his last nine games, and is batting .371 during that span. Four of those hits have been doubles. He's struck out just twice in his last five games.

Gregor is on fire early on, hitting .425 with an OPS well over 1.100 in his last ten games. He owns a 1.120 OPS since being promoted. It kills me that it's happening in Lancaster, since I so want to believe, but after the homerless drought in Quad Cities, I'm having trouble believing that the four bombs in 15 games all the sudden in the California League is totally legit. I hope it is, though; if he can hit for even 15-20 HR power legitimately, he becomes quite an interesting prospect.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: 7-0 loss to Wisconsin (MIL)

-> Thomas Lindauer: 1-for-3
-> Austin Elkins: 1-for-4, 2B
-> James Ramsay: 1-for-4
-> Ronnie Mitchell: 0-for-3, BB

SP Andrew Thurman: 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K (loss)
RP Albert Minnis: 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RP Andrew Walter: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Aaaaaaand Brett Phillips was out of the lineup for this team...can't help but wonder if some movement is afoot, hm?

Whew, bad day on offense; two singles, a double and a walk. That's it. That...won't work, most of the time.

Thurman was solid. All four of those runs came in the second inning; some hits, a wild pitch, a sac fly...and before you know it, four runs are on the board. Classic "one bad inning" thing there. The good news is that, instead of crumbling, he went back out there and shut them down for five innings afterwards. Always nice to see a little mental fortitude shown. He's walked just two batters in his last 17 innings of work.

SS Tri-City ValleyCats: 3-2 win over Connecticut (DET)

-> Adam Nelubowich: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R
-> Mott Hyde: 2-for-3, RBI
-> Ricky Gingras: 1-for-3, BB
-> Ravel Santana: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Terrell Joyce: 1-for-4
-> Ariel Ovando: 1-for-4
-> Nick Tanielu: 0-for-2, BB, RBI
-> Marc Wik: 0-for-3, R

SP Austin Chrismon: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K (win)
RP Jordan Mills: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K (hold)
RP Raul Rivera: 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K (hold)
RP Chris Munnelly: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K (save)

Opening Night for the New York-Penn League and the reigning champs notch a win.

Not much point in talking about stats after one game, but I'll hit a few notes:

1. Ravel Santana was that Rule 5 pick from the Yankees who missed a lot of time in previous years after a bad ankle injury. His tools are as good as, if not better, than anyone on the roster. Keep an eye on him for sure.
2. Blaine Sims, the southpaw knuckleballer we took from the Braves in the Rule 5 draft, is on the roster. Caaaaaan't wait for him to start.
3. Though they weren't playing tonight (Monday supposedly), both A.J. Reed and J.D. Davis are indeed listed on the roster.
4. Between Santana, Terrell Joyce, Ryan Bottger and Ariel Ovando (hey, still 20 years old, you know?), there's some real talent to be seen in the outfield.
5. Nick Tanielu, Mott Hyde (Tri-City broadcaster had nice things to say about his play at short tonight), Jamie Ritchie, Bryan Radziewski, Brandon McNitt and Jeffrey Gause are among the other 2014 draftees already on the roster. More will be coming once guys sign. Maaaaaybe even Aiken at some point.
6. Randall Fant is a returning guy who caught my eye last year. Lefty with a solid fastball/changeup combo and working on a cutter/slider. He may not start long-term, but there's a bit of upside there. He was one of the better starters on the team last year despite a .338 BAbip going against him.
7. Joe Musgrove is on the roster. Let's hope he can restore his stock and really make that Blue Jays trade a steal.

DSL Astros Blue: 6-2 loss to DSL Indians

-> Jonathan Matute: 2-for-4, 2B, R
-> Oliver Toribio: 1-for-2, BB, RBI
-> Nestor Tejada: 1-for-3, BB
-> Wander Franco: 1-for-3, BB
-> Joan Mauricio: 1-for-3
-> Connor MacDonald: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, R
-> arcos Almonte: 0-for-4, BB

SP Jose Rosario: 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K (loss)
RP Dariel Aquino: 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K
RP Carlos Hiraldo: 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Moreno Polanco: 0.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 K
RP Josue Uribe: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

DSL Astros Orange: 4-3 loss to DSL Pirates

-> Ihan Bernal: 2-for-4, 2B
-> Andy Pineda: 1-for-3, BB, 3B
-> Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-3, BB, R
-> Frankeny Fernandez: 1-for-4, BB, 2B, RBI, R
-> Rodrio Ayarza: 1-for-4, RBI, R
-> Cristopher Luciano: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Osvaldo Duarte: 1-for-4
-> Gabriel Bracamonte: 1-for-4

SP Yhoan Acosta: 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K
RP Carlos Pizzolato: 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K (loss)
RP Joel Belboder: 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Tomorrow's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Michael Foltynewicz vs. Rafael Montero
AA: Brady Rodgers vs. Luke Jackson
A+: Kyle Westwood vs. Chris Anderson
A-: TBD vs. Tyler Alexander
SS: TBD vs. TBD