Minor League Recap: Games of August 5, 2014

AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks: 7-3 win over Colorado Springs

-> Carlos Perez: 2-for-4, 2B, SB, R, 2 RBI
-> Ruben Sosa: 1-for-2, BB, RBI
-> Jiovanni Mier: 1-for-2, BB
-> Matthew Duffy: 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Joe Sclafani: 1-for-4, 2B, R
-> Preston Tucker: 0-for-3, BB, R
-> Jonathan Villar: 0-for-3, BB, R
-> Andrew Aplin: 0-for-3, BB, R

SP Alex White: 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K (win)
RP Tommy Shirley: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K
RP Jason Stoffel: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K (save)

Duffy is back on a decent run, hitting .270/.364/.405 with a homer and two doubles in his last ten games. Three of his last five games have been multi-hit games.

The quality start is much needed and much welcomed for White, who's just now starting to work deep into games (on nights when he doesn't get lit up too badly). The strike outs are the nicest part for me, though; prior to this outing, he had just a 6.12 K/9. The walks are nice as well; 4.73 BB/9 prior to this start. Nice trends.

Aplin's first five games in AAA have gone pretty well; this is the first one in which he failed to hit, and he has a .300/.364/.300 line so far.

AA Corpus Christi Hooks: 5-4 win over Northwest Arkansas (KCR)

-> Conrad Gregor: 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI
-> Brandon Meredith: 1-for-3, BB, HR, SB, R, 2 RBI
-> Leonardo Heras: 1-for-3, BB, 2B, 2 R
-> Jonathan Meyer: 1-for-3, BB
-> Delino DeShields: 1-for-4, BB, SB, R
-> Colin Moran: 1-for-4, RBI
-> Teoscar Hernandez: 1-for-4
-> Rene Garcia: 1-for-4, SB
-> Tony Kemp: 1-for-5

SP Mark Appel: 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K
RP David Rollins: 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Mitchell Lambson: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K (win)

Mark Appel's out breakdown; two strike outs swinging, two strike outs looking, three ground outs, five fly outs and one pop up. The fly balls are notable, as he's a good ground ball getter most of the time. Throw in some walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch, and it's no surprise that his night didn't go as well as hoped. The fly balls make me think he was probably elevating again, possibly do to some lingering mechanical troubles, though now outside of the California League, those fly balls didn't turn into crazy home runs, so he avoided getting lit up completely.

Five hits, two walks and no strike outs for Gregor in his last four games. He's definitely found the Texas League more difficult than the desert, but he needs time. No matter how you slice it, he's at his third level in one season, and it's his first full professional season to boot.

Moran has reached base in all four of his games in AA. Notably he's struck out a little more often than his profile indicates he will in the future. He should improve on that before too long as he makes the adjustment.

A+ Lancaster JetHawks: 5-4 loss to Modesto (COL)

-> Jack Mayfield: 2-for-4, R
-> Rio Ruiz: 1-for-3, BB
-> Chan Moon: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
-> Roberto Pena: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
-> Jon Kemmer: 1-for-4
-> Brett Phillips: 1-for-5
-> Tanner Mathis: 0-for-3, BB, R

SP Kyle Westwood: 5.0 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, 1 BB, 2 K (loss)
RP Lance McCullers: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Just three innings long it may have been, but this was a big outing for McCullers. In his previous two outings, he had allowed 12 earned runs in nine innings, and his walk rate for his previous four outings was 6.27 BB/9. Three ground outs, a pop up and just one fly out as well.

Ruiz's hitting streak is at nine games now. He's slashing .300/.378/.475 in his last ten games, with four doubles and a jack. He's struck out just once (tonight) in his last seven games.

A- Quad Cities River Bandits: Double-Header! Sorta!

Game One (resumed from 8/4/14): 7-3 loss to Burlington (LAA)

-> Ryan Bottger: 1-for-3, BB, SB, R
-> J.D. Davis: 1-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
-> A.J. Reed: 1-for-4, R
-> George Springer: 0-for-1, SB, 2 BB
-> Dayne Parker: 0-for-2, BB

SP Chris Lee: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Blaine Sims: 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 K (loss)

Game Two: 4-0 win over Burlington (LAA)

-> Marc Wik: 2-for-3, R
-> A.J. Reed: 1-for-3, solo HR
-> Ryan Bottger: 1-for-3, solo HR
-> Brett Booth: 1-for-3, R
-> James Ramsay: 1-for-4, RBI

SP Michael Feliz: 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K (win)
RP Keegan Yuhl: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Dang, have a night, Michael Feliz. Eight innings? When was the last time a guy in the tandem system got to go that far? Makes me sad they don't have pitch counts posted for the A-ball and lower levels. Talk about bouncing back; he allowed 13 earned runs in five innings during his previous two outings. Without doing the math, that's roughly about a six thousand ERA or so. Not awesome. On the season, he has a 3.82 ERA (3.07 outside of his last start), 3.59 BB/9 and 10.31 K/9. That's basically what Lance McCullers did in QC last year, except more than half a walk per nine innings fewer for Feliz.

First homer in full-season ball for Davis. He's hitting .359/.408/.500 in 18 games since being promoted.

Reed isn't hitting as well as Davis, but the power has shown up immediately; this is his fourth long ball in just nine games since joining QC. He's failed to reach via hit or walk in just one of those nine games.

Bottger also has nine games since coming up. He hasn't done much, though he has a five game hitting streak going and now a homer. We'll see.

SS Tri-City ValleyCats: Off Night

RK Greeneville Astros: 7-4 loss to Bristol (PIT)

-> Antonio Nunez: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 2B
-> Brett Clements: 1-for-2, BB
-> Edwin Medina: 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 SB, 2 R
-> Cesar Carrasco: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
-> Jeffry Santos: 1-for-4, R
-> Bryan Muniz: 0-for-2, 2 BB
-> Hector Roa: 0-for-3, BB, R
-> Luis Reynoso: 0-for-3, BB

SP Joshua James: 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Elieser Hernandez: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K
RP Aaron Greenwood: 1.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K (blown save, loss)
RP Zach Davis: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K
RP Angel Heredia: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Roa has played in 11 games since being promoted from the GCL. Four of those games have been multi-hit games, and he's batting .295/.311/.409 so far. One walk compared to 14 walks doesn't bode well if he can't tighten that up, though.

Jason Martin out of the lineup. No reason to suspect an injury at this point, though. Wonder if maaaaaybe even he could be headed to Tri-City....?

DSL Astros Blue: 5-4 loss to DSL Rays

-> Bryan De La Cruz: 2-for-4, 3B, RBI
-> Wander Franco: 2-for-4, R
-> Jonathan Matute: 1-for-3, R, 2 BB
-> Marcos Almonte: 1-for-4, BB, R
-> Rodrigo Ayarza: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
-> Oliver Toribio: 1-for-4, R
-> Andy Pineda: 1-for-4
-> Cristopher Luciano: 1-for-5, RBI

SP Albert Abreu: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K
RP Enrique Chavez: 2.1 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 1 K (hold, loss)
RP Joel Belboder: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K (blown save)

DSL Astros Orange: 5-0 loss to DSL Angels

-> Wilson Amador: 1-for-3, BB
-> Juan Fuentes: 1-for-4, 2B
-> Reiny Beltre: 1-for-4
-> Ihan Bernal: 0-for-2, 2 BB
-> Anardo Peralta: 0-for-3, BB

SP Edwin Villarroel: 5.0 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K (loss)
RP Abdiel Saldana: 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K
RP Bryan Abreu: 1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 K

Today's Scheduled Starters

AAA: Off Day
AA: Jordan Jankowski vs. J.C. Sulbaran
A+: Kent Emanuel vs. TBD
A-: Edison Frias vs. TBD
SS: Joseph Musgrove vs. James Bourque
RK: Off Day