September 6, 2012

Minor League Update

Games of September 5

by Bradley Ankrom

Printer-friendly

Around The Majors

• Jaye Chapman, RHP, Cubs: ND, 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 K. Three strikeouts and zero hits allowed through his first two major-league innings; was the only Cubs pitcher to escape without allowing a base runner in Chicago’s 9-1 loss to Washington.
• Adam Eaton, CF, Diamondbacks: 2-for-5. Starts his major-league career off with back-to-back two-hit games; hitting .364 through his first 11 AB.
• Nathan Eovaldi, RHP, Marlins: L (4-11), 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. His brief career with the Marlins has been a rollercoaster of sorts: two starts of three or fewer innings and six runs allowed; four games of at least five innings and one or zero runs allowed. Has a 3.98 ERA since August 8.
• Bryce Harper, CF/RF, Nationals: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 BB. Batting .400 with five home runs since August 29; his second two-home run game during that time.
• Brett Jackson, CF, Cubs: 0-for-1, K. Struck out for Joe Mather in the eighth inning against Craig Stammen.
• Jeremy Jeffress, RHP, Royals: ND, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 K. Streak of scoreless appearances snapped at eight games; has a 1.04 ERA through 8.2 innings in 2012.
• Manny Machado, SS/3B, Orioles: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI. Has at least two hits in five of his last six games and is hitting .440 since August 31.
• Shelby Miller, RHP, Cardinals: ND, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 4 K. Strong debut for the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect; entered in the sixth inning in relief of Adam Wainwright.
• Matt Moore, LHP, Rays: L (10-9), 6.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 1 HR. Struck out six Yankee batters through the first three innings before the wheels came off in the fourth; six earned runs are the most he’s allowed since an eight-run outing against Oakland on May 6.
• Wily Peralta, RHP, Brewers: W (1-0), 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K. Earns his first major-league win in the first start of his career; only prior major-league experience was a single inning of relief on April 22; was 7-11, 4.66 ERA, 143-78 K-BB at Triple-A Nashville.
• Addison Reed, RHP, White Sox: ND, 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 K. Hasn’t had a clean (no hits or walks) outing since August 5; allowed 14 hits and six earned runs in nine and one-third innings (5.81 ERA) over his last 10 appearances.

Around The Minors

• Matthew Andriese, RHP, Padres (Advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore): W (1-0), 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K. Padres’ third-round pick out of UC-Riverside in 2011; went 10-8 with a 3.58 ERA and 131-38 K-BB in 146 IP during the regular season.
• Trevor Bauer, RHP, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): W (1-0), 5.0 IP, 3 H, R, 5 BB, 6 K, WP. Ties career high with five walks, which he’s done twice before; has 23 wild pitches on the season.
• Jonathon Berti, 2B, Blue Jays (Advanced Class-A Dunedin): 3-for-3. Collected three of Dunedin’s five hits in their 3-0 loss to Lakeland in the Florida State League playoffs. Berti owns a career .259/.364/.345 line in 170 games, but struggled at the plate (.190/.301/.287) after a mid-season promotion from Lansing.
• Clayton Blackburn, RHP, Giants (Advanced Class-A San Jose): W (1-0), 7.0 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 9 K, 1 HR. Promoted from Low-A Augusta to augment San Jose’s postseason run, Blackburn is a big right-hander with a low-90s sinker that grades out as plus due to its excellent movement and Blackburn’s command of it. The Giants’ 16th-round pick out of an Oklahoma high school in 2011, Blackburn went 8-4 with a 2.54 ERA and 143-18 K-BB in 131.1 IP at Augusta.
• Dylan Bundy, RHP, Orioles (Double-A Bowie): W (1-0), 6.0 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 7 K, HR, 2 WP. Easily the best of his four Double-A starts this year; the win is Bundy’s 10th overall.
• Leandro Castro, RF, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 2-for-3, R, 2B, HR. Sneaky pop with on-base skills that make J.P. Arencibia look like a Greek god; wrapped up his third-consecutive year of hitting exactly 10 home runs during the regular season; could emerge as a lefty-hitting fourth outfield option next year, though he lacks the raw power to profile in a corner or the requisite speed to patrol center field regularly.
• Larry Greene, LF, Phillies (Short-season A Williamsport): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, K. Finishes the year with an eight-game hit streak during which he posted a .379/.486/.552 slash line with a 7-6 K-BB.
• Courtney Hawkins, LF, White Sox (Advanced Class-A Winston-Salem): 1-for-4, HR (1). Chicago’s first-round pick last June, Hawkins has raced through the lower minors, hitting .284/.324/.480 across three levels during the regular season; his home run last night (ninth overall) accounted for the Dash’s only run in Winston-Salem’s 4-1 loss to Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League playoffs.
• Andrew Heaney, LHP, Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): W (1-0), 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 9 K, WP. Miami’s first pick (ninth overall) in last June’s draft; nine strikeouts are the most he’s had in six pro starts.
• Luis Heredia, RHP, Pirates (Short-season A State College): W (4-2), 5.0 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K. Set a season-high with five strikeouts in five innings (the tenth time in 14 starts he’s gone exactly five frames); just turned 18 and has been handled carefully in two pro seasons, throwing fewer than 100 innings combined.
• Francisco Lindor, SS, Indians (Low-A Lake County): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K. Lindor’s bat fell off in the second half when he hit just .228/.335/.299.
• Wil Myers, CF, Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 2-for-2, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB. Hit 37 home runs across two levels during the regular season to earn Minor League Player of the Year accolades from Baseball America; hit .314/.387/.600 with a 140-61 K-BB overall.
• Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Royals (Triple-A Omaha): W (1-0), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR. Seven strikeouts are Odorizzi’s most since June 12; went 15-5 with a 3.03 ERA and 135-50 K-BB between Double-A and Triple-A during the regular season.
• Joe Panik, SS, Giants (Advanced Class-A San Jose): 2-for-4, R. After a cold start, Panik hit .337 during the second half, a hot streak that has continued into the postseason. San Francisco’s first-round pick out of St. John’s in 2011, Panik is a good-bat middle infielder who may profile better at second base due to ordinary range and an underwhelming–albeit accurate–arm.
• Eddie Rosario, 2B/CF, Twins (Low-A Beloit): 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI. After hitting just 18 doubles in 511 PA from 2010-11, he ripped 35 two-baggers in his full-season debut this year; hit .299/.347/.499 with a 71-31 K-BB in 449 regular season PA.
• Joe Sclafani, SS, Astros (Short-season A Tri-City): 1-for-5, HR, K. After going 5-for-5 on Tuesday, Sclafani hit his first home run as a pro in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Hudson Valley.
• Jesus Solorzano, OF, Marlins (Short-season A Jamestown): 3-for-5, 2B, RBI. At 22, Solorzano is a bit old for the New York-Penn League, but his power-speed package still makes him someone to watch.
• Cory Spangenberg, 2B, Padres (Advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore): 1-for-3, RBI, K. Drove in the only run of the game in Lake Elsinore’s 1-0 win over Lancaster in the California League playoffs.
• Oscar Taveras, CF, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 1-for-5, R. Only 1-for-8 since I started writing the minor league update, would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned.
• Michael Ynoa, RHP, Athletics (Short-season A Vermont): ND, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Allowed eight runs in 1.1 innings on August 26, but has otherwise delivered a 3.73 ERA in 19.1 New York-Penn League innings.