October 22, 2012

Minor League Update

Games of October 21

by Bradley Ankrom

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I decided to try something a little different today: I’m including notes from Saturday’s Arizona Fall League games rather than skipping the league entirely because it doesn’t play games on Sundays.

• Javier Baez, SS, Cubs (19) (Mesa): 1-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB. Leads the AFL with 12 RBI and is batting .216/.256/.514 overall.
• Tim Beckham, SS/2B, Rays (22) (Phoenix): 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI, K. Started slowly, going 1-for-18 through his first four games, but is hitting .308 over his last three (.161/.212/.258 overall).
• Didi Gregorius, SS, Reds (22) (Peoria): 2-for-4, 2B (2), 2 R, RBI, IBB. Cincinnati’s “other” shortstop prospect, Gregorius hasn’t struck out in 33 plate appearances in the AFL.
• Junior Lake, SS, Cubs (22) (Oriente): 3-for-5, HR (2), K. Two home runs in his last three games, batting .385 (5-for-13) during that stretch and .316/.381/.632 overall.
• Rymer Liriano, RF, Padres (21) (Peoria): 2-for-4, HR (2), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Has hits in seven of eight games and has homered in two of his last three; .344/.382/.594 overall.
• James McCann, C, Tigers (22) (Mesa): 3-for-5, 2 R, K. Detroit’s second-round pick in 2011 out of Arkansas, McCann struggled with the bat after a June promotion to Double-A Erie; was hitting .111 before this 3-for-5 effort raised his AFL line to .286/.333/.286.
• Marcell Ozuna, RF/CF, Marlins (21) (Cibao): 2-for-3, HR (4), 2 R, SB (1), K. Snaps a two-game homerless streak; batting .435/.480/1.174 5-1 K-BB in 25 plate appearances.
• Joe Panik, SS, Giants (21) (Scottsdale): 3-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB (2). Three-game hit streak has raised Panik’s average from .067 to .240; batting .240/.345/.320 2-4 K-BB overall.
• James Paxton, LHP, Mariners (23) (Peoria): 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K, WP. His worst outing since early August; 1-0, 5.87 ERA, 13-4 K-BB overall, and his 15.26 K/9 is the second highest in the league among starting pitchers.
• Darin Ruf, 1B/LF, Phillies (26) (La Guaira): 2-for-3, HR (4), 2 RBI. Had a very nice weekend, going 4-for-7 with a pair of home runs and four RBI. His slash line against right-handed pitchers has climbed to .208/.296/.583 and he’s hitting .276/.344/.724 7-2 K-BB overall while splitting time between first base and left field.
• Moises Sierra, RF, Blue Jays (24) (Cibao): 2-for-4, HR (3), 3 R, 3 RBI. Six hits in his last three games and homers in each of his last two; showed reasonable contact skills over the last two seasons at Double-A and Triple-A, but struck out in 28 percent of his plate appearances in Toronto. Can play all three outfield positions and has average power, but isn’t likely to play every day in Toronto any time soon (this is a good thing).
• Alexander Torres, LHP, Rays (24) (Zulia): 6.0 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 7 K, HR. Three walks in 12.2 innings after walking 8.2 batters per nine innings at Triple-A Durham this year. 1-1, 0.71 ERA, 19-3 K-BB overall.

Other Notes
Brewers 1B Brock Kjeldgaard hit his league-leading fourth home run of the year in Phoenix’s 12-11 win over Peoria on Saturday . . . In the same game, Reds CF/SS Billy Hamilton came in as a pinch runner in the ninth inning and stole his sixth base of the season.