Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 4, Durham Bulls 1The Bulls dropped Friday's game against the Iron Pigs to even the series at a game a piece. Both teams exchanged runs in the first inning but then the Iron Pigs scored three unanswered runs the rest of the game to hand the Bulls the loss. Rehabbing Jeff Keppinger drove home the Bulls lone run. Shane Dyer was charged with the loss for the Bulls.
Huntsville Stars 6, Montgomery Biscuits 4 The Biscuits and Stars exchanged runs throughout the game but in the end it was the Stars holding on for the slim victory. The loss ended the Biscuits chances of a first half playoff berth as the have now been eliminated. Every Biscuit in the lineup reached base at least once in the game. Mark Thomas led the way by going 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI's. Kyle Lobstein suffered the loss.
Bowling Green Hot Rods 1, Fort Wayne Tin Caps 0 (10 innings) The Hot Rods won a pitching duel against the Tin Caps in walk-off fashion as they scored the games only run in the bottom of the tenth to get the win. Parker Markel, Jason McEachern and Austin Hubbard combined to throw 10 scoreless frames combining for 12 punch-outs in the process. Todd Glaesmann plated the winning run with an RBI triple in the tenth that scored Drew Vettleson for the walk-off win. Hubbard picked up the victory. The win leaves the Hot Rods in the mix for a playoff spot as they need just one more win in the half to earn a spot in the postseason.
VSL Rays 4, VSL Mariners 3The Rays scored in the bottom of the ninth to earn a 4-3 win over the Mariners. The Rays watched two leads dissipate in the game but managed to score in the ninth to ensure the victory. David Colina was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI. Erick Vasquez and Iago Januario each had a homer. Gregory Rosal was the winning pitcher.
DSL Rays 4, DSL Athletics 3 (10 innings)After losing to the Athletics yesterday, the Rays battled back to beat them on Friday afternoon. The Rays trailed early but worked their way back to take the lead by the end of the sixth. The A's tied the game in the seventh and forced extra frames. The Rays didn't wait long in extras as they scored in the tenth to take the win. Bill Pujols and Jose Rojas were each 2 for 5 in the game. Luis Mercedes picked up the win and Ruben Paredes the save.
Just a note on the VSL Rays. The team has picked it up recently, but still only 9-19 and in last place, 9.5 out of first and 1.5 out of 3rd. They allow 6.75 runs per game, score 4.43, and have committed 61 errors in 28 games. The only 2 I'm really following are 1B Iago Januario and RF Erick Vasquez.
ReplyDeleteJanuario got his 6th HR and 13th RBI yesterday and has a .999 OPS on the year. Nine of his 14 hits have been for extra bases. He's done it in only 15 games as he missed the last week of May and first week of June for some reason. He's a 6'6" Brazilian, but not from our academy, he was with the Red Sox as a pitcher for 2 years in the DSL before they released him and the Rays picked him up. Still only 19 years old.
Vasquez is an 18 year-old Venezuelan the Rays signed in July of 2010 for $100,000 (same time they signed Yoel Araujo for 800k and Darryl George for 100k). This is his 2nd year in the VSL and he's hitting .264/.322/.453 with 5 doubles and 5 HR in 26 games. Scouting reports when he signed said power guy with the speed to play CF, which he's only done once so far, but he's stolen 7 bases this year.
Interesting notes on Januario and Vasquez, as they seem to be the only really intriguing guys on that roster.
DeleteI think it should be noted with Januario is that he has struck out in 26 of his 62 PA's this year. That's pretty awful. Power numbers are nice, but contact is huge for a young hitter. However, a lot of this could be attributed to the fact that Januario is still incredibly raw considering he was a pitcher before converting to a position player. Hopefully he can turn that around a bit as he begins to mature as a hitter.
Vasquez is a bit better with 31 K's in his 115 PA's. Still not very good, but not as worrisome as Januario's. The good news is that it is an improvement over his first season in the VSL, so perhaps he is continuing to tweak his approach (First VSL season he had 86 K's in 223 PA's).
I'll definitely continue to keep tabs on these two, as they could very well turn into prospects to truly keep an eye on given their ages and skillsets.
Absolutely, SO and BB rates aren't good. But they hardly ever are for teenagers, and DSL/VSL guys a notoriously bad (unless you're Oscar Hernandez). Can't walk off the island and all that. But even GCL plate discipline is not good usually.
ReplyDeleteJose Paez probably should be on the list too, an 18 year-old switch-hitting CF with better BB and SO rates (10/20 in 117 PAs) who's hitting .314. It's his 3rd year in the VSL, and I really thought he'd be in the GCL this year. It's really the 1st year he's done well, and maybe he'll get bumped up to GCL mid-year like Ismel Antunez was last year. But I doubt it, Antunez is the only one I can ever getting moved to the states mid-season from the VSL.
Other than that, they pretty much stink. David Colina is an 18 yo 3B hitting .291/.325/.418, 2 BB 16 SO in 117 PAs. I don't know anything else about him. They go downhill from after him.
For the pitchers there are a lot of repeaters, not many doing well. As a team they have a 5.31 ERA and average 5.7 SO/9 and 4.4 BB/9.
That was Shane Dyer's longest AAA start (6.2 innings). He's now 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA with the Bulls. Torra tonight with Longoria DHing.
ReplyDeleteFor Montgomery, Lobstein had gone 7 starts without a loss, since April 23rd. Cruz starting tonight.
The Hot Rods need just one win over the final 2 games in the first half to clinch a playoff spot, the 2nd in franchise history. Carpenter starting tonight.