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General Discussion => The Bus Ride Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Nate Colbert on August 30, 2018, 03:51:43 pm
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Forrest Whitley, Ronnie Dawson, Myles Straw, Abraham Toro, Trent Thornton, Erasmo Pinales and J.B. Bukauskas all going to the Arizona Fall League.
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RHP Bryan Abreu, OF Bryan De La Cruz, RHP Willy Collado and RHP Leovanny Rodriguez are all apparently slated to play in the Dominican Winter League (DWL, aka LIDOM) this year.
Abreu, De La Cruz and Rodriguez will be with Toros del Este, Collado with Gigantes del Cibao.
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Others scheduled to play winter ball:
Jack Mayfield will play in LIDOM with Leones del Escogido.
Leones del Escogido contratan al versátil Jack Mayfield
https://www.quisqueyanosports.com/2018/09/leones-del-escogido-contratan-al.html
Joe Perez apparently is healthy enough to play in the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The ABL was previously a 6-team league but has added 2 expansion clubs for the upcoming season: the Aukland Tuatura and Geelong Korea. Perez is scheduled to play with the New Zealand club.
Baseball: Minor League talents Joe Perez and Blaine Prescott join Auckland Tuatara
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12126520
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Instructional league roster was released yesterday:
PITCHERS: Jacob Billingsley, RHP; Willy Collado, RHP; Brett Conine, RHP; Devin Conn, RHP; Brett Daniels, RHP; Cody Deason, RHP; Tommy DeJuneas, RHP; Shawn Dubin, RHP; JP France, RHP; R.J. Freure, RHP; Luis Garcia, RHP; Joey Gonzalez, RHP; Austin Hansen, RHP; Tim Hardy, LHP; Ernesto Jaquez, RHP; Mark Moclair, RHP; Antonio Nunez, RHP; Manny Ramirez, RHP; Jose Rivera, RHP; Julio Robaina, LHP; Elian Rodriguez, RHP; Nivaldo Rodriguez, RHP; Matt Ruppenthal, RHP; Jayson Schroeder, RHP; Gabriel Valdez, RHP
CATCHERS: Oscar Campos, Alex Holderbach, Michael Papierski, Nerio Rodriguez, Cesar Salazar
INFIELDERS: Deury Carrasco, Yorbin Ceuta, Trey Dawson, Austin Dennis, Sean Mendoza, Freudis Nova, Jeremy Pena, Scott Schreiber, Ronaldo Urdaneta, Enmanuel Valdez, Michael Wielansky
OUTFIELDERS: Wilyer Abreu, Seth Beer, Marty Costes, Jonathan Lacroix, Alex McKenna, Ramiro Rodriguez, Chandler Taylor
https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-instructional-league-roster-schedule/c-295156574
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Arizona Fall League kicks off tomorrow with Forrest Whitley the scheduled starter for Scottsdale.
https://www.mlb.com/news/2018-arizona-fall-league-preview/c-297098724?tid=151437456
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Forrest Whitley, Ronnie Dawson, Myles Straw, Abraham Toro, Trent Thornton, Erasmo Pinales and J.B. Bukauskas all going to the Arizona Fall League.
MLB Pipeline @MLBPipeline 7h ago
#Astros No. 14 prospect Myles Straw, who is on the team's #postseason roster, has been removed from the @MLBazFallLeague roster and replaced by OF Drew Ferguson.
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It's hilarious to me that despite all of the noise surrounding Whitley - warranted, too, from what I gather - two relatively unheralded pitching prospects casually arrived to the big leagues this year and made tremendous positive contributions.
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It's hilarious to me that despite all of the noise surrounding Whitley - warranted, too, from what I gather - two relatively unheralded pitching prospects casually arrived to the big leagues this year and made tremendous positive contributions.
Hilarious?
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It's hilarious to me that despite all of the noise surrounding Whitley - warranted, too, from what I gather - two relatively unheralded pitching prospects casually arrived to the big leagues this year and made tremendous positive contributions.
Yes. It feels like James and Framber both pitched their way into the rotation discussion next season, particularly if Keuchel and Morton don't come back. Personally, I think that Morton is back. Keuchel is history.
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Arizona Fall League kicks off tomorrow with Forrest Whitley the scheduled starter for Scottsdale.
https://www.mlb.com/news/2018-arizona-fall-league-preview/c-297098724?tid=151437456
Seems like he might be doing well...
Eric Longenhagen @longenhagen 35m ago
Forrest Whitley 95-97, plus curveball, plus changeup. Struck out the side in the first.
Jonathan Mayo @JonathanMayo 11m ago
Forrest Whitley's K streak is over at 7 with #Angels 1b David MacKinnon's groundout to 2b #Astros
Jonathan Mayo @JonathanMayo 8m ago
Enough of this contact nonsense. Here is Forrest Whitley's 8th K (out of 9 batters). Perfect thru 3. 38 pitches, 28 for strikes. FB up to 98. CB, SL and CH all working.
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Whitley is removed after pitching to four hitters in the 4th inning: a single by Daz Cameron and a pair of walks have loaded the bases with one out. The following pitcher allowed 2 of the inherited runners to score.
Final line: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
Threw 55 pitches on the night.
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Ronnie Dawson (hitting cleanup and playing CF) went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout in the game for the Scorpions.
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Nice to see him dominate for three straight, but seems as if the wheels fell off in the fourth. The two walks and a hit, after a perfect nine, reminds me that he can lose his delivery on a dime. I assume/hope that is something innings/experience will correct.
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He has thrown a total of 137 innings in pro baseball. Most innings in a season is 92. He pitched 26 innings in 8 starts at AA last year. Considering the other options, assuming Keuchel is gone, I don’t see them breaking camp with him on the MLB roster.
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I agree, I'd be extremely surprised if he didn't spend most of his year at RR (yes!!), to get experience and to show that he can actually stay healthy for an extended period
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Nice to see him dominate for three straight, but seems as if the wheels fell off in the fourth. The two walks and a hit, after a perfect nine, reminds me that he can lose his delivery on a dime. I assume/hope that is something innings/experience will correct.
"Then the fourth inning came and I kind of ran out of gas." (https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/whitley-strikes-out-first-seven-in-afl-opener/c-297530746)
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He has thrown a total of 137 innings in pro baseball. Most innings in a season is 92. He pitched 26 innings in 8 starts at AA last year. Considering the other options, assuming Keuchel is gone, I don’t see them breaking camp with him on the MLB roster.
He'll spend at least two weeks in the minors, that's for sure.
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Baseball America writer...
Josh Norris @jnorris427 4h ago
I have seen A LOT pitching over the last decade. Forrest Whitley’s outing last night was the most dominant performance I’ve seen since Jose Fernandez against Lakewood.
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I agree, I'd be extremely surprised if he didn't spend most of his year at RR (yes!!), to get experience and to show that he can actually stay healthy for an extended period
I agree ... though it may just be wishful thinking!
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Baseball America writer...
Josh Norris @jnorris427 4h ago
I have seen A LOT pitching over the last decade. Forrest Whitley’s outing last night was the most dominant performance I’ve seen since Jose Fernandez against Lakewood.
Dammmn.
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Jumping on someone else's bus for a minute. My cousins kid is in the AFL with the Rafters - Bullpen arm from the Marlins Kyle Keller. Went from High A to AAA this year.
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Again batting cleanup and playing CF, Dawson went 3-5 last night with a pair of doubles and a SB. Abraham Toro saw his first action, hitting 5th and DHing, and went 1-3 with a single and 2 walks.
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Are you aware of any first hand accounts detailing Dawson's apparent improvement during his jump to AA? Just trying to gauge whether his improvement is real or illusory.
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Are you aware of any first hand accounts detailing Dawson's apparent improvement during his jump to AA? Just trying to gauge whether his improvement is real or illusory.
Short answer--no.
Longer answer--since I never posted it in the other thread, I'll go ahead and post this here (from the BA chat on the Carolina League Top 20 Prospects):
Jake (State Farm): Ronnie Dawson's numbers were underwhelming in the Carolina League but is there anything to like there?
J.J. Cooper: Yeah. Better defender than expected. His swing is very geared to hitting the ball out of the park, but he needs to make more solid contact to make that work. Buies Creek does slap down balls to the power alleys, so that is a cause for hope with his lack of power.
I think from that comment you can probably infer that the spike in power from the Carolina League to the Texas League (ISO went from .151 to .228) is likely legit. Or as legit as a 29-game sample can be. Whether he makes enough consistent contact remains to be seen.
I do expect to see plenty of firsthand reports on his work in the AFL over the next month if for no other reason there seems to be more eyes than usual looking at and reporting on the AFL this year (Longenhagen of FG, Bill Mitchell and others from BA, folks from MLB Pipeline, the newer crowd from Prospects Live and/or 2080baseball.com).
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JB Bukauskas went 3 1/3 innings (63 pitches), giving up 0 ER on 3 hits and 1 walk with 5 Ks. His FB was topping out at 98.1 (full statcast report on all his pitches here https://twitter.com/darenw/status/1050580701400231938).
Josh Norris @jnorris427 17h ago
JB Bukauskas has some damn nasty stuff. Sitting 95-97 T98, just whiffed Daulton Varsho on an unfair 92 mph changeup. The Astros just do not stop.
The nastiest pitcher to toe the rubber last night, Bukauskas commanded his 3-pitch mix of a 95-97 mph heater, an 88-89 mph slider with great depth, and a 90 mph changeup that he put hitters away with below the zone. He did need 61 pitches to get 10 outs, sometimes spiking multiple sliders/changeups when ahead 0-2 or 1-2 before painting the corner for 3-2 Ks. I can’t wait to see Bukauskas pitch again. https://www.prospectslive.com/the-daily-round-up/2018/10/12/arizona-fall-league-10112018-extras-extras-extras
Trent Thornton followed with 1.2 IP, yielding 2 runs on 2 singles, 2 BBs and a pair of WPs.
Erasmo Pinales had plenty of activity in his 1 inning of work (2 singles, walk) but managed to avoid damaged aided by a couple of punchouts.
Abe Toro (playing 3B and again hitting 5th) went 2-5 with 2 doubles and a walk.
Ronnie Dawson (dropped to 6th in the lineup, again in CF) had 3 walks in 6 trips to the plate and notched his second SB.
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The Venezuela Winter League (VWL aka LVBP) kicks off today.
Hooks manager Omar Lopez is the manager at Anzoategui and current/former Hooks Akeem Bostick, Ralph Garza and Ryan Hartman join him there.
21-year old INF Alfredo Angarita (.241/.316/.304 in time split this year between BC and QC) is listed on the Margarita roster.
21-year old Jervic Chavez is shown on the Caracas roster. He tossed 17 innings in the GCL this season after pitching in the DSL in 2017.
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JB Bukauskas went 3 1/3 innings (63 pitches), giving up 0 ER on 3 hits and 1 walk with 5 Ks. His FB was topping out at 98.1 (full statcast report on all his pitches here https://twitter.com/darenw/status/1050580701400231938).
Trent Thornton followed with 1.2 IP, yielding 2 runs on 2 singles, 2 BBs and a pair of WPs.
Erasmo Pinales had plenty of activity in his 1 inning of work (2 singles, walk) but managed to avoid damaged aided by a couple of punchouts.
Abe Toro (playing 3B and again hitting 5th) went 2-5 with 2 doubles and a walk.
Ronnie Dawson (dropped to 6th in the lineup, again in CF) had 3 walks in 6 trips to the plate and notched his second SB.
Bukauskas has added some hair to his FB.
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LD single to center, GB single to the right side, walk, and a big fly to center for 21-year old Abe Toro on a 3-3 night. Hit 5th and DH'd tonight and is hitting .545 thru his first 4 games.
Ronnie Dawson DNP.
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LD single to center, GB single to the right side, walk, and a big fly to center for 21-year old Abe Toro on a 3-3 night. Hit 5th and DH'd tonight and is hitting .545 thru his first 4 games.
Ronnie Dawson DNP.
I've thought for a while that Toro is a guy to really keep an eye on.
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Another league starts off its season w/opening day for the Dominican Winter League (DWL aka LIDOM).
Gigantes del Cibao has pitchers Rogelio Armenteros and previously-noted Willy Collado on its roster.
Leones del Escogido has previously-mentioned Jack Mayfield on its roster joined by 1B/3B Randy Cesar.
Pitcher Ronel Blanco and UTIL Osvaldo Duarte are listed on the Estrellas de Oriente roster.
No Astros' minor leaguers are currently listed on the Toros del Este roster.
Pitchers Brendan McCurry and Cesar Rosado are listed for Tigres del Licey.
And hurler Yohan Ramirez is on the Aguilas Cibaenas roster.
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The Mexican Winter League (MWL aka LMP) is also starting up.
Pitcher Juan Pablo Lopez is on the Tomateros de Culiacan roster while pitcher Jose Hernandez is listed for Venados de Mazatlan. A third pitcher, Humberto Castellanos, is scheduled to play for Charros de Jalisco. Cuban pitcher Yoanys Quiala is shown on the Caneros de los Mochis roster.
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Just a reminder about some of the acronyms used in this thread:
ABL.............................Australian Baseball League
AFL.............................Arizona Fall League
LIDOM (or DWL).......Liga de Béisbol Dominicano (or Dominican Winter League)
LMP (or MWL)...........Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (or Mexican Winter League)
LVBP (or VWL)...........Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (or Venezuela Winter League)
LBPRC (or PRWL)......Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (or Puerto Rican Winter League)
Also, the statistics for participating Astros in each of the leagues can be found at http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/org.jsp?id=hou. However the list of included players is notoriously inaccurate every year with no exception this year with the inclusion of Scott Heineman (no, he's still in the Rangers' organization).
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The 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup starts this week.
1. WTF is the U-23 Baseball World Cup you ask?
The U-23 Baseball World Cup is a biennial, professional-level, National Team, baseball world championship of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The inaugural tournament was held in November 2014, in Taichung, Taiwan, as the 21U Baseball World Cup, with each team made of 21-year-old and younger players but allowed for six players to be 23-year-old and younger. Starting with the 2016 edition—in Monterrey, Mexico—the tournament has been expanded to permit nations to select players up to 23 years old for their entire rosters. The U-23 Baseball World Cup is the third-most-important international baseball tournament in terms of distribution of world ranking points, following the Premier12 and the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The rosters of national teams that participated in the tournament included professional players from clubs affiliated to the Australian Baseball League, Chinese Professional Baseball League, Korean Baseball Organization, Major League Baseball, Mexican Baseball League, Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, and Nippon Professional Baseball. (Wikipedia)
2. We know what the WBC is but WTF is the Premier12?
From 1938 to 2011, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), then the governing body of baseball, considered the Baseball World Cup to be the sport's major world championship. Following the 2011 version of the event, the IBAF chose to discontinue the tournament in favor of the World Baseball Classic. In 2013, the IBAF merged with the International Softball Federation to create the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). In 2014, the WBSC announced the creation of the Premier12 tournament, calling it "the new flagship pro baseball world championship," which would be held every four years. It was viewed as a spiritual successor to the Baseball World Cup and an attempt to boost baseball's bid for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The WBSC proposed that, if baseball does return to the Olympics for 2020, that the 2019 Premier12 be used as a qualifying tournament. (Wikipedia)
3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, Christian Mejias and Diosward Gonzalez along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad. Other rosters have not yet been released so can't say yet if any other Astros will be participating.
Play begins Friday at Edgar Renteria Stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia.
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In AFL play tonight, Trent Thornton tossed a couple of shutout innings with 3 punchouts. Ronnie Dawson 0-2 with a walk and a whiff while Abe Toro also took an 0fer with 2 Ks.
In LIDOM, Leovanny Rodriguez tossed a scoreless/hitless frame for Toros del Este and punched out Jack Mayfield who was 0-4 in the game for Escogido.
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Forrest Whitley another dominant outing today in the AFL: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. 66 pitches thrown. Erasmo Pinales with a scoreless/hitless frame with 2 walks and 1 K. Ronnie Dawson (hittiing 5th, DHing) with a double in 4 trips. CF Drew Ferguson 0-3 with a sac fly in his first appearance. Abe Toro DNP.
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Abe Toro DNP.
Do you know that's pronounced like Abe Lincoln or Shinzo Abe?
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Do you know that's pronounced like Abe Lincoln or Shinzo Abe?
I'm not even sure he goes by Abe. It's just a hell of a lot easier writing Abe Toro rather than Abraham Toro-Hernandez.
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Ronnie Dawson (in the cleanup spot and playing CF) took the 0fer with 1 K in the AFL tonight. Abe Toro DNP.
In LIDOM play, Brendan McCurry tossed a scoreless inning for Toros del Este in a game against Licey that went 19 innings. Ex-Bus Rider Ruben Sosa (23rd round pick back in 2011) went 3-7 with 2 walks for the Tigres before being drafted to pitch in the 19th and surrendered 2 runs to the game-winning Toros.
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4 more scoreless innings today for JB Bukauskas in the AFL. Hasn't allowed any runs in his first 7 1/3 IP with 9 Ks and just 2 BBs. Trent Thornton followed with 1.1 scoreless frames, K'ing 3. Abe Toro (batting 2nd, DHing) went 1-2 and was plunked twice. Ronnie Dawson (hitting 5th, in CF) was 1-3 with a walk.
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More on Bukauskas' outing:
"Bukauskas, the Astros' No. 8 prospect allowed only two hits (one a double lost in the sun) and one walk while striking out four. Against the Javelinas, Bukauskas worked at 94-96 mph and hit 98 mph with his fastball. His mid-80s slider lived up to its reputation as a wipeout pitch, and he also mixed in a few promising changeups with depth and a couple of cutters."
https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-jb-bukasukas-dominates-in-fall-league/c-298315676?tid=153494546
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Drew Ferguson (batting 5th, playing RF) 1-3 in this afternoon's AFL game. Dawson & Toro DNP.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, Christian Mejias and Diosward Gonzalez along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
LHP Jonathan Bermudez (23rd round pick in this year's draft) is on the Puerto Rico squad.
Carlos Machado (.304/.346/.412 this year for the V-Cats) was in LF and batting 5th for the Venezuela squad today as they defeated Australia 4-2 in their opening game. Machado had a hit in 4 trips. 19-year old Christian Mejias notched a save by allowing just a solo shot in 3 IP while K-ing 3 and walking none (something of an accomplishment given that he walked 17 in 27 innings in the GCL this summer).
If you're already starved for baseball, games are being streamed at https://www.youtube.com/wbsc.
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Ronnie Dawson ran wild in today's game vs Surprise, swiping 4 bases to give him 7 SBs in 7 attempts and is 2nd in the AFL in that category. Had a pair of singles and pair of walks in the game. Abe Toro went 2-5 in the game and his OPS of 1.222 thru 6 games is 2nd only to Vlad Jr in the league. Erasmo Pinales tossed a scoreless frame but now has 5 walks in 3 IP, continuing a control problem that plagued him at CC this year and throughout his career.
Rogelio Armenteros made his 2nd start for Cibao in LIDOM play and it was a gem: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. He's given up just 1 run over 9 innings in his first 2 outings.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, Christian Mejias and Diosward Gonzalez along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
LHP Jonathan Bermudez (23rd round pick in this year's draft) is on the Puerto Rico squad.
And it was Jonathan Bermudez facing off against Luis Garcia as Venezuela and Puerto Rico met in game #2. Both were outstanding, with 21-year old Garcia (who had 98 Ks in 85 IP in time split between TRC and QC this year) punching out 6 in 2 1/3 innings w/o allowing an ER while Bermudez blanked the Venezuelans over 3 innings and K'd 3. 21-year old Nivaldo Rodriguez (50 Ks/13 BBs in 55.2 IP for the V-Cats) also pitched in the game and went 1 1/3 clean innings with a K. Carlos Machado whiffed and laid down a sac bunt in his 2 plate appearances.
Venezuela over PR, 7-2.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, and Christian Mejias along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
LHP Jonathan Bermudez (23rd round pick in this year's draft) is on the Puerto Rico squad.
Venezuela defeated the Czech Republic 8-2 to go to 3-0 in 1st round play. Machado had an RBI single in 2 plate appearances as did Oscar Campos (.233/.280/.360 for TRC in 43 games for Tri-City while throwing out 36% of basestealers).
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Steve Grande @AstrosGrande 38m ago
Keith Law with high marks on #Astros prospects Forrest Whitley and Trent Thornton at the AFL.
On Whitley: "he's the best right-handed pitching prospect in baseball"
On Thornton: "showed a very impressive array of pitches, with huge spin rates on both a slider and curveball"
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Interesting on Thornton. Never thought of him as someone to watch.
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Whitley a rough first inning in the AFL tonight:
- triple by Daz Cameron
- K'd Jahmai Jones (LAA's 4th-ranked prospect)
- walked Skye Bolt (at least his pops didn't name him Lightning)
- Bolt stole 2nd
- K'd Bobby Dalbec (Red Sox 6th-ranked prospect)
- single by Eli White (A's 18th-ranked prospect) scored the 2 runners
- double by Nico Hoerner (Cubbies' 6th-ranked prospect) puts runners on 2nd and 3rd
- K'd Josh Ockimey (Red Sox 10th-ranked prospect)
Whitley then retired 10 of 12 over the next 3.2 innings (single and walk mixed in) for a final line of 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 W, 5 K. He threw 81 pitches.
Whitley, ranked No. 8 overall on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, wasn't as sharp as he was in his first two Fall League starts. He pitched at 93-96 mph with his fastball but his secondary pitches weren't as effective and he didn't command them as well as he did in his previous outings.https://www.mlb.com/news/eli-white-leads-solar-sox-past-forrest-whitley/c-299506930?tid=151437456
Erasmo Pinales had a 3 up, 3 down inning that involved retiring Cameron, Jones and Bolt.
Ronnie Dawson played his usual CF and went 2-4 out of the 5th spot with a double. Abe Toro (batting 2nd) went 1-4.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, and Christian Mejias along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
LHP Jonathan Bermudez (23rd round pick in this year's draft) is on the Puerto Rico squad.
Venezuela defeated DR 7-2 to go to 4-0 in the tournament. Mejias started and went 3 innings, allowing both Dominican runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. Machado was the hitting star for VZ, going 3-5 and driving in 2.
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A couple of scoreless/hitless frames for Trent Thornton with 4 punchouts today in the AZL. He's now K'd 12 in 7 innings. Toro & Dawson DNP.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, and Christian Mejias along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
Machado again 3-5 as VZ defeats Korea 9-2 to finish the first round at 5-0 and advance to the winner's round which begins Thursday. Nivaldo Rodriguez tossed 4 scoreless while whiffing 6 and allowing just 3 hits/walks.
Machado is batting .471 in the tourney though all 8 of his hits have been singles.
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Messy outing this afternoon in the AFL for JBB--4.1 IP, 7 hits (all singles), 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3 WPs. Abe Toro went 1-5. Ronnie Dawson was 1-3 with a double and 2 walks. Among league leaders, Dawson is 2nd in doubles (5), tied for 1st in walks (9) and still 2nd in SBs.
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LBPRC news:
The Joey Sola/Astros connection in evidence as Colin McKee (68 Ks but 29 BBs in 45 innings for BC/QC this year) signs up to pitch for Santurce.
Unless the Astros decide to limit his innings, I believe Jonathan Bermudez is scheduled to pitch for Carolina after the U-23 World Cup tourney is over.
The Puerto Rico season starts up Nov. 15.
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Ronnie Dawson a triple and walk in 4 PAs (and also threw out a runner at 2nd) while Abe Toro 1-4 with a 2-bagger for Scottsdale tonight.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, and Christian Mejias along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
Machado 2-4 in the game but VZ falls to Mexico 10-4 in the 1st game of 2nd round play.
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Ronnie Dawson 1-3 with another triple for the Scorpions this afternoon in AFL play. He's hitting .325/.471/.550 after 13 games. Drew Ferguson took an 0fer. Abe Toro DNP. Erasmo Pinales tossed another scoreless frame.
Ryan Hartman went just 1/3 inning in the LVBP, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits (throwing 27 pitches). And in the LIDOM, Rogelio Armenteros keeps rolling with 4 innings of 1-run baseball against Aguilas. He whiffed 5 while giving up 3 hits/walks.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, and Christian Mejias along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
LHP Jonathan Bermudez (23rd round pick in this year's draft) is on the Puerto Rico squad.
VZ falls again, this time by a 6-3 count to the Samurai Japan squad. Mejias started but struggled, exiting after just 2/3 of an inning while walking 3 and giving up a 2-run single. Machado was 0-2 with a sac bunt and a walk.
In the consolation bracket, PR is taking on Colombia. Bermudez started and went 4 frames, allowing just 1 hit/walk while punching out 7.
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Ronnie Dawson went 2-4 today and tripled for the 3rd straight game. His 1.064 OPS ranks 6th in the AFL. Abe Toro DNP. Forrest Whitley gave up 2 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings with 4 Ks. Vlad, Jr. went 1-3 against him. Trent Thornton gave up a pair of runs on 4 hits in 2 IP.
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3. Back to the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup--why should we give a rat's ass?
There will be some junior stros participating in the tourney. Pitchers Nivaldo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia, and Christian Mejias along with catcher Oscar Campos and outfielder Carlos Machado are all on the 24-man Venezuela squad.
VZ wins 5-4 vs Korea today to take the bronze medal in the tournament. Nivaldo Rodriguez tossed 5 scoreless, punching out 5 and yielding a combined 4 hits/walks. Christian Mejias with 2/3 scoreless frames. Carlos Machado with a double in 4 PAs.
Machado hit .429/.448/.500 in 9 games while Rodriguez gave up no runs in his 11 innings of work in the tourney while whiffing 12 and walking 4 and giving up just 3 hits.
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Joe Perez apparently is healthy enough to play in the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The ABL was previously a 6-team league but has added 2 expansion clubs for the upcoming season: the Auckland Tuatura and Geelong Korea. Perez is scheduled to play with the New Zealand club.
Or not: though no details (of course not), this article on a NZ website (https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2018/10/baseball-auckland-tuatara-add-talented-trio-for-debut-abl-season.html) says he won't be playing due to that unknown injury.
However, this article in the NZ Herald (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12149329) notes that Nick Tanielu will be joining the Tuatura in mid December.
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Trent Thornton and Forrest Whitley were named to the East squad roster for the AFL All-Star game. Will be televised on MLB Network on Saturday night.
In this afternoon's AFL game, Abe Toro (leading off!) went 2-4 with a double and a walk. Ronnie Dawson was hitless in 4 trips.
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Ronnie Dawson whiffed 3 times and walked once this afternoon as the Scorpions were shut out. Abe Toro DNP. Trent Thornton gave up 2 runs on a homer while punching out 3 in 2 IP.
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Erasmo Pinales tossed 2 2/3 innings of 1-run ball for Scottsdale this afternoon, allowing 2 singles while punching out 3. Ronnie Dawson went 2-4 with a SB while Abe Toro was 1-4. Drew Ferguson went hitless and is 1-14 in AFL play.
In LIDOM play, Rogelio Armenteros with another good outing with the 1-run 5-inning baseball against Estrellas. In 4 starts and 18 IP, he's punched out 18 while walking 3 and giving up just 10 hits en route to a 1.50 ERA.
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Trent Thornton and Forrest Whitley were named to the East squad roster for the AFL All-Star game. Will be televised on MLB Network on Saturday night.
From Callis, best tools among participants in the game:
- Best curveball: Whitley
- Best change: Whitley
Among a group of players in the "others considered" for each category: Whitley (best FB), Whitley (best slider), Thornton (best CB), Thornton (best control).
https://www.mlb.com/news/best-tools-in-the-2018-afl-fall-stars-game/c-300087652?tid=153494546
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Decent outing in Arizona for JBB tonight: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Abe Toro hitless in 4 trips. Ronnie Dawson DNP.
Ryan Hartman struggled again in his start in Venezuela tonight, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. Over his 4 starts for Anzoategui, he's allowed 22 baserunners in 10 IP with a 7.20 ERA.
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Abe Toro doubled and walked in 3 trips this afternoon for Scottsdale and also swiped home on the back-end of a double steal. Ronnie Dawson reached twice on a walk and a plunk. Drew Ferguson singled in 3 PAs.
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In the AFL all star game...
Astros No. 2 prospect, right-hander Forrest Whitley, started and pitched two scoreless innings. He allowed just two walks and struck out a batter. Righty Trent Thornton (Houston's No. 24) pitched the fifth inning in relief, allowing one hit and striking out a pair of batters. (https://www.mlb.com/news/how-every-prospect-did-in-2018-fall-stars-game/c-300211244?tid=151437456)
Among others, Whitley faced the #1 (Vlad, Jr), #30 ( Keston Hiura), #39 (Keibert Ruiz), #44 (Luis Robert), and #68 (Christian Pache) ranked prospects in his outing. Plus Cavan Biggio who K'd.
William Boor @wboor 6h ago
#Astros Forrest Whitley said tonight was the first time he’d hit 100 mph since high school.
Eric Longenhagen @longenhagen 8 hours ago
Forrest Whitley
96-99
Feel for change (86) wasn't there that inning but it's a 7
Curve 82
Slider 86
Thornton faced Vlad, Jr. (117 mph seed off the LF wall went for a double) and Biggio (groundout) before whiffing the final two hitters.
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After another good outing last night (5 scoreless vs Licey), Rogelio Armenteros is 4th in LIDOM with a 1.17 ERA with 22 Ks vs just 4 BBs in 23 IP.
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Leadoff hitter Ronnie Dawson went 1-4 tonight for the Scorpions but punched out twice (which he's been doing a lot of in recent games). Abe Toro DNP. Trent Thornton surrendered a longball in 1 1/3 innings. Erasmo Pinales surrendered what was ultimately the winning run in the B8 after yielding a double, a pair of walks (one of which was an IBB, which is bizarre on several levels including the fact that this is supposed to be primarily a developmental league) and a WP.
Framber Valdez joined Águilas Cibaeñas in the LIDOM and pitched his first game tonight, allowing a run on 4 hits over 4.1 IP with 4 K/1 BB.
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LBPRC news:
The Joey Sola/Astros connection in evidence as Colin McKee (68 Ks but 29 BBs in 45 innings for BC/QC this year) signs up to pitch for Santurce.
Catcher Lorenzo Quintana will join McKee on the Crabbers.
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Problems with his control (5 walks, 1 WP) but JBB managed to limit the damage to 1 run in his 4-inning stint this afternoon for Scottsdale. Drew Ferguson took the golden sombrero while Abe Toro singled and walked in his 4 PAs. Ronnie Dawson DNP.
Kyle Glaser @KyleAGlaser 3h ago
J.B. Bukauskas is 96-97 here in the first two innings with that 86-87 slider working. Missing his spots some, but the stuff is impressive.
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Around the horn:
In the LBPRC, catcher Ruben Castro will join Lorenzo Quintana and Colin McKee on the Santurce roster.
In the LVBP, Akeem Bostick went 5 innings for the Caribes tonight and gave up just 1 run on 3 hits while whiffing 6.
Also in the LVBP, after his participation in the U-23 World Cup pitcher Cristian Mejias apparently has joined La Guaira.
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In afternoon AFL play, Whitley/Thornton/Pinales combined to give up 1 earned run on 5 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings although a Whitley error led to 4 runs of the unearned variety. Drew Ferguson had a double and HBP in 5 trips. Ronnie Dawson and Abe Toro both pinch hit, with the former reaching on a plunk and the latter drawing a bases loaded walk.
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Atop the batting order again this afternoon, Abe Toro went 2-4 and hit his 2nd AFL home run to up in his numbers to .328/.438/.517 in 17 games. Ronnie Dawson walked in 4 trips.
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Jose Hernandez's strong pitching post-TJS has carried over to winter ball. In his most recent start for Mazatlan, he went 5 scoreless against Los Mochis and allowed just 2 hits while punching out 9 and walking just 1. In 5 starts in the LMP, he's posted a 2.35 ERA with 31 Ks and just 3 BBs in 23 IP.
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Framber Valdez joined Águilas Cibaeñas in the LIDOM and pitched his first game tonight, allowing a run on 4 hits over 4.1 IP with 4 K/1 BB.
And in his 2nd outing this afternoon in the Dominican: 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K.
Ryan Hartman struggled again in his start in Venezuela tonight, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. Over his 4 starts for Anzoategui, he's allowed 22 baserunners in 10 IP with a 7.20 ERA.
And Hartman rights his ship today with a solid game in the LVBP: 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K.
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Ronnie Dawson notched his first AFL longball in today's win for the Scorpions.
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Another groovy day at the plate for Abe Toro out of the leadoff spot: single, triple and 2 walks. His OPS in AFL play now sits at 1.017, good for 3rd in the league. Ronnie Dawson singled and walked in 4 trips and also pilfered his 10th base.
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Abe Toro continued his hot-hitting for the Scorpions last night with a single, double and walk in 5 trips. Ronnie Dawson had a pair of singles in his 5 PAs. Rough night for JBB with 3 runs on 5 hits (including a couple of deep flies) and 1 walk in 3 2/3. Opposite result for Trent Thornton, who blanked Peoria over 2.1 innings with just a hit allowed while punching out 4.
One game remaining in the regular season.
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Comings and goings in LIDOM: Reymin Guduan was added to the Gigantes roster and pitched last night in his typical fashion with 2 walks and 3 whiffs in his 1 inning of work. Rogelio Armenteros is no longer on the active roster for Gigantes--I suspect he's reached an innings limit but we'll see if he returns to play with roughly half the season remaining. Justin Ferrell apparently is headed to the Dominican for some work though I'm not sure which club he'll be playing for.
And in the LVBP, OF Carlos Machado has shown up on the Zulia roster after his U-23 World Cup appearance and went 0-1 last night.
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Forrest Whitley finishes up the fall with a bang, tossing a 1-hitter thru 5 innings while K'ing 9 and walking 1. Erasmo Pinales lost the game for the Scorpions by yielding 2 runs in B9 on a pair of singles and 3 walks (1 intentional). Drew Ferguson went 2-4 with a 2-bagger. Abe Toro and Ronnie Dawson DNP in the finale. Toro (1.023) and Dawson (.885) look like they'll finish 3rd and 14th respectively in OPS in the league.
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In the LBPRC, catcher Ruben Castro will join Lorenzo Quintana and Colin McKee on the Santurce roster.
Season has kicked off in Puerto Rico. Once upon a time, the LBPRC had as many as 6 teams. However, it was down to just 4 teams in last year's hurricane-shortened season and remains at that level this year. In addition to Santurce, the clubs are Mayaguez, Caguas and Carolina. LHP Jonathan Bermudez is listed on the Carolina roster after pitching in the U-23 World Cup.
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Nate Colbert on November 08, 2018, 10:53:26 pm
In the LBPRC, catcher Ruben Castro will join Lorenzo Quintana and Colin McKee on the Santurce roster.
Season has kicked off in Puerto Rico. Once upon a time, the LBPRC had as many as 6 teams. However, it was down to just 4 teams in last year's hurricane-shortened season and remains at that level this year. In addition to Santurce, the clubs are Mayaguez, Caguas and Carolina. LHP Jonathan Bermudez is listed on the Carolina roster after pitching in the U-23 World Cup.
Quintana DH'd and hit 9th in Santurce's loss last night to Caguas and went 0-4. Castro came in at catcher late in the game and K'd in his lone plate appearance.
Bermudez pitched 1 inning against Mayaguez, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits.
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Jonathan Bermudez made his 2nd appearance for Carolina and gave up a longball in 2 innings. Colin McKee made his 1st appearance and pitched a scoreless frame for Santurce.
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In LVBP play, Akeem Bostick tossed 3 2/3 scoreless against Margarita with 5 punchouts and just 1 walk. He's allowed just 2 ERs on 8 hits over his last 12.1 IP with 15 Ks and 2 BBs.
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Some Statcast data from the AFL (https://www.mlb.com/news/top-statcast-performers-in-arizona-fall-league/c-300999734): JBB all over the leaderboard for highest spin rate FB and Erasmo Pinales also shows up.
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Justin Ferrell apparently is headed to the Dominican for some work though I'm not sure which club he'll be playing for.
He's on the Estrellas roster and pitched yesterday, tossing a scoreless inning.
In LBPRC play, Colin McKee's 2nd outing resulted in a save as he also threw a scoreless frame.
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Scoreless/hitless frame for Reymin Guduan tonight in LIDOM play. He's K'd 6 and walked 2 in 3 innings of work so far with no hits allowed.
In Puerto Rico, Lorenzo Quintana had a single in 4 trips and is 1-11 over his first 4 games for the Cangrejeros. In his previous 3 games, he had DH'd but tonight he was at 1B. May not be surprising with 3 other catchers on the Santurce catcher but that looks to be the first time he's played there in his professional career (including his 7 seasons in the Cuban National Series).
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In the LIDOM Justin Ferell tossed a scoreless inning last night. Colin McKee did the same in the LBPRC and picked up another save in the process while Jonathan Bermudez went 2/3 scoreless.
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Akeem Bostick continued his nice stretch of pitching in the LVBP by allowing just a run on 2 hits and a walk in 4 innings of work in his start last night. He's allowed just 3 runs on 10 hits over his last 16.1 innings of work for the Caribes with 16 Ks vs just 3 BBs.
Over in the Dominican, Framber Valdez made his 4th start for the Aguilas and punched out 6 and walked none in 3 IP. He did allow 4 runs, most coming off the bat of Hanley Ramirez who had a 3-run shot.
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Jumping on someone else's bus for a minute. My cousins kid is in the AFL with the Rafters - Bullpen arm from the Marlins Kyle Keller. Went from High A to AAA this year.
On another teams bus again but Kyle was added to the Fish 40 man roster. Our family is pretty pumped for him.
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On another teams bus again but Kyle was added to the Fish 40 man roster. Our family is pretty pumped for him.
Huge step! Congratulations to all of you.
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Pitching performances over the last several days:
- In the LIDOM, Reymin Guduan with another scoreless frame and has now punched out 8 while walking 2 and yet to give up a hit or run in 4 innings of winter work.
- Also a scoreless inning in LIDOM play for Justin Ferrell.
- Yoanys Quiala continues his subpar work in the LMP with another poor outing last night. He's walked 16 and allowed 34 hits (including 7 longballs) in 37.2 innings thus far while K'ing just 26.
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More hurler action:
- 1.2 innings of scoreless work tonight for Colin McKee who picks up his 3rd save in as many opportunities in LBPRC action.
- Also in LBPRC play, Jonathan Bermudez tossed 1 1/3 scoreless against Santurce.
- In the LIDOM, Reymin Guduan gave up his first hit in an otherwise unblemished inning against Escogido.
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Some recent performances:
- Catcher Cesar Salazar has been with his hometown Hermosillo Naranjeros for the last couple of months but only recently was activated. He's gone hitless over the last couple of games.
- Akeem Bostick gave up a run on 4 hits over 3.1 innings last night, whiffing 4 and walking 1. He's among the LVBP leaders in ERA and Ks.
- Humberto Castellanos threw a perfect frame for Jalisco yesterday.
- Justin Ferrell went a clean 2/3 of an inning for Estrellas last night.
- Reymin Guduan remains unscored upon after blanking Escogido on Friday in his inning of work.
- Leovanny Rodriguez with a perfect pair of innings against Aguilas yesterday.
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More pitching action over the last few days:
- Framber Valdez with 5 scoreless against the Toros in the LIDOM.
- Also in the LIDOM, Justin Ferrell with 1.1 scoreless last night.
- Colin McKee K'd 3 in Puerto Rico yesterday and has now punched out 8 and walked none in his 1st 6 innings of work down there without allowing a run.
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Drew Ferguson has joined Santurce and went 0-5 in his first game in Puerto Rico.
Another clean inning for Reymin Guduan in the Dominican to run his scoreless streak to 6 IP.
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Drew Ferguson took another 0fer in his 2nd game for the Cangrejeros. Also for Santurce, Colin McKee picked up his 4th save in as many chances with another scoreless inning last night. 9 Ks/0 BBs/2 hits/0 runs in 7 innings of work thus far for McKee in Puerto Rico.
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Both Drew Ferguson and Cesar Salazar picked up their 1st base hits in winter league action yesterday.
Leovanny Rodriguez and Reymin Guduan tossed 1 IP and 2/3 IP of scoreless work respectively in the LIDOM. Over in the LBPRC, Jonathan Bermudez surrendered 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk against Mayaguez.
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Catching up on performances over the last week and for the season:
- C Cesar Salazar got a pair of base hits to start the week but is hitless since and is 3-19 overall for the year (all singles).
- Recent Rule 5 draftee C Alejandro Flores is Salazar's teammate for Hermosillo and not hitting much better, going 6-34 thus far on the year (again, all hits were singles).
- Reymin Guduan did not have a good week and walks (per usual) were generally the culprit with 3 free passes in one outing. He's K'd 12 in 7.1 innings overall on the season but has issued 5 BBs.
- Colin McKee remains unscored upon with 3 separate 1-inning stints during the week where he blanked the opposition. 13 Ks vs just 1 BB in 10.1 IP for Santurce.
- Humberto Castellanos tossed 3.2 scoreless frames for Jalisco this week. He has a 1.06 WHIP in 19 games for the season.
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Carlos Sierra has joined Carolina in LBPRC and has pitched in a couple of games, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings while whiffing 4.
Probeis, the Panamanian Winter League, started play a couple of weeks ago. Abdiel Saldana (Metropolitan), Jonathan Arauz (Metropolitan), Edgardo Sandoval (Herrera), Rhandall Sanchez (Panama Oeste) are all shown on rosters. Only Sanchez has played thus far, going 4-14 in 7 games with a pair of doubles.
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Performances over the last week:
- After playing a handful of games earlier in the LIDOM, INF Osvaldo Duarte has joined Carolina in the LBPRC and has gone 2-9 over his first couple of games.
- INF Nick Tanielu has reported to Aukland in the ABL and went 2-11 with a double in three games there.
- OF Wilyer Abreu joins Zulia in LVBP, going 5-19 over the past week but with 7 Ks.
- C Cesar Salazar went 4-17 in the week including his first LMP homer.
- LHP Jervic Chavez signed on with Caracas and had a smooth first outing in the LVBP, K'ing 2 in a scoreless frame.