Tri-City ValleyCats 2017

[Nate Colbert]

Who knows whether he'll make the official roster when the season opens, but noticed that LHP Ben Smith pitched today in the exhibition game versus the Albany Dutchmen of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Smith of course was a 17th-round pick of the Astros back in 2014 out of Coastal Carolina. He didn't pitch that season as at the time he was drafted he was rehabbing from TJS. He didn't pitch in 2015 either after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Finally returned to the mound for the 2016 season, pitching mostly at Greeneville. He walked 45 in 39.2 IP.

Good luck to him in 2017.

[Nate Colbert]

Also, last year's 5th-rounder Abraham Toro-Hernandez was behind the plate for the V-Cats today. He played 3B exclusively for Greeneville last year but the expectation when drafted was that he would be moved to catcher at some point.

[VirtualBob]

Has there been a roster announcement yet?

[Nate Colbert]

Has there been a roster announcement yet?

Not that I've seen.

[Nate Colbert]

A roster is available here for the V-Cats.

The most notable name (besides the previously-mentioned Ben Smith and Abraham Toro-Hernandez) is Miguelangel Sierra, who received a $1MM bonus back in 2014 when he was signed. the 19-year old Sierra split time last year between the G-stros and V-Cats, hitting well in 31 games with the former but struggling in 25 games when promoted to the latter.

The roster of course will change significantly as more and more 2017 draft signings occur and a number of the college guys get assigned to TRC.

Opening game of the season is tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Other notables on the V-Cats roster (at least for now):

• SS Joan Mauricio--signed for $600K back in 2013 but has struggled mightily with the bat in his 3 years in the system (mostly in the GCL)
• LHP Patrick Sandoval--a $900K overslot signing as an 11th rounder in the 2015 draft (and has already seen some game action in 2017 as a fill-in arm at BC)
• OF Frankeny Fernandez--$200K was his signing bonus in 2013. Hit .223/.341/.372 at Greeneville last season.
• OF Luis Payano--signed for a $500K bonus back in 2012. His career numbers over 4 seasons? .236/.308/.373.
• INF Kristina Trompiz--he's already seen action this season, playing 17 games at CC. A $320K signing from back in 2012.
• RHP Cristian Javier--posted 66 Ks vs 18 BBs in 51 IP in time split last year between the GCL and the Appy. The 20-year old has also seen some game action in 2017, making one appearance for BC.
• RHP Felipe Tejada--if he sticks, the 19-year old out of the DR will be making the jump from the DSL (although he did pitch 12 innings in the GCL at the end of last season). He's the 2nd-youngest player on the V-Cats roster.

[Nate Colbert]

Also, last year's 5th-rounder Abraham Toro-Hernandez was behind the plate for the V-Cats today. He played 3B exclusively for Greeneville last year but the expectation when drafted was that he would be moved to catcher at some point.

Back to playing 3B in TRC's opener tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Who knows whether he'll make the official roster when the season opens, but noticed that LHP Ben Smith pitched today in the exhibition game versus the Albany Dutchmen of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Smith of course was a 17th-round pick of the Astros back in 2014 out of Coastal Carolina. He didn't pitch that season as at the time he was drafted he was rehabbing from TJS. He didn't pitch in 2015 either after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Finally returned to the mound for the 2016 season, pitching mostly at Greeneville. He walked 45 in 39.2 IP.

Good luck to him in 2017.

On the roster and did pitch tonight, tossing a 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts.

[Nate Colbert]

Southpaw Patrick Sandoval got his season off to a nice start (5 IP 4 H 1 R 1 W 8 K).

(No, I'm not counting that fill-in appearance he made last month for BC.)

[Nate Colbert]

With a bunch of 2017 draft signees getting activated shortly, Troy Sieber is promoted to QC.

[VirtualBob]

Great job by the Valleycat pitching staff last night.  Sierra lead off and reached on an error. After stealing 2nd, he scored on a single by Toro-Hernandez that turned out to be the only hit by the good guys.  Castro, Tejada, Corniel and Ramirez combined on a 4-hit shutout for the win.

[Astrofan59]

Great job by the Valleycat pitching staff last night.  Sierra lead off and reached on an error. After stealing 2nd, he scored on a single by Toro-Hernandez that turned out to be the only hit by the good guys.  Castro, Tejada, Corniel and Ramirez combined on a 4-hit shutout for the win.

Actually he scored on a wild pitch.  The only hit occurred in the 6th inning.

[Nate Colbert]

2017 draftees Corey Julks (playing RF and batting second), Jake Adams and Kyle Davis all making their debuts tonight.

Abraham Toro-Hernandez gets behind the plate after starts in the first 2 (official) games at 3B.

[BudGirl]

2017 draftees Corey Julks (playing RF and batting second), Jake Adams and Kyle Davis all making their debuts tonight.

Abraham Toro-Hernandez gets behind the plate after starts in the first 2 (official) games at 3B.

Julks and Adams just competed against each other a couple weeks ago in the regionals.  Time flies.

[Nate Colbert]

2017 draftees Corey Julks (playing RF and batting second), Jake Adams and Kyle Davis all making their debuts tonight.

Adams goes deep in his first professional AB.

Tri-City ValleyCats  @ValleyCats 1h ago
The measurements are in. 425 feet to dead center field for Jake Adams first home run of the season! #ADAMBOMB

[VirtualBob]

Actually he scored on a wild pitch.  The only hit occurred in the 6th inning.

Oops. Thanks for the correction. I thought I saw a RBI in the box so I did not check the log. :

[Navin R Johnson]

Jake's bomb

https://twitter.com/MarkSingelais/status/878398857700356096

[Nate Colbert]

Julks reached base 3 times on a single, double and HBP and swiped a couple of bases and the Albany Times-Union ran a profile on him.

[Nate Colbert]

The roster of course will change significantly as more and more 2017 draft signings occur and a number of the college guys get assigned to TRC.

That's been happening with Joan Mauricio, Frankeny Fernandez and a few others being dropped down to Greeneville.

[Nate Colbert]

2nd rounder JJ Matijevic is scheduled to make his debut today, playing LF and batting 3rd in the lineup.

[Nate Colbert]

Julks reached base 3 times on a single, double and HBP and swiped a couple of bases and the Albany Times-Union ran a profile on him.

And a HR in his first AB today leading off the game.

[BudGirl]

And a HR in his first AB today leading off the game.

He's doing better than I would have thought.  Good for him.  He's a nice kid.

[Nate Colbert]

2nd rounder JJ Matijevic is scheduled to make his debut today, playing LF and batting 3rd in the lineup.

And a LD single in his first pro AB.

[Nate Colbert]

Abraham Toro with zero homers in 49 career games prior to this one. Has 2 tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Diogenes still searching for an honest man home plate.

[VirtualBob]

Diogenes still searching for an honest man home plate.

At least they aren't hitting him.

[Nate Colbert]

Hello, daddy. Hello, mom.
It's another a-a-adambomb!

[Nate Colbert]

2017 13th-rounder OF Jake Meyers finally gets officially added to the V-Cats roster. And in the lineup for tonight's game playing CF.

[Nate Colbert]

19-year old RHP Juan Robles promoted from Greeneville (he's K'd 15 and walked just 2 in 8.2 IP for the G-stros).

And this year's 17th-rounder RHP Matt Ruppenthal (Vandy) officially added to the roster.

[Nate Colbert]

Abraham Toro with his 3rd homer in 12 games after hitting none in 44 games for the G-stros last year.

[Jacksonian]

3rd rounder Ivey promoted from the GCL and will start tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Mark Singelais  @MarkSingelais 1h ago
OF Corey Julks, Astros' 8th-round draft pick, has missed the last four games because of a shoulder injury, per Morgan Ensberg. Day to day.

[Nate Colbert]

23-year old Cuban righty Jesus Balaguer up from Greeneville.

Also saw a report that this year's 9th rounder C Michael Papierski was assigned to the V-Cats today although that hasn't been confirmed on the milb.com transactions page.

[Jacksonian]

although that hasn't been confirmed on the milb.com transactions page.

Haaaaaahaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Nate Colbert]

Also saw a report that this year's 9th rounder C Michael Papierski was assigned to the V-Cats today although that hasn't been confirmed on the milb.com transactions page.

Started today's game and in his 1st pro AB had a LD single to center.

[Nate Colbert]

ADAMBOMB #5. Jake now has 34 homers this year in 78 games combined between the V-Cats and the Hawkeyes.

(We won't mention the 24 whiffs in 61 ABs in the 16 games since joining TRC.)

[Nate Colbert]

Pitcher Ricardo Castro has been suspended. No information yet as to whether this is for a violation of team rules or for drugs.

[Nate Colbert]

2nd rounder Corbin Martin in NYP debut: 4 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K.

11th rounder Brandon Bielak in NYP debut: 3 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 6 K.

16th rounder Adrian Tovalin in NYP debut: 4-4, 2 homers, 6 RBIs.

[Nate Colbert]

C/INF Abraham Toro (.288/.413/.529 in 31 games this season) promoted to QC while OF Reid Russell has been sent down to Greeneville.

And 1B/DH Colton Shaver gets promoted to the V-Cats after a monster week at the plate (homers in 4 consecutive game) for the G-stros.

[Nate Colbert]

Shaver with a walkoff grand slam in NYPL debut. 7 home runs now in 18 games.

[Nate Colbert]

After really struggling this season (35 strikeouts in 75 ABs), the big Aussie Connor MacDonald has been released. He was the last of 4 players out of Australia the Astros signed back in 2013 (or thereabouts).

[Nate Colbert]

Mark Singelais  @MarkSingelais 2h ago
@ValleyCats' Jake Adams said his HR to right in 9th was the first opposite field HR he's hit. Ever.

[Nate Colbert]

2nd rounder Corbin Martin in NYP debut: 4 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K.

Another 4 innings today w/o giving up an earned run--no hits allowed today with 4 whiffs and just 1 walk.

[Nate Colbert]

Some of this was covered in the draft thread when I did my thumbnails of Day 3 picks, but still I thought this was an interesting article in the Albany Times Union about V-Cat players who are either playing out of position or are playing positions for the first time:

• Corey Julks, who was listed as CF when drafted and has been mostly playing RF for TRC, is "more of a left fielder" according to Morgan Ensberg.
• Adrian Tovalin, who was listed as a 3B when drafted and has been playing there for the V-Cats, is "probably more of a 1st baseman" per Ensberg but can't play there with Adams/Shaver on the roster.
• Kyle Davis played a number of different positions while at U of West Virginia (including a lot of DH) but is playing 2B exclusively for Tri-City.
• JJ Matijevic, who was listed as a 2B when drafted (and I believe I read something recently that he would be tried there during the upcoming instructional league), has been playing LF for the V-Cats after playing 1B/DH at the U of Arizona.

"I just think that the defense we play has been pretty bad," Ensberg said. "It's tough. We have guys that don't feel comfortable in their positions and that's going be the rocky road we have. We drafted them for their bats and we have to find places for them to play, and it's going to be bloody."

[BudGirl]

• Corey Julks, who was listed as CF when drafted and has been mostly playing RF for TRC, is "more of a left fielder" according to Morgan Ensberg.

He started at UH in LF.

[Navin R Johnson]

Actually he started as a third baseman, and was a SS in high school.

[das]

Thanks for all the info in this thread.  I just bought a second house up in Burlington and will be able to watch Tri-Cities when they play the Vermont Lake Monsters there in Burlington.

[BudGirl]

Actually he started as a third baseman, and was a SS in high school.

I forgot about that, Wong was at SS too.

[Navin R Johnson]

Yes, Wong at SS, Hollis at 3rd.  Hollis got hurt and Julks started playing 3rd,  but made a bunch of errors and was moved to LF.  Julks is a heck of an athlete, but I cant see him playing any were else but LF in the pros.

[Nate Colbert]

The V-Cat hitters are last in the league in BA (.221) but lead the league in HRs (37),  are 2nd in SBs (60) and 3rd in BBs (162).

On the pitching side, the staff leads the NYP with 417 whiffs in 371 IP.

[Nate Colbert]

Bukauskas assigned to the V-Cats.

[Nate Colbert]

Catcher Carlos Canelon is assigned to Corpus and his place on the roster is taken by catcher Bernardo Heras, who filled in for a couple of days at CC (didn't play) after being assigned there from the GCL.

(BTW, Bernardo Heras is the brother of former farmhand Leo Heras.)

[Nate Colbert]

Bukauskas assigned to the V-Cats.

Scheduled to make his NYPL debut on Thursday.

[Nate Colbert]

4 V-Cats named to NYPL All-Star game which is to be played next week: LF JJ Matijevic, CF Andy Pineda, and pitchers Nathan Thompson and Reggie Johnson.

Thompson (27th rounder last year out of DII Oklahoma Baptist and a Jim Stevenson pick) is 8th in the league with 43 whiffs and has a 1.41 ERA despite an ugly 1.41 WHIP. Johnson, an NDFA last year out of a DIII school, has 28 Ks vs just 4 BBs in 21 IP with TRC after struggling in 5 appearances to start the year at QC. 20-year old Pineda is 5th in the NYP with 13 SBs (in 14 attempts) to go along with an uninspiring .242/.265/.316 slash line. 2nd rounder Matijevic is hitting .261/.309/.420 and is tied for 5th in the league with 10 two-baggers.

[austro]

4 V-Cats named to NYPL All-Star game which is to be played next week: LF JJ Matijevic, CF Andy Pineda, and pitchers Nathan Thompson and Reggie Johnson.

No Keuchel?

[juliogotay]

No Keuchel?

Did not throw enough innings to qualify.

[Nate Colbert]

LHP Adam Bleday (this year's 27th rounder) and RHP Leovanny Rodriguez promoted from Greeneville.

[Nate Colbert]

Corbin Martin now with 28 K's in 20 IP and just 3 BBs. Not bad for a guy who who had his problems hitting the plate as an Aggie (71 walks in 132 innings in his college career).

Also just 6 hits allowed in those 20 innings.

[roadrunner]

Corbin Martin now with 28 K's in 20 IP and just 3 BBs. Not bad for a guy who who had his problems hitting the plate as an Aggie (71 walks in 132 innings in his college career).

Also just 6 hits allowed in those 20 innings.

I'll bite.  Does anyone think he or Bukauskas could serve as reinforcements for the playoffs considering they are post-college pitchers?

[austro]

I'll bite.  Does anyone think he or Bukauskas could serve as reinforcements for the playoffs considering they are post-college pitchers?

I don't think so. I think the innings they've put in since February, plus the fact that they're not really accustomed to more innings yet, plus the lack of experience against top-tier hitters all add up to "not ready for prime time yet".

[Nate Colbert]

LHPs Nathan Thompson and Kit Scheetz have been promoted to QC.

Thompson had been named to the NYP All-Star team. His replacement on that team will be RHP Hunter Martin (this year's 20th rounder out of U of Tenn).

TRC receives RHP Dustin Hunt, sent down from QC.

[Nate Colbert]

Ensberg trots out the 'ol alphabetical lineup.

[Nate Colbert]

Did you care that Jake Adams won the HR derby before tonight's NYPL All-Star game?

No, I didn't think so.

[VirtualBob]

Did you care that Jake Adams won the HR derby before tonight's NYPL All-Star game?

No, I didn't think so.

I just wish he would stop competing in the strikeout derby.