Team Results
71-51, 1st–PCL American South, 7.5 games ahead of New Orleans.
Round Rock went 3-4 on the week, which included dropping two of three at Dell Diamond to a very hot Oklahoma ballclub. The series finale with the RedHawks is on Monday.
Maximum Overdrive
1B J.R. House. Went 11-18 with six RBIs in the four games at the beginning of the week (including a 5-6 game with three doubles and three RBIs on Wednesday) before cooling off to 1-12 over the final three games. Has 20 RBIs in 16 games since joining the Express and leads all Astros’ minor leaguers with 89 RBIs on the season.
INF Cody Ransom. Belted three homers during the week and is now hitting .325 (39-120) with nine doubles, 13 longballs and 32 RBIs over his last 37 games. Luke Scott and his 20 dingers aside, Ransom leads the Express with 19 HRs on the season. The 30-year old’s high water mark for deep flies in a season is 23 in 2001 with Fresno, though that was in substantially more playing time (469 ABs versus 320 ABs thus far in 2006).
INF Jesse Garcia. The Robstown native is batting at a .395 clip (17-43) over his last 12 games.
Stuck in Neutral
LHP Wandy Rodriguez. Absolutely awful over his last three starts, getting shelled for 19 runs on 24 hits and 7 walks in 15 innings.
OF Charlton Jimerson. Batting .159 with 66 whiffs in his last 157 at-bats.
Broke Down/Under Repair
1B Royce Huffman. On DL after having surgery on his broken hand.
Among the PCL Leaders
- 2B Brooks Conrad is 1st in extra-base hits (65), 1st in triples (15), 1st in doubles (35), 10th in RBIs (74) and 3rd in runs scored (84).
- Ransom is tied for 9th in home runs.
- Jimerson is tied for 10th in extra-base hits (45), tied for 6th in triples (6), and tied for 3rd in SBs (28).
- RHP Chris Sampson is 5th in ERA (2.76), tied for 2nd in WHIP (1.01) and tied for 3rd in wins (11).
- RHP Travis Driskill (14) is tied for 5th in saves and RHP Roberto Giron (12) is tied for 9th.
- RHP Jared Gothreaux has given up the 4th-most gopher balls (19).
Miscellany
- The RedHawks were on quite a roll entering the weekend series with the Express, having won eight of their last nine. The Oklahoma pitching was especially red-hot, tossing five shutouts in their last eight games.
- The AAA debut of RHP Matt Albers on Friday couldn’t have gone any smoother (6 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 2 W 5 K).
- 16 and counting: though he sat out four of the seven games played during the week, Jimerson added four to his K count and is now at 168 strikeouts on the year as he approaches the PCL single season K record of 184.
Team Results
26-24, 3rd (2nd half)–Texas League South, 1 game behind Frisco. (67-52, Overall)
The Hook dropped games on Saturday and Sunday, finishing the week with a 3-4 mark and missing a golden opportunity to pull ahead of a crowded field in the TL South with all four clubs bunched within a couple of games of 1st place.
Maximum Overdrive
OF Josh Anderson. Now has hits in 18 of his last 20 games and is batting .378 (34-90) over that stretch with 18 runs scored. Did get nailed while trying to steal 2nd on Friday to put a stop to his consecutive SB string at 16.
Stuck in Neutral
Nobody we’d care to discuss.
Broke Down/Under Repair
Nobody.
Among the Texas League Leaders
- 2B Jonny Ash (.321) is 4th in batting average while Anderson (.320) is tied for 5th and OF Jorge Cortes (.306) is 9th.
- OF Hunter Pence is 3rd in homers (26), tied for 3rd in RBIs (85), tied for 3rd in slugging (.562), 4th in OPS (.924) and tied for 1st in triples (
. - INF Josh Bonifay is tied for 10th in longballs with 16.
- Ash is tied for 10th in triples with 4.
- Pence (83) and Anderson (79) are 3rd and 5th, respectively, in runs scored.
- Anderson leads in steals (39) but has also been thrown out the most times (13).
- RHP Chance Douglass (3.57) and RHP Josh Miller (3.88) are 4th and 7th, respectively, in ERA.
- Douglass (1.25) is tied for 2nd in WHIP while Miller (1.35) is 9th.
- RHP Paul Estrada is 2nd in the TL with 125 strikeouts while Guti (96) is tied for 7th.
- Estrada is tied for 4th with 14 saves.
Miscellany
- After taking the opener of the 3-game set with Tulsa this week, the Hooks dropped the next two to fall to 1-9 against the Drillers this season.
- The Hooks banged out 20 hits Friday night against the Wichita Wranglers, not only their high for the season but setting a franchise record.
- Although batting just .179 on the season prior to that, SS Ozzie Fernando had back-to-back three-hit games on Thursday and Friday.
- CC scored a total of 22 runs in the four games at the end of the week against Wichita. Although that’s not an especially impressive total, it actually looks pretty good considering the Wranglers’ hurlers had shut out San Antonio for 25 consecutive innings earlier in the week.
- RHP Juan Gutierrez returned from six weeks on the DL (fatigued arm) with the start on Saturday. He was on a strict pitch count (2 innings or 40 pitches). He ended up throwing the two frames, allowing no runs on just one hit while getting the FB up to 94.
- After LHP Carlos Hernandez went 2 scoreless in his season debut a week ago Wednesday, the man in permanent rehab mode had two outings this past week. A one-run/three inning stint Monday was followed by an awful stint on Saturday, allowing seven runs on five hits and four walks over 3.1 IP.
Quoting
Dave the Clark on LHP Troy Patton:
“I think he’s got to realize that at this level, you’ve got to have more than a fastball. He’s been pitching off his fastball, but it seems to me that he’s been throwing too many. He’s got a pretty good breaking ball, even if it’s not that good on a particular night, you’ve got to show it and let (hitters) know you’ll throw something other than a fastball. He’s learning to pitch here. You can get away with a lot of things at the lower levels that you can’t get away with here or anywhere else in the upper levels.”
Patton seems to have gotten the message, striking out ex-big leaguer Dee Brown with three straight sliders with the bases loaded in Thursday’s game:
“That was awesome,” Clark said. “That was the out that I’m (saying), ‘OK, this kid is pretty good.’ Lefty versus lefty, mano a mano, and he came through big time.”
Clark’s comments after Gutierrez’s first start in six weeks:
“I thought he didn’t miss a beat. He looked fresh and clean. The fastball was real crisp and he threw a couple of good breaking balls. He’s back.”
Team Results
30-19, 1st (2nd Half)–Carolina League Southern, 2 games ahead of Kinston. (62-57, Overall)
The Avalanche go 3-4 despite all of the games during the week being at home. Then again, this is a club with a 12-15 home record in the second half versus an 18-4 road record so perhaps the results weren’t too surprising after all. C’mon, road trip!
Maximum Overdrive
OF Frankie Caraballo. Hitting .352 (19-54) over his last 15 games.
RHP German Melendez. Make it a combined ERA of 1.14 for his time split between Salem and Lexington this season with just 19 hits surrendered in 47.1 IP and a 55:14 strikeout to walk ratio. Has a total of 12 saves between the two clubs.
RHP Raymar Diaz. His combined numbers at Salem and Lex include a 2.26 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 126 whiffs in 123.2 IP. Has a 1.71 ERA over his last eight starts (four for the Legends, four for the Avs).
LHP Enyelbert Soto. Made only one appearance during the week but it was an excellent one, going four scoreless on Friday in his longest outing of the season. Now has an 0.69 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over his last 19 games (26 IP).
LHP Jeff Wigdahl. Has an 0.82 ERA over his last 22 innings of work despite a decidedly mediocre 1.59 WHIP during that span.
RHP Evan Englebrook. Used in a swing role this season, the Jason Hirsh-sized righty has done well as a starter but is currently excelling out of the bullpen. Has not given up a run in his last 13.1 innings of relief work, whiffing 17 while walking only three during this period. The 24-year old Pennsylvania native probably ends up a reliever if he ever makes it to the bigs.
Stuck in Neutral
Nobody we’d care to discuss.
Broke Down/Under Repair
RHP Robert Stiehl. On DL with a broken left fibula and out the remainder of the season.
Among the Carolina League Leaders
- OF Beau Torbert is 3rd in batting average at .305.
- Caraballo is 1st in doubles (32), 1st in extra-base hits (48) and 7th in slugging (.446).
- 1B/3B/DH Neil Sellers is tied for 2nd in doubles with 30 while SS Edwin Maysonet is tied for 7th with 27.
- C Lou Santangelo is 2nd in homers with 17, tied for 4th in triples with 5, 2nd in slugging at .500, and 6th in OPS at .817.
- Caraballo (107), Santangelo (99) and OF Ervin Alcantara (94) continue to *rank* in the top ten in strikeouts.
- RHP Jimmy Barthmaier is 3rd in strikeouts (110) but also leads the league in walks (62).
- RHP Felipe Paulino has the 3rd-most free passes (53).
- RHP Rodrigo Escobar is 3rd in saves (17).
Miscellany
- The Avalanche are second in the Carolina League in extra-base hits despite bringing up the rear in team batting average at .246.
Quoting
Englebrook, who started the season in the starting rotation for the Avs before moving to the bullpen:
“At this point in my career, it’s just nice to get innings, no matter where they use me. I think they’re still trying to figure out if I’m a starter or a reliever.”
Team Results
19-30, 8th (2nd half)–SAL Northern, 14 games behind Lakewood. (63-55, Overall)
The Legends started out the week with three straight victories to run their winning streak to five games, but then the offense once again sputtered as they dropped the remaining games to fall to 3-3 on the week. Two of the losses were shutouts including the no-hitter thrown at them on Sunday.
Maximum Overdrive
RHP Garrett Murdy. Shuttling between the rotation and the bully all season, Murdy is a starter at the moment and is doing quite well in that role. Has given up a total of just one earned run over his last 2 starts. For the season, the A&M-Kingsville alum has a 2.16 ERA in his nine starts and a 3.69 ERA in 19 appearances out of the pen.
RHP Brad James. Went seven scoreless in his latest start to give him an 0.73 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over his last 11 games (62 IP). His 1.17 ERA for the season would lead the South Atlantic League had he enough innings to qualify. With just five starts left, he’d have to average 8+ innings every time out to be eligible for the ERA title by the end of the season. Ain’t gonna happen…
LHP Chris Blazek. Now has an 0.40 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over his last 10 games (22.1 IP).
Stuck in Neutral
3B Koby Clemens. Just 1-21 over his last 6 games and is hitless over his last 17 at-bats.
OF Mitch Einertson. Batting just .167 (40-239) over his last 69 games and an even suckier .114 (5-44) over his last 13 games.
1B Mark Ori. Batting .216 (33-153) over his last 40 games with a piddlin’ five extra-base hits over that stretch, four doubles and a triple. The last time he hit a longball was nearly two months ago (June 18).
Broke Down/Under Repair
RHP Levi Romero. On DL with triceps tendinitis and shut down for the season.
RHP Brandon Stricklen. On DL and will miss remainder of season with partially torn labrum.
C J.R. Towles. Has now missed ten games in a row with what was previously described as a virus.
Among the SAL Leaders
- OF Eli Iorg is 3rd with 76 RBIs and is tied for 9th with 33 SBs.
- Murdy is 7th with a 2.90 ERA.
Miscellany
- 2nd-round pick RHP Sergio Perez picked up his first professional win on Tuesday.
- RHP Nick Cavanagh was signed out of the indy leagues to bolster the Lexington bullpen. He was leading the Frontier League in strikeouts (88 K’s in 64 IP) by a considerable margin despite being a reliever and was 5th in ERA at 2.24. He went 1.1 scoreless innings in his first outing as a Legend on Sunday.
- Cavanagh’s manager on the Chillicothe Paints ballclub was former Astro Glenn Wilson. The interim pitching coach for the team is Doug Drabek, whose son Justin is a pitcher for the Paints. Drabek and Wilson of course were former teammates with the Pirates (not to mention both currently reside in The Woodlands).
- The Legends have a league-worst 6-19 record on the road in the second half. That’s a 180 from the first half in which Lex’s 20-13 record away from home was tops in the league.
- Iorg had four SBs during the week, has now swiped 10 in a row without being caught and is 33-5 for the year (87%).
- Carlos Carrasco, the Lakewood starter who went seven innings in the combined no-hitter Sunday versus the Legends, flirted with a perfect game in his previous start. He retired the first 22 Asheville batters he faced, but then yielded a walk and several base hits before being pulled. His 2.25 ERA for the season is among the league’s best.
- OF Josh Flores got the golden sombrero on Sunday. The leadoff hitter for the Legends has now whiffed 88 times on the season while drawing just 27 walks.
Team Results
31-22, 1st–NYP Stedler, 1.5 games ahead of Oneonta.
A shutout on Sunday by Chris Salamida and a couple of relievers capped a 4-3 week for the division-leading ValleyCats. The winning record was impressive given that all three clubs they faced (Staten Island, Oneonta and Mahoning Valley) had three of the five best records in the NY-P.
Maximum Overdrive
LHP Chris Salamida. The man with the 0.90 ERA and 0.98 WHIP again wows with two more excellent starts during the week and has now ripped off seven straight wins. Has not given up more than one earned run in any of his 10 starts this season.
LHP Victor Garate. Extended his scoreless streak to 17.1 IP with three whitewash appearances during the week and has now worked a stretch of 20.2 innings where he’s yielded just five hits and has a 35:9 strikeout to walk ratio. Has two wins and six saves over his last eight games.
RHP Brian Hallberg. A teammate of fellow V-Cat hurler David Qualben at Pace University, this year’s 12th-round pick had a 1.69 ERA in three appearances (10.2 IP) out of the bullpen before being inserted into the TRC starting rotation. In his last three starts, the Roy O-sized righty has a 1.08 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.
OF Jordan Parraz. Though he had a 10-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday, the 21-year old Nevada native is batting .375 (21-56) over his last 16 games. Parraz swiped five bases during the week to give him 11 consecutive steals without being caught and is 16 out of 18 on the season. In the field, he tossed out a runner at 3B in Wednesday’s game to give him six outfield assists in 49 games.
Stuck in Neutral
Nobody we’d care to discuss.
Among the NY-P Leaders
- Parraz is tied for 1st in batting average (.335), 2nd in OBP (.427), 1st in slugging (.503), 1st in OPS, tied for 4th in home runs (5), 2nd in SBs, and tied for 4th in runs scored (31).
- SS Tim Torres is tied for 10th in steals (11) and tied for 8th in runs scored (28).
- ERA: Salamida, Qualben (1.89) and Hallberg (2.29) are 1st, 4th and 8th, respectively.
- WHIP: Salamida ranks 8th.
- Strikeouts: Garate is tied for 5th with 54.
- Walks: LHP Cory Lapinski has issued the most (26).
- Saves: Garate ranks 6th with 8.
Miscellany
- The seven V-Cats chosen to the NY-P All-Star team was the most of any club in the league. Several other teams had six players chosen to the squad. The game between the NL and AL affiliates will be played this Wednesday.
- Just one pickoff by V-Cat hurlers during the week, giving the staff 32 POs in 53 games (28 by LHPs).
- RHP Cliff DeYoung extended his streak of not giving up an earned run to 22.2 innings before getting lit up for four runs in a brief appearance on Thursday. He then got knocked around for four runs in his next relief appearance as well.
- ValleyCat baserunners were a perfect 8 for 8 on steals during the week and for the season are 69-18 (79.3%).
- 1st-rounder Max Sapp had passed balls in three straight games this week, giving him 11 PBs in 25 games behind the dish.
- Hitless and hapless: Torres is hitless in his last 15 at-bats. OF Nick Moresi had been hitless in his last 15 ABs before picking up a single in his last AB on Sunday. INF Chris Johnson also broke a hitless string of 13 ABs on Sunday.
- Lapinski, who early on looked like he might be taming the walk demons that plagued him last season, has given up 13 free passes in his last six innings of work.
- TRC hurlers have somehow managed a decent 3.34 team ERA (good for 6th best in the 14-team NY-Penn League) despite leading the circuit by far in gopher balls and issuing the 2nd-most walks in the league.
- The nickname of the sports teams at Pace University? The Setters, of course.
Team Results
23-28, T3rd–Appy West, 9.5 games behind Elizabethton.
The G-Astros go 3-3 for the second consecutive week.
Maximum Overdrive
LHP Sergio Severino. Has a 33:5 strikeout to walk ratio in his last three starts (16.2 IP) while surrendering a total of just two runs.
RHP Santo Luis. Has an 1.21 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over his last 16 games with 25 K’s in 22.1 IP, notching seven saves and a win in the process.
RHP Carlos Ladeuth. He’s (a) an undersized right-hander (just 5’11”) and (b) too old for the league (age 22). On the plus side, he’s thrown 15 consecutive innings without giving up a run and has a 36:10 K/W ratio in 32.2 IP out of the bullpen this season. This is the Columbian native’s first season in the states after three years in the VSL, including a very fine 2005 season where he had an 0.98 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 46 frames.
Stuck in Neutral
SS Timmy Johnson. Stretched the “non-hitless” string to 26 at-bats before picking up a couple of singles on Sunday. Since he was just 3-53 on the season entering that game, yesterday’s performance almost calls for a standing ovation. Did pick up two errors in his two games played during the week to run his season tally to 15 miscues in 21 ballgames.
Among the Appy Leaders
- INF Ronald Ramirez is 7th in batting average (.321) and tied for 1st in doubles (16).
- 3B Brandon Caipen is 8th in OBP at .393, 4th in SBs with 12 and 8th with 30 runs scored.
- INF Reinaldo Ramirez is 1st in triples (4).
- 1B Cirilo Cruz maintains a stranglehold on 1st place in whiffs (61) while C Ralphie Henriquez runs 3rd in that dubious category with 47 K’s.
- LHP Polin Trinidad is 2nd in ERA (2.04) and WHIP (0.85) and 3rd in strikeouts (52).
- RHP Corey Bass is 10th in ERA (3.40).
- Severino is numero uno in strikeouts (64) and has issued the 5th-most walks (21).
Miscellany
- Henriquez went 3-5 with a couple dingers and 5 RBIs in Wednesday’s game.
- OF Matt Spath, signed a couple of days earlier after being released by the Mets, went 2-3 with a longball and three RBIs in his Greeneville debut on Saturday (technically, he made his debut as a pinch-runner in Friday’s game). That was the first professional homer for Spath, a 12th-round pick of NY last season who “hit” .233 in the Gulf Coast League last season and was doing even worse this year at .229 before getting his walking papers.
- Ronald Ramirez was thrown out twice in Saturday’s game, both times as he was attempting to score from second on base hits and both times the Johnson City CF threw him out.