First round draft pick, Jason Castro, reported to Tri Cities and got some press in the local paper. He did appear in the game as well. He was intentionally walked in a pinch hit appearance. Here is what Heck had to say about the newest VallyCat.
“There’s a mental side of this game with catching that’s very, very important. He has shown the ability to handle a staff (and handle) game-calling on the zone and as well as throwing runners out,” Heck said.
Castro’s arm strength rates as “solid to above-solid, major league average,” Heck said. “Is it a bazooka? No, but it’s very functional and very efficient.”
And on his chances for moving up?
“Due to the state of the system, there’s not a lot blocking a lot of guys at different positions, so each case is going to be handled individually, but there is room for advancement for a lot of players that are having success at any given level,” Heck said.
Oh, and the VallyCats won.
There was a major league sighting in Salem with Ryan Zimmerman rehabbing with the P-Nats. The Avs came from behind to win the game 8-6. There was some adventure on the base paths for the Avs.
With one out, Buchanan was supposed to go to about halfway between second and third. If the ball was caught, then he could get back to second safely; if it dropped, he’d still have time to get at least to third if not score. Instead, he thought he’d go back to tag up at second.
The ball wasn’t caught, it banged off the upper tier of outfield wall. By the time Ori got to second base, Parraz was only a few steps ahead of him and Buchanan was still only at third. Salem manager Jim Pankovits shooed Buchanan toward home and Ori shooed Parraz toward third and because the P-Nats outfield miraculously didn’t notice the Keystone Kops routine on the basepaths, everyone made it safely to their intended destinations.
“I was hoping and praying somebody would get a hit and bring them all in to score,” Buchanan said, acknowledging his mistake. “Fortunately it worked out.”
Round Rock wasn’t able to take advantage of great pitching from Jack Cassell & Chad Reineke. It was the 7th inning before an Oklahoma batter got a hit but the Express lost 5-1 in 11. As they head to the PCL All Star break, Mark Saccomanno joins the All Star team.
“He’s been a big bat in the middle of that lineup all year,” manager Dave Clark said. “He’s always been that guy who wants to be in the lineup every day and goes about it with the right attitude.”
Corpus Christi couldn’t get a clutch hit and had base running errors and fielding errors that lead to a 4-3 loss. The Hooks left 11 runners on base last night.
Lexington lost 2-1 in the 14th inning. Brian Pellegrinni accounted for the Legends lone run with a solo home run. Brandon Barnes was the only Legend to get two hits but had a part in the game ending play.
Sand Gnats base runner Casey Craig stole second, and Lexington catcher Jonathan Fixler’s throw sailed into center field. The ball then rolled under center fielder Brandon Barnes’ glove, allowing the winning run to score.
Greeneville had their winning streak snapped by Elizabethton last night. They battled back from a 5-0 hole in the 9th but couldn’t make it all the way back as they fell 5-3.