Just a random thought

[Leeaire]

One of the pleasant surprises this minor league season so far is that, some of our young tall lanky athletic pitchers are coming on this season and producing really nice numbers.

Urckfitz had another nice outing as a starter last night going: 5.1, 3 H, 2BB and 7SO. I'd really like to see if they keep him in the starting rotation or will they keep him in his current role of spot starting and long relief.

Another guy is Zach Grimmett, last year wasn't a very good season at all for him when he was 19 and starting but now at 20, hes having a lot of long relief appearances where hes going 4 and striking out quite a few. He hasn't appeared since the 29th so i wonder if he'll be starting a game soon.

so those are the two that have stuck out to me...what about ya'll?

[OregonStrosFan]

Urkfitz is one that has caught my eye as well.  Lefty signed as an non-drafted FA. Good number in '08 at Greeneville and '09 in Lexington (with so-so numbers in 7 appearances in Lancaster). 

This year with Lancaster: 25 G, 2 GS, 4 W, 2 L, 3.08 ERA
The 3.08 ERA is weird though, as he has a 2.13 ERA in 13 appearances AT HOME and a 3.95 ERA in 12 appearances away.  Definitely something I didn't expect to see from a pitcher whose home park is 'The Hanger.'

[OregonStrosFan]

'Cats Corner's man-crush on Carlos Quevedo has made him stick out to me as well.  From their latest notebook entry:

Quevedo handed out a five-pitch walk to PJ Polk, which was unusual - it was his first walk of the season in 16.1 innings. But he certainly found his groove after that; he didn't throw another ball that inning, and didn't get to another three-ball count all night. Quevedo now leads the New York-Penn League with 22 strikeouts, and has just the one walk on the season. That is insane. *** I love watching the way he attacks hitters, and he's been very successful with it so far, holding a 2.01 ERA. The only disappointment is that, at this rate, Houston's not going to keep him in the NYPL all year.

Quevedo's stats: LINK

And at risk to sounding like a broken record, the folks at 'Cats Corner do an excellent job of informing folks on ValleyCats players.  Not just the bland, 'threw six scoreless' or 'went 3-4,' rather in-depth observations on things like 'how Kvasnicka looked behind the plate.' If you're interested in the Bus Riders playing at Tri-City, then this blog really is a must read...

[Hornstros]

then this blog really is a must read...

I'll second that.   The guy that writes the blog seems like he knows the game of baseball/development process better than a lot of writers that cover the minors.    He does have a man-crush for Quevedo though.   A week or two ago he was lamenting the fact that Quevedo's second or third start was on the road and he didn't get a chance to see it in person