Greeneville - 2013

[Duman]

Let's get it started with a brief intro to the preliminary roster

[OregonStrosFan]

Let's get it started with a brief intro to the preliminary roster

Wow, I had no clue about Abreu... (from the link above)

Alan Abreu (GCL) - This is a great story.  Abreu was signed as a non drafted free agent out of Lander University by the Astros after a private workout in September of 2011 as a pitcher.  They signed this guy who:

"never pitched in his two years at Lander. Nor did Abreu pitch for Eastern Kentucky University, where he played his freshman year. Abreu didn't even pitch in high school. Believe it or not, he never even pitched in little league ball.

[pots]

Wow, I had no clue about Abreu... (from the link above)

Alan Abreu (GCL) - This is a great story.  Abreu was signed as a non drafted free agent out of Lander University by the Astros after a private workout in September of 2011 as a pitcher.  They signed this guy who:

"never pitched in his two years at Lander. Nor did Abreu pitch for Eastern Kentucky University, where he played his freshman year. Abreu didn't even pitch in high school. Believe it or not, he never even pitched in little league ball.

23 years old, just learning how to pitch.  Likely looking at a minimum of age 27 before a first cup of coffee.  Definitely odd.  Well he has a young arm though

[astrosfan76]

Bobby Borchering starting at 1B tonight for the G-Stros. I had forgotten about that guy. Was he hurt at the beginning of the year, or was his .236 average and 159 Ks from last year too much for them to stomach, even with the 24 home runs? That's quite a fall from AA.

[VirtualBob]

Bobby Borchering starting at 1B tonight for the G-Stros. I had forgotten about that guy. Was he hurt at the beginning of the year, or was his .236 average and 159 Ks from last year too much for them to stomach, even with the 24 home runs? That's quite a fall from AA.

Hurt.

[Duman]

23 years old, just learning how to pitch.  Likely looking at a minimum of age 27 before a first cup of coffee.  Definitely odd.  Well he has a young arm though

Saw him warming up in the bullpen at the practice the other night. Minor league pitching coordinator was there watching him. I overheard "and then he throws a 83 mph curve ball" as he walked away shaking his head. 

Chris Lee also looked good in his bullpen session.  He will be on the mound tonight.

[Duman]

Ariel Ovando has been sent down from QC to Gville.  Year #3 for Ovando in G-vegas.  This move surprised me.  Not that he was sent down but I expected it to be to tri cities.

[austro]

Ariel Ovando has been sent down from QC to Gville.  Year #3 for Ovando in G-vegas.  This move surprised me.  Not that he was sent down but I expected it to be to tri cities.

I hope he invested his bonus wisely.

[VirtualBob]

Who are those guys?  A look at the Greeneville roster.

Catchers
Alfredo Gonzalez is another Venezuelan product.  Only 20, he spent the last two years in the GCL after one in the DSL.  Ricky Gingras is an 18th rounder from last year and is repeating in Greeneville.  Cristian Moronta is 23 and in his 6th season in the organization.  After three years in the DSL, he spent 2011 in Greeneville and split 2012 in very limited duty between Tri-City and Lexington.

Infielders
Angel Ibanez is repeating Greeneville after being selected in the 28th round last year out of Pan American.  Juan Santana is another DR signee.  He is 18 and has spent one year each in the DSL and GCL.  Darwin Rivera is yet another one from the DR; He is 21 and is repeating Greeneville after spending a year each in the DSL and GCL.  Jack (David) Mayfield (Oklahoma) and Parker Hipp (New Mexico State) are NDFAs from this year.  Bobby Borchering is on a rehab assignment.

Outfielders
Wallace Gonzalez was a 29th round high school (California) selection in 2011 and has spent the last two years in the GCL.  Mark Wik is repeating Greeneville after being selected in the 21st round last year out of Chabot College (California).  Tanner Mathis was a 27th round selection last year out of Ole Miss, but did not play.  Edwin Gomez spent three years in the Tiger organization reaching low-A and actually started last year in the NYPL before joining the Astros and spending the summer in the GCL.  Ariel Ovando is still only 19 and has been returned for a third year at Greeneville after struggling to open the season at Quad Cities.

Pitchers
Christopher Lee was a 4th round selection in the 2011 draft out of Santa Fe CC.  This will be his third season in Greeneville, though he lost most of 2012 to injury.  Frederick Tiburcio is still only 21 and in his 5th season as an Astro.  Signed out of DR, he spent 2009 and 2010 in the DSL and 2011 in the GCL. This will be his repeat season in Greeneville.  Christian Garcia is a 2012 29th rounder and is repeating Greeneville after originally being assigned to Tri-City.  Edison Frias signed out of DR in 2011 and spent one year each in the DSL and the GCL before starting this season at Tri-City.  He is 22.  Enderson Franco signed out of Venezuela in 2009 and spent 2010 in the DSL.  The past two years have been spent in the GCL.  He is still only 20.  Jandel Gustave signed out of DR in 2010 and spent last year in the GCL after two seasons in the DSL.  He is 20.  Krishawn Holley is a 2010 39th rounder.  He missed most of 2010 and has spent the past two years in the GCL, though injuries have limited him to 41IP in three years.  Alan Abreu was a late 2011 NDFA and spent last season in the GCL.  Gerardo Ramirez signed out of Mexico by the Twins and spent the past two seasons in the GCL.  He is still only 19 and was signed as a FA after being released this spring.  Gonzalo Sanudo also signed out of Mexico by the Twins and spent the past two seasons in the GCL before coming to the Astros in exchange for Mike Kvasnicka.  He made three appearances for the Hooks before being assigned to Greeneville.  He is 21.  The rest of the pitchers came in this year’s draft:  Sebastian Kessay (22nd round out of Scottsdale CC, AZ); Austin Chrismon (26th round out of East Carolina); Jordan Mills (28th round out of St. Mary’s, CA); JD Osborne (36th round out of Wofford); Tyler Brunnemann (40th round out of Hardin-Simmons); Ryan Connolly (NDFA out of Coastal Carolina).

[astrosfan76]

Good work!

[Duman]

Eyewitness report from last night's game

[Duman]

Ariel Ovando connected on a walk off home run last night - it was the 9th pitch of the at bat. Hopeful that it is a starting place for better things from him.  Not optimistic but hopeful.

[Duman]

Jandel Gustave pitched six innings of no hit ball.  with seven Ks.  He also had 1 hit batter and three walks.  I am tabbing him as a candidate for break out pitcher in the Astros farm system.  Here is my blog post on his game last night,  and a bit on his back ground. 

BTW the G-Stros lost the no no bid in the 8th and ended up winning 8-0 giving up just two hits.

[juliogotay]

Thanks, AA for keeping us informed of guys like this that generally fly under the radar. Now I'll know to pay attention to his progress.

[VirtualBob]

Jandel Gustave pitched six innings of no hit ball.  with seven Ks.  He also had 1 hit batter and three walks.  I am tabbing him as a candidate for break out pitcher in the Astros farm system.  Here is my blog post on his game last night,  and a bit on his back ground. 

BTW the G-Stros lost the no no bid in the 8th and ended up winning 8-0 giving up just two hits.

Good write-up in the blog post.  Thanks.

[Duman]

I was supposed to go to the game last night by plans were changed for me.  It was a good change but I hated I missed seeing that performance. 

[Duman]

15 innings of pitching goodness.  Eyewitness report

[La Verdad]

Why is Greeneville playing 1 game in Kingsport?

[Duman]

Just a schedule fluke.  They also have a one game stand with them in August.  It is less than an hour to Kingsport so it is a commuter game.  In fact all of the teams in the Appy West - Gville, Elizabethon, Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City are all less than an hour away. 

[La Verdad]

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like all 8 Appy League teams are playing 1 another, so it doesn't seem too unusual.

Chase McDonald has been assigned to Greeneville.

[Duder]

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like all 8 Appy League teams are playing 1 another, so it doesn't seem too unusual.

Chase McDonald has been assigned to Greeneville.

The additions of Holberton and McDonald to Greeneville should really bolster their lineup.

[La Verdad]

This Greeneville pitching staff has been outstanding to start off the season.

[Duman]

They appear to have settled in - first seven games they allowed 38 runs.  Last six games - only seven.

[La Verdad]

MiLB.com box score says that Sebastian Kessay pitched the 1st. I don't even remember if he ever appeared last night; I was under the impression that Chris Lee started and threw 6 shutout innings.

[Duman]

Lee came in for the 2nd inning.  There was a 2+ hour rain delay and I wonder if he wasn't warm yet when the game got underway.  It was an odd looking box score.

More info: Here is the deal.  The Astros were expecting the rain delay so they put Kessay in to start the game, expecting the rain to come very soon.  The game was delayed after the first for over 2 hours. When they restarted the game in the 2nd, Lee went to the mound.  Good job by manager Josh Bonifay in not burning his starter due to a rain delay.

[La Verdad]

Given the reasoning behind it, that move just makes perfect sense. And it was a real shrewd one too.

[Duman]

Got out to the park last night.  Eyewitness Report here. 

Got first looks at Gustave, McDonald, Holbertson, and Phillips.

[astrosfan76]

Kevin Goldstein on Osborne:

Early crazy sleeper alert: Our 36th-round pick, J.D. Osborne. 6-foot-5 LHP, almost sidearm & up to 95. So far: 10 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 19 K.

Already 22 (23 in October), he was a Junior out of Wofford College.  Pitching at Greeneville, he's pretty old for the league, but he may be the type to fly up, especially if he can consistently get lefties out.

[La Verdad]

Not to be that guy, but Osborne was actually a redshirt senior.

This Greeneville pitching staff currently has 10 pitchers with a K/9 rate greater than 9.

[astrosfan76]

Not to be that guy, but Osborne was actually a redshirt senior.

This Greeneville pitching staff currently has 10 pitchers with a K/9 rate greater than 9.

I blame MLB.com for making it look like he was a JR. Yes, giving more than a cursory glance would have shown that even HS players were listed as JR, but that's all I gave.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/mlb/history/draft/draft.jsp?year=2013&dt=JR&round=36#season=2013&draft_type=JR&draft_round=36&sort_order=asc&sorted_by=overall&page=1

[La Verdad]

Chris Lee on the cusp of a breakout?

He went 5.1 and allowed a run (on a solo homer) on 3 hits and struck out 8 tonight.

[morningwood75]

Chris Lee on the cusp of a breakout?

He went 5.1 and allowed a run (on a solo homer) on 3 hits and struck out 8 tonight.

That sure would be nice.

4th round LHP out of Santa Fe CC in 2011

stats so far this year-


23 ip, 17 h, 4 bb, 30 so, 2.74 era

[La Verdad]

Apparently Brett Phillips is catching tonight.

MiLB.com box score is drunk. Alberto Gonzalez is listed as the CF.

[Duman]

Apparently Brett Phillips is catching tonight.

MiLB.com box score is drunk. Alberto Gonzalez is listed as the CF.

My suspicion is that the intern who went to get the line up used letters instead of numbers for positions.  He put C for both 8 and 2. The scorer then saw the C at the top of the line up and filled in 2 and later used the 8.  The box score is off line because of the suspended game so I can't see if they fixed it or not. 

[VirtualBob]

My suspicion is that the intern who went to get the line up used letters instead of numbers for positions.  He put C for both 8 and 2. The scorer then saw the C at the top of the line up and filled in 2 and later used the 8.  The box score is off line because of the suspended game so I can't see if they fixed it or not. 

Yeah ... Phillips catching would be strange, but Alberto in CF is simply not gonna happen.

[astrosfan76]

G-Stros get a walk off HR from Jack Mayfield to win in the 13th last night. Oh, and that gives them 12 wins in a row.

[Duman]

Eye Witness Report for Saturday games (completion of suspended game + seven inning scheduled game) Got to see Chris Lee for first time this year - came away impressed.


Eye Witness Report of Sunday's 10-1 victory - Jandel Gustave pitched - only one hit but six walks in 5 innings - but his misses weren't bad and were mostly low.

[La Verdad]

Apparently Darwin Rivera was the winning pitcher tonight.

Edit: Switched to Raul.

[Duman]

Eyewitness report from 17-1 victory over the K-Mets

[jbm]

Thanks for the reports.

Just curious, who is the most dominating player you've seen there, and how much did they stand out?

[Duman]

Thanks for the reports.

Just curious, who is the most dominating player you've seen there, and how much did they stand out?

This year or all time? 

This year, I would say there have been dominate performances by the starting pitchers but it isn't happening every time. I have seen very good games from Gustave, Lee, Tiburcio and Mills this year so far.  No position play stands out this year to me.  Juan Santana is one to keep an eye on. Very young and solid tools.  Phillips is very good in the field and very fast.  Needs to mature as a hitter.

All time - at the plate would be J.D. Martinez.  in the field - Correa.  all around game - Altuve. 

Those three were clearly better than anyone else on the field in my eyes.

[VirtualBob]

Darwin Rivera seems to have become a fixture recently at 2B ... he always seemed to struggle to field his position at 3B, so I am wondering how he looks at his new position.  Any reports?

[Duman]

Darwin Rivera seems to have become a fixture recently at 2B ... he always seemed to struggle to field his position at 3B, so I am wondering how he looks at his new position.  Any reports?

I have only seen him one game there.  He looked more comfortable there than he did at 3rd.  Not sure his range and quickness are good enough for 2nd long term though. 

[Duman]

Josh Bonifay is the Appy League manager of the year.  No G-Stros were named to the all - star team.

[juliogotay]

Josh Bonifay is the Appy League manager of the year.  No G-Stros were named to the all - star team.

Seems odd that a team with their record would not have an All-Star. Drawing walks I suppose is not All-Star worthy.

[NeilT]

Seems odd that a team with their record would not have an All-Star. Drawing walks I suppose is not All-Star worthy.

The dads on the other teams pooled their votes.

[Duman]

Seems odd that a team with their record would not have an All-Star. Drawing walks I suppose is not All-Star worthy.

No one who has done well has really stayed around long enough to be all star worthy.  They have won with pitching, defense and small ball.  Which makes Bonifay's work that much more impressive. 

[juliogotay]

Thank you. Is Bonifay related to the Pirates former GM?

[Duman]

He is Cam's son.

[Duman]

Eyewitness report of last night's loss that clinched a playoff spot

[pots]

Greenville ties the series up 1-1.  Rubber game tomorrow

[pots]

Greenville ties the series up 1-1.  Rubber game tomorrow

Come from from behind twice.  Down 2-0 after 6 they tie it in the 7th and then down 1 they score 5 in the top of the 9th to win and advance to the finals

[Duman]

They were down to their last strike when Phillips hit the game tying double.  Phillips had to be the MVP of the series.  After finishing the season with a 2 for 14 slump after coming off the DL with a hand injury, he was 6 for 11 (.545) in the three games of the playoff series. 

Also notice that Ariel Ovando hit .400 during the series (2 for 5 with a double and a HR).  But more importantly he took 3 walks and only K'd once.  This coming from a guy who 46 times in 51 games in the Appy League this year while only walking 23 times. 

The other star of the series was Chase McDonald who went 5 for 11 with two doubles and two walks. 

The pitching, which has been a strength of Gville was strong this series as well.  They allowed just 8 runs (6 earned) in the three game series.  They struck out a combined 29 batters while only walking 6!

[Duman]

No G-Stros on the BA Appy League top 20 but this was mentioned in the chat:  

   Jason (Houston): Any Astros prospects close to making the list?


Clint Longenecker: There were a few Astros that garnered consideration- OF Brett Phillips, LHP Chris Lee, RHP Jandel Gustave, Frederick Tiburcio and catcher Alfred Gonzalez, who has a 70 arm. The strength of that team was the arms.

    Dustin (Houston): Who were the top prospects for Greeneville, and how close were they to making the league top 20?


Clint Longenecker: Some were close. Like Chris Lee, a fourth rounder in 2011. He could get his fastball up to 95 and was among the league leaders in strikeout rate. He is still learning his delivery and finding the right pace to throw strikes but has some depth to his slider. He is an arm to watch. RHP Gonzalo Sanudo posted video game numbers. In 13 innings, he struck out 45 percent of the hitters he faced and only walked one hitter. He sits in the low 90s and has a big frame.

[VirtualBob]

This is the second in a series of “season-in-review” posts.   I am hoping this one draws some first-hand observations from Duman.   Caveat:  Stats mean very little at this level, especially with the relatively small sample sizes involved.  Enjoy.

Greeneville opened the season by going 5-5 in June then sprinted to a 21-8 record in July before stumbling to the finish line in second place with a 12-17 August (38-30 overall).  They then took 2 of 3 from division leader Kingsport before losing the championship 2-0 to Pulaski.  Offensively they were in the middle of the pack … 6th in runs/game (4.25) with a below-average offensive line of .237/.339/.337.  They were dead last with 31 SB and also had 28 CS.  A bright spot, though: they led the league in BB (304) and tied for the lead in OBP.  But their strength was pitching:  3rd in the league with a 3.30 ERA and 1st with a 1.233 WHIP.  They were also 3rd in K (593), 2nd (by 0.02) in K/BB (2.95) and tied for 3rd in fewest HR allowed (32).

Catchers
Alfredo Gonzalez (20; in his third US season but first at this level) was the regular catcher in June, hitting .304/.360.348.  He split time about evenly with 9th round selection Brian Holberton (21) beginning in July.  Gonzalez went hitless in July but rallied in August to .327/.393/.527, finishing at .240/.342/.356.  He also threw out 42% of attempted base stealers.  Holberton saw plenty of time at DH in addition to behind the plate.  He started slowly (.185/.362/.315 in July) but finished at .225/.380/.400 with 5 HR and only 21 K in 150 PA.  He threw out 29% of attempted base stealers.  Cristian Moronta (23; in his 3rd US season) spent the season as a backup, hitting .229/.289/.314 in only 40 PA, and Ricky Gingras (22; 18th round selection in 2012 repeating this level) split time between C and DH, hitting .275/.383/.471 with 3 HR in 60 PA before being promoted to Lancaster in mid-August.

Infielders
The infield was in a state of flux most of the season.  Bobby Borchering (22; obtained from Arizona last season) began the season in Greeneville on a rehab assignment and split time with Angel Ibanez in June and Chase McDonald in July before being assigned to Quad Cities.  He hit .259/.368/.431.  Ibanez (22; repeating the level) went on to back up both 1B and 3B for the rest of the season, ending up with a .239/.302/.292 line for the season after a slow start.  12th round selection, McDonald (21) had the majority of starts at 1B after signing in July and finished at .245/.341/.413 with a team-high 6 HR.  33rd-round pick Tyler White (22) saw time at both 1B and 3B during his brief stop in Greeneville at the end of July and beginning of August, hitting .344/.411/.484.  Darwin Rivera (21; in his second attempt at the Appy League after spending 2012 back in the GCL) was the regular at 3B for most of the season, though he got 6 starts at 2B late in the season – his first appearance there as a pro.  He hit .211/.275/.303 for the year with declining stats as the season progressed.  Jose Solano (21) was promoted from the GCL in August and appeared in 7 games at 3B, struggling at the plate (2 singles in 22 AB).  Up the middle, Juan Santana (18; in his 2nd US season and first at this level) provided some stability, appearing in 45 games at 2B and 16 at SS.  He hit .306 in June but tailed off as the season progressed, finishing at .234/.292/.313.  NDFA Jack Mayfield (22) saw most of the action at SS before his July promotion to Tri-City, hitting .255/.336/.404.  He also appeared in 4 games at 2B.  23rd round selection Thomas Lindauer (21) was totally overmatched at Tri City, but saw most of the time at SS after switching places with Mayfield, hitting .247/.306/.320.  He still struggled to make consistent contact, though, with 28K in 110 PA.  NDFA Parker Hipp (22) saw time at both 2B and 3B while struggling to a .159/.280/.190 batting line.

Outfielders
The outfield featured a cast of thousands.  10 June games saw 5 different players each in LF and RF with Tanner Mathis and Mark Wik splitting time in CF.  Things stabilized a bit in July when Ariel Ovando joined from Quad Cities and become the regular in RF and Brett Phillips joined from Tri City to become the regular in CF (moving Mathis to LF and Wik to backup at all three positions).  After hitting .284/.395/.403 in July, 2012 6th-rounder Phillips (19) slumped to .111/.292/.167 in August and was pushed to the bench while 2012 21st-rounder Wik (20 and repeating the level) took over in LF.  Wik finished at .266/.433/.324 (leading the team in OBP) with 40 BB and only 26 K in 183 PA.  Mathis (22; a 2012 27th rounder in his first pro season) led the team in average with a .277/.425/.309 line, while Ovando (still just 19 in his third season at Greeneville) finished at .216/.310/.333 with 4 HR and 46 K in 197 PA.  Wallace Gonzalez (20; a 2011 29th round selection) saw some action in LF and RF hitting a disappointing .172/.252/.280 in 103 PA.  Edwin Gomez (21; obtained from Detroit) was mosty used at DH, but saw 14 games in LF, 2 in RF and 3 at 1B, hitting .208/.326/.292 (with 41 K) in 144 PA.

Pitchers
Greeneville went with a 5-man rotation for the most part, though there were a number of spot starts and some fluidity in the rotation.  Four guys were fixtures throughout the season: Frederick Tiburcio (22; repeating the level),  Jandel Gustave (20; first year in Appy League and second in the US), Enderson Franco (20; first year in Appy League after 2 in the GCL), and 2011 4th-round selection Chris Lee (20; returning for a second full season after missing most of 2012 due to injury).  Tiburcio was awesome through July with a 0.95 ERA and 0.895 WHIP in his first 7 starts (and one relief appearance).  He slumped to 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA and 1.528 WHIP in August, but cut his walk rate down (2.5/9IP vs. 3.3/9IP in June and July).  He finished 3-2, 2.43/1.096 with 51 K and 19 BB in 55.2 IP covering 11 starts.  Gustave also started strong (1-1, 0.82, 0.727 in 2 June starts) and finished 2-3, 2.68, 1.397 with 49 K and 23 BB in 43.2 IP over 10 starts.  Franco ended up 2-5, 5.05/1.471 and was hit hard (58 hits and 4 HR in 51.2 IP).   Lee struggled a little in June, but was very strong in July, finishing 2-2, 3.10, 1.095 with a team-high 54 K and 17 BB in 49.1 IP (10 starts and 1 relief appearance).  Edison Frias (22; second US season after pitching last year in the GCL) started the season in Tri-City and returned there in mid-August, but was a regular in the rotation during July and part of August.  He was lit up for 5 ER in his 1 June appearance (in relief) but finished 3-3, 3.09, 1.200 with 37 K and only 7 BB in 46.2 IP (8 starts).   28th rounder Jordan Mills (21) pitched well in the rotation in June, but was mostly used as a swing man the rest of the way, finishing 5-1 with 2 saves, 2.08, 1.028 and 43 K in 47.2 IP (6 starts and 8 relief appearances).  Gonzalo Sanudo (21; obtained from the Twins in the Kvasnicka deal) started the season at Corpus Christi before becoming the closer in Greeneville.  He racked up 11 saves with a 1.29 ERA, 0.571 WHIP, 30 K and only 1 BB in 21 IP before being promoted to Tri City in August.  Others of note include:
JD Osborne (22; 36th round selection out of Wofford) pitched 14 scoreless innings in relief with 22 K and 6 BB before being promoted to Tri City and eventually Quad Cities.
NDFA Troy Scribner (21) who started in the GCL but pitched 5 scoreless innings in Greeneville before moving up to Tri City.
NDFA Chris Munnelly (22) also started in the GCL and ended up in Tri City, going 2-1, 0.53, 0.647 and 24 K in 17 Appy League IP.
Krishawn Holley (21; 39th round 2010 selection who has been held back by injury problems) went 3-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 1.307 WHIP and 33:12 K:BB in 33.2 relief IP before his promotion to Tri City.
40th round selection Tyler Brunneman (21) went 2-0, 4.66, 1.190, 28:5 in 19.1 IP before being promoted to Tri City.
Austin Chrismon (20; 26th rounder out of East Carolina) went 3-1, 3.06, 1.021 and 24:8 in 32.1 IP mostly in relief.
Raul Rivera (22; in his 4th US season) went 4-3, 2.14, 0.905, 21:1 in 21 IP after starting the season in the GCL.
Luis Ordosgoitti (20; out of Venezuela; in his 4th season, but held back by injury problems) went 1-0, 0.90, 1.300 in 2 August starts after his promotion from the GCL.

[Duman]

Thanks for the good work Bob!

My observations:

Catcher - Wasn't impressed with Holberton at the plate.  Looked over matched but could have been fatigue after a long college season and then coming straight to the pros.  Gonzalez has an absolute cannon!

Infielders - Loved Santana's defense.  Mayfield reminded me alot of Brian Blasik from 2012.  Scrappy guy who gets the most out of his talent.  McDonald is a BIG guy with a big swing. 

Outfielders - Phillips glove is super advanced for his age.  His bat just needs to catch up.  I saw him lay down one of the best push bunts I have ever seen one night.  I told him that the next day.  He smiled and said "I haven't been hitting and was trying to do anything to help the team".  Good kid.  High energy.  Ovando - body full of talent, head full of .  You can see glimpses but they are becoming few and far between.  Mathis -another good older team first kind of guy.  Reminded me a little of Grant Hogue.  Found some power while he was here.  Wik showed growth.  Would have lead the league in OBP but was held out of the last game.  Was on plate appearance short to qualify. 

Pitchers - Lee looked really good.  Gustave has great stuff if he can harness it.  I heard scouts gasp at the movement on his slider.  Lots of good bull pen arms.

When McDonald, and most of the pen were promoted to Tri Cities, the team struggled to win.  The fact that this team made it to the finals is a tribute to Josh Bonifay.  IMO the manager was the MVP of the team.  He seemed to be able to push all the right buttons.