Meszaros Saves The Day, No Single Lifestyle for Fixler

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Daniel Meszaros wasn’t drafted until the 48th round. That means over 1400 players were taken ahead of him. It also means he feels he has something to prove.

“I was pretty disappointed when I got drafted that late,” he said. “But, you know what, I felt like I was just as good as any of the other people drafted, high or low.”

Meszaros is leading the South Atlantic League in saves with 9 saves. He has yet to allow a run to score and has only allowed 6 base runners in 11 inning pitched. In the mean time, he has sent 16 batters back to the bench with their bat in their hands.

Meszaros was available so late because he missed his junior year after shoulder surgery and then didn’t have a great senior year coming back. He also doesn’t fit the profile of a power pitcher, being only 6 feet tall and about 170 pounds. So what is the Legends closer throwing besides his low 90’s fastball?

“What he’s done has been great,” said Travis Driskill, Lexington’s pitching coach while Charley Taylor recovers from surgery. “And what he does is attack the strike zone. He is very aggressive with his fastball.

“He’s got a curveball that we haven’t gotten to see a whole lot of because they’re either putting the fastball in play early or they can’t catch up to it.”

Any thoughts of making him a start?

“I just think it fits me better. As a starter, you kind of have to have three pitches to get through (when) you get late in the game,” he said. “And right now my change-up, or third pitch, just isn’t there. So I like just the one inning. Go in for one inning and kind of throw max effort and go after hitters that way.”

What The Fixler?

When you see a .195 batting average, you don’t expect to see a .585 slugging percentage. But that is what you get with Jonathan Filxer. The Hooks’ catcher is 8 for 41 on the season with 4 doubles and 4 HR. He has yet to reach on a single. Filxer was slated to start the season in Lexington but due to Lou Palmisano’s injury, he was called to Corpus Christi to be the back up. Then when the catcher shuffle started due to then injury to Q in Houston, he was moved up the depth chart in Corpus Christi. He has also reached on 6 walks which gives him a OBP of .306.

Middle Infield Movement

Wlad Sutil was activated from the DL in Corpus Christi and Mike Diaz was re-assigned somewhere in the Astros organization. I bet he lands in Lexington now that Legend’s SS Richardo Bonfante seperated his shoulder this weekend.

Fixler, Meszaros, Sutil

Lexington Leading League

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Much has been made about the Lexington Legend’s pitching staff this year. However, they have made a run at the lead thanks to the awakening of their offense. The Legends now tote a 15-9 record which is the best in the South Atlantic League and gives them a 1 game lead over Savannah in the Sally Southern Division. Over the last 8 games, the Legends have scored an average of over 7 1/2 runs per game. They haven’t scored less than 4 runs in a game over that stretch. So who has been behind this outburst of offense?

Ebert Rosario is hitting .441 over the last 10 games with 3 home runs, and 11 RBI. He has hit in 8 straight games. His defense is not his strong suit as he has made 3 of the teams 10 errors during this stretch.

Albert Cartwright has hit in each of his last 8 games (.406). He has hit 3 home runs and 10 RBI during that span. Brian McTaggart is reporting that he was hit by a pitch last night and has been placed on the DL with a broken hand. He will be out 4-6 weeks.

Frederico Hernandez is hitting .333 over the last 8 games which brings his season total up to .250 on the season.

Jay Austin is hitting .303 over the last 8 games. The 18 year old in the lead off spot has had 3 straight multi-hit games and has had 2 hits in 5 of his last 10. He started this steak under .200 and has raised his average to .232 on the season.

Brandon Barnes has hit in 5 of the last 8 and his hitting just .269 during that period. But has hit in each of his last 4 games (.375) and has first two homers and 5 of his 9 RBI’s during that stretch. Unfortunately, along with the power returning, the strike outs have come back as well.

Back on the mound, Lexington has gotten some fill in help with Brad Dydalewicz on the DL with a mild oblique strain. Henry Villar has come out of the bullpen and put together 2 starts that resulted in no earned runs and 14 strike outs in 7 combined innings. Combined with his starts and his bullpen work, Villar has fanned 26 batters in 15 1/3 innings pitched.

The pitching continues to be strong as they have only given up more than 2 runs 3 times during the last 8 games and are averaging allowing 3.37 runs allowed per game.

Brad Dydalewicz, Brandon Barnes, Ebert Rosario, Frederico Hernandez, Henry Villar, Jay Austin

Round Rock: April’s Good & Bad

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

The Express start the month of May looking at a pretty big hill to climb to get back into the pennant race. Off to a 7-14 start, they are in last place in the PCL American South and half a game ahead of having the worst record in the league. The good news is they are only 3 1/2 games out of the division lead. Let’s see how the Express stack up against the rest of the league in the stats through 4/30/09.

The Good:

The Hitters

As a team, the Express do not rank higher than 10th out of 16 in any stat at the plate.

Individually, you have more competition to be ranked here because of the large number of teams in the league. An example of that is the .350 batting average that Yordany Ramirez is carrying is only good for 12th best in the league.

Marc Saccomanno has 20 RBI’s which ties him for 5th most.

The Pitchers

As the team the old motto applies: If you don’t have anything good to say, move on to the bad. There is plenty to talk about there.

Individually, Bud Norris is showing his ranking was warrented. He has a 2.28 ERA which is the 8th best in the league. His 25 strike outs are the second most in the league.

Chad Paronto’s 4 saves rank him tied for 2nd.

The Bad:

The Hitters

As a team, the Express rank near the bottom in several categories. The one that is the most shocking is they have only 2 stolen bases as a team. They have attempted 8 and have been caught 6 times. They have the leagues lowest walk total at 52. They are the forth lowest in runs scored (84), third lowest in OBP (.315) and tied for the second fewest triples (3).

Brian Bogusevic has fanned 22 times and is tied 5th most.

The Pitchers

The Express has given up 200 hits (3rd most), 124 runs (the most), 112 earned runs (2nd most) and 20 HR (3rd most). They have given up 105 walks in 185 innings pitched (most in the league). All that leads to the highest WHIP (1.65) and the second highest ERA in the league (5.45).

Jose Capellan has giving up 35 hits which is the second most in the league. Those hits often turn in to runs. Capellan has surrendered 27 runs to tie for the most in the league. Twenty six have been earned which is all alone the most in the league. He has also given up 5 long balls (3rd most). His 16 walks rank him second most in the league.

Josh Muecke’s 28 hits surrendered ties him for 6th most. He has given up 4 home runs (T-8th most). His 12 walks place him as tying for giving up the 7th most in the league.

Yorman Bazardo has given up 4 home runs (T-8th most).

Bud Norris’ 12 walks are tied for the 7th most in the league.

Round Rock

Corpus Christi: April’s Good & Bad Report

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

April is drawing to a close in South Texas. Corpus Christi may be playing in front of empty stadiums if the flu outbreak keeps spreading. In the mean time, the Hooks are sitting at 8 -11 and are in a tie for last in the the Texas League north. Their record is also tied for the worst record in the Texas League. Let’s take a look at what the numbers say about the good & bad of the Corpus Christi Hooks as of the 4/29/09 games.

The Good:

The Hitters:

The Hooks are hitting the ball pretty well. They are ranked 3rd in team batting average (.281), slugging (.434), OPS (.817), runs (109), RBI (102), total bases (286) and hits (189). They lead the league in round trippers with 21. They also have the 3rd fewest runners caught stealing (4) but that is tempered by the fact that they have only run 19 times which is the 2nd lowest attempted in the league.

Individually, Andrew Locke is making his mark in AA since being taken in the minor league section of the rule 5 draft. He is hitting .406 on the season that is good enough for 2nd in the league. He is leading the league in RBI (23). He is also second in slugging (.667), and hits (29) . He is tied for 5th in doubles (6) and alone in 5th in OPS (1.093). He is tied for 4th in HR with 4 and is 3rd in total bases (46).

Jimmy Van Ostrand has the second best OBP (.492), 4th in slugging (.640) and 3rd in OPS (1.132). His average (.400) is good for the 3rd best in the league.

Collin DeLome leads the league in HR with 6 and has the 10th best slugging percentage at .566. He is 5th in total bases (43), tied for 9th most RBI (14), and is tied for 3rd most runs scored (18).

Mitch Einertson has the 7th best slugging percentage (.583), and his 4 home runs tie him for 4th most.

Josh Flores has 4 stolen bases on the year which ties him for 9th most in the league.

Wlad Sutil has 4 stolen bases on the year which ties him for 9th most in the league.

The Pitchers:

The games they have won have been close, they are tied for the league lead with 6 saves. They have also plunked only 9 batters which is the 3rd fewest and have walked the fewest batters in the league (52).

Brad James has the 5th best ERA (2.81) in the league.

Douglas Arguello has the 7th best ERA (2.87)in the league and has the 9th best WHIP (1.28).

Polin Trinidad struck out 17 batters before going on the DL which ranked him tied for 5th.

The Bad

The Hitters:

For all the home runs they are hitting, the doubles aren’t falling. They have hit 30 doubles which is the 3rd fewest in the league. They have also only hit 2 triples which is the fewest in the league. They also have walked the fewest times in the league (57). They have struck out 126 times which ties them for 2nd most in the league. The Hooks have only stolen 14 bases which ranks them next to last in that category.

Andrew Locke has fanned 16 times to tie him for 8th most in the league.

Wlad Sutil has been caught stealing 3 times which ties him for the most in the league.

The Pitchers:

As a team, the Hooks have the next to highest ERA in the league (5.51). They have given up the most hits (120), and the second most runs (115) and earned runs (102). They have also given up more home runs (23) than they have hit (21). They have struck out the fewest batters in the league (106).

Casey Hudspeth has given up 24 hits which is the 5th most in the league. Those hits have ended up in 15 runs scoring which is tied for the most surrendered in the league. Twelve of the runs were earned which is tied for the 5th most allowed.

Polin Trinidad has given up 22 hits which ties the 6th most given up. He has given up 13 runs in the process which is tied for the 10th most in the league. He has also given up 3 home runs which ties him for 4th most allowed.

Sergio Perez has given up 12 earned runs which is tied for the 5th most allowed.

Chris Salamida has surrendered 4 home runs which ties him for 2nd most allowed. He has also plunked 3 batters which ties him for 4th most in the league.

Brad James has given up 11 walks, this is the tied for the 6th most given up.

Eric Abreu has given up 3 home runs which ties him for 4th most allowed.

Lancaster JetHawks: April’s Good & Bad Report

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Lancaster’s debut as an Astros’ affiliate is off to a bumpy start. Lancaster is currently in last in the CAL South at 8-13. They are only a half game out of 3rd. Offensively, the JetHawks are doing pretty well but the pitching is struggling. Let’s take a look at the numbers through April 29th’s games.

The Good:

The Hitters:

Lancaster hitters are doing a pretty good job of putting the ball in play. Their 199 hits as a team is good for 3rd most in the league. Their 40 doubles rank them second and their 20 home runs are tied for 3rd. They are also 3rd in total bases (313) and OPS (.777). The Jethawks have only been caught stealing 4 times which ties them for top ranking. Lancaster ranked 4th in a slew of categories: slugging (.431), average (.274), walks (69), RBI (94), triples (7), and runs (104).

Individually, Christopher Minaker leads the team with his .387 average which is ranked second in the league. Minaker was picked up during spring training as a free agent after being released by the Mariners. He was drafted out of Stanford in the 10th round of the 2006 draft. He was promoted to AA in 07 where he struggled and was demoted to the California League in 08. He is having good success in 09 repeating the high A curcuit. Oh, he is kinda bright too. He graduated from Stanford with his undergrad in 3 years and had finished his Masters Degree in Sociology before being drafted. He turned down a Rhodes Scholarship to play pro baseball.

Brian Pellegrini is tied for the lead with 7 home runs and is tied for 10th with 14 runs scored. He is also tied for 10th in slugging % (.575).

Jonathan Gaston is tied for 4th with 5 home runs and his 13 walks places him with the 7th most in the league.

Jack Shuck’s 40 hits ranks him 4th in the league. His 2 triples ties him for 7th in the league. His 6 stolen bases ties him for 4th most in the league.

David Flores’ 7 doubles ties him for 2nd in the league

Marcos Carbral’s 7 doubles ties him for 2nd in the league. He is tied for 10th in slugging % (.575) and is in 9th place for OPS (.992).

Craig Corrado’s 2 triples ties him for 7th in the league.

The Pitchers

As a team, there is not much to brag about here. They have only issued 59 walks which is the second lowest in the league.

Chia-Jen Lo is the lone bright spot for the JetHawks pitching staff. Though his ERA is 0.61, he hasn’t pitched in enough innings to qualify among the league leaders. He still ranks in a tie for 5th most strike outs with 24 despite only pitching 14 2/3 innings. He is also tied for the league lead in holds with 3.

Jordan Powell has finished 7 games for the JetHawks. That ranks him as 3rd in the league. His 3.12 ERA is the highest ranking amoung the league leaders at #14.

The Bad

The Hitters

As a team, there is no glaring problem. They have struck out the 4th most in the league (159 times in 727 AB). Brian Pellegrini has fanned 23 times (in just 66 AB) which ties him for 3rd most in the league.

The Pitchers

As a team, this is where the struggle is. The team ERA (6.03) is the worst in the league. They have allowed 61 more hits, 31 more runs and 30 more earned runs than any other team. The have also give up the most home runs (28) and have the highest WHIP (1.68).

Shane Wolf has surrendered the most hits in the league (34). His 19 runs all earned rank him in 4th most for runs and tied for second in earned runs. The 5 homers he has surrended are tied for second most.

David Duncan has given up 29 hits which is the 3rd most in the league. His 22 runs are the most given up in the league. The 4 homers he has surrended are tied for 4th most.

Christopher Hicks has given up 27 hits which ranks him 6th highest in the league.

Jose Duran is tied for 7th with 15 runs allowed. Fourteen of those runs are earned which places him with the 6th most. The 5 homers he has surrended are tied for second most.

Sergio Severino is tied for 7th with 15 runs allowed. Twelve of his runs are earned which puts him in a tie for 10th most.

Jeff Icenogle’s 3 homers given up ties him for 10th most. He has hit 4 batters which ties him for 3rd most.

Ross Seaton: Leading & Following

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Mark Cornelison | Lexington Herald-Ledger

Kentucky.com recently did a feature on Ross Seaton that highlights why he is so highly touted.

Here is what Ricky Bennett had to say about the 19 year old right hander:

“Ross has got unbelievable talent. I mean, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s got a good fastball, he’s got a good breaking ball. That’s pretty apparent when you see him pitch,” said Ricky Bennett, assistant general manager and director of player personnel for the Astros. “One thing that separates Ross from some of the other guys is his maturity. He’s a mature high school kid.

“He understands what we’re trying to teach him. He wants to get better. He’s got great aptitude. And his work ethic is unbelievable. When you put all those things together, you’ve got a pretty good prospect.”

Seaton throws a good curve, a decent change and fast ball but his favorite pitch is the sinker.

Seaton talked about rubbing pitching elbows with some of the Astros’ pitchers this spring training. He got to spend some time with Doug Brocail.

“That man (Doug Brocail) has helped me out a ton. A ton,” Seaton said. “He’s a wealth of information, and he’s willing to give it out to the younger guys. And I’m really appreciative of that.”

What type of information?

“I actually talked to him last night, and he was basically reinforcing that a pitcher can never say the word ‘never, not, can’t, won’t’ on the mound,” Seaton said. “Everything is, ‘I’m going to do this, I will do this, I can do this.’ And then you go out and do it. It’s all positive reinforcement.”

Tuesday night, Seaton threw 7 shutout innings to drop his ERA to 1.14 and improved his record to 3-1 through 4 starts.

Doug Brocail, Ross Seaton

«‹2 3 4 5 6 ›»