Have you ever found yourself thinking "Hmm, I wish BCB had more prospect coverage." Well think no more, because BCB is proud to introduce a new weekly series covering all of your minor league needs. I’ll be your host as we explore the exciting world of minor league baseball.
But first, a recap of all the action from the previous week.
Nashville (AAA): The Sounds went 3-3 this week, including a four-game series split with the Portland Beavers (SDP). With their 24-16 record, the Sounds sit atop the Pacific Coast League northern division. Hopefully they will be able to continue their division dominance without the help of Marco Estrada, John Axford, and Jonathan Lucroy.
Huntsville (AA): After dropping three straight to the Tennessee Smokies (CHC), the Stars have won four straight, taking the final two from the Smokies and the first two from Mississippi Braves, including an extra innings win last night. The Stars are now 22-20, good for third in the Southern League north division.
Brevard County (A+): The Manatees had an up and down week, going 3-4 since last Saturday, including a series split with the Palm Beach Cardinals. The Manatees were also graced with the presence of rehabbing 40-roster members David Riske (4 IP, 4 ER, 9 ERA), Josh Butler (4.1 IP, 7 ER, 14.54 ERA), and Mat Gamel (1-7, 2B). The Sea Cows' 16-25 record has them at the bottom of the Florida State League north division.
Wisconsin (A): The Timber Rattlers continued to struggle, going 2-4 since last Saturday, including series losses to the Beloit Snappers (MIN) and Peoria Chiefs (CHC). Carlos Gomez joined the Rattlers for a couple games, going 2-7. The T-Rats are now 13-28, last in the Midwest League western division.
Transactions: It was a busy week for transactions at all levels of the organization
-John Axford and his mustache joined the big league club on Saturday from AAA and was later joined be Marco Estrada and Jonathan Lucroy. But not Zach Baddock. Adam Stern was called up Sunday and sent back down to AAA yesterday.
- 2001 first round pick Mike Jones was promoted from Huntsville to Nashville
-Nick Green was promoted from Brevard Co. to Huntsville
-Lee Haydel was placed on the 7-day DL and Caleb Gindl was placed on the temporary inactive list.
-Santo Manzanilla, Andy Sauter, and Kyle Dhanani replaced Chad Robinson, Hiram Burgos and Carlos George on the Wisconsin roster.
-Jeremy Jeffress’ 100 game suspension is over, but he is suffering from forearm stiffness. He shouldn't be out much longer, though.
Five Up
1. Amaury Rivas- Last year’s minor league pitcher of the year only had one start last week, but it was a god one; 8 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K. The start lowered his season ERA to 2.05 and earned him his fifth win of the season. Rivas has only allowed more than 1 run in two starts this year.
2. Nick Bucci- Bucci also only pitched in one game this week, but coincidentally, that was also the same number of hits that he gave up. Bucci’s six-inning shut out performance against the Peoria Chiefs lowered his season ERA to 1.65. He has only allowed 4 hits over his last two starts.
3. Scooter Gennett- With a single last night, Gennett extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Over those last 10 games, Scooter is hitting .356 (16-45) with 8 RBIs, including a grand slam against Quad Cities on May 11. Gennett could be a 5 Up regular.
4. Erik Komatsu- After missing most of last year with various injuries, the Manatees right fielder hit a solid .333 (9-27) over the past week with 4 RBIs and only 1 K.
5. Matt Cline- A 22nd rounder in 2007, Cline missed all of last season, but he is making his presence know this season. Over the last week Cline hit .444 (12-27) with 3 doubles and 4 RBIs. Overall he is hitting .351/.449/.420 this season.
Five Down
1. Eric Arnett- Last year’s first round pick had one okay start (5 IP, 2 ER) and one fairly awful start. Last night Arnett allowed 7 ERs on 13 H and 3 BB in just 5.1 IP.
2. Kentrail Davis- After getting off to a nice start this year, Kentrail Davis has struggled recently. Over the past week Davis has a .231 AVG (6-26) with 6 Ks.
3. Brandon Ritchie- The Manatees lefty had a pretty nice season from the Timber Rattlers last season, but that is not the case this year. Ritchie pitched 3.1 innings over the past week and allowed 3 ERs on 4 H and 5 BB. He has allowed a run in all but two of his appearances this season.
4. Pete Fatse- Much like Kentrail Davis, last year’s 24th rounder got off to a nice start, but has slowed down recently. This past week Fatse hit .188, collecting only 3 hits.
5. Wily Peralta- It wasn’t a good week for Peralta. In 2 games (1 start), Peralta pitched 7 innings and allowed 9 ERs. 7 of those runs came yesterday in a 4 inning outing in which he allowed 6 Hs and 1 BB.
Questions, comments, or concerns? Any ideas about how I can improve this feature? Feel free to email me or write them in the comments.
One small note: expect to see the Micro Brew Review on Friday afternoons in the future. I had a little too much work to do at the end of the semester to get it done by Friday this week.