I was on vacation last week so we have not one but two weeks of minor league baseball to recap. So without further ado...
Recap
Nashville (AAA): The Sounds started off the week by losing 5 straight; three to the Omaha Royals and two to the Memphis Redbirds. They followed that up by winning four straight; two against the Redbirds and two against the Oklahoma City RedHawks (TEX). They would eventually win three of four against the RedHawks and split their current series with the Redbirds. Doug Davis and Todd Coffey also joined the Sounds on a rehab assignment. The Sounds are apparently in a very tough division, because at 40-34, they are tied for first place with two other teams in the PCL American northern division, and the fourth place team is one game back.
Huntsville (AA): Much like the Sounds, the Stars had a streaky week. They started off by losing four straight and followed it up by winning five straight, including four of five against the Montgomery Biscuits (TBR). Overall, they went 7-5 over the past two weeks. The Stars recently started the second half of their schedule and are 2-1 so far, tied third in the Southern League north division.
Brevard Co (A+): The Florida state League took a break in their schedule for the FSL All-Star Game, but that didn't solve the Manatees' woes. Over the past two weeks the Sea Cows are 4-7, starting by being swept in a three game series at the hands of the Clearwater Threshers (PHI). They followed that up by winning three of four against the Lakeland Flying Tigers (DET), and losing two of three against Clearwater. The Manatees also entered the second half of their schedule and are 0-1 so far.
Wisconsin (A): After being swept in three game series by the Dayton Dragons (CIN), the Rattlers would win two of three against the Clinton LumberKings (SEA) and sweep the Kane County Cougars (OAK) in a two game series. At 26-42, the Rattlers are second last in the Midwest League western division. The T-Rats return to action tonight after taking a few days off for the Midwest League All-Star game.
Helena (R+): The Helena Brewers have gotten off to a hot start this season. They've won all four games they've played, 3 of them being come-from-behind victories and yesterday's being a 1-0 victory.
Arizona (R): The Arizona Brewers are also off to a good start. They've won all three of their games this season, despite last year's first round pick giving up 6 runs in 2 innings. This week's small sample size star is 19-year-old C Tyler Roberts who is hitting .538 in 13 ABs. With 3 doubles so far, Roberts has already surpassed his total from last year (1) and is 2 RBIs away from surpassing his total from last year (9)
DSL: Since the last review, the DSL Brewers have gone 3-7, ouch. A few Dominican Brewers of note: 19-year-old OF Ruben Sanchez has a .910 OPS and has walked more (9) than he has struck out (5). 18 year-old OF Erickson Salaya has an .851 OPS and lead the team in stolen bases with 4. 17-year-old C Carlos Pena leads the team in OPS with .958.
Transactions
-RHP Marty McLeary and IF Skylar Crawford signed as free agents and were assigned to Nashville and Arizona, respectively
-Sounds Josh Anderson, Mike Jones, AJ Murray, and Brian Bruney were released.
-Evan Andundsen was activated from the 7-day DL only to go back to the DL two days later.
-Logan Schafer was also placed on the DL and will most likely miss the rest of the season with a foot injury.
-Kentrail Davis was transferred from Brevard Co. to Wisconsin.
-Eric Arnett was transferred from Wisconsin to Arizona.
Five Up
1. Chase Wright: Wright's June 16th starts was a pretty good one. All he did was pitch 9 no-hit innings (after allowing a hit to the leadoff batter).
2. Brett Lawrie: The Stars 2B just refused to cool down. Over the past 10 games Lawrie has batted .386 with a homer, triple, 6 doubles, 3 stolen bases and 8 RBI.
3. Maverick Lasker: The pitcher with arguable the coolest name in the system is quietly having a pretty good season. In two outings (1 start) since the last Review, Lasker allowede only 1 ER on 8 H and 0 BB while striking out 9.
4. Lucas Luetge: The lefty recently earned a much-deserved promotion to Hunstville where he has continued to excel. Over 5 outings and 9 IP, Luetge has allowed only 1 ER (3 R) while striking out 12 and walking 3.
5. Carlos George: Not only is Carlos George hitting .467 in his first 4 games in Helena, he has also yet to commit an error! Four days without an error has got to be some sort of personal record for him. He's also collected 6 RBIs.
Five Down
1. Steve Braun: The younger Braun has gotten some more consistent playing time lately and he has not taken advantage of it. He has 1 hit in his last 23 ABs, dating back to May 23rd.
2. Juan Sanchez: It's been a rough couple weeks for the Brevard Co. outfielder. Over the past 10 games (28 ABs) he has collected only 2 hits and 4 walks.
3. Nick Bucci: Bucci's luck seems to have abandoned him recently. Over two outings, Bucci pitched 6 innings and allowed 7 ER on 11 H and 4 BB. His ERA has risen all the way to 3.06.
4. Mitch Stetter: It doesn't look like Stetter will be rejoining the Brewers any time soon. He's pitched 3.2 innings over his past four outings and allowed 5 ER.
5. Mat Gamel: Gamel did not do much to boost his sagging prospect status over the past couple weeks. Over the past 10 games, Gamel is hitting only .229. He is, however, still getting on base, to the tune of a .341 OBP.
Also Noteworthy
If you read the Mug you already know about this but congratulations are in order to a few of our top minor leaguers. First, congrats to Brett Lawrie on being named to the All-Star Futures game for the second straight year. He definitely deserves it. Second, congrats to Wisconsin outfielder Khris Davis on winning the Midwest League home run derby.