Farmers Only Farmer's Market: Dave Sappelt keeps hitting in Carolina

Here's who is up and down in the minor leagues this week.

Dave Sappelt

The Carolina outfielder is having himself a hell of a week.  He's had 5 straight multi-hit games, and he's batting .545 in that stretch.  He's batting .368 in 34 games since arriving to Carolina, and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. 

Nick Christiani

His callup to Lynchburg was suspect at the time, as he wasn't dazzling anyone in Dayton, but it's turned out to be a great one.  He's working off of 8 scoreless appearances from the bullpen in a row, and is posting a 0.48 ERA in 18 2/3 innings so far in Lynchburg.  Those are Arthur numbers, folks. 

Henry Rodriguez

The Dayton second baseman has been raking lately, hitting .381 in his last 10 games.  His last 3 have been multi-hit games. 

Zack Cozart

The Coz is hitting .195 his last 10 games, dropping his average to .243 on the year.  Just one of the many Louisville bats that need to wake up to start winning some games.

Alexander Smit

Smit has been durable for the first time in a while, making 10 appearances with 9 starts, but has pitched like crap.  He's 1-5 on the year, with a 9.14 ERA.  The worst part is a 29 BB so far with only 39 Ks.

Josh Fellhauer

The Hellflower has been having a good season so far, but has been dreadful the last week.  He's hitting .143 in his last 10 games with only 1 extra base hit, and his line in that span is .143/.217/.167.  That's downright Taveras-y.

And now, a look at the weekend's games.

• Louisville split a series against Pawtucket over the weekend.  They won 8-4 on Friday, behind a solid start by Matt Klinker, his best in AAA so far this year.  He allowed 2 runs in 6 innings to earn the win.  Luis Terrero was 3-for-5, and Chris Burke, Zack Cozart, and Todd Frazier all homered.  Saturday proved to be a long and ultimately heartbreaking affair with a 8-6 loss in 13 innings.  Travis Wood pitched a quality start and left with the lead, giving up 3 runs in 7 innings, but Carlos Fisher continued his form from the big leagues and gave up 3 runs in the 8th.  Drew Sutton and Wladimir Balentien had 3 hits each, with Balentien belting his 9th HR of the year, but Luis Terrero hit his 7th and 8th HRs and drove in 3 runs.  Another good sign from this game was the pitching of Ben Jukich, who pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.  Looks like the Soulsucker's back.  The rubber match on Sunday was back and forth with the Bats pulling out the 4-3 win.  Todd Frazier led the way going 3-for-3 for the offense, and despite giving up 10 hits, Chad Reineke kept the damage limited to 1 run in 7 innings.  Even though Reineke left with a lead, Jared Burton gave it up with 2 runs in the 8th before the Bats regained the lead in the bottom of the inning and Jon Adkins nailed down the save, his 6th of the year.  Up next: Aroldis Chapman takes on the Red Sox at 7:05.
• Carolina got swept over the weekend, losing 13-4, 7-4, and 10-7.  Matt Fairel gave up 9 runs on Friday in 5 2/3 innings, with Dave Sappelt providing the only offense with 3 hits and a HR.  Travis Webb pitched on Saturday and was okay, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings with an impressive 9 strikeouts, but Jeremy Horst broke the tie game with 3 runs in the 6th.  On Sunday, there was some impressive offense efforts from Mike Costanzo (3 hits, a HR and 4 RBI) and Brandon Yarbrough (2 hits, HR and 3 RBI), but it didn't matter as Alexander Smit got lit up, giving up 7 runs and not making out of the 4th inning.  Up next: Scott Carroll takes on Chattanooga at 7:15.
• Lynchburg got swept too, losing to Frederick 5-1, 6-1, and 6-5.  On Friday, Alex Buchholz homered for the Hillcats' only run, and Brad Boxberger was decent in his start, giving up 2 runs in 4 innings with 6 strikeouts.  On Saturday, Mark Serrano gave up 5 runs (3 ER) in 5 innings in his start, but the only story here is the first rehab appearance by Bill Bray.  He pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout.  The bats finally showed up on Sunday, with Carlos Mendez going 3-for-4 and Efrain Contreras with 2 hits and a homer.  Shockingly, Donnie Joseph blew his first save since arriving in Lynchburg, with 2 runs in his 2 1/3 innings of work.  Up next: The Hillcats take on Salem at 7:05, no starter has been announced.
• Dayton took 2 of 3 from Clinton over the weekend.  The Dragons won 7-6 on Friday, behind a great start by Justin Walker.  Justin pitched 6 innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball and struck out 8 on the evening.  Henry Rodriguez and Tommy Nurre had 3 hits each, and Chris Richburg and Mark Fleury homered in the win.  They won on Saturday too, a 7-5 win behind a solid bullpen.  Jacob Johnson gave up 2 ER in 5 innings, but Blair Carson and Chase Ware pitched 4 scoreless innings to preserve the win.  H-Rod homered for the Dragons, his 6th of the year.  The Dragons couldn't sweep the series, losing 4-3 on Sunday.  Richburg and H-Rod had 3 hits each, and Tim Crabbe pitched 4 scoreless innings.  Up next: Dayton have the day off.