Dayne Read
The Reds' 37th round pick from 2 years ago, Read is off to a huge start in his second year in Billings. So far, the Mustangs' outfielder is hitting .413/.449/.761. No indication that he can keep this up, but it's promising for sure.
Neftali Soto
Yep, he's here again after another huge week. His OPS for his last 10 games is 1.101. He's also homered in 7 of his last 11 games, which is ridiculous. No idea where he'd play if he got promoted, but as he's still one of the youngest players on the Mudcats, we can afford to be patient and let him move slowly.
Dayton Dragons
Yes, the whole team. First of all, congratulations are due to one of the best organizations in minor league sports, for tying the record for consecutive sellouts by a pro sports franchise (with the Portland Trailblazers) at 814 in a row. Circle July 9th on your calendar, as they're almost surely going to break that record, and that's an enormous achievement. Secondly, the team is playing really well right now. They've won 3 straight and 7 of 9. Their starting rotation have 5 quality starts in a row, and their rotation of Smith, Corcino, Renken, Lotzkar, and Gerson might be one of the best performing in the minor leagues right now. Case and point? They currently hold the top 3 spots on the strikeouts list for the Midwest League, with Renken (106), Smith (99) and Corcino (95). The offense hasn't been as good, but they still employ the fastest man in baseball (Billy Hamilton) and prospects who are just starting to find their way like Ronald Torreyes, Yorman Rodriguez, and Juan Duran. This is the most exciting team to follow in our system by far, and it's about time they got some recognition for it.
You know what, I don't even feel like doing a negative list, but if I did it would feature the big league club's current skid and Brian Wilson's stupid beard that kept a more deserving Coco Cordero off of the All-Star team. To this weekend's games!
- Louisville lost 2 of their 3 weekend games. They beat Gwinnett 4-2 on Friday, behind a good start by Travis Wood. Woody went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs with 3 strikeouts, and Carlos Fisher and Nick Christiani retired the last 6 hitters in order to close things out. Todd Frazier and Juan Francisco had 2 hits each, with both of them homering. Saturday's game with Columbus was a tight one, with the Clippers winning 6-5 in 10 innings. Yonder Alonso and Jeremy Hermida both homered. Daryl Thompson wasn't good in his start, but Brad Boxberger was a bright spot out of the bullpen with 2 shutout innings. Offense was the problem in Sunday's game, as the Bats fell 4-2 to Columbus. Scott Carroll gave up 1 run in 7 innings pitched, but Jerry Gil blew the close lead in the 8th. Kris Negron had 2 of the Bats' 5 hits. Up next: Dontrelle Willis takes the hill against Columbus at 7:05.
- Carolina played 3 10-inning games against Tennessee over the weekend. They won Friday's game 6-3, as Kyle McCulloch put up a quality start and Yasmani Grandal, Neftali Soto, and Denis Phipps all homered. Saturday's game wasn't so lucky, as they lost 5-4. Pedro Villarreal had a good start, going 6 1/3 innings with only 2 ER given up, and David Cook and Eric Campbell homered. They lost 6-5 on Sunday, with Neftali Soto hitting a 3-run homer on a 2-for-5 day. Matt Klinker pitched well, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up 3 runs (2 earned) with 6 strikeouts. Up next: The Mudcats take on Jacksonville at 7:15.
- Bakersfield lost 2 of their 3 games against Inland Empire over the weekend. They won 4-2 on Friday behind a good start by Tim Crabbe, who went 7 innings and gave up 1 run with 7 strikeouts. Stephen Hunt had 2 doubles and Alex Buchholz had 2 hits with 2 RBI. They lost 4-3 in Saturday's game. Josh Ravin gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, and Didi Gregorius went 3-for-5. Sunday's game was a loss as well, 4-1. Mark Serrano started and went 6 1/3 innings, with 3 ER given up. Carlos Mendez was 3-for-4. Up next: Blaze take on Lancaster at 10.
- Dayton won all 3 of their games over the weekend. They won 7-3 on Friday behind another great start by Josh Smith, who continues to show that he should be at Bakersfield. Smith went 7 innings and gave up 1 run with 4 strikeouts. Ronald Torreyes was 3-for-4, and Juan Duran hit 2 homers and drove in 5 runs. They won 3-2 on Saturday behind another brilliant pitching performance by Daniel Corcino, who gave up 2 runs in 6 innings with 6 strikeouts. Yorman Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a homer, which was more than enough offense. Billy Hamilton walked and stole a base. They won again Sunday 6-1, on a night where Stalin Gerson gave up 1 run and struck out 6 in 6 2/3 innings. Juan Duran hit another homer, and Billy Hamilton was 2-for-5 with 2 RBI and his 57th stolen base. Up next: Daniel Renken tries to extend their streak to 4 against South Bend at 7:30.
- Billings won 2 of their 3 weekend games. They beat Helena 4-3 on Friday, behind Tony Cingrani's (brief) pro debut. Cingrani pitched 2 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts, and Dan Jensen relieved him and pitched 3 innings with 2 runs (1 ER) given up. Drew Poulk was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. They beat Missoula by the same 4-3 score on Saturday. Radhames Quezada pitched 6 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts and Dayne Read was 2-for-4 with a homer and a triple with 3 RBI. They lost to Missoula 4-1 on Sunday, with Kyle Waldrop and Dayne Read contributing 2 hits each. Up next: Ismael Guillon will take on the Osprey in a day game, a 4:05 ET start.
- The AZL Reds split their 2 weekend games. They beat the AZL Tribe 5-1 on Friday, Jordan Smith pitched 1 inning on rehab, then Lucas O'Rear pitched 4 shutout innings, giving up 3 hits and no walks while striking out 6. Jon Matthews and Brandon Dailey had 2 hits each. After an off day Saturday, they lost to the AZL Rangers 8-3 on Sunday. Joel Bender gave up 5 runs in 4 innings, and Brandon Dailey was 4-for-5 and a homer away from the cycle. Up next: They take on the AZL D-Backs at 10.