This week's edition will focus on the most successful Reds farm team of the year so far, the Bakersfield Blaze*. They've rattled off a 7-game winning streak, and have had some of the most exciting players of the season so far in Reds prospect country. Well, the only exciting players.
*This is no way in honor of any "holiday" that may have occurred over the weekend. At all. Seriously.
Tony Cingrani
3 starts into the season so far, and Tony Cingrani is already showing that he's worthy of the jump straight from rookie ball to A+. He's thrown 17 innings so far, to a 0.53 ERA and has struck out 20 and walked only 4. Honestly, he hasn't shown us anything other than pure awesome so far. Keep it up, Tony.
Billy Hamilton
You guys tired of hearing about him yet? It won't end while he's still hitting a .375/.467/.609 line. And while he's still leading the world in stolen bases at 16 in 17 games so far. The run environment is tough to gauge in Bako, but I'd think he'll get a shot at AA at some point if he can keep it up.
Kyle Lotzkar
Also 3 starts down, and so far so good for Lotzkar of the Hill People. He's sporting a 1.69 ERA and 17 K in 16 innings, all promising after a lackluster year in Dayton last year.
Yorman Rodriguez
Our man is struggling out of the gate. At .189/.200/.226 so far, plate discipline is the biggest thing that jumps out with Yorman so far. He's struck out 22 times in 53 AB, with only ONE WALK. That's not seeing the ball.
Juan Duran
Despite 2 hits in his first game after joining the team, he's only had 2 more since then. 10 strikeouts in 7 games leading to a .148/.226/.259 line.
Tucker Barnhart
A really slow start for Tucker, and it really isn't too hard to track down. He's at .162/.244/.270 on the year so far, but if you look at his L/R splits, they're night and day. He's killing righties, but doesn't have a hit off of a lefty yet. Usually that's when his switch hitting abilities come in handy, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
Games after the jump....
- Louisville lost 2 of 3 over the weekend. They lost 2-1 to Toledo on Friday night, not able to capitalize off of a good start by Brett Tomko. Tomko went 5 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 5 in the process. Paul Janish was 3-for-4. They started a new series against Indianapolis on Saturday to no avail, losing 9-1. Jeff Francis got roughed up in his start, and Denis Phipps had 2 of the Bats' 4 hits. Sunday looked pretty similar, until the Bats sprung for 3 runs in the 9th en route to a 3-2 win. Daryl Jones was the hero, hitting a 3-run walk-off homer with 2 outs in the 9th. Sean Gallagher got the start and gave up 2 runs in 5 1/3. Up next: Chad Reineke takes on Justin Wilson and the Indians at 6:35 at Slugger Field.
- Pensacola followed suit with a 1-2 weekend against Montgomery. They won 5-3 on Friday, behind a 3-for-3 night by Josh Fellhauer. Pedro Villarreal got the start, and pitched 6 2/3 innings of 3-run ball with 5 strikeouts. Donnie Joseph pitched 1 1/3 for his 4th save. Saturday didn't go as well, as the Wahoos lost 7-1. Curtis "Cabbage" Partch got lit up for 7 runs in less than 4 innings. Sunday wasn't much better, as they lost 7-3. Brodie Greene went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI, and Daniel Corcino had a good outing, going 6 innings of 2-run ball with 6 strikeouts until his bullpen blew it. Up next: Tim Crabbe takes on Kyle Lobstein and the Biscuits at 8:05.
- Bakersfield brought their win streak to 7, finishing off a 4-game sweep of San Jose. Friday night's 1-0 win got national attention, as Billy Hamilton singled in the 9th inning of a scoreless game, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored on a sac fly to the 2B. Tony Cingrani was overshadowed in the win, as he went 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts and 1 walk. Pat Doyle pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief to get the win. Saturday's game was a 4-1 win, with a masterful performance by Kyle Lotzkar. He went 6 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Devin Lohman and Tucker Barnhart homered for the good guys. The Blaze finished off the sweep on Sunday with a 8-6 win. Billy Hamilton and Yorman Rodriguez had 2 hits and 2 stolen bases each, bringing B-Ham's total to 16 on the year. Daniel Renken struck out 9 in 6 innings of work, giving up 3 runs, and Donald Lutz and Juan Duran homered. Up next: Stockton at 10:05, starters are TBA.
- Dayton won 2 out of their 3 on the weekend. They beat Quad Cities 12-7 on Friday behind a potent offense, where Jefry Sierra, Steve Selsky, and Nick O'Shea had 3 hits each. They won 5-1 on Saturday. Justice French started and pitched 5 2/3 innings of 1-run ball with 6 strikeouts. They lost a pitcher's duel on Sunday, 2-0 to Cedar Rapids. Radhames Quezada started and gave up 2 runs in 7 innings, but the Dragons' offense only mustered up 4 hits of support. Up next: Daniel Tuttle makes his season debut against Ryan Crowley and the Kernels at 7.