Another week in the books. Let's see how our minor leaguers are doing, shall we?
Donnie Joseph
After a disappointing year at AA last year, it seems like he's starting to figure things out in his second full season there. He's got 9 saves in 19 games, and a 0.40 ERA, with 32 strikeouts and only 5 walks so far. Are we looking at the left-handed Boxberger?
Tony Cingrani
I keep waiting for this guy to have an even remotely bad outing, and it hasn't happened yet. He leads the league in ERA and strikeouts, and since being drafted, he's struck out 145 hitters in less than 100 innings and only walked 16. I'm going to keep bringing this up, because I've never seen a Reds pitching prospect put up these kind of numbers.
Theo Bowe
T-Bowe made waves earlier in the season when he challenged B-Ham to the SB crown. His 15 in 2 months isn't gonna cut it, but he's been hitting in his first 8 games in A+ ball. He's hitting a .478/.586/.783 clip so far in Bako, which, if he could keep it up, may mean that he beats Billy to A A.
Billy Hamilton
Speaking of B-Ham, he's getting a reputation for streakiness. After his torrid start, he's been hitting .146/.255/.268 in his last 10 games, bringing his average all the way down to .309. He's still leading the world in stolen bases with 40 (in MAY), but the bat needs to show some consistency.
David Vidal
Definitely been having a good season, but his transition to AA has been rocky so far. In his first 6 games, he's been hitting .160/.160/.320 with no extra base hits so far. That cushy run environment in the Cali league is looking pretty nice.
Nick O'Shea
Came in with high expectations for this year, but hasn't played well. 2 hits in his last 36 AB, and no homers yet despite having 7 in Billings last year. He's making a transition to catcher, so hopefully it's just nerves.
- Louisville won 2 of their 3 games over the weekend. They lost to Rochester 5-3 on Friday, as Jeff Francis got the start and gave up 4 runs in 5 innings with 6 strikeouts. Felix Perez was 3-for-4 with a homer to account for half of the Bats' hit total. They won 9-2 on Saturday in Lehigh Valley as Sean Gallagher pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball, but the power numbers were the story here. Kris Negron, Chris Valaika, and Neftali Soto combined for 3 homers, 8 hits, and 7 RBI. They beat LV again on Sunday, a 7-3 win behind Pedro Villarreal. Villarreal went 6 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 5. Future Costanzos of America Founder Danny Dorn was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, and Neftali Soto hit another homer, his 5th of the year. Up next: Chad Reineke takes on Scott Elarton (seriously) at 7:05.
- Pensacola won 2 of 3 in their series against Jacksonville. They won 2-1 on Friday behind a good pitching performance. Tim Gustafson pitched 5 2/3 innings, only giving up 1 run on 2 hits, and Clayton Tanner, Justin Freeman, and Donnie Joseph combined to give up 2 hits and no walks for the rest of the way. They won 6-5 on Saturday, in a game where Kyle Lotzkar had another stellar start, striking out 7 in 4 scoreless innings. Joel Guzman hit his 6th homer of the year. They lost 4-3 on Sunday, despite a pretty good start by Daniel Corcino. Li'l Cueto pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 runs with a season-high 9 strikeouts. Up next: Tim Crabbe takes on the Suns at 11:05.
- Bakersfield lost 2 of their 3 games. They lost 6-3 to Lake Elsinore to waste an absolutely dominant performance by Tony Cingrani, who desperately needs a nickname. Cingrani pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball, but struck out 12 to extend his league leading strikeout total. Also, no walks. They beat the Storm on Saturday 4-2 in a 16-inning game. Travis Mattair was 4-for-7 to lead the team. They were blanked on Sunday 8-0, blah blah blah stupid game. Up next: Chad Rogers takes on Visalia at 4 ET.
- Dayton won 2 of their 3 weekend games. They beat Bowling Green 4-2 on Friday behind a start by local boy Dan Jensen. They lost 14-3 to Great Lakes on Saturday before bouncing back on Sunday with a 6-4 win. Ryan Wright had 3 hits and Sean Buckley hit his 3rd homer of the year. Up next: Stalin Gerson takes on Great Lakes at 7.