SB Nation - Jeff Kennard

Eyewitness Report: Louisville Bats vs. Durham Bulls

BK — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:00:18 -0000

So last Friday night, Slyde, jsl413 and I ventured down to Louisville to watch the Reds AAA affiliate take on Durham in Game 3 of the first round of the IL playoffs. We had a pretty good time. Slyde got some pretty sweet tickets for $12.50 each. We ended up about halfway up the box seats, one section to the left of home plate. Here's a view from our seats:

That, my friends, is prime real estate. More about the game (and more pics) after the jump.

We were treated to quite the lineup on our trip, and everyone in the Louisville lineup had at least one hit. Sam Lecure started the game for the Bats, and pitched pretty well for the most part.

He was throwing in the 88-91, and has some off speed stuff that is absolutely filthy. He had one rough inning, but the rest of his game wasn't bad.

Yonder Alonso hadn't done much for the Bats since getting called up before the playoffs started. In his first home game in Louisville, he didn't disappoint.

Yonder went 2-for-3 with a solo HR (to the opposite field to left), and a pretty nice diving stab at 1B to save a run on the defensive side.

Similarly, this guy also had a good game.

ROAR! El Nino Destructor also had a decent defensive play, and was 2-for-5 with a RBI.

On the other hand, not everyone had a great game.

That's Todd Frazier, and he struggled at the plate for most of the night. He got badly fooled in one at bat and didn't really hit anything hard all evening. He did end up redeeming himself big time by continuing rallies by hitting infield singles in the 7th and 9th, but I didn't come away impressed. We didn't get much of an opportunity to see some of that vaunted 2B defense, but he did turn a pretty nifty double play to save a run. (The Francisco-Frazier-Alonso DP combo was sick.)

A few other notes from the game:

Louisville Slugger field was pretty good. Cheap tickets, free parking down the street, and a fairly cheap food and beer selection. I got an Amber Bock draft that would have cost me $8.25 at GABP for $4.75.
We met up with xjjeep90 at the park, where he sat in our section for the entirety of the game. Good times. No word on where Rick House was, and we didn't meet Red_Poodle either. What gives, Poodle!?
Chris Valaika didn't look like he's anywhere close to being a major league player. He looked bad for most of the game, and ended up striking out to end the game. Maybe he just had a bad game, but I thought he looked better when I saw him in Spring Training in March.
Out of the 12 total hits, minus the 2 home runs by Chris Denove and Alonso, the rest of the hits were singles. Of those 10 singles, probably 6 were infield hits.
Jeff Kennard is a career minor league journeyman. He pitched two pretty decent innings. If there's room for him, I wouldn't mind seeing him in camp next spring.
Speaking of journeymen, Lew Ford started in RF for the Bats. Let's just say he didn't impress too many people.
I like what I saw from Chris Heisey. He had a hard-hit single, which is more than you can say about most of the other players on the team.
That being said, every position player on the Bats had a hit. It sure didn't seem like it.
Jay Bruce struggled in his rehab start at DH. He looked great on his hit and ran the bases well in his 2nd AB, but kind of jogged to 1B in his first AB when he reached on an error.
The most impressive pitcher on the field wasn't on the Bats. That honor belonged to Durham's Winston Abreu, who closed out the game for them. He threw in the upper 90s, and he struck out the side in the 9th (Heisey, Bruce, and Valaika). Alonso and Francisco both managed to fight in their ABs to get infield hits.
It should also be noted that Valaika batted in front of Alonso, which seemed ridiculous at the time. Even more ridiculous when you figure that Yonder could have been up with the game on the line other than Valaika.
Logan Ondrusek warmed up at some point, and he looked kind of out of place. I didn't realize this, but he's listed at 6'7", and probably was taller than that. It reminded me of any professional basketball team with a token white center from eastern Europe over 7'4".
It was a really exciting game, to be sure. After taking a lead on a home run by Chris Denove, the Bats were down 4-1 after LeCure got roughed up a bit (in a time that seemed like a split second). They then battled back to score a run each in the 6th (Alonso's HR) and 7th (smawl-bawl!).
In that 7th inning, they had a walk, a single to left by Luis Bolivar, and two infield hits by Frazier and Francisco, both of those with 2 outs. Chris Vaiaika killed the rally. At this point, jsl and I decided he should have been batting 7th instead of Alonso.
In the 8th, Yonder led off with a single, and was stranded at 3rd. This would have been a good time to see Danny Dorn pinch hit, but that didn't happen. (Another guy we didn't get to see was Zack Cozart, who didn't play the entire series. Huh?)
Once again in the 9th, Frazier and Francisco started a rally with 2 outs, and were stranded by Valaika. Not his night. Bats lose 4-3.

All in all, it was a good experience, despite the game outcome. I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere there, as the fans were extremely into the game and knew who most of the players were.

I'm already thinking an RR outing in Louisville needs to happen next year too. Takers?

Farmers Only: Daryl Thompson roughed up on rehab, and Travis Wood has another great start in AAA

BK — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:28 -0000

Louisville won a close game 2-1 as Travis Wood had another good outing. Wood pitched 6 inning of 1-run ball, Ramon Ramirez put up 2 innings of shutout relief, and Enerio Del Rosario closed it out with another perfect relief inning. Darnell McDonald went 4-for-4 with a double to lead the attack, Chris Heisey homered, and Drew Stubbs, Chris Valaika, and Travis Wood all had multi-hit games. Up next: Matt Maloney takes on Lehigh Valley at 7:05.
Carolina were off. They play Birmingham at 7:15.
Sarasota lost to Jupiter 4-3. Alexander Smit gave up 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings of work, while striking out 8. Denis Phipps went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and Jake Kahaulelio went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Up next: The S-Reds take on Jupiter behind Travis Webb at 7:05.
Oscar Castro got shelled again as Dayton lost to West Michigan 8-4. Castro gave up 6 runs in the 2nd to put the Dragons behind for good. Enrique Rojas and Kevyn Feiner had 2 hits each. Up next: Mark Serrano takes the hill at 7 against West Michigan.
Billings lost to Idaho Falls 6-2. Tyler Stovall and Chris McMurray drove in the Mustangs runs. Up next: The Mustangs take on Idaho Falls at 9:15 behind Ricky Bowen.
The GCL Reds scored 6 runs in the 8th inning to beat the GCL Rays 10-9. Daryl Thompson started the game on rehab, and it wasn't pretty. He managed to get two outs in the first, gave up 2 hits and walked 2, and his final tally was 3 runs allowed, 2 of them earned. Danny Hernandez homered and drove in two runs for the offense, Billy Hamilton was 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot, and Henry Rodriguez and Juan Duran drove in two runs each as well. Up next: The GCL Reds take on the GCL O's at noon.
Roster Moves: Sean Watson joins the Louisville bullpen after Jeff Kennard goes on the DL with an injury. Jordan Wideman takes over full time catching duties in Sarasota as Devin Mesoraco goes on the shelf for the first time this year. 10th round pick Tucker Barnhart joins the GCL Reds, as does Porfirio Martinez from the DSL team.

Farmers Only: State of the Farm (8.6)

BK — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:01:27 -0000

We haven't taken an overview of the minors in a while, so with the off day, I figured we'd check in with a mega-column. With 6 teams playing now, there's a lot to cover. Let's get started by looking at the teams.

LOUISVILLE BATS (AAA) - The Bats are 63-47 and are commanding the IL West right now, with a 9.5 game lead over Toledo. Kevin Barker is currently 2nd in the IL in OPS at .929, 2nd in HR with 20, and is 4th in OBP at .377. Drew Stubbs leads the league in stolen bases with 42, only being caught 9 times. On the pitching side, Homer Bailey and Matt Maloney are currently 6th and 7th in ERA at 2.71 and 2.72, and shutout specialist Justin Lehr is 9th with a 3.31 ERA while leading the league in wins with 13. Maloney's 97 strikeouts are good for 6th in the league so far, and Lehr's 1.06 WHIP has him 4th in the league. As a team, Louisville's pitching staff is 3rd in the league in ERA and 4th in strikeouts.
CAROLINA MUDCATS (AA) - After going 37-32 in the first half, finishing 2nd (1 game back), the Mudcats are 15-25 so far in the second half, 7 games back from Chattanooga and tied for 4th place. Despite promotions, Carolina still has the top players in AVG, SLG, and OPS on the offensive side (Chris Heisey, .347/.426/.572/.998) and the league leader in ERA by more than a run (Travis Wood, 9-3 with a 1.21 ERA; second in the league is 2.99). After his night last night, Juan Francisco now leads the SL in home runs with 22 and RBI with 71. Wood also still leads the league in strikeouts with 103, despite being in AAA for the last two weeks.
SARASOTA REDS (A+) - After finishing dead last in the FSL South in the first half at 28-40, their 17-22 record in the second half so far is 4 games back and good for 4th in the 6 team division. This is normally where I'd list the S-Reds who are among the league leaders in offensive categories, but Sarasota doesn't have any. Jeremy Horst is 8th in the league in ERA at 3.25. Their .234 team average is good for worst in the league, and their OPS is an abysmal .623. Their 315 team RBI is almost 40 behind the second to last place team.
DAYTON DRAGONS (A) - Dayton finished 4th in the MWL East in the first half with a 28-42 record, and are currently 18-20 in the second half, which is good for 4th place in the division despite being 11.5 games back from a white-hot Fort Wayne team. Byron Wiley is 4th in the league in OPS at .883, 7th in OBP at .388, and 3rd in SLG at .495. Cody Puckett is 5th in that category at .481, and Dave Sappelt is 9th in SB with 26 despite getting promoted. Puckett's also 4th in the league in HR with 16. Matt Fairel is 9th in ERA at 2.93 and 4th in strikeouts with 107.
BILLINGS MUSTANGS (R) - Despite being a short-season team, Billings' season is split in two as well. They were last place at 12-26 in the first half, and have kicked off the second half 1-2. Mariekson Gregorius is 10th in the league in hitting at .342 and 10th in OBP at .408. Shea Snowden and Leonardo Astorga are 10th and 11th in ERA at 4.17 and 4.53, although there are only 26 pitchers with enough innings to qualify. Billings is similiar to Dayton in that they can't hit, with a .251/.322/.350/.672 line as a team so far this year. Their 4.81 team ERA is second to last in the league.
GCL REDS (R) - The G-Reds are 16-18 and 4 games back in the GCL South. Henry Rodriguez is leading the league in hitting at .355, and leadoff hitter Theodis Bowe is hitting .313, which is good for 10th. Bowe is also 3rd in SB with 14. Jacob Wiley is tied for 3rd in saves with 6.

A closer look at the players after the jump.

Red Reporter Top 15

Before the season, you guys came up with a list of the top 15 prospects in the Reds system. Here's an update on how they're doing.

Yonder Alonso 1B (Carolina)
After starting the season on a tear in Sarasota, Yonder made it to Carolina before breaking the hamate bone in his hand. In 16 games in AA, Yonder hit .246/.309/.466. He's on a rehab stint with the GCL team right now, so I'd expect him to finish the season in Carolina when he's ready to go.
Neftali Soto 3B (Sarasota)
Soto's having a disappointing season so far for the S-Reds. His OBP is still only .284 and his plate discipline has been lacking. After a strong May, he had a disappointing June and July, only hitting .204/.237/.301 in July, but has started August right, so hopefully that gets him going.
Todd Frazier 2B (Carolina)
Todd's having a great season in AA, and should earn a promotion soon. He recently made the switch to 2B after playing 3B and LF for most of the year. Why he hasn't been called up to Louisville yet is beyond me.
Drew Stubbs CF (Louisville)
Speaking of guys who should be called up, Stubbs' OBP is at .368 and he has 42 stolen bases to lead his league. That wouldn't look good in the leadoff spot, Dusty?
Chris Valaika SS (Louisville)
An injury plagued season has Valaika dropping past Zack Cozart on prospect boards at his position. Chris is currently at .197/.237/.299 in 244 AB.
Juan Francisco 3B (Carolina)
El Nino Destructor is raking lately, but still has the same problems that have plagued him his whole career. Mainly, his errors at 3B and his lack of plate discipline (88 K to 19 BB this year).
Daryl Thompson RHSP (Louisville)
Thompson's been on the shelf since the end of June, his 3rd DL trip this year. His 6.59 ERA could be better, and I expect it to be next year, but this year's a lost cause for Daryl.
Kyle Lotzkar LHSP
Lotzkar has been on the DL all year with a broken elbow, and doesn't look to be coming back soon. Hopefully he'll pitch this year, but I'm not optimistic.
Chris Dickerson OF (Cincinnati)
He's batting .259 in 85 games for the Reds. I still don't remember why he's on this list.
Josh Roenicke RHRP (Toronto)
Sigh. He got traded in the Rolen deal.
Devin Mesoraco C (Sarasota)
He's at .225/.309/.379 right now, but all reports coming out of Sarasota say that he's improving behind the plate. Hopefully that bat will come around, but he's still young.
Daniel Dorn OF (Louisville)
He's having a solid year, at .256/.323/.426. Are we still calling him overrated? I don't see him cracking this outfield any time soon.
Yorman Rodriguez OF (Billings)
Stormin' Yorman is killin' Billings so far, to the tune of a .884 OPS. He's still only 16.
Zach Stewart RHSP (Toronto)
God fucking dammit. Moving on.
Juan Duran DH (GCL)
Duran's year has been really disappointing, with a line of .180/.235/.270.

Top 15 Pitchers

The way we're going to do this, is look at 10 pitchers from full season ball, and look at the top 5 from short season. We're looking at guys with a minimum of 45 IP from full season teams and 10 IP from short season. The stats provided here are combined from every level through the 2009 season.

Logan Ondrusek RHRP (Sarasota, Carolina, Louisville) - 4-1, 1.28 ERA, 38 K, 20 BB
Travis Wood LHSP (Carolina, Louisville) - 10-4, 1.44 ERA, 116 K, 46 BB
Enerio Del Rosario RHRP (Sarasota, Carolina, Louisville) - 2-1, 1.96 ERA, 43 K, 6 BB
Joseph Krebs LHRP (Carolina, Sarasota) - 3-2, 2.19 ERA, 44 K, 20 BB
Mace Thurman LHRP (Sarasota, Dayton) - 3-0, 2.10 ERA, 73 K, 21 BB
Jeff Kennard RHRP (Louisville) - 3-1, 2.42 ERA, 48 K, 18 BB
Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette LHRP (Carolina, Sarasota) - 2-2, 2.51 ERA, 45 K, 25 BB
Steven Otterness LHRP (Sarasota, Dayton) - 3-0, 2.76 ERA, 34 K, 25 BB
Matt Maloney LHSP (Louisville) - 7-8, 2.72 ERA, 97 K, 16 BB
Jordan Hotchkiss RHRP (Dayton) - 1-4, 2.75 ERA, 47 K, 15 BB

Harold Johnson RHSP (GCL) - 0-1, 1.06 ERA, 16 K, 8 BB
Ezequiel Infante LHSP (Dayton, Billings) - 2-0, 1.29 ERA, 31 K, 4 BB
Tyler Cline RHSP (GCL) - 2-0, 1.73 ERA, 26 K, 9 BB
Donnie Joseph LHRP (Dayton, Billings) - 2-1, 1.89 ERA, 20 K, 5 BB
Mark Serrano RHSP (Dayton, Billings) - 1-0, 1.85 ERA, 28 K, 7 BB

Top 15 Hitters

We'll do the same thing here. Minimum of 200 AB for full season, 50 for short season.

Kevin Barker 1B (Louisville) - .929 OPS, .284/.377/.552, 20 HR, 58 RBI, 1 SB
Chris Heisey CF (Louisville, Carolina) - .927 OPS, .331/.395/.534, 16 HR, 60 RBI, 16 SB
Darnell McDonald RF (Louisville) - .883 OPS, .317/.349/.534, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 6 SB
Byron Wiley RF (Dayton) - .883 OPS, .275/.388/.495, 11 HR, 55 RBI, 5 SB
Todd Frazier 2B (Carolina) - .860 OPS, .307/.362/.499, 12 HR, 58 RBI, 7 SB
Yonder Alonso 1B (Carolina, Sarasota, GCL) - .823 OPS, .284/.357/.466, 8 HR, 45 RBI, 1 SB
Juan Francisco 3B (Carolina) - .809 OPS, .273/.310/.499, 22 HR, 71 RBI, 6 SB
Cody Puckett 2B (Sarasota, Dayton) - .793 OPS, .263/.333/.461, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 14 SB
Zack Cozart SS (Carolina) - .785 OPS, .270/.366/.419, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 9 SB
Chris Denove C (Louisville, Carolina) - .779 OPS, .265/.349/.430, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 0 SB

Josh Fellhauer OF (Dayton) - .926 OPS, .310/.379/.548, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 4 SB
Henry Rodriguez 3B (GCL) - .803 OPS, .355/.384/.419, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 7 SB
Thomas Nurre 1B (Billings) - .783 OPS, .286/.338/.444, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB
Theodis Bowe LF (GCL) - .775 OPS, .313/.387/.388, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 16 SB
Alexis Oliveras OF (Dayton, Billings) - .753 OPS, .292/.337/.416, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 10 SB

20 More Prospects To Watch

Ben Jukich LHSP (Louisville) - 3-0, 1.62 ERA in 5 starts in July
Matt Klinker RHSP (Louisville) - 2.95 ERA in AA, now in AAA after starting in Sarasota
Sam LeCure RHSP (Louisville) - 7-0, 2.38 ERA in last 9 starts
Tom Cochran LHSP (Carolina) - 2.77 ERA in 5 starts in July
Jeremy Horst LHSP (Carolina) - 3.25 ERA in Sarasota, now in AA
Josh Beal RHRP (Sarasota) - 1.72 ERA in 17 1/3 innings in July
J.C. Sulbaran RHSP (Dayton) - 3.56 ERA in last 4 starts, 10.0 K/9 this season
Tzu-Kai Chiu LHRP (Billings) - 0.95 ERA in 19 innings in the GCL before moving to Billings
Matteo Pizziconi LHRP (GCL) - 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings
Nathan Driessen LHRP (GCL) - 2.25 ERA in 24 innings
Danny Dorn OF (Louisville) - 1.024 OPS in June. .896 since the All-Star Break
Wes Bankston 1B (Louisville) - 1.045 OPS in August so far
Kyle Day DH (Sarasota) - .333/.400/.481 in July
Dave Sappelt OF (Sarasota) - 38 total SB this season
Yen-Wen Kuo 2B (Dayton) - .375 AVG in August so far
Kevin Coddington C (Dayton) - .303/.344/.371 in July
Mariekson Gregorius SS (Billings) - .342/.408/.378 since being moved to Billings (27 games)
Yorman Rodriguez CF (Billings) - .268/.348/.537 so far in Billings, is only 16 years old
Sean Conner RF (Billings) - 4 RBI in 5 August games
Danny Vicioso C (GCL) - .341/.372/.561 in 17 games

So what do you guys think? Anybody here catch your eye?

Farmers Only: Drew Stubbs' late inning heroics would have come in handy in Cincy

BK — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:00:32 -0000

Louisville won a wild one against Toledo 6-5 in 11. The game was tied 2-2 in the 6th, and stayed that way until the Mud Hens put up 3 runs on Jeff Kennard. Louisville rallied to score 4 times in the bottom of the inning, with hits by Eric Eymann and Daniel Dorn setting the table and Drew Stubbs doubling in the winning run. Stubbs was 3-for-5 in the game. Sure couldn't use that at the top of the lineup, right Walt? Ben Jukich had another good start, going 6 innings of 2-run ball, striking out 9. In relief, Kip Wells pitched a scoreless inning, and Zach Stewart went 1 2/3 innings of hitless ball. I think we can rule out all three of them for Friday's start. It's looking more and more like Lehr's. Up next: Sam LeCure is scheduled to take on Toledo at 7:05.
Carolina also had a comeback in extra innings, as they beat Chattanooga 5-4 in 13. After Jerry Gil walked 5 hitters to give up the leading run (one was caught stealing), Juan Francisco doubled in two runs to give the Mudcats the win. El Nino Destructor went 3-for-6 with a HR (his 19th) and 3 RBI in the game, and Stephen Chapman hit his 4th HR of the season. Matt Klinker started the game, and pitched well, giving up 1 run in 6 innings, striking out 8. Up next: Tom Cochran takes on Chattanooga at 7:15.
Jason Louwsma was the hero, singling in the winning run in the 9th as Sarasota beat Daytona 3-2. Zach Ward started and gave up 1 run in 2 1/3 innings of work, and Pedro Villarreal and Steven Otterness picked up the slack, pitching 3 relief innings each. Villarreal gave up 1 run and Otterness gave up 1 hit to seal the deal. Alex Buchholz and Shane Carlson had two hits each. Up next: Jeremy Horst takes on Daytona at 7.
Dayton had the opposite happen, as Aguido Gonzalez blew the save in the 9th to fall 4-3 to Peoria. Kevin Coddington went 3-for-3 with a walk and Byron Wiley had two hits, including a HR. Mark Serrano started, and gave up 2 runs in 5 innings. Ezequiel Infante and Donnie Joseph pitched scoreless relief outings. Up next: J.C. Sulbaran takes on Peoria at 7.
Billings lost 8-2 to Great Falls, as Luca Panerati got lit up. The Billings pitching staff has been terrible, as Jason Braun has the best ERA out of anyone who pitched tonight at 6.19, and that's after two perfect innings. Mariekson Gregorius was 3-for-5 and Tyler Stovall was 2-for-4. The Golden Child Yorman Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with 3 strikeouts. Ouch. Up next: Tim Crabbe takes on Missoula at 9:05.
The GCL Reds were blanked by the GCL Orioles 2-0. Harold Johnson started and gave up 2 unearned runs in 4 innings of work to lower his ERA to 1.06 on the season. Nathan Driessen and Raul Rodriguez were also good, each pitching two innings of shutout ball. Henry Rodriguez had two of the G-Reds 6 hits. Up next: The G-Reds take on the GCL Red Sox at noon.
Roster Moves: Federico Baez and Joe "The Cycle" Krebs join the Carolina bullpen. Krebs has put up a 2.45 ERA in 55 relief innings in Sarasota so far. Chris Denove is also off the DL, as Korey Feiner takes his place. Yen-Wen Kuo is back with Dayton after a stint in Billings. Jeremy Ware joins the Dayton bullpen after starting the year in the GCL, and has apparently started going by his middle name, Chase. 43rd round pick Ricky Bowen is with Billings, and 22nd rounder David Stewart is with the GCL team.

Farmers Only: Great starting pitching, Travis Wood is still awesome, and the Rodriguez triplets strike in rookie ball

BK — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:00:35 -0000

The starting pitching was awesome last night. 5 of the 6 starters combined to pitch 30 1/3 innings and only gave up 1 run.

Louisville won 5-3 in 12 innings, with Chris Heisey once again being the hero. He doubled in the winning runs in the 12th, for one of his 3 hits, with one other hit being his 2nd HR in AAA. Drew Stubbs, Darnell McDonald, and Chris Valaika all had two hits. Adam Pettyjohn started the game and pitched 5 innings of 1-run ball. Jeff Kennard, Pedro Viola, and Jared Burton all added scoreless outings from the bullpen, but it was Kip Wells who stole the show, pitching two innings of one hit ball, striking out 3. Up next: Justin Lehr starts against Columbus at 7:05.
OBC'S ADAM ROSALES UPDATE: Adam Rosales was 1-for-3 with 3 walks and a run scored. He started at shortstop, which is kind of interesting. Maybe grooming him for the position for later on in the season?
Carolina won 2-1 in 11 innings, after going scoreless through 9. You're not going to believe this... but Travis Wood had another great start. 7 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 9 K, 1 BB. That's straight up dominance. He's 8-2 with a 1.37 ERA in 105 innings so far. What the hell is he still doing in AA, Walt? Logan Ondrusek pitched two solid in relief, and Sean Watson got the win despite giving up a run in the bottom of the 11th to make it close. Todd Frazier hit his 9th HR of the season to give the Mudcats the lead after Juan Francisco walked, and Jose Castro added two hits. They were supposed to play a doubleheader, but the second game wasn't played for some reason. Probably because the first one took so long. Up next: Tom Cochran takes on Jacksonville at 7:05.
Sarasota won a pitchers' duel 1-0. Rafael Gonzalez went 7 shutout innings, and Mace Thurman added two of his own to combined for the shutout. Denis Phipps drove in the only run. Up next: Sarasota takes on Fort Myers at 7:05, with Travis Webb taking the hill.
Dayton also won a pitchers' duel 1-0 behind the golden arm of Curtis Partch. Partch gave up 6 hits in 6 innings, and Junior Martinez and Aguido Gonzalez pitched hitless outings to close it out. The Dragons were only to score one run on 14 hits, but it turned out to be enough. Josh Fellhauer was 3-for-5. Up next: J.C. Sulbaran takes on the LumberKings at 8.
Billings was the lone loser, losing 7-1 to Orem. Alexis Oliveras and Chris Richburg had two hits each, and Bryan Gardner and Daniel Corcino both pitched scoreless relief outings. Up next: Shea Snowden takes on Orem at 9:05.
Pedro Villarreal and Marcos Molina combined for 8 shutout innings as the GCL Reds won 6-1. If your last name was Rodriguez you had a good game. Yorman Rodriguez, Cristobal Rodriguez, and Henry Rodriguez all had two hits and a RBI, and Petr Cech drove in 2 of his own. As far as I know, they're not related, but still, having three Rodriguez's in the same lineup could get confusing. Up next: They take on the GCL Twins at noon with Tyler Cline starting.

Farmers Only: The most effective defense to a Dragons attack? Put a tin cap on.

BK — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:00:26 -0000

Louisville won both games of a doubleheader against Indy, 2-1 and 3-2. Ramon Ramirez started Game 1, and pitched 6 1/3 innings of 1-run ball. Drew Stubbs had two hits, and Kevin Barker and Chris Valaika drove in runs. In a Game 2, Jeff Kennard pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn the win. Two familiar faces, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Rosales had two hits each, and Chris Valaika drove two more runs in. Up next: Indy again at 7:05. Ben Jukich takes the hill.
After a rough first inning, Jordan Smith bounced back in a big way to beat Chattanooga 4-3. Smith gave up 3 runs in the first inning, but pitched 4 scoreless after that to earn the win. Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette was the star in relief, pitching two perfect innings while striking out 4. Todd Frazier and Zachary Cozart homered for the Mudcats, and Logan Parker and Jose Castro had two hits each. Up next: The Mudcats take on Chattanooga again at 6:15. Travis Wood should be the next to get a start.
Sarasota lost both of their games in their doubleheader 8-3 and 5-2. Scott Carroll had a forgettable start in the first game, but Neftali Soto was solid with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Luis Montano gave up 5 runs in Game 2, but only one was earned. Denis Phipps had two hits and Jose Gualdron homered, his first since his promotion from Dayton. Up next: Matt Klinker takes on St. Lucie at 7.
Dayton lost to Fort Wayne again 3-1, bringing their record against the TinCaps to 1-13 on the season. Lance Janke was decent in his start, and Steven Otterness was brilliant in relief, pitching 3 innings and only giving up 1 hit. Kevin Coddington was 2-for-4 for the offense. Up next: Matt Fairel takes his turn to lose to Fort Wayne at 7.
Billings dropped yet another game, this time in the 9th to lose to Helena 5-4. Justin Walker and Daniel Corcino managed to put together a good game before 3rd round pick Donnie Joseph blew the save with 2 runs in the 9th. Yen-Wen Kuo led the way with 3 hits, and Humberto Sosa was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. Up next: Leonardo Astorga takes on Helena at 9:05.
The GCL Reds were postponed due to a wet ground. They'll take on the GCL Orioles at noon.

Farmers Only: Chris Heisey and J.C. Sulbaran in the Futures game, and another Travis W. gets in on the shutout action

BK — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:00:14 -0000

Webb

As previously reported elsewhere, Chris Heisey and J.C. Sulbaran were named to the U.S. and World rosters for the Futures Game. Congrats, guys!
Louisville won big in Charlotte, as Sam Lecure pitched a beauty to shut out the Knights 7-0. LeCure gave up no runs on 5 hits in 6 innings of work, and struck out 7 while walking 3. Camilo Vazquez, Jeff Kennard, and Robert Manuel all pitched in relief to preserve the win. Everyone did their part for the offense, with every starter having at least one hit, and Luis Bolivar and Daniel Dorn collecting two. Dorn and Drew Sutton went deep, as the offense rolled. Up next: Ramon Ramirez takes on Charlotte at 7:15.
Carolina performed well for 9 innings, only to give up 2 runs in the 10th to lose in extras to Jacksonville 4-2. Tom Cochran had a good start, giving up 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings of work, but Sean Watson gave up a 2-run home run in his 3rd inning of work to lose it for the Mudcats. On offense, Jose Castro led the way going 3-for-5, and Chris Heisey and Chris Denove had two hits each. Up next: Dallas Buck takes the hill against Jacksonville at 7:15.
Travis Webb was downright awesome as Sarasota won a pitcher's duel 1-0. Webb pitched 5 innings of shutout ball, only giving up 2 hits, and The Cycle pitched 3 shutout innings of relief. Jason Bour had two hits, and Neftali Soto drove in the S-Reds only run on a groundout. Up next: Luis Montano takes the mound against Lakeland at 7.
Dayton saw a tie game broken in the 8th inning to lose 6-5. Dave Sappelt, Carlos Mendez, Michael Konstanty, and Kevyn Feiner all had two hits each, and Konstanty drove in 3 runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome 5 runs given up (3 unearned runs) by Josh Ravin. Up next: Lance Janke takes on Lansing at 7:05.

Joseph

Billings got rocked by Great Falls 17-4. Obviously, bad pitching was the story in this one, as Luca Panerati gave up 7 runs (5 earned) in his 3 innings of work, and in 2 innings of work each, Jason Braun gave up 3 runs (2 earned) and Mike Bohana gave up 7 runs (4 earned). Third round pick Donnie Joseph was the only bright spot, pitching 2 perfect innings while striking out 5 of the 6 hitters he faced in his pro debut. Tyler Stovall had two hits to lead the anemic offense, but obviously 17 runs is a pretty deep hole to dig up from. But either way, you have to be excited about what Joseph did. Up next: Justin Walker takes the hill against Great Falls at 9.
The GCL Reds lost in extra innings to the GCL Twins, 5-3. Billy Hamilton had another multi-hit game, going 2-for-5, and Yorman Rodriguez had three hits for the G-Reds. Carter Morrison drove in two runs, but that was the extent of the offense. Those were the first three hitters; the 4-9 hitters went 0-for-23 in the game. Tzu-Kai Chiu started the game, giving up 2 hits and no runs in 3 innings, but the G-Twins broke the game open against Michael Henry. Matteo Pizziconi came in and pitched scoreless ball in 1 1/3 innings, but Daniel Corcino gave up the winningruns in the 10th. Up next: The GCL Reds have an off day tomorrow.
Roster Moves: Homer Bailey will be making the start in the big leagues on Saturday, so his place in the rotation will be compromised soon. Travis Wood, perhaps? Maybe not, because Daryl Thompson is off the DL. Infielder Yen-Wen Kuo and outfielder Tony Brown are back with Dayton after a few starts in Billings.

Farmers Only: Not even a Vottomatic bat can help the Sarasota offense; maybe they should switch to Manuel

BK — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:00:28 -0000

Rocketmanuel

Louisville beat Norfolk 3-1 behind 6 solid innings from Justin Lehr. Lehr only gave up 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 4 in the process. Jeff Kennard, Pedro Viola, and Robert Manuel pitched one perfect inning each to seal the win. Manuel earned his 5th save of the season, and second in two nights with the old closer Josh Roenicke pitching in the bigs. He's putting together a pretty solid year in relief, posting a 1.91 ERA with a 32/9 K/BB ratio. He's also got a WHIP of 0.96 and opponents are hitting just .196 off of him. Good to see the Paul O'Neill trade of '92 starting to pay off. Danny Richar continued his hot hitting, getting 2 of the Bats' 4 hits, including his 4th home run of the season. Batting 7th, Chris Valaika was 0-for-3 in his first game off the DL. Up next: Gwinnett comes to Slugger Field at 7:05. No starter listed, but Sam LeCure is next in line.
Carolina split a doubleheader with Tennessee, losing 7-6 in the first game and winning 6-3 in the nightcap. Zach Stewart had some trouble in Game 1, only pitching 3 innings and giving up 2 runs. No word yet on whether he's injured or not, but we'll keep you posted. 4 relievers pitched 2 innings each, with Logan Ondrusek blowing a save in the 6th and Ramon Geronimo blowing one in the 8th (in the extra innings of a 7-inning doubleheader game). Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette gave up the winning walk-off homer in the 12th. Zachary Cozart was on fire for the offense, hitting 2 homers and driving in 3 runs, and the extremely disappointing (sike) Yonder Alonso went 3-for-6 with a RBi as well. 3 lousy hits? Common! In Game 2, Travis Wood gave up an uncharacteristic 3 runs in 5 innings, but got the win anyway. His ERA ballooned to 1.36. Juan Francisco drove in 4 runs, including a 2-run HR, his 13th of the year to lead the Reds minors. Zach Cozart and Jose Castro had two more hits each for the Mudcats. Up next: Dallas Buck takes on Tennessee at 7:15.

Vintage Jo-eh

Sarasota got shut out 2-0 by Clearwater. The story of the game, obviously, was Joey Votto's rehab assignment. Votto went 0-for-2 with a walk in his 3 ABs. (Note: Cue the idiots who say "He can't handle single-A pitching? Trade him now!" You're idiots.) Travis Webb also had a shortened start, only going 3 innings. Scott Carroll came up big in relief, pitching 5 innings of one-hit ball. The S-Reds offense was dismal, only coming up with 4 hits on the evening, all singles. Up next: Sarasota's on their All-Star break until Monday. Representing the S-Reds in that game will be reliever Enerio Del Rosario and catcher Devin Mesoraco.
Dayton won against West Michigan 5-4 in walk-off fashion. Miguel Rojas was the hero, hitting a walk-off solo shot as the first hitter in the bottom of the 9th. Carlos Mendez also homered, and every Dragons starting position player had at least one hit. Matt Fairel was solid, pitching 7 innings and giving up 3 ER on 6 hits. He walked 4 hitters and struck out 6. Up next: Josh Ravin takes on the Whitecaps at 7.

Farmers Only: Bailey and Wood were dominant again

BK — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:00:23 -0000

What the hell does Travis Wood need to do to get called up to AAA?

Homer

Homer Bailey dominated in his start in Columbus, but Jeff Kennard and the defense blew it and Louisville lost 2-1. Homer went 8 2/3 innings, and gave up 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 9. His effort went for naught in the end when with runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 10th, Kevin Barker committed an error to score the winning run. Darnell McDonald had two of the Bats 4 hits. Up next: Justin Lehr and the Bats take on the Clippers in Columbus at 7:05.

Wood

In another interesting development, Travis Wood was also dominant as Carolina blanked West Tenn 4-0. Woody pitched 7 shutout innings, and only gave up 1 hit while striking out 9. His ERA is down to 1.11. Todd Frazier and Chris Denove had two hits each, as did Featured Farmhand Zachary Cozart. Up next: Jordan Smith takes the hill against West Tenn at 6:15.
Sarasota got dominated by the Lakeland Tigers, 9-1. Scott Carroll was less than dominant in his FSL debut, givng up 7 R (4 ER) in 4 innings. Denis Phipps was 1-for-4 and drove in the S-Reds only run. Up next: Travis Webb takes on Lakeland at 6.
Dayton had some trouble with Fort Wayne early, but ended up taking the game into extra innings, only to lose 5-4 in 10. J.C. Sulbaran's strike zone was dominated by the home plate umpire, as he only went 2 innings and walked 6 hitters. For example, here's how his 2nd inning went: walk, strikeout, double, walk, single (runner thrown out at the plate by David Sappelt), wild pitch, walk, walk, wild pitch, walk, strikeout looking. Yikes. He gave up 3 runs, and didn't come out for the 3rd. I'm not sure if his control problems were caused by injury or an off night, but it's been rare so far this season to have such a terrible outing. Jake Long hit his 1st HR of the year, and Kevin Coddington, Carlos Mendez, and Miguel Rojas all had two hits to contribute the Dragons offense. Jordan Hotchkiss gave up the winning run in his 4th inning of work. Really, Benzinger? Up next: Dayton takes on Fort Wayne at 7:05. No starter listed, as usual, but it should be Fairel or Ravin.
Roster Moves: In Carolina, a few moves. James Avery is on the 7-day DL, and Dallas Buck was finally reactivated after a month and a half on the DL. Jerry Gil is also now with Carolina after putting up a 7.74 ERA in 10 starts in Sarasota. Great.

Farmers Only: El Nino Destructor picks up where Rosie Red left off

BK — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:00:15 -0000

Francisco

Ramon Ramirez struggled for the Bats, as Louisville lost to Indy 8-6. Ramon went 4 1/3 innings and gave up 8 R, 6 of them earned. The bullpen was much better, with Jeff Kennard, Pedro Viola, and Adam Pettyjohn combining for 4 2/3 shutout innings, but the deficit was too much for the offense to overcome. Featured Farmhand Adam Rosales was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI before his callup to the major league club in the afternoon, and Drew Stubbs went 3-for-5 as well. Jonny Gomes hit his 3rd HR of the season, a 3-run shot, but it wasn't enough. Up next: Louisville has the day off today.
Carolina won a tight one with Tennessee 7-5, as James Avery pitched a great game. Avery went 8 innings, and gave up 3 runs to get the win, his first of the season. Juan Francisco had 3 hits for the Mudcats, including his 4th HR of the season, and Zach Cozart and Eric Eymann had two hits apiece. Up next: Misael DeJesus was supposed to start yesterday, but he'll start today instead, a day game at 11:30.

Horst

Sarasota lost a game because of their bullpen to Charlotte, 8-1. Jeremy Horst actually had a great start in this, going 6 innings and giving up 0 ER, but the bullpen blew up in a Lincoln-esque manner to lose the game. Not much going on offensively, but Justin Reed kept up his hot hitting with 2 hits to extend his hitting streak to 6 games. Up next: Jerry Gil takes the hill against Charlotte again, 7:00 start.
Dayton split their doubleheader with South Bend, dropping the first game 8-0 and winning the nightcap 6-3. In Game 1, Josh Ravin got knocked around, and David Sappelt, Cody Puckett and Byron Wiley collected a hit each for the Dragons 3 hits in the game. In Game 2, Curtis Partch went 5 innings of 3 run ball to get the win, and Sappelt and Puckett each homered for the Dragons, with Kevin Coddington getting two hits. Up next: Oscar Castro is the scheduled starter for the Dragons, as they open up a new series in Beloit at 7:30.