SB Nation - Wes Bankston

All Assumptions-Are-Dangerous Minor League Free Agent Team

Jeff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:07:19 -0000

Dave at Fangraphs passed along a link to this year's crop of minor league free agents. A popular thing to do with this information is pick out a handful of guys that would make interesting and potentially worthwhile pick-ups. This is not that. This is a full team made up of guys who, years ago, were supposed to go on to do some big big things, only to end up on the fall 2009 list of mlFA's. Consider this just another reminder that you should never ever ever take a prospect's future for granted.*

C: JR House
1B: Ryan Shealy
2B: Josh Barfield
SS: Antonio Perez
3B: Dallas McPherson
LF: Wes Bankston
CF: Joe Borchard
RF: John-Ford Griffin
DH: Josh Phelps

BENCH-C: JD Closser (does Ben Davis still count?)
BENCH-INF: Eric Duncan
BENCH-OF: Dave Krynzel
BENCH-UTIL: Donnie Murphy

SP: Jerome Williams
SP: Greg Miller
SP: Kenny Baugh
SP: Humberto Sanchez
SP: Bobby Brownlie

RP: Jose Capellan
RP: Wes Littleton
RP: Casey Fossum
RP: John Van Benschoten
RP: Chad Orvella
RP: Clint Everts
RP: Andrew Brown

If there were a 26th spot, I'd give it to Dee Brown, but it would just be so damn easy to include him that I had to find an alternative. Also among the free agents are formerly established Major Leaguers like Chris Capuano and Chad Cordero, along with the astonishingly driven Jolbert Cabrera. Jolbert just wants to win. Come on, Yankees. Take the plunge. Win one for Jolbert.

If there were a 27th spot, I'd give it to Mark McGonigle, because, really? McGonigle?

* never take any player's future for granted

Farmers Only: Quick Hits from the Weekend

BK — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:28 -0000

I'm gonna make this short and sweet. Keeping it light on the scores today, and highlighting the big action in the system, with so many of them.

Louisville clinched the IL West over the weekend. On Friday, Chris Valaika was 4-for-5, Chris Heisey was 3-for-4 with a HR, and Juan Francisco hit two homers and a double. Tom Cochran made his Bats debut. Travis Wood gave up 4 runs in 6 innings on Saturday, and Valaika had two more hits. On Sunday, Todd Frazier went 4-for-5 and Wes Bankston went 4-for-4. Ben Jukich gave up 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings and Enerio Del Rosario picked up his 4th save. Up next: Matt Klinker takes on Columbus at 7:05.
Carolina had a rough weekend. Luis Montano lost his 6th game of the season, although he gave up 2 unearned runs in 6 2/3 innings on Friday. Yonder Alonso went 1-for-4. Jerry Gil had another bad outing on Saturday and Zach Ward pitched 2 shutout innings to get his ERA down to 15.15. Sunday's game was rained out. Up next: Alexander Smit(.com) takes on Montgomery at 7:05.
Sarasota broke a 26-inning scoreless streak with a 4-run 1st inning on Sunday. Travis Webb pitched 6 shutout innings on Friday, but got a no-decision. Lance Janke struck out 6 while giving up 2 ER in 6 innings on Saturday. Neftali Soto went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI on Sunday, and Jason Louwsma and Kyle Day both had two hits and homered. Curtis Partch gave up 2 ER in 7 innings. Up next: Sarasota is off today.
Dayton had a lot of offense going over the weekend. Tony Brown had two hits in Friday's game, and Shea Snowden gave up 2 unearned runs in 4 1/3 innings of relief. Alexis Oliveras was 4-for-5 on Saturday, Kevyn Feiner was 2-for-4 with a HR and 4 RBI, and Cody Puckett had three hits including a HR and 3 RBI. Despite giving up 4 ER, J.C. Sulbaran struck out 9 in 5 1/3 innings of work. Donnie Joseph pitched another perfect inning. Josh Fellhauer had three hits on Sunday, and Ezequiel Infante gave up 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings. Up next: Jordan Hotchkiss takes the hill against Lansing at 7.
Billings got swept over the weekend. Blair Carson had a quality start on Friday, but still earned the loss. Yorman Rodriguez's average is down to .236 in Billings after two 1-for-4 games and an 0-for-4. Petr Cech was 2-for-2. Oscar Castro gave up 1 run in 6 innings on Sunday. Up next: Luca Panerati takes on Missoula at 9:05.
The GCL Reds only had one game, as they had an off day and a rainout. Juan Silva was 2-for-4, and Dallas Buck and Misael DeJesus both gave up 2 runs in 2 innings. Up next: The GCL Reds take on the GCL Rays at 10 AM in their final game of the 2009 campaign.

Farmers Only: Weekend Recap

BK — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:00:33 -0000

Roster Moves: As previously noted, Juan Francisco is in Louisville now, and Shaun Cumberland has rejoined the outfield mix in Carolina. Kris Negron has joined Sarasota, and Oscar Castro moves from Dayton to Billings, with Hector Santana taking his place. After sitting out for a lot of the year, Misael DeJesus is on the active roster in the GCL.
Louisville had a decent weekend, winning 2 out of 3 against Toledo. They won 4-0 on Friday behind a stellar pitching performance by Matt Klinker. Klinker went 7 1/3 innings of 2-hit ball, and struck out 9 while walking 3. Pedro Viola gave up only one hit in his 1 2/3 to close it out. Drew Stubbs was 2-for-5 with a RBI, and Eric Eymann and Chris Denove had two hits each as well. On Saturday, they won 4-1 behind a decent rehab start by Micah Owings. Micah went 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball, only giving up 3 hits and striking out 3, but issued 5 walks. That's a little concerning. Logan Ondrusek notched his 5th save. In the cleanup spot, El Nino Destructor was 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI in his AAA debug. Wes Bankston was 3-for-4 with a HR, and Corky Miller and Daniel Dorn had two hits each. The Bats lost the weekend-cap 7-2 as Sam LeCure had some trouble. Bankston and Dorn had 3 and 2 hits respectively (again), and Chris Valaika added two hits of his own. Up next: The Bats take on Indy at 7:05. No starter listed, but it should be Travis Wood.
Carolina took two of three from Birmingham over the weekend. On Friday, the Mudcats lost 11-6 behind another terrible outing by Zach Ward. He's started 3 games so far in Carolina and is the proud owner of a 23.14 ERA. That's not very good. Logan Parker drove in 3 runs in the game as well. Camilo Vazquez turned the table on Saturday night, leading the team to a 8-1 win. Vazquez pitched 5 1/3 innings of 1-run ball, and Joe Krebs pitched 2 2/3 no-hit innings of relief before Greg Atencio struck out the side in a perfect 9th. Stephen Chapman led the way with 3 hits for the offense, and Jake Kahaulelio and Korey Feiner drove in 2 runs each. They won on Sunday too, 4-3. Alexander Smit pitched 7 innings and gave up 2 runs. Up next: Luis Montano takes on Jacksonville at 7:05.
Sarasota had a mostly down weekend against Fort Myers. They won 3-1 Friday, lost 3-1 on Saturday, and dropped both games of a Sunday doubleheader 6-3 and 4-3. On Friday, Curtis Partch pitched 7 innings and only gave up 1 unearned run while striking out 6, and Mace Thurman pitched 2 scoreless innings for his 6th save of the year. Jason Louwsma was 2-for-3. Kris Negron was 0-for-3 in his Reds debut on Saturday, but Neftali Soto and Dave Sappelt each had two hits. Matt Fairel had a good start, going 6 innings of 1-run ball, but Josh Beal gave up 2 in the 9th to get the loss. Jeremy Horst earned his 12th loss in game 1 of the doubleheader, and Pedro Villarreal gave up 2 runs in 5 2/3 in the nightcap. Up next: Travis Webb takes on Jupiter at 7.
Dayton lost all three of their games over the weekend, and are now on a 5 game skid. They lost 9-7 to West Michigan on Friday, as Chase Ware got roughed up in his first start. Humberto Sosa and Tony Brown had two hits each and Byron Wiley homered. They lost 7-1 to Fort Wayne on Saturday, as Ezequiel Infante had his first bad start of the year. He gave up 5 runs in 4 innings. Carlos Mendez homered and Josh Fellhauer was 2-for-4. They lost 5-1 on Sunday despite a great start by Jordan Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss only gave up 1 hit in 5 innings, and struck out 6 while walking nobody. Up next: Dayton takes on Fort Wayne at 7:05.
Billings only played 1 game over the weekend, with the game on Saturday being rained out and the doubleheader Sunday being postponed due to wet grounds. The Mustangs lost 7-3 to Casper on Friday, mostly due to a bad outing by Tim Crabbe. The top 3 hitters in the order (Mariekson Gregorius, Yorman Rodriguez, and Yen-Wen Kuo) all had two hits. Up next: Blair Carson takes on Idaho Falls at 9:05.
The GCL Reds only played 1 game too, with their Sunday game being rained out and their off day on Saturday. They lost 6-3 on Friday. Misael DeJesus pitched a scoreless inning for the start, and Jefry Sierra was 3-for-4. Up next: They take on the GCL O's at noon.

Farmers Only: Mark Serrano is the new ace in Dayton

BK — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:00:22 -0000

Louisville lost 10-9 to Lehigh Valley in 10 innings. After scoring in the 9th to take a 9-8 lead, the Bats gave up runs in the 9th and 10th, the latter coming off of an error by pitcher Sean Watson. Matt Maloney was not good in his start, giving up 6 runs in 5 innings, and Logan Ondrusek allowed a solo shot in the 9th, his first run as a Bat. Chris Heisey and Wes Bankston both had 2 hits, a homer, and 3 RBI, and Luis Bolivar and Darnell McDonald had two hits each as well. Up next: Ben Jukich gets the start against Lehigh Valley at 7:05.
Carolina lost 9-1 to Birmingham as Luis Montano continued his rough stretch. Jose Castro was 2-for-4 and Stephen Chapman hit his 5th HR of the year. Up next: The Mudcats take on Birmingham at 7:15 behind Zach Ward and his 23.14 ERA. Yikes.
Sarasota beat Jupiter 4-2 behind a strong outing by Travis Webb. Webb gave up 4 hits in 7 shutout innings, while striking out 4. Denis Phipps and Jake Kahaulelio each homered, and Neftali Soto was 2-for-4. Up next: Lance Janke takes on Jupiter at 7:05.

Serrano

Dayton won an exciting game 5-4 in extra innings. The Dragons had a 3-0 lead going into the 9th, but gave up 3 to tie, and it looked bleak when they gave up a run in the 13th, but they put up 2 in the bottom of the inning to win the game on an error. Mark Serrano had a great start in his 7 innings of work. He gave up 2 hits and no runs, and struck out 10 while walking nobody. Josh Fellhauer was 3-for-5, including a triple to lead off the 13th inning, and Cody Puckett hit a solo shot, his 17th of the year. Up next: The Dragons take on West Michigan at 7. J.C. Sulbaran gets the start.
Billings got destroyed by Idaho Falls 11-2. Ricky Bowen gave up 2 unearned runs in his 3 inning start, but the bullpen imploded. Chris Richburg was 3-for-4 and Yorman Rodriguez and Sean Conner were 2-for-4 with a RBI. Up next: Luca Panerati takes on Idaho Falls at 9:15 ET.
The GCL Reds supposedly played, but their score wasn't posted on MiLB.com for some reason. More info as I get it.

Farmers Only: Weekend Review

BK — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:14 -0000

Roster Moves: No new callups for Louisville, but Micah Owings and Chris Dickerson are there in the middle of rehab stints. In Carolina, Phillipe-Alexandre Valiquette and Scott Carroll are on the DL, and a new face joins the Mudcats in Greg Atencio, who last played for Omaha, the Royals AAA affiliate. Alexander Smit is off the DL in Sarasota, and Lance Janke joins the rotation out there. After a solid start for the GCL team, third baseman Henry Rodriguez skipped 2 levels up to Sarasota. Expect to see Daryl Thompson back soon as well, as he's rehabbing with the GCL team alongside Yonder Alonso, who was recently shut down for the time being. New faces down there include IF Mauricio Pimental, who comes from Billings, and the season debut for pitcher Luis Machuca, who you may remember as one of those named to the WBC preliminary roster for the Panama team.
Louisville scored 5 runs in the 9th on Sunday to salvage a game in their series against Rochester over the weekend. They lost 3-0 on Friday, in a game where they only mustered up 6 hits. 2 of the hits were by Daniel Dorn, and Chris Dickerson and Drew Stubbs each had a hit. Ben Jukich started the game and gave up 3 unearned runs in 5 innings, and it's worth noting that Jared Burton had a perfect inning of relief. They lost Saturday too, a 3-2 loss in a game that Matt Klinker had a good start in, but ended up getting the loss. Klinker gave up 1 earned run in 5 1/3 innings and struck out 5, and Enerio Del Rosario and Ramon Ramirez were perfect in their 1 2/3 and 1 innings of relief. Stubbs and Chris Denove both knocked in runs. In Sunday's 7-2 win, Chris Heisey was 2-for-5 with a HR, Wes Bankston knocked in 2 runs, and Dorn had 2 hits. Sam Lecure had a good outing, going 6 2/3 innings of 2 runs ball. Pedro Viola gave up a hit and a walk in his relief inning, and Burton and Logan Ondrusek were perfect in theirs, with Burton getting the win. Up next: Micah Owings takes a rehab start against Lehigh Valley at 7:05.
After a drubbing on Friday night, Carolina bounced back to win their other two games on the weekend against West Tenn. They lost on Friday night 20-9. Zach Ward, Chris Kelly, and Jerry Gil all gave up 6 runs in less than 2 innings each. Thankfully, these are probably the three worst pitchers on the staff right now. Juan Francisco and Stephen Chapman had three hits in the game, and Logan Parker homered. On a brighter note, they won Saturday night 7-3. Tom Cochran had another start where he gave up less than 3 runs (his 6th in a row), and Joe "The Cycle" Krebs pitched 3 one-hit innings for the save. El Nino Destructor had two more hits, and Chapman had two hits and drove in 3 runs. Jason Bour also had a nice game, going 3-for-5. The Mudcats put up 3 in the 9th to overtake West Tenn 6-4 on Sunday. Jose Castro went 3-for-4 and Todd Frazier hit his 13th HR of the season, a 3-run shot in the 9th to take the lead for good. Camilo Vazquez gave up 4 runs in 5 innings in his start, and Ruben Medina, Greg Atencio, and Sean Watson combining for 4 no-hit innings of relief. Up next: Jeremy Horst takes on West Tenn at 8:05.
Sarasota lost all three of their games over the weekend. On Friday, they lost 3-1 in 10 innings to St. Lucie. Lance Janke made his High-A debut, and pitched 6 innings of scoreless 3-hit ball, striking out 5 and walking nobody. Pedro Villarreal pitched 4 innings after that, and gave up the last 2 runs in the 10th inning. Dave Sappelt was 3-for-5. In Saturday's game, the S-Reds tied it up with 3 runs in the 9th before losing the game in the 13th 8-7. Curtis Partch started, and gave up 4 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Mark Pawelek pitched 3 strong innings in relief. Neftali Soto led the way for the offense, going 2-for-6 with a HR and 5 RBI. Sappelt had three more hits in this one, and Justin Reed had two. Matt Fairel had some trouble early, and it was too much to overcome as the S-Reds lost to Fort Myers 6-1 on Sunday. Jason Louwsma drove in the only run, and Josh Beal pitched 3 innings of scoreless relief. Up next: Alexander Smit takes his first start off the DL against Fort Myers at 7.
Dayton swept Lansing in all three of their games over the weekend, a 3-2 win Friday, a 18-5 pounding on Saturday, and a 10-9 victory on Sunday. Carlos Mendez was 3-for-4 on Sunday, and Mark Serrano pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his start. Donnie Joseph struck out 5 in two scoreless innings for the save. The offense was alive on Saturday, as evidenced by some of these lines. Kevyn Feiner was 5-for-6 with 4 doubles and 6 RBI. Cody Puckett was 4-for-6 with 2 doubles and a RBI. Enrique Rojas and Kevin Coddington each drove in 4 runs. Alexis Oliveras and Josh Fellhauer each had 3 hits, with the latter hitting his 6th HR of the season. The pitching could have been terrible, but it was actually pretty decent. J.C. Sulbaran gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, and Michael Konstanty ended up pitching an inning in the blowout win. Sunday's game was much closer, as Shea Snowden gave up a lot of runs early, but ended up scoring 7 in the 3rd to keep in the game. Humberto Sosa and Tony Brown homered for the Dragons, with Brown's being a grand slam. Up next: Ezequiel Infante takes on Lansing at 7:05.
Billings was rained out on Friday, and played a doubleheader on Saturday, with the second game getting rained out. So while Sarasota played 32 innings over the weekend, Billings only played 7, winning the game 2-1. Luca Panerati pitched the whole thing, giving up 1 unearned run in 7 innings, striking out 5 and walking none. Unquestionably his best outing of the season. Up next: Blair Carson takes on Idaho Falls at 9:05.
The GCL Reds played 2 full games and 2 doubleheader games over the weekend. On Friday, they beat the GCL Orioles 5-4 in 10 innings. Mitchell Clarke had the best outing for the pitching staff, pitching 3 scoreless innings. Jefry Sierra went 4-for-6 and Derrick Lowery had three hits for the G-Reds. They split a doubleheader with the GCL Red Sox, losing 5-4 in the first game and winning the second game 2-0. Billy Hamilton had two hits in the first game, and Harold Johnson gave up 1 run in 7 innings of work with 7 strikeouts. Luis Machuca pitched 6 shutout innings in the second game of the day, striking out 6 in his 2009 debut. Raul Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning to get the save. They lost to the GCL Twins on Sunday 5-4. Daniel Tuttle pitched 4 innings of 1-run ball and Trey Manz was 3-for-4 with a HR. Up next: The G-Reds are off.

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: Can somebody please tell Dusty that Drew Stubbs is good?

BK — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:00:29 -0000

Stubbs

Louisville won 8-4 against Charlotte in an awesome start by Sam Lecure. LeCure gave up 3 runs in 6 innings of work, but struck out 11, a season high. Despite "not being ready for the big leagues", Drew Stubbs was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Oh yeah, and he stole his 42nd base of the year, which is twice as many as Willy Taveras. Wes Bankston was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and Chris Heisey was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI. Up next: Travis Wood takes on Charlotte at 7:05.

Frazier

Carolina lost to Tennessee 7-2, as they were down early and the bullpen didn't keep them in it. Tom Cochran had a quality start, The Cycle pitched a perfect 7th, but Ruben Medina gave up 4 in the 8th to put the game out of reach. Todd Frazier was 2-for-4 with a double. His average is up to .304 on the season. He needs to be called up to AAA. Up next: Camilo Vazquez takes the hill against Tennessee at 7:15.
Sarasota was off. They start a new series against St. Lucie at 7.
Dayton had a lead but lost it in the late innings to fall 10-8 to Great Lakes. J.C. Sulbaran continued his inconsistency, going only 4 inning and giving up 6 runs (only 2 earned) while striking out 3 and walking 5. Donnie Joseph was the lone bright spot for the pitching staff, pitching 2 perfect innings to close it out. Alexis Oliveras led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a HR and 4 RBI, and Enrique Rojas, Carlos Mendez, Chase Weems, and Cody Puckett all had two hits. Up next: Dragons take on Great Lakes at 7.
Billings lost a pitcher's duel 3-1 to Great Falls. Tim Crabbe pitched 6 innings of one-hit shutout ball, but Tzu-Kai Chiu gave up 3 runs in the 8th to get the loss. The Mustangs only managed 3 hits, and Yorman Rodriguez was 0-for-4 with a golden sombrero. After starting off on a tear, he's cooled off considerably, with his average dropping to .265. Up next: Blair Carson starts against Great Falls at 9:05.
The GCL Reds were rained out. That game will be made up on Saturday. They'll take on the Twins at noon today.

Farmers Only: Relief pitching is good, unless you're in Montana

BK — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:00:22 -0000

Wells

Louisville beat Syracuse 5-4. Sam Lecure started the game, and gave up 3 runs in 4 innings. Not sure why he was lifted, more on that as I found out more. Kip Wells was exceptional in relief, pitching 4 innings of 1-run ball, striking out 6 and getting the win. Josh Roenicke pitched a scorless 9th for his 12th save. The offense wasn't spectacular, with Luis Bolivar and Wes Bankston with 2 hits each. Up next: Travis Wood makes his AAA debut as the Bats take on Syracuse at 7.

Gil

Carolina beat Huntsville 7-5 behind a big night by Juan Francisco. El Nino Destructor was 4-for-4, including 2 HR (his 17th and 18th) and 3 RBI. Roar. Todd Frazier was also good, going 2-for-4 with his 12th HR of the season. Scott Carroll only pitched two innings in his start, and gave up 3 runs. Similar to the Bats game, Jerry Gil was stellar in relief, giving up only one hit in 4 scoreless innings of work. Enerio Del Rosario and Logan Ondrusek pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings, with the latter getting his 7th save of the year. Up next: Camilo Vazquez takes on Huntsville at 7.

Horst

Jeremy Horst ran into some more bad luck, as Sarasota lost 8-3 to Dunedin. Horst gave up 3 earned runs in 5 innings, but still earned the loss. He ran his record to 5-11, but his ERA is 3.42, which is good for 12th in FSL. For the offense, Dave Sappelt led the way going 3-for-4, and Neftali Soto, Kyle Day, and Shane Carlson each had 2 hits. Up next: Rafael Gonzalez takes on Dunedin at 7.

Serrano

Dayton scored in the 9th to tie Wisconsin, but the Timber Rattlers came out victorious, beating the Dragons 5-4 in 11 innings. Kevyn Feiner was 4-for-5, and Tony Brown was 2-for-4 with a HR. Mark Serrano pitched 4 one-hit innings in relief, striking out 5. Up next: Dayton takes on Kane County at 7.
Billings blew a 6 run lead in the 9th to lose to Missoula 8-7. Bryan Gardner walked the first 4 hitters in the inning, and Daniel Corcino balked in a run, gave up 2 singles, and gave up a walk-off 3-run homer to lose the game. They owe Tim Crabbe dinner, as Crabbe pitched 5 innings of 1-run ball and struck out 7 hitters and got nothing to show for it. On offense, Chris McMurray was 3-for-4 with a HR, and Efrain Contreras, Tyler Stovall, Thomas Nurre, and Frank Pfister all had two hits each. Up next: Biair Carson looks for better luck against Missoula at 9:05.
The GCL Reds won 3-0 with 3 promising pitchers combined for a 6-hitter and struck out 10. Daniel Tuttle pitched 4 shutout innings in his first pro start, the Italian Stallion Matteo Pizziconi gave up 1 hit in his 2 innings of work, and the only Taiwanese Red Tzu-Kai Chiu struck out 5 in 3 innings to get the save. Juan Duran was 3-for-4 to lead the offense, and Yovan Gonzalez went 2-for-2. Not having a good day was Yorman Rodriguez, who struck out 4 times in his 4 at bats. Up next: The GCL Reds take on the GCL Twins at 11am.

Farmers Only: Could Zach Stewart be positioning himself for a September callup?

BK — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:29 -0000

Stewart

Louisville won 5-2 over Buffalo behind a solid pitching performance by Matt Maloney. Maloney went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs and 2 hits while striking out 6. Zach Stewart pitched two scoreless innings in relief to get the save. That's 9 2/3 innings in Louisville so far without giving up an earned run, and he hasn't given one up since June 24th, when he was a Mudcat. In his 89 total innings (split between 3 levels), his ERA is a stellar 1.62. Wes Bankston was 4-for-4 to lead the offense, and Darnell McDonald hit his 7th HR of the season. As for the other big time prospects, Chris Heisey had a double to go 1-for-4 and Drew Stubbs and Alex Gonzalez on rehab were held hitless. Up next: Louisville takes on Buffalo again at 7:05 wiith Ramon Ramirez taking the hill.
Carolina won on a late-inning rally in Huntsville, 4-3. Stephen Chapman and Todd Frazier both went deep for the Mudcats, and Sean Henry had two hits in the leadoff spot. Lee Tabor wasn't bad, giving up 2 runs in 5 innings, but Sean Watson, Logan Ondrusek, and Phil-Alex Valiquette combined to give up 1 hit in relief to seal the win. Up next: The Mudcats take on Huntsville at 8, with Matt Klinker set to go (probably).

Mr. BubbaFan?

Sarasota lost 4-1 to Clearwater. Dave Sappelt and Neftali Soto had two hits each, and Chris Kelly pitched 2 shutout innings in relief, but that was about all that happened. Up next: Sarasota takes on Dunedin at 7. Luis Montano is likely to get the start.
Dayton was off. J.C. Sulbaran takes on Wisconsin at 8:05.
Billings beat Ogden 7-6 led by a 3-run HR by Thomas Nurre. Shea Snowden had some trouble in his start, but the bullpen shut Ogden down. Up next: The Mustangs are off today.
The GCL Reds were off too. They'll take on the GCL Rays today at noon.

Farmers Only: Weekend Recap

BK — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:00:38 -0000

So not having power for 16 hours on Saturday prevented me from having this up yesterday, so we'll look at the big performances over the weekend bullet-style, plus recap Monday night's games.

In Louisville, Wes Bankston was 3-for-4 on Friday.
Kevin Barker was 3-for-4 with his 16th HR on Saturday.
Ben Jukich pitched 8 innings of 2-hit, 2-run ball, and struck out 6 on Saturday.
Adam Pettyjohn pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief on Saturday, and gave up 1 unearned run.
Zach Stewart pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief on Saturday.
Kip Wells got lit up on Sunday.
Infielders Michael Griffin and Luis Bolivar both pitched scoreless innings in relief on Sunday, with Bolivar getting the win.
Stephen Chapman had a pinch hit homer for Carolina on Saturday.
Tom Cochran pitched 5 innings of 2-hit ball on Saturday giving up 1 unearned run and striking out 6.
Travis Wood pitched 7 more shutout innings on Sunday, while giving up 4 hits and striking out 8. 18 scoreless innings now, and he hasn't given up a run since July 3rd.
Carson Kainer was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI on Sunday.
For Sarasota, Jake Kahaulelio was 3-for-5 on Saturday.
Scott Carroll gave up 2 runs in 8 innings on Saturday.
Justin Freeman pitched 3 shutout innings in relief on Saturday, striking out 5.
Enrique Rojas was 4-for-4 for Dayton on Saturday.
Lance Janke pitched 7 innings and gave up 1 run on 4 hits on Saturday.
Matt Fairel pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball on Sunday, striking out 7.
Alexis Oliveras was 3-for-5 on Friday for Billings.
Mariekson Gregorius was 3-for-6 on Friday.
Sean Conner was 2-for-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI on Sunday.
Blair Carson pitched 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief on Sunday.
Donnie Joseph pitched another perfect inning on Sunday to lower his ERA to 0.77.
Harold Johnson and Jeremy Ware pitched 4 shutout innings each for the GCL Reds on Friday.
Danny Vicioso was 3-for-5 with a HR on Saturday.
Tyler Cline pitched 6 innings of 1-hit scoreless ball on Sunday, while striking out 6.

And for Monday's games...

Justin Lehr won his 12th game of the season as Louisville beat Buffalo 5-1. Lehr went 8 innings of 1-run ball, and a likely jetlagged Robert Manuel pitched an inning as well. Darnell McDonald and Chris Valaika both went deep, and Drew Stubbs and Brian Peterson both had two hits. Alex Gonzalez and Chris Heisey both had one hit and drove in a run each. Up next: Matt Maloney takes on Buffalo at 7:05.
Carolina was off. They'll take on Huntsville at 8.
Sarasota won 3-2 against Clearwater. Dave Sappelt went yard, and Kyle Day went 2-for-4 with a double. Rafael Gonzalez went 6 innings of one run ball. Up next: Travis Webb takes on Clearwater at 7.
Curtis Partch had a quality start as Dayton won 6-3 against Beloit. Every position player in the lineup had at least one hit, with Carlos Mendez, Cody Puckett, and Josh Fellhauer having two. Fellhauer also hit his 2nd HR of the year. Up next: Dayton's off.
Billings lost 6-3 to Ogden. Mark Fleury hit his first professional homer, and Mauricio Pimental had 2 hits. Up next: Shea Snowden takes on Ogden at 9:05.
The GCL Reds were rained out yesterday. They're off today.
Roster Moves: Lots of 'em. New faces in Louisville include catcher Brian Peterson and infielder Eric Eymann from Carolina, Alex Gonzalez on rehab, and Sam LeCure is on the DL. Infielder Justin Tordi, catcher Jason Bour, and FSL All-Star reliever Enerio Del Rosario are with Carolina in AA. Even more interesting is the newest Red in Sarasota, pitcher Zach Ward. Remember him? The Reds traded him in 2006 for Kyle Lohse. He's back. Also joining the S-Reds are pitcher Chris Kelly and Kyle Day, who's listed as a DH but has been used as a corner infielder. Alex Buchholz is finally back with them off the DL, too. After a short stint in Billings, Humberto Sosa is back with the Dragons in Dayton.