SB Nation User Blog: geeves

Counting Un-Hatched Chickens

geeves — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:31:42 -0000

As you all well know, I very regularly follow our minor league affiliates and keep an eye on the daily performance of all the relevant prospects. I fully intend to write one last round up in short order once the season comes to a close (the MiLB season), but in doing some preliminary poking around, something bothersome has come to light.

We all knew - or thought we knew - what we were getting in Jeff Clement. Solid bat, originally a catcher, knees to bad to stay there, so he needed to learn first base to have a shot. August 14th Clement hit a three-run home run in the first inning and finished 3-for-6 with a fourth RBI. That game put his line with Indy at .339/.403/.740 through 14 games, a very solid start to go with the respectable AAA numbers he put up last year and this year in Tacoma.

Last night, Clement went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and is now 2-for-35 over the last ten games, sucking his line as an Indian down to .231/.324/.484. and he's struck out in just over one-third of his at-bats. Is this Clement's bat crashing down to Earth? Is it a simple slump, and it shouldn't be a concern since it's ugly, but it's only ten games? Perhaps he's just bored with AAA ball?

UPDATE: There's your poll, discuss if you choose 'other'

Poll

The last ten games worth of "ick" hitting for Clement are:

The proof that he's a AAAA player after all, my cynicism was justified!

8 votes

The yang to the yin that was his first 14 games, it'll all even out in the end.

45 votes

Too small a sample size to truly draw conclusions from and outweighed by his AAA performance up to that point

76 votes

Other

3 votes

132 votes | Poll has closed

In Comparison: Because We Can

geeves — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:29:32 -0000

Speculation is fun, and after watching another evening of highlights, I got to thinking...where do players like Russ Branyan and Mark Reynolds fit into the big scheme of useful roles for players?

Branyan apparently is what he is, a .250 avg/.850 OPS guy who strikes out two to three times more than he walks. Is his "traditional" line this year - 26 HR, 66 RBI after last night - simply the product of being provided everyday playing time? Is it sheer dumb luck?

What about a player like Reynolds - is his apparently Pujols-like power enough to offset his rampant strikeouts - is he simply the kind of three-true-outcomes player (ala Adam Dunn) that you live with as long as he's the only such player in your lineup?

Along with that, I can't help but wonder - perhaps Garrett Jones could be headed for a Branyan-esque existence? And is Pedro still a top-level prospect if he never fixes his K problems and winds up putting up numbers similar to Reynolds?

I know that's an awful lot of questions for one little fanpost, but I'm curious as to everyones thinking here, and I also am letting this one marinate in my noggin.

One More Time From The Top

geeves — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:42:07 -0000

It's always nice to put in some legwork and leave a little something for the folks to read in their *ahem* abundant spare time scrolling through Bucs Dugout. Let's go for one more around the horn. I know one just went up two weeks ago, only because there was no way I was using part of my July 4th weekend to write a silly fanpost. Much like I'm not wasting my early Sunday morning now.

There may come a time, somewhere down the road, where we all look back at today and consider it the beginning of a fresh start. The day after the 2009 trading deadline, the lone superstar on the major league team went ape at the plate, while just about every single recent acquisition (Ascanio, Clement, Alderson, Lorin, Harrison) showed something worth giving them a closer look down the road.

I won't ramble on about specific game performances from tonight, though I'd like to, especially since Pat is already gushing about the Indy game over at WHYGAVS.

High time for one last roundup of the month that was in July (and oh, what a month it was!) A lot of players continuing to establish themselves as legitimate prospects (or at least consistent producers), while a few others finally showed what we had been hoping to see. All the names you have come to know and love appear in the summary this time - heck, even the short season boys have played enough games that their numbers are marginally relevant.

Like the title says, I'm going to start from the top, so let's take a cruise through the great state of Indiana and see what we find...

Indianapolis (AAA)

Jose Tabata - The boy doesn't even turn 21 until a week from Tuesday, but he's so close.... Tabata finally got a full healthy month at Altoona and used it to his advantage, cracking the bat to the tune of a .357 average and .888 OPS. Sure, he didn't really hit for any power, but he shot his contact way up while maintaining a reasonable K/BB ratio (10 and 5 in 112 AB's), all of which points to a guy well on his way. Going 3-for-3 in his AAA debut didn't hurt either.

Brian Bixler - "Hey," you ask, "what's this no-talent clown doing in the roundup?" Well...gosh, I don't know. Call me an optimist. I know this is Bixler we're talking about, so everything comes with an entire shaker of salt, but still - how can you summarize July and not include a guy who hit .343 with a 1.029 OPS for the month? Sure, his K rate is still...well, "fugly" might be generous (62 against 14 BB in 200 AB the last two months), but there's still some part of me that hopes and dreams that Bixler can sustain a line somewhere close to halfway in between his hideous June and his absurd July (what would be roughly a .292/.338/.480 line).

Daniel McCutchen - Looks like somebody finally is learning? Well, perhaps. D-Mac had his best month yet, posting a 2.10 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 8.5:1 K/BB ratio in five July starts. Which sounds awesome, until you realize that he still only struck out 17 batters in 30+ innings, and his GB/FB ratio is still a rather gruesome 0.49. I actually watched one of his outings, and he looks an awful lot like Jeff Karstens on the mound, so it's not too surprising that their AAA numbers look similar. Still, I'll give credit where it's due, every stat except his strikeouts (including his FIP) has improved each month, so maybe he can still prove me wrong.

Also of note: Eric Hacker has had a progression similar to McCutchen, with the extra bullet point to make that he's getting crushed by lefties...Brad Lincoln pumped out two strong starts to close out July and appears to be settling in for the final month.

Altoona (AA) -

Pedro Alvarez - Apparently there's this guy at Altoona, and everyone thought he might be a good hitter? Well, those folks may have been right. Alvarez finished July with a .352 average and .977 OPS, putting to rest some of the worries he generated earlier this season and showing what he can really do. It's still a fairly small sample size, but his L/R split is still not pretty, so hopefully with more exposure he can continue this upward trend he has finally started.

Miles Durham - Right behind Pedro (and Tabata, quite literally) in Altoona's lineup, Durham spent July pasting the ball at a .330/.910 clip after hitting well at Lynchburg. Yes, I am aware of the fact that Durham is a 26-year-old non-prospect, but it's nice to know that maybe we won't have to send him packing when the next wave of talent comes in. Useful org soldiers are always nice (*looks at Jason Delaney*)

Jim Negrych - He finished July strong and looks to have fully regained whatever he lost earlier this year. Doesn't mean he's the next big thing, just that he's perhaps pulled himself back from the brink of irrelevance for a while.

Also of note: I was going to briefly discuss the pitching, but really, how many times can one type "kind of decent" before it loses what little meaning it has?

Lynchburg (A+)

Erik Huber - I am officially declaring Erik 2009's Steve Pearce. After tearing up West Virginia, Huber bumped up to Lynchburg, and in spite of posting his fifth hitless game last night, Huber still has a .415/.976 line through 14 games. Small sample size, sure, and with minimal power, but that's just enough for him to likely start next season in Altoona at age 25 and continue that role of marginal prospect-y goodness that Pearce once filled.

Justin Wilson - After giving up five earned runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 IP to start the month of July, Wilson has since lowered his ERA more than a run and a half with several...stronger performances to close out July. Emphasis on relative strength due to his 17:13 K/BB in that span, but he's currently strung together 10 1/3 scoreless innings with eight K's and only three walks, so I'll certainly keep an eye on his next outing Wednesday.

Also of note: Ronald Uviedo has struggled in two outings since returning to the lineup from rehab, but much like Morris, give the guy some time...Jeff Locke came to play this past Wednesday, striking out seven and only allowing one run (a solo HR) in six innings of work, our first glimpse of what could be for him.

West Virginia (A-)

Starling Marte - I don't know where this boy came from, but I like him. Marte, who will turn 21 in October, has been dominating at the plate since arriving in West Virginia, he is currently in the midsts of a 17-game hitting streak that dates all the way back to July 8th - it's been almost a month since Marte went hitless (watch me jinx him). He'll need to keep hitting and progressing to avoid the age/level discussion, but so far, so good.

Also of note: Quincy Latimore showed back up in July to the tune of a .330/943 line, though his K's are still pretty high...Robbie Grossman had by far his worst month for average (.233) and kept striking out, but his walk rate shot through the roof (19.6%), which is definitely a good sign...Casey Erickson continues to shine, with two earned runs and a 14:3 ration in 20 2/3 IP as a Pirate.

State College (SS)

Not a lot to talk about at State College, lots of inconsistent performances. However...

Phillip Irwin - Aside from looking like the illegitimate lovechild of Bill Laimbeer and Patrick Warburton, Irwin has been pretty darn good so far for the Spikes. He has allowed only one earned run in 20 innings while racking up 22 strikeouts against only three walks. Hopefully he can be just as affective next season since he'll already be 23.

Kyle McPherson - Kyle was pitching strong in the Spikes rotation after successfully transitioning there from the bullpen in West Virginia, but he only lasted three innings in his most recent start, then was skipped in his most recent turn on Wednesday. Might just be innings monitoring, might not.

South America

Roberto Espinoza is seventeen years old, and his last outing of six earned runs in five innings took his ERA up to 2.88. Maybe we should start paying attention to him? Nineteen-year-old Eric Avila continues to hit and hit well, with a .341/.908 line through two months of ball in the Dominican...Fraylin Campos continues to dominate, though his peripherals have fluctuated a bit from outing ot outing.

So there you have it. Longwinded? Sure. Informative? Well, I hope so, otherwise I just drank all that Mountain Dew for nothing.

[ADDENDUM by Charlie: Also a few interesting performances at Bradenton. Jhonathan Ramos turns 20 this week and has a 24:1 K:BB ratio; second-rounder Brooks Pounders has been terrific so far; and Australian Mitchell Fienemann hasn't allowed a run in his last four outings.]

A Holiday In Tampa

geeves — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:54:57 -0000

Please do understand that, as I type this, I am struggling not to giggle with glee, in fear it may turn into an all-out laughing fit.

Surely you all remember crazy-as-a-stripper-on-Springer Jake? He of the rampant rumor-mongering and "I know something you don't know AND I'm not telling you" posts? Well...

Oh, this is rich...

He was apparently doing just fine up through yesterday, with the Sanchez trade. Then the Grabow/Gorzo trade went down and...*snicker*...he absolutely went into a tizzy, and has officially given up on the Pirates, whilst relaunching "Bucco Blog" as *teehee* "Rays Rag"! WIth the tagline "The Pittsburgh Pirates don't want fans, so I might as well root for a club that does"

Oh man. I'm not sure how much of me is so grateful that he won't be poisoning our blogosphere anymore and how much fears for the well-beaing of those Tampa fans out there who are as educated as we. Yes, I know that Jake doesn't get a ton of traffic, and most of his Q&A and comments are fabricated, but even one visitor is one too many.

Just had to share.

Just an Interesting Radar Blip

geeves — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:47:47 -0000

Perhaps you all remember Dave Williams? He that served as the pinnacle os starting-pitcher mediocrity for the '05 Pirates. As we all know, he bounced to Cincinnati in the Sean Casey trade, then to the Mets, then to the minors (now with the Nats system)...I stumbled across this and couldn't help but share it since it made me laugh.

In last night's game against Toledo, the Chiefs' starter loaded the bases with singles in the third inning, balked in a run, then intentionally walked Jeff Larish to re-load the bases. The Chiefs changed pitchers and brought in Williams, then the fun began.

Williams proceeded to throw eight pitches, three of which were blasted by three consecutive batters for home runs (which accounted for three of the four strikes that appear in his game line) - he then got into an argument (over what I'm not sure, still waiting to get a look at the video) and got ejected.

Again, that's a batter sequence of HR, HR, HR, ejection.

Good to see our former mediocrity spreading its disease all across this great land.

The Fact of the Matter

geeves — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:53:01 -0000

The thread was getting rather long, so I thought I would sort of start over up here. I think the largest problem in the discussion over playing time fo rGarrett Jones, Steve Pearce, Brandon Moss, Delwyn Young and so forth is that we find ourselve, through the wheelings and dealings of the newest management, with a plethora of "tweeners." Guys who can hit great but suck at defense, guys who are great defenders and can't hit, guys who are good enough at both to earn a shot but not so good that you want to be relying on them.

The problem is that now, with players like McCutchen and Milledge, we have more palyers than slots, and a scenario where every one of them (Jones, Pearce, Young, Moss) has produced enough, either in AAA or ML, that they've probably earned the right to at least one month of every-single-day playing time

Here' s (jn my opinion) what we know for sure:

Garrett Jones - Is likely to stay in the lineup until his bat cools off, though even if he doesn't his defense is bad enough that he's much better as a DH than an OF.

Delwyn Young - Has hit well enough that he deserves to have his bat in the lineup until it cools off. Can play two positions (RF/2B) unlike Jones, but still has defense poor enough that to truly maximize him he should be used as a DH

Brandon Moss - Has hit well enough in his minor league career to suggest that his major league numbers are more a matter of insufficient time to adjust than anything else (also proven by very respectable offensive numbers since a bad start). Also good enough defensively as a COF that he can be out there every day without being a waste of space at the plate OR in the field.

Steve Pearce - Again, has hit well enough over a long enough period of time that I don't think it's a reach to assume that the numbers he is putting up at AAA right now are numbers he could put up regularly in Pittsburgh, given sufficient regular playing time (which, no, he has not received yet. He got one shot to play everyday for more than a week, and that was for three weeks around this time last year). Not a great defensive OF, but has been moved to 1B where, by all indications, he is significantly less embarrassing.

To summarize, here is what I see: Through having the best minor league track record, Moss and Pearce are the most deserving of regular playing time, since they are at the very least capable both offensively AND defensively. Unfortunately, Jones and Young also have hit well enough that their bats should be in the lineup regularly, even if their defense is not stellar. If I were in charge, at least until Milledge comes up (two weeks or so) I would do the following:

Pearce - Five starts a week at 1B

Jones - 2 starts a week at 1B, another 2 - 3 starts a week in RF/LF

Young - 3-4 starts a week in RF, once a week at 2B

Moss - Five starts a week in LF/RF

That gives everyone regular starter AB's (at least four starts a week) while also putting the best defenders out there the most often. Once Milledge comes up, things change. Pearce likely stays at first unless he has produced nothing offensively. The loser of the Young/Moss/Jones triumverate gets voted off the island and the other two spend the rest of the year platooned in RF.

Far as I can tell, the only current player who loses out here is Jeff Salazar, and I give two shits about Jeff Salazar (Vasquez can still get his PT subbing once a day each for Andy and Jack).

Wasting Away In West Virginia?

geeves — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:05:05 -0000

A bit of a minor league update, with the details for a few players that haven't been mentioned in detail for a while:

West Virginia:

Just a guy named Rudy and a lot of young potential here...

Rudy Owens - First and foremost, the guy nobody thought about before this year. Owens pitched another six innings of one-run ball tonight. He now has posted an absolutely absurd 1.17 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 73:7 K/BB in 77 IP since his last messy start on May 2nd. That's thirteen straight starts where damn near nobody has touched him. What is he possibly gaining from mowing through the same hitters over and over again? I remember there being discussion of Owens' promotion from West Virginia to Lynchburg mirroring Lincoln's move to Indy...so what, exactly, are they waiting for? They finally moved Erik Huber up a notch for a hitting performance just as impressive as Owens' pitching, and Huber is the lesser prospect.

Calvin Anderson - I'm about ready to move Calvin off my radar for a while. Since his strong April, Anderson has now posted a .263 average and .738 OPS to go with 62 K's and only 21 BB's in 209 AB's since then. He's still "only" 22, but he's got some serious work to do to be more than just a big body with some random power.

Erik Huber - Speaking of Erik, he made his debut with Lynchburg tonight and went 1-4, after spending the month of June ripping apart Sally League pitching to the tune of a .400/1.016 line. Sure, it's mitigated by his being 24 and starting the season repeating the level - which, in reality, might just make him Steve Pearce v2.0, but something is always better than nothing in my book.

Also of note: Last year's 25th round pick Brian Leach struggled in a start Thursday (he was recently inserted into the rotation), but had been strong until then, carrying a 33 inning shutout streak prior to that outing..,,,Starling Marte hasn't snagged a lot of XBH in recent days, but it's been 70 AB now and his average is still at .352...Robbie Grossman is still struggling. I'd be freaking out about his 36% K rate if he wasn't still 19...Casey Erickson, the pitching half of the Eric Hinske trade, pitched another two scoreless innings of relief tonight, giving him seven scoreless innings of relief to go with his lone six-inning start.

Lynchburg:

This team needs to make some moves in the near future. They currently carry three catchers, and while one is irrelevant driftwood, that still leaves three players to sort through if Tony Sanchez moves up before Kris Watts or Eric Fryer does. Also some pitching notes...

Kris Watts - After a miserable May, Watts started to come back in June (.286 avg, .942 OPS) and now appears to have fully rediscovered his bat (.349/.896 in July). Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Watts just celebrated his 25th birthday Wednesday, did so by going 0-for-2, and hasn't had an at-bat since.

Eric Fryer - Watts has, of course, lost those at-bats to this guy, the hitting half of the Hinske trade (how alliterative of me). Fryer still has only 13 games under his belt in our system, but he's on a nice 7-for-24 run (along with 6 BB's) in the last week, so perhaps he can make some headway soon and give us a happy problem at catcher.

Matt Hague - I know he isn't an uberprospect, but I'm not sure why nobody even mentions the poor guy's name. He finished last season hitting .321/.854 in low-A ball, and began this season at High-A. His overall line of a .301 average and .786 OPS looks rather uninteresting for a High-A player about to turn 24, but that line is in large part due to a poor first month. Since May 1st, Hague has posted a .364 average and .924 OPS including his current seven-game hit streak (11-for-31). Not saying he's the saviour, but show the kid some love.

Also of note: A shame that Chase D'Arnaud might have to pack in his season, he was performing well at the plate and in the field and may well have reached Altoona by month's end...Not sure what's going on with Jeff Locke, but he's only pitched 14 2/3 innings in his last four starts (pitch count, I suppose?)..."Mr. CWS" Justin Wilson continues to struggle, posting nine walks to only seven strikeouts in 15 1/3 IP this month: perhaps he spent some time around Duke Welker and it rubbed off...Ronald Uviedo (much to my surprise) is down in the GCL now...and (again in the something > nothing category), Bryan Morris had a start that looked like a pitcher who actually belonged in our farm system, even if it wasn't sparkling.

Altoona:

Looks like three solid prospects and a bunch of scrubs for now...

Pedro Alvarez - The boy has finally come to play. He posted his fifth multi-hit outing in his last ten games tonight, and now has his average up to .378 in July (of course, it being Pedro, I don't need to tell you his OBP/SLG/OPS are also huge). He'll probably finish the year at Altoona, but if he keeps this up we can probably ease up on that worrying we were doing up through Memorial Day.

Jose Tabata - The second member of the triumverate has also had a strong July, posting a .328/.823 line that has brought him up to a .279 average and .725 OPS. There's still not a lot of power, but he is still getting on base (through both hits and walks) and he still isn't 21 yet.

Gorkys Hernandez - His numbers are still a small sample size, so I'm not going to worry too much about Gorkys' struggles. He's a mess against lefties and is still striking out a bit too much, which makes me wonder if he's a bit of Tabata Lite, offensively speaking.

Also of note (see how quickly I got here?): Brian Friday's bat has disappeared completely...Yoslan Herrera pitched seven scoreless innings Thursday, if anybody cares...Jim Negrych may have finally come out of whatever offensive dungeon he's been in, posting a .358/.1.009 line thusfar in July after riding the Mendoza line in May and June...Kyle Bloom has a 2.60 ERA in eight starts since June 1st - and the peripherals of...well, Herrera...Derek Hankins finally returned from the DL at the beginning of June, with very mixed results so far.

Indianapolis:

Lincoln and Lastings and offense, oh my!

Brad Lincoln - Tonight Lincoln continued the struggles he's experienced since the quality start he made in his first AAA outing, giving up five runs on nine hits in five innings while only striking out one batter. Given the performance he put on at Altoona this year, I still have faith this is merely a period of adjustment for him, but that faith may waver if these struggles continue into next month.

Lastings Milledge - Looks like the headcase we got from Washington might actually be good at this hitting thing. Milledge posted his fifth multi-hit game in seven Indian appearances and is now 13-for-25 with the Bucs' AAA affiliate. During tonight's game, Greg Brown also mentioned that, in a pre-game radio inteview last night, he was grateful to our organization for providing him structure that he had not been given with the Mets or Nats. It would be nice to see him hit for some power, and I'm curious what mechanical flaws the staff found that needed fixing while he spends (at least) the rest of this month in Indy, but I'm excited for his arrival.

Also of note: Tom Gorzelanny has a 1.04 ERA and 34:12 K/BB in 34 2/3 IP since returning to AAA... Daniel McCutchen has ceased his bad longball habit (only one in his last eight starts) but still appears to be a bit of a Jeff Karstens clone... I'm beginning to doubt if we'll ever see Eric Hacker in a Pirate uniform... Bryan Myrow might be old roster filler, but .290/.900 roster filler is better than, oh, say Kent Sakamoto... knock Steve Pearce all you want, but he's got a .286 average, .879 OPS and 44:33 K/BB ratio at AAA - there's nothing he can do about MLB performance when the team won't give him regular at-bats.

Also a final note: I'm planning a round-trip at the end of the minor league season (Aug 26-31st...ish) that, timed accurately, will allow for three games (Altoona, then State College, then West Virginia) in one weekend, if there are any folks out there who would like to make it a group effort.

Community Projection: Andrew McCutchen

geeves — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:57:07 -0000

Seems only fair to do one now that he's finally arrived...

First the official lines (taken times 2/3 since that much of the season is gone):

ZiPS - 367 PA, .261/.333/.377, 17 2B, 6 HR, 44 R, 28 RBI

CHONE - 330 PA, .261/.337/.362, 17 2B, 6 HR, 47 R, 38 RBI

I personally am going to be more optimistic than either and say 400 PA, .265/.345/.405 with 25 2B, 3 HR, 55 R, and 25 RBI.

(I know just taking 2/3 of the projections is pretty rough math, just trying to create a jump-off point.

A Different Option For Snell

geeves — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:46:16 -0000

I hate to bring the topic up again, since it was discussed much recently, but perhaps now that we've pored over Nate's deal Snell can be discussed in a fresher light...

We have exactly two relievers who have approached consistency in terms of getting swings and misses, not walking batters, and generally not making us fret when they walk in from the 'pen. Jesse Chavez and Sean Burnett. If you had told me during ST that would be the case come beginning of June, I would have to assume that we were still struggling for our 10th win. Not saying that (in spite of recent falterings) Burnett and Chavez haven't been pleasantly surprising, just pointing out that our bullpen has been weak of late.

With that in mind, instead of sending Ian down to the minors for anything, why not put him in the bullpen? I know Bob Walk isn't Einstein, but he is a former pitcher, so I reasonably trust his judgement when he says that, in spite of his recent shortcomings, Snell's slider is still nasty enough that he could get swings and misses if he had any other pitch as reliable. We also know that Ian can crank his fastball up to 94-95 MPH when he feels like it, but can't locate it.

I personally think that if he goes to the bullpen and can iron out his fastball location with Kerrigan - which is certainly a possibility considering the work he did on the hot mess Capps was a short while back - then I think a guy with that combination, a mid 90's locatable FB, a good hard slider would be very valuable in late innings. He could even put that F* you attitude to good use.

I vaguely remember folks who talked about Snell's effectiveness being stretched as a starter, and I'm not saying they were right, but him moving to the 'pen really seems like it could be a win-win for Ian and the team.

Go ahead commenters. I'm insane, right?

Lynchburg (King of the) Hillcats

geeves — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:18:26 -0000

Thought I would go ahead and flesh out the tale of Lynchburg a bit, since some expressed a little intrest into what I didn't cram into the update...

There are three types of players on the Hillcats roster, one of which (less common) is embodied by Matt Hague and Pedro Alvarez. Another is a lot like what you'll find when you look at Miles Durham.

Miles was always a bit old for whatever level he'd been at since he was drafted in '06, but he became a small blip on the radar last season when he used a .348 avg, a .979 ops, 24 2B, 14 HR and 57 RBI in only 72 games to make the Sally League All-Star team. Unfortunately, Durham was promptly promoted to Lynchburg and pretty much faceplanted, putting up a .220/.619 line in the season's remaining 57 games.

This season, after starting a very chilly .247/.717 in April, he has come on strong to the tune of .337/.940 in May, bringing his season line up to .297/.827 and putting him on pace for 45 2B, 15 HR and 90 RBI for the season.

All of this is nice to look at, but it is completely meaningless. Durham is now 26 years old, which makes him really old for the level, so he should have months like this all the time if he's worth his weight as a hitter. Unfortunately, he's going to keep being too old, because he's now behind Pedro in the pecking order and will have to move off third base defensively to even be in a position to hit his way to Altoona.

The team is filled with guys like this: Alex Presley is repeating the level - he didn't hit for power or average or walks last year, and isn't this year either, and is now almost 24...Kent Sakamoto is almost 26, posted a .259/.735 line last year, and is even worse so far this year...Harrison Bishop was pretty good with Low-A Hickory last year, but should have been given his age (almost 25 now) and hasn't continued that success with the Hillcats. Same with RJ Rodriguez...Chris Castorri is lucky he's still on the roster at 25...Michael Felix is still only 23, but had a pretty sloppy '08 at Low A and hasn't been any better in high A this year. He's only appeared in seven games and has an ERA of 7.71 and a 5:9 K:BB...Ray Chang is hitting .383/.910 on the year, but much like Durham it doesn't matter because he's almost 26.

Then there's one more group of guys, ones that are still young enough that they could be relevant, except that they aren't producing.

Obviously the top of that list belongs to the most recent additions, Jordy Mercer and Justin Wilson. Mercer is more trapped by fate than anything else since, as you all know, he's at Lynchburg to allow both he and Chase D'Arnaud ample playing time, not because he was in any way deemed ready for the level (as his .250 avg and .697 OPS illustrate). Given the way things look right now, if I were in charge I would have Jordy and Chase trade teams, since Chase doesnt seem to have anything left to prove at WV and Jordy is clearly overmatched in Lynchburg.

Justin, Mr. "I Want More Money 'Cause My Team Won the World Series" (remember that?), has been...underwhelming is a good start. After posting an ERA of 5.00 and WHIP of 1.28 in four April starts that spanned only 18 innings, he's been even worse this month (9.37 and 2.38) including 13 ER on 21H in only 11 2/3 IP his last three outings. Perhaps a bit surprising for a pitcher getting 54% GB, but I can't vouch for the infield defense.

Jose De Los Santos is young-ish and can hit a little, but not enough, so he has to be an above-average defensive SS to have a shot...Maiko Loyola hit .280/.728 last season with Class A Columbus to go along with 45 SB in 62 attempts. This year he's needed a .306/1.052 month of May jus to get his season line up to .213/.702 and a month like that would be worth talking about if he wasn't almost 24...Joel Collins is only(?) 23, but has fewer AB's than the Hillcats have games played...Eddie Prasch is also "only" 23, but put up a .271/.723 line with the 'Cats last year and last night he got his first hit since April 29th... Tom Boleska could be a solid relief prospect once he's healthy.

One last interesting piece to this roster: Paul Mildren. Paul spent last season getting jerked around by the Royals. Literally. He started the year in AA and was decent as a reliever for three weeks, then went to AAA and made four more strong relief appearances in the next two weeks. He then went back down to AA for a month and was a respectable reliever, then was moved to the rotation and was only marginally good. He was then sent down to the High-A rotation, where he was absolutely terrible, and then sent back up to AA as a reliever for the last three weeks of the season.

What a frickin roller coaster for the poor guy. He's actually been marginally interesting this year too. After a rather blah April, May has been a strong month for him, as he has now posted three consecutive quality starts and has walked two batters in his last 35 IP. Sure, he's 25, so it isnt anything other than a neat story, but still worth sharing.