Toledo Mud Hens
Overall Record: 16-14
Week of 5/2 - 5/8: 3-3

5/2: Charlotte, Lost, 0-4, LP: Alfredo Figaro
5/3: Suspended, made up on Tuesday
5/4: Charlotte, Game 1, Won, 8-3, WP: Daniel Schlereth
5/4: Charlotte, Game 2, Won, 3-1, WP: Phil Dumatrait, SV: Jay Sborz
5/5: Day off 
5/6: @Norfolk, Lost, 7-12, LP: Jason Waddell
5/7: @Norfolk, Lost, 2-3, LP: Jay Sborz
5/8: @Norfolk, Won, 10-3, WP: Alfredo Figaro

Runs scored: 30
Runs allowed: 26

The Hens lost ground to the Clippers and are now finding themselves in a fight for second place with the Indianapolis Indians. This week saw Jay Sborz give up his first run of the season when on Wednesday, he allowed a long ball to the only batter he faced to take the loss. The next day, the team suffered a similarly rare breakdown in run prevention as they were tagged for a season-high 12 runs.

However, that just serves to make it a little more impressive that they were able to win the week in terms of outscoring their opponents. It might even be more impressive that they managed to average five runs a game despite being shutout last Sunday. The big bopper on the week was Clete Thomas, as he drove in a third of the team’s runs and had RBIs in four of his five games played.

Top prospects’ results:

Brent Dlugach, SS/3B, 5/26 (.192), 5 K, 0/1 SB (Picked off), E. Needless to say, Brent wasn’t in the running for POW honors and only going 2 for 5 on Saturday salvaged the week even this much.

Jeff Larish, 1b, 5/15 (.333), 2 2b, 4 BB, 6 K. Larish had a couple of two hit games and has seen his slash line improve to a downright respectable (.274/.384/.484 after Sunday’s game).

Casper Wells, OF, 1/22 (.045), 2b, 4 BB, 13 K, E. Wells clearly has not been able to address the contact issues brought up here after looking at his AFL performance. The 13 Ks were helped along by going 0 for 9 with 7 strikeouts in the week’s first two games.

Robbie Weinhardt, RHP, 3 IP, H. He’s getting the ERA down, but he hasn’t struck a batter out in his last three outings. Of course, we’ll forgive him that considering he hasn’t given up a run in his last six.

Daniel Schlereth, LHP, 3.2 IP, H, 3 BB, 6 K. Schlereth has shown flashes of being almost unhittable (2 H in last 7.2 IP) but unfortunately it’s too often literal because the ball isn’t in the zone.

Armando Galarraga, RHP, 4 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HR. Galarraga was the starter in the Hens’ 12-7 loss on Thursday and his old nemesis, the long ball, showed its ugly face. That’s just one bad start in six, though, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Alfredo Figaro, RHP, 12.2 IP, 15 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 10 K. Figaro was roughed up a little in his first start of the week, but recovered nicely (6 IP, 7 H, R, BB, 6 K) while getting the win in his second. He has his ERA at 2.55 and his ability to avoid the long ball could allow him to pass Galarraga on the depth chart.

Player of the Week: Clete Thomas, OF

Clete was only 5 of 20 (.250) at the plate, but three of those hits were homers and another was a triple. That’s good for an .850 slugging percentage and allowed him to pace the team’s offense with ten runs batted in. He also showed he wasn’t one dimensional by nabbing two bases in as many tries. There’s still work to be done before he forces the Tigers to bring him to Detroit, though. He walked just one time and struck out eight on the week.

Pitcher of the Week: Phil Dumatrait, LHP

I usually don’t get too excited about the kind of game Dumatrait threw, but there’s more than one way to be successful and Dumatrait found an unlikely one in the second game on Tuesday. Dumatrait almost went the distance in the seven inning match, coming out with one out in the final frame. Despite just two strikeouts, he was able to hold the opposing team to just four hits and one unearned run. It was a much needed effort considering the bullpen had been asked to cover seven innings in the day’s first game.

Injuries and transactions:

Mike Rabelo has been out with a sore knee and Angel Flores was called up to fill in.

Erie SeaWolves
Overall Record: 15-14
Week of 5/2 - 5/8: 4-3

5/2: Trenton, Won, 4-3, WP: Brendan Wise
5/3: Binghamton, Lost, 5-7, LP: Brooks Brown
5/4: Binghamton, Lost, 3-4, LP: Jared Gayhart
5/5: Binghamton, Won, 4-2, WP: Zach Simons, SV: Brendan Wise
5/6: Binghamton, Won, 7-6, WP: Jay Voss, SV: Luis Marte
5/7: @Altoona, Won, 3-0, WP: Duane Below, SV: Brooks Brown
5/8: @Altoona, Lost, 7-9, LP: Thad Weber

Runs scored: 33
Runs allowed: 31

The Wolves chalked up another winning week thanks to some dramatic home runs that included a walkoff long ball by Max St. Pierre last Sunday. That was one of the team’s seven on the week and three of those came on Thursday. All seven of the Wolves’ runs came via the long ball in that win as Josh Burrus and Cesar Nicolas each hit three-run homers and Wilkin Ramirez added a solo job.

The problem the Wolves ran into is not only living by the long ball, but being hurt by it as well. Their pitchers gave up eight dingers, including two each for starters Jon Kibler and L.J. Gagnier. Those two still may not have been hurt as much by balls clearing the wall as Brooks Brown and Jared Gayhart. They took losses on consecutive nights when on Monday, Binghamton hit a two-run game-winner off Brown in the 10th and then a decisive solo shot off Gayhart the next night.

Top prospects’ results:

Cale Iorg, SS, 7/20 (.350), 2 2b, 3 BB, 6 K. That’s a good week at the plate and he was error free as well. Let’s just hope he doesn’t always need a .500 BABIP to put up decent numbers.

Audy Ciriaco, 3b/SS, 5/28 (.179), 2 3b, 2 BB, 7 K. Weird that he would get just five hits on the week and two would be for triples.

Wilkin Ramirez, CF, 4/27 (.148), 2b, HR, 2 BB, 9 K, Assist. Seems to have cooled off just as quickly as he got hot last week.

Andy Oliver, LHP, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K, HR. Little bit of a shaky start this week for the lefty as his three walks keep his K:BB ratio at less than 2:1.

Luis Marte, RHP, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 2 K. Marte picked up a save this week despite allowing two hits and two unearned runs in the outing where he earned it. The Tigers look like they’re being careful with his arm as he has yet to throw on consecutive days this season.

Jared Gayhart, RHP, 1.2 IP, H, R, BB, K, HR. Gayhart gave up a homer and took the loss in the only game he saw. That was three appearances in a row that saw him allow a run.

Duane Below, LHP, 10.1 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 7 K, HR. Below is really starting to come around as he appears to be fully recovered from TJ surgery and to have found his control.

Player of the Week, Mike Bertram, 1B/DH

Bertram narrowly defeated a couple other unexpected names for this award (Justin Henry and Cale Iorg) as he was 10 for 28 (.357) with three doubles, a triple and a homer. It’s a little surprising all that extra base power was good for only three RBIs but here at T75N we don’t ding players for hitting the ball when there’s nobody on base. Of course, we do ding them for striking out eleven times against just one walk. If he wants to win this award again, it’s likely he’ll need to improve greatly on that ratio.

Pitcher of the Week, Brendan Wise, RHP

I don’t think the way Wise goes about his business (10 K, 8 BB in 15.2 IP this year) is going to land him in the majors. However, it’s tough to complain about the results he’s seen so far this year. This week, he made two appearances (4 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K) and earned a win and a save for his trouble. The four scoreless innings also dropped his ERA to 0.57. With those peripherals, it won’t stay there but he’s getting it done.

Injuries and transactions:

The Wolves didn’t have any injuries of their own, but they were affected by the Hens’ hurts. They lost Scram and replaced him with Chris White. They also lost Ketchner and in return, received Ramon Garcia from Lakeland.

Lakeland Flying Tigers
Overall Record: 14-15
Week of 5/2 - 5/8: 3-4

5/2: Dunedin, Lost, 3-4, LP: Brayan Villarreal
5/3: Daytona, Lost, 3-6, LP: Lester Oliveros
5/4: Daytona, Won, 7-3, WP: Charlie Furbush, SV: Tyler Conn
5/5: Daytona, Lost, 3-4, LP: Luke Putkonen
5/6: @Dunedin, Lost, 2-3, LP: Mark Sorensen
5/7: @Dunedin, Won, 5-2, WP: Brayan Villarreal, SV: Anthony Shawler
5/8: @Dunedin, Won, 5-4, WP: Adam Wilk, SV: Anthony Shawler

Runs scored: 28
Runs allowed: 26

Lakeland took a losing record for a week, but every game was competitive and they had three one-run losses. The good thing for this team is some of the people they expected to contribute look like they could be coming around. Kody Kaiser had three extra base hits this week and was 7 for 23 (.304) while Billy Nowlin drew five walks while striking out only once. Those two or somebody else pulling out of their respective slumps could be a big boost to the offense.

The pitching staff had a pretty good week, too, despite the results. The starters were solid as nobody gave up more than three earned runs and they took decisions in six of the seven games. As a group they struck out 39 batters and only walked 10. The bullpen blew two saves and gave up eight runs in a combined 19 2/3 innings. However, only three of the runs were earned and they struck out 17 against just four walks. If both the rotation and pen keep up that kind of pitching, they should see the wins fall into place.

Top prospects’ results:

Gustavo Nunez, SS, 8/30 (.267), 2 2b, 3b, 2 BB, 8 K, 0/1 SB, 2 E. Not sure there’s much that needs to be said here, as it’s about what we should expect at this point. Maybe not two errors, but there aren’t really a lot of surprises in these numbers.

Billy Nowlin, DH/1b, 4/16 (.250), 2b, 5 BB, K, E. It would be great if the five walks were the result of him seeing the ball better. If it were, I’d look for a turnaround in his numbers quickly.

Daniel Fields, CF, 5/24 (.208), 2b, 3 BB, 10 K, 0/1 SB (Picked off). It’s starting to look doubtful Fields will stick around at this level once more spots open up.

John Murrian, C, Disabled list (Broken wrist)

Luke Putkonen, RHP, 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K. That’s a perfectly respectable outing from Putkonen. Six of the hits were ground balls, which further shows why ground out to fly out ratio is a misleading way to track balls in play.

Lester Oliveros, RHP, IP, H, 2 R, BB, K. There was word from Mark Anderson today (Tuesday) that Oliveros is back on the disabled list. That’s discouraging, as that’s twice already in a season that just turned a month old.

Adam Wilk, LHP, 12.2 IP, 16 H, 5 R, 10 K, HR. You know, watching these guys every day I feel like I know what to expect for the most part. Then, every once in a while the crafty lefty strikes out nine guys in less than six innings.

Brayan Villarreal, RHP, 11 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 9 K. The dominance has backed off a bit, but Villarreal bounced back nicely after taking the loss in his first start of the week.

Austin Wood, LHP, Disabled List (Shoulder)

Player of the Week, Rawley Bishop, 1b/DH

Bishop had a great week, picking up four multi-hit games and continuing to pace the Lakeland offense. Not only did he go 11 for 28 (.393) but five of those hits were for extra bases (4 2b, HR). The only down side to his output for the week was the fact that he struck out six times without drawing a walk.

Pitcher of the Week, Charlie Furbush, LHP

He won this last week, too, but if he keeps pitching better than everybody else I’ll keep giving it to him. This week he went seven innings, gave up just one run on three hits and three walks, and picked up seven more strikeouts. Some day this kid is going to make me look smart for having faith in him all this time.

Injuries and transactions:

Mike Morrison went on the disabled list and was replaced by Miguel Mejia. Technically, it didn’t happen in the window we’re talking about but Lester Oliveros made a trip back to the disabled list (as mentioned above). Cory Hamilton filled his spot, and he had been in West Michigan. Anthony Shawler seems to be filling in as the closer, and doing a capable job (6 IP, 6 H, BB, 5 K, 2 SV).

West Michigan Whitecaps
Overall Record: 11-19
Week of 5/2 - 5/8: 4-3

5/2: @South Bend, Lost, 5-6, LP: Melvin Mercedes
5/3: @South Bend, Won, 3-0, WP: Ramon Lebron, SV: Cory Hamilton
5/4: @Great Lakes, Won, 5-4, WP: Trevor Feeney, SV: Kenny Faulk
5/5: @Great Lakes, Lost, 6-8, LP: Nate Newman
5/6: @Great Lakes, Won, 4-3, WP: Victor Larez, SV: Cory Hamilton
5/7: Bowling Green, Lost, 1-4, LP: Giovany Soto 
5/8: Bowling Green, Won, 4-2, WP: Ramon Lebron, SV: Melvin Mercedes

Runs scored: 28
Runs allowed: 27

What a difference perspective makes for a team. Most years this would be a disappointing week for the Caps. This year, it feels like a breath of fresh air. Believe it or not, the two game win streak this week matched the team’s high on the season. If you read the site - and still listen to my preseason predictions - this is the kind of growing pains we might have anticipated, though.

A good example is Melvin Mercedes. The teenager looked in the middle of the week like he may have lost the team’s closer job after getting knocked around last Sunday. He was, however, able to bounce back and pick up a save Saturday. Like some of the others, promising youth but susceptible to showing his youth.

Top prospects’ results:

Hernan Perez, SS, 5/23 (.217), BB, 5 K. Thrown in the deep end and having trouble.

Wade Gaynor, 3B, 5/25 (.200), 2 2b, 2 BB, 4 K. I keep waiting for this high pick to turn it around at the position where the Tigers need it most. And waiting.

Avisail Garcia, RF, 8/19 (.421), 2 2b, BB, 4 K, 1/1 SB, Assist. I don’t care if he had a ton of hits fall his way to do this. It is a welcome boost for the kid and I’ll take baby steps at this point.

Jamie Johnson, CF, 6/24 (.250), 4 BB, 4 K, 1/1 SB, Assist. Weeks like this are inevitable  when you’re a average and on-base guy.

Giovanni Soto, LHP, 11 IP, 17 K, 5 R, 8 K, HR. He kept the ball in the strike zone (no walks) but paid for it in hits.

Melvin Mercedes, RHP, 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K. All four runs came in a disaster of a blown save on Sunday.

Ramon Lebron, RHP, 2.2 IP, 2 R, 5 BB, 2 K. He had a no-hitter! Of course, that doesn’t matter when you have the carousel going anyway.

Jacob Turner, RHP, 3.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, BB, 3 K, HR. Turner returned from the disabled list and had some troubles I hope can be attributed to rust and not trying to avoid pain in that forearm.

Player of the Week, Alexis Espinoza, DH/RF

Espinoza went off in a way similar to Avisail Garcia, only moreso. He tallied 14 hits in 29 at bats (.483) but also mixed in some power as evidenced by four doubles, a triple and a homer. The crown jewel in the week was his 4 for 4 Sunday with two doubles. He even let them walk him that day. It was his only free pass of the week compared with seven Ks. He also stole a base in two tries.

Pitcher of the Week, Ramon Lebron, RHP

Lebron was able to find the strike zone this week and showed what he’s capable of when he does. He shut out the Silver Hawks for six innings on Monday and then kept the Hot Rods off the board for five on Saturday. The Saturday start saw him walk four, but two starts and no runs allowed will generally get you some ink. A good week (11 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 13 K)

Injuries and transactions:

Jacob Turner obviously returned from the disabled list, while Nolan Cain went down with an elbow sprain. Again, I’m stepping outside our 5/2-5/8 window, but Cain’s spot on the roster was filled by Nolan Moody. That’s one non-drafted player being replaced by another.

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