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Toledo Mud Hens
Overall Record: 19-18
Week of 5/9 - 5/15: 3-4
5/9: @Norfolk, Lost, 1-4, LP: Ryan Ketchner
5/10: @Durham, Won, 6-2 , WP: Phil Dumatrait
5/11: @Durham, Won, 5-4, WP: Armando Galarraga, SV: Jay Sborz
5/12: @Durham, Lost, 2-5, LP: Enrique Gonzalez
5/13: @Durham, Lost, 1-6, LP: L.J. Gagnier
5/14: Indianapolis, Lost, 1-8, LP: Ryan Ketchner
5/15: Indianapolis, Won, 7-3, WP: Phil Dumatrait
Runs scored: 23
Runs allowed: 32
The Hens suffered from a feast for famine offense that left the team hungry more often than satisfied. The good news for the Hens is in the short term, they seem likely to get a lot of offense from their visitors from Detroit, Scott Sizemore and Ryan Raburn. That should prove a big help because while the pitchers lead the league in ERA, the hitters are lagging behind.
Of course, if their pitching is going to keep that pace they may need better efforts from their starters. The group went just 38.2 innings in their seven starts and allowed a combined 4.89 ERA. They were helped out quite a bit by a solid bullpen, though. That group threw 21.1 innings and gave up just seven runs, walking six and striking out 18. It’s interesting that despite that strong performance from the pen, the group didn’t have any decisions.
Top prospects’ results:
Brent Dlugach, SS/3B, 7/27 (.259), 2 2b, HR, BB, 11 K, 2/2 SB, 3 E. This probably gives a pretty accurate depiction of why the Tigers called up Danny Worth and not Dlugach. His 11 strikeouts made it so he required a .400 BABIP just to hit .260.
Jeff Larish, 1b, 6/27 (.222), 2 2b, HR, 2 BB, 11 K. This kind of performance - struggling to control the strike zone - is a little more surprising out of Larish, but hopefully having Raburn and Sizemore in the lineup will help him out.
Casper Wells, OF, 4/15 (.267), 2b, BB, 5 K. It clearly wasn’t a blazing hot streak that led to Wells’ promotion.
Robbie Weinhardt, RHP, 3 IP, 2 H, 4 K. This week saw Weinhardt make his seventh and eighth consecutive appearances without giving up a run. He was particularly impressive Thursday, striking out three in 1.2 IP.
Daniel Schlereth, LHP, 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 5 K. This is obviously much closer to what the Tigers are hoping for from Schlereth. The walks came down and he’s dropped his ERA under one.
Armando Galarraga, RHP, 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K. With Figaro failing to impress, Galarraga was a pretty natural choice to get the spot start on Sunday. With Scherzer getting sent down, he’ll try to impress enough to stay with the big club.
Player of the Week, Ben Guez, OF
Guez was very hot this week, going 9 for 17 (.529) with a couple doubles and a homer. He didn’t draw any walks while setting the league on fire, but also struck out just once. His baserunning leaves a little to be desired, though, as he was picked off once and caught stealing another time.
Pitcher of the Week, Jay Sborz, RHP
Sborz continues to make a case that he’s a big league pitcher, making three appearances and allowing just one hit (no walks) in 3.1 IP. He struck out one batter in each of the three games and now has a sterling ERA of just 0.68.
Injuries and transactions:
Ryan Raburn was optioned down to Toledo when Alfredo Figaro was called up. He has so far responded by hitting five hits in his first two games. To fill in for Figaro, L.J. Gagnier was called up and Max St. Pierre was given the backup catching job as Angel Flores was sent down to Lakeland. After Figaro filled in, he was sent back down and the Tigers called up Casper Wells.
Erie SeaWolves
Overall Record: 20-16
Week of 5/9 - 5/15: 5-2
5/9: @Altoona, Won, 10-7, WP: Andrew Oliver
5/10: Akron, Won, 4-1, WP: Jon Kibler, SV: Luis Marte
5/11: Akron, Postponed due to rain
5/12: Akron, Won, 5-2, WP: Brooks Brown
5/12: Akron, Lost, 2-7, LP: Ramon Garcia
5/13: Akron, Won, 5-3, WP: Thad Weber, SV: Brendan Wise
5/14: @Bowie, Lost, 2-3, LP: Jared Gayhart
5/15: @Bowie, Won, 9-6, WP: Brendan Wise, SV: Luis Marte
Runs scored: 37
Runs allowed: 29
Whether I expect it, say it probably won’t keep up, or express any other color of skepticism about this team they continue to win. They have put themselves in the running for first place with their five-win week.
The interesting thing is when you look at the individuals on the position player side, the bad seems to outweigh the good. There three or four players who had productive weeks, so there must have been a lot of timely hitting for the Wolves. The pitchers had a similar week. Their four runs allowed per game is nothing spectacular and there were no dominant performances but there they were - helping the team to five wins.
Top prospects’ results:
Cale Iorg, SS, 5/23 (.217) 2b, HR, 2 BB, 10 K, 0/1 SB, 2 E. After going hitless in the first three games - including a golden sombrero - he picked up five hits in the last four. We’ll just have to hope it’s the start of a hot streak he desperately needs.
Audy Ciriaco, 3b, 4/23 (.174) 4 K, 1/1 SB, 2 E. Another off week brings Ciriaco down to a pedestrian line of .229/.257/.323 and he’s now made eight errors in 24 games. That’s a lot of unrealized potential on the left side of their infield.
Wilkin Ramirez, OF, 8/31 (.258) 2 2b, 2 3b, HR, 14 K. You could say this is a quintessential week for Ramirez - lowish average, big power, lots of Ks. It’s a bit extreme, though, as his K:BB ratio had been down to about 4:1.
Andy Oliver, LHP, 8.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, BB, 4 K. Oliver had his second start cut short by rain, but his first one was nice. He went into the eighth and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk. The strikeouts were low, though, and I can’t wait to see what he can do when he puts it all together in a start or two.
Luis Marte, RHP, 2 IP, 3 H, K. Marte picked up a couple saves for his trouble and hasn’t given up an earned run since April 15th. It’s looking like a bullpen role agrees with him.
Jared Gayhart, RHP, 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, K. Gayhart continues to struggle in a big way as the two appearances he made this week leaves him at five in a row where he’s given up a run.
Duane Below, LHP, 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, K. This was in one of the seven inning doubleheader games, but I was hoping for more from him as he seemed to be finding a groove lately.
Player of the Week, Cesar Nicolas, DH/3b
Nicolas narrowly edged Mike Bertram (.385, 2 HR) as Bertram tried for a second consecutive Player of the Week nod. Nicolas was better, though, as he was 9 for 23 (.391) with two doubles and a homer. He also controlled the strike zone better than Bertram, drawing three walks to go with his four strikeouts. From a prospect perspective, these aren’t the guys you want leading the team. But from a wins and losses viewpoint, I’m sure they’ll take what they can get.
Pitcher of the Week, Brendan Wise, RHP
Wise wins for a second straight week, almost by default. There just aren’t really any pitchers on this team who are making handing out this award easy. That’s not to downplay Wise’s week. His line of 5 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 4 K dropped his ERA to 0.87 and allowed him to pick up a save and a win. Not a bad week at all.
Injuries and transactions:
To fill the voids left by Max St. Pierre and L.J. Gagnier, the Wolves received Andy Bouchie and Anthony Shawler. It looks like it could be Brooks Brown, though, who’s stepping into Gagnier’s spot in the rotation.
Lakeland Flying Tigers
Overall Record: 18-17
Week of 5/9 - 5/15: 4-2
5/9: Day off
5/10: Charlotte, Lost, 1-2, LP: Charlie Furbush
5/11: Charlotte, Won, 3-0, WP: Luke Putkonen, SV: Erik Crichton
5/12: Charlotte, Won, 3-1, WP: Mark Sorensen, SV: Matt Hoffman
5/13: Charlotte, Won, 4-2, WP: Brayan Villarreal, SV: Miguel Mejia
5/14: @Tampa, Won, 5-1, WP: Adam Wilk
5/15: Tampa, Lost, 1-2, LP: Tyler Conn
Runs scored: 17
Runs allowed: 8
It’s pretty clear this was a fantastic week for Lakeland pitchers. They never gave up more than two runs and the starters would have turned in six quality starts if Villarreal had gone six innings. Ironically, the pitcher who threw probably the best two games - Charlie Furbush - was the only one not to pick up a win.
It’s a good thing the pitching was so good, though, because the hitting was pretty lousy. They were held to one run in both losses and the entire team went homerless on the week. In fact, they were only able to muster nine extra base hits. Without big weeks from Alden Carrithers and Rawley Bishop, the team probably wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of their pitching like they did.
Top prospects’ results:
Gustavo Nunez, SS, 3/24 (.125) 9 K, 1/1 SB, E. Nunez’s season is in drastic need of a 180 as another bad week puts him at .220/.265/.284 on the season (including Sunday’s game).
Billy Nowlin, DH/1b, 2/16 (.125) 3 BB, K. Nowlin is right there with Nunez as his bat has inexplicably disappeared after an impressive 2009 season.
Daniel Fields, CF, 4/20 (.200), 2b, 4 BB, 7 K, 1/1 SB. The bat seems to be overmatched but it’s encouraging that he’s at least drawing walks. Hopefully the hits will come with some maturity.
Rawley Bishop, 1b/DH, 10/25 (.400) 3 2b, 7 K, 2/2 SB, E. Bishop turns in another stellar week at the plate even if it’s a little disappointing he couldn’t draw a walk. High BABIP or not, this guy has to be blistering the ball.
Luke Putkonen, RHP, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K. Interesting start for Putkonen as the six shutout innings came without a ton of strikeouts or ground outs.
Adam Wilk, LHP, 7 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 5 K. This was one of the better starts in a week full of excellent starts. His lack of consistency is a little worrisome, but consider me impressed with what Wilk has done at this level.
Brayan Villarreal, RHP, 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K, HR. If you heard the rotation had a great week, you’d be forgiven for assuming Villarreal was in on the action. As you can see, his start was just okay. The strikeouts keep coming but he also gave up another dinger.
Player of the Week, Alden Carrithers, 2B
Carrithers had to keep the pedal to the floor to outpace Bishop. He was able to, though, with four multi-hit games that led to a 11 for 23 (.478) week. Only two of those hits were for extra bases - both doubles - but all the hits and four walks made him quite a table setter.
Pitcher of the Week, Charlie Furbush, LHP
This is getting repetitive. I believe this is three weeks in a row, but this was probably the easiest call. On Monday, he strikes out 13 and on Saturday he throws seven innings of two-hit ball with nine more Ks. What kind of line does that add up to? How about 13.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, BB, 22 K, HR. All that and an 0-1 record on the week. Boy, wins and losses are such a helpful tool for evaluating pitchers.
Injuries and transactions:
The Flying Tigers lost Lester Oliveros to the disabled list and Andy Bouchie and Anthony Shawler to Erie. To compensate, they received Cory Hamilton from West Michigan, Angel Flores from Toledo and Wilfredo Ramirez from extended spring training.
West Michigan Whitecaps
Overall Record: 14-22
Week of 5/9 - 5/15: 3-3
5/9: Bowling Green, Lost, 7-10, LP: Trevor Feeney
5/10: @Lansing, Lost, 5-6, LP: Victor Larez
5/11: @Lansing, Postponed due to rain
5/12: @Lansing, Lost, 1-7, LP: Jade Todd
5/13: South Bend, Won, 7-0, WP: Giovany Soto
5/14: South Bend, Won, 4-3, WP: Kenny Faulk
5/15: South Bend, Won, 3-1, WP: Trevor Feeney
Runs scored: 27
Runs allowed: 27
How’s that for a .500 week? You win half the games and score half the points. Not only that, but you score (and allow) a league average 4.5 runs in the process. Perfectly mediocre. I suppose Trevor Feeney best represents the team’s week as he was awful last Sunday and sterling on Saturday, splitting his decisions. So what does being perfectly .500 mean when you’re a 14-22 team? It means you did better than you had been.
Considering the offense is third from the bottom of the league in scoring runs, they particularly stepped up their game and outpaced their season average for runs by one per game. How’d they do it? Going 17 for 54 (.315) with runners in scoring position certainly didn’t hurt. Neither did 19 of the team’s 54 hits going for extra bases.
Top prospects’ results:
Hernan Perez, SS, 6/23 (.261) 2 BB, 3 K, E. He keeps getting tossed into the top of the order every now and then, but doesn’t seem to be able to answer the challenge.
Alexis Espinoza, DH, 3/17 (.176) 3B, 4 K, 0/1 SB. You can go cold when you draw walks, but when you don’t draw walks and you go cold the results can be a special kind of ugly.
Avisail Garcia, RF, 7/24 (.292) 3B, HR, BB, 5 K, E. That’s two good weeks from the kid who’s going to need a few more to get his season line up where he wants it.
Jamie Johnson, CF, 7/20 (.350) 2B, 3B, 4 BB, 3 K, 0/1 SB, E. There have been better performers one week at a time, but he’s been this team’s best hitter this season by a mile.
Melvin Mercedes, RHP, 1 IP, H, BB, 2 K. A nice, uneventful outing as they seem to be pulling the reins a bit on his workload.
Ramon Lebron, RHP, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K, HR. He recovered nicely from a two-run shot in the first inning, putting down 8 of 20 batters by the K and showing improved control. He could find quick success if he keeps that control.
Jacob Turner, RHP, 4 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K. If you’re worried about the kid after two rough starts after the time off with forearm tightness, take a peek at what he did on Sunday.
Player of the Week, Wade Gaynor, 3B
Last week I said we were waiting for something from Gaynor. This week he showed us a bit of what we had been waiting for. He was 10 for 27 (.370) on the week with three doubles and a couple long balls. We could obviously handle more walks (1) and less errors (2) but thumbs up to just three strikeouts. At this position, it’s good to see progress and the progress has him hitting .273/.333/.399 on the season (above league average).
Pitcher of the Week, Giovany Soto, LHP
He did it against the worst hitting team in the league, but holding your opponent to four singles over 6.1 innings is always a nice accomplishment. That’s especially true when you do it at this level as a kid going on 19 (he turns 19 Wednesday). In holding down the Silver Hawks, he struck out eight and walked three without giving up a run. A big reason all the Hawks’ hits were singles was his ability to keep the ball on the ground. Of 15 balls in play, 11 were grounders.
Injuries and transactions:
The Whitecaps predictably avoided the ripple effect of moves at the major league level for the most part. Their sole loss was Cory Hamilton, and he was replaced with Nolan Moody.
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