Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
Home runs played a big part in a minor league sweep Sunday.  Sergio Santos hit his sixth to help New Hampshire win a game in Portland.  For Dunedin Kyle Phillips hit two home runs to tie the game and Jacob Butler hit a go-ahead home run to help the D-Jays to victory.   Matt Liuzza, Brian Pettway and Josh Bell homered for the Lugnuts.  Ty Taubenheim's best start of the year kept the Chiefs in the game until Russ Adams helped win it in the tenth.  Jesse Litsch also pitched well while Travis Snider had four hits to pump his average to .392.

Louisville 2  Syracuse 3 - 10 innings

Ty Taubenheim had his best start of the season pitching six innings allowing three hits including a solo home run.  Syracuse took the lead in the sixth without a hit, two walks, an error and two groundouts produced two runs.  That held up until the ninth when Mark Bellhorn homered off Blaine Neal to tie the score.  In the bottom of the tenth Russ Adams doubled off of lefty, and former Jay, Jason Kershner to lead off the inning and he later scored when John Hattig's infield single with two outs.  Russ Adams, Ryan Roberts and John Hattig each had two hits.  Of note Ismael Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning in relief, I am not sure if this is a permanent move.

New Hampshire 6  Portland 2 

Jesse Litsch pitched very well for the Fisher Cats, 5.1 innings, six hits and no walks allowed with both runs allowed being unearned.  New Hampshire scored a run in the first when Dustin Majewski walked and scored on a sac fly.  In the fourth Aaron Mathews singled and scored on a John Schneider double.  New Hampshire tallied three runs in the fifth, Manny Mayorson singled and later scored on a Chip Cannon single.  Cannon scored on a two run home run from Sergio Santos, his sixth.  Jordan DeJong and Lee Gronkiewicz supplied 3.2 innings of hitless relief.  Chip Cannon went 3-4 to raise his average to .194.  Manny Mayorson and Aaron Mathews had two hits each.

Dunedin 7  Tampa 4

Brandon Magee pitched four innings and allowed all four runs on six hits and four walks.  Magee may not have pitched as badly as that sounds, all six hits were ground balls, two of them infield hits.  Kristian Bell followed Magee and his four shutout innings gave the Jays a chance to get back in the game.  Kyle Phillips got Dunedin started with a solo home run in the fifth and a two run home run in the sixth which tied the game.  Phillips is hitting .178 after his three hits in this game so the two home runs are definitely unlikely.  In the seventh Jacob Butler hit a two run home run to make it 6-4 and that was enough to get Dunedin the win.  Butler had two hits and is off to a very nice start to the season with an OPS of .983.  Last season Butler struck out 127 times in 430 at-bats, this season he has only 9 K's in 78 at-bats.  Butler turned 24 in February.

Lansing 8  Cedar Rapids 5

Lansing took a 4-0 lead, went down 5-4, then rallied for the win.  Lansing had some big lumber working on this day, Sean Shoffit triped and scored the first run, Matt Liuzza homered for the second run, and Brian Pettway hit a two run shot to make it 4-0.  AJ Wideman gave up five straight hits in the sixth and left with the game tied 4-4.  In the eighth, with the Lugnuts down 5-4, Josh Bell hit a 3 run home run to put Lansing back in front.  Travis Snider doubled and scored in the ninth.  Snider was 4-5 on the day to improve his average to .392.

3 star selection

3rd star - Jacob Butler, go-ahead 2 run home run
2nd star - Josh Bell, go-ahead 3 run home run
1st star - Kyle Phillips, 3 hits, two home runs, three RBI's

Team Records

Syracuse 8-13, 6th and last, 6 games behind
New Hampshire 12-7, 2nd place, 5 games behind
Dunedin 10-13, 3rd place, 5 games behind
Lansing 13-6, 2nd place, 2 games behind

D'Oh! Homers! | 24 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Gerry - Sunday, April 29 2007 @ 09:35 PM EDT (#166855) #
Chiefs reliever Matt Roney has been placed on the restricted list.  Matt Michael believes it is because Roney violated baseball's substance abuse policy.
Pistol - Sunday, April 29 2007 @ 09:37 PM EDT (#166856) #
Travis Snider now leads the Midwest League in OPS.

New Hampshire 12-7, 2nd place, 5 games behind


I had to double check to make sure that was right.  Trenton is 17-2.
Ron - Sunday, April 29 2007 @ 10:49 PM EDT (#166863) #
Great to hear Snider is doing well.

Another player that's off to a pretty "decent" start is Tim Lincecum. He had 14 K's in 6 innings today. His current ERA is 0.29 and he has 46 K's in 31 innings. He has also only given up 12 hits and pitches in the PCL. Not too bad for a player that was selected 10th overall last year.
HippyGilmore - Sunday, April 29 2007 @ 11:07 PM EDT (#166865) #
It looks like Snider might force his way to Dunedin sooner than anyone thought. He's not drawing walks and he's not hitting home runs, but I don't think it's ever a bad sign when your 19 year old top prospect is hitting .392 in his first taste of full season ball.
actionjackson - Sunday, April 29 2007 @ 11:55 PM EDT (#166868) #
Tim Lincecum is 5'11" 160 lbs. He makes Josh Towers look like a giant. He's got an inch on Jason Frasor, but our little closer's got ten pounds on him. Outstanding so far. Hope he keeps it up. It's always great to see little guys succeed at a position where the scouts preference is the 6'4" 225 pounder.
Dave Rutt - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 01:09 AM EDT (#166871) #
Yeah, not only is he a little guy, he also throws in the mid-high 90s.
Pistol - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 08:54 AM EDT (#166876) #
He's not drawing walks

It'd be one thing if he had a lot of Ks, but those are reasonable, so I don't think it's a problem.  I think it might be a matter of making really good contact.  He'll start to be pitched around, I suspect.
Lugnut Fan - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 09:52 AM EDT (#166879) #

Snider is not walking, but he does have a very good eye at the plate.  He has Pettway hitting behind who is also off to a decent start, so Travis is getting some protection.  If there is one thing that he needs to improve on it is pitch recognition.  He gets fooled from time to time with off speed stuff, but other than that.

I also posted this previously, but I wouldn't worry about Sniders power numbers.  He is not going to hit high, majestic home runs.  He has a picture perfect level swing and drives the ball on a line.  When I say he drives it, I mean he drives it.  It seems like he hits everything on the sweet spot of the bat.  I haven't seen a player his age in this league adjust so well to wood. 

Lansing has a 30 foot wall in right field which puts him at a disadvantage, but that is why he has so many triples.  His power numbers will not be there in Lansing I suspect, but he will be fine.  He hits the ball off the concrete in RF in Lansing and it richochets away from the outfielders.  By the time they pick it up, he is around second.  He has deceptive speed for as big as he is.  He has 15 to 20 stolen base potential.  The only major leaguer that I can think to compare him too is Kirk Gibson.

I thought that he would spend the majority, if not all of the season in Lansing, however the way he is tearing this league up right now, it is hard not to think that he will make a serious run at a mid-season promotion.

NashvilleSounds - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 10:19 AM EDT (#166880) #
..."he has deceptive speed for as big as he is.  He has 15 to 20 stolen base potential.  The only major leaguer that I can think to compare him too is Kirk Gibson."...

Except that Gibson was clocked at like 4.3, 4.4 in the 40 while in college, and almost went to the NFL as a kick-returner/wide receiver.  I don't think Snider has that much speed! 


Lugnut Fan - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 10:25 AM EDT (#166881) #

No, Snider isn't as quick as Gibson and isn't as tall, but his build is similar, he hits the ball similar, and needs to work a little on his defense like Gibson.  That is pretty much where the comparison comes from.

I would guess if Travis ran the 40, he would probalby be 4.6 to 4.7.

Mike Green - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 10:58 AM EDT (#166884) #
Snider is more of a wide-body than Gibson was, and also is way ahead of him on the development curve.  At age 21, Kirk was in the FSL, hitting .240 and striking out in 1/3 of his at-bats. He didn't really turn into a valuable player until he was 27. 
DepecheJay - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 02:04 PM EDT (#166901) #
Lincecum is truly a marvel of a pitcher.  A pitcher who just revolutionizes what pitching is thought to be about.  It's great to see a guy of his stature have such dominance, it's truly rare.  I hope he keeps it up and has as dominant a career with the Giants.
Four Seamer - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 03:06 PM EDT (#166903) #
Chiefs reliever Matt Roney has been placed on the restricted list.  Matt Michael believes it is because Roney violated baseball's substance abuse policy.   Matt Michael is correct.
Hodgie - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 03:08 PM EDT (#166904) #
I agree, Lincecum is indeed a marvel if not quite revolutionary. I can think of another skinny 5'11" pitcher, who at the age of 22 broke into the majors as a hard throwing reliever with the Dodgers, was subsequently traded to Montreal the following season and has enjoyed a little bit of success as a starter since then. His present weight not withstanding, if he was 160 lbs. at the time it was soaking wet. 
Mike D - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 03:40 PM EDT (#166908) #
Note that Roney was not suspended for steroids.  His suspension was for a "drug of abuse," which is separate and distinct from "performance enhancing drugs."
greenfrog - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 05:13 PM EDT (#166921) #
Snider is 8th on BA's Prospect Hot Sheet this week.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/263817.html
ChicagoJaysFan - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 08:05 PM EDT (#166932) #
I wonder if Santos is going to make the blast from the past section pretty soon.  He's been really hot to start this season too.
Maldoff - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 08:05 PM EDT (#166933) #

Ryan Patterson has been activated off the DL and is starting in LF tonight for the Dunedin Blue Jays. 

I had thought he was going to be in AA this season, but maybe the Jays have him down in High-A just as a "rehab" assignment.

Gerry - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 09:26 PM EDT (#166938) #
Snider 2-2 mid-game tonight, now hitting .408.
Gerry - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 09:51 PM EDT (#166940) #
Make that 3-3, all line drives, now hitting .416.
HippyGilmore - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 09:59 PM EDT (#166943) #

Make that 3-3, all line drives, now hitting .416.

It makes me sad that he probably won't be with the big club until 2009 at the earliest. I absolutely can't wait to see what this kid is gonna do. I can't remember the last time we had such an exciting young power prospect (Vernon Wells maybe?).

garth - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 10:12 PM EDT (#166945) #
If Snider keeps hitting like this he will be in Dunedin in a month.  I see the best case scenario as he starts next year with the fisher cats, and gets a September call up.  I can't believe how this 19 year old is hitting.  This makes trading Rios a possibility in a year or two, when his value will be even higher.   The Jays future looks strong...especially with all the draft picks we get this year.  If Purcey and Mcgowan can live up to their potential the team could be a perenial contender for the next few years.
Gerry - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 10:29 PM EDT (#166946) #

Snider was called out on strikes in his fourth at-bat, looks like he is in a slump.

Travis did start a double play tonight, making a catch and throwing the runner from first out at first.  

Ryan Day - Monday, April 30 2007 @ 11:34 PM EDT (#166950) #
If the current trends of Snider's hitting and Blue Jays injuries keep up, Snider will be playing centre field in Toronto by August. (alongside second baseman Matt Stairs and closer Josh Towers)
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