An oh for four day on the farm and most games were not close. The first star goes to Robinzon Diaz for his 2-2 at the Futures Game. I saw Diaz play last week and my observations are included.
Robinzon Diaz can hit. Diaz is not a slap hitter but he does focus on contact more than power. Most concerns regarding Diaz's prospect status relate to his defensive abilities. Fisher Cat manager Bill Masse talked about Diaz in detail in the accompanying interview. When I saw Diaz his arm looked strong, one time he almost threw out Lastings Milledge on a steal attempt with a casual looking throw where he never was fully set to throw. Diaz did let several balls get away from him and I think his blocking and receiving could still use some work. Masse also addressed Diaz's need to improve his working relationship with his pitchers. I think this season will move Diaz up significantly on the Jays depth chart and he could be the one pushing Curtis Thigpen out of the catcher position.
Syracuse - All-Star Break
Kyle Yates gave up six runs in three innings, Matt Roney, Jesse Carlson and Jean Machi also allowed runs in relief. Manny Mayorson went 2-5 and drove in two runs, Aaron Mathews was 2-4 with an RBI, John Schneider doubled in two runs and Sergio Santos had a solo home run. Lyle Overbay was 1-4.
Russell Savickas gave up all five runs but none of them were earned. One run scored in fourth on a two-out error and four runs scored in the fifth with two Jays errors. Dunedin had six hits, Kyle Philips had two of them.
Lansing scored first when Sean Shoffit singled, stole second and scored on a Matt Lane single. Fort Wayne tied the game in the fourth on two hits and then scored four runs in the fifth on two singles and three doubles. Rey Gonzalez was the Lugnuts starter and pitched five innings. Lansing had only five hits. Adrian Martin pitched three innings of one hit ball lowering his ERA to 0.83.
Auburn were down 5-0 in the third and it stayed that way until the seventh. Luis Perez gave up three runs and Joe Wice two. Paul Franko triped in the seventh to drive in a run and scored on a groundout. Darin Mastroianni singled in the eighth and scored on an error. Auburn were outhit 11-6.
Gulf Coast Blue Jays - Scheduled day off
3 star selection
3rd star - Adrian Martin
2nd star - Manny Mayorson
1st star - Robinzon Diaz
Team Records
Syracuse 40-48, 4th place, 9.5 games behind
New Hampshire 47-40, 2nd place, 9 games behind
Dunedin11-7, 2nd place, 1.5 games behind
Lansing 9-9, 4th place, 4 games behind
Auburn 13-7, 1st place, 1 game ahead
Gulf Coast Jays 9-8, 3rd place, one game behind
