The farm split their four games on Monday night, and this week we take an in-depth look at New Hampshire's season-to-date.
Las Vegas 6 at Tacoma 2
Las Vegas played an afternoon game on Getaway Monday to wrap up their series with Tacoma, Seattle's AAA affiliate. The 51s came in down 2-1 in the series, but were looking set to even it up with ace Brad Mills on the mound. Mills delivered, pitching six shut-out innings while only allowing two hits. However, he walked four and had a 4:10 GB:FB ratio, and the components are the things we should be focusing on when evaluating minor league pitchers. Despite Mills' hot start, his fly-ball tendencies and high walk rate (which seemed to have been improved upon at the outset of the year, but has been creeping back up) still have me dubious that he can stick in the AL East as a starter. Nevertheless, for me he's #2 on the call-up list, behind only Scrabble.
On offense, Brett Wallace smacked his 10th homer of the a year, a three-run blast that gave him 26 RBIs, only one behind the RBI machine that is Alex Gonzalez. He also had a walk among his 4 PAs. There wasn't much more to speak of on offense - Jarrett Hoffpauir walked and didn't strike out, of course (and he also stole a base), and J.P. Arencibia singled and K'ed in 4 trips.
New Hampshire 2 at Reading 4
Kyle Drabek got the start and was pretty good - in 6 innings, he allowed 8 base-runners and struck out 7. He allowed 4 runs, but no home runs, so even though it doesn't qualify as a "quality" start, I'd still give him a big ol' pat on the butt. Trystan Magnuson was even better in relief, allowing just a hit in 2 innings while striking out 3.
Unfortunately, the bats couldn't come through for Drabek as they were shut down by Australian Drew Naylor. Adam Loewen had a good day by blasting two doubles, driving in one of the Cats' runs, and scoring the other. Darin Mastroianni's hitting streak was snapped at 15 games, and he failed to even reach base, though he did have the other RBI. Brad Emaus reached base three times on two singles and a walk.
Dunedin 1 at Palm Beach 7
Through four innings it was a pitcher's duel between Ryan Page and Arquimedes "of Syracuse" Nieto, but Palm Beach scored single runs in the 5th and 6th, and even though Page ended with a solid line (6 IP, 9 base-runners, 2 ER, 4 K), that was enough to stifle the D-Jays what with old Eureka on the mound. Of course, Palm Beach tacked a bunch of insurance runs on Chad Beck, and by the 7th this one was a laugher.
Nobody did much of anything on offense. Seriously - there were no extra base hits, and nobody reached base more than once. So I'll spare you the details.
West Michigan 5 at Lansing 6
West Michigan got to Aaron Loup early, scoring three runs in the top of the first. But the Lugnuts were patient and eventually crawled back to take this one 6-5. They scored two runs in the 3rd on a double, two fielder's choices neither of which resulted in an out, a steal, a walk and an SF. They scored two more on a similar sequence of small-ball-like events to tie the game at four in the 5th. And finally, in the 6th they gained the lead by scoring another two runs on a third inning of "just keeping the line moving" to take their first lead of the game, which they would maintain until the end.
Kenny Wilson and Eric Eiland were the table-setters; Wilson reached base three times and stole two bags, while Eiland did the same except he reached base one fewer time (but also had a SF). A.J. Jimenez doubled in four trips.
Three Stars!
3. Kenny Wilson - 3 times on base, 2 steals
2. Brad Mills - 6 shut-out innings
1. Brett Wallace - 3-run homer, BB
Links
In the last two weeks we've done updates on Lansing and Dunedin, so it's time for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Cats currently share the lead of the Eastern Division with Binghamton, although just three games ago they had a three game lead. Their record is 19-12.
Hitters
Brian Jeroloman seems to have completely changed his approach (actually, after looking up his stats I think he made this decision before the 2009 season, but is just now getting the hang of it) - he's now hitting the tar out of the ball at the expense of his previously-otherworldly plate discipline. He's maintained a strong walk rate, but his strike-outs are way up - 30 in 92 plate appearances is a lot. Still, it's impressive that he's been able to re-invent himself, and given this unique situation he may still be in the learning process, so don't draw any hard conclusions about his true talent level yet.
We all love Darin Mastroianni 'round here, right? Maestro Yanni has been great this year, walking a ton, stealing a ton of bases while rarely getting caught, and even flashing a bit of power (.147 ISOP). Brad Emaus has hit extremely well... when he's been healthy. Eric Thames has shown power, patience and speed, though his strike-outs are a little high. Jonathan Diaz is somewhat intriguing given his Hoffpauir-esque BB:K ratio, but his lack of power will probably inhibit him at higher levels. Adam Loewen seems to be flying under the radar; he's been quite a bit better than last year. David Cooper has stunk.
Pitchers
New Hampshire has a very strong rotation. The best pitchers so far have been Luis Perez and Randy Boone, two guys who are not generally considered top prospects, but could make it as fringe Major Leaguers someday. Kyle Drabek has a good ERA and K rate, but he needs to get his walks down. I'd expect (and hope for) him to stay at New Hampshire for most of the year. Ditto for Zach Stewart (on the staying at New Hampshire part), as he is still adjusting to life as a starter, and while his numbers are pretty bad right now, I'm not going to start to worry this early in the transition. Scouts are high on his stuff - was it Sickels who likes him even more than Drabek? - he just needs some more time. The fifth starter is Bobby Bell, and he's another guy who was recently turned into a starter. This is the first time he's been tested at the minor league level, and he's going through a rough patch right now, but once again I think we need to be patient. He's got a good K/BB ratio; perhaps he's been unlucky on batted balls.
Though most minor league relievers aren't worth taking a second look at, New Hampshire has a trio of interesting bullpen-men: Tim Collins, Dan Farquhar, and Trystan Magnuson. Magnuson has been the best, which I'm not sure many of us would have predicted before the season, though it wouldn't be totally surprising to see him become a solid MLB reliever; he was once a high draft-pick, after all. Farquhar and Collins both have the same problem: walks. They both have the strike-outs (especially Collins - 25 in 14 innings), but both need to drastically reduce their free-pass rate.
Las Vegas 6 at Tacoma 2
Las Vegas played an afternoon game on Getaway Monday to wrap up their series with Tacoma, Seattle's AAA affiliate. The 51s came in down 2-1 in the series, but were looking set to even it up with ace Brad Mills on the mound. Mills delivered, pitching six shut-out innings while only allowing two hits. However, he walked four and had a 4:10 GB:FB ratio, and the components are the things we should be focusing on when evaluating minor league pitchers. Despite Mills' hot start, his fly-ball tendencies and high walk rate (which seemed to have been improved upon at the outset of the year, but has been creeping back up) still have me dubious that he can stick in the AL East as a starter. Nevertheless, for me he's #2 on the call-up list, behind only Scrabble.
On offense, Brett Wallace smacked his 10th homer of the a year, a three-run blast that gave him 26 RBIs, only one behind the RBI machine that is Alex Gonzalez. He also had a walk among his 4 PAs. There wasn't much more to speak of on offense - Jarrett Hoffpauir walked and didn't strike out, of course (and he also stole a base), and J.P. Arencibia singled and K'ed in 4 trips.
New Hampshire 2 at Reading 4
Kyle Drabek got the start and was pretty good - in 6 innings, he allowed 8 base-runners and struck out 7. He allowed 4 runs, but no home runs, so even though it doesn't qualify as a "quality" start, I'd still give him a big ol' pat on the butt. Trystan Magnuson was even better in relief, allowing just a hit in 2 innings while striking out 3.
Unfortunately, the bats couldn't come through for Drabek as they were shut down by Australian Drew Naylor. Adam Loewen had a good day by blasting two doubles, driving in one of the Cats' runs, and scoring the other. Darin Mastroianni's hitting streak was snapped at 15 games, and he failed to even reach base, though he did have the other RBI. Brad Emaus reached base three times on two singles and a walk.
Dunedin 1 at Palm Beach 7
Through four innings it was a pitcher's duel between Ryan Page and Arquimedes "of Syracuse" Nieto, but Palm Beach scored single runs in the 5th and 6th, and even though Page ended with a solid line (6 IP, 9 base-runners, 2 ER, 4 K), that was enough to stifle the D-Jays what with old Eureka on the mound. Of course, Palm Beach tacked a bunch of insurance runs on Chad Beck, and by the 7th this one was a laugher.
Nobody did much of anything on offense. Seriously - there were no extra base hits, and nobody reached base more than once. So I'll spare you the details.
West Michigan 5 at Lansing 6
West Michigan got to Aaron Loup early, scoring three runs in the top of the first. But the Lugnuts were patient and eventually crawled back to take this one 6-5. They scored two runs in the 3rd on a double, two fielder's choices neither of which resulted in an out, a steal, a walk and an SF. They scored two more on a similar sequence of small-ball-like events to tie the game at four in the 5th. And finally, in the 6th they gained the lead by scoring another two runs on a third inning of "just keeping the line moving" to take their first lead of the game, which they would maintain until the end.
Kenny Wilson and Eric Eiland were the table-setters; Wilson reached base three times and stole two bags, while Eiland did the same except he reached base one fewer time (but also had a SF). A.J. Jimenez doubled in four trips.
Three Stars!
3. Kenny Wilson - 3 times on base, 2 steals
2. Brad Mills - 6 shut-out innings
1. Brett Wallace - 3-run homer, BB
Links
- MILB.com announced their Hitters and Pitchers of the Week, and for the first time since I started keeping track of these two weeks ago, there was a Baby Jay honoured. In fact, there were two - a pitcher and a hitter. Robert Ray was the PCL's Pitcher of the Week, and here is an excerpt from MILB's Josh Jackson:
Pacific Coast League
Robert Ray, Las Vegas
1-0, 1.80 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 15 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 10 SO
Toronto farmhand Robert Ray didn't factor in the decision of his first start of the week, a Tuesday night affair the 51s dropped in Reno to the Aces. Ray was decent over six innings, picking up six punchouts and allowing three runs on four hits and four walks. It was his next outing, though, that set him apart from all other PCL hurlers this week. He scattered four hits and a pair of walks over a nine-inning shutout against the Tacoma Rainiers on Sunday. The win, Ray's third in 2010, marks his second career complete-game shutout -- he threw one for Double-A New Hampshire in 2008.
- Meanwhile, Darin Mastroianni kept doing his thing - reaching base and scoring runs, that is. But he was also a prolific run-producer for the Fisher Cats, driving in eight to earn Hitter of the Week honours for the Eastern League. I'll let Josh take it away once more:
Eastern League
Darin Mastroianni, New Hampshire
.483/.543/.793, 14-for-29, 0 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 SB
Blue Jays prospect Darin Mastroianni, back in the Eastern League after spending the second half of '09 there, started the week on a tear. He tripled and went 3-for-4 to collect four RBIs and a run scored against New Britain on Monday, and on Tuesday, he picked up where he left off, tripling again, plating and scoring another run and banging out four hits. He was 3-for-5 against the Rock Cats on Wednesday, and in Thursday's series finale, he gave them a parting-gift homer to remember him by. Mastroianni knocked in a run on Friday in Binghamton and another one on Saturday, and he enters the new week carrying a 15-game hitting streak.
In the last two weeks we've done updates on Lansing and Dunedin, so it's time for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Cats currently share the lead of the Eastern Division with Binghamton, although just three games ago they had a three game lead. Their record is 19-12.
Hitters
Brian Jeroloman seems to have completely changed his approach (actually, after looking up his stats I think he made this decision before the 2009 season, but is just now getting the hang of it) - he's now hitting the tar out of the ball at the expense of his previously-otherworldly plate discipline. He's maintained a strong walk rate, but his strike-outs are way up - 30 in 92 plate appearances is a lot. Still, it's impressive that he's been able to re-invent himself, and given this unique situation he may still be in the learning process, so don't draw any hard conclusions about his true talent level yet.
We all love Darin Mastroianni 'round here, right? Maestro Yanni has been great this year, walking a ton, stealing a ton of bases while rarely getting caught, and even flashing a bit of power (.147 ISOP). Brad Emaus has hit extremely well... when he's been healthy. Eric Thames has shown power, patience and speed, though his strike-outs are a little high. Jonathan Diaz is somewhat intriguing given his Hoffpauir-esque BB:K ratio, but his lack of power will probably inhibit him at higher levels. Adam Loewen seems to be flying under the radar; he's been quite a bit better than last year. David Cooper has stunk.
| Player | POS | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | AVG | OPS | E |
| Jonathan Jaspe | C | 5 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .450 | .706 | .412 | 1.156 | 0 |
| Brian Jeroloman | C | 23 | 76 | 13 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 40 | 15 | 30 | 0 | 0 | .446 | .526 | .329 | .972 | 1 |
| Brad Emaus | 2B | 19 | 66 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 33 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .453 | .500 | .303 | .953 | 0 |
| Eric Thames | LF | 29 | 109 | 24 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 26 | 60 | 12 | 27 | 6 | 0 | .372 | .550 | .294 | .923 | 2 |
| Darin Mastroianni | CF | 29 | 117 | 30 | 37 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 53 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 1 | .411 | .453 | .316 | .864 | 1 |
| Adam Calderone | LF | 27 | 107 | 16 | 32 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 54 | 6 | 24 | 1 | 4 | .328 | .505 | .299 | .832 | 0 |
| Adam Loewen | LF | 26 | 83 | 15 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 35 | 14 | 23 | 6 | 1 | .376 | .422 | .253 | .798 | 0 |
| Jonathan Diaz | SS | 26 | 84 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 31 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .423 | .369 | .286 | .792 | 1 |
| Al Quintana | 3B | 7 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .381 | .238 | .714 | 1 |
| Callix Crabbe | 2B | 22 | 84 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 33 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 1 | .316 | .393 | .214 | .709 | 3 |
| David Cooper | 1B | 28 | 111 | 10 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 33 | 12 | 17 | 0 | 0 | .315 | .297 | .243 | .612 | 2 |
| Manny Mayorson | SS | 17 | 60 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .308 | .300 | .250 | .608 | 3 |
| Shawn Bowman | 3B | 12 | 43 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .321 | .186 | .163 | .507 | 2 |
| Luis Sanchez | SS | 7 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .120 | .130 | .087 | .250 | 2 |
Pitchers
New Hampshire has a very strong rotation. The best pitchers so far have been Luis Perez and Randy Boone, two guys who are not generally considered top prospects, but could make it as fringe Major Leaguers someday. Kyle Drabek has a good ERA and K rate, but he needs to get his walks down. I'd expect (and hope for) him to stay at New Hampshire for most of the year. Ditto for Zach Stewart (on the staying at New Hampshire part), as he is still adjusting to life as a starter, and while his numbers are pretty bad right now, I'm not going to start to worry this early in the transition. Scouts are high on his stuff - was it Sickels who likes him even more than Drabek? - he just needs some more time. The fifth starter is Bobby Bell, and he's another guy who was recently turned into a starter. This is the first time he's been tested at the minor league level, and he's going through a rough patch right now, but once again I think we need to be patient. He's got a good K/BB ratio; perhaps he's been unlucky on batted balls.
Though most minor league relievers aren't worth taking a second look at, New Hampshire has a trio of interesting bullpen-men: Tim Collins, Dan Farquhar, and Trystan Magnuson. Magnuson has been the best, which I'm not sure many of us would have predicted before the season, though it wouldn't be totally surprising to see him become a solid MLB reliever; he was once a high draft-pick, after all. Farquhar and Collins both have the same problem: walks. They both have the strike-outs (especially Collins - 25 in 14 innings), but both need to drastically reduce their free-pass rate.
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | HB | BB | SO | WHIP | HLD | GF |
| Luis Perez | 3 | 2 | 3.08 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 25 | 1.18 | 1 | 0 |
| Kyle Drabek | 4 | 2 | 3.18 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 30 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 34 | 1.41 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Boone | 1 | 2 | 2.93 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30.2 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 25 | 0.98 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Bell | 2 | 2 | 6.67 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.2 | 40 | 26 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 1.62 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Stewart | 2 | 1 | 6.94 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.1 | 26 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 1.59 | 0 | 0 |
| Bubbie Buzachero | 2 | 0 | 9.31 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 | 30 | 23 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 2.33 | 2 | 2 |
| Trystan Magnuson | 0 | 0 | 1.56 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17.1 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.87 | 6 | 2 |
| Adrian Martin | 0 | 1 | 3.52 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15.1 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 1.43 | 4 | 2 |
| Tim Collins | 1 | 0 | 4.91 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14.2 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 1.43 | 2 | 6 |
| Danny Farquhar | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12.0 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 1.50 | 0 | 12 |
| Marty McLeary | 1 | 1 | 6.75 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2.14 | 0 | 0 |
| Vince Bongiovanni | 3 | 0 | 1.13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1.38 | 0 | 4 |
| Zach Dials | 0 | 0 | 5.68 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2.05 | 0 | 1 |
| Dumas Garcia | 0 | 0 | 11.25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2.75 | 0 | 1 |
| B.J. LaMura | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 |
