Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Urena Triples his Triples

Buffalo won 1-0 on a solo home run and eight strong innings from Scott Diamond. New Hampshire continued their winning ways with Richard Urena starring. Dunedin split a doubleheader. In the game they won, Ryan McBroom hit a grand slam and Jon Harris pitched a seven inning complete game. In the game they lost, Sean Reid-Foley had a bad, bad start. Lansing had the night off. Bluefield had the bats going and they ran up eleven runs. Vancouver were well beaten with TJ Zeuch taking the loss. The GCL Jays won, again, with some good hitting at the top of the order.

Indianapolis 0 Buffalo 1

One solo home run was the game winner. Who hit it? Montero, Dominguez, Colabello? No, it was Ryan Goins, or as Jerry Howarth might say Goins, Goins, Gone. Each team had four hits. Dalton Pompey was 1-3.

Scott Diamond was the star on the mound. He went eight innings of four hit shutout ball. He didn't walk a hitter and notched up six K's. Dustin Antolin handled the ninth in only seven pitches.

New Hampshire 7 Bowie 4

Richard Urena likes AA. Three hits, three triples and three RBI made for a great night. Urena tripled in the first and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth he tripled for the second time and scored on a fielders choice off the bat of Dwight Smith. Smith doubled to score Urena's third triple. Shane Opitz had a two run home run in the second inning. Emilio Guerrero had two hits. Rowdy Tellez took an 0-4 but he did walk.

Wilmer Font went six innings, a two hitter, and allowed a run. He did have eight K's. John Anderson gave up a run in two innings. Alonzo Gonzalez is just up from Dunedin and he had a rocky start. He loaded the bases in the ninth and then unleashed a wild pitch. Chris Smith had to come in to lock down the win.

Dunedin 4 Daytona 5 - game 1

Sean Reid-Foley had a stinker in this game. In the first inning a double and a single gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Then in the second the wheels came off, a walk and five hits, two of them doubles, let the Cubs build a 5-0 lead. SRF was pulled after two. Chris Rowley took over and went the remaining four innings. He was better than SRF, two hits, no runs in his four innings.

The Jays did try and come back. Gunnar Heidt had a two run double in the third and Ryan McBroom followed with a sac fly. In the fourth, Anthony Alford had another sac fly after the Cubs loaded the bases with walks. However Dunedin went ten up and ten down from there and were unable to get the tying run on base.

Dunedin 7 Daytona 2 - game 2

Ryan McBroom took care of business in the third inning with a grand slam. McBroom singled and scored in the sixth. Anthony Alford had two hits, one of which was his seventh home run. Jonathan Davis also had two hits.

Jon Harris pitched a complete game of seven innings. He held Daytona to four hits, one walk and two runs.

Lansing - scheduled day off

Everett 7 Vancouver 2

TJ Zeuch started and went five innings. It wasn't his best start. He allowed a couple of hits in the first inning but escaped. He cruised through the second and third but gave up three runs in the fourth. He wasn't hit hard in that inning, three ground ball singles and a soft fly ball single but it did lead to three runs. In his five innings Everett had eight hits off Zeuch, six were ground ball singles and three of those were infield hits. He wasn't hit hard. Nate Abel followed and allowed two runs as did Jackson McClelland.

Vancouver did score a run in the first inning. Joshua Palacios reached on an error, moved up on a passed ball and a single, and scored when Cavan Biggio hit into a double play. Biggio tripled in the eighth and scored on a ground out. In total the Canadians just had six hits.

Pulaski 1 Bluefield 11

Urena's heroics didn't allow me to use my Alias Smith and Jones reference in the headline. Brad Jones was 2-5 with a home run and three ribbies. Lance Jones was 3-4 and Ridge Smith was 2-4 with a triple and a home run. The 23 year old Cuban, Javier Monzon, was 2-3 with a walk and a triple. Vladdy Jr was 1-5.

Kyle Weatherly went six innings and the only run he allowed was unearned. Kelyn Jose added two nice innings with three K's.

GCL Yankees West 4 GCL Blue Jays 7

The Jays bashed out 13 hits and the top three in the order had eight of them. Kevin Vicuna was the lead off hitter and he went 3-5 with a triple. He scored three runs and drove in two. Norberto Obeso was third in the order. He was 3-3 with two walks, two RBI and a run scored. In between those two was Sterling Guzman who had two hits and an RBI. Eight hits, four runs scored and five RBI from your top three. Antony Fuentes also had a three hit day, he scored and drove in a run. Hot hitting Ryan Gold had a rare 0-4.

Wilfri Aleton wasn't at his best but got the win. Aleton went five innings and escaped with three runs allowed. The Yankees had seven hits off him, plus a walk, but Aleton held them to three runs. Jared Carkuff provided good middle relief for 2.1 innings and William Ouellette registered his first save.

3 Stars

3rd star: Scott Diamond

2nd star: Ryan McBroom

1st star: Richard Urena

Boxes

Posted by Gerry on Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 07:49 AM EDT.

Urena Triples his Triples | 28 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

lexomatic - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 08:18 AM EDT (#328800) #

So Urena has 5 triples on a dozen games? I like that.

ayjackson - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 10:01 AM EDT (#328803) #

Did Obeso get a big signing bonus or was he one of the under the radar internationals?

He's raked last year in the DSL and again this year in the GCL. Having just turned 21 last month, he might be ripe for a late season promotion to Bluefield.

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 10:07 AM EDT (#328805) #

Urena is having as good or better a season at the plate than Yoan Moncada, aka best prospect in baseball, is a year younger and has much more defensive value.

Mike Green - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 10:24 AM EDT (#328807) #

Nope. Moncada has had a better season with the bat than Urena, and it isn't close, notwithstanding Urena's impressive start to his AA career with the help of a .476 BABIP. Urena is a year younger and has more defensive value, and is clearly a great prospect. There is no need to oversell his offensive improvement this year.

The club is in a great medium term position in the key infield positions. Tulowitzki is doing fine in mid-career. Travis is entering his prime. Urena is moving up through the system nicely. Donaldson is having a great late prime and there is a possibility that Guerrero will be ready in a few years. The decision that they need to make is whether they can extend Donaldson. He's a better player and a better bet than David Price. I wouldn't mind taking my chances on his age 38 season.

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 10:35 AM EDT (#328808) #

Now what happened to your strikeouts argument, Mikey?

and not close?

SS R.Urena (20): 463pa, 5.6bb%/14.9k%, .358babip/.314avg, .160iso, 140wrc+
2B Y.Moncada (21): 437pa, 13.5bb%/24.3k%, .388babip/.299avg, .214iso, 154wrc+

ramone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 10:58 AM EDT (#328809) #

I tweeted this line out and I'll add it to this thread as it fits but BP did their Eyewitness Account today and on Urena they said: "Urena has a major-league floor as a utility player.....though there's still a long way to go if he's going to develop into an everyday player"

Link ($) http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=30096

Mike Green - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:09 AM EDT (#328810) #

Mikey worked when I was 7. Alas, Sandy Koufax was still pitching then.

It's a fair point that Moncada's K rate in double A is worrisome, but the combination of W rate and power at that level is a more powerful indicator than it is in A ball. So far, in double A, Urena has 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 2 doubles and 5 triples. I don't think it tells you that much except that he isn't obviously overmatched (which is a good thing).

I wouldn't get too excited about whether Moncada is properly rated as the #1 prospect in baseball. Scouts evidently love him now. I haven't seen him in the field, but there have been reports that while he has all the tools, the implementation is sometimes below par. By all accounts, he is very strong but the overall athleticism and focus that would make him a good candidate to play a key infield role may not be there. It wouldn't shock me at all if the Red Sox trade him (as they did Hanley so many years ago).

boz - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:14 AM EDT (#328812) #

What exactly is Harold Ramirez out of the Fisher Cats lineup ?

boz - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:17 AM EDT (#328813) #

Sorry,WHY exactly is Harold Ramirez not in the Fisher Cats line up ?

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:23 AM EDT (#328814) #

hey ramone feel free to share more of that scouting report ;)

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:24 AM EDT (#328815) #

sorry Mike, no more -y from me.

bpoz - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:28 AM EDT (#328816) #

With prospects you never know. I fully expected Pompey to be better than Pillar. So far that opinion is wrong. But Pillar is playing this year as a 27 year old and Pompey as 23 year old.

Moncado is a great physical speciman. That is very impressive. But how will it play in the Majors. Urena is not as good a physical speciman. Let me add Tellez. His build may seem to suggest problems.

I like Tellez's chances of becoming the biggest super star. I like his chances to become a big HR threat. EE and Ortiz are that kind of Hr threat. They carry a team. They destroy other teams.

ramone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:35 AM EDT (#328817) #

I'll add a bit more Ugly, it's quite underwhelming for what I expected. They have his realistic role as a utility player and for his future tool grades they have:
Hit 55
Power 40
Speed 50
Glove 50
Arm 60

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:38 AM EDT (#328818) #

Urena should be another interesting case example of stats vs. scouting.

For now I'll bet on the stats.

finch - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:38 AM EDT (#328819) #

For all the chatter we heard about the new managerial team blasting AA for trading the entire farm system, AA definitely left us with a lot of young nuggets in the lower end of the system.

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 11:45 AM EDT (#328821) #

That 40 power grade sticks out to me. Urena has shown more than that kind of power already at age 19-20, and has a solid projectable frame as well.

And I understand the hesitancy with his hit tool grade given that his avg and K% were going the wrong way in previous years but this year his contact numbers have been excellent (.358babip, .315avg, 14.9k%) despite being only 20 in A+ and AA.

We'll see. I'm used to our kids getting overlooked so I wouldn't be surprised if this is just another example of it.

Mike Green - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 12:04 PM EDT (#328824) #

Urena's glove was rated a 50 and Moncada's a 60 by BP? Damned if I know. What I've seen suggested that Urena ought to be at least a capable defensive shortstop (and maybe a lot better than that), and that while Moncada has all the tools, he may lack the ability to translate them into skills and consequently he may end up in the outfield or at first base before too long.

John Sickels, who I have a lot of respect for, indicated in July that he wondered whether Urena had the range for shortstop long-term. I guess you have to see him day in and day out to form a more reliable opinion.

uglyone - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 12:56 PM EDT (#328830) #

Yeah, that's glaring. A guy with a legit shot at sticking at SS getting his glove rated far lower than a guy who's having trouble handling 2B even in milb.

Nigel - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 01:03 PM EDT (#328832) #

I think one of the problems scouting Urena is that he doesn't make things look effortless like many top middle infield prospects. I look at Gudino in Vancouver right now. He looks like God's anointed child to play baseball. Everything looks effortless with him - except he can't hit a lick. His swing looks beautiful though and if you saw him on a few days when he hits something you'd sure think he was destined for stardom. I only saw him a few times but Urena's swing doesn't look effortless and he does have some issues fielding to his right. I don't see why he couldn't be an average defender at SS though. I think scouts will always question Urena.

85bluejay - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 01:37 PM EDT (#328833) #

Thanks for that report Nigel. It's too early to worry about where Urena ends up defensively, though I'm more optimistic that Gudino is more likely the long-term SS (that's on the chance that he even makes the show) - I think his bat will develop, his K:BB ratio is not terrible. At the very least, Urena's performance has made him an interesting asset.

#2JBrumfield - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 03:06 PM EDT (#328838) #

You are cordially invited to check out some Vancouver Canadians pregame photos from last night, mostly featuring T.J. Zeuch. I will get around to going more in-depth about Zeuch and the C's series against Everett but in short, I like what I'm seeing from the 2016 first rounder.

Hodgie - Thursday, August 11 2016 @ 05:50 PM EDT (#328841) #

Personally, I tune out as soon as someone begins to talk about a player's ceiling and/or floor. It implies a level or certainty that, if history has taught us anything, just doesn't exist in the scouting world.

Shoeless Joe - Friday, August 12 2016 @ 12:34 AM EDT (#328858) #

Urena still has some pretty big left/righty splits. Until his hitting from the right side improves, he will still project more as a utility guy.

dan gordon - Friday, August 12 2016 @ 02:53 AM EDT (#328863) #

Urena has typically produced an OPS 200 - 300 points better while hitting left handed. When I see something like that from a switch hitter, I always wonder why the guy is switch hitting. Especially in a guy so young. It strikes me as unlikely he would have that large a drop off lefty on lefty if he kept hitting from his strong side against all pitchers.

scottt - Friday, August 12 2016 @ 04:18 AM EDT (#328865) #

Switch hitting is not something you pick up later. Most switch hitters are right handed guys who started playing the game hitting from the right side and who eventually tried hitting from the left side and saw some success. I think you need to look beyond OPS. If the contact rate is good right on left, you'll probably strike out more going left on left.

uglyone - Friday, August 12 2016 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#328873) #

at a certain point though, when the difference is ao extreme, you gotta bail on the project imo.

i mean, given how bad he is from the right side, how much worse could be do trying to hit lefties from the left?

hypobole - Friday, August 12 2016 @ 12:51 PM EDT (#328877) #

His numbers from the right side are mediocre this year, they were bad last year, with the one constant being a lack of power.

Semi-pointless speculation without actually watching him. If he's continuing to improve, why bail?

scottt - Saturday, August 13 2016 @ 07:08 AM EDT (#328890) #

The problem with switch hitting is that you need twice the amount of batting practice.
In LIttle Leagues, my son was hitting right handed, then decided to switch to hitting from the left side, just because of peer pressure. I figure he should stick to right handed against the lefties. There was this guy who was the nephew of a AA prospect who was a real pain, he ended up going to Junior Hockey instead, but he was really tough lefty we had to face every year.

Double the practices, double the blisters.

Anyway, to keep things simple I had him stick to the same side he started even when the pitcher changed.

Urena has lots of time left.

Outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, rehabbing an Achilles injury, joined the Bisons on Friday. He struck out swinging in his first two at bats, grounded out in the sixth, then struck out swinging again in the ninth.

Justin Haley, a Red Sox prospect in AAA, looks better than what they have in the rotation in Boston.

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