minor lines, 5/2/09

What to highlight today?  Fresno rained out.  San Jose's offense shut down.  Both lower minors starters gave up 6 ER.  So by default, perhaps the most important line of the day is from Joe English, who had his longest start of the season with 3.2 scoreless IP.   A top Rockies prospect had 2 HRs against San Jose.

AAA: Fresno at Tacoma postponed by rain
(The game was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader for August 2.)

AA: Connecticut defeated Portland 5-2

Connecticut: 2B Brock Bond: 2 for 3, BB, SB
Connecticut: LF Bobby Felmy: 4 for 4, 2B

Connecticut: LHP Joe English: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Connecticut: RHP Waldis Joaquin: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Connecticut: RHP Matt Yourkin: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 K--1 BK
Portland: RHP Justin Hedrick: 1.0 IP, 1 H

Felmy had four of the Defenders' ten hits to lift his AVG above .300 and his OPS above .800.  Bond was the other Defender with a multi-hit line, but his AVG remains below .250.

With Pereira on the DL, English made his third start after beginning the season with three relief appearances.  He didn't make it out of the 4th inning, but this was his longest appearance yet (in terms of IP).  Although the Giants placed him on the 40-man roster this off-season, BA didn't even include him on its prospect depth charts in its Prospect Handbook, let alone rank him among the organization's top 30 prospects.  His K/BB ratio remains just barely above 1.00 this year after he did not record a strikeout in his previous two appearances.  Joaquin struck out two of the five batters he faced, but the other three all reached base, and two of them scored, to raise his ERA to 5.40.  Yourkin struck out four of the ten batters he faced, improving the 27-year-old's peripheral stats to 12 H, 3 BB, and 17 K in 2.2 IP.  Hedrick, now with the Red Sox organization after the Giants released him this spring, has made four of his nine appearances against his former club.

A+: San Jose lost to Modesto 6-2

San Jose: 2B Nick Noonan: 1 for 4, 3B
San Jose: 3B Conor Gillaspie: 1 for 3, HBP, SO
Modesto: SS Hector Gomez: 3 for 4, 2 HR, SO

San Jose: RHP Oliver Odle: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K--3 HR
San Jose: RHP Craig Whitaker: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K--1 WP

Gillaspie was the only Giant to reach base twice, as their offense was limited to four hits, a couple walks, and a hit batter.  Despite just a .265 AVG, Gillaspie has a very healthy .384 OBP with his 15 BB (and 15 SO) among 83 AB.  However, it's usually not a good sign when a hitter playing defensively at a corner position has a SLG lower than his OBP.  Noonan, who is hitting just 8 for 37 (.162 AVG)  in his last nine games, contributed the Giants' only XBH with his 2nd triple.  Gomez, whom BA ranked the Rockies' #5 prospect, despite missing all of last season after suffering a season-ending injury in last season's opening game, had a big line in his fourth game of the year.  In the 1st and 3rd innings, he hit his first two HRs of the season.

Odle may have great control with his 7.00 K/BB ratio, but he has surrendered 7 HRs in 20.0 IP (four starts) and now has an ERA over 6.00.  In true long relief, Whitaker had his second longest appearance of the season which included a season-high 4 K to get his K/BB ratio back above 1.00.  Now a sidearmer, he has become a ground ball pitcher.  His 6/1 GO/FO line raised his GO/AO ratio to 2.75.

A-: Augusta defeated Lexington 9-7
(rallying for three runs in the 5th, 7th, and 8th innings after giving up six runs in the 2nd inning)

Augusta: 2B Juan Perez: 2 for 4, 3B, 2B
Augsuta: RF James Simmons: 2 for 3, HR, BB, SO

Augusta: LHP Eric Surkamp: 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 8 K--2 HR
Augusta: LHP Dan Runzler: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K
Lexington: RHP Jordan Lyles: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K--1 HR

Perez and Simmons each had two of the GreenJackets' ten hits, and combined they hit for the cycle, including Simmons' 1st HR of the year.  Both have AVGs just slightly above .240.

Surkamp allowed 6 ER in the 2nd inning but dominated the other five innings, at least statistically, with 3 H and 9 K in those four innings.  His H/IP is now over 1.00, but he has an impressive 30 K against just 3 BB this year.  Runzler struck out three of four batters for his 3rd save.  Lyles, whom BA ranked as the Astros' #6 prospect after they drafted him in the supplemental first round last summer, had five scoreless frames before allowing three runs in the 6th inning.  The 18-year-old has solid peripherals that include 27 K and 6 BB in 23.3 IP (five starts).