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Some of you are aware that over the last few years I've developed a dubious penchant for getting rained on at minor league games. So it's perhaps not surprising that my view of last night's Richmond game looked essentially like this:
Lightning strikes twice in DC https://t.co/QlDdu0XEMk
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) April 21, 2015
This may help explicate, though it does not exculpate, certain subsequent events. Elsewhere in the system, there was controversy!
Appeared Arenado tagged out runner at third to start game-ending DP. Umpire called safe on both. Rojas ejected. Charleston singles home two.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
HIGHLIGHTS: Johneshwy Fargas reached base 3 times and SB. Guillermo Quiroz had 3 hits including 2 doubles. Nick Vander Tuig is scoreless in starting debut.
Sacramento lost at Salt Lake City (Angels), 9-5
winning series 3-1 (despite my previous claims that they had swept it 3-0)
|
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
Other |
|
SS |
Ehire Adrianza |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
HBP |
|
1b |
Adam Duvall |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
DH |
Jarrett Parker |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
C |
Guillermo Quiroz |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
|
Braulio Lara |
3.2 |
11 |
9 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
8.78 |
|
Cody Hall |
1.1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Steven Okert |
2.0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.23 |
|
Andrew Heaney (SLC) |
5.1 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.85 |
This was Sacramento's second look at Andrew Heaney and though they were able to touch him up for 3 runs and 6 hits, Heaney now has 17 Ks (against 2 BBs) against RiverCat hitters in his 12 IP of work. Darren Ford, Adam Duvall, and Juan Perez all had hat tricks in the game. Sacramento did however continue to put a lot of runners aboard with 18 base runners and six XBH (two from Quiroz), albeit in the rocky mountain altitude.
Braulio Lara was pounded in this game, moving his ERA to nearly a run an inning on the young season. Cody Hall and Steven Okert continued their good work with 3.1 IP of scoreless relief and 4 Ks, 1BB.
Richmond lost at Bowie (Orioles), 5-3
|
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
Other |
|
SS |
Kelby Tomlinson |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
LF |
Daniel Carbonell |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
3b |
Mitch Delfino |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SF |
|
RF |
Mac Williamson |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
E |
|
2b |
Blake Miller |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
DH |
Devin Harris |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
|
Joe Biagini |
4.2 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.53 |
|
Joan Gregorio |
3.0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2.08 |
Richmond dropped their 5 straight game, and 7th in the their last 8 on this rainy night which included 2 hours and 41 min. of rain delays. The Squirrels got off to a good start, scoring 3 runs in the first two innings. The first came on Carbonell's clean single, steal of 2nd and subsequent throwing error, and a Mitch Delfino Sac Fly. Devin Harris' double off the wall was the key hit of their second rally. After that it was mostly lights out for the offense. Parenthetically, I've always found Devin Harris to be a really athletic looking player with outstanding physical tools, much like a right handed Jarrett Parker really with the same power swing/power arm/good speed combo. I wonder why his career trajectory has always been so org fillerish.
Here's a couple, admittedly somewhat inelegant shots of Carbonell's first inning, but you can see the bat speed and plus running speed.
Mac Williamson, who scuffled on the night offensively, made two fantastic defensive plays, the second of which was a real highlight play on a racing, leaping snag of a line drive hit directly over his head by Grandson of Yaz that prompted one scout to exclaim: "I didn't think he had a chance at that ball." Mac showed a great first step and fine routes on both plays.
Joe Biagini was consistently in the 90-93 range with fastball that he kept low in the zone, and around 77 on a humpback curve. However, the Bowie hitters were getting good swings off him consistently and made a ton of hard contact. By my count he only induced one swing through on the night.
Following the bottom of the 5th there was a long long rain delay that thinned out the crowd, and my notes on the game after this are somewhat...uh... absent, as was I. Sigh. But if I'm going down I'm taking my Weather Channel app (which promised 100% chance of rain for three hours) with me! My shame is the greater since I missed my chance of seeing Gregorio pitch for the series. Joan threw three relatively clean innings, though he did allow a run in his final inning on a double, groundout and WP. Despite what the box score says, Stephen Johnson did not appear in this game, unless he has taken to throwing left handed and sidearmed in a fantastic imitation of Phil McCormick.
San Jose defeated Inland Empire (Angels) 5-0
|
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
Other |
|
CF |
Jesus Galindo |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
3b |
Ryder Jones |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
IBBB |
|
DH |
Ben turner |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
GIDP |
|
LF |
Rafael Rodriguez |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
E, CS |
|
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
|
Nick Vander Tuig |
5.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Martin Agosta |
2.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9.00 |
|
Victor Alcantara (IE) |
7.0 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.50 |
The injury depleted SJ squad got a much needed 5-0 victory. The Giants system has been getting a long look at the top pitching prospects in the Angels system so far this year, with Sacramento having faced Heany and Nick Tropeano twice already, and in this game SJ went up against LAA's #7 prospect (BA) and former Futures Game member Victor Alcantara who held them to 1 run over over 7 innings before they broke out with a big 4 run inning in the 8th against the IE bullpen. Galindo, Ryder Jones, and Ben Turner were the only Giants to reach base twice (and for Ryder it was via the IBB), however every member of the lineup reached base at least once, and all but Ryan Lollis recorded a hit. All 13 hits in the game were singles. The Giants also managed to limit themselves to 1 Error in this game (from Brandon Bednar). And for all the RafRod fans out there, here's his two RBI single. Perhaps not scalded, but well placed.
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Nick Vander Tuig made his 2015 starting debut an effective one, allowing only 1 hit over 5 IP.
Only baserunner against Vander Tuig in his five innings was a check-swing infield single.
— Joe Ritzo (@JoeRitzo) April 21, 2015
Martin Agosta had another scoreless relief outing. He has not walked a batter now in 4 innings in his two relief appearances since leaving the rotation. The Inland Empire lineup features the $8mm Cuban Roberto Baldoquin, as well as former 1st round pick Kaleb Cowart who seems to be progressing the wrong way down the system.
If you have ever wondered what it's like to be a minor league executive, you're in luck. Enjoy Joe Ritzo's interview with San Jose Giant President/CEO Dan Orum.
Augusta lost at home to Charleston (Yankees), 5-4
|
|
Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
SO |
SB |
CS |
Other |
|
CF |
Johneshwy Fargas |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
C |
Aramis Garcia |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
GIDP |
|
1b |
Skyler Ewing |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
DH |
John Riley |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
HR |
HB |
WP |
ERA |
|
Sam Coonrod |
5.0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.80 |
|
Rodolfo Martinez |
1.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2.25 |
|
Reyes Moronta, BS |
1.0 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7.36 |
Augusta was on the verge of a 4-2 victory when things happened in the 9th inning. But prior to that, let's head to the live tweeting of the Augusta Chronicle's invaluable David Lee:
Augusta leads Charleston 2-1 in the bottom of the 4th. RBI singles by Riley and Cain for the GreenJackets.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
Coonrod hasn't had the 6-potential SL I've heard about, but it's flashing above average. FB was 93-96, settled to 90-94 after 2nd.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
Not sure who's been telling David about the 6 slider exactly.
Fargas loses his second ball in the night sky this homestand, results in a triple and eventually run. Tied at 2 in 5th.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
Some defensive difficulties for Johneshwy, however later in the game he ranged very far to into the alley to take away a certain triple. His speed and jumps are a definite asset in the field.
Also, 1.9 pop from Aramis Garcia. Gets good carry from the arm.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
Charleston beats Augusta 5-4 on the 3-run 9th. Crazy ending.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
Fargas and Garcia were the offensive stars of the game, with Johneshwy getting on base three times and stealing another bag. He's 9 for 9 since being thrown out in his first attempt. Aramis Garcia continues to pile up the walks and he added an RBI double in this game. It will be interesting to see how his approach helps him going up the ladder. Kiley McDaniel in a recent Fangraphs podcast mentioned that some teams' analytics departments who have spoken to him on the issue don't consider walk rates for hitters to be predictive or a particularly important thing to follow below AA, and in particular for an advanced college hitter in low A the question will linger here as to where the line is drawn between being patient and passive.
Coonrod had another solid start. Given his reputation as a below average command guy, the lack of walks so far have been particularly heartening. The fb seems to be settling in in the low to mid 90s as a starter, but we know that if he ever reverts to the pen, there's a few more mph in there. Whether or not the call at 3b on Jonah Arenado's swipe tag was right or wrong, Reyes Moronta didn't provide much relief. He did get Magic Wandoo'd a bit with 4 well placed singles in the inning. The 22 year old Dominican has now surrendered 8 baserunners in 3.2 innings for a robust 2.18 WHIP, while striking out 3. His career has been slow going as he spent 4 seasons in short season/rookie ball. After spending 2013 in the SK bullpen, he returned to the complex league AZL in 2014 where he had a very strong K rate, lost of walks, and a 4.66 ERA.
David's fuller game report is herer:
Scouting notes on Charleston-Augusta from Monday, featuring Coonrod. http://t.co/BmRsfJK1NL
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 21, 2015
and finally:
Michael Santos is indeed on Augusta's DL, for those wondering.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) April 20, 2015
Morning baseball today! Time to play some hookey. High draft choices take the bump all over the system as Ty Blach, Chris Stratton, and Tyler Beede are all scheduled to start. Stratton needs a strong outing to help the Squirrels break out of their road doldrums.