The farm went a collective 5-1 to open up August, while top prospect Carlos Martinez got the start. See how he did below!
- Freddie Bynum went 3-4 on the night, all singles
- Adron Chambers led off and went 2-4
- Shane Robinson hit 2 homers on the night, one of which was a walk-off grand slam to win the game
- Matt Carpenter hit his 9th homer of the year, which was also a solo-shot
- Andrew Brown had a hat trick in strikeouts
- Blaine Boyer was awful, as he gave up 10 hits and 6 runs over 3 innings pitched
- Raul Valdes pitched a perfect inning out of the pen and struck out 2
Springfield 7, Northwest Arkansas 1
- Zack Cox was 2-4 with 1 RBI
- Matt Adams went 1-3 with a walk
- Daryl Jones was 2-4 with a solo-HR in the 3rd
- Eric Duncan also added a 3-run homer and walked once
- John Gast pitched a solid game, as he gave up just 1 run over 6 innings, including 6 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts
- Francisco Samuel struck out a batter over a perfect inning
- Domnit Bolivar had 3 hits, including a 2-run shot in the 5th inning. He also stole his 6th base
- Kyle Conley and Xavier Scruggs both belted a double
- Adam Melker went 2-4 in the 9th spot with 1 RBI
- Luis De La Cruz started behind the plate and finished 1-3 with a walk and stolen base
- Rainel Rosario had a triple and walk in 3 at-bats
- Carlos Martinez had a solid start, as he struck out 8 in 6 innings and gave up 5 hits (1 homer), 3 runs, and 2 walks
- Chris Corrigan struck out 2 over 2 scoreless innings
- Keith Butler struck out 2 and gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning of work
- Kolten Wong led off, went 2-3, walked, and stole his 5th base on the year
- Oscar Taveras and Cody Stanley both went 2-4 with a double. Stanley added a stolen base
- Ronny Gil hit 9th and went 2-3 but also committed his 17th error
- Anthony Ferrara pitched a gem, as he gave up just 2 hits (both singles) over 7 shutout innings. He struck out 6
- Daniel Stienstra was 3-4 with a double
- Cesar Valera went hitless in the 9th spot, but he walked once and stole 2 bases
- Joseph Bergman and Juan Castillo both went 2-5 in the 1-2 spots
- Romulo Ruiz had a double and recorded a hat trick in strikeouts
- Virgil Hill had a triple as his sole hit in 3 at-bats. Hill posted an OPS in July of .814, but he also struggled with the strike zone with 21 strikeouts.
- David Medina went 1-3 with a stolen base
- Jose Almarante had a line of 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, and 2 K
- The bullpen was much better, as Yunier Castillo and Danny Miranda combined to pitch 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts
Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 2
- Tyler Rahmatulla was the only JC batter to record 2 hits and finished 2-4 and was caught stealing
- Steven Ramos led off, had a hat trick in strikeouts, and went 1-5
- Jesus Montero was 1-3 behind the plate with a walk
- Neal Pritchard went 1-2 in the 9th spot with a walk and HBP
- David Washington walked twice and committed his 4th error
- Eduardo Hiraldo gave up 4 runs over 4.2 innings but was burned by the defense, as none of the runs were earned. He was a bit wild with 3 walks and a wild pitch.
- Michael Santana faced one batter and struck him out
Entries (RSS)
All very nice, but I do wonder: would 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 HR be considered a “solid start” if a non-prospect was putting up the numbers?
You have to add the 8 K’s on to that line which makes it more impressive. Anytime you are giving up less hits than IP that is pretty solid. Then add in the over K per IP and I will take that more times than not. Obviously not a dominate start but a above avg to solid start.
It was a dominate start he had a no hitter through 4 then gave up 2 hits and a dink in the 5th and a HR in the 6th.
He had a no hitter through 5. It was a dominate start and he ran out of gas. First run was on a pop up to SS which may have been caught and that would have got him out of the inning.
Not so. He had a no hitter through 4. A solid single lead off the fifth, followed by a walk. Then, after 2 retired, he gave up another solid single and then a popup “single” that scored the 2d run before a runner was thrown out.
Martinez was dominant the first 4 innings but ran out of gas in the 5th and 6th.
It’s the “ran out of gas” part that makes me wonder if he is an eventual starter – long way to go to make that determination – really wish MiLB would publish pitch counts as part of their box scores the way MLB does. It would go a long way in helping evaluate endurance.
Some minor-league reports do have pitch counts; for example, Shelby was right at 100 pitches in that 5-inning start the other day.
Durability must be an issue with Martinez, given his physique, but I also wonder if he may be hitting the wall as regards innings pitched for the season. This is his first real season as a pro, after all, and he probably didn’t throw a lot of “innings” last year. Might it be a good idea to shut him down soon and work him up to a starter’s work load more gradually? Point accepted about the Ks, but I still worry about breaking the guy.
He’s 19, it’s his first summer in the US and it’s the 2nd half of the season. I don’t think we should really worry about durability for another 2 seasons.
I think the point is that given his physique, it is simply a red flag. He’s young. We don’t really know how much he has pitched because of his extended stint in EST. I have to assume that given his star quality and potential (not to mention bonus) that the club is monitoring him closely. Would I be surprised if they shut him down soon? Not really. I suspect/hope they are holding his pitchcounts down.
Rchii-You have to remember this is only his first year over here. I’m not sure how much he pitched back home. I know they play there all the time but do they have formal college type teams or how does that go? Overall this is his first year pitching professionally and it’s my belief that endurance can be increased over the years.
Don’t disagree at all. All I am saying is with Martinez there is definitely a real caveat – and that is his size and endurance. I know of at least one baseball guy that believes he projects as a reliever. That doesn’t make him correct, but there is a real reason behind his thinking. Martinez has upside out the behind. However, when I see him “hit walls” I get uncomfortable pangs in my stomach. In reality, it is something I should probably keep to myself.
I would say yes, in 100 degees at start time and against a very good team. The use of the word solid over quality is correct in my opinion for anyone.
Was a pitchers game until the springbirds offense let loose, bu that was with the relief pitcher on the hill (?).
Woops sorry I was referring to Gast!
Solid overall night for the system. Chambers keeps hitting, DJ Tools showing he still has something left in the tank, Cox doin his thing, CMart making hitters look foolish, Gast getting the job done, Wong staying steady and my favorite guy of all Taveras just keeps on hitting like a FREAK!
Also Virgil Hill turning his uber athleticism into some baseball skills. He still has a long way to go but nice to see movement in the right direction.
Oscar Taveras needs to be promoted, kid is a stud. He’s been injured a lot in his young career, but like Kevin Goldstein said this morning in his minor league update “now with 49 games in the bank, this is no longer a fluke.” I know this is aggressive but I really want him to spend all of 2012 in Springfield. At this point he has nothing left to prove in Single A ball.
Also, Matt Adams should get pushed to Triple A, I thought they were maybe showcasing him for a trade by leaving him in Springfield but now that he’s definitely staying in the fold a promotion is in order.
Not likely this year as they have Hamilton and Stavinoha playing first in front of him.
They need to clear out some of those AAAA players they have in the high minors. Its one thing to keep them as a backup plan in case of injury (Bynum, perhaps), but when they have been surpassed by all the prospects around them & some in the level below them (Stavinoha), quit wasting time. Cut Stavi, promote Matt Adams to Memphis & Xavier Scruggs to Springfield. Jim Rapoport is another example. All glove, 26 and back down to AA. Time to get some upward traction for those prospects who have earned it.
I’m in agreement with you but it just isn’t going to happen with a month left in the season. If that was even a possibility, Luna wouldn’t be back down in AA. Memphis does have a glut of players and most of those are on the 40 man. Those guys are not coming off this late in the season unless there is an injury.
There are a number of players at QC who won that ring at Johnson City last year including Taveras, Rosenthal and Whiting. Given how late we now are into the minor league season, I wonder if they are all going to stay put and see if they can duplicate last year’s effort. I kind of think so.
How worrisome is it that Taveras walks only 7% of the time against low-A pitching? It’s easy to forgive now–if he’s chasing stuff out of the zone, he’s still mostly crushing it–but is this something that’s likely to crop up as a bigger problem as he faces pitchers with more deceptive stuff at higher levels?
I think you answered your own question – when you are hitting everything, I don’t know that waiting for a walk is the way to go. However, as he progresses and his average drops, it will be something to watch. But as of now, we can’t know if it is a problem. I guess the alternative view is to develop patience now. Personally, I want to see him learning how to hit now, but that is just me.
I second that, good experience for the young guys to be in a penant race/playoffs.
That is former SS Yunier Castillo pitching for Batavia.
Interesting. Looks like his first inning as a pitcher in the system. Best of luck to Yunier with his migration to the mound.
very impressive start from ferrara..he’s had a very good year so far..a lot of base runners but his .213 baa is really good..i’d probably put him behind gast as the second best left handed starter in the minors for the cards..also only 3 homeruns given up in 99 2/3 innings pitched..outstanding
anyone think francisco samuel could make it to the majors this year at some point? sanchez more than like is done for the year..i know it’s a bit too early to be excited about him but i have hope he can still pan out..still fairly young at 25
Don’t see a way that Samuel makes it to the majors this year…maybe September…but I doubt it.
He does, however, look like major league talent if the control continues to be good.
The only thing about Ferrara that doesn’t project well is his SO/BB is less than 2.0. However, if he keeps tossing like yesterday that will fix itself. WHIP is good, his BAA is great, his groundball ratio is decent.
Cox, Tavarez, Wong, Adams (any order) are obviously the top four hitting prospects in the system. Who are the next tier of hitting prospects? Is there anyone that prevents it from being a huge drop off?
Matt Carpenter maybe, he has an OBP well above .400 though his power is pretty meh.
Conley hits well when he’s healthy.
Rosario has a .373 wOBA at PB.
Starlin Rodriguez has a .369 wOBA at PB after a .364 at QC. Pretty good for a 21-year-old middle infielder who played in the GCL last year.
Then there’s Greg Garcia. He has a .386 wOBA at PB, which is better than his .352 at QC. Still not sure what we have with him. He’s only 4 months older than Starlin, and they play the same position.
Garcia is capable of playing SS and 3b. In fact he was on same infield as Wong with Garcia being the SS.
I really am intrigued with Wittels too. Though havent seen much of him lately.
After those 4 there are other guys with interesting skillsets that aren’t necessarily complete. I would add Anthony Garcia, Rainel Rosario, Tommy Pham and Shane Robinson and Matt Carpenter. Obviously it’s a very big fall off. It has to be when its a good chance that our top 4 hitters are all Top 100 in baseball guys next year.
If we’re listing hitters (not all-around players/prospects, necessarily):
1. QC – Jonathan Rodriguez – wOBAr of .406 (36 points higher than Oscar T.)
2. PB – Kyle Conley – wOBAr of .400 (24 y/o, old for level, has lost time due to injury though)
3. SPR – Charles Culter – wOBAr of .400 (25 y/o, a little old for level, anecdotes say he’s def.-challenged at C)
4. MEM – Matt Carpenter – wOBAr of .407 (25 y/o soon to be 26, great OBP, lacks power)
Taveres has a wRC+ of 181.
Bryan Martinez pitched in the GCL lastnight, hopefully he can move up to another team this year.
Thanks for pointing that out, I had high hopes for him going into this year.
Man you guys can be brutal sometimes. He is 19. He ran out of gas in the 5th/6th. He will be fine.
What is the story of Keith Butler?
22 years old, drafted in the 24th round in 2009, out of a community college (Wabash Valley) in Illinois that apparently has a well-regarded program — lots of draftees over the years, although only one has reached the majors (and not for long). He has been rising steadily through the system and maintaining a K/9 rate over 9, with a K/BB ratio over 3 and a WHIP barely over 1 (in fact, below 1 this year at PB). Pure reliever, so not a lot of innings, but enough at different levels that those numbers seem sustainable. One warning flag: He is rather small.
If anybody has a scouting report on this guy, I’d love to see it. If he’s getting his results with power pitching rather than finesse beyond his level, he could be interesting.
Thanks Grunt
Some good info on Butler in here -
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=321&f=2089&t=7664943
I’ve seen Butler just once, last year for Batavia. He’s got good stuff, not great stuff, but looked like he was in the strikezone with every single pitch he threw. Funky delivery, with a high-ish leg kick and one of the shortest arm actions I think I’ve ever seen.
He’s not a big guy, but not small enough to worry about either. Certainly big enough to relieve at any level.
Honestly, the guy he reminded me most of was Huston Street. Firm fastball, plus command, fearless, and a pair of what looked like above-average to plus offspeed pitches. (Changeup looked nasty, the slider or cutter looked good but he only threw about two of them, so I would add a huge grain of salt to my impression.) Slightly low arm slot, muscular frame, right at six foot, etc. Street was who I immediately thought of.
Take it for whatever it may be worth.
I am in the minority that believes we should not be opposed to including Martinez in a package for young cost-controlled stud SS, CF, or SP this offseason. In fact, I believe Mo should be looking for a deal.
Didn’t finish my though process…He is a top 10 prospect in all of baseball, so other teams are probably salivating over him and would be willing to pay. His body type and arm action scare the bejeezus out of me. Oh, and of course, TINSTAAPP
SS? Yes
CF? No
SP? No
I just am not sure that there is a SS out there with equal value at this point. We won’t be getting Starlin Castro.
seriously? why no CF or SP?
Are you telling me if the mariners offered us pineda or king felix for martinez +, you would say no?
or if the bo sox offered us ellsbury for martinez?
I wouldn’t be opposed to it in principle, but the return had better be otherworldly.
You can get Manny Machado? I’d probably take it. But less than that level of talent? Not so much.
Taveras is almost as exciting of a prospect as C-Mart, and that’s saying something. He should spend next year in Springfield. Aggressive, yes. But we’ve seen prospects solidify their status in the friendly confines of Hammonds Field. At this point, he could put up monster numbers in AA as a 20 yo.
Actually ellsbury would be iffy, there would have to be more involved with that trade
I mostly agree with Andrew: the next handful of hitters for me are Anthony Garcia, Matt Carpenter, Rainel Rosario, Tommy Pham, and rifle-armed rightfielder Amaury Capellan, who’s hitting .333 with power and plate discipline in the DSL.
But I *don’t* believe the dropoff is profound. (In fact, I like Garcia as much if not more than Zack Cox; the teenager is mashing at .336/.426/.545, with solid strikezone command—after a terrific GCL performance last year.)
Anthony Garcia looks like our 5th best hitting prospect to me. Castellanos is with Chattanooga which also has Kyle Russell and a VanSlyke (not A.J.)