A quiet day in the minor league games. Joe Kelly leads the pitching for the Memphis squad and Amaury Cazana Marti shows everyone what he can do to baseballs.
Memphis 4, Springfield 6
Memphis
- Joe Kelly tossed 5 innings striking out 3 and walking none. He allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits. While Kelly needs to work on improving his third pitch, the groundball rate he generates with his fastball is a great indicator of starter potential.
- Barret Browning pitched a perfect frame.
- Adam Ottavino was lit up for 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits retiring just 1 batter.
- Amaury Cazana Marti was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a HR.
- Pete Kozma was 3-for-3.
- Mark Hamilton walked twice.
Springfield
- Adam Reifer scuffled allowing 2 ER in 2 innings on 3 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 2. Reifer has essentially be out of live baseball for 10 months so a slow start in spring training is not particularly surprising.
- Keith Butler struck out 1 in 1 IP. He allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 walk.
- Greg Garcia was 2-for-4 with a triple.
- Xavier Scruggs was 2-for-4.
Palm Beach 5, Quad Cities 1
Palm Beach
- Dean Kiekhefer allowed 1 hit and struck out 1 in 2 scoreless innings.
- Logan Billbrough struck out 4 in 2 innings allowing 1 hit.
- Starlin Rodriguez was 2-for-3.
Quad Cities
- Ryan Sherriff pitched 3 innings allowing 3 runs (1 ER). He was tagged for 2 hits while striking out 2.
- Iden Nazario was perfect over 2 innings striking out 2.
- Robert Stock allowed 2 hits and 2 runs with 1 walk during 2 IP.
- Roberto de la Cruz was 2-for-3.
Entries (RSS)
Has anyone seen stock pitch? Results have not been great but at this point in his development at a pitcher I am curious how he looks.
I haven’t, but my expectations aren’t very high given he hasn’t pitched for 3 years. I expect it will take a while.
I don’t think anyone should get their hopes higher than a 6th/7th inning bullpen arm on him.
Seriously…the ML bench to be almost all LH…why not give Cazana a chance
Or at least let him play in Memphis this season for right-handed system depth. I guess they are comfortable with Sugar Shane.
I heard he will be in Memphis this year.
A lack of Albert Pujols might have changed things.
Amaury is the new Albert.
It is only spring training, so the two pitchers I would give a pass to are Reifer and Stock. On the other hand, even though it is only spring training, I am worried about Cleto and Ottavino. The guys on the 40 man need to be ready to help the major league club, and neither has shown much this spring.
I’m going to keep touting Logan Billbrough. He’s like a poor man’s Boone Whiting!
I saw what you did there.
I really like what I’ve seen from Kiekhefer. He looks like an effective Loogy/late inning bullpen guy. He just gets the job done night after night.
Same here. He’s also been an intriguing guy for me, for some reason.
For those who have seen him pitch, what’s the scouting report on him?
What is Kelly’s 3rd pitch? How often does he throw it?
Does anyone know how long David Kopp will be out and what the prognosis is ?
Kopp said Tuesday morning that he has nerve irritation in his right (pitching) elbow and that he hasn’t pitched this spring. But the right-hander indicated the injury is not as bad as it would seem and he expressed optimism that he’ll begin a pitching program soon, and not miss much of the season.
On Kelly:He is also said to throw a change as his second pitch, with a curve as the third. He’s been a late innings reliever, but with three pitches, the Cards might well convert him to a starter.
Kelly has been a starter since he’s been drafted.
Good to see Kelly get a good start. He needs to improved his command when I saw him pitch. He’s got a nice sinking fastball that generates a lot of groundballs. He also need’s to improve his off speed pitches. I think down the road he will be a reliever.
I have heard this from others too, but I don’t understand the thinking. It seems too early to make him a reliever. I don’t know much about his secondary offerings, but his FB is plenty good to be a starter IMO.
He does have a good FB with some sinking action. But scouts say he will have to improve his overall command if he wants to be a starter at the next level.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/notes-from-the-backfields-jupiter-fl-day-3-of-3/
Azru tweeted the above link. Blazek sounds an awful lot like mcclellan. Lots of pitches. Okay velocity. No real plus pitches.