A lot going on today. First of all, in John Vuch’s daily e-mail he noted that David Kopp had been granted his unconditional release by the organization. Kopp was always a bit of an enigma with stuff that was, at times, better than his results. He struggled to stay healthy with problematic shoulder issues that were recurring. Last year, the organization moved Kopp to a relief role in an attempt to stabilize his performance. It never worked and now David will be moving on to the next chapter of his life in which I, personally, wish him the best.
I’ve met David before, once and briefly, while in Springfield. I’ve also had numerous e-mail exchanges with one of David’s family members who is a frequent reader of the site. It’s clear to me that David has a lot of people that care about him and I hope that his next endeavor is fulling and rewarding.
Trevor Rosenthal tweets that left hander Ryan Copeland is currently in the hospital with a blood clot. Again, best wishes to Ryan and hopefully he makes a speedy recovery.
Cody Stanley talks about his recent suspension. I’ve become vary jaded to the “I bought some random product and it must have had these PED related drugs in it” line that is so common among athletes. I’ve heard it so often between MMA and baseball that I’m remarkably cynical about the veracity of these claims.
Jenifer Langosch reports on Jordan Swagerty’s season ending surgery.
Memphis 0, Springfield 4
Memphis
- Brandon Dickson was touched up for 9 hits and 4 ER in 4 innings. He struck out 3. Dickson has been a workhorse in the Memphis rotation for two years running accruing 167 and 157.1 innings in the last two years. He lacks the a true out pitch that excites scouts but he’s an extreme control pitcher who rarely walks the opposition and maintains a good, not great strikeout rate at Memphis.
- Adam Reifer struck out 1 and allowed 1 hit in 2 innings of work.
- Pete Kozma, Sam Tuivailala, Chris Swauger and Jermaine Curtis all went 1-for-2. The first three doubled.
Springfield
- Scott Gorgen continued what looks like a very positive return to baseball post injury with a 4 inning, 5 strikeout performance in which he allowed no walks and no runs. Memphis had 3 hits off him.
- Nick Greenwood allowed 1 hit in an inning.
- Xavier Scruggs was 2-for-3.
- Greg Garcia and Rainel Rosario both went 1-for-3 with a double.
Palm Beach 6, Quad Cities 1
Palm Beach
- Drew Benes allowed 4 hits in 4 innings. He struck out 2 and allowed 1 ER.
- Chase Reid struck out 3 in 2 innings of work. He allowed 1 hit.
- Jose Pasen pitched a scoreless frame walking 1.
- Ronnie Gil was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Mike O’Neill was 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Luis de la Cruz was 1-for-1 with a walk.
- Vance Albitz was 1-for-2 with a walk.
Quad Cities
- Todd McInnis struck out 3 in 4.2 innings. He allowed 4 hits and 1 walk for 1 ER.
- Robert Stock got roughed up for 4 ER on 3 hits and 1 walk in just 1 IP.
- Matthew Williams was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
- Colin Walsh doubled and walked.
Entries (RSS)
Good for Gorgen hope he has a bounce back season.
He would help replace Swaggerty, Kopp and Ottavino at the higher levels of the system, for potential help in the near future.
Sam Tuivailala is hitting well for the AAA club…where will he play this year
QC or below. I’d guess Johnson City.
QC roster is already out. He’s not in QC. I figured he would start JC but he has been doing well facing the bigger guys.
If PB beat QC by a score of 6-1, then how did PB pitcher Drew Benes give up 4 runs, while Robert Stock gave up 4 runs for QC?
It’s a typo. I suspect that was 4 hits…hence the 1 ER at the end of the sentence.
Yep. sorry. I’ve been catching these DFRs last minute. Busy weekend.
I knew what you meant. Just yanking your chain.
With kelly in MEM and hooker in the bullpen, should we expect gorgen to start in springfield?
Makes sense. Memphis rotation is probably Miller, Dickson, Additon, Broderick, Kelly (if Kelly is at Memphis). Bullpen is probably some combo of Marte, Sanchez, Cleto, Fick, Reifer, Swindle, Todd, another lefty out of Freeman, Browning, or Greenwood, and Shooter Hunt. I’m not sure what the roster rules are for AAA, but some combo of EST, DL, AA, etc, should accommodate these guys.
Very strange that Tuivailala is even playing AAA in spring training after two very mediocre years in the GCL.
He has looked a lot better this Spring. Not enough to go to Memphis though. With the Quad City roster all but set maybe Tuivailala starts in Palm Beach? I’m not getting Kelly at Memphis unless they want to just get him out of the Springfield ballpark. No obvious spots in rotation are opening up for him in the near future. Unless the team is planning on him and Miller next year when Lohse and Westbrook leave.
Don’t think the FO has it’s heart set on Kelly starting in St Louis next year. Perhaps open to the idea that he might work into the 25 man might be the most optimistic expectation. It might be helpful that Kelly and Miller have been teammates a good part of their professional careers.