Lots of homeruns in Memphis and a second baseman has a good night to improve upon what looks like a very good season so far.
The story of the night, however, has to be Drew Benes’ big game in Palm Beach.
- Matt Adams had a big night going 4-for-5 with a HR. That’s his 6th on the season.
- Mark Hamilton was 2-for-4 with a HR.
- Pete Kozma was 1-for-4 with a HR.
- Nick Additon struck out 5 in 6 innings of work. He allowed 4 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks.
- Eduardo Sanchez‘s control reared it’s ugly head with a scoreless frame but 2 walks.
- Barrett Browning picked up the loss allowing 3 runs without retiring a batter.
- Kolten Wong was 1-for-4.
- Oscar Taveras was 2-for-4 with a triple.
- Greg Garcia was 1-for-2 with a walk.
- The Cardinals were shut down by a top prospect in a loaded Kansas City system: Jake Ordorizzi. He allowed 6 hits and 1 walk while punching out 7 in 7 innings of work.
- Michael Blazek, meanwhile, only pitched 3 innings walking 3 and striking out 2. He allowed 1 run on 2 hits.
- Scott Schneider was lit up for 4 runs in 2 innings of work and Justin Wright followed up with 3 runs in 1 inning of work.
- Starlin Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with a double. I know that the attention is mostly focused on Kolten Wong at 2nd base, and rightfully so, but Starlin Rodriguez is hitting for a near .900 OPS at Palm Beach.
- Alan Ahmady was perfect on the night going 3-for-3 with a double and 2 walks.
- Niko Vasquez was 2-for-4.
- Drew Benes punched out 12, which is more strikeouts than any two of his previous games combined this season, through 7 innings. Benes walked just 1 and allowed 4 hits for 2 ER.
- Juan Castillo was 1-for-3 with a homerun.
- Anthony Garcia was 1-for-3 with a walk. Garcia, 20, currently has a .292/.380/.462 line on the season.
- Dail Villanueva pitched through the 7th inning needing just 87 pitches. He was touched up for all 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. With a 20+ mph wind out to center, Villanueva allowed 3 homeruns.
- Danny Miranda pitched a scoreless 8th.
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Good to see Adams have a big night. He can rake with the bat. He just needs to increase that walk rate. The Royals have some good young arms in their system like Odrozzi, and Montgomery. If they can get starting pitching they will contend.
Adams has only 3 Ks and 4 BBs in his last 10 games. Impressive for a power hitter. Cleto and Sanchez have both settled down after rough starts this year and have done well in their last 10 games also.
Benes isn’t really getting any prospect love. But I’ve heard he throws hard doesn’t have very good command but has tremendous work ethic.
i think im having deja’vu, dind’t ordorizzi shut down the cards pretty badly about a week or so ago?
Yup, he’s a good pitcher. And the Cardinals play the same three teams TONS of times.
I was curious about Starlin Rodriguez so I hit Stat Corner for the first time this morning. I remembered that he had spent half a season at PB last year, but I forgot how well he hit, with a wOBA of .392 and a wOBA+ of 118.
This year, at 22, he’s at .370 and 120. Only real difference, with the usual SSS caveat, is a BABIP of .417 this year, vs. .364 in 2011. He’s hitting more ground balls (51% vs. 41% last year) and fewer line drives (11.5% in ’12, 18% in ’11).
One thing that struck me about SRod last year is the way he performed better after the midseason promotion to PB. His wOBA at QC was .364, so he earned the bump.
It’s great to have the kind of system where guys who perform that well still get jumped by someone like Wong, who’s younger and has a higher ceiling. And then he has Rahmatulla behind him at QC, with a .445 wOBA and a wOBA+ of 138.
Meant to say “first time this season.”
Thanks for info. SRod is underrated too bad he’s blocked by Wong.
Benes now has 35 K’s this year, against just 4 walks. An ERA around isn’t real good for the FSL, but you gotta love that ratio.
Not mentioned above, Taveras gunned a man down at the plate (no relay) for his 3rd assist of the young season (1 error). Playing centerfield, Oscar’s career numbers are 105 games, 13 runners cut down, and 5 miscues. Very impressive.
Juan Castillo’s line is up to .315/.366/.562, with a superb 8/11 BB/K. He still has a big problem with passed balls (6 in 24 games, after 14 in 63 last year), but he IS throwing guys out like he did in ’08-’10, at nearly 50% CS. Strong arm, possible very good bat, mucho trouble blocking/receiving pitches…maybe it’s time to consider converting the 22-year-old?
Anyone here seen Castillo in person?
I have. First game that I saw him he looked really lazy behind the plate, not framing balls just not looking good overall. A coach must have got to him because the next day he was a new guy looking for crisp in his movements and looking like a professional. He’s got a very good arm and quick release. He hit 9th in the lineup when I saw him but he had a bunch of hits. When he’s going right center he will hit for a high average. Remember he hit about .350 for Quad Cities to begin last year before being promoted to Palm Beach. There he was in an incident where he threw a bat at an opposing pitcher. He was punished by being dropped all the way down to Batavia and sat the bench for awhile until they gradualy started giving him playing time back where he started to hit again. He’s also been suspened for PED’s in 07 I believe.
Essentially, his bat isn’t good enough to play any other position but he is a fine catcher when he’s focused.
I appreciate those insights since I have been wondering about Castillo. Thanks.
That shoulda been “ERA around 4.00″ in the Benes comment. Oops.
Longmire looks to be out of the system soon, way too many 0-4′s. Too bad, he’s got great power
Longmire can’t or won’t shorten his swing. It’s too bad too. From Day 1 I’ve been complaining about his swing being too long. He’s got as much raw talent as any position player in the system too bad he can’t make the adjustment to make the most of it.
So do we have a radar gun reading on Benes fastball? When they drafted him they said that he needed work on his control, which has certainly been a lot better this year.
I don’t remember it being too great when I saw him in Jupiter. He’s certainly not as big as his father.