Offense came alive as the system earned a split yesterday with Memphis and Palm Beach pummeling their opponents. According to the official Palm Beach Twitter feed, Alan Ahmady took the league lead in doubles last night. Springfield nearly completed an amazing 9th inning comeback that included a crucial Oscar Taveras pinch hit appearance. Kolten Wong reached base in 5 of 6 plate appearances. Nick Additon got back on track after a few rough starts. Details after the jump…
Memphis 8, Las Vegas 1
- Eugenio Velez had a HR in 5 plate appearances.
- Ryan Jackson was 3-for-5 with a double and triple.
- Bryan Anderson, Pete Kozma, and Zack Cox all had 2 doubles.
- Matt Adams was 2-for-5.
- Cedric Hunter had a single.
- Nick Additon only allowed 1 R in 7 IP that featured 7 H, 1 BB, and 5 K.
- Nick Greenwood allowed 2 hits but no one scored in his lone inning.
- Adam Reifer pitched a perfect final frame.
- Kolten Wong was 4-for-5 with a double and walk batting lead off; he also stole his 7th base of the season.
- Chris Swauger, Jake Shaffer, and Greg Garcia each had 2 hits and a walk.
- Xavier Scruggs went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Jose Garcia and Jermaine Curtis each had singles.
- Kyle Conley walked twice.
- Oscar Taveras pinch-hit in the top of the 9th inning with the bases loaded and delivered a 2 RBI single.
- Tyler Lyons was knocked around. In 5 IP, he allowed 5 R on 7 H, 2 BB, and 3 K.
- Justin Wright then allowed 2 more runs to score in 1 IP: 3 H, 0 BB, and 2 K.
- Jorge Rondon couldn’t escape his inning unscathed either: 2 R (1 ER) on 2 H and 1 BB.
- Geoff Klein was 1-for-4 with a HR, his first on the season.
- Alan Ahmady hit another double; he also walked once.
- Luis De La Cruz went 2-for-4.
- Mike O’Neill batted lead off and went 1-for-2 with a walk.
- Chris Edmonson also had a hit and walk.
- Rainel Rosario and Starlin Rodriguez had a hit a piece.
- Jonathan Rodriguez and Ronny Gil each had a walk.
- Anthony Ferrara struck out 6 batters in 5 IP; he gave up 2 R on 2 H and 2 BB.
- Chris Corrigan pitched outstanding in 3 scoreless innings of relief that included 1 H, 1 BB, and 4 K.
- Aidan Lucas struck out a batter in the final frame; he gave up a hit.
- Colin Walsh was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Luis Mateo was 1-for-4 with a HR.
- Roberto Reyes, Tyler Rahmatulla, and Matt Williams all had singles.
- Virgil Hill had a single in a pinch-hit appearance.
- Casey Rasmus and Nick Martini both walked once.
- Samuel Gaviglio only lasted 4 innings, surrendering 6 R on 7 H (3 HR), 1 BB, and 3 K.
- Kevin Jacob gave up 1 unearned run on 2 H, 1 BB, and 1 K in 1 IP.
- Willy Paulino, Robert Stock, and Ethan Cole prevented more runs from scoring in innings 6-8.

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Posted these tidbits on Cards Talk. I’ll copy and paste them here for folks that don’t go there or for people who don’t follow Jason Parks on Twitter:
By the way, Jason Parks is absolutely GUSHING over the Cardinals’ top prospects right now on twitter.
Here’s the run down:
I also got this nugget from an industry source: “Oscar Taveras is a future batting champion; best pure bat in the minors. 80 all the way.”
Final scout quote of the night: “Tyrell Jenkins is a monster talent. Monster ceiling. Could have three + pitches. Pitchability still raw.”
He also has some conversation going on with people about Taveras, Miller, Martinez, and Jenkins.
When asked who he’s rather have, Wil Myers (Royals top position prospect, probably a top 5 in MLB right now) or Oscar Taveras, he selected Taveras because he’s 19 and slugging over .600 in the tough Texas League.
Some asked who had the highest ceiling of Miller, Martinez, and Jenkins and he replied “Of the three people polled so far, Jenkins keeps coming out ahead. Martinez has crazy stuff as well.”
When asked if Jenkins has an “Ace” ceiling, he said: “Not many “Aces.” He could profile as a top of the rotation arm/#2 starter on championship level team.”
The same guy followed up by asking what Miller and Martinez’ ceilings were. To that, Parks said: [i]“Around the same; Miller might be a half a step lower. But his floor is mich, much higher. Safe major leaguer.”[/i]
When asked if Martinez would be able to stick as a starter, Parks replied: “He’s not a big guy and his delivery isn’t easy. That said, my sources keep saying starter, so I’m leaning in that direction”
Lastly, asked about Matt Adams, Parks said: “I’m not a crazy believer, which just means I see a solid regular and not a first-division talent. He can hit.”
Edit: He just said on twitter that he believes, like many of us, that Trevor Rosenthal also has a very high ceiling.
Also posted on Twitter, when asked what he thought about SS Ryan Jackson:
“He has been able to make improvements at the plate. Glove in the field is very good; range isn’t crazy. Good player”
awesome, thanks for sharing this..didn’t actually see it in Cardstalk yesterday
I apologize for not knowing, but who is Jason Parks? Thanks.
Contributor for Baseball Prospectus
Memphis is about to get pilfered for talent. Rumor is Dickson up for McClellan…and if Craig needs DL, Chambers will get the call
Gast headed to AAA to replace Dickson?
I think you are right. Gast was schedule to pitch on Saturday, but now they show Hooker who had been on the DL all season. I found this on the Springfield site under game notes.
Goold tweeted Gast to Memphis.
https://twitter.com/#!/dgoold/status/203579366213550082
Very cool. I wonder if Gast might not find his way into the STL bullpen in September as the 2nd lefty.
nah that would likely be Freeman..he’s on the 40 man roster already
The 3 red-headed step-children of Memphis all had two doubles.
I’d like more scouting information on Greg Garcia. He’s had a breakout season with his eye, but I’d like to know if it’s backed up by a good hit tool. Also, how is his glove?
I’ve seen him play at SS twice at Springfield this year. He is very fundamentally sound at SS but lacks the sort of premium athleticism needed to play a good shortstop or be much of a threat on the bases. Offensively he has some tools has very good pitch recognition will draw lot’s of walks has a nice Walk Rate. He still needs to add some power but if he does he will be a hit in the top of the order. Very interesting guy to watch.
He is also versatile to can play 2B, SS, and can handle some OF positions. I could see him being a utility player in the future. His OBP is .423 he has drawn 27 walks and only struck out 23 times and a BABIP of .314.
Here is a nice scouting analysis by Baseball Instinct about Greg Garcia last year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5IC9saVOAI
Stolen from comment section at VEB
So far this year (SSS), Pete Kozma has a higher ISO (.123 to .077), higher wOBAr (.332 to .314), higher BB%, and lower K% than Ryan Jackson
Jackson also has a BABIP over .100 points higher than Kozma’s