The system split its games today (3-and-3). Seven players in Memphis’ lineup had multi-hit games, Springfield was nearly no-hit, Johnson City lost its 2nd playoff game, and Quad Cities’ staff combined for an amazing pitching performance: 12 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 16 K. Details after the jump…
- Lance Berkman was 1-for-1 in his rehab assignment. According to Jenifer Langosch, Puma was lifted for a pinch-hitter after one at-bat because of the rainy conditions. He’s set to be activated from DL on Saturday.
- Brock Peterson replaced Puma and went 2-for-4 with a double and walk.
- Steven Hill hit his 17th HR and walked.
- Adron Chambers was 4-for-6 with a double.
- Lou Montanez was 3-for-5 with a double.
- Vance Albitz, Cedric Hunter, and Ryan Jackson had two hits a piece. Jackson also walked.
- Eugenio Velez doubled and walked.
- Tyler Lyons‘ outing was nothing to write home about: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
- A parade of relievers pitched the final 3.2 innings. 1 run scored against Sam Freeman who gave up a solo HR.
- Springfield was held to 1 hit against Tulsa’s appropriately named Josh Outman who pitched 8.2 innings. He was 1 out away from a no-hitter before…
- Oscar Taveras singled in the bottom of the 9th. Who else?
- Kolten Wong, Xavier Scruggs, Neal Pritchard, and Mike O’Neill drew walks.
- Kevin Siegrist wasn’t quite as fortunate: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 earned), 3 BB, 4 K.
- Chase Reid allowed 3 solo HRs in 3 innings; he struck out 1.
- Kevin Thomas struck out 3 in 2 innings but allowed an unearned run on 2 hits.
- James Ramsey was 2-for-3 with 2 walks batting leadoff.
- Alan Ahmady was 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Geoffrey Klein and Chris Edmondson singled.
- Rainel Rosario, Jeremy Patton, and Ronny Gil walked.
- Seth Blair was probably lucky to get positive results: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K.
- Danny Miranda kept the ball on the ground (6:1 GO:AO): 3 IP, 2 H, 1 K.
- Jose Almarante hit a rough spot in the 8th inning: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K.
- Dean Kiekhefer allowed 3 hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He wasn’t charged with any runs but allowed 2 of Almarante’s runners to score.
Quad Cities 2, Kane County 1 (Final – 12 innings)
- Stephen Piscotty was 3-for-5 with a double.
- Colin Walsh had a single and 2 walks.
- Matt Williams walked twice and stole his 22nd base.
- Casey Rasmus singled, walked, and stole his 5th base.
- Jonathan Cornelius set the tone: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 9 K.
- Yunior Castillo allowed a solo HR: 2 IP, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
- Heath Wyatt contributed a few innings: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K.
- Ethan Cole struck out the side in the 12th inning.
- Jonathan Keener was 2-for-4 with his 2nd HR.
- Kolby Byrd was 2-for-3 with a double and walk.
- Matthew Young tripled.
- Jacob Wilson was 2-for-4 with a walk.
- David Popkins singled, walked twice, and stole his 1st bag.
- Danny Stienstra singled and stole his 5th base.
- Tim Cooney was solid: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
- Michael Aldrete (1 H, 2 BB, 1 K), Christopher Thomas (1 H, 1 K), and Joseph Scanio (1 H, 1 K) pitched the final 3 innings in scoreless fashion.
Johnson City 2, Burlington 4 (Game 2 of First Rd. of Appalachian League Playoffs – Series Tied 1-1)
- C.J. McElroy lead off the game with his 1st HR; he also walked.
- Jeremy Schaffer was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Gerwuins Velazco and Carson Kelly were 2-for-4.
- Zachary Petrick had an acceptable but not great outing: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
- Samuel Tuivailala struck out 5 in 2 innings but allowed a solo HR.
Entries (RSS)
Adron Chambers has an impressive OPS of .804 this season for Memphis. Chambers has shown get can get on base at a high rate in the minors as well (.403 OBP) it will be interesting to see what type of specific role he could play with the Cardinals or another organization because of his plus speed and ability to play an above average defensive CF. Wonder what his numbers would look like if he was an everyday player on a major league team, Chambers has some tools.
Good to actually see the polished bat of James Ramsey have a decent offensive night. Ramsey has very interesting RH, LH splits this season. Ramsey is a LH batter and he’s batting .301 .893 OPS against southpaws (73 ABs sample vs LH pitchers) and against RH pitching .197 AVG .513 OPS (127 AB sample vs RH pitchers).
southpaw Tim Cooney is having a very intriguing season on the mound 3-2 record 12 games 3.13 ERA 54.2 IP 7 BB 1.16 BB/9/43 K 7.14 K/9, 1.61 GO/AO. Cooney has shown more consistent command of his 88-91 MPH fastball and solid secondary stuff of a cutter, curve, and a change-up. Cooney also has good mechanics with a more repeatable delivery now that makes him much more effective. It will be interesting to see how much attention Cooney get’s as he develops.
Batavia has won 6 in a row and 9 of 10. They have the 5th-best record in a 14-team league.
They’re 1 game behind their division leader, Auburn (the Nats’ affiliate), and also 1 game behind the wild-card leader, Brooklyn (Mets).Their elimination # is 6.
It would be impressive (if completely meaningless!) to have 3 short-season teams in their league playoffs in the same season.
Perhaps the most impressive is that Memphis has played themselves out of last place in the PCL… if only for a day.
It is nice to see Ramsey string together hits for three games in a row, but with only three games left in his FSL season there is no chance of his avoiding a long winter of complaining about the underwhelming performance of our second number 1 pick.
The last time the Cards sent a position player to the FSL a few weeks after drafting him, it was Tyler Greene in 2005. They started him off in the FSL again in 2006 before demoting him to Quad Cities (where he put up big numbers). They probably would’ve done the same with Cox in ’10 if circumstances allowed.
It’s not a great precedent. And of course we’re talking about small sample sizes. But it still makes me wonder if the FSL is too advanced for any college hitter.
We’ve had a few hitters who did well in the MWL right out of college: Jay in ’06, Wong last year, Piscotty this year. (I’m not counting the 23-year-old Stavinoha in ’05.) Maybe that’s the highest level we should send even the most advanced college bats their first pro season. The FSL may just be too big a leap from the NCAA.
I don’t know why you wouldn’t include Stav. Still a college hitter from a big time program (LSU), like Ramsey (FSU). Also, don’t forget that Ramsey is an old 22 – he’ll be 23 in December. He’s actually the same age as Starlin Rodriguez.
Interesting info, thanks Lou.
I wonder if it is a combination of the FSL being slightly more advanced but also a poor hitters league in general?
I believe the 2013 season will tell me more about Jamsey Ramsey than his 2012 season/stats. Ramsey played in all 67 games for Florida State this year and it looks as if he had 315 plate appearances. FSU’s season started Feb17 and ended Jun21 in Omaha. Regardless of how mature Ramsey is suppose to be, I believe he, and college players like him, get metally drained in July/August. ( FSU probably started their pre-season work in January.) Ramsey will be on my follow-closely list in 2013 to see if his high draft pick and bonus look worthwhile.
Ramsey may also be nursing an old wound that we know nothing about. Who knows…
Chambers is a major league player but I doubt he gets an opportunity with the Cardinals – also, Steven Hill deserves a Sept. call up and some ML at bats
Hill definitely does deserve a call he’s a RH bat with some pop .819 OPS this season.
I’d like to see both Hill and Chambers called up and successful, but let’s be realistic here. Chambers is a mediocre center fielder, with many major leaguers roughly comparable to him in tool set, performance level, etc. To be sure, he’s “our” mediocrity, and he seems to be a decent chap, so I’d love for him to get and create end-of-season thrills like he did last year; not many guys like him get rings, after all. But calling him a “major league player” rather stretches the term unless you add to it “for a bad team.”
As for Hill, I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, but we’re now up to two major-league managers who seem to think he can’t play catcher in the Show. Would a month of looking over Molina’s shoulder give him enough extra catching smarts to justify a Cruz-like backup role? Maybe; I hope so; but I doubt it. And his bat isn’t sufficient to play anywhere else.
One of the hardest parts about following the minors is that you see all these guys you really like, but then have to come to terms with them juuuust baaaarely falling short of having what it takes for the bigs. As hard as it is for us fans, it must be excruciating for their managers and coaches.
Mike O’Neil appeared on Baseball America’s last prospect hot sheet.
“No. 13 MIKE O’NEILL, LF/CF
CARDINALS
Team: Double-A Springfield (Texas)
Age: 24
Why He’s Here: .682/.708/.864 (15-for-22), 3 R, 4 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO
The Scoop: The peskiest leadoff hitter in the minors was promoted to Double-A Springfield two weeks ago. The Cardinals watched with interest to see if O’Neill would be able to work counts, hit line drives and draw walks against more advanced pitchers. So far, so good. O’Neill has walked seven times in 12 games while striking out twice. He’s also stolen three bases in three tries. For the season, O’Neill now has 77 walks and 26 strikeouts, a nearly 3-to-1 ratio that is the best in the minors over the past five seasons”
credit http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2012/2613987.html
Chambers won’t stick with the Cards as long as Skip is still around. Same skill-set except Skip also plays 2B.
Was at the Springfield game and had very good seats for the near no-no.
Outman was impressive against the mostly lefty lineup for Springfield, but the SCards really never posed a threat. They were down 5-0 after two innings, and it could have been much worse. Oscar is the real deal, but his hit was on possibly the worst swing of the season. What counts is that he made contact, however, and I can definitely see Taveres patrolling the outfield at Busch III for many summers to come.
My wife and I are going to Friday night’s playoff game before heading up to the Lou for blogger weekend. I really hope to see more offense from both home teams!
Darned near looked like the Cards, huh?