Minor League Recap 7/19

Written by Greg Fertel | 19 July 2008

Scranton defeats Lehigh Valley, 2-1

Brian Bruney started, pitching 1 inning of shutout ball, and walking 1.
Ian Kennedy was great in relief, going 7 strong and allowing a run on 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 2. He was also efficient with pitches, with only 89 (56 for strikes) in those 7 innings. This is the kind of outing he needed to put together to show that he is ready to return to the majors. I think he is one Darrell Rasner blowup away from being back in the Bronx.
Scott Strickland pitched a scoreless 9th to get the save.
Alberto Gonzalez was 1 for 4 with a walk.
Eric Duncan was 1 for 5 to drop his average to .239.
Matt Carson was 3 for 5, and is hitting .312 on the season.
Juan Miranda was 0 for 5 to drop to .295.
Ben Broussard and Jason Lane were each 2 for 4.
Chris Stewart was 2 for 3.
Nick Green was 1 for 4.

Trenton tops Portland, 5-4 (7 innings, game 1)

Eric Hacker started, and did not pitch at his usual level. In 4 innings, Hacker allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4. His ERA is still a very sexy 2.70 however.
Mark Melancon struck out 3 in 3 innings of 1-run ball, walking 1 and allowing 3 hits. He has now thrown 70 innings on the season, a very high total for a reliever. His ERA is now 2.01 since his promotion to Trenton.
Reegie Corona was 1 for 3 with a triple and a walk.
Ramiro Pena was 1 for 3 with a double.
Austin Jackson continued his hot hitting, going 2 for 3 with his 9th homer, a walk, and his 15th stolen base. This raised his average to .293, impressive considering he was around .270 a week ago.
Chris Malec was 2 for 4 to raise his average to .320.
PJ Pilittere was 1 for 3.
Cody Ehlers was 1 for 3 with a double. Unfortunately he's hitting just .188.

Trenton blanks Portland, 3-0 (game 2, 7 innings)

Phil Coke, coming off a performance in which he pitched 8 shutout innings and struck out 11, was equally impressive. In 6 scoreless, the lefty allowed just 2 hits and 4 walks (the only blemish), while striking out 10. In his last 6 starts (40 innings) Coke has given up 5 earned runs, 22 hits, 12 walks, and 48 strikeouts. Needless to say, he's putting together quite an impressive series of starts. What will it take to get him to AAA?
Eric Wordekemper pitched a perfect 7th to get the save, striking out 1.
Reegie Corona was 1 for 4, and is hitting .270 on the season.
Austin Jackson kept the hit train rolling, going 2 for 3 with a double to raise his average up to .296. .300 awaits. Action is on fire, hitting a sizzling .556 in his last 10 games, and .409 in the month of July (with a 1.049 OPS). A few more weeks of this and I think he should be promoted to Scranton, with maybe the Bronx in the near future if he can stay hot.
Chris Malec was 1 for 3 with a double.
Edwar Gonzalez and Joseph Muich were 1 for 3.

Tampa jumps Jupiter, 10-3

The good Ivan Nova was on display, pitching 6 shutout innings, and allowing 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. He seems to be getting himself together, with a 2.13 ERA through 4 starts in July after a horrendous June (7.36 ERA).
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 4 with his 4th home run of the season.
Kevin Smith was 1 for 4 with a walk.
Josh Kreuzer was 2 for 5.
Andres Perez was 3 for 5 with a home run.
Jose Gil was 4 for 4 with his 1st homer of the season.
Mitch Hilligoss was 2 for 5 with 2 doubles. Unfortunately, he is hitting only .249 on the season, 1 point lower than Tim Battle.

Charleston cans Kannapolis, 3-1

Dellin Betances started, and was great. In 6 shutout innings, the towering righty gave up just 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. This dropped his ERA to 3.84 on the season. He is looking more impressive, but needs to establish consistency, and find a balance between keeping the walk numbers low without grooving too many pitches down the middle.
Chase Vacek was good for 2 perfect innings.
Jonathan Ortiz struck out 1 in a scoreless 9th to get his 26th save.
Abe Almonte was 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts to drop his average to .238. He is in a 4 for 38 slump, and I think he could use a breather. He turned 19 less than a month ago, and I think he is starting to wear down over the long season.
Brad Suttle was 1 for 5.
Austin Romine was 2 for 5 with a double.
Jesus Montero was 2 for 3 with a walk, bringing his average to .299.
Brandon Laird was 1 for 4.
Justin Snyder was 2 for 4 with a double, raising his average to .286.
Carmen Angelini was 1 for 4 with a double, raising his average to .243. He hasn't made an error in a while, so maybe he is getting more comfortable defensively. Of course, it is possible that I just jinxed him, and he will make several errors tomorrow. Only time will tell.
Dave Williams and Austin Krum were each 1 for 4.

Staten Island beats Brooklyn, 5-4

Casey Erickson started, and pitched well. In 5 innings, Erickson allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6.
Daniel Kapala pitched 2 perfect innings.
Andy Shive struck out the side in the 9th and earned a win when the Yankees came back in the 9th.
Raymond Kruml was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
David Adams was 2 for 4 with a triple and his first pro home run. His average is only .240, but he is getting his share of extra-base hits.
Brian Baisle, Jack Rye, and Daniel Brewer were each 1 for 4.
Braedyn Pruitt was 2 for 4.
Melky Mesa was 1 for 2 with a walk-off 3-run home run.
Addison Maruszak was 0 for 2 with a walk.

GCL Yankees complete organization-wide winning, defeating the Blue Jays 9-6

Humberto Sanchez started, giving up a run on 3 hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. He also struck out 3.
Manuel Banuelos gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings of work, striking out 1 and raising his ERA to 2.95.
Ronny Marte earned the win with 2 1/3 perfect innings.
Corban Joseph continued to show some pop, going 3 for 4 with his 1st career homer, a double, and a walk. He has put up a .941 OPS in July, after a miserable June. He did make a throwing error, but no worries.
Jimmy Paredes was 5 for 5, bringing his average all the way up to .298. He also made an error (his 11th).
Zoilo Almonte was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Chris Smith was 2 for 3 with a double.

A great night for the organization overall, as they won every game. There were strong pitching performances all around, especially from Betances, Coke, Kennedy, and Nova, and hitting prospects such as Jackson, Montero, Joseph, and Paredes had great games.