|
03 May 2010
Scranton beat the Tides yesterday 4-0 thanks to another great outing from Jason Hirsh. Hirsh faced just 4 batters over the minimum and is proving to be a useful asset for Scranton. Tim Norton has been added to the Scranton bullpen to replace Mark Melancon.
Grant Duff blew a save and Erie walked off on Trenton, 4-3. It was the Thunder's 7th loss in 8 games. The bullpen cost them a win again. Phelps pitched decently, but got another no decision.
Tampa lost to the Manatees 3-2. Jairo Heredia had another shaky outing. The Manatees scored early and that was all they needed.
Charleston had an off day Sunday. Taylor Groate was placed on the 7 day DL.
|
02 May 2010
Over at Blogging About Baseball, Dylan Sharek wrote up a nice piece about Jose Ramirez. He has some great photos and a video, which I embedded below. It's certainly worth a read and Dylan does a very good job over there so you should check it out.
Ramirez has quickly gone from "sleeper" to a well known and talked about prospect. Here's our write up on him from earlier this year. Through April, Ramirez has a 10.7 K/9 and has walked just 6 batters all year. His FIP is a robust 2.05 and the SAL isn't providing a huge challenge to him right now. Part of his allure is his room for growth physically as he's a slender 155 lbs despite being almost 6'1. The Yankees simplified his delievery last year, and it looks much better, which you can see in the video courtesy of Dylan. Hopefully he'll add a bit of velocity to his fastball which already sits in the mid 90s and continue to refine his curve ball. The change up is his best pitch right now, a rarity for most international prospects, and Dylan raves about it in his report. Baseball America also wrote the following about Ramirez this past week:
"Jose Ramirez, rhp, Yankees: The Yankees mine Latin America for talent as well as any team in baseball, and Ramirez looks like another promising find. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2007, Ramirez has a 1.93 ERA in 23 1/3 innings and a 29-6 K-BB mark for low Class A Charleston. Ramirez, 20, does it with a plus fastball that can reach the mid-90s, a plus changeup and the ability to pound the strike zone. That should be enough for Ramirez to cruise through the low minors, though he will still need to bring his breaking ball up to par as he moves up the ladder."
As a programing note, later today we'll start rolling out our look at how our top prospects faired in April.
|
30 April 2010
Scranton beat Louisville 3-2, thanks to the birthday boy's 9th inning blast. Huffman has really helped out Scranton this year. Kevin Russo is out of his early season funk.
Trenton lost to the Fisher Cats 14-12. DJ Mitchell got rocked. It was the 5th straight loss for the Thunder. Nothing is going right for them right now. Trenton's offense came alive but it wasn't enough.
Tampa won 7-4 against the Blue Jays. Hector Noesi was dominant last night. He'll be in Trenton real soon.
Hickory shut out the Riverdogs, 4-0. Graham Stoneburner wasn't great, but the offense was non-existent. Hickory won it's 4th straight and only allowed 3 hits.
Here's the organizational recap from Minor League Splits.
|
29 April 2010
Scranton beat Aroldis Chapman and the Bats 5-4. Yankee home runs kept Scranton in the game. It was the Yankee's Cuban lefty who was the hero in this game- Juan Miranda. Colin Curtis is on the DL with an ankle injury, but it doesn't sound too serious. At least one evaluator came away thinking Chapman needs more work.
Trenton lost to the Fisher Cats 4-1, their 4th straight loss. The bullpen has blown a lot of games lately. Bad news broke on Wednesday, Damon Sublett is going to miss the rest of the season with a thumb injury. The team seems to be underachieving so far. Trenton did some nice Habitat for Humanity work. Trenton is under .500 for the first time this year.
Tampa lost to the Blue Jays 5-2. It was their second straight loss.
Hickory beat Charleston 7-5 in a 9th inning rally. Two errors opened the door for Hickory's comeback. Deangelo Mack and Zolio Almonte stayed hot for Charleston but it wasn't enough.
|
28 April 2010
Since I started blogging around one year ago, I've taken heat for my opinion regarding Eduardo Nunez. I never have had any problem with Nunez, I just don't think the numbers support the "hype" he has received in certain circles.
Well, Nunez is doing everything in his power to make me look bad so far this season. Last year, he hit .322/.349/.433 with 22 walks and 63 strikeouts in 523 plate appearances. My take was:
Whether or not Eduardo Nunez has all the tools in the world, he remains the same unheralded player he was in 2008. His walk, strikeout, ISO, and line drive rates all remained identical. No one was praising him after his 2008 season, and I'm not sure anyone should be touting him now.
If you were to start touting Nunez now, based on what he's done in 2010, I couldn't argue with you. The sample is small, but what Nunez has done is extremely impressive. On the season, he is hitting .377/.438/.507 with a .413 wOBA. That is a very impressive line, but it is not without the help of an inflated BABIP.
On the year, Nunez holds a career high .391 BABIP. However, he also has a career high 21 percent line drive rate. The BABIP will drop, there's no doubt about that, but there is still a lot to like.
Nunez has shown great contact ability this season. He has only struck out in five percent of his at bats. Before 2010, his career low strikeout rate was 11.9 percent. He also has a career high walk rate of 10 percent. His previous high was 6.9 percent.
The career high walk rate combined with the career low strikeout rate is quite a turnaround. There still isn't much power to speak of(.130 ISO), but all of the signs point to a new and improved Eduardo Nunez. I, for one, will be keeping a close eye on whether he is able to maintain his newfound strike zone control.
