FanPost

Minor League Report...June 24th

The System played .500 ball this week, 14-14 (154-137, .529).  Both rookie league teams began play so we now have all six teams in action.

Transactions

Ft. Myers activated Erold Andrus from the DL.  Jose Leger was sent down to Beloit, making room for Brandon Roberts who was acquired from the Reds in the Juan Castro trade.  Beloit sent four players down to Elizabethton, Danny Berg, Henry Sanchez, Josh Land and Jose Lugo.  Mark Robinson and Jon Michael Cline were sent to Beloit from EST.  Beloit also activated Juan Portes from the DL.  After playing two games in the GCL, Josh Dean and Wesley Connors were sent up to Elizabethton.  Kevin Slowey, Garrett Guzman and Matt Tolbert were promoted to New Britain.  The Twins signed two more draft picks, first round selection Chris Parmelee and twelfth round pick Kevin Harrington.  They also signed a free agent pitcher, Robert Delaney, from St. Johns University.  Kevin Slowey was named as the Florida State League All-Star Pitcher of the Game and Trent Oeltjen was the only Twins farmhand selected for the Futures game.    

Play of the Week

Following the all-star game, Ft. Myers trailed Dunedin by 2 games with 3 remaining in the first half of the season.  After winning their first two games while Dunedin lost two to Tampa, the teams were tied with one game remaining and Dunedin holding the tie-breaker.  The Miracle had their star pitcher Kevin Slowey throwing another gem as they entered the 8th inning in a 0-0 tie.  With a runner on first and two outs, the hitter hit a routine fly ball into left center field.  Garrett Guzman and newly acquired centerfielder Brandon Roberts both approached the ball.  Although either player could have easily caught the ball, both pulled up at the last minute allowing the ball to drop and a run to score.  Another hit would follow putting the Miracle into a 2-0 hole.  They would get a run in the bottom of the 9th, however, lost the game and their chance for the first half championship and opportunity to play in this years playoffs following the season.  Incidentally, Tampa came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat Dunedin!

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (2-4, 45-29, 1st/+5.0)

The Red Wings had an off week, however, maintained their 5.0 game lead over Scranton.

Jason Tyner continues to hit well, going 8 for 25 this week with a double, 2 rbi, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts while maintaining his team and system  leading .324Ave.  Josh Rabe missed several games for a family funeral, however, was hot when in the lineup with 7 hits in 13 at bats and a double, 2 rbi and a walk raising his average to .316.  Slugger Garrett Jones had another productive week, going 8 for 23 with a double, home run and 5 rbi...raising his system leading total to 53.  

Pete Munro was 0-1 in 2 starts, pitching 11.0 innings with 12 hits, 7 runs (4 earned) and 9K/6BB.  J.D. Durbin had another good start, pitching 5.0 innings with 6 hits, 2 earned runs and 9K/3BB.  Jason Miller also had a good start, 5.1 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 3K/2BB.  Closer Pat Neshek appeared in 1 game, 3.0 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run and 0K/0BB.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (3-4, 30-39, 6th/-12.5)

The Rock Cats were 3-4 this week, however, dropped into last place 12.5 games behind Portland.

Trent Oeltjen continues to lead the team with a .313Ave.  Coming off a week when he was my Player of the Week, Trent went 8 for 31 with a double, home run, 6 rbi and 4 stolen bases in 4 attempts.  Matt Tolbert was promoted to the Rock Cats on Thursday, going 5 for 7 with 2 doubles in his first two games back in AA.  Denard Span regained his spark, 12 for 31 with 3 doubles, 5 runs scored, 4 rbi, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and 3 stolen bases in 3 attempts.  Danny Matienzo leads the team with 42 rbi, going 8 for 25 this week with a double, home run and 3 rbi.

Matt Garza is human, pitching only 2.0 innings in his only start...allowing 6 hits, 7 runs (6 earned) with 0K/4BB. Glen Perkins had a good outing, 7.0 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs with 9K/3BB.  Adam Harben also had a good start, 5.0 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) with 3K/1BB.  Levale Speigner appeared in 2 games, pitching 5.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 unearned run and 5K/1BB.  

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi A) (4-1, 2-0, 1st/+1.0)

After losing their chance for the playoffs and the first half championship, the Miracle began the second half with 2 wins.

Alexi Casilla was 5 for 18 with a triple, 3 rbi, 2 walks, 1 strikeout and 1 stolen base in 1 attempt to maintain his team leading average of .312.  Brock Peterson had 5 hits including 2 homers, a double and 4 rbi in 21 at bats.  Jeremy Pickrel was only 3 for 16, however, had 2 triples for a system leading 10 this season.  

With Kevin Slowey and Matt Garza both at New Britain, a few other starters will need to step up if the Miracle are to continue amongst the league's premier teams.  Anthony Swarzak had 1 start, pitching 5.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 earned runs and 6K/4BB.  Justin Jones also had 1 start, pitching 6.0 innings with 10 hits, 1 earned run and 6K/2BB.  Daniel Powers is back in the bullpen where he appears to be much more effective, pitching 3.0 innings with 1 hit, 0 runs and 2K/1BB.  Tim Lahey made two appearances, pitching 3.0 innings with 1 hit, 0 runs and 3K/2BB.

Beloit Snappers (A)(2-2, 1-1, 2nd/-1.0)

The Snappers also finished their first half in third place, 35-33, 5.5 games out.  They split their first two games as they began the second half.

Erik Lis continues to lead the Snappers with a .314Ave.  Erik was 4 for 15 this week with a double, rbi, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts.  Caleb Moore continues to hit well, going 3 for 10 this week with a double, rbi, walk and 2 strikeouts.  Paul Kelly is one of the systems brightest stars and arguably their top shortstop prospect.  This week Paul was 6 for 15 with 2 doubles, 1 rbi, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts...raising his batting average to .275.  Kelly, who is only 19,  also had an error this wee...only his 6th in 68 games this season.  His double play partner, Drew Thompson, also had a good week going 8 for 17 with a double, home run and 3 rbi.

Kyle Waldrop is pitching like an ace and certainly deserves to move on to Ft. Myers.  Kyle appeared in 1 game, pitching 8.0 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 3K/1BB, lowering his era to 3.09.  Oswaldo Sosa pitched 6.0 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs (2 earned) and 6K/0BB.  Eduardo Morlan made his only start last night, leaving after pitching only 2.2 innings with 1 hit, 1 earned run and 5K/1BB.  It has not been reported why he left the game early.  Alexander Smit has pitched very well the last few weeks.  This week he appeared in 2.0 innings with 1 hit, 0 runs and 3K/2BB.  Yohan Pino lowered his era to 1.55 pitching in 2 games, 3.0 innings with 1 hit, 0 runs and 5K/0BB.  Pino has a team leading 0.91WHIP with 52K/10BB in 40.2 innings this season.

Elizabethton Twins (Rookie) (1-1, 1-1, 3rd/-0.5)

The Twins began their defense of the Appalachian League crown on Wednesday.  Following is their roster for the 2006 season:

Pitchers:

Alex Burnett       18    D12   2005
Jose Lugo          21    mlR5  2006
Jose Castillo      21    ndfa  2003
Matt Fox           23    D1s   2004
Sean Land          21    D9    2006
Brian Kirwin       19    D11   2005
Aaron Craig        20    D28   2004
Matt Williams      19    ndfa  2004
Brandon McConnell  21    D8    2003
Danny Hernandez    20    ndfa  2003
Patrick Bryant     20    D6    2004
Walter Patton      21    D13   2004
Armando Gabino     22    mlR5  2005

Catchers:

Greg Yersich       19    D7    2005
Jeff Christy       22    D6    2006
Danny Berg         21    D30   2004

Infielders:

Henry Sanchez      19    D1s   2005
Josh Dean          19    ndfa  2004
Michael Lysaught   20    ndfa  2003
Brian Dinkelman    22    D8    2006
Yancarlos Ortiz    21    ndfa  2003
Steve Singleton    22    D11   2006
William Luque      22    ndfa  2002
Garrett Olson      21    D4b   2006
Matt Betsill (DL)  21    D10   2005

Outfielders:

Richard Sojo       21    ndfa  2002
Danny Santiesteban 21    D39   2004
J.W. Wilson        19    D6    2005
Josh Land          21    D38   2004
Wesley Connor      21    ndfa  2005

Gulf Coast League Twins (Rookie) (2-2, 2-2, T2nd/-1.0)

The GCL Twins also got their start this week, winning 2 of 4 as they begin play in their short season.

Pitchers:

Omar Alcala        19    ndfa  2004
Loek Van Mil       21    ndfa  2006
Curtis Leavitt     19    D22   2005
David Bromberg     18    D32   2005
Nathan Crawford    19    ndfa  2005
Brad Tippett       18    ndfa  2006
Jose Acosta        19    ndfa  2004
Bruno Sanchez      19    ndfa  2005
Carlos Garcia      19    ndfa  2004
Michael Allen      19    D13   2005
Kyle Edlich        20    ndfa  2004
Tyler Robertson    18    D3    2006
Joan Ortiz         17    D41   2006
Jeff Schoenbachler 20    D5    2004
Robert Delaney     21    ndfa  2006
Jakub Toufar       19    ndfa  2005
Luis Carreras      22    ndfa  2005

Catchers:

Wilson Ramos       18    ndfa  2004
Rodolfo Palacios   20    ndfa  2002
Miguel Barrientos  20    ndfa  2005
Gilbert Buenrostro 20    D20   2006

Infielders:

S. De Los Santos   19    ndfa  2005
Tom Cowgill        22    D40   2006
Juan Delgado       19    ndfa  2004
Matt Lawman        18    ndfa  2005
Deibinson Romero   19    ndfa  2004
Eric Santiago      18    D21   2006

Outfielders:

Joe Benson         18    D2    2006
Mark Dolenc        21    D15   2006
Kevin Harrington   18    D12   2006
Chris Parmelee     18    D1    2006
Jilmer Arratia(DL) 21    ndfa  2002
Rene Tosoni        19    D36   2005

Question of the Week

Now that Kevin Slowey has been promoted to New Britain:  Will Slowey be as dominant in AA as he was at Ft. Myers?

Watch for my Pitcher and Player of the Week on Seth's site on Monday.