The four full-season teams now have a full week behind them.  There have been some bright spots, however, the overall performances this week weren't great as they tallied a 10-15 record.

There were a few roster moves.  The Twins activated Scott Baker from the DL.  The only move availabe without losing a player was to send Brian Duensing down to Rochester where he replaced Carmen Pignatiello in the starting rotation.  Rochester opened a spot on their roster by putting closer Tim Lahey on the DL with a foot injury.  Yesterday, the Twins designated Philip Humber for assignment opening a spot on their roster for Juan Morillo who is a hard throwing short reliever they claimed on waivers from Colorado.

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (3-4, 5-4, T2nd/-4.0)

The Red Wings won three games this week as they slipped to four games behind the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees who are 9-0.  They opened a weekend series at Scranton/WB last night, losing to Philip Hughes, 11-0.  The Yankees, who are off to a perfect start, also have Ian Kennedy in their starting rotation. 

Reid Santos got the start in last Sunday's 8-4 win, pitching 5.0 innings with 5 hits, 4 runs and 2K/2BB.  Ben Julianel pitched 2.0 shutout innings of relief with Jose Mijares pitching a perfect inning to get the win.  Carmen Pignatiello got the start in Monday's 5-3 win.  Pignatiello pitched 4.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs and 2K/0BB.  Mike Gosling got the win by pitching 1.0 shutout inning with 1 hit and 2K/1BB.  Mijares was again perfect in 1.1 innings to get his first save.  Jason Jones made his second start in Tuesday's 6-5 win, pitching 4.1 innings with 3 hits, 3 runs and 4K/2BB.  Ben Julianel got his first win of the season by pitching 2.0 shutout innings with 1 hit and 2K/1BB.  Kevin Mulvey was the loser Wednesday, 4-2, pitching 4.2 innings with 7 hits, 3 runs and 5K/1BB.  Reid Santos got the start in last night's drubbing in Scranton, pitching 5.0 innings with 8 hits, 5 runs (3 earned) and 3K/3BB.  The only bright spot on the mound for the Red Wings was turned in by Sean Henn who pitched 2.0 shutout innings with 1 hit and 5K/1BB.   

When the final cuts were made this spring some were surprised that Matt Tolbert was sent down and nearly everyone expects him to be the first player called back when a need arises.  Although that may be the case, Matt Macri is making a statement in Rochester that the first callup should be him.  Macri, who plays well at all four infield positions, has been on fire by hitting .379/.472/.552 in 29 at bats with 5 doubles, 8 runs scored and 3 rbi.  Perhaps the biggest surprises to many in Rochester are two of the young prospects promoted from New Britain.  David Winfree made an impression in spring training that has carried through to the start of the season.  David is hitting .367/.367/.633 in 30 at bats with 5 doubles, 1 home run, 3 runs scored and 3 rbi.  Dustin Martin has been nearly as hot by hitting .333/.444/.467 in 30 at bats with 1 double, 1 home run, 8 runs scored and 3 rbi.  After a blazing start which earned him my first Player of the Week selection this year, Trevor Plouffe was 2 for 21 and is now hitting .222/.222/.222.  Matt Tolbert is hitting .216/.293/.270. 

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (2-4, 2-7, Last/-4.0)

The Rock Cats began their season with a seven game road trip.  They dropped three of four at New Hampshire who they also met in their home opener on Thursday.  After dropping their first two at home, it remains to be seen whether New Hampshire is a first place club because they are very good or because New Britain isn't.  Going into this season, the Rock Cat roster looked like a team that could finally reward the New Britain fans with some winning baseball.  The season is only a bit over a week old, yet, the Cats again find themselves struggling early in the season.

Cole DeVries was very good in the Cats first win last Saturday, 5-1.  The Minnesota native pitched 5.1 innings with only 3 hits, 1 run and 3K/2BB.  Rob Delaney pitched 2.2 perfect innings with 3K/0BB.  Anthony Slama followed with a perfect ninth inning.  Cole wasn't as good in yesterday's 11-1 loss to the Fisher Cats.  DeVries opened with four shutout innings before the floodgates opened as he got only one out in the fifth, finishing with a line of 4.1 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs and 1K/3BB.  Yohan Pino, who pitched 3.0 perfect innings of relief in Tuesday's loss with 5K/1BB, came on in relief of DeVries but lasted only 1.1 innings with 9 hits and 6 runs.  Matt Fox got the start in Monday's 10-6 loss, pitching 3.2 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs and 5K/3BB.  Jeff Manship got his second loss (4-3) this spring on Tuesday when he pitched 4.0 innings with 6 hits, 4 runs and 3K/1BB.  Jay Rainville got the start in Wednesday's 6-3 win, pitching 4.0 innings with 6 hits, 3 unearned runs and 4K/1BB.  Zach Ward got the win, pitching 2.0 no-hit innings with 2K/1BB.  Rob Delaney followed with a perfect inning including 3 strikeouts.  Anthony Slama got his first save by pitching a perfect ninth inning with 2 strikeouts.  Ryan Mullins got the start in Thursday's home opener, losing to New Hampshire 2-0.  Mullins pitched 5.0 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs and 7K/0BB.  Frank Mata was very good in relief, pitching 2.2 shutout innings with 1 hit and 4K/0BB.  Although Rob Delaney gave up 3 runs (2 earned) on Monday, he is off to a very good start with a 2.57ERA in 5 appearances (7.0 innings) with 11K/0BB.  Anthony Slama has been better in 4 appearances (4.0 innings) with a 0.00ERA and 7K/1BB.  Jose Lugo has also been very good with a 1.80ERA in 5.0 innings while Zach Ward has a 1.08ERA in his first 8.1 innings.

Although he has only 7 at bats, the Rock Cats leading hitter is Toby Gardenhire at .429/.556/.571.  The other pleasant surprise is a former first round pick who has struggled for the past few years, Matt Moses.  Moses is hitting .353/.429/.588 with a double and home run in 17 at bats.  Catcher Allan de San Miguel is hitting .333/.429/.667 in only 6 at bats.  Erik Lis has played some first base and DH, hitting .320/.414/.320 in 25 at bats.  Juan Portes is making the most of his return to New England by hitting a respectable .276/.364/.483 in 29 at bats.  Danny Valencia is hitting only .233/.361/.367.  Although he had three multi hit games this week, Wilson Ramos is hitting only .222/.256/.306.  Steve Tolleson, who is playing like someone who was disappointed in not getting a promotion that was certainly earned, is hitting only .143/.189/.171 in his first 35 at bats.   

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (3-3, 5-3, Tied-2nd/-1.0)

The Miracle lost at St. Lucie last night to drop into a tie with them a game behind Palm Beach. 

David Bromberg was solid in Saturday's 11-6 win, pitching 4.1 innings with 7 hits, 3 runs and 3K/2BB.  Matt Williams got the win, pitching 1.2 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs and 1K/0BB.  Michael McCardell got the loss on Monday, 5-3, pitching 4.0 innings with 5 hits, 5 runs (4 earned) and 3K/0BB.  Henry Arias was very good in 2.0 innings of relief with 2 hits, 0 runs and 3K/0BB.  Carlos Gutierrez was excellent in his first start Wednesday, losing 4-2 while pitching 5.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 3K/0BB.  Kyle Waldrop got the loss in relief, pitching 1.0 inning with 3 hits, 3 runs (1 earned) and 0K/0BB.  Tuesday's rainout was played as part of a double header Wednesday.  Deolis Guerra got the start, pitching 5.0 shutout innings with 3 hits and 4K/1BB to get his first win, 3-0.  Last night Tyler Robertson made his second start, pitching 4.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 3K/3BB. Kyle Waldrop dropped to 0-2 by pitching 3.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 1K/0BB.  Alex Burnett has appeared in 2 games (3.0 innings) with a 0.00ERA and earning the team's only save.   

Ben Revere leads the Miracle with 4 stolen bases in 5 attempts and is tied for the team lead with 7 rbi (three came on Thursday in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded when he had a walk-off double in a come from behind 4-3 win).  What is interesting however, is that five players have higher batting averages than Revere's .290/.371/.419 in 31 at bats.  The leading hitter may be a surprise to some, however, not fans of the Elizabethton Twins.  Rene Leveret is hitting .409/.435/.500 with 2 doubles in 22 at bats.  Chris Cates is hitting .400/.400/.700 in 10 at bats.  Joe Benson is off to an excellent start, hitting .370/.433/.407 in 27 at bats with 5 rbi.  Benson has also struck out only 5 times while drawing 2 walks.  After spending much of spring training with the Twins, D. J. Romero has been dominant in the Miracle lineup hitting .355/.394/.516 with 5 doubles and 7 rbi in 31 at bats.  Chris Parmalee has a team high 2 home runs, however, is hitting oly .143/.250/.429 in 21 at bats.

Beloit Snappers (A) (2-4, 2-6, Tied-Last/-4.0)

The Snappers also began their season with a week long road trip and find themselves in last place, 4.0 games behind Cedar Rapids.

Bobby Lanigan made two very good starts this week.  He wasn't the pitcher of record in Saturday's 9-4 loss, pitching 5.0 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs and 5K/2BB.  Steven Blevins got the loss by allowing 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks without getting an out.  Lanigan was nearly as good in last night's 6-5, 10-inning win...pitching 5.1 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs and 2K/2BB.  After three forgettable appearances, Blevins got the win by pitching 2.2 no-hit innings with 3K/0BB.  Brad Tippett got his first win on Tuesday, 10-7, pitching 5.0 innings with 5 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) and 7K/1BB.  Joe Testa was excellent in relief, pitching 3.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 4K/0BB.  Monday's rainout was made up as part of a Wednesday double header.  Michael Allen got the start in the 3-0 opening loss, pitching 5.0 innings with 8 hits, 3 runs and 6K/1BB.  Shooter Hunt got the start in the day's second loss, 6-3.  It was another ugly start for the young starter who many belief has the best "stuff" of any pitcher in the organization.  Hunt pitched a scoreless first inning with 1 hit and 2 walks.  He allowed 2 runs in the second inning with 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 hit batter and 1 wild pitch.  He pitched a 1-2-3 third inning before finishing his day with a line of 3.2 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, 5K/7BB, 1 wild pitch and 1 hit batter.  Danny Berlind came on to allow 2 runs in 0.1 inning to get the loss.  Daniel Osterbrock had an ugly start in Thursday's 9-2 loss, pitching 3.2 innings with 10 hits, 6 runs (4 earned) and 4K/3BB.    

A trio of hitters have averages well over .300 led by James Beresford who is hitting .400/.500/.400 in only 5 at bats.  Beresford is struggling to get playing time because shortstop Ramon Santana has been the talk of the league.  Santana, who had a .241 Average with 8 home runs in 245 at bats for Beloit last year, is hitting .379/.486/.759 in 29 at bats with 2 doubles, an organization high 3 home runs, 7 runs scored and 6 rbi.  Ozzie Lewis, who is returning to Beloit following an injury plagued season, is hitting .357/.471/.500 in 14 at bats.  Jon Waltenbury, who cooled this week, is hitting .226/.294/.323 in 31 at bats.  One of the organization's top prospects, Angel Morales, has started the season in a terrible slump with only 1 hit in 23 at bats for a .043/.083/.087.  Perhaps the good news for Morales is that he has struck out only 8 times, however, has also drawn only 1 walk.   

Player of the Week

For an organization that hasn't had a lot of outstanding starting pitching performances early this season, the Rochester Red Wings have a top prospect who is two for two.  Unfortunately, the Red Wings didn't score a single run in either of his starts which means that Anthony Swarzak has a 0-2 record.

Swarzak was very good in last Saturday's 3-0 loss when he pitched 4.0 innings with 3 hits, 1 unearned run and 4K/1BB.  Swarzak was as good in Thursday's 1-0 loss, pitching 7.0 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 5K/0BB.  

After a disappointing start at New Britain, Swarzak stepped up to be one of the Red Wings best starters after his promotion last summer.  This year he is determined to not have a repeat of last year as he has his eye on that final promotion to the Twins rotation.  With too many high scoring losses in the organization early this year, Swarzak has been a diamond in the ruff!