Around the Minors: June 1st, 2013

Buffalo (Blue Jays) 5, Norfolk 6

Trayvon Robinson walked it off for the Tides with a 1-out solo Home Run to right field. He was 2-4 on the day. Russ Canzler also went 2-4 and had a 2-run HR of his own. LJ Hoes went 1-4, w/ a 2B. While Xavier Avery put up a 1-2 effort, w/ a 3B and a SF. Taylor Teagarden went 0-4 in his second game on his rehab assignment. Pet project of mine, Brandon Wood, also went 0-4 on the day. Jairo Asencio pitched a clean 9th inning with 1 K and earned the Win for his effort, courtesy of Mr. Robinson.

Bowie 3, New Britain (Twins) 4

Zach Clark continues to try and unlock the mysteries of the knuckleball. 6IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BBs, 2Ks, 2WPs, 1 Error (Throwing), and 2 Passed Balls for the Catcher on the night. 11 groundouts to just 2 flyouts is a nice ratio though. Hot prospect Alex Meyer opposed Mr. Clark on the mound this night. He came into the game having K'd 63 in 61IP. He would go one to K 10 in 6.1 IP to raise his K rates. Caleb Joseph (3), Ty Kelly, Henry Urrutia, and Steve Bumbry (2 each) would all carry multiple K's on their scorecard tonight. Tough night for Caleb, going 0-4, w/ 3Ks and 2 Passed Balls while having to deal with a damn Knuckleballer on the mound. Maybe give him the day off tomorrow to recoup a lil' bit. Brandon Waring had himself a day though. 2-2, w/ 2 BBs and a solo HR off the aforementioned Mr. Meyer. He is now slashing .196/.328/.411. Not bad after his brutal start.

Frederick 4, Wilmington (Royals) 5; 11 innings

Your's truly was in attendance for this game, and there was much of intrigue here. I'll include some deeper thoughts and observations in a write up after tomorrow's game (which I hope to attend as well). But, briefly, UVa alum Tyler Wilson took the bump for the Keys and was pretty solid. 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4R (3ER), 0 BB, 3 Ks, 93 pitches / 65 strikes (with an ump calling a very tight zone), 11 ground outs to 3 fly outs to 2 pop outs was his final line, but it doesn't accurately portray how well he pitched. Nick Delmonico's defense (or lack there of) at 3B resulted in 2 errors, (the first of which led to the first run), one base hit that went right under his glove and into LF (though the runner would be stranded), and a dropped catch on a relay throw where the runner, seeking to stretch a 2B into a 3B would have been out to lead off the inning. That runner wound up scoring the 2nd run of the game. Then, with 1 out in the 7th, a tiring Wilson allowed consecutive 1Bs to put runners on the corners. In comes lefty Trent Howard, who has been pretty much lights out this season. But on this night he didn't have it, as he allowed a bases clearing 3B on a 3-2 count that tied the game. Howard would ultimately go 2.2 IP, allowing just the 1 hit and 1 BB while K'ing 4 over the course of 49 pitches, 30 strikes. Tom Winegardner would come on to pitch in the 10th, where he walked a batter with one out, but got a 5-4-3 DP to quash any potential rally. However, it took but one pitch in the 11th for the Blue Rocks to awaken Mr. Celery from his slumber, as the lead off batter smashed an oppo-boppo HR to RCF.

As for the Keys' offensive exploits, Nicky D did manage a 2-5 effort with his 7th HR of the year. Christian Walker also went 2-5, w/ a 2B and just missed going 3-5 as he smoked a ball that the 3Bman caught mostly due to self-preservation. Brenden Webb drew a BB, singled, and K'd in the process of going 1-4, w/ 1 Run.

Greensboro (Marlins) 6, Delmarva 4

20 year old Miguel Chalas had an nice bounce back performance after a rough relief outing 3 days ago. Coming on in the 5th today, the 6'0" Dominican Righty would ultimately go 3 IP with 5 Ks, allowing but one runner to reach via his own fielding error. Offensively, (SS) Adrian Marin continued his hot hitting by going 1-4, w/ an RBI, a SB, and a Run. Over his last 10 games he is slashing .324/.359/.486 w/ 3 doubles, 1 HR, 2 BBs, and 1 SB. (CF) Gregory Lorenzo saw his AVG. dip under .200 again, going 0-4, w/ 3Ks. He did, however, chip in an OF Assist when he gunned down a runner trying to go 1st to 3rd on a single. Fellow OFer Roderick Bernadina went 2-4, w/ a double and a 2 RBI single.

DSL O's1 6, DSL Twins1 5

Woooo! DSL Opening Day! A few of these names look familiar to me, but to be perfectly honest the DSL is a bit (more than a bit) of a blind spot for me. I need to work on that. (CF) Alexander Mercedes managed a .278/.351/.372 line w/ 23 SBs in 39 attempts and 29 BBs to 28 Ks last season over 3 levels (DSL, GCL, NYP). Starting off his 4th year in the O's org, the 21 y/o Dominican righty went 1-3, w/ an RBI and 1 BB. 19 y/o newcomer to the O's system(SS) Guillermo Salas went 2-4, w/ 1 BB and 2 Runs, along with 1 Error (fielding). 18 y/o (1Bman) Victor Medina got his 2nd year w/ the O's off to a rousing start by going 3-4, w/ a BB and a K. 18 y/o OFer Rochendrick Alexander is the latest product of Curacao (shout out to Gio!) in the O's system. He started off his 2nd year w/ the O's by going 1-3, w/ a 3B, a SF, and a HBP. He also had an Error (throwing). The pitching (of which none looked particularly intriguing individually) went a combined 9 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 5 BBs, 7 Ks, 0 HRs, 2 WPs, 1 HBP, and a 13:2 GO:FO ratio.

DSL Pirates2 3, DSL O's2 6

There is a Venezuelan kid named Ivan Mora on this squad. He's 18 and starting his 2nd year in the O's system. I wonder if he's related to Melmo? He went 1-4, w/ 1 SB and 2 Runs while playing RF today. 19 y/o 3Bman Yeridolfo Lizardo (I can't make this stuff up, folks) went 2-4, w/ a 2B and a 3B. He's my new favorite Name in the organization. 18 y/o CFer Daniel Franco went 2-3, w/ 1 BB and 2 SBs. On the mound, 18 y/o RHP Francisco Jimenez went 5IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BBs, 6Ks, and 1 WP with 6 GO to 1 FO.