Minor League Roundup - August 3rd & 4th

 

August 3^rd

The Good

Tom Robson – Vancouver (Short Season Single A)

6IP – 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K

In his 2^nd start at the single A level, Robson impressed while pitching in his home town for the very first time.  Robson had the best start of his professional career with 6 strikeouts.  While Robson doesn’t have the highest upside, since he’s more a finesse pitcher, if he keeps pitching well he could put himself on the radar.

DJ Davis – Bluefield (High Rookie)

2/5 – 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

Davis had gotten off to a very hot start this year, but he had completely fallen off a cliff since the middle of July hitting .174/.260/.333.  Hopefully a big game like this one could be a spark to him getting back on track.

Mitch Nay – Bluefield (High Rookie)

3/5 – 1 HR, 1 Error

2^nd day in a row, and 2^nd straight day Nay is appearing on the positive side of the update.  While he’s been hitting well, its nice to see the power emerging from him. 

Dawel Lugo – Bluefield (High Rookie)

5/5 – 1 HR, 1 2B

Lugo, who was a high profile international signing 2 years ago is showing promise after struggling in his debut season.  There are some question marks about his defence at shortstop, but seeing him go 5 for 5 with a home run is very exciting.

Jake Brentz – GCL (Low Rookie)

1 IP – 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP

This is a very low bar, still a very positive development.  Brentz (who was an overslot signing last month) had about as bad a professional debut as one could imagine last week.  He failed to get any of the 4 batters he faced out, walked 3 of them, and also had 2 balks.  This time out, he got through the entire inning, and got 2 strikeouts.  Brentz is a very raw prospect, who will have his ups and downs.

The Bad

Matt Smoral – GCP (Low Rookie)

0.1IP – 1 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 HBP

Speaking of raw pitchers, Smoral fits that bill perfectly.  As a huge left hander, he will struggle to repeat his delivery, and while he seemed to be getting things back on track over his last few appearances.  This time though… Yikes.

Andy Burns – New Hampshire (Double A)

0/4 – 2 K

Mr. Burns is a prospect who has emerged over the past year while destroying the Florida State league.  However, since he’s been promoted to Double A, he’s struggled, posting a .208/.269/.383 line.  The jump to Double A is frequently cited as the most difficult in the minor leagues, so its not overly concerning to see someone as young as Burns is (22) to struggle.

Everyone – Dunedin (High A)

1 Hit all game

Nothing much to say here.  This Dunedin roster is almost a complete zero at the moment, unless Aaron Sanchez is on the mound.  They put up 2 hits on Friday, and 1 hit on Saturday.  I feel sorry for anyone who has the misfortune of watching the Dunedin team on a regular basis.

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August 4^th

The Good

Anthony Gose – Buffalo (Triple A)

2/4 – 1 2B, 1 K, 1 SB

Anthony Gose actually had a good game!!!  He stole a base (just his 2^nd over the past month), and managed to get an extra base hit (just his 6^th over the past month).  Baby steps people.  Baby steps.

Andy Burns – New Hampshire (Double A)

1/4 – 1 HR, 1 Error

While Burns has struggled since his promotion to Double A, his power hasn’t really been the issue.  His 5^th home run in New Hampshire does show the promise Burns has.

Drew Hutchison – New Hampshire (Double A)

4.1 IP – 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K

Hutchison struggled in his first start in New Hampshire, but its very positive to see him seemingly bounce back in his second start while moving up the ladder.  It’ll be fascinating see how the dueling pair of rehabbing starters continue to perform in the Fisher Cats rotation.  

Daniel Norris – Lansing (Low A)

5 IP – 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

I had major concerns about Norris (who was a high profile draft pick in 2011) after the first month of the season.  However since then the 20 year old, has really surged in his development.  Since the middle of May, Norris has posted a strikeout rate over 30 %, and an ERA in the mid-3s.  For a pitcher who’s been pushed very aggressively, and is very young for his level, these developments are very promising.

Shane Dawson – Vancouver (Short Season A)

5 IP – 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K

We go from one of the most promising pitchers in the Jays system, in Daniel Norris, to one who has almost no projection what-so-ever in Shane Dawson.  Dawson, a Canadian taken in the 17^th round of the 2012 draft is largely seen as an organizational player, but after his 2^nd start in Vancouver, maybe he’s changing perceptions.  In the 9 innings he’s thrown in the Northwest League he’s struck out 15 batters, walked just 2, and yet to give up a run.  Its very cool to see two Canadian pitchers throwing well in Vancouver.

Mitch Nay – Bluefield (High Rookie)

2/4 – 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 Error

3 days I’ve done updates, and 3 days that Mitch Nay’s been featured.  Back to back games with a home run by the hulking third baseman.  Also, back to back games with an error though, but if he keeps hitting like this I can put up with shaky defence. 

Dawel Lugo – Bluefield (High Rookie)

3/4 – 1 Error

A day after Lugo went 5 for 5, he appears on the report again.  This time he didn’t hit a home run, or even get an extra base hit, but when you go 8 for 9 on the weekend, you can probably expect to get mentioned twice in my minor league update.

The Bad

Drew Hutchison, & Dustin Antolin – New Hampshire (Double A)

Bit of extenuating circumstances here, since it has nothing to do with their ability to get any of the Flying Squirrels out at the plate, but rather because neither of them drilled murderer Angel Villalona between the shoulder blades in any of the 3 plate appearances he had in the game. 

For those of you unaware, just google “Angel Villalona” & “Murderer” and you’ll find tales of this piece of shit, who was for some reason granted a work visa to be allowed back into the country.  Baseball has zero issue with this piece of human trash playing, but god help anyone if they even looked at performance enhancing drugs.