Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-24-11

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Score

 

Iowa lost 4-1 Box Score

 

CF T. Colvin 0/4, E (1, fielding)

RF B. Snyder 2/4, R, HR (7), RBI, SB (2)

3B M. Smith 0/3, BB, 2 K

C S. Clevenger 0/4

SP R. Coello 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, HBP, 3-4 GO-FO

RP M. Mateo 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 1-3 GO-FO

 

Tennessee won 10-5 Box Score

 

CF JH Ha 2/5, R, HR (1), RBI, K

3B DJ LeMahieu 1/4, R, BB

2B R. Flaherty 2/4, 2 R, HR (11), 2 RBI, BB

LF M. Spencer 2/5, 2 R, 3B (2), RBI, K

1B R. Ridling 1/3, 2 R, K, HBP, E (2, throw)

RF N. Perez 2/4, R, 2B (3), HR (1), 2 RBI, K

SS M. Gonzalez 1/4, 2 RBI, E (9, fielding)

SP A. Cabrera 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR, HBP, 8-5 GO-FO

RP K. Smit 0.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Daytona won 9-7 on a Jake Opitz walk-off HR Box Score

 

SS J. Lake 3/5, 2 R, HR (5), 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (18)

2B M. Cerda 1/3, R, 2B (8), 2 BB

1B J. Bour 3/4, R, HR (12), 2 RBI

3B J. Opitz 2/5, R, 2B (8), HR (3), 4 RBI, K

CF R. Silva 0/4, K

RF L. Watkins 1/3, R, 2B (3), BB, K

SP B. Wallach 5.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 6-5 GO-FO

RP J. Serrano 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP, 2-2 GO-FO

 

Peoria lost 10-2 Box Score

 

SS A. Alcantara 1/5, K, E (16, throw)

3B G. Rohan 2/4

1B R. Jones 2/3, BB, K

C M. Gibbs 0/4, K

CF KM Na 0/2, 2 BB, 2 K, E (1, throw)

SP SM Jung 3.2 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3-3 GO-FO

RP C. Harman 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 4-4 GO-FO

 

OVERALL: 2-2

[Guest]

Probable Starters

 

Iowa: RHP Robert Coello (3-4, 7.95 ERA, 43 IP, 37 K, 19 BB)

Tennessee: RHP Alberto Cabrera (5-2, 5.62 ERA, 41.2 IP, 30 K, 18 BB)

Daytona: RHP Brett Wallach (2-2, 5.35 ERA, 38.2 IP, 36 K, 15 BB)

Peoria: RHP Su-Min Jung (2-0, 2.50 ERA, 18 IP, 9 K, 7 BB)

[Guest]

Bruce Miles[/url] on Brett Jackson"]While trying to get out of Boston and home, I put in a call to Oneri Fleita. Jackson had some lingering soreness, so they sent him to Arizona to get some at-bats in a controlled environment. He'll stay there for a few days, and Fleita said he's shooting for Jackson to be back in games May 26, 27 or 28.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Bruce Miles[/url] on Brett Jackson"]While trying to get out of Boston and home, I put in a call to Oneri Fleita. Jackson had some lingering soreness, so they sent him to Arizona to get some at-bats in a controlled environment. He'll stay there for a few days, and Fleita said he's shooting for Jackson to be back in games May 26, 27 or 28.

 

Thats good news aside from the lingering soreness.

[Guest]

Justin Bour and Junior Lake with home runs. Lake's was a 2-run shot that tied the game in the bottom of the 8th.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Great days for both Lake and Bour. Juan Serrano seems to be be doing well. We signed him at the same time as Rubi Silva, right?

[Guest]

Great days for both Lake and Bour. Juan Serrano seems to be be doing well. We signed him at the same time as Rubi Silva, right?

 

No. Serrano was signed last spring. You're thinking of catcher Yaniel Cabeza, who signed at the same time as Silva this January. Cabeza is at extended spring training right now and will probably be the opening day catcher for Boise.

[davell]

Bour is really confusing me. Is he turning himself into a true prospect all of a sudden? I hope he gets moved to AA quickly so we can see if this is just an aberration.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Bour is really confusing me. Is he turning himself into a true prospect all of a sudden? I hope he gets moved to AA quickly so we can see if this is just an aberration.

Was he even on the radar before this year, and is he an actual prospect or one of those guys who will be mashing away at Iowa or some other teams AAA affiliate well into his late 20s?

[KingCubsFan]

Bour is really confusing me. Is he turning himself into a true prospect all of a sudden? I hope he gets moved to AA quickly so we can see if this is just an aberration.

Was he even on the radar before this year, and is he an actual prospect or one of those guys who will be mashing away at Iowa or some other teams AAA affiliate well into his late 20s?

He was a 25th round pick out of college, so he wasn't necessarily on the radar. It's interesting how well he's doing at home, given that Daytona isn't traditionally a hitter's park.

[craig]

Bour is really confusing me. Is he turning himself into a true prospect all of a sudden? I hope he gets moved to AA quickly so we can see if this is just an aberration.

 

I'm in no rush to move him up. I think the unrushed advancement is best for most guys. Heh, I think we partly want him moved up so that we can get a better look and a better evaluation; but I'm not sure it's necessarily best for his development. I'm fine if he stays in Daytona through July, even if he hits .330, slugs 1.000+, and has 25 HR's by then.

 

I guess AzPhil commented on Bour at one point that he looks like a slugger but hits like a singles hitter, or something like that. But now with 12 HR and a .631 slugging, Bour is obviously crushing and not just singling. Bour goes up the middle and the other way a lot.

 

His K-rate is modest. At .631 slugging, Bour is one of four FSL guys above .540. The other three all have 40-some K's, Bour has 29. 16% K rate would be excellent for a lot of non-power prospects. (IHak Lee's is still higher...). Last year he K'd 100 times in 475 AB.

 

Of course he was under the radar. .291/12 HR /.375 OBP/100K would be nice for a projectable young toolsy guy. But as a bulky college 1B, 12 HR with 100K in low-A didn't make a big splash.

[Guest]

Ryan Flaherty just hit his 11th home run of the season.

[Guest]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2011/05/24/ride-extra-base-hit-attack-victory-fitch-park

 

Ty Wright and Augie Ojeda continue to rehab. Good start for Luis Liria.

[TruffleShuffle]

Ryan Flaherty just hit his 11th home run of the season.

 

jae-hoon ha and nelson perez each hit their first AA home run. they're beating up on a very good pitching prospect too (randall delgado from the braves)

 

robert coello is pitching terribly again. su-min jung got destroyed.

[BeerHere]

Why does Vitters get every third game off? How does sitting on the bench teach him plate discipline or give him experience at 1B?

[Little Slide Rooter]

Why does Vitters get every third game off? How does sitting on the bench teach him plate discipline or give him experience at 1B?

 

They need to seriously consider sending 1 of Ridling, Spencer,or Flaherty to Iowa. With Montanez called up, theres a spot open.

[toonsterwu]

craig, I think pushing Bour up isn't only to help us get a better grasp of what his ability is, but also for the organization to get a clearer picture. I don't know what's best for his development, but assuming he keeps his torrid pace up for another month or so, it's reasonable to suggest that he needs to be challenged a bit more (I do think another two weeks or so in A+ isn't the worst idea, just to see if he can keep this pace and deal with pitchers game plans changing). The main thing is, does his HR power hold (as prior to this season, he was sort of viewed as a big, really big, Mark Grace-ish type of first baseman, in terms of a solid approach and more gap power than HR power), as for the most part, his gap ability and his approach should be fine. The jump to facing AA pitchers would be a good challenge for him, as he's simply destroying FSL pitching. Heck, I keep talking about his bad April, but he still had a .800+ OPS in April, IIRC. AzPhil did note that they worked with Bour on a power swing in the winter.

 

Problem right now is that it's hard to justify pushing any of the corner options in Tennessee aside. Now, Bour's ridiculous performance could force his way up anyways, but since he's limited to first, I think at least one guy, if not two, need to go up so that guys can get enough AB's at AA. Personally, I'd shift Matt Spencer and Ryan Flaherty up, and have LeMahieu dabble a lot more at 3rd in AA (with Marquez Smith in AAA, he'd have to split time there as well, so letting him get that work in AA isn't a bad idea).

[craig]

toonster, I admit I'm not too concerned about a lack of challenge for Bour. Hitting is really hard. Staying hot is really hard. Even as hot as he is, he's still making outs 2/3 of the time, and hitting a HR in a tiny fraction of his AB's. So I'm not that worried that the FSL has gotten too boring or unchallenging for his development.

 

But I might be totally wrong.