Got two links to pass along:
- J.J. Cooper examined offense levels in Triple-A so far this season following the introduction of the MLB ball. Not surprisingly, home runs are up in the early going. Way up. Homers are up 135% from last season and we haven’t even gotten to the warm summer months yet.
- Randy Miller spoke to Double-A Trenton manager Pat Osborne about several of his players. “The ball jumps out of Albert’s hand. He’s got a chance to be a very high-end starting pitcher. We’ve got to get him out of the gates and start attacking from pitch one,” Osborn said of RHP Albert Abreu.
The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had a scheduled off-day. LHP Gio Gonzalez is scheduled to make one final start tomorrow before Saturday’s opt-out date, though Conor Foley notes it’s supposed to rain all day, which might complicate things. We’ll see.
Double-A Trenton Thunder (3-1 win over Portland)
- SS Kyle Holder: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 SB
- 2B Brandon Wagner: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP — in a 4-for-25 (.160) skid
- LF Rashad Crawford: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
- RHP Albert Abreu: 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 5/2 GB/FB — 43 of 85 pitches were strikes (51%) … 6/6 K/BB in eight innings
- RHP Domingo Acevedo: 2 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 2/1 GB/FB — 18 of 25 pitches were strikes (72%) … 10/1 K/BB in nine innings as a full-time reliever
High-A Tampa Tarpons (10-3 loss to Clearwater)
- CF Pablo Olivares: 1-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — exactly one hit in seven straight games
- SS Diego Castillo: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 SB — five-game hitting streak gets him to 6-for-51 (.118) on the season
- 3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 K, 2 E (fielding, throwing)
- 1B Dermis Garcia: 1-4, 2 K
- C Jason Lopez: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI — 6-for-26 (.077) with two doubles and two homers this year, so when he does get hits, he makes ’em count
- RHP Glenn Otto: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 5/2 GB/FB — 61 of 92 pitches were strikes (66%) … 17/5 K/BB in 14.2 innings in three starts this season
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs (7-5 loss to Augusta)
- CF Brandon Lockridge: 0-5, 1 K
- RF Josh Stowers: 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB — got picked off first
- C Josh Breaux: 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 K
- LF Canaan Smith: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — first Low-A homer
- RHP Tanner Myatt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 0/2 GB/FB — 12 of 27 pitches were strikes (44%) … hopefully he was pulled early due to the pitch count and wildness, and not an injury
- RHP Daniel Bies: 4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, 0/2 GB/FB — 56 of 85 pitches were strikes (66%)
The Short Season Staten Island Yankees, Rookie Pulaski Yankees, and two Rookie Gulf Coast League Yankees teams begin play in June.