Tom Brennan – MAJORING ON THE MINORS: HOT/NOT HOT, VOL. 3

Tom Brennan – MAJORING ON THE MINORS: HOT/NOT HOT, VOL. 3

It is TOUGH to get this update down to a manageable size.

Why? Mostly because the Las Vegas, and to a lesser extent Binghamton, teams are hitting. A lot.  And while there have been many fine pitching lines from our guys so far, quite a few tossers (and some hitters) have been pretty bad so far.

To briefly elaborate, Vegas may be in a hitters' league, but THEY are the hitters in that league, hitting .306 (next highest team .283) and in runs (134, 6.7 RPG, a run more per game than the next best team).  And amazingly, that is with them having promoted 3 top hitters. Campbell, Plawecki, and Muno). 

Binghamton is a close 2nd in the Eastern League in both BA (.276 - lead team at .283) and runs (91, 6 less than the leader), so they are excelling too.

All things considered, I decided to have a top 10 hitters list, top 10 starters list, and top 5 relievers list.

HITTERS

1.    Alex Castellanos - AAA: 17 extra base hits in 18 games. 19 RBIs. .362 average.  Hottest of the hot.

2.   Matt Reynolds - AAA: after a .380 spring, the hitting machine started slowly, but is at .333 with 21 RBIs in 20 games. 12 extra base hits.

3.   Dilson Herrera - AAA: also started with a few slow games, but has rocketed up to .375. 18 runs scored in 19 games.

4.   Johnny "what about me" Monell - AAA: like Reynolds, a terrific spring, which continued into the season. Now, he is hitting .378/.453/.622 in 14 games.

5.   Travis Taijeron - AAA: .352/.419/.667 in 15 games.  Still striking out too much, with 21, but his power is intriguing.

6.   Michael Conforto - HI A: recent 0 for 9, but still at .308 with 6 HRs and 12 free passes in 20 games.  I'm sure he'd like to hit in Vegas.

7.   Gavin Cecchini - AA: a groin injury limited him to 11 games so far , but .342/.419/.553 has to have Sandy grinning.

8.   Jeff McNeil - HI A: he has been hot for a few weeks, surging to .329, with 14 runs in 18 games. One to watch.

9.   Maikis de la Cruz - HI A: cooling after a hot start, but is at .306/.338/.486.

10. Darrell Ceciliani - AAA: 9 extra base hits give him a .646 slugging percentage so far.  He started out as a big-bodied, low power speedster. Maybe he is adding power commensurate with his size.

Special Mention: T J Rivera was hitting .441 but in just 9 games when the injury bug struck.

STARTERS

1.    Steve Matz - AAA: great last game in the same hitters' league that his teammates are destroying.  2.01.

2.   Noah Syndergaard - AAA: Only one good start, but it was his last one, and it was utter domination.

3.   Rainy Lara - AA: 3 starts, 2-0, 2.04. Nice.

     4.   Luis Cessa - AA: 3 starts, 1-1, 2.25.  Almost as nice.

5.   Robert Gsellman - HI A: 4 Starts, 3-0, 2.14.  St Lucie luvs the Giz.

6.   Rob Whelan - HI A: 0-1 in 3 starts, but sporting a 1.93 ERA.

7.   Miller Diaz - HI A: also 0-1, but 1.80 in 3 starts.  Miller and Rob have petitioned the court for more support.

8.   Marcos Molina - HI A:3.38 ERA for the highly regarded youngster, with 18 Ks in 16 innings.

9.   Martirez Arias - A: picking right up where he left off from last year's terrific season in rookie ball. He is 2-0 and 2.12 for 3 starts.

10. Casey Meisner - A: ditto my comments on Arias.  Meisner is 1-1, but same # of innings and ERA as Arias . 17 Ks in 17 innings.

RELIEVERS:

1.    Paul Sewald - AA: in 101 minor league games a 1.71 ERA and terrific K and WHIP ratios. This year, unscored upon in 7 dominant outings. 13 Ks in 12 innings.

2.   Akeel Morris - HI A: in 11.1 innings, 4 hits and 17 Ks.  That's his normal ratio, folks.

3.   Jack Leathersich - AAA: just promoted, he finally manhandled AAA hitters. He allowed a 2 run shot for his only runs, but in 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, and the usual basketful of Ks (13).

4.   Kelly Secrest - Hi A: 2-0, 0.96 in 9.1 innings, 9 Ks.

5.   David Roseboom - A: 1-0, 1.04, 12 Ks in 8.2 innings.

WHO'S NOT HOT?

 Plenty of chilly fellers pitching in Uglyville, so I will list mostly names and sparse details to keep this edition a tad short of War and Peace:

·       Matt Bowman and Tyler Pill have a combined ERA of nearly 9.00.  

·       Cory Vaughn is 6 for 38 for Vegas.  In that hitter’s league.

·       Cody Satterwhite a 10.13 ERA in 8 relief outings.

·       Gabe Ynoa has a 4.86 ERA, coupled with a 1.74 WHIP and a mere 7 Ks of around 80 batters.

·       Adam Kolarek is saddled with a 14.14 ERA.

·       Josh Prevost is 0-3, 6.75 in 3 St Lucie starts.

·       Vicente Lupo is hitting .167 with 18 Ks in 42 at bats.

·       Tyler Moore is off to a frigid 2 for 26 start.

·       Jhoan Urena is .192/.224/.288 with 20 Ks so far. Growing pains.

·       Lastly, back up catchers Jeff Glenn and Adrian Abreu are a combined 2 for 29 for the Lucies.

If there is a player’s name you wanted to see, but didn’t here, they are neither hot nor cold.  So the likes of Amed Rosario and Wuilmer Becerra need to get hot.

That's all, folks.  Until we meet again.