The minor league season kicked off today. I thought about taking off immediately after work and heading to Lake Elsinore for the SJ Giants game, but the weather in SoCal turned nasty this afternoon with clouds, temps in the 50's, rain squalls and a stiff wind. It just didn't look like a fun day to watch baseball in a minor league ballpark.
Fresno Grizzlies erupted for 9 runs in the 8'th inning to break open a tight ballgame and crush the Las Vegas 51's 11-1:
Darren Ford- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(1).
Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 3, HBP, S, 2 SB(2).
Thomas Neal- 2 for 3, BB, SB(1).
Ryan Vogelsong- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.
Steve Edlefsen- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's.
Big game for Darren Ford backed up nicely by Thomas Neal. Vogelsong wants a callup.
Richmond Flying Squirrels came from behind to nip the New Britain Rock Cats 6-4:
Charlie Culberson- 3 for 5, 2B.
Johnny Monell- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.
Jose Flores- 2 for 3, 2B.
Daryl Maday- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.
Justin Dowdy- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Jason Stoffel- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's, Save(1).
Good to see the kids from San Jose lead the way here. I think Dowdy was a Rule 5 pickup in the minor league phase this offseason. Stoffel seems to be still on the closer fast-track.
San Jose Giants blanked the Lake Elsinore Storm 4-0:
Gary Brown- 1 for 3, S, SB(1).
Ryan Cavan- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(1), BB.
Jarrett Parker- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1).
Tommy Joseph- 2 for 4.
Kelvin Marte- 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 10/2.
Jake Dunning- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Chris Wilson- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.
I'm intrigued by Ryan Cavan's power potential from the middle infield. Dominating groundball effort by Marte. Looks like Dunning is coming out of the bullpen to start the season. We have another Wilson closer in the organization!
Greenville Drive outslugged the Augusta Greenjackets 12-6:
Carlos Willoughby- 2 for 5.
Josh Mazzola- 1 for 4, HR(1), BB.
Justin Schumer- 3.2 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.
Matt Graham- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 5-1.
Edward Concepcion- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 1 K.
Matt Graham pounding the strike zone and getting groundballs. Concepcion seems to be going backward.
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i know that cavan was drafted out of college, but isnt 24 still a bit old to still be in a ball? marte intrigues me...sj's pitching looks good this year
ReplyDeleteford had a great game...thanks to the weather, the ball wasnt carrying at all...he muscled that shot out...a few more starts like this and the giants and ryan are gonna have to think long and hard...know the guy wants to stay in the org, but if there isnt room for him, no reason for him to stay in aaa...gotta be someway to work a deal for him to go somewhere, where he can shine
i like the squirrels lineup...they really do have a shot at having a decent offense in that pitchers league
the sally game was a total mess...not sure if it was weather related, but the drive had 6 errors
seems that you werent the only one who stayed home because of the weather...grizzlies were expecting a much larger crowd
Well, I found out where the Patriot HS, in Riverside Matt Lollis went. I don't remember him at Riv CC. He was at Patriot HS 1B with the catcher Southworth (I think). I was sure was hoping the Giants got him but he was gone. SJ doesn't have the star power like a couple of years ago. Anxious to see Joseph. Brown, is the white Ellison/Rajai type. Never much cared for the nibblers...
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see "Down on the farm" again!!!
I am also happy to see "my" Jose Flores beginning with 2 hits; do you know which position he played?
Also I just see that the organization has cut ties with Whitaker and Copeland. It's always strange to see guys who could have been MLB player, even fringe ones, leaving the organization and the Down on the farm report. So long guys!!
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/san_francisco_giants/index.html
Thanks for the work, Doc.
GIP
sorry to see copeland go, but he was way down on the depth chart as a result of the emergence of both ford and neal
ReplyDeletewhitaker just never panned out
interesting triva....fresno ended its 2010 season with a grand slam, and started 2011 with one....good karma?
Thanks for the comments, guys! Yeah, Cavan is a bit on the old side. You never know though. If he advances one level per year, he's ready for the show at age 27. Stranger things have happened.
ReplyDeleteIn the pre-season write up for Richmond, Dave Machemer was raving about Flores and his bat. Maybe I've been selling him a little short. We'll see how the season goes. AA is generally a make or break level.
Whitaker was a supplemental round pick in 2003, the year Aardsma was the first rounder. That year was kind of a bust, but isn't is also the year Sanchez or Wilson or Romo got drafted late? Copeland was the Giants first pick the year they lost their top 3 or 4 by signing Vizquel, etc.
I remember Whitaker being described as "raw as rain" by a Giants coach after he was drafted. His development was slowed by injuries and he never really developed secondary stuff. If you are going to draft really raw high schoolers, better make it later in the draft. Pitchers like Graham and Brandon Allen will probably end up like Whitaker, but if they do, the Giants at least didn't pass on a better bet in the first or second rounds to get them. If one of them makes it, it's gravy!
I think the Giants are really missing out with Darren Ford. I think he is a game changer just by putting him as a pinch runner every game in later innings. He has great speed. In the last few games our base running has been horrible. Worst case he can take over for Huff is he is having a down night. I have heard he is pretty good defensively. I say release Rowand now so we don't have to go through this for the rest of this year and next year.
ReplyDeleteCavan is 23 not 24!
ReplyDeleteGood to see Willoughby playing state-side. Any idea where Windster is playing this year?
ReplyDeleteWindster is on the Augusta roster.
ReplyDeleteDrB,
ReplyDeleteI am assuming Jorge Bucardo is on the dl because I don't see him anywhere. Any idea where he will end up?