Down on the Farm: 9/1/2014

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies pounded the Tacoma Rainiers 9-5:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, 3B, HR(10).  BA= .271.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, HR(27).  BA= .298.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .278.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

Gary Brown celebrates his callup with a huge game that fell a single short of a cycle.  He does this just often enough to make you dream a little.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Binghampton Mets 12-4:

Elliott Blair(CF)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .240.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 3, HR(10), BB.  BA= .227.
Ricky Oropesa(3B-1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .241.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.29.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.79.

Angel Villalona finishes strong after slumping most of the second half after coming off the DL.   Blackburn bounces back nicely after a terrible last start.  Is Kyle Crick just getting in some work or is this a harbinger of a move to the bullpen?  Hope it's the former.  Not ready to give up on him as a starter, no way!

High A  San Jose Giants tamed the High Desert Mavericks 12-3:

Ryan Lollis(CF)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR3).  BA= .275.
Brian Ragira(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(20), BB.  BA= .260.
Tyler Horan(LF)- 2 for 5, HR(10).  BA= .321.
Ben Turner(Catcher)- 2 for 5.  BA= .298.
Matt Lujan(LHP)- 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.42.
Ray Black(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.25.

Ragira gets to 20 HR's.  Big second half for the former HS phenom.  I saw a report that Horan was going to Richmond after this to help with the EL playoffs.  Hope we see him there.  Turner falls just short of .300.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets blanked the Charleston River Dogs 2-0:

Luis Ysla(LHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.65.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.16.

Ysla finishes up a nice season.  Diaz scuffled this year, but finishes with a strong outing.

Short Season  Boise Hawks topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-5:

Seth Harrison(CF) 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .266.
Austin Slater(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .347.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.83.

Rookie AZL  Indians eliminated the Giants 14-0:

Matthew Gage(LHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.80.

Several Giants relievers, including Stetson Woods,  got shelled in a 12 run 6'th inning.  This was the AZL championship game which obviously the Giants lost.

The Giants called up 5 more prospects for September:  OF Gary Brown, RHP Brett Bochy, RHP Erik Cordier, IF Adam Duvall and RHP Chris Heston.

Someone asked my opinion of the Brown callup in the comments section of an earlier post.  Here's what I think:  I have come to believe that Gary Brown is probably a guy who responds better to positive feedback and reinforcement than negative.  I don't think it is entirely random luck that he went 0 for 3 in Sunday's game and 3 for 5 in yesterday's.  While I don't think that a pennant race is any place to be massaging the feelings of a sensitive prospect, I do hope he gets some chances and makes the most of them.  I suspect the talent is still there.  He needs to find the right situation to make it work on the field.