Down on the Farm: 8/24/2015

AAA  Omaha Stormchasers blanked the Sacramento River Cats 6-0:

Chris Stratton(RHP)- 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.19.

Another enigmatic season for an enigmatic pitcher.

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AA  Harrisburg Senators defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-3:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .280.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.51.

Moreno has been one of the big positive surprises of the season.  A fine season for Biagini who should get a shot at AAA next year, then who knows?

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High A  San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66'ers 6-4:

Angel Villalona(1B)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(10).  BA= .246.
Ryder Jones(3B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .272.
Brian Ragira(DH)- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .254.
Jordan Johnson(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.28.

I attended the first 6 innings of this game with about 94 other people in the Inland Empire.  Of course, you all want to know about Jordan Johnson which is the reason why I went.  He's got nice size for a pitcher at his listed height of 6'3".  I would estimate he is heavier than his listed 175 and well proportioned.  He is very deliberate in all of his movements, maybe to a fault.  He has loose, whippy, over-the-top arm action which generates a fastball with good life and downward plane.  The stadium gun had his FB ranging 91-95 MPH with the majority going 93-94.  He also has a hard breaking ball in the mid-80's and a nice slower breaking ball in the upper 70's with solid break and depth.  I didn't see too many pitches that I would call change ups, but I saw one off-speed pitch with nice sink and fade to a LH batter that probably was. His command seemed a bit spotty and he worked out of the stretch most of the time he was out there.  He seemed to tire in 5'th and 6'th innings, rarely topping 90 MPH in those frames, but he did reach back for a couple of 94 MPH'ers in the 6'th, but he seemed to have to put more effort into those and they were not close to being strikes.  A couple of the hits he gave up were not hit too well, but he did give up some hard-hit balls.  Not a dominant performance from a statistical line, but from a scouting perspective, he appears to have the stuff to be a serious prospect.

In two looks, I have now seen Ryder Jones have about 7 AB's and he's squared up at least 6 of them.  Kid has a serious hit tool and some power potential in that upper body.  Angel Villalona hit the ball hard, but looks to be in terrible shape.  I mean, Pablo Sandoval at his worst looks to be in the picture of health by comparison!

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Everett Aquasox 4-3:

Steven Duggar(RF)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .281.
Nolan Riggs(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.04.
Nathanael Santiago(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.63.
Ryan Halstead(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(5).  ERA= 2.66.

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Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

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DSL  Giants have a bye in the first round of the DSL playoffs.