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Monday, June 18, 2007

Ian and Joba

Injuries/News:

As it was mentioned in the last comments section, Trenton is currently going with a 6-man rotation.

AAA:

I’m not sure why the Yankees are going with Runelvys Hernandez in the AAA rotation, but, he took the mound last night and pitched poorly. Runelvys would take just 4 innings to throw 94 pitches. With the organization confident enough in Igawa to put him back in the major league rotation, I think they should go with an all prospect AAA rotation as opposed to running a retread out there.

Chris Britton got the win, but didn’t pitch particularly well and Edwar Ramirez relieved him and was just ok. Lukewarm outings, at best, by both of these guys should not take away from the fact that they’ve done excellent work this year.

Eric Duncan and Alberto Gonzalez continue to struggle. They are down to .237 and .229, respectively. Yeah…

AA:

Joba and Kennedy continued to roll at the AA level. Kennedy struck out 9 in 5 innings and Joba struck out 8 in his 5. Experienced college arms are expected to transition quickly and both of these guys are doing that, at the least. More encouraging than their progress has been that of Brett Gardner. Gardner is hitting .371/.465/.543 on the month and looking more and more like a prospect as the season progresses.

A+:

The Tampa players had some time off to recharge thanks to the FSL All Star Game. Corona, Tabata, and Curtis had solid games while Miranda, Vechionacci, and Cervelli were able to avoid being complete offensive drains. Miranda and Curtis should be promoted any second now.

A-:

After a hot stretch to begin the month of June, the Charleston offense has really slowed down. Austin Jackson is 3 for his last 26 and 0 for his last 18 with 9 and 6 strikeouts over those respective stretches. Another slumping hitter, Mitch Hilligoss, is 2 for his last 13. The only guy not slumping is Seth Fortenberry, who has been the steadiest force in the Charleston lineup.

Spotlight On:

Trenton.

Today is also opening day for the New York Penn League and the Gulf Coast League. Players to watch for the NYPL include Dellin Betances, Zach McAllister, and Angel Reyes. Players to watch for the GCL include Jesus Montero and Prilys Cuello.