Weekly Review
Las Vegas
Hot Pitcher
Building on a strong second start of the season, RHP Jon Meloan was even more dominant this week. After allowing just 1 earned run on the 10th, the big right-hander pitched 6 shutout innings and allowed only 1 hit this past Wednesday. He did walk 4 batters, however, and his command has been shaky so far. But he's struck out 13 batters in 16 innings and has a 1.69 ERA, which is best among 51s' starters.
Cold Pitcher
Another week and it just keeps getting worse for LHP Greg Miller. The former top prospect still can't find the strike zone and, in 3 appearances this week, he allowed 6 walks in 2 innings. The stuff is still there, so if he ever manages to gain control of his pitches, Miller could be a fine addition to the Dodgers' bullpen.
Hot Hitter
3B Terry Tiffee just keeps on hitting, doing so in every game this week. He went 11 for 26 with a pair of doubles and is leading the PCL with a .508 BA, a .542 OBP and a 1.296 OPS. With Nomar's activation, Tiffee's fate has been sealed as a non-starter with the Dodgers. However, if a team out there gets desperate enough, they could trade for the minor league veteran. Happy 29th birthday tomorrow Terry!
Cold Hitter
It's hard to imagine that going 6 for 25 is an improvement, but for struggling OF Xavier Paul, he'll take any hits he can get right now. 3 of those hits went for doubles and Paul even managed to steal a base. However, his .534 OPS needs drastic improvement and he needs to cut down on his strikeouts, as he's done so in a third of his at bats. Let's hope X-Man can shrug off his slow start and get to raking soon.
Jacksonville
Hot Pitcher
Even with his 1.83 ERA on the season, this is LHP Clayton Kershaw's first appearance as the Suns' hot pitcher. This week he had two starts and ended up giving up just 1 ER in 11.2 innings. He also struck out 11 and allowed only 10 baserunners. The 20 year old isn't dominating as most expected, but he's more than holding his own against much older competition.
Cold Pitcher
After being placed on the 40 man roster, much was expected of RHP Mario Alvarez coming into the season. However, Mario has been anything but super thus far. This week, Alvarez pitched 6 innings and struck out 5, but he also allowed 4 ER which raised his ERA to 6.75 on the season. He'll continue to work in the rotation, though he might be better suited for a relief role down the road.
Hot Hitter
The other 20 year old on the Suns, SS Ivan De Jesus Jr, had himself a good week. Although going 8 for 28 won't win him many awards, he managed to draw 6 walks, smacked a pair of doubles and hit his first career grand slam. Ivan has shown great discipline at the plate, drawing 12 walks compared to 10 strikeouts. His .446 OBP is third in the Southern League. The glove and the eye will get him to the bigs, though I doubt it'll be with the Dodgers.
Cold Hitter
Even though C Lucas May was 3 for 6 with a double and a HR this week, it's the 6 at bats that lands him in this category. May hasn't played since the 15th, presumably due to an injury. I haven't been able to find any details of his missed time but the Suns' roster lists him as being active. Hopefully he'll return to action soon.
Inland Empire
Hot Pitchers
It doesn't get much hotter than RHP Tim Sexton's start on Saturday: 18 up, 18 down. Unfortunately, due to strict pitch limits, Sexton wasn't able to flirt with perfection for 3 more frames. And Tim's first start of the week wasn't bad either: 6 IP, 5 Hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's. Looks like that $123,000 bonus is already paying dividends.
And the reason I pluralized this category is to give LHP James Adkins props as well. The big lefty took the hill twice this week as well and had himself a dominant performance on Sunday. Over 6 scoreless innings, Adkins struck out a career high 11 batters while allowing just 4 baserunners. His first start was pretty good too; 5 innings of 1 ER ball. Adkins' 1.89 ERA is good for third in the California League. Tim and Jim give the 66ers an intimidating pair at the top of their rotation.
Cold Pitcher
Making the list for the third time, though his first in the "cold" section, RHP Javy Guerra finally saw his command get the best of him. A season high 4 walks led to a season high 4 ER in just 2.1 innings. Guerra has already walked 10 walks in 10.1 innings, though he has struck out 12 and held opposing batters to a .184 average. But expect more of these type of outings as long as the walks stay plentiful.
Hot Hitter
A 7 for 25 week isn't particularly newsworthy, but C Carlos Santana has reached base in every game he's played this year. He's also shown a keen batting eye, walking 13 times compared to 10 strikeouts, leading to a .435 OBP which is 8th best in the California League. Santana is still rough behind the plate, but his offensive resurgence has justified him ranking in the Dodgers' Top 30 Prospect list.
Cold Hitter
Another week and more struggles for OF Trayvon Robinson. This week's 2 for 22 performance has lowered his OPS to .454. It's about time that Robinson moves back down to Great Lakes, even with the crowded outfield situation. Or he could move all the way down to the Rookie Leagues when they start up in June. Either way, his time in High A is almost up.
Great Lakes
Hot Pitcher
The pitcher who's gotten off to the best start in the Dodgers' system is RHP Justin Miller. In his first four starts this year, Miller has posted a miniscule 0.44 ERA and struck out 17 batters compared to allowing just 5 walks in 20.1 innings. This week, Justin didn't allow an earned run in 10.1 innings and he had more strikeouts (10) than baserunners allowed (8). Despite his being relatively new to pitching, Miller could find himself in High A fairly soon.
Cold Pitcher
RHP Kyle Smit has taken a turn for the worse since his first start. This week, Smit lasted just 3.2 innings after giving up 5 ER and allowing 3 walks while failing to record a strikeout. That's 2 outings in a row of allowing 5 ER. It's still early and he's still just 20, so give him some time to find the stuff he had in his debut.
Hot Hitter
Making his second appearance on this list, OF Andrew Lambo turned on the power switch this week. Lambo crushed 3 HR and 4 doubles, hitting safely in every game . He's now 5th in the Midwest League in SLG (.656) and 8th in OPS (.1.044). Andrew's still striking out more than I'd like and he only walked once this week, but his plate discipline isn't a long-term issue in my mind.
Cold Hitter
After a hot start, 1B Brian Mathews has cooled considerably. Going just 2 for 15 this week has lowered his batting average to .224, though he did have a homer on Sunday. I don't expect his OPS to stay at .675 for long and I expect him to break out of this slump soon.
Hot Pitcher
Building on a strong second start of the season, RHP Jon Meloan was even more dominant this week. After allowing just 1 earned run on the 10th, the big right-hander pitched 6 shutout innings and allowed only 1 hit this past Wednesday. He did walk 4 batters, however, and his command has been shaky so far. But he's struck out 13 batters in 16 innings and has a 1.69 ERA, which is best among 51s' starters.
Cold Pitcher
Another week and it just keeps getting worse for LHP Greg Miller. The former top prospect still can't find the strike zone and, in 3 appearances this week, he allowed 6 walks in 2 innings. The stuff is still there, so if he ever manages to gain control of his pitches, Miller could be a fine addition to the Dodgers' bullpen.
Hot Hitter
3B Terry Tiffee just keeps on hitting, doing so in every game this week. He went 11 for 26 with a pair of doubles and is leading the PCL with a .508 BA, a .542 OBP and a 1.296 OPS. With Nomar's activation, Tiffee's fate has been sealed as a non-starter with the Dodgers. However, if a team out there gets desperate enough, they could trade for the minor league veteran. Happy 29th birthday tomorrow Terry!
Cold Hitter
It's hard to imagine that going 6 for 25 is an improvement, but for struggling OF Xavier Paul, he'll take any hits he can get right now. 3 of those hits went for doubles and Paul even managed to steal a base. However, his .534 OPS needs drastic improvement and he needs to cut down on his strikeouts, as he's done so in a third of his at bats. Let's hope X-Man can shrug off his slow start and get to raking soon.
Jacksonville
Hot Pitcher
Even with his 1.83 ERA on the season, this is LHP Clayton Kershaw's first appearance as the Suns' hot pitcher. This week he had two starts and ended up giving up just 1 ER in 11.2 innings. He also struck out 11 and allowed only 10 baserunners. The 20 year old isn't dominating as most expected, but he's more than holding his own against much older competition.
Cold Pitcher
After being placed on the 40 man roster, much was expected of RHP Mario Alvarez coming into the season. However, Mario has been anything but super thus far. This week, Alvarez pitched 6 innings and struck out 5, but he also allowed 4 ER which raised his ERA to 6.75 on the season. He'll continue to work in the rotation, though he might be better suited for a relief role down the road.
Hot Hitter
The other 20 year old on the Suns, SS Ivan De Jesus Jr, had himself a good week. Although going 8 for 28 won't win him many awards, he managed to draw 6 walks, smacked a pair of doubles and hit his first career grand slam. Ivan has shown great discipline at the plate, drawing 12 walks compared to 10 strikeouts. His .446 OBP is third in the Southern League. The glove and the eye will get him to the bigs, though I doubt it'll be with the Dodgers.
Cold Hitter
Even though C Lucas May was 3 for 6 with a double and a HR this week, it's the 6 at bats that lands him in this category. May hasn't played since the 15th, presumably due to an injury. I haven't been able to find any details of his missed time but the Suns' roster lists him as being active. Hopefully he'll return to action soon.
Inland Empire
Hot Pitchers
It doesn't get much hotter than RHP Tim Sexton's start on Saturday: 18 up, 18 down. Unfortunately, due to strict pitch limits, Sexton wasn't able to flirt with perfection for 3 more frames. And Tim's first start of the week wasn't bad either: 6 IP, 5 Hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's. Looks like that $123,000 bonus is already paying dividends.
And the reason I pluralized this category is to give LHP James Adkins props as well. The big lefty took the hill twice this week as well and had himself a dominant performance on Sunday. Over 6 scoreless innings, Adkins struck out a career high 11 batters while allowing just 4 baserunners. His first start was pretty good too; 5 innings of 1 ER ball. Adkins' 1.89 ERA is good for third in the California League. Tim and Jim give the 66ers an intimidating pair at the top of their rotation.
Cold Pitcher
Making the list for the third time, though his first in the "cold" section, RHP Javy Guerra finally saw his command get the best of him. A season high 4 walks led to a season high 4 ER in just 2.1 innings. Guerra has already walked 10 walks in 10.1 innings, though he has struck out 12 and held opposing batters to a .184 average. But expect more of these type of outings as long as the walks stay plentiful.
Hot Hitter
A 7 for 25 week isn't particularly newsworthy, but C Carlos Santana has reached base in every game he's played this year. He's also shown a keen batting eye, walking 13 times compared to 10 strikeouts, leading to a .435 OBP which is 8th best in the California League. Santana is still rough behind the plate, but his offensive resurgence has justified him ranking in the Dodgers' Top 30 Prospect list.
Cold Hitter
Another week and more struggles for OF Trayvon Robinson. This week's 2 for 22 performance has lowered his OPS to .454. It's about time that Robinson moves back down to Great Lakes, even with the crowded outfield situation. Or he could move all the way down to the Rookie Leagues when they start up in June. Either way, his time in High A is almost up.
Great Lakes
Hot Pitcher
The pitcher who's gotten off to the best start in the Dodgers' system is RHP Justin Miller. In his first four starts this year, Miller has posted a miniscule 0.44 ERA and struck out 17 batters compared to allowing just 5 walks in 20.1 innings. This week, Justin didn't allow an earned run in 10.1 innings and he had more strikeouts (10) than baserunners allowed (8). Despite his being relatively new to pitching, Miller could find himself in High A fairly soon.
Cold Pitcher
RHP Kyle Smit has taken a turn for the worse since his first start. This week, Smit lasted just 3.2 innings after giving up 5 ER and allowing 3 walks while failing to record a strikeout. That's 2 outings in a row of allowing 5 ER. It's still early and he's still just 20, so give him some time to find the stuff he had in his debut.
Hot Hitter
Making his second appearance on this list, OF Andrew Lambo turned on the power switch this week. Lambo crushed 3 HR and 4 doubles, hitting safely in every game . He's now 5th in the Midwest League in SLG (.656) and 8th in OPS (.1.044). Andrew's still striking out more than I'd like and he only walked once this week, but his plate discipline isn't a long-term issue in my mind.
Cold Hitter
After a hot start, 1B Brian Mathews has cooled considerably. Going just 2 for 15 this week has lowered his batting average to .224, though he did have a homer on Sunday. I don't expect his OPS to stay at .675 for long and I expect him to break out of this slump soon.
posted by Jared @ 7:09 PM
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