Spinners falter, drop NY-Penn League semis
For a moment, it looked like Short Season Single-A Lowell were on the cusp of reaching the New York-Penn League Finals with a two-game throttling of Batavia. After all, the Spinners won Game 1 in 12 innings and led 8-2 in the sixth frame of Game 2. But that’s where things changed. The Muckdogs rallied for 11 runs in the final three innings, winning Game 2 and forcing a decisive Game 3 on Wednesday.
Batavia took advantage of its new life, defeating the Spinners, 3-2, earning the right to advance to the best-of-3 championship series against Jamestown. For Lowell, it was a season in which it dominated the NYP Stedler division by 7 1/2 games down the stretch, finishing with a 40-33 record.
The Spinners were by and large led by Mitch Dening throughout the season. Dening, the Australia native, batted .321 over the course of 62 game in 2008 while playing strong defense in the outfield. On the mound, Brock Huntzinger was 5-0 in eight starts with a 0.64 ERA before moving to play with the Greenville Drive. In the bullpen, Stephen Fife went 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 14 games — a solid start for the 2008 First-Year Player Draft pick.
-Mark Remme
Bulls Fall Short, Several More Join Rays
Right-hander Wade Davis gave up 8 runs (5 earned) in only 2 innings as the Durham Bulls bowed out of the International League playoffs Friday night, falling three games to one to the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre team.
While the previous three games were all decided in the final at-bat, the Bulls were beat handily on Friday. Following the game, right-handed pitchers Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot were called up to the Rays, along with outfielder Jonny Gomes and lefty phenom David Price.
The top overall pick in last year’s draft, Price compiled a 13-1 record and a 2.39 ERA in 21 starts for Vero, Montgomery and Durham, including two playoff outings with the Bulls. He last pitched Tuesday in Scranton, allowing four runs in six innings in the opener of the Governors’ Cup finals.
The initial plan is for the Rays to use all three pitchers–starters the entire season–out of the bullpen. But there is at least one spot start available, in the second game of the Sept. 23 doubleheader at Baltimore. Although Price would be an enticing choice as a spot starter, the club will remain cautious in putting too much pressure on the 22-year-old pitcher.
Gomes and Price joined the Rays in New York on Saturday (although Price was not used in the Rays doubleheader) and Talbot and Niemann are expected to join the team on Monday back in St. Petersburg.
Talbot and Niemann will each begin their second stint in the Major Leagues this season. Niemann posted a 1-1 record with a 5.79 ERA in two starts for the Rays and went 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA for Durham. Talbot did not get to pitch during an abbreviated one-day stint with the Rays and went 13-9 with a 3.86 ERA at Durham.
The quartet joins former Bulls teammates outfielder Fernando Perez, first baseman Dan Johnson and catchers John Jaso and Michael Hernandez as a length list of September call ups.
– Brittany Ghiroli
Mudcats’ season crumbles in the end
Up 2-1 against the Mississippi Braves, Double-A Carolina dropped the final two games of the series in extra innings to come up short in the Southern League Finals.
MIAMI — The Carolina Mudcats were so close.
But, in the end, the only thing they were close to was the celebration by the Mississippi Braves players near the mound at Trustmark Park (pictured), as they beat the Marlins’ Doube-A affiliate, 3-2, in 10 innings during the Southern League Finals.
Back in Game 4, when they were up 2-1 in the series, the Mudcats had a chance to seal the deal in the 11th inning before surrendering a home run tie it up. Two innings later, they lost on a walkoff single.
Entering the ninth inning of the deciding game, Carolina was down, 2-1, before a leadoff homer by Scott Cousins off Southern League Pitcher of the Year Todd Redmond tied it up. But after a couple of singles in the 10th inning by the Braves, Chris Mobley checked into the game and threw a wild pitch, allowing J.C. Holt to score the winning run.
Read the full story here.
But hey, here’s one thing to look forward to: Now that the Mudcats’ season is over, there’s a good chance you can see center field prospect Cameron Maybin pretty soon. Gaby Sanchez, the Southern League MVP this year, isn’t as likely of an addition, considering he’d have to be added to the 40-man roster first, and there wouldn’t be much of an opportunity for him to play with the Marlins. Ryan Tucker could also be added.
Jammers update
The Marlins’ short-season, Single-A affiliate, the Jamestown Jammers, lost the first game of the New York-Penn League Finals to the Batavia Muckdogs, 4-3. Down a run in the bottom of the ninth, the Jammers had the tying run in scoring position with one out, but Brandon Tucker struck out, and Justin Bass grounded out to end it.
The second of the best-of-three series on Saturday was postponed due to rain and will be played Sunday at 6:05 p.m. ET.
- Alden Gonzalez, associate reporter/MLB.com
Brewers farm teams close out the year
Milwaukee is loaded with homegrown talent (Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Braun, Bill Hall,
Ben Sheets and Rickie Weeks came through the system). Who will be next in line? Some prospects took positive steps during the 2008 season. Here’s a look back.
Triple-A Nashville
Regular Season: 59-81
Postseason: None
Statistical Leaders: 1B Brad Nelson (.286, 18 homers, 78 RBIs), OF Laynce Nix (.284, 23 homers, 60 RBIs), LHP Lindsay Gulin (7-7, 3.54 ERA, 120 Ks)
Lowdown: The Sounds finished in last place in the Pacific Coast League. In fact, it’s the worst record in the franchise’s 31-year history. Nelson, Nix and Gulin, all veteran Minor Leaguers, somewhat helped their careers, but another step needs to be made to challenge for big-league playing time. The Sounds were hurt by the amount of talent developing in Double A for most of the season, which brings us to …
Double-A Huntsville
Regular Season: 73-67 (41-29 first half, 32-38 second half)
Postseason: None
Statistical Leaders: 3B Mat Gamel (pictured, .329, 19 homers, 96 RBIs), LHP Brae Wright (6-10, 3.59 ERA, 120 Ks), LHP David Welch (11-4, 3.90 ERA, 95 Ks)
Lowdown: The Stars posted the best record of any team that missed the playoffs in the Southern League, if that’s any consolation. The hitters need no comforting, they were solid. The Stars hit a league-leading .285, 16 points higher than the second-best team. The top three individual hitters in the league? All Stars: C Angel Salome (.360), Gamel and SS Alcides Escobar (.328), all of whom were September callups. Then there’s OF Matt LaPorta, who led the team with 20 homers despite getting traded to Cleveland in the CC Sabathia deal.
Class A Brevard County
Regular Season: 66-72 (35-34 first half, 31-38 second half)
Postseason: None
Statistical Leaders: 3B Taylor Green (.289, 15 homers, 73 RBIs), RHP Alexandre Periard (9-6, 3.51 ERA, 76 Ks), LHP Bobby Bramhall (5-4, 2.51 ERA, 106 Ks)
Lowdown: The club lost a lot of pitching talent to promotion, which explains the win/loss dropoff in the second half. RHP Jeremy Jeffress earned club Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors after missing the first the first 40 games because of a suspension in August 2007 for testing positive for marijuana. Jeffress was Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2006 and went 4-6 with a 4.08 ERA in Brevard County before moving up to Huntsville.
Class A West Virginia
Regular Season: 77-62 (32-37 first half, 45-25 second half)
Postseason: South Atlantic League runners up (first round: 2-1 over Lake County; championship: 0-3 to Augusta)
Statistical Leaders: 1B Steffan Wilson (.289, 19 homers, 100 RBIs), RHP Evan Anundsen (12-8, 4.28 ERA, 102 Ks)
Lowdown: Second best team in the Sally League for the second straight year, but look at the difference between the first and second halves. Something got into the Power. They ended up leading the league in batting average and runs scored for the season.
– Nick Zaccardi
Recapping the Cubs’ Minor League seasons
CHICAGO — The big-league Cubs still have a month to go, but the baby Cubs are all done.
Let’s take a look at how the franchise’s farm teams fared in 2008.
Triple-A Iowa
Regular Season: 83-59, Pacific Coast League American League North Division champions
Postseason: Lost to Oklahoma in a first-round, five-game series, 3-2.
Statistical Leaders: 1B Micah Hoffpauir (.362, 25 homers, 100 RBIs), RHP Randy Wells (10-4, 4.02 ERA, 102 Ks)
The Lowdown: The I-Cubs had a tremendously successful season, winning the division for the first time since 2004. Manager Pat Listach was named the PCL Manager of the Year and looks in line to become a prime candidate for any Major League skipper job, let alone with the Cubs if/when Lou Piniella decides to call it quits. The club boasted oodles of hitting talent, beginning with bash brothers OF Jason Dubois and Hoffpauir, who both launched 25 homers. They were balanced by base stealers OF Eric Patterson (19-for-21 stealing) and OF Andres Torres (29-for-33 stealing). OF Felix Pie, C Koyie Hill, OF Josh Kroeger, 2B Bobby Scales, SS Luis Figueroa and 3B Casey McGehee were no slouches either. The order was solid from top to bottom. The pitchers showed a string of dominance late in the season. Starters LHP J.R. Mathes, RHP Mike Burns, RHP Justin Berg and Wells aren’t huge names, but they got the job done for the most part. Ten different relievers received saves, as the bullpen was constantly morphing.
Double-A Tennessee
Regular Season: 62-77, (27-43 first half, 35-34 second half)
Postseason: None
Statistical Leaders: 1B Jake Fox (.307, 25 homers, 79 RBIs), RHP Mitch Atkins (9-6, 3.76 ERA, 88 Ks)
The Lowdown: The Smokies have got to be pleased with the way they finished the season, in second place of the Southern League’s North Division after tallying the worst first-half record among the league’s 10 teams. Atkins became a big story among the Cubs’ Minor matters in the second half, as he won 12 straight decisions between Tennessee and Iowa to finish the year at 17-7 overall. Like Fox, OF Sam Fuld got a taste of the big leagues in 2007. He started 2008 in Triple-A and was demoted after hitting .222 in 20 games. Fuld went on to hit .271 in Double-A, 30 points below his average with Class A Daytona in 2007. OF Tyler Colvin, the club’s first rounder in 2006, recovered from a .238 first half to finish the year at .256.
Class A Daytona
Regular Season: 73-59, (35-35 first half, 38-24 second half)
Postseason: Florida State League champions (first round: 2-1 over Palm Beach, championship: 3-1 over Fort Myers)
Statistical Leaders: OF Ty Wright (.300, 8 homers, 72 RBIs), LHP Jayson Ruhlman (8-6, 2.84 ERA, 58 Ks)
The Lowdown: Daytona weathered the late-season storm that punched holes in its schedule to win its first outright FSL title since 2000. The Cubs didn’t clinch a playoff spot until the final day of the season. Championship series MVP 2B Tony Thomas (pictured), of Florida State fame, went 14-for-29 in the playoffs. OF Ryan Harvey, Chicago’s first-round pick in 2003, continued his plate struggles by hitting .228 in 59 games. Meanwhile, LHP Jeremy Papelbon, brother of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, finished the season with a 35 2/3-inning scoreless streak. Papelbon was converted from a reliever to a starter near the end of the season.
Class A Peoria
Regular Season: 60-78, (30-38 first half, 30-40 second half)
Postseason: None
Statistical Leaders: 1B Luis Bautista (.313, 13 homers, 50 RBIs), RHP Stephen Vento (7-5, 3.38 ERA, 14 saves)
The Lowdown: It was an ugly season for the Chiefs, and not solely because of the club’s record. The 2008 Peoria squad will be remembered for an infamous brawl at the Dayton Dragons on July 24. Seventeen players were suspended, and pitcher Julio Castillo was jailed. The Chiefs finished the season 9-30 after that forgettable night. Though the melee went on while he was at Hall of Fame weekend, manager Ryne Sandberg’s hopes of a big-league managerial job in the near future took a body blow as well.
Class A Boise
Regular Season: 43-33
Postseason: None
Statistical Leaders: OF Andrew Rundle (.292, 8 homers, 36 RBIs), RHP Bubba O’Donnell (6-3, 3.97 ERA, 2 saves)
The Lowdown: Boise hosted three big names this season, C Michael Brenly, 3B Josh Vitters and RHP Andrew Cashner. Brenly, who hit .325, is the son of Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly. Vitters, who hit .328, was the Cubs’ 2007 first-round pick. Cashner, the 2008 first rounder, went 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA before being promoted to Daytona.
– Nick Zaccardi
More Minors matters from around the Dodgers’ system
A Dodgers’ Minor League year in review feature went live on dodgers.com on Sept. 11, but I wasn’t able to get everything I wanted into that story. Here’s some more tidbits from around the Minors:
Right-hander James McDonald (right) and shortstop Ivan De Jesus (below) were covered pretty thoroughly for being named the organization’s Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.
But it’s important to also note McDonald was voted as possessing the best changeup in the Southern League in Baseball America’s annual “Best Tools” survey of league managers and coaches, and De Jesus hit .438 (46-for-105) with five homers, 16 RBIs and 31 runs scored in 27 August games for Double-A Jacksonville, raising his batting average to .324, fourth best in the system.
Both players will be honored in a pregame ceremony Sept. 20 at Dodger Stadium.
Right-hander Chris Withrow, the Dodgers’ 2007 first-round Draft pick, threw four innings in four August games for Class A Advanced Inland Empire, compiling a 4.50 ERA with six walks to one strikeout after being shelved all season with arm and control problems. He will pitch in instructional league.
“We were progressing him slowly, a little tender in the elbow early in the year, and we didn’t want to rush him,” said Dodgers player development director De Jon Watson. “He was a young high school senior when we took him last year, and there was no reason to really rush him. He made progress, the velocity was there, he was 92-94 (mph) flashing a lights-out breaking ball at times.”
Added scouting director Logan White, “His arm’s feeling really good and just trying to get the command and the feel back. The main thing is getting back feeling good on the mound and commanding the fastball. Health-wise we feel we kind of got him over the hump. It’s kind of like what we did with James McDonald when he was young, err on the side of caution.”
Both officials commended 2008 sixth-round pick Anthony Delmonico, a second baseman who hit .340 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs for Class A Short-Season Ogden, and White praised the “electric arm” of 11th-round pick Nathan Eovaldi, who compiled a 1.13 ERA and nine strikeouts in eight innings for Ogden.
Outfielder Kyle Russell, the 2008 third-round pick, also was lauded for hitting .279 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs with Ogden.
Speaking about the draft class as a whole, Watson said, “That group of kids, it’s a grinding group of kids. They’re hard-nosed, they play hard. I hate to get overly excited, but I like the group of kids we have. I like their makeup and their character. The scouts did a tremendous job of trying to figure out who these young men are before they turned them over to us and brought them into our system.”
Watson and White also were impressed with Triple-A Las Vegas outfielder Xavier Paul; Double-A third baseman Russell Mitchell, outfielder Jamie Hoffmann, left-hander Brent Leach and right-hander Jesus Castillo; and Class A Advanced outfielder Thomas Giles, first baseman Austin Gallagher, shortstop Jaime Pedroza and left-hander Victor Garate.
“From a player-development standpoint, you see incremental growth in these kids, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Watson said. “We’re trying to get those steps because that’s what player development is about. It’s trying to get them so they continue to progress to get better to increase their value to the organization and to the industry.”
Dodgers farm clubs bow out of playoffs
Only two of the Dodgers’ seven farm teams reached postseason play, which will happen when an organization brings up as much young talent as Los Angeles has the last three seasons, and both Inland Empire and Ogden fizzled out in the first round.
Inland Empire dropped a pair to Lake Elsinore, 10-7 in Game 1 and 8-2 in Game 2. Game 1 was suspended by rain, leading Lake Elsinore to finish off Game 1 and take Game 2 on Aug. 4.
Ogden lost in three games to Orem Sept. 6-8, losing a 5-1 decision in Game 1 and taking Game 2 by the score of 8-6 in 10 innings before losing the deciding Game 3, 9-7.
– Michael Schwartz
Mudcats GM named Southern League Exec of Year
MIAMI — What has already been a great year for the Carolina Mudcats just keeps getting better.
On Monday, Joe Kremer, the general manager of the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate, was named the Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year in the Southern League — an award voted on by his peers.
Kremer’s most productive contribution was helping raise the Mudcats’ average attendance (4,073) to the highest it has been in 11 years over a full season.
But his most memorable lasted only one inning.
While hosting the Southern League All-Star Game in mid-July, Kremer set up the Miracle League’s first All-Star Game. Before the start of the game, All-Star players and coaches assisted special-needs children in a one-inning exhibition. Afterwards, he set up an auction that featured autographed, player-worn jerseys and raised $8,000 for the Miracle League.
Kremer has been with the organization — which relocated from Columbus in 1991 – for 20 years and is receiving the award for a Southern League record-tying fourth time.
Series tied
The Mudcats and Mississippi Braves have split the first two games of the Southern League Championships. The Braves won the first game, 5-4 in 10 innings, at Carolina, and the Mudcats came back to win Game 2, 6-3, on Tuesday. Both teams will play next on Thursday at 8:05 p.m. ET at Mississippi — a place the Mudcats better get used to, considering they’ll be playing the last three games of the series there.
‘Jamming’ into Finals
Make that five in a row now for the Jamestown Jammers, the Marlins’ short season Single A club. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. After two straight wins against the Staten Island Yankees, the Jammers find themselves two wins away from winning the championship, as they’ll face the winner between Lowell Spinners and Batavia Muckdogs — to be decided tonight, at 7:05 ET.
- by Alden Gonzalez, associate reporter/MLB.com
Price Wins Minor League Honor, Next Stop Rays?
Top prospect David Price was chosen as USA TODAY’S Minor League Prospect of the Year on Wednesday, in a vote decided by the staff of USA TODAY and Sports Weekly as well as online voting for fans.
A powerful lefthander, Price went a combined 12-1 in three levels of the Rays Minor League system, with a 2.30 ERA and 109 strikeouts.
Tuesday night marked his final start with the Triple-A Bulls, as the team is currently in the best-of-five Governor’s Cup Finals. Price tossed six innings in the opening game, allowed four runs on seven hits while fanning nine. The Bulls rallied to take the lead with five runs in the 7th inning, but eventually lost, 8-7 to the Yankees Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
With the conclusion of Price’s season, the question remains as to when or if the Rays will call upon the touted lefty to help in their franchise-first pennant race. Although it was widely assumed that the 22-year-old Price would end his season in the Majors, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman sounded more skeptical when speaking with ESPN’s Peter Gammons on Monday.
According to Gammon’s blog , Friedman wasn’t definite that Price would join the Rays heated American League East battle. ”We don’t want people getting ahead of themselves,” Friedman told Gammons. ”Anointing [Price] a savior and putting undo pressure on a kid in his first full professional season.”
Price’s teammate in Durham, right-hander Jeff Niemann, could get the nod to join the big league club after his start on Thursday. Niemann (1-0, 1.13) will take the hill against LHP Kei Igawa (1-0, 1.29) for Game 3 of the series, and is coming off an impressive start against Louisville in Round One, in which Niemann took a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
Friedman told Gammons he has been watching the International League playoffs closely and after seeing Niemann throw so well was sure the lanky right-hander would fit into the Rays bullpen sometime this month.
If the success of the last batch of call-ups from Durham is any indication, Tampa Bay will be greatly benefitted by dipping into their farm system again following the Governor’s Cup.
Although Friedman had originally planned to make only two waves of call-ups, early August injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria coupled with recent setbacks by centerfielder B.J. Upton (strained left quadriceps) and backup catcher Shawn Riggans (bursitis in his right knee) has made more frequent moves necessary.
Despite substantial roster thinning, Durham is making the adjustments and is set to play Game 2 vs. Scranton on Wednesday night with right-hander Mitch Talbot on the hill.
– Brittany Ghiroli
Angels affliates seeing postseason success
The Angels saw six of their seven Minor League affiliates qualify for postseason play but only the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Rookie-level Orem Owlz are still alive in the playoffs.
The Travelers swept their best-of-five series over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals affiliate) to capture their third Texas League Division title since joining the Angels in 2001.
Arkansas began the 2008 Texas League Championship on Tuesday against the Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers affiliate). Arkansas won the game 3-0 with catcher Hank Conger leading the way by driving in three runs on a bloop single in the eighth inning. The Travelers play the second game of the series on Wednesday in North Little Rock, Ark.
The Owlz, meanwhile, won the Southern Division title with a 9-7 win over the Ogden Raptors (Dodgers affliate) in the deciding game of the series. Luis Jimenez went 4-for-4 with a triple, a home run and four RBIs.
They begin the Pioneer League Championship Series against the Great Falls Voyagers (White Sox affiliate) on Wednesday.
Atilano paces P-Nats victory
If numbers are to tell the tale, Monday’s showdown between Single-A Potomac and Myrtle Beach wasn’t supposed to end anything like this. But statistics on paper don’t account for poised pitching by a 23-year-old right-hander coupled with an offensive onslaught from unforeseen contributors.
Luis Atilano stifled the Pelicans’ league-best offense as the Nationals cruised to a 15-0 Game 1 victory in the Carolina League Championship Series at BB&T Coastal Field. Myrtle Beach scored 764 runs this season, but that didn’t seem to matter against Atilano. He hurled five innings while allowing six hits and fanning four.
Atilano, who went 6-7 with a 4.50 ERA this season, moved the P-Nats to within two victories of a league championship in this best-of-five series. Meanwhile, Michael Martinez led the P-Nats offense with a 4-for-5 night, including a double, three runs and two RBIs.
Andrew Lefave, Jhonatan Solano and Boomer Whiting also turned in multi-hit games. the P-Nats put a six-spot on the board in the fourth inning and five more up in the sixth to ensure victory.
The two teams will meet Tuesday for Game 2, with Jeff Mandel hurling for the P-Nats while Carlos Rivas takes the hill for Myrtle Beach.
-Mark Remme
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