Ketel Marte (26intheMix) ... three more hits! ... yes, a truly mind-blowing streak of balls-in-play falling in ... but he's obviously got a clue up there (just one strikeout in a week). 

Worth watching.

AAA -- Iowa 10, Tacoma 3  -- Box

So the Rainiers sent two of the best arms in the organization to the mound Tuesday afternoon, and ended up with little to show for it.

• Tom Wilhelmsen: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (gave up 2 HR)
• James Paxton (Talk40 #3): 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

Part of the problem was I-Cub second baseman Edgar Gonzalez, who had an all-world day: 5-for-6 with three home runs.  One off Wilhelmsen; one off Paxton; one off Brian Moran (Talk40 #35).

On the positive side, Nate Tenbrink (26intheMix) continued his battle against irrelevance with his 12th home run, plus a double and a single.

High-A -- High Desert 8, Inland Empire 2 -- Box

Good news for the Kivle-fans: Patrick Kivlehan (Talk40 #33) got his eighth High Desert homer and 11th overall.

And Kevin Rivers just keeps putting up strong Cal League numbers.  He got his 14th homer, and is now hitting .282/.360/.482.

Brock Hebert (26intheMix) had a double, a single and a walk.

A strong start for Jordan Pries (26intheMix): 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.

Low-A -- Kane County 6, Clinton 2 -- Box

As forecast, the big story here is Marte, the 19-year-old switch-hitting glove specialist who has been on one of the all-time hot streaks, and added a triple and two singles thereto:

• 8 games
• 40 plate appearances
• 24 hits!
• 4 walks
• 1 strikeout!
• .667/.700/.833
• BABIP: .686

One of my "templates" is the Plate Skills Technician: guys who don't have tons of power, but don't beat themselves at the plate.  Such guys when they can maintain a BABIP roll, and have speed and glove skills, can be valuable major leaguers.  Of course, we all know the most extreme example of that: dude named Ichiro.  Eric Aybar is another guy who fits that profile.

Of course, Marte's got a ways to go to get there.  And he needs more doubles and triples, but for a teenager in the Midwest League, there are encouraging signs.

I'd be interested in a Gordon take on Marte.

Not much to report on the rest of the game.

Northwest League All-Star Game -- Box

As noted yesterday, a huge chunk of the North squad came from Everett.  As it happened, that meant that Jose Valdivia (Watch List) was on the mound when the South team ralled for three in the 9th to take an 8-7 win.

And now we know why Lars Huijer had a brief outing the other day: he was being saved for an inning of all-star work (he was the North starter).  He gave up a hit and a walk but no runs.

Jack Reinheimer played the whole game at short and went 2-for-5.  Justin Seager was the DH and went 1-for-3.

Rookie -- Pulaski 4, Kingsport 3 -- Box

Another interesting outing (except for the walks) for emerging Jose Flores: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K.

And the world (or at least the Appalachian League) continued to tremble at the feet of Emilio Pagan: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

On the year: 13 G | 17.2 IP | 0.00 ERA | 0.57 WHIP | 3.6 H/9 | 1.5 BB/9 | 13.2 K/9

Jeffrey Zimmerman had two doubles.

AZL Rookie -- Mariners 5, A's 0 -- Box

Alexy Palma homered and had a single.  He's slugging .548 in 24 games.

And finally a solid outing for Brazilian teen Daniel Missaki: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

Looking Ahead

Jackson was postponed for the 16th time (I believe).  They've moved from Mobile to Mississippi, and Trevor Miller (26intheMix) is listed.  Victor Sanchez (Talk40 #12) goes for Clinton.