Thanks to an alert reader, we know that Dominic Leone (Talk40 #25) and Dillon Hazlett were promoted to AA Jackson. It turns out they arrived at the stadium just minutes before the first pitch.
Hazlett is a short-term replacement for our man Ji-Man Choi (Talk40 #19), who is in New York for the Futures Game. Leone is hopefully a more permanent promotion.
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Meanwhile, two hard-throwing lefties were on display Saturday.
AAA -- Reno 4, Tacoma 1 -- Box
He got a bit dinged (three doubles and one home run), but James Paxton (Talk40 #3) went more than 5.0 IP for the second straight game (he had a complete game the prior outing): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
And he got through 7.0 full innings on 96 pitches. Progress!
The final 2.0 IP were thrown by Carter Capps in his 2013 AAA debut after demotion from the Big Club. He gave up one unearned run and struck out two.
The only Tacoma offense came from veteran utility guy Scott Savastano, who got his third home run.
Rookie -- Bluefield 6, Pulaski 1 -- Box
And the other lefty with the big arm also had a strong outing, marred by a couple of unearned runs.
Luiz Gohara (Talk40 #21): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
For the year after four games: 4.02 ERA | 1.28 WHIP | 2.3 BB/9 | 12.6 K/9
Catcher Toby DeMello had a double and a single, though the P-M's didn't show much offense.
AA -- Tennessee 5, Jackson 0 -- Box
With the Leone promotion, my two favorite bullpenners are now together, and they both pitched Saturday.
Despite his late arrival, Leone pitched a scoreless 8th with one strikeout, and then Carson Smith (Talk40 #13) tossed the 9th with a strikeout of his own.
But James Gilheeney had already given up 12 hits and five earned runs, and the Generals offense couldn't get anything going.
High-A -- Stockton 2, High Desert 1 [13 innings] -- Box
Another rare Cal League pitchers' duel (although Stockton is not one of the "pinball" stadiums).
On the High Desert side it was four of the "26intheMix":
But the Maverick offense made no headway against the Ports.
Low-A -- Clinton 5, South Bend 4 -- Box
Jabari Henry (26intheMix) has been cooling off considerably, but he got his 17th double, plus a single, and had two RBI on Saturday.
Gabriel Guerrero (Talk40 #16) had his hit streak end on Friday, but he started a new one on Saturday.
Short Season-A -- Eugene 8, Everett 0 -- Box
Aqua Sox pitchers managed to get 13 strikeouts even as they were giving up eight runs.
Reggie Lawson had a double and a single.
AZL Rookie -- Rangers 6, Mariners 0 -- Box
The junior Rangers opened up a scoreless game with five in the 4th, and the junior Mariners never got back in the game.
Jesus Montero: 0-for-3, 2 strikeouts
Looking Ahead
Taijuan Walker (Talk40 #2) and our man Ji-Man will be on opposite sides of the Futures Game at Citi Field in the Big Apple. Walker is set to pitch for the U.S. team, and apparently he'll be the second one in the game. Choi will be a reserve for the International squad. The game is on ESPN2.
Hey Spec,
Give me your best timetable estimate for Ji-Man! His average is down in Jackson, but there appears to be no worry. His eye is still terrific and he's not K'ing there, either. Homers are even up. Looks like some bad BABIP perhaps.
Anyway, Does he open in Tacoma next season? I would hope so.
If so, he might get a cup of coffee in Safeco next September.
moe
An article in the Jackson Sun appears to indicate Dominic Leone will be in Jackson for at least a little while. Coach Pankovits was quoted:
“He’s the real deal,” Pankovits said. “He’s got a great arm and will have a lot of opportunities to pitch here.
“I’m excited to watch him.”
If Smoak hadn't saved himself, then our man Ji-Man would be on a faster track, I think. So far, he's been moving up nicely as in Seager-Franklin-Miller fast.
If there were a gaping hole at first, I would definitely expect him at mid-season next year, in the same manner as Franklin and Miller this year.
It also may depend on whether Morse and/or Morales are back, but if he keeps hitting, and showing the kind of power he's showing, they'll make room for him.
Certainly by the end of 2014, because he's not working on a difficult defensive spot and he hits like crazy everywhere he's been.
D.J. Peterson is going to be right on Choi's heels as well. He's a very advanced hitter.
The Pipeline is flowing ...
He's a guy I identified early, and I went pretty far on a limb ranking him No. 25 pre-season.
I'm relieved he actually is that good.
Thanks, part-time!
Down by the schoolyard? He hasn't played in over a week. Have the wheels come off the Morbanwagon? Another injury?