A generous dose of pessimism administered on Thursday night. Ugh.
Plus I apparently offended our main man Bat571. Sorry about that!
And Erasmo Ramirez got shelled at the MLB level as well. But at least Doc has a silver lining!
Also, in case you didn't note it, Carter Capps was demoted to Tacoma to make room for e-RAM.
***
[And there's all sorts of chain reaction -- that doesn't really fit with my grim theme -- Chance Ruffin (Watch List) to Tacoma to fill the e-RAM spot; Trevor Miller (26intheMix) to Jackson (well deserved); Matt Anderson to High Desert from Clinton; Rigoberto Garcia from Everett to Clinton; and Tommy Burns to Everett after three strong outings in Arizona.]
AAA -- Reno 6, Tacoma 1 -- Box
Brandon Maurer (Talk40 #9) threw 21 pitches to six batters, and gave up two doubles, a single, two walks and one hit batsman. As in: zero outs.
0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
The rest was pretty anticlimactic for the Rainiers, though the bullpen limited the damage thereafter. Carlos Triunfel (26intheMix) got his fifth home run, and Carlos Peguero (Watch List) had a pair of hits.
AA -- Tennessee 4, Jackson 1 -- Box
Both Roenis Elias (26intheMix) and Carson Smith (Talk40 #13) were little high in the walk column in otherwise nice outings:
Elias: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Smith: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
All of the Jackson offense came from a solo shot by our man Ji-Man Choi (Talk40 #19), who now has six AA homers and 13 overall. For whatever reason, he's not hitting many singles and doubles for Jackson, but that should come. Overall: .303/.395/.577 with a lot more HR power than expected.
High-A -- High Desert 6, Rancho Cucamonga 3 [10 innings] -- Box
Now here's a ray of sunshine!
Pow! Pow! Paolini!
A two-run shot in the 10th from Daniel Paolini (Talk40 #26) boosted the Mavericks to their extra-inning victory. It was his 15th of the year. He's at .289/.397/.510, and his .221 ISO is pretty darn close to the .224 High Desert ISO that had everyone in a tizzy about Stefen Romero (Talk40 #11) a year ago.
Except that Paolini draws walks. A whole ton.
The Pow-mobile is getting set to haul right on past the Morbanwagon and the Romero Express on the highway of prospect pecking order. Let's get the man to Jackson, please. Gordon had his [g_]money on Paolini right from Day One, by the way.
Low-A -- West Michigan 13, Clinton 1 -- Box
What's Your Vector, Victor? A whole lot better than it looks from the line score!
Victor Sanchez (Talk40 #12): 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Then the bullpen gave up another 10 runs.
Gabriel Guerrero (Talk40 #16) had a double and a single, and has a 15-game hitting streak. Since June 1, he has 43 hits in 32 games. But 36 of 43 are singles, and the other seven are all doubles.
I'm not sure what to make of that, since it's so extreme. It's certainly positive, but as a right fielder he's got to generate some ISO at some point.
Short Season-A -- Eugene 6, Everett 3 -- Box
By the way, D.J. Peterson told Sports Illustrated that his goal is to be starting for the Mariners in a year (Zuninonian-style). Maybe ...
3-for-4, double ... .286/.344/.536
Of course, the Deej doesn't have the defensive fall-back role.
By the way, Hunter Renfroe, who was picked one spot after Peterson, made his pro debut after taking Mississippi State to the national championship series (lost to UCLA). Renfroe went 2-for-4.
On the mound was Brazilian Thyago Viera: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Rookie -- Pulaski 7, Johnson City 3 -- Box
Catching prospect Luke Guarnaccia, drafted in 2011, but still in the low minors, got his second home run of the year.
Shortstop Tyler Smith (another guy named Tyler!) had a double and a single.
AZL Rookie -- Mariners 3, Brewers 1 -- Box
Alexy Palma had three hits, including a double, plus a walk.
Jesus Montero was 0-for-5.
Looking Ahead
Ruffin will make his first start for Tacoma on Friday and Taijuan Walker (Talk40 #2) will be skipped as he heads for the Futures Game.
Edwin Diaz (Talk40 #36), the guy with the most "helium" on our chart at the moment, goes again for Pulaski.
Time to move him up to Jackson. Move Pizzano into his high Desert slot.
Paolini has conquered A+. He walks, doesn't K that much and wears fences and cheap seats. Oh, he's 23.
Let's give him 50 AA games. What more does he have to prove in the desert. His high value act was the same in Clinton and Pulaski. He brings a 1st rate eye and heavy wood.
Make him a General. Talent deserves to rise.
moe
Suspect they wanted him to tone down his swing (was quite violent - but incredible bat speed) to get more bat control. Now that it's toned down he's (obviously) making good contact. Now suspect they need to teach him good weight shift and a bit of uppercut to get backspin. But he's what, 19! Still has the physical gifts to succeed big-time.
Just not trying to run your business - a suggestion on something I had an interest in. Didn't know whether you had caught the shout. Thought maybe your analysis tools would show more clearly the wheat and the chaff, especially when shown with others who succeeded.
Guess Paolini belongs in that mix, too. 2B, 1B, LF.