We'll get another draft thread going (Gordon will no doubt have plenty of good thoughts as things roll out), but, for now, here's video of 2nd-round pick Austin Wilson:

I guess I'm upbeat for a pick at No. 49.  He was not a huge strikeout guy his sophomore and junior years -- college stats here -- and it's easy to see why scouts like him.  If he was a sure thing he wouldn't have still been there at that point, of course.  He seems to have a big boost to his OBP via HBP (15 as a soph) ... advantage of being huge, I guess?

Then again, I see the irony in having a big, toolsy guy and you zero in on HBP.

AAA -- Tacoma 9, Las Vegas 1  -- Box

The Rainiers are 7-3 in their last 10 and 37-24 overall.  Of course, it helps to have a host of top prospects and guys who were supposed to be in Seattle.

One of the latter is Dustin Ackley, who got his second Tacoma home run and also had a single and two walks.  Ackley in his "baseball-is-fun-again" alternate universe: .400/.510/.600 with 9 BB and 4 K in an even 50 PAs.  That's the guy we thought we were getting.

Rich Poythress (26intheMix), meanwhile, got a break due to the troubles of Jesus Montero and is making the most of it.  "The Mayor" delivered his eighth home run of the year and now has an .835 OPS (between two levels) with 18 XBH and 26 walks.  That's the kind of stuff he's got to do to keep alive in this traffic jam.

Carlos Peguero (Watch List) homered as well, and Abraham Almonte (26intheMix) had a triple, a single and walk.

On the mound, Blake Beavan was supposed to start, but he got called to Seattle, so Brian Sweeney got the nod: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.  If Sweeney had the MLB pedigree of Jeremy Bonderman, he might be the one getting the MLB paycheck.

He's eaten 1750 minor/Nippon/Independent innings since 1996, and there he sits with a 3.51 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 7.0 K/9.

AA -- Jackson 5, Tennessee 0 [7 innings]  -- Box

AA -- Jackson 2, Tennessee 1 [7 innings]  -- Box

Game 1:  Solid, but not dominant, pitching from Anthony Fernandez (Talk40 #23) and Nick Hill (The Best Story of the Year So Far) produced the shutout.

• An-Fernan: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
• Lt. Hill: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

A two-run homer from an unlikely source: Gabriel Noriega (his first).

***

Game 2: A start by committee, with Big Brother Moises Hernandez opening with 3.0 IP scoreless, and Carson Smith (Talk40 #13) bringing it home with two strikeouts in the final 1.2 IP.

Neither team got much offense, but James Jones (Watch List) led the way for Jackson with a double, a walk and a steal (his 14th).

High-A -- High Desert 2, Inland Empire 1 -- Box

Another rare pitchers' duel for the Mavericks.

Cameron Hobson had a very strong outing: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.

And Dominic Leone (Talk40 #25) went the final 1.1 IP for his fifth save.

• Leone's last 10 outings: zero runs allowed in 13.2 IP  | 4 BB, 18 K  |  1 XBH (a double)  |  SLG-against .163.

Don't say we didn't tell you.

Low-A -- Clinton 8, Peoria 5 -- Box

Hard luck for Tyler Pike (Talk40 #14): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

The awesome Jabari Henry (26intheMix) homered, as did emerging Tyler Marlette (26intheMix).

And red-hot Brock Hebert (26intheMix) had three hits.  He has 10 hits in his last six games to boost his OBP up to .391.  He's also been playing shortstop almost every day.  Just so you know.

Looking Ahead

Roenis Elias (26intheMix) is set for Jackson.

James Paxton (Talk40 #3) is supposed to pitch for Tacoma, but that's apparently not official yet.  Pax is supposed to face top Mets prospect Zack Wheeler, who was taken No. 6 in 2009 (a bit after Strasburg and Ackley).  Mets brass have already signaled that Wheeler will be coming to the majors in June, so this could be his AAA swan song.  Baseball America has him at No. 11 overall coming into the season.