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Wednesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitcher
Syracuse Won, 13-4 vs. Gwinnett,
7:00 p.m.		 Craig Stammen (9-6, 4.62) vs.
Julio Teheran (12-2, 2.18)
Harrisburg Lost, 4-3
(12 inn.)		 @ Akron,
7:05 p.m.		 Tanner Roark (7-8, 5.38) vs.
T.J. McFarland (9-6, 3.75)
Potomac Won, 6-3
(11 inn.)		 @ Kinston,
6:30 p.m.		 Evan Bronson (4-3, 3.47) vs.
Francisco Jimenez (3-2, 3.66)
Hagerstown Won, 10-2 vs. Lexington,
7:05 p.m.		 Stephen Strasburg (rehab) vs.
Luis Cruz (3-2, 4.18)
Auburn ALL STAR
BREAK		 vs. Aberdeen,
7:05 p.m.		 Christian Meza (1-1, 7.36) vs.
Phil Wilson (0-0, 2.00)
GCL Nationals OFF DAY vs. GCL Cards,
12:00 p.m.		 Jack McGeary (0-0, 0.75) vs.
Chase Reid (0-1, 4.50)
DSL Nationals Cancelled
@ DSL Yankees1		 @ DSL Mets1,
10:30 a.m.		 TBD vs. TBD

Syracuse 13 Gwinnett 4
• Maya (W, 2-8) 5⅓ IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 6K, 2HR
• Zinicola (H, 2) ⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Lombardozzi 3-5, 3R, 2B, BB
• Marrero 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI, BB

A seven-run 6th featuring a pinch-hit grand slam was more than enough to help Yunesky Maya win his second game for the Syracuse Chiefs in a 13-4 beatdown. Four Chiefs homered and six collected multiple hits, with Steve Lombardozzi leading the bunch with a 3-for-5 night. Maya gave up two solo shots, four runs total, on seven hits over five and a 1/3rd innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Zech Zinicola stranded two baserunners and finished the inning to earn the hold just before the big inning. The win was the third straight for Syracuse, which is now 55-65, 13½ games behind in the I.L. North.

Akron 4 Harrisburg 3 (12 inn.)
• Martis (ND) 6⅓ IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 5BB, 6K
• McCoy (H, 11) 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Davis 2-5, BB
• Pahuta 2-5

The “Martinísimos” will be dismayed to learn that Rafael was off last night in Akron, blowing the save in the bottom of the 9th as the Akron Aeros went on win in 12 innings, 4-3. Shairon Martis got the no-decision with two runs allowed on four hits, five bases-on-balls and six strikeouts over six and a 1/3rd innings pitched. Veterans Leonard Davis and Tim Pahuta both went 2-for-5 as the Sens were held to ten hits total. The Sens’ loss was a missed chance to gain some ground on the Baysox, which lost its third straight to stay one game behind while The Flying Squirrels got back to within 2½ games in the E.L. West.

Potomac 3 Kinston 1
• E Davis (ND) 7IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 4K
• Smoker (W, 5-2) 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 4K
• Souza 3-5
• Soriano 2-4, R, RBI, 2BB
• Perez 2-4, 2R, 3B, RBI, SB (35)

A Bad News Bears moment in the 11th gave the P-Nats an opening that they exploited for a 6-3 win. With two outs, Sandy Leon chugged in from second base on what appeared to be an inning-ending popup by Francisco Soriano that was headed just behind the pitcher’s mound. It fell to the ground foul, Leon scoring the go-ahead run while Soriano took second in the confusion. Jeff Kobernus followed with an RBI flare to second base, and Destin Hood got the killshot with a double. The three-run rally made a winner out of Josh Smoker, who pitched the 10th and 11th with just a hit and a walk allowed and four strikeouts. The wins also kept pace with Frederick and Lynchburg, as Potomac trails the Keys by five but leads the ‘Cats by six, and its elimination number is 15 while its magic number to clinch is 13.

Hagerstown 10 Lexington 2
• Ray 3IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 4K
• McCatty 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Keyes 2-3, 3R, 3B, HR, 4RBI, BB
• Martinson 2-3, R, HR, 3RBI

The Suns put this one away early, scoring eight runs over the first three innings to win their sixth straight over the Legends, 10-2. Kevin Keyes sunk the dagger in the first with a three-run bomb, then iced the cake with an RBI triple in the 8th. Jason Martinson also went 2-for-3 with a homer, driving in three. Robbie Ray was lifted after three (most likely an opportunity to taper, as neither the team release nor the beat guy referenced an injury) after allowing a hit and a walk while striking out four. The win was the Suns’ sixth straight as Kannapolis fell last night, cutting the Intimidators’ lead to two games in the Sally North.

Auburn Doubledays — ALL STAR BREAK
The National League defeated the American League in the 2011 New York-Penn League All-Star game, 7-3. Bryce Ortega (SS), Hendry Jimenez (2B) and Matt Skole (DH) all started for the National League, with Ortega going 0-for-2 with a walk, Jimenez 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Skole 1-for-3, with walk, a run scored, and an RBI.

GCL Nationals — OFF DAY
Just nine games remain on the schedule, so it’s a watch now for picks to show and perhaps a couple of guys to get a bump to Auburn for a longer look.

DSL Nationals — CNCLD
Rain has apparently struck once again, cancelling the final meeting between the D-Nats and the D-Yankees1 squad. Just four games remain on the slate before the season wraps up on Saturday.

15 Commments

  1. Looking forward to seeing Lombo and Marrero at NATS Park in September. Some posters discussing the recent draft brought up McGeary as how things do not work out. Hopefully, his start tonignt will show there is still hope for him.

  2. Sec 204 — Agree on McGeary. Hey, pitchers break down, that’s part of the game. That doesn’t make signing him a bad deal at the time, and he’s looked terrfic so far. I sure the only reason they’ve got him in Vera is to keep on eye on him; expect to see him maybe in Potomac next year.

    TBRFan, Wally, and Elliot — you guys ready for the circus coming to town tonite?

  3. Who is the guy using Kevin Keyes’ name and raking in Hagerstown? The guy hitting a ton this year. Anyone know any history here, like did the Nats’ hitting coaches have any input or did Kevin make an adjustment on his own? He didn’t seem to have a stellar hitting record at Texas, if I recall correctly. I’d be interesting to read an analysis of the Nats organizational approach to hitting and their coaches in the minors and whether that benefited Kevin.

      1. Good stuff, Sue. It’s said it takes 600 AB’s to get the aluminum out of a players swing.
        It sure will be interesting to see what he does at Potomac next year.

  4. What’s considered a good SLG at the AAA level for a 1B prospect? IE, is Marrero’s season SLG of .471 good? He’s slugging .740 in August, and has season his SLG increase each month of the season (.407, .424, .450, .461, .740).

    Also, I think from time to time people reference how a certain ERA at a certain level translates to the MLB, anyone know what those are? And is there a hitting equivalent?

    1. Most folks would want it over .500 but it’s not bad.

      As for translating stats, there is just such a beast called the Minor League Equivalency calculator, located here.

      Since inquiring minds will want to know… Marrero’s line of .310/.387/.471 translates to .266/.333/.394 with 11HR and 54RBI — according to the tool.

    2. Here are some comparable numbers for recent 1B prospects that have played full seasons or close to full seasons at AAA (BA/OBP/SLG):

      Chris Marrero (2011 – Age 23) 310/387/471
      Brandon Belt (2011 – Age 23) 320/461/528
      Anthony Rizzo (2011 – Age 21/22) 355/431/703
      Freddie Freeman (2010 – Age 20): 319/378/521
      Yonder Alonso (2011 – Age 24) 296/374/486

      So, Marrero has basically been a wash with Alonso (since moved to LF, not an option with Marrero), and if he keeps up this pace could catch up with Freddie Freeman. The optimistic view would be that he’s generally improved every year, both level to level and from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. The pessimistic view would be that he’s still too low on power for a glove-second 1B

  7. Hey Mel just looked at the STATS for manno at high A, man he is for real 9 ip 18k 2 hits 0 thats right ZERO ERA
    GO MANNO GO

    2. I’m really pleased that Manno is still doing very well within the CIN system, but it continues to harden my conviction that Rizzo gave up too much in the trade for Gomes. A semi-blocked OG (Rhinehart) & a promising LhRP (Manno) for a platoon LF who might bear a “B”-level draft pick; Gg-rrrrrrrrr.

      1. BinM, they tried to treat him like an OG, but he just wouldn’t cooperate. I echo the GRRRRR

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