For now, you'll have to content yourself with my Best of Monday's Games:
- Two hard-luck losses, one a little harder than the other in Corpus and Lancaster on Monday. Sergio Perez gave up five runs and five hits in four innings while striking out one and walking three. When five of the eight baserunners you allow score, you're not having a good start. In the hitter's haven that is Lancaster, Jose Duran gave up three solo home runs and a single, but lost the game because his offense managed just two hits. Duran struck out three and walked one, while maintaining a great GB/FB ratio, but Monday was just not his night.
- Lexington played two seven inning games due to a rainout on Sunday. Kyle Greenwalt pitched six scoreless in the first for his first victory of 2009 but the real story here is a guy I've been remiss in mentioning. 23-year old Daniel Meszaros pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the season. In 4 1/3 innings, he's struck out 8 of the 15 batters he's faced and walked just one while giving up one hit. Richard Justice wrote a blog article on him last season after he was drafted. Basically, he's a late-round college senior who the Astros took a flyer on. He's pitched well since being drafted, and Justice pondered whether he could be a key piece of the bullpen one day. He's definitely shown the strikeout prowess this season that he exhibited in the Cape Cod League last summer.
- Boy, a couple of guys have been on a roll with the bat lately, but profile very differently. Mark Saccommano has created a little over eight runs so far for Round Rock while leading the team in hits (14) and RBIs (17). He also has seven extra-base hits and has only struck out twice. The thing whit him is he's 29 right now and has spent the past three seasons in Triple-A, which suggests his success is more a product of familiarity with the league than the possibility to be a big-league contributor. ...First baseman Mark Ori, on the other hand, is four years younger and has been doing just about everything possible to get on base. His totals (16 hits, 6 walks, 10 runs) are outstanding, as is his 1.006 adjusted OPS. He's currently batting .500 on balls in play, which is ridiculously high. Batters each have their own levels of BABiP but his will surely fall sooner or later. The big problem with Ori is he hasn't shown any power this season. His only extra-base hits are three doubles, meaning while he's the leading hitter on his team, he's only third in total bases....Lastly, centerfielder Jack Shuck has been very good in the leadoff spot for Lancaster. He's currently tied for the minor league lead with four steals and already has two triples. Shuck, a 2008 sixth-round draft pick out of Ohio State, is in his Age 21 season and is taking advantage of the hitter-friendly field in Lancaster. Still, he's seems to have good plate discipline, striking out four times in 49 plate appearances this season and 34 times in 263 at-bats last season at Tri-City. His average will probably fall as he moves up the ladder, but he definitely profiles as a speedy, top-of-the order bat.
- I know I keep mentioning him, but centerfielder Brian Bogusevic has been good at the plate this season. He hasn't gotten many hits in relation to his number of at-bats (or as the kids call it, batting average) but has managed to walk quite a bit. In fact, his OBP is nearly 100 points higher than his batting average. That's the kind of offensive player you want leading off...asssuming he's not going to hit .230 all season.
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