After watching
Javier Vazquez close out the first half with a complete game, I flipped over to ESPN2 and caught an inning pitched by Kannapolis'
Fautino De Los Santos in the Futures Game. I'm not sure if it's because the order in which I watched them, but I found their fastballs to be nearly identical.
DLS' fastball had that same significant movement from left to right, and just like Vazquez, it appeared that he had a little trouble figuring out how much it was going to break. The solo shot he allowed to Justin Upton started out on the outside corner, but then drifted over the heart of the plate. He also drilled Evan Longoria square in the ass with one, while Vazquez did that plenty last year, leading the Sox in HBPs.
At the same time, he struck out Red Sox top prospect Jacoby Ellsbury on three pitches, and retired Brent Lillibridge with an unhittable fastball that broke back perfectly to the black.
The only difference is De Los Santos can crank his up to 96, and when combining the velocity and movement, he got some ferocious swings and misses. The slider also appears to have a real sharp break. My only concern is that I didn't see him throw a third pitch -- fastballs registered from 94-96, and the slider was around 81. At the very least, those two pitches should buy him some success and time in the minors while he develops an additional one.
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Rob Mackowiak in July:
22 AB, 9 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, .409 AVG, .500 OBP, .818 SLG
Yup,
that's a healthy foundation, alright. With
Mark Buehrle now off the market, Mack could hold the title of Most Tradeable White Sox.
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Minor league round-up:
- Columbus 7, Charlotte 5
- Lance Broadway's control issue continue, as he walked five in four innings. When combined with seven hits let to five runs. He struck out only one.
- Jake Robbins and Edwardo Sierra threw five combined scoreless innings.
- Ryan Smith was the only starting Knight to go hitless. Jason Bourgeois went 2-for-5 with a triple, the only Charlotte extra-base hit.
- Kinston 6, Winston-Salem 4 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Kyle McCulloch only pitched an inning because the field was deemed unplayable, causing an hour delay. He struck out two.
- Daron Roberts had a homer and two RBI, while Cole Armstrong added an RBI double.
- Winston-Salem 5, Kinston 3 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Robert Valido went 3-for-4, and Adam Ricks hit a solo homer.
- Gary Bakker earned the win with five scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, two walks and struck out five.
- Asheville 7, Kannapolis 5
- Chris Carter went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored; Brandon Allen, Scott Madsen and Archie Gilbert had two-hit games.
- Justin Edwards was roughed up over his five innings, giving up six runs on nine hits. He did strike out eight.
- Birmingham OFF