Second verse, same as the verse.
Click here for April's recap.
CHARLOTTE KNIGHTSSpotlight on... Charlie Haeger.The knuckleballer's first two months of 2008 resemble his output in the first two months of 2007. He struggled in spring training, stumbled in the first month and began getting it into gear in May.
After bipolarity in his April starts -- he was either great or lousy -- he provided consistently strong outings this past month, allowing three earned runs or fewer in each of his six games, five of which qualified as a quality start. The key stats:
- BB/9 IP:
- H/9IP:
- Averages against:
- April: .298/.403/.479
- May: .238/.314/.362
As a result, He is allowing more flies than grounders, but his homer rate is fine (four in 73 2/3 innings). There aren't any 2007 splits available, but I did write about
his April struggles last year in this post, so it appears this is par for the course for Haeger.
Big names:
Josh Fields: Went to the DL with patellar tendinitis, missed 2 1/2 weeks, came back, hit three homers in a week, and hasn't played since May 28. He had only eight hits in 36 at-bats during the month, but five of them went for extra bases, and drew a respectable six walks to nine strikeouts.
Lance Broadway: It appears as though Broadway's dynamic April (3-1, 1.25 ERA, 0.83 WHIP) might be a cold-weather mirage (2-2, 4.58 ERA, 1.53 WHIP). His BABIP shot up over 100 points (.208 to .331), so there you go. The good news is that he's not walking as many guys, but he's not striking anybody out, either.
Jack Egbert: Good thing the Sox didn't count on contributions from him, yet. His lines haven't looked right all season, perhaps due to the injury issues during spring training. The 14 walks in 25 innings is troubling, as that's double his 2007 walk rate. Lefties are hitting him hard (.328/.431/.621), too.
Chris Getz: Getz gained some fans during a big May in which he hit .318/.370/.491 with an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine), but he appears to be benefiting massively from Charlotte's bandbox. His OPS is 368 points higher than on the road (1.005 to .637). He did see time at shortstop and left field when Danny Richar returned to the lineup, which is a positive development for somebody who doesn't project to hold down a position at the major-league level.
Brad Eldred: He turned a lot of heads by cranking out 14 homers over the month of May, during which he slugged .703. He also struck out four times for every walk, so that tells you about his ability to hit major-league pitching.
BIRMINGHAM BARONS
Spotlight on... Dave Cook.
Cook is only one of two Barons with an OPS higher than .800, and he's clearing that bar handily with a line of .328/.485/.598. He did a ton of damage in May -- .404/558/.777, and with pretty even home/road splits, which is a feat considering Birmingham's park is huge. He's also walked 55 times in 55 games, compared to only 42 strikeouts.
So what's the catch? He's almost 27, and this is his first full season in Double-A. He's
moved slowly through the system, but it's not all his fault. He's only stumbled at High-A ball, and after spending a year and a half in Winston-Salem, he was promoted to Birmingham for 30 games in 2007, where he raked.
It's possible he could be a late bloomer. At the very least, there's a position player to keep an eye on in between Kannapolis and Charlotte.
Big names:
Clayton Richard: After an April in which the Birmingham staff supplied some lights-out pitching, Richard is the only one to keep the momentum. He allowed only 39 baserunners over 41 innings.
The lack of strikeouts is troubling, as he only fanned 18 over 41 innings. Combine that with a decrease in ground balls, and he might've benefited from some extraordinary luck (his BABIP dropped from .316 to .231). Still, he finished May with two scoreless outings and 18 consecutive scoreless innings, while others have fallen by the wayside due to injury (Brian Omogrosso, Lucas Harrell) or declines (Justin Cassell).
The Fighting Torreses: They're both 25 and have some of the better strikeout stuff on the Birmingham staff, so how do you tell
Carlos and
Joseph apart?
Carlos is a right-handed starter who had a big May (4-1, 2.95 ERA, 32 baserunners in 36 2/3 innings). He's striking out better than a batter an inning while keeping balls in the park.
Joseph is a left-handed reliever who struck out 16 batters over 9 2/3 innings in May, while getting 2.25 groundouts for every flyout. He's had arm injuries in the past, so taking into account full rebound potential and his handedness, he could have some major-league potential.
Cole Armstrong: He showed signs of life in the second half of May, and improved upon his abysmal April OPS by around 250 points, but at the end of the day, he's still hitting .206/.259/.380.
Robert Valido: The former prospect pulled a little bit of a Lazarus act in May, hitting .303/.357/.438. Not sure what's happened to his wheels, as he's only 10-for-15 in steals after going 52-for-57 in Winston-Salem a few years ago.
WINSTON-SALEM WARTHOGS
Spotlight on... John Shelby.
After missing a majority of April with a hamstring injury, Shelby worked his way back into the lineup full-time in May. He spent some time as a designated hitter while recuperating, but he's only played left field when in the field, after splitting time between the outfield and second in Kannapolis last season.
Shelby is running well (12-for-13 in stolen base attempts) and he has his power stroke -- he slugged .509 in May, with nearly half his 29 hits going for extra bases (eight doubles, six homers). On the other hand, his walk to strikeout ratio is ugly, with only three walks to 28 whiffs this past month.
Unfortunately, MinorLeagueSplits.com is only showing this season, but he had a similar development in Kannapolis -- all his second-half numbers were better except for walks, which took a major dip. Right now, it's a curious facet of his game, but if he ever hits a wall, that'll probably be the reason why.
Big names:
Aaron Poreda: He was fine in May, doing a nice job of limiting hits (21 in 34 innings) and not walking batters (seven in 34 innings). The strikeouts aren't quite there yet, as he saw a small dip in his rate from April to May (21). I'm guessing that's an indicator of a lack of awesome secondary pitches, but it could be worse.
John Ely: He outpitched Poreda in the first month of the season, but in May he battled control issues (11 walks in 25 innings) and luck issues (.380 BABIP). The good news is that he's due for better fortune and is striking out roughly a batter an inning.
Brandon Allen: A cycle was the highlight of a great offensive month for Allen, who hit .325/.394/.640 with 12 doubles, three triples and six homers and a respectable 13 walks to 23 strikeouts. But don't get too excited -- he's 22, which is slightly old, and he has a whopping 11 errors as a first baseman.
KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS
Spotlight on... Anthony Carter.
Before a May 30 shelling, Carter had some incredible numbers, but he's still far and away the best pitcher on the Kanny staff (2.77 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 66 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings). He's only had one poor outing, even while absorbing an increase to more normal BABIP levels.
He's a righty that's shown himself to be incredibly hard on lefties, as they're only hitting .181/.207/.276 off him over 105 ABs, compared to .241/.286/.440 over 116 ABs for righties. The only caveat at this point is his age, as he's 22 and still in A-ball.
Big names:Jose Martinez: The one position player worth watching injured himself --
allegedly a torn meniscus and broken foot -- and hasn't played since May 16. Sadly, he was having his best game, going 2-for-3 with a double, homer and four RBI, and it was the latest example of growing extra-base power.
After hitting 24 of 25 hits for singles in April, he was hitting .380/.446/.580 in May before the injury, with four doubles and two homers. He also improved upon his walk-to-strikeout ratio, matching his April total in walks (six) in 44 fewer at-bats, while striking out only six times.
Charlie Shirek: Last month's player to watch
threw two innings in May and isn't listed on
the Intimidators' roster.
Minor league roundup (5/31 games):- Richmond 4, Charlotte 1
- Lance Broadway pitched better -- three runs on eight hits over seven innings, one walk, two strikeouts. The big blow was a two-run shot.
- Chris Getz went 2-for-4 with a double to raise his average to .301.
- Danny Richar went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts; Josh Fields did not play.
- Birmingham 6, Mississippi 0
- Clayton Richard threw a three-hit shutout, walking one and striking out two.
- Victor Mercedes went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
- Miguel Negron, Stefan Gartrell (two RBI) and Robert Valido each had two hits apiece.
- Salem 4, Winston-Salem 0 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Matt Long went the distance, allowing four earned runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
- Javier Colina and C.J. Retherford had the lone hits for the Warthogs.
- Salem 9, Winston-Salem 7 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Paulo Orlando and Retherford both homered.
- Salvador Sanchez, C.J. Lang and Javier Colina each had two hits.
- Steven Spurgeon was the hard-luck loser, allowing three unearned runs on a walk and a hit over two innings of relief.
- Lexington 8, Kannapolis 3
- Luis Sierra drove in a pair of runs, and had one of Kannapolis' five hits.
- Gregory Infante allowed five runs over four innings; Santo Luis pitched two perfect innings in relief.