Four notes before we begin mucking through last month:
No. 1: This week is minor-league week. Just like last year, the Charlotte Knights have back-to-back series in Syracuse and Pawtucket, so I'm planning to catch three games. As always, leave any photo and video requests, and I'll try to do my best to accommodate. Also, I'll be asking for help on White Sox recaps.
No. 2: If you're in the Boston area, the Knights are playing in Fenway Park Saturday as part of
a Futures at Fenway doubleheader. Their game starts at 4:30, and it might be the only time you'll see White Sox past and future at Fenway for under $70 (tickets are $30 max).
No. 3: I'll be on Twitter from the stands. Here's the feed. Cowley's no longer the coolest kid in town.
No. 4: There's fascinating opinion on Sunday's game below the minor league stuff.Enough of that.
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CHARLOTTE KNIGHTSSpotlight on... Chris Getz.
Now that Danny Richar is in the Cincinnati Reds' system, Getz officially has the inside track on the utility infielder spot for 2009. He earned the opportunity, posting an .896 OPS in June and hitting over .300 for the third consecutive month. He began seeing time at third after Josh Fields was promoted to the big-league club, which is the fourth defensive position he's played this year along with second, shortstop and left field.
There's still one significant caveat -- his home/road splits:
- Home: .340/.385/.567
- Road: .269/.347/.337
His splits show that he's hitting about 5 percent more balls in the air in Charlotte and 3 percent fewer line drives -- are that many barely making it over the fence?
Big names:Jack Egbert: He posted his finest month by far. His grounder rate was at 62 percent, and all his other peripherals fell in line, in an extremely tidy fashion. Over 31 innings, he allowed
one baserunner per inning (26 hits, five walks), struck out
one batter an inning (31 K's) and allowed just
one home run. It appears that he's finally on track after an injury-riddled spring and a slow start thereafter.
Jason Bourgeois: He'll still be pushing Getz if he decides to remain with the Sox. While his power returned to normal (.413 SLG), he continued to hit for average (.312 BA, .367 OBP) and enjoyed more success on the basepaths (9-for-12 stealing). He would be excellent September call-up fodder if there's room on the 40-man roster because he likes to hit lefties (.311/.361/.508).
Cole Armstrong: Even though he was hitting over .500 through his first 40 at-bats with the Knights, regression has been gradual and kind. He hit .338/.368/.477 in July, although the walk-to-strikeout ratio will be increasingly problematic (two walks, 12 K's) unless he makes adjustments.
Jason Childers: He was not scored upon in 10 games and 14 1/3 innings. He allowed just seven hits and two walks while striking out 18, which is a ton for somebody with a grounder rate of 71 percent. If only he cracked 90 on the radar gun...
Lance Broadway: Has pitched himself out of contention. Pick the ugliest stat:
- The 8.90 ERA.
- The 46 hits in 30 1/3 innings.
- The 10 homers allowed.
I'd go with No. 3, myself. His ERA has risen in each month, but if there's some good news, it's hard to be worse than 8.90.
BIRMINGHAM BARONSSpotlight on ... Brandon Allen.
Allen was overshadowed by Chris Carter and John Shelby in Kannapolis last season, but has since come into his own after Carter's departure and Shelby's regression. After posting a solid .279/.372/.527 line in Winston-Salem, Allen received a promotion on July 18 and proceeded to hit the snot out of the ball.
So far with the Barons, the 22-year-old Allen has eight extra-base hits in 49 at-bats and 10 walks to nine strikeouts. He's due for darker days ahead considering he struck out twice as much as he walked as a Warthog, but as of now, he's continuing his career year in fine fashion.
I'm most intrigued by how he runs. Though he's listed at 6'2" and 235 pounds, he's 15-for-18 stealing bases and has tripled five times. He hit for the cycle in Winston-Salem, then nearly did it again in his first week in Birmingham.
Big names:Lucas Harrell: He returned to Birmingham after a three-month layoff and appears to be rebounding. He finished the month on a strong note, pitching six innings of one-run ball, but has a lot yet to prove.
Justin Cassell: Last month I mentioned that it appeared Cassell's success seemed to correlate highly with his grounder rate, but July turned that theory on its head. He dipped below 50 percent, and yet he survived with a 2.61 ERA.
Aaron Poreda: He regained his groundballing ways, keeping 58 percent of balls in play on the ground, and went 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA in July. There's nothing particularly impressive about his peripherals yet, but no real pitfalls. He'll have to get his K rate up though (22 in 31 innings).
Jon Link: The Birmingham closer recorded six saves in July, striking out 12 over 10 2/3 innings, allowing just six hits and three walks.
WINSTON-SALEM WARTHOGSSpotlight on... John Shelby.Shelby has hit more like he was expected to all season, going .285/.333/.474, but is still crippled by a wack walk-to-strikeout ratio. He drew only four walks compared to whiffing 24 times in July, which is slightly worse than his season totals.
And sadly, he's the only real player of interest at High-A since Brandon Allen and Aaron Poreda moved on.
KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS
Spotlight on ... Levi Maxwell.
The 18th-round pick in the 2007 draft, leads the Kannapolis staff in innings (91) and wins (11). His ERA took a little bit of an upturn in July (3.75), but that masks outstanding peripherals. He saw a surge in strikeouts (29 in 24 innings, to only eight walks) and allowed only 17 hits, holding hitters to a .198 average last month.
Like Shelby at the level above, he leads a pretty weak crop, most of whom are old for their level. At 23, Maxwell is no exception.
Other guys:
Brent Morel: The fourth-round pick of the '08 draft shot through rookie ball quickly, but he still hasn't shown any power. He's hitting .268/.333/.295 with 19 singles and two doubles. He seems to have sound strike zone judgment (six walks to 13 strikeouts), but that'll only go so far.
Santo Luis: He's old (24) and repeating A-ball, but he had 23 strikeouts to only five walks in 13 innings of relief last month. He's also allowed just one homer over 73 innings after allowing 12 in 75 last season. So that's kind of neat.
Mark Fleisher: The Intimidators' only real offensive threat will turn 25 next month, he pounded pitching to the tune of .320/.352/.670.
BRISTOL SOXBecause I know next to nothing about the Rookie Ball guys, I'm just going to point out what I see in the stat sheet:
Steven Upchurch: He has a backstory I'm aware of. He was
Alabama's No. 1 high school pitcher and the Sox picked him in the 12th round, but paid him more than that to keep him away from Auburn. He's 6-5, 190 lbs and throws from 89-93 with a changeup and curveball. He struck out 11 over eight innings in July, allowing seven hits, three walks and three runs.
Jorge Castillo: The 28th-round pick in the 2008 draft, a first baseman from FIU, hit .355/.404/.484 in his first full professional month. He
didn't have a big power profile in college.
Jordan Kendall: Hit .336 through July, but his five walks to 20 strikeouts in 119 at-bats is troubling. He's running wild for good (16 steals) and bad (caught 10 times).
Gregory Infante: He got a taste of A-ball before going to Bristol, and his struggles at the higher level seemed to have helped in rookie ball. The 21-year-old Venezuelan has a 2.52 ERA, is averaging three strikeouts per walk and is getting plenty of grounders.
GREAT FALLS VOYAGERSJohny Celis: He's a 22-year-old Venezuelan outfielder with the best strike zone judgement of the bunch. He hit .303/.402/.404 with 15 walks to 21 strikeouts. But he's a stick (listed at 6'0", 165 lbs.) and hasn't recorded a steal, so that's a caveat of some sort.
Tyler Kuhn: The shortstop leads the Voyagers in all averages at .367/.426/.558, and seems to have a decent grasp of the zone (14 walks, 22 strikeouts). The 15th-round draft pick of the Sox in 2008 draft was the 32nd pick of the Cleveland Indians the year before returning to West Virginia for his senior year. He has nine errors in 64 games.
Kent Gerst: The eighth-round pick of the White Sox two years ago out of high school in O'Fallon, Mo., Gerst is finally turning the corner in his third year of rookie ball after two years at Bristol. The only apparent hole in his game is strikeouts -- he has 34 in 109 at-bats, which seems to be a lot for a short guy (5'10", 170 lbs.).
Daniel Hudson: The Sox's fifth-round pick out of Old Dominion has an impressive strikeout-to-walk totals (51 K's, eight BB's in 37 innings), while holding opponents to a .220 average.
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Minor league roundup:- Charlotte 12, Durham 7
- Jose Contreras threw five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks, striking out four.
- Jason Childers (2 perfect innings, two strikeouts) was more impressive than Charlie Haeger (2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 4 ER, 0 K).
- Brad Eldred belted his 30th homer on a 2-for-4, four RBI day. He also stole his second base.
- Chris Getz hit his 11th homer, and Jerry Owent went 1-for-4 with two walks.
- Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 2
- Aaron Poreda was dominant for seven shutout innings, striking out seven, allowing only four hits and zero walks.
- Jon Link blew the save, giving up three runs on four hits in the eighth inning.
- Victor Mercedes went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
- Winston-Salem 5, Potomac 0
- The John Ely resurrection continues, as he scattered four hits over six innings, striking out six and walking nobody. He has allowed one earned run over his last 16 innings.
- Ricky Brooks (2 IP) and Henry Mabee finished off the shutout.
- C.J. Retherford drove in three runs on a 2-for-4 day, with one of the hits a double.
- Paulo Orlando and Francisco Hernandez also had two hits apiece.
- Kannapolis 3, Hagerstown 0
- Levi Maxwell threw eight shutout innings, striking out seven and only allowing three hits.
- Sergio Miranda went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, and committed his 12th error.
- Mark Fleisher went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
- Bristol 2, Greeneville 0
- Gregory Infante joined the Goose Egg Club, with 8 K's over six innings, allowing just three hits and a walk.
- Brent DeFoor (2 IP) and Kevin Asselin preserved the shutout.
- Jorge Castillo had an RBI single; Jordan Kendall gunned down two runners from the outfield
- Great Falls 9, Missoula 6
- Tyler Kuhn went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, and committed his 10th error.
- Kyle Shelton drove in two runs; Kent Gerst went 1-for-3 and stole his seventh base, but struck out twice.
- Dan Remenowsky picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief.