Future Redbirds

Well, I suppose three wins out of 6 games ain’t bad. Slick Rick continues to tear it up, Hawkworth got ripped up and the slumping Colby Rasmus went yard for the 2nd day in a row. And Jon Jay returned into the lineup, albeit not for the same team. And last, 9th round pick Mike Stutes was the winning pitcher for Oregon States’s 2nd consecutive championship. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks over 5.1 innings, striking out 5. If anyone was watching tonight, you can see why the Cards like this guy. He doesn’t just have good stuff, he’s a pretty fiery competitor.
Memphis 3, New Orleans 6

• Rick Ankiel had another big day at the plate, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a homer, his 20th of the year. In case you were wondering, the homer was off Brian Lawrence, former Padre pitcher. His ERA is 5.71.
• In two straight games now, Blake Hawksworth has given up 3 homers. He allowed 6 runs on 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out just 1. Something ain’t right.
• Joe Mather smacked his first AAA homer, going 1 for 4.
• Travis Hanson returned from the DL yesterday, and went 2 for 4 in his 2nd game back.
• Troy Percival gave up a single and a double but also struck out 2 batters and didn’t allow a run. I think he’ll be an asset for the big club.

Springfield 6, Tulsa 2

• Colby Rasmus is starting to come around. He struck out, but also walked twice and hit a solo HR.
• Jarrett Hoffpauir continues his hot hitting ways, going 3 for 4 with a double and a walk.
• Lead-off hitter Casey Rowlett 3 for 5 with a HR and 2 K’s.
• Adam Daniels went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 7.
• Chris Perez struck out 2 and walked one, not allowing a run.
• Jason Motte allowed 2 hits and struck out 1, and didn’t allow a run. He also hit a double in his only at bat.
• Mark Hamilton went 1 for 4 with a double and a K.

Palm Beach 4, Fort Myers 3

• Jon Jay has made his way off the DL, but he’s playing for Palm Beach. I’m not sure if that’s temporary or permanent. He went 2 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
• Ian Church his his 3rd homer in 4 games. In case you may not know, Church was BA’s Indy League player of the year, he hit 31 homers in 379 at bats and had a 1.048 OPS. Suffice to say he has some power. Chuck King, one of the baseball writers for the Palm Beach Post said he once seen Church hit a 450 homer, one of the longest bombs he ever seen at Roger Dean.
• Brandon Buckman went 2 for 4. He also hit a walk off sac fly to score Jay in the 10th inning.
• Tyler Norrick allowed 1 run on 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6. One of the hits he surrendered was a HR.
• Matthew Trent pitched 2 innings of perfect relief, striking out 1 and getting 5 ground outs.
• Luke Gregerson had a typical 1 strikeout, 2 ground ball outing in relief to vulture a W.

Quad Cities 3, Wisconsin 4

• Mike Schellinger allowed Wisconsin to tie it, Kyle Mura allowed the winning run. Mura was moved out of middle relief into the piggyback role to replace P.J. Walters. I say why not put Todd or Mortensen up there, versus having them sweat it out in Batavia. Eh, oh well.
• Canadian born and U of Kansas product Jared Schweitzer is producing some pretty good results out of the 2nd base position. He’s now hitting .289/.352/.477. He went 2 for 4 with a HR today, his 7th of the year. However, he did pick up his 6th error in 38 games.
• Daryl Jones went 2 for 3 with a triple and a strikeout.
• Elvis Hernandez allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 3.

Batavia 4, Mahoning Valley 3

• Jess Todd was impressive again, allowing just 1 run on walk and 2 hits, striking out 5 over 4.2 innings.
• It’s great to see Joshua Wilson back in action. He pitched 3.1 innings and allowed 1 run off of 1 hit and 2 walks, striking out 2. Wilson was a 2nd round pick in 2005 out of a Whitehouse High of Texas. Wilson pitched decently in his debut for Johnson City, posting a 4.22 ERA over 12 starts. After an extended spring training last year, he was called up to the Swing, where he got hammered over 2 starts. It turned out he had a tear in his labrum that required surgery. In high school, Wilson showed a good fastball that topped out at 94 and the makings of a good curve ball.
• Thomas Pham went 2 for 4 with a double. He also was thrown out at 2nd trying to stretch his single into a double.
• Daniel Descalso went 1 for 3 with a stolen base.

Johnson City 5, Bluefield 6

• Beau Riportella went 3 for 5 with 2 stolen bases.
• Jonathan Edwards went 2 for 4 with a double.
• Charles Pelt went 2 for 4 with a double.
• Tyler Leach allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 2.
• Brian Broderick surrendered 2 runs on 8 hits and a walk, striking out 2.

The GCL team was off today.

I’m sure most of you read this Ankiel article at the P-D, but in case you missed it, it’s well worth the read. The scout’s take was sorta interesting, with scouts worried about his ability to hit breaking pitches but complimenting his arm in the outfield and of course, his power. lboros noted the pitchers Ank has taken deep, and it appears he’s picking off some mediocre hurlers. You can add Brian Lawrence to that list today. Not saying that’s all bad, I think he could help the big league club right now. I just found the observation interesting.

They also had a li’l piece on International Man of Mystery Amaury “the Body” Marti’s hope to make the big leagues. Down in Mexico, they call him “El Cajones” and one night he hit a line drive right through a cow. Down in Minaltitlan, they mix his sweat with their tequila and use it as a hallucinogenic/aphrodisiac.

Mitch Boggs was added to the Texas League all star roster.