We’re moving in over here!!! The .com address will repoint there also automatically shortly, but in the meantime, head on over to futureredbirds.net.

Ben Chiswick is the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Quad Cities River Bandits. He handles the play-by-play which you can catch for free at the River Bandits site. Some of you may have also read his post game recaps at milb.com, which provide some much needed color to the box scores, and I wish I could say all the affiliates provided the same. I asked Ben to if he’d be up for some Q and A regarding the River Bandits and some of their players seeing that he gets to watch them play everyday, and he graciously agreed. Here are his responses.

A lot of changes have transpired since this season and last with the new name, new stadium name and new ownership. How is the new ownership group working out so far?

A lot of changes is right. The new ownership group and the new management have been nothing short of amazing. I’ve been around this team for a few years now and the opportunity to be a part of reviving baseball in the Quad Cities has been great. From the new name to a new culture around the ballpark, the fans have really responded to all the changes and shown up in force. It’s hard to believe that attendance is up 64 percent, but being a part of making that happen and initiating all of the changes has been very fulfilling. The fans have really embraced all of the changes, and baseball in the Quad Cities is showing signs of returning to its glory days of the mid-90s.

How has the team coped with the flooding this summer?

All of the flooding has been crazy, definitely not the kind of thing you ever expect to have to deal with. But such is life on the Mississippi River. Really, we’re fortunate that the City of Davenport put in such great flood protection when they renovated Modern Woodmen Park in 2004. The two floods we’ve had this summer would have probably wiped out our whole season before the renovation, but because of all the great flood protection we only lost four openings.

There were a couple of games that we actually played in a ballpark completely surrounded by water. The city build a temporary bridge that extended from the entrance of the ballpark all the way to the edge of the flood waters. People were clicking pictures on their camera phones and we played in front of a packed house both nights. I’ll never forget the atmosphere and energy that were in the ballpark on those nights.

The well-traveled Steve Dillard replaced Keith Mitchell as manager this year. What does Dillard do well, and how does he differ from Mitchell?

They are both pretty aggressive managers, so it’s fun baseball to watch regardless. They both like sending baserunners home around third, etc. Personality-wise, Steve is a very even keel guy. He never gets too high or too low and is very good at going with the flow. You can certainly tell the guy has been around this game for a long time. Mitch was more of a rah-rah guy. He had a competitive side to him that really got the players up and ready to play. Both are very good managers and also very good people to work with. They have very different personalities but similar managerial styles.

The team now features two first round draft picks on the left side of the infield. What can you tell us about Pete Kozma, and what are your early impressions of Brett Wallace?

I can tell you that it is pretty fun to watch those two guys playing together. They are both pretty down-to-earth guys that you would have no idea are first-round picks if you ran into them in public somewhere.

Pete is an all-around talent. The scouting report coming in was that he doesn’t stand out at anything but does, but all five tools are a tic above average. That may be an understatement. He hits the ball to all fields with a line-drive stroke and controls the strike zone well. I think most impressive is his defense, though. His range is exceptional at shortstop, and the guy makes plays behind the bag at second that most shortstops have no chance of getting to in this league. He also has a strong arm, but he only shows it when he really needs to.

I’ve only seen Wallace for six games at this point, but he has seemed to hit the ground running. When he first got here I was really impressed by the way he handled himself with all of the media attention. He was very accommodating to every media request, handled himself with poise and confidence, and had well thought-out responses that were more than just your typical stock answers. He has also seemed to hit the ground running offensively and defensively. He has made a couple of nice snags at third base and his only errors have been throwing errors. So far, I have seen nothing to indicate the claims that some scouts made coming in that he wouldn’t be able to handle the hot corner.

How excited should we be about Richard Castillo? He’s only 18, and so far the results have been pretty good. What does he throw, and how is he achieving those results so far?

Very. You hit the nail on the head when you said he’s just 18. I’ve only see him make three starts, but from what I’ve seen his biggest asset is fastball command. He can put the ball where he wants to, which can get most guys by in this league. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that he really hasn’t shown a good feel for his curveball, which I’m told can be his best pitch. What he’s done so far has been pretty much fastball-changeup, so if he can start throwing the curve for strikes he can really take off.

Speaking of lesser-known pitchers with results, what can you tell me about Mark Diapoules and Nick Additon?

By all accounts, Diapoules has a big-league sinker. He was able to throw it down in the zone effectively and nobody in this league could touch it. He had a couple of rough outings that pitching coach Ace Adams attributed to a problem getting off the rubber quickly, but they worked that out and he was back on track when the Cardinals promoted him.

For Additon, the name of the game is control. He doesn’t throw hard, but he can spot the fastball on both sides of the plate. Like Castillo, the more he improves that curveball the more effective of a pitcher he’ll be. The pitch can be very good at times and he seems to be throwing it more and more as the season progresses.

Tommy Pham is a tantalizing talent, but also a bit of an enigma. Being that you get to see him nearly everyday, I was interested in what your impressions were of him.

My impressions of Tommy are that he has got one of the most impressive set of tools of anybody I’ve seen here. Four of his five tools are well above average and probably pretty close to major league ready. He can flat out go get the ball in center and his throwing arm is both strong and accurate. His speed is the best on the team and his only caught stealing this year was really more of a pick-off play. And that’s not to mention the fact that he has tremendous power to all fields. The issue for Tommy has been making consistent contact and putting the barrel on the ball. He strikes out a lot and has a tendency to muscle up before he swings. The Cardinals have been working with him on getting better separation in his swing and staying loose. If he can start making consistent contact, there is no telling how quickly he can move.

What can you tell us about Francisco Rivera? I’ve seen him on a few occasions and came away very impressed; in fact I’ve dubbed him on the blog as my own favorite “personal cheeseball” for the 2008 season. Please tell me if my personal fascination with this player is justified.

Rivera is another really impressive player Erik, it’s not just you! It’s hard to believe watching him that he’s only a 19-year-old that made his pro debut earlier this season. He’s a gamer. He homered in his sixth pro at-bat and has been off to the races ever since. To me the most telling thing about Francisco is the way he raises his game with men in scoring position and two outs. He seems to have an instinctual knack for driving in runs.

Outside of the players we’ve discussed, who is the best River Bandit player that we don’t know about yet? Are there any other players that have attracted your attention?

I love the way Charlie Kingrey plays the game. He’s up in Palm Beach now, but the guy has a smooth left-handed swing and hits the ball to all fields. My favorite part about Charlie is that he never stops hustling, regardless of the game situation. Paul Vazquez has also stood out. He’s an older guy but he’s become a real leader on this team. The guy has been taking a beating behind the plate and in the batter’s box - he was hit by a pitch in the face in Clinton and was frustrated that they held him out of the lineup for the next two games - but has still managed to lead the team in batting average.

I have to think the Cardinals could have surpassed the Cubs offer for Rich Harden and still not lost any of their top four or five prospects. I’m not saying necessarily that they should have; Harden is a ticking time bomb. I just hope Mo doesn’t feel any extra pressure to do anything crazy. Anderson for AJ Burnett would be a trade I could probably live with, but like Harden, Burnett is injury prone. I believe JP Ricciardi would jump all over that, considering they’ve had a revolving door at the C position for a while now.

Derrick Goold says Jeff Luhnow still believes there a chance the Cardinals can get Venezuelan OF Yorman Rodriguez. It’s been rumored he’s already agreed to sign with the Reds. What the Cardinals have done already this year in Latin America has already been outstanding…to add Yorman on top of that …that would be epic. Yorman can’t sign until he turns 16, which is next month. He’s drawn some comparisons to Carlos Beltran.

Chris Lambert scoffs at our earlier dismissals of him as a prospect. Scoffs, I say. In a little over 100 innings now, and Lambert has a sparkling 3.30 FIP for the Mudhens. The night before last he threw a 1 run-3 hit complete game.

The ever-insightful Larry Borowsky took us on his own tour of the farm, and it’s followed by some interesting conversation amongst VEB readers.

Only three teams played tonight in yet another abbreviated DFR.

Memphis 3, New Orleans 1

Nick Stavinoha 3-for-4, 2 HR.
Cody Haerther 1-for-4, HR.
Mitch Boggs 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K.
Jason Motte 1 perfect IP, no K.

Colby hasn’t played since the 1st due to a groin injury, but it’s considered minor. He’s not going to be put on the DL as far as I know. I think we’ve said this before, but we keep getting asked. We’ve been saying Nick Stavinoha needs to add something else to his repertoire, because he’s basically a one-trick pony. He responded well by blasting a couple of homers tonight. Now, if he could just draw more than 3 walks a month and we might have something. Cody Haerther was outrighted off of the 40 man roster. Once a well regarded prospect, it seems like his prospect days are officially over. Hello, Quad A.

Springfield 0, Midland 2

Allen Craig 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K.
Mark Shorey 1-for-4, 2B.
Casey Rowlett 1-for-3, 3B.
Kyle Mura 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.

Springfield was shut down by the A’s 2007 1st round pick James Simmons, who held them to just 2 hits over 8 innings. Simmons didn’t issue a walk and struck out 11. That’s, dare I say, Jess Todd like.

Palm Beach 2, Clearwater 3 Game 1, 8 innings.

Arnoldi Cruz 2-for-4, 2B.
Daryl Jones 2-for-4, CS.
Daniel Descalso 2-for-3, 2B.
Mark Diapoules 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 9 ground outs.
Kenny Maiques 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K.
Elvis Hernandez 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K.
Francisco Samuel 0.0, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB.

Daniel Descalso had himself a good game, which he was long overdue for. His double came in the extra 8th inning (they only play 7 innings in a doubleheader). Tyler Henley was going to bunt him over to 3rd but Clearwater’s P Matt German threw the ball away, allowing Descalso to score the go ahead run. Unfortunately, Samuel suffered a rare implosion.

PB 6, Clearwater 4

Arnoldi Cruz 2-for-4, 2 2B.
Daryl Jones 2-for-4, 3B.
Daniel Nelson 2-for-3, 2B, K, BB.
Charlie Kingrey and Tyler Henley both 1-for-4, 2B.
Blake King 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
Casey Mulligan 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Davis Bilardello 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K.

Cruz has shown steady improvement every month, and now has a .938 OPS for the month of July. Daryl Jones is working hard at living up to the Curtis Granderson comparison, legging out his 4th triple. And I’m digging this crummy catcher turned reliever project so far.

Quad Cities and Batavia both had the night off. Johnson City was postponed. Due to that, it’s probably well past time for a GCL update.

Gary Daley has allowed 7 runs in 3 innings, with 8 walks. He has to have one of the worst cases of Ankielitis I have seen in a long time. Anthony Ferrara made his debut yesterday, throwing 1 inning with 2 K’s and a walk. Eric Fornataro has thrown only 4 innings and has allowed 1 unearned run on 1 hit and has 3 K’s. Ryde Rodriguez has a .288/.323/.356 line; I have to think he’d be hitting for more power if he were in JC. He has only 2 walks to 13 K’s in 59 at bats. Devin Shepherd has only 12 at bats and has 4 hits and a double. 8th rounder Michael Swinson is hitting .276/.344/.414 with 4 steals in 8 games. I have no idea who Yunier Castillo is, but he’s 19, plays SS, and has a .308/.349/.487 line. 19 year old C Ismael Cardona has a 1.269 OPS in all of 14 plate appearances, he’s bears mentioning because he hit .300/.392/.380 on a sorry VSL team last year.

I call it dangerous because I’m sure I may end up looking back on these and think to myself “what was I smoking?”. I have a love-hate relationship with prospect rankings. It’s just that they can so debatable, which makes them fun and also makes them mind-numbing. And I think some sites out there just throw together rankings all too willy-nilly, because people like discussing lists and it’s a cheap way to get people to visit and talk about your site. I don’t want to do that. But I have been thinking about this for a while…there have been some players who have had some serious helium-Jess Todd and Daryl Jones for example-and other players have fallen out of the picture. And there also was a draft this past June, in case you haven’t heard. So therefore, I figure my personal rankings could use an update. I’m not going to go as far as 25 like I do in the winter; we’ll just go with 15 for right now w/mini-snippets on why they are there.

1. Colby Rasmus-Prolonged early season slump or no slump, Colby’s status has not changed.
2. Brett Wallace- Thinking about Rasmus, Wallace and Pujols in the same lineup in the near future is pretty exciting. If that doesn’t work out, maybe they can also flip him for a former Cy Young winner.
3. Bryan Anderson-It’s a coin flip between Jaime Garcia and Anderson here for me, but I’ll give the slight edge to Anderson. He’s improved his defense and has not stopped hitting despite the challenges thrown at him. Will he still be around after the All Star break is the question.
4. Jaime Garcia-After obliterating AA, he’s had his ups and downs in AAA but is still holding his own.
5. Clayton Mortensen-His ERA is fine, but peripherals are actually pretty ugly in AAA, but he’s still getting a lot of groundballs and the Cardinals seem to have challenged him more than anyone in the system.
6. Daryl Jones-Daryl fell from grace last year, missing BA’s Top 30 entirely. Since then, he became a baseball player. The gap between what he is now and what he will become (20/20 OF, good OBP, defense) is still high, but nowhere near as high as it was just a year ago.
7. Jess Todd will destroy us all. What excites me more than anything about Todd is he’s been so adaptable. He quickly picked up the cutter and seems to be doing the same with a 2-seam fastball. His feel for pitching stands out more than his stuff.
8. Pete Kozma-I’m nicer to Kozma than some of my compadres here at the blog. I think he should be at least an average MLB SS, but after a hot April he’s done nothing to impress me at all. Having seen him several times in person and on the local TV station here, I’ve come up with a conspiracy theory–He changed up his swing a little and become a little more of a power hitter out of spring training. Then, at the first sign of a slump he went back to what felt comfortable to him and has become nothing more than a singles hitter. It’s just a theory, and I’m not certain of the validity but the month-by-month numbers seem to bear it out. I think he’s also had a difficult time adjusting to pro ball out of high school, so when you take that into consideration he’s not been that bad.
9. Lance Lynn-Here is my first little surprise, I guess Keith Law sold me on his potential to be a solid mid-rotation innings eater, and Chris O’Leary sold me on his durability, which I think is an underrated trait.
10. Jon Jay-I think Jay has the potential to be Coco Crisp in his 2004-2005 Cleveland Indians heyday when he was batting near .300, slugging nearly .450 and hitting double digits in the steals column while playing a solid OF. The key word is potential, I’m not saying I’d stake the farm on it. His Peak Translation currently is .288/.355/.457.
11. Mitchell Boggs-Three OKish starts, one great start and one horrific start doesn’t seem to justify sending him down. Yes, he wasn’t missing any bats, other than Royals bats but I think he is still potentialy a solid back-end starter and I’m ingtrigued at what he could possibly do in relief.
12. Adam Ottavino-I am giving him a lot of the benefit of the doubt. His last few stars he’s showing signs of improvement, especially in his last outing. Hopefully he’s finally coming around.
13. Joe Mather-I can’t figure him out. He hits like he could be at least a solid average big league corner OF in double A last year and now in triple A. But my gut says he’s more of a platoon/4th OF guy.
14. Tyler Herron-I really think it was a mistake pushing him up to AA so quickly. He’s been pretty bleh but he’s only 21 and still has three average pitches and good command, so here he is.
15. Nico Vasquez-Jason Motte really probably belongs here, I admit it. But as one of the charter members on the Nico bandwagon I’ll stick him here. Quick Kozma versus Nico Smackdown: Hitting for average: Given Nico’s K’s and Kozma’s contact rate, I’d say advantage Kozma. Hitting for power: Advantage Nico, by a mile. Plate discipline: Kozma.  Speed: Kozma, easily. Range: Kozma, again, rather handily but Vasquez is no slouch despite his size. Throwing arm: Kozma, but a little closer. In a perfect world, Kozma will be playing along side Vasquez in the infield by 2011, with Kozma batting 2nd or 9th (assuming LaRussa doesn’t retire), and Vasquez batting 6th.

Update: Perez has been in the majors for over 40 games, so I didn’t include him on the list. If I were to include Perez, I would put him at #2, maybe even #3 after Wallace.

One of you asked if we can take a look at RHP Josh Wilson of the QC. Ask and ye shall receive.

Josh Wilson was selected in the second round (70th overall) of the 2005 draft out of Whitehouse HS in Tyler, TX. Prior to the draft Baseball American ranked him the 124th best draft prospect and had this scouting blurb on Wilson:

Based on his standout performance at the Area Code Games last summer and at Whitehouse High this spring, Wilson was making a case to go in the first two rounds. He pitched at 91-93 mph and touched 94-95 with his fastball, and his curveball showed the makings of becoming a plus pitch. Wilson leveled off a little afterward, working at 88-90 mph and losing command of his curve. Now he appears to be a third- or fourth-rounder. Though Wilson isn’t tall, he has long arms that create a good downward plane on his pitches. There’s some effort to his delivery, but not to the point that scouts are overly concerned.

Apparently, scouts should have been more concerned, and I’ll get into that in a moment. Wilson started 12 games for Johnson City and had somewhat of a rocky debut. He had 32 K’s in 53.1 innings, with 23 walks and 7 homers allowed for a 5.00 FIP. Wilson started at the Quad Cities the following season but after 3 starts it was discovered that he had tore his labrum–an injury that can be the kiss of death for many a young pitcher. He’s rehabbed his way back and threw 8 innings last season for Batavia but experienced a set back and was sidelined for the rest of year.

Healthy now, Wilson has thrown 52.1 innings this season, with 32 K’s to 16 walks and 4 HR allowed. While Wilson hasn’t allowed a lot of runs, his 14.7% K/PA rate is hardly inspiring. He’s reinvented himself more into a control pitcher, and having seen him once on TV here locally he doesn’t look like he throws awfully hard but he’s pretty pinpoint with his command as the numbers bear out. He’s still relatively young at 21 and could show improvement as he gains strength. On the negative I’m not overly encouraged by the track record of the minor league pitchers in the system who go down with shoulder injuries–Hawksworth, McCormick and at the big league level–Mark Mulder :ugh:.

I’m not saying he can’t come back, and he was certainly was dominating in his last start-one of you noted he threw 8 balls total in his last start, and he struck out a batter per inning, so that’s a start. I just can’t get overly excited about him until he starts missing more bats on a regular basis.

I asked Jeff Luhnow if he could provide us with details on the new Latin American signees, and he was kind enough to oblige. Here are his words on the newest Cardinals:

Roberto De La Cruz. He runs a 6.9 60 yard dash (slightly above average), but he’s probably not going to get faster as he matures because he will get bigger and stronger. His hands and feet work really well at 3b and he has plenty of range to play that position. He can handle short now but his range will be limited there and he doesn’t have the body type to play there. He has a strong lower half and generates bat speed and power by using his middle. I gave his arm an average grade for 3b as he made all the plays. I was impressed by how he started the 5-4-3 double plays… quick release and accurate throws. He has a short stroke to the ball and follows through (short to, long through). I saw him drive three 88-92 mph fastballs - one to left, one up the middle, and one to right. He also sat on a 82 mph slider and punched it to right for a single. While some have compared him to Villalona (who will play in the futures game) I don’t think they are the same guy. Villalona (whom we scouted extensively) had more developed power at this stage but we felt was less likely to stick at third and more likely to be a first baseman. (Erik: That’s Angel Villalona of the Giants who he’s referring to, as I’m sure most of you are aware.)

Santos Franco. There are quite a few similarities between Franco and (Michel) Inoa… both of whom we saw many times over the course of the past few years. Both are similar in stature and body type. Inoa throws harder right now and is more polished (truly a special talent). Franco has a fastball in the 87 to 92 range during workouts and 2 inning stints, so he will likely start his career pitching at 87 to 88. However, he is only 16 and has a loose, projectable arm. He should have a plus (92-93) possibly a plus plus (94+) fastball as he matures. He throws both a breaking ball and a change up, and has decent control (he’s around the zone with an occasional miss). We really like his work ethic and attitude and he will be very coachable. With some tweaking, his mechanics could be exceptional and he could be a fast mover in our system.

Cesar Valera. This young shortstop was in the same program as the most high profile position player in Latin America, Yorman Rodriguez. We saw Yorman over a dozen times over the past 24 months (I personally have seen him 5 times - there is a lot to like) and we found ourselves talking about this shortstop every time we visited their program or had them to our academy. He has a very sound approach at the plate and generates above average bat speed. He is about an average runner right now, and he could get better as he matures, but I typically don’t like to project increases in speed because I don’t see it that often. He can pick it at short and will stay there. He has gap power and will develop over the fence power. Enrique Brito advocated strongly for this player and I have always trusted his ability to judge talent - he has signed or recommended over a dozen big league players from Venezuela.

Dennis Montero. The main thing that stuck out for me about this kid is his ability to throw strikes. We don’t see that too often in a 16 year old. His fastball is already average, and he has a swing and miss change up along with a breaking ball he can get over for strikes. We really like his pitching mechanics and believe he will get better quickly.

Grabiel Hernandez. For us, the top fielding shortstop in this year’s crop. Not a big guy, so he can get lost in the crowd, until you see him pick the ball over and over again and he is truly impressive. He has gold glove potential if his bat comes along. He is a switch hitter and should remain that way as he makes contact consistently. He’s not a power guy, but if he’s able to hit enough singles and doubles, he could be a special two way player.

Jose Weffer. A very young (just turned 16) left handed pitcher with a bright future. His fastball is below average now (as it is for many young future stars) but he has deception and command so that his 84 plays like 89. He might have a plus change up and an average to plus curveball. Exciting project who might take a few years to develop but should be good.

Thanks to Mr. Luhnow for sharing this info with us.

I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled to see the Cardinals really open up the purse strings and sign what sounds like some very promising talent. According to the P-D, De La Cruz (or Pina) was signed for a bonus exceeding a million dollars, and both Franco and Valera were signed for over $500 K each. I am particularly excited about Pina (er…De La Cruz…I’m used to calling him Pina, sorry.) I actually was able to talk to a baseball insider in the DR, and he essentially said De La Cruz wasn’t a super high ceiling guy, but is about as sure of a thing to hit 20 homers in the big leagues as you can find there. (Which sounds like a pretty high ceiling to me). This person also noted that Franco was more of a high reward/high risk guy who’s all arms and legs right now. They felt uncertain if his coordination comes around, but at worst they felt he’d be a back-end bullpen guy because of his fastball.

Hope you all had a Happy 4th. One thing I miss about living in St. Louis is celebrating the 4th of July. Cedar Rapids does a decent job with their fireworks I suppose, but I miss the barbecue pork steaks drenched in Maulls with some cole slaw on the side, the VP Fair, and all the other fun happenings. Plus now you have the Cubs are in town for a pivotal series; I envy you non-displaced St. Louisans right now.

The Crew at Scout have a little more info on the international signings. I’m pretty excited about Pina and Franco in particular.

The farm goes 3-for-6 tonight.

Memphis 4, Omaha 2

Josh Phelps 2-for-4, 2 HR.
Joe Mather 1-for-4, HR.
David Freese 2-for-4.
D’Angelo Jimenez 2-for-3, BB.
Mike Parisi 7.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.

Josh Phelps and Joe Mather provided the fireworks tonight in Memphis. Say what you will about Mike Parisi, but he’s been dominant over his last 4 starts-1.14 ERA over 31.1 innings with 20 K’s to 4 walks.

Springfield 1, Frisco 8

Allen Craig 2-for-4, 2B.
Adam Daniels 3 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K.
Kyle Sadlowski 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB.
Luke Gregerson 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K.

I’m not sure what is keeping Daniels out of the bullpen. He’s left-handed, throws a slider, and can’t help himself from being pasted all over the park. Left-handers have pasted him, too, albeit he hasn’t faced many of them. I’d venture to say it’s because Texas League managers are loading their lineups with RH batters when facing him.

Palm Beach 2, Jupiter 6

Matt Arburr 1-for-3, HR, 1 BB, 1 K.
Tyler Henley 0-for-2, 2 BB, CS.
Daryl Jones 0-for-4, 2 K.
Luke Gorsett 1-for-4, 2B.
Brandon Dickson 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.
Elvis Hernandez 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K.
Mark Diapoules 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP.

For a non-drafted free agent, Brandon Dickson is proving himself at every level so far. Matt Arburr homered in his first High A at bat. Daryl Jones hit lead off tonight. Sad to see one of my favorite sleepers Mark Daipoules blow up in his first High A appearance tonight. Maybe it was nerves, his hometown is Palm Beach.

Quad Cities 9, Cedar Rapids 2

Pete Kozma 4-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI, SB, 1 K.
Thomas Pham 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI.
Paul Vasquez 3-for-5, 2B.
Brett Wallace 1-for-3, 2 HBP.
Aaron Luna 0-for-4, 1 BB, 1 K.
Francisco Rivera 2-for-5, 2B.
Adron Chambers 1-for-4, 3B, 2 BB.
Nicholas Additon 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR.
Jared Bradford 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K.

Pete Kozma needed a game like this, he had been hitting .194 in his previous 36 at bats. I’m pretty surprised to see Aaron Luna jump up to the QC some of the other hitters drafted ahead of him. If Pham could ever learn to make consistent contact, then wow. He’s slugging .500 but batting only .219 in 180 plate appearances for the QC. Non-drafted free agent C Paul Vasquez is hitting .323/.380/.484. He’s 23, so obviously he’s pretty old for his level but you don’t see too many NDFA’s do as well as he has.

Batavia 9, Hudson Valley 2

Jonathan Edwards 2-for-3, 2B, HR, 1 BB, 1 K.
Shane Peterson 3-for-4, 1 BB.
Chris Swauger 1-for-3, HR, 1 BB, 1 K.
Xavier Scruggs 1-for-4, 2B.
Charles Cutler 1-for-4, 2B.
Colt Sedbrook 1-for-5, 3B.
Jose Garcia 1-for-2, 3 BB.
Ramon Delgado 5 IP, 4 H, 1 K, 11 GO/AO 11-2.
Jameson Maj 3 IP, 2 H, 2 K.
LaCurtis Mayes 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR.

Jon Edwards is a beast; he’s up to .380/.492/.780 over 50 at bats. Shane Peterson upped his average to .352, but out of his 19 hits only 2 have gone for extra bases. Matt Gorgen pitched a perfect 2 strikeout inning for Hudson Valley, he’s Scott Gorgen’s twin.

Johnson City 1, Burlington 2

Matt North 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K.
Jon Bravo 3.1, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR.

JC was one hit tonight, and the only hit came from OF Paul Cruz…I have no idea who he even is. Nico Vasquez went 0-for-3 with 2 K. Matt North is begging for a call up. The tall 20 year old RHP now has 22 K’s to 5 BB over 19 IP, with only 11 hits allowed. He has a ground out to fly out ratio of 2.2. Pretty nifty. North is a 9th round pick out of high school in 2006.

Hoo-ray! It’s our first bit of international signing news.

Per Ben Badler of Baseball America:

The Cardinals signed Dominican righthander Santo Franco. International scouts indicated that Franco’s camp was seeking a $1 million bonus, but doubted that he would receive that much money. Franco, who is a lanky 6-foot-5 at around 185 pounds, has a fastball that has been up to 92 mph, with the potential for considerably more velocity as his frame fills out.

In a preview to the signing period, BA took a closer look at Franco. The gist is:

• 16 years old, up from 88-89 to now throwing 90-91 and touching 92.
• Lanky frame, oozes projection. Could morph into a flamethrower.
• Lags behind in secondary stuff. Average curve, but not consistent. Scouts think he’d be better suited to throw the slider due to his body type.
• “Prototypical projection guy with a big arm.”

ESPN ranked him the 8th best Latin American prospect available, for what it’s worth. Sounds like a nice signing.

It’s been a while since we had our latest 3 Up, 3 Down. Let’s get right into it.

THREE UP

Jonathan Edwards, OF, Batavia. As our friend Danup noted, Edwards has three things going for him. He’s big (6-5, 230) , he’s still relatively young at age 20, and his name Jonathan Edwards, which makes for all sorts of great “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” puns. Edwards has been putting the fear of God into the hearts of NYP League hitting as of late, hitting .372/.481/.721, and is leading the league in OPS. 50% of the balls he is putting in play are landing for hits, so the batting average probably won’t last, especially considering his propensity to strikeout a lot is still intact. But he’s drawing walks and hitting for tons of power. It’s his third pro season, so he really needed to hit the ground running.

Daryl Jones, OF, Palm Beach. AZ did an excellent job summing up the emergence of Daryl Jones, who has come into his own this year. What caught my eye was his June-He hit .368/.440/.529 but most impressively had the same strikeout ratio as his walk ratio- 10.9% per PA. In his previous two months, Jones had fanned in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances, so that’s quite an improvement. I’ve not allowed myself to get overly excited about Jones for the first month or so of the season because he’s disappointed me in the past, but this is month # 4 we’re going on and he hasn’t slowed. His Peak Translated line for the season is .317/.401/.504, projecting future All Star status for Jones. At long last, tools have become game and Jones is back to being one of the premier talents in the system. One of you the other day made Curtis Granderson comparisons; I certainly could see that. There’s definitely some 20-20 potential there.

Jess Todd, RHP, Springfield. Let’s see, what has Jess Todd been up to lately?….Named to the USA Futures Team roster. Struck out 5 in 2 IP as the starter for the Texas League All Star game. In his last start goes 8 innings, allows 2 hits and strikes out 10. As the redbaaron once said, Jess Todd will destroy us all.

THREE DOWN

Xavier Scruggs, 1B, Batavia. After winning the MWC triple crown for UNLV and being named one of BA’s Top 200 draft prospects, the X-Factor has been X-tremely disappointing so far. (That was terrible, I know). He’s hitting .109/.226/.196 in 54 plate apprearances, with 18 K’s.

Daniel Descalso, 2B, Palm Beach. I can’t believe I called this guy the sleeper of the 2008 season. Going into the year, I thought big things could be in store for Descalso based on his college numbers and the fact the Cardinals thought enough of him to make him a 3rd rounder, but I obviously was way off base; he’s got a .612 OPS for Palm Beach, and we are well into the 2nd half of the season. I have to think a demotion is not far away.

Allen Craig, 3B/LF, Springfield. He’s off a month, then on a month, then off a month and now apparently on this month. After a .967 OPS in the month of May, Craig had a .654 OPS for the month of June, with just a .290 slugging %. He did crack 2 homers July 1, so maybe he’s back again.

The big news of the day of course was Brett Wallace officially signing to a $1.84 M signing bonus. He practiced with the big club today and according to the official site he’ll play primarily at 3B, but could also see some time in the OF. He’s reporting to the QC, which means I’ll most definitely be making the journey to Davenport to behold the Walrus in person.

Colby Rasmus was added to the Futures Game roster, which could mean he may get a trip to Beijing to represent the USA. I’m sure Colby will be honored, but I think he was probably hoping for a much shorter flight to a different destination. That makes four Cards participating in the game, which seems pretty much unheard of. The system ain’t perfect, but it’s come a long way, baby.

The international signing period officially begins at midnight. BA says (subscription) the Cards are no longer players for big dollar OF Yorman Rodriguez (big surprise), but just reading between the lines they could sign a Dominican fellah by the name of Anderson Pujols. Yep, he’s another cousin. I expect to see the Cardinals do something of significance this year. Remember, they hired Juan Mercado away from the Mets this past winter as their scouting supervisor of Latin America. Mercado scouted and signed Jose Reyes and Carlos Gomez, two pretty big fish. 

The Farm puts up a big 0′fer tonight. 

Memphis 1, Nashville 5

Colby Rasmus, Joe Mather 0-for-4 each.
Jarrett Hoffpauir 3-for-4, 2 2B.
Nick Stavinoha 2-for-4.
Jaime Garcia 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 K, 4 K.

Jaime Garcia only allowed 2 earned runs, but the two unearned were of his own making due to 2 throwing errors. Nick Stavinoha is back to his old tricks after his cup of coffee. Nice to see more than just singles and walks coming from Hoffpauir tonight.

Springfield 7, Midland 8 (10 innings)

Allen Craig 2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K.
Isa Garcia 2-for-2.
Matt Pagnozzi 2-for-3, SB.
Tyler Greene 1-for-5, 2B.
Jon Jay 0-for-4, 1 BB, 2 K.
Adam Ottavino 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 3 HR.
Luke Gregerson 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR.

Oy. Just a 9 MPH wind out to left, no weather excuses for Adam. I still think he’s suffering from some of the shoulder stuff from earlier this year, but maybe I’m just grasping at straws. I just don’t want to believe he’s this bad, I just can’t yet. If anyone can fill me in on his velocity lately, it would be appreciated. Luke Gregerson sure has had his share of blow ups this year, hasn’t he? He allowed 2 runs in the 9th to blow the save, and Josh Dew let his inherited runner score to end it in the 10th. Allen Craig seems to be off a month, on a month. 

Palm Beach was postponed.

Quad Cities 4, Cedar Rapids 7

Pete Kozma 0-for-4.
Francisco Rivera 2-for-4, 2 2B.
Domnit Bolivar 2-for-4.
Charlie Kingrey 1-for-4, 2B.
Oliver Marmol 0-for-2, 1 BB, HBP, 2 SB.
Josh Wilson 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Jared Bradford 0.2, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

I actually caught this game from the 5th inning on Cable Access. It kept cutting in and out, so it wasn’t a lot of fun watching black screen while waiting for the game to come back on. I’ll use this as another opportunity to say Mediacom is garbage. D’Marcus Ingram made an amazing running catch in CF that saved a double, possibly a triple. If you saw Rick Ankiel’s catch on Monday night’s game, it was very much akin to that play. Wilson didn’t wow me really, but I only saw half an inning. Bradford’s line was pretty ugly obviously, but he was the victim of some tough luck. The lead off walk was of course a killer. The single was just a  groundball up the middle. The double was a groundball down the 3B line that went by Bolivar. I’m not saying Bolivar should’ve made the play, but it just wasn’t hit all that hard. The Kernels added a run on a suicide squeeze. And Oliver Marmol made a terribly boneheaded error on a rushed throw that sailed way left of the 1B. I was pretty sad to miss my pet prospect Rivera’s two doubles. Pete Parise has a pretty sharp slider. Kozma’s swing looked a lot handsy and less rotational by the two at bats I saw him in. He doesn’t seem all that comfortable right now. .269/.359/.365 is his current line; it seems the critics are being proven correct at the moment. Ugh. 

Batavia 1, Jamestown 9 Game 1

Shane Peterson 3-for-3.
Jose Garcia 2-for-3.
Thomas Eager 4 IP, 5, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K.
Rigoberto Lugo 1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

Eager to walk that guy. Eager to throw a meatball down the plate. Eager to blow up. Eager to get pulled early. Eager to move to a one inning relief role. Eager to get released. Eager to start a career in insurance. I’ll stop there. Shane Peterson is now hitting .333.

Batavia 2, Jamestown 3 Game 2

Jermaine Curtis 3-for-4, 1 2B.
Jonathan Edwards 1-for-3, 2B, 2 K, 1 BB.
Three relievers threw 2 innings apiece, all latter round guys whom I won’t waste your time with. I do like Jason Buursma, his line was 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 K.

Jermaine Curtis brought his average up to .314. Pretty rough doubleheader for the Muckdogs, not much else really to say here.

Johnson City 2, Danville 7

Nico Vasquez 2-for-3, 2B, BB.
Curt Smith 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K.
Adam Veres 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2 HR.
Randy Santos 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
Matt Frevert 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.

It’s very early, but consider me to be on the Official Nico Vasquez bandwagon, if you didn’t already. I’m resisting the urge to put up a “Nico watch”; I don’t wanna doom the kid. I don’t believe in jinxes, but I don’t want any of you hunting me down should he go in a slump once I put it up.