Monster performances abounded last night in the AAA ranks as several top prospects put up some big numbers. Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies went 4-5, including his 4th HR, driving in 6 runs. Sean Rodriguez hit HR numbers 10 and 11 with 5 RBI and Cubbies slugger Jake Fox also blasted his league leading 13th and 14th HR with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored. Nolan Reimold got back into the HR column with his 9th to go along with 2 doubles and 2 RBI to help teammate Chris Tillman go to 4-0 on the season. It’s not like Tillman really needed his assistance though, as he was able to shut out Buffalo through 6 innings while striking out 10. Brian Bogusevic continued his torrid hitting by blasting his 3rd HR and driving in two. The Astros former southpaw turned outfielder is hitting .484 over his last 10 games with 2 HR 9 RBI and 10 runs scored.
Today’s top prospect comes from the A’s system. Vin Mazzaro tossed 8 innings of one-hit ball in relief of Santiago Casilla striking out 5 and not allowing any walks en route to his first win of the season. Mazzaro was simply awesome during his ’08 stint at AA Midland, going 12-3 with a 1.90 ERA and 36 BB/104 K in 137.1 IP. He struggled after being promoted to AAA Sacramento last year but has pitched well during his second go around. Excluding back to back rocky starts in his previous two outings, Mazzaro has allowed just 3 earned runs over 28 IP and has nearly doubled his GO/FO ratio to an impressive 2.68. He has struck out 28 hitters in 37 innings this season as well. The A’s seem to be content with the early returns from the dynamic duo of Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, which makes Mazzaro’s opportunities to crack Oakland’s rotation a little more difficult, but he should get a callup at some point this season. Knowing the A’s’ penchant for tinkering with their rotation, there is a good chance that he’ll get to start some games. Keep an eye on his next 3-5 starts, the outcomes of those may just dictate as to how soon Mazzaro gets the call.
AAA Player of the Day—VIN MAZZARO
Other Notable Performances
Hitting:
- Nolan Reimold—3-5 HR(9) 2 RBI 2 2B 2R
- Michael Brantley—1-3 HR(1) RBI 2 BB 2R SB(12)
- Jordan Brown—2-4 2 2B 2R RBI
- Andrew McCutchen—2-5 3B R 2 RBI SB(6)
- Luke Hughes—2-5 2B 3B 3 RBI R
- Trevor Plouffe—2-3 2B 2 RBI BB
- Drew Stubbs—2-5 2B 2R RBI
- Hernan Iribarren—2-3 2R BB SB(5)
- Jake Fox—3-4 2 HR(14) 5 RBI 3R 2 BB
- Brad Snyder— 2-5 HR(9) 3 RBI
- Nate Spears—2-6 3B 2R
- Eric Young Jr.—3-4 2 2B 3R 3 RBI 3 BB
- Carlos Gonzalez—4-5 HR(4) 6 RBI 2B BB
- Chris Frey—5-6 2B 3B RBI 2R SB(7)
- Jeff Clement—3-5 HR(5) 2 RBI 2B
- Cameron Maybin—3-5 3B 2 RBI SB(1)
- Chris Pettit—2-5 2 2B 2R RBI
- Sean Rodriguez—3-4 2 HR(11) 5 RBI 2R
- Brandon Wood—2-4 2B 3R RBI BB
- Freddy Sandoval—3-5 2B 3B 2 RBI 2R
- J.P. Arencibia—2-3 2 2B
- Brian Bogusevic—2-4 HR(3) 2 RBI 2B BB
- Jesus Guzman—3-4 3B 3 RBI 3R BB
- Matt Downs—2-4 2 2B 2R 2 RBI
- Aaron Cunningham—2-4 HR(1) RBI 2B
- Adrian Cardenas—2-3 2B R RBI
- Julio Borbon—2-4 R SB(6)
Pitching:
- Brett Hunter—8 IP 4H ER 6K W (1-1)
- Cesar Ramos—8 IP 6H 2 ER 5K L (1-3)
- Vin Mazzaro—8 IP H 5K W (1-2)
- Evan MacLane—8 IP 5H 4K W (2-0)
- Brad Mills—6 IP 5H 2 ER BB 9K L (0-4)
- Chris Tillman—6 IP 5H 2 BB 10K W (4-0)
- Dillon Gee—7 IP 3H ER 2 BB 7K
- David Price—4.2 K 4H 2 ER 5K
