Last ngiht’s AA action saw the debut of Florida Marlins elite prospect Michael Stanton. Touted by some to be the second coming of Dave Winfield, Stanton collected two hits in four AB and drove in two runs. His promotion to Jacksonville seems to be well-timed and I am most interested to see if he can continue to be disciplined at the plate. Prior to his promotion, Stanton had a solid 28 BB/45 K through his first 50 games. Could he make his big league debut this season? I think not, but a trip to the Arizona Fall League in the offseason could be the final bit of seasoning for Stanton before his big league debut.
In other action, Beau MIlls hit HR #5 and drove in two runs. He’s been a little bit of a disappointment in the early going, hitting .261 with 5 HR and 21 RBI for an offesively anemic Akron Aeros team, but his early returns from June have been solid (.381 HR 3 RBI 6 runs) and his big league bloodlines are reason to extend a bit of patienct to the 22 year old 1B prospect. Speaking of first basemen, Oakland A’s slugger Chris Carter blasted his 7th HR, drove in two runs, walked twice and stole his 7th base of the season. As predicted by me, Carter’s power has returned after hitting just one HR during the month of April. Even more encouraging is the fact that Carter’s pitch recognition and plate discipline has taken a step forward as his 34 BB/53 K ratio is a marked improvement from his 77 BB/156 K performance from a year ago.
Today’s top AA performer is New York Yankees right hander Zach McAllister who tossed 7.2 shutout innings, striking out six for his 5th victory of the season. The 21 year old McAllister has had an understatedly excellent season as a Yankee farm hand, going 5-2 with a 1.61 ERA and a very respectable 18 BB/48 K ratio through his first 61 innings. McAllister has allowed just one HR in his first 10 starts and has held hitters to a .220 BA. The former 2006 draft pick looks to be a mid-rotation workhorse with a four-seam fastball that approaches 95 MPH and a two-seamer with good sink that sits at 89-91 MPH. His slider and changeup are solid pitches that have made significant strides over the past season and it is on the strength of those offspeed offerings that McAllister has been able to vastly elevate his stock within the organization.
From a market perspective, McAllister’s optimal values will be realized if he is able to stay in pinstripes. However, as his stock increases, so does his value as a late season trading chip for a Yankees team that is in a heated pennant chase with the Boston Red Sox. Don’t be surprised if McAllister’s name starts to get floated around as a potential part of a trade deadline deal. While that would bode well for the 6-6 230 lb righty’s immediate baseball future, his best market gains would be realized if he can make his MLB debut in a Yankees uniform.
AA Minor League Report—ZACH MCALLISTER
Other Notable Peformances
Hitting:
- Justin Snyder—2-4 2 RBI R
- Lars Anderson—2-3 R BB
- Argenis Diaz—2-4 2B 2 RBI
- Juan Francisco—1-3 HR(11) RBI
- Bryan Peterson—3-5 R
- Michael Stanton—2-4 2 RBI
- Beau Mills—1-4 HR(5) 2 RBI 2R
- John Drennen—2-5 2B 2R 4 RBI
- Andy Dirks—2-3 2R RBI BB SB(5)
- Brandon Crawford—1-2 R 2 RBI BB SB(4)
- Chris Hatcher—2-4 2 HR(4) 2 RBI 2R
- Josh Bell—1-3 HR(6) 2 RBI BB
- James Adduci—3-4 2B R RBI
- Taylor Green—2-4 R RBI
- Tyler Flowers—2-4 2 RBI 2B R
- John Shelby Jr.—2-4 2B R
- Dayan Viciedo—3-4 HR(4) 2 RBI
- Sean Coughlin—3-4 HR(6) RBI 2R 2B
- Kurt Mertins—3-6 2B 2R 4 RBI
- Jordan Parraz—3-6 2 2B 2 RBI R SB(4)
- Jose Duarte—3-5 R RBI SB(9)
- Josh Horton—3-5 2B 2R
- Chris Carter—2-3 HR(7) 2 RBI 2BB SB(7)
- Adrian Cardenas—2-4 R BB
- Darin Holcomb—2-3 HR(2) RBI 2R BB
- Eric Sogard—2-4 R BB
- Todd Cruz—2-3 R BB
- Steven Hill—2-4 2B R RBI
Pitching:
- Trevor Reckling—6.2 IP 3H ER 7 BB 7K
- Jhoulys Chacin—6 IP 4H Er 2 BB 7K W (4-4)
- Sergio Perez—6 IP 5H ER 2 BB 6K
- Scott Diamond—6 IP 5H Er BB 3K W (2-5)
- Zach McAllister—7.2 IP 7H 6K W (5-2)
- Luis Marte—7 IP 4H BB 6K W (4-5)
- Aaron Poreda—6 IP 3H 5 BB 7K W (5-4)
- Brad Holt—6.1 IP 2H ER 3 BB 3K
