6/14 AAA Minor League Report

Posted by Jeremy on June 15, 2009 under Minor League Ball today | Be the First to Comment

Sunday’s action at the AAA ranks saw a couple very nice performances from former callups who are making strong cases to be promoted by their major league clubs.  The Brewers duo of Alcides Escobar and Angel Salome both had excellent showings yesterday.  Escobar went 2-3 with a triple, RBI and two runs scored.  Escobar has effectively defied my earlier concerns about his makeup by hitting .310 with 3 HR 22 RBI 17 doubles and 49 runs scored through his first 64 games.  He’s also been successful on 25 of 31 SB attempts and has played sparkling defense.  The Brewers’ middle infield has been truly pathetic this season, with All-Star SS J.J. Hardy hitting just .205 and Rickie Weeks sidelined for the entire year with a wrist injury.  Craig Counsell has taken most of that playing time, but his punchless bat and meager production on the basepaths pale in comparison to Escobar’s potential.  The callup has to happen soon.  The glaring weakness in Escobar’s game is his lopsided 15 BB/41 K ratio.  Those numbers are not indicative of a top of the order threat, but his ability to make contact and his speed on the basepaths would be a nice fit in the #8 spot in MIlwuakee’s order. 

Angel Salome is another prospect that I was wary of.  He broke out big time last season at AA Huntsville, hitting .360 with 13 HR 83 RBI and 30 doubles.  While his BB/K ratio was solid and his athleticism behind the plate was a plus, there were some raw elements of his game that I felt would be a struggle going forward.  Salome has an unorthodox swing and, at times, gets sloppy behind the plate.  Knowing these things, I felt that 2009 would be an adjustment period at the AAA level.  While his numbers have been below last year’s output (.267 2 HR 23 RBI), it bears worthy of notice that his BA has improved each month (.191 in April, .295 in May, and .316 in June).  The power seems to be increasing as well.  He’s hit six doubles during the month of June and has 9 RBI.  Current Brewers starter Jason Kendall, for all his defensive acumen, has been miserable at the plate hitting just .227 with zero homeruns.  Like Escobar, Salome’s tenure with the Nashville Sounds will be brief.

Today’s top player is L.A. Dodgers RHP James McDonald.  The lanky 24 year old put up his second consecutive double digit strikeout performance by punching out 13 in seven scoreless innings.  McDonald’s control with the Dodgers was a far cry from last year’s stellar showing as he allowed 16 walks in 18.2 innings.  This led to a 6.75 ERA and a trip to AAA Las Vegas.  It will be very interesting to see how the Dodgers handle McDonald going forward.  The boys of Chavez Ravine are clicking on all cylinders right now with an MLB best 42-22 record.  The rotation has been very quite strong, though McDonald’s presence in the #5 slot seems much more lucrative than the two Erics (MIlton and Stults).  Could the Dodgers be in the market for a bat come late July?  If so, McDonald’s stock as a trade chip would be quite high, allowing the Dodgers to add some protection to Manny Ramirez once he returns.  Hard to say what the Dodgers will do, but McDonald is not long for the lights of Las Vegas.

AAA Player of the Day—JAMES MCDONALD

 

Other Notable Performances

Hitting:

• Kila Ka’aihue—2-5 R RBI
• Jake Fox—2-5 3B R 2 RBI
• Brandon Wood—2-5 2B R RBI
• Howie Kendrick—2-5 2B R RBI
• Alex Romero—3-3 2R 2 RBI
• Cliff Pennington—2-4 2 2B R RBI
• Alcides Escobar—2-3 2R 3B RBI BB
• Angel Salome—3-4 3 2B 2R 4 RBI BB
• Cameron Maybin—2-3 2 2B
• Chin-Lung Hu—3-5 2R
• Chris Carter—3-6 2B 2 RBI 2R
• Aaron Bates—3-5 2R BB
• Drew Stubbs—3-4 R BB 2 SB(22)
• Wes Bankston—2-5 HR(11) 2 RBI
• Wilkin Ramirez—3-4 2 RBI SB(20)
• Matt LaPorta—2-4 R

Pitching:

• David Purcey—7.2 IP 4H 2 ER 3 BB 9K W (2-1)
• Wade LeBlanc—7 IP 5H 2 ER 6K L (1-4)
• Jame McDonald—7 IP 2H BB 13K W (1-0)
• Kevin Pucetas—7 IP 2H BB 3K W (6-2)
• David Hernandez—4 IP 2H 2 ER 3 BB 7K