The lower minors are in full swing, which is a good thing in Auburn and a not-so-good thing in Pulaski. Rain in Dunedin and Charleston, but otherwise, some interesting results down on the farm last night.
* Syracuse whipped Indianapolis 13-4 behind a very strong outing by Jason Arnold, who fired a two-hitter over 7 innings, allowing 3 walks but striking out just 3. I think he's getting acclimated to the higher level; you'll see those K's rise in the weeks to come. Very good news from an imminent Blue Jay. On the hitting side, newly promoted infielder Jorge Sequea (he was at 2nd base last night), who's flown under the radar most of this season, doubled twice, scored two runs and drove in two, as did slugging veteran Tony Zuniga at third.
* A rarity for New Haven last night: a low-scoring victory. The 2-1 win over Portland was engineered by my man Dave Gassner, who scattered 7 hits over 8 innings, walking 1 and whiffing 3. His 5-2, 3.01 mark disguises almost a hit per inning and few strikeouts, but I believe in ya, Gas. Russ Adams made his Double-A debut with a single, walk and two strikeouts -- he was at short, while Dominic Rich played second as well as possible for someone whose organizational doors are being blown off by his double-play partner. And oh yeah, two more hits for Alexis Rios, three more for Gabe Gross.
* Skipping down two levels, we come to the monsters of the NY-Penn League, the Auburn Doubledays, who thrashed poor Jamestown again 11-3. Tom Mastny, 11th-round pick out of Furman earlier this month, threw 3 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit, 0 walks and striking out 5. Nice debut. Bubbie Buzachero whiffed 2 in a one-hit ninth for the save. Vito Chiaravalloti, whose name I love to say out loud, had 2 hits and scored 3 times, while Mike Galloway homered and drove in three. The big bat, however, belonged to Angelo Porfirio (JP Ricciardi must have hand-picked this roster), who tripled and cracked his 2nd homer of the season, driving in 5. A.J. went .221/.322/.311 at Auburn last year, though, so let's not get too worked up yet.
* And making their first appearance anywhere, anytime, the Pulaski Blue Jays of the Appalaichan League burst onto the minor-league map last night by getting bombed 3-2 and 11-2 in a doubleheader sweep by Martinsville. 2002 high-school draftee Brian Grant had a roughish start to the year, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs in 5 innings to lose the opener; on the plus side, he struck out 5 while walking just 1. In the nightcap, 19-year-old Yesson Berroa got lit up for 9 runs in 4 innings, but only 3 were earned -- welcome to the low minors, and a reminder that because the conditions and the players are equally unpolished this far away from the big leagues, raw statistics can't tell you that much about performance. Tall lefty outfielder Randy Braun, who had a brief 20-game stint with Medicine Hat last year, was the lone bright spot with the bat, going a combined 3-for-7 with 4 RBIs.
2003 draftees on the Pulaski Jays include Ben Harrison (a draft-and-follow from last year; keep an eye on him), outfielder Jayce Tingler (10th), righty Jayson Rodriguez (12th), lefty Matt Foster (13th), catcher Joey Reiman (16th), 3B Vinny Esposito (seriously, this is little Italy's team; 22nd), 2B Jeremy Acey (23rd), outfielder Kyle (Batting A) Thousand (26th), lefty Brad Mumma (32nd), and catcher Joey Wolfe (33rd).
* Syracuse whipped Indianapolis 13-4 behind a very strong outing by Jason Arnold, who fired a two-hitter over 7 innings, allowing 3 walks but striking out just 3. I think he's getting acclimated to the higher level; you'll see those K's rise in the weeks to come. Very good news from an imminent Blue Jay. On the hitting side, newly promoted infielder Jorge Sequea (he was at 2nd base last night), who's flown under the radar most of this season, doubled twice, scored two runs and drove in two, as did slugging veteran Tony Zuniga at third.
* A rarity for New Haven last night: a low-scoring victory. The 2-1 win over Portland was engineered by my man Dave Gassner, who scattered 7 hits over 8 innings, walking 1 and whiffing 3. His 5-2, 3.01 mark disguises almost a hit per inning and few strikeouts, but I believe in ya, Gas. Russ Adams made his Double-A debut with a single, walk and two strikeouts -- he was at short, while Dominic Rich played second as well as possible for someone whose organizational doors are being blown off by his double-play partner. And oh yeah, two more hits for Alexis Rios, three more for Gabe Gross.
* Skipping down two levels, we come to the monsters of the NY-Penn League, the Auburn Doubledays, who thrashed poor Jamestown again 11-3. Tom Mastny, 11th-round pick out of Furman earlier this month, threw 3 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit, 0 walks and striking out 5. Nice debut. Bubbie Buzachero whiffed 2 in a one-hit ninth for the save. Vito Chiaravalloti, whose name I love to say out loud, had 2 hits and scored 3 times, while Mike Galloway homered and drove in three. The big bat, however, belonged to Angelo Porfirio (JP Ricciardi must have hand-picked this roster), who tripled and cracked his 2nd homer of the season, driving in 5. A.J. went .221/.322/.311 at Auburn last year, though, so let's not get too worked up yet.
* And making their first appearance anywhere, anytime, the Pulaski Blue Jays of the Appalaichan League burst onto the minor-league map last night by getting bombed 3-2 and 11-2 in a doubleheader sweep by Martinsville. 2002 high-school draftee Brian Grant had a roughish start to the year, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs in 5 innings to lose the opener; on the plus side, he struck out 5 while walking just 1. In the nightcap, 19-year-old Yesson Berroa got lit up for 9 runs in 4 innings, but only 3 were earned -- welcome to the low minors, and a reminder that because the conditions and the players are equally unpolished this far away from the big leagues, raw statistics can't tell you that much about performance. Tall lefty outfielder Randy Braun, who had a brief 20-game stint with Medicine Hat last year, was the lone bright spot with the bat, going a combined 3-for-7 with 4 RBIs.
2003 draftees on the Pulaski Jays include Ben Harrison (a draft-and-follow from last year; keep an eye on him), outfielder Jayce Tingler (10th), righty Jayson Rodriguez (12th), lefty Matt Foster (13th), catcher Joey Reiman (16th), 3B Vinny Esposito (seriously, this is little Italy's team; 22nd), 2B Jeremy Acey (23rd), outfielder Kyle (Batting A) Thousand (26th), lefty Brad Mumma (32nd), and catcher Joey Wolfe (33rd).
