Since we're on the subject of prospects lately, here's the latest news from the Next Jay-neration in the minor leagues. The boys were swinging a lot of lumber down on the farm last night....
Syracuse 10, Columbus 5
Gabe Gross made a nice Triple-A debut with a single and a run scored while batting fifth. Minor-league veterans Glenn Williams and Glenn Burnham did most of the damage with the bats, but Kevin Cash doubled, scored twice and drove in 2. Evan Thomas, who I could have sworn was released a while back, got the win, but more importantly, Juan Pena got his third save with 1 2/3 shutout innings (1 H, 0 BB, 2 K).
New Haven 12, Trenton 2
If the Ravens missed Gross, they hid it well. Gabe’s replacement in right field, Justin Singleton, walked four times and homered for a perfect evening, while the suddenly red-hot Dominic Rich had two more hits, walked twice and scored twice. Guillermo Quiroz had two hits and scored three times too. But the big bat belonged to John-Ford Griffin, who cracked his 13th home run and drove in 5 runs. The winning pitcher was David Bush, who allowed 2 runs in 5 fairly messy innings (5 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks). His AA numbers thus far: 3-1, 2.63, 5 GS, 27 IP, 24 H, 11 BB, 27 K, 1 HR, 22.5% KBF -- lots to like there.
Dunedin 1-4 Tampa 5-1
The D-Jays split a twinbill with Tampa, winning the opener 4–1 despite giving away 10 walks to the Yankee hitters. The normally solid Chad Pleiness issued 7 free passes in 5 innings, but helped make up for it by allowing just 2 hits and 1 run, while K’ing 6. Justin Maureau actually picked up the win, but his 2 innings featured 1 hit, 3 walks and no strikeouts. In the nighcap, well, Mikail Jova homered, and that was about as interesting as it got.
Greensboro 13, Charleston 4
The Alley-Cats are probably the poorest cousins in the minor-league chain right now; they’re almost completely bereft of hitters and many of their best hurlers have been promoted. DJ Hanson got knocked aroung again last night, lasting just 2 innings and surrendering 4 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks, striking out only 2. Tracy Thorpe pitched again in relief and did pretty well, 1 and 1/3 innings of 1-hit, 0-run ball, with 2 Ks. No one interesting did anything useful with the bat; maybe it’s time Charleston received an infusion of offence from the powerhouse team below them:
Auburn 11, Tri-City 1
I just love reporting on Doubleday games. Aaron Hill cracked his 2nd home run and drove in 3, while 3B Ryan Roberts walked twice, scored twice and stole his 5th base. Roberts, an 18th-round 2003 selection out of the University of Texas at Arlington, is looking like a major steal: in his first 84 ABs, he’s gone .357/.450/.524 with 2 2Bs, 4 HRs, 5 steals and a 13/21 BB/K rate. Mike Galloway hit his 4th homer and scored twice. On the mound, Tom Mastny won his second game with 5 1/3 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball (1 BB, 2K). Auburn is a staggering 18-5, and leads the NY-Penn League in BA, runs, homers and walks. And keep in mind, the NYP has traditionally been a pitchers’ league....
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030711102824999