Barreto Homers, Nice, He Does It Twice

Sunday, August 03 2014 @ 08:45 AM EDT

Contributed by: Gerry

Two homers for Franklin Barreto on a night of pitching debuts. Kendall Graveman and Ryan Borucki fare well, Taylor Cole faces the reality of the AA jump. Richard Urena and Rowdy Tellez each had a four hit night for Bluefield. Other standouts on Saturday include Andy Burns, Dalton Pompey, Justin Atkinson, Mitch Nay, Dickie Thon, Max Pentecost and Lane Thomas.

Buffalo 1 Norfolk 2 - rain shortened

Kendall Graveman made his AAA debut, he went six innings, two runs allowed, eight hits, no walks, four K's. Six of the hits off Graveman were ground ball hits. One was a soft line drive and one was a sharp line drive double.
Kevin Pillar had another hit. Pillar hit .313 in July after hitting .364 in June. However Pillar is still swinging early and often. In 115 July at-bats Pillar had just 15 K's but only 7 walks. That was one of Pillar's issues when he was in the major leagues, swinging at too many pitches.
Sergio Santos pitched an inning, 23 pitches, eight strikes. He walked three but escaped without a run.

Reading 14 New Hampshire 3

Taylor Cole had a rough introduction to AA. He did hang in for 5.1 innings and now sports a 11.8 ERA thanks to 8 runs, 7 earned. He gave up 8 hits and 4 walks. The jump to AA is considered the biggest other than the move to the major leagues. However it is hard to pass a judgement based on one start, he could have been amped up for the start. Cole's next start will be interesting. Matt Boyd also had a tough transition to AA this season.
Andy Burns had two more hits including his 12th home run. Burns had an 884 OPS in July and has stayed hot in the first two days of August. Burns turns 24 next week and after a terrible first half it seems he has restored some of his prospect status.
Dalton Pompey had a couple of hits and a walk. Pompey's slow start in AA is well known but Pompey finished July with a .333 BA and a 928 OPS. Pompey hits better vs. right handed pitchers but he has settled into AA and looks like he is here to stay. Pompey is likely to head to the AFL in October.

Palm Beach 4 Dunedin 7

The Jays trailed 4-0 with Brett Lawrie in the lineup. Lawrie left after six innings and the Jays immediately scored seven runs. Lawrie was 2-3 with a double.
Cole Gillespie had two hits and is hitting .375 in Dunedin on rehab. Gillespie was the first right handed hitter brought in by the Jays but it doesn't look like there is a spot for him now.
Chad Girodo pitched two shutout innings and now has a 2.06 ERA. Girodo's future might be as a lefty specialist. Girodo has 42 K's in 27 innings vs lefty hitters.

Lansing 5 Great Lakes 1

Justin Atkinson from BC had three hits and continues to hit over .300. Atkinson hit very well in April and May before twice going on the DL. His batting average dropped in June and July. Will Atkinson be able to finish strong?
Mitch Nay and Dickie Thon each had two hits. For these players, and all those looking for a promotion to Dunedin next season, a strong August is a good sign that the hitter is ready to move up. A poor finish could mean the league has figured out his weakness.

Vancouver 5 Boise 4

Ryan Borucki made his first start for Vancouver and it went well. Borucki went five innings with seven K's. Borucki had only two hits off him and one unearned run.
Franklin Barreto was moved up to the lead-off spot. He homered to lead off the game and again to lead off the third.
Max Pentecost had two more hits and is hitting .338. While Pentecost is hitting well he didn't walk this week and now has 2 walks in 74 Ab's. Pentecost has 16 K's. This could be an issue next year for Pentecost.

Bluefield 12 Bristol 10

Evan Smith gave up six runs in less than three innings. Smith has made six starts in Vancouver. In four of those starts Smith has pitched twenty innings with no runs allowed. In the other two Smith has given up 13 runs in 5.2 innings. That sounds like a pitcher who is having trouble with his delivery or his emotions.
Richard Urena was 4-5 with a double and a walk. His BA is now up to .335. He is having a breat season.
Rowdy Tellez also had four hits with a double, a walk and a home run. He has really found his form after a very slow start.

GCL Tigers 9 GCL Jays 7

Jacob Brentz started. Brentz is a 19 year old who was described as raw when drafted last season. This year Brentz has pitched 24.2 innings with 19 hits allowed. But control is a problem, he has walked 18 in 24.2 innings with 17 K's.
Lane Thomas had three more hits and is hitting very well for an 18 year old. One thing Thomas has done is to improve his walk rate in July from June's small sample. Thomas walked 15 tims in July for an OBP of .372.
Yeltsin Gudino had two hits. It hasn't been a great season for Gudino but he is just 17. His strikeout rates are reasonable but he is suffering from a BABIP of around 200. Gudino likely needs to get stronger.

3 Stars

3rd star: Richard Urena

2nd star: Ryan Borucki

1st star: Rowdy Tellez

Boxes

19 comments

https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20140802234900796