Four wins on Sunday made for a good day on the farm. The affiliates at this stage of the season have played between 15 and 18 games. Some of the hitters have gaudy numbers, when can we say it's for real and not just a hot streak? At the end of April, 20-25 games in, a hitter could still be on a hot streak. A hitter could have a weakness and it might not be until the second time though the league that the weakness gets exploited. If April is still a small sample size, what about May? A hot streak that extends until the end of May is good and probably 80% to 90% for real. There have been hitters who had a big first half and tailed off in the second half. It doesn't happen too often but it can. To me a streak that goes to mid-June is getting to 95% real. It could earn the hitter a mid-season promotion.
Pitcher evaluation can happen a little bit faster, the one game sample size is bigger and opposing teams can adjust mid game. A pitcher who stays hot through the end of May is real for me.
Having said that, some pitchers who had a rough start or two are now settling in. And most of the hitters who started hot are still hot.
Buffalo
Mike Ohlman had two home runs including the go-ahead shot in the eighth. That is four jacks for Ohlman and his average is .262. Ohlman was the DH on Sunday and he is more of a slugger than a catcher so we don't know what his future is. But Buffalo needs a winning team after not making the playoffs for a while. The 11-4 start is good but the team could be raided for players by the Jays if there is a sell off in July. Former Jay Chris Colabello is playing for Columbus and is hitting .254 with two home runs. The Jays got a measure of revenge against the Columbus starter Ryan Merritt. Merritt shut down the Jays in the playoffs last season and had his wedding registry filled as a result.
Dwight Smith and Jason Leblebijian stayed hot. Smith had two hits, one a home run, and a walk. Leblebijian had three hits, also with a home run. Leblebijian also knocked out two doubles on Friday. Over the weekend Rowdy Tellez was 1-8 with six walks.
New Hampshire
Sean Reid-Foley had a good start, his best of the year, five innings, five K's, three hits and three walks. SRF used 77 pitches in the five innings, 46 for strikes.
Anthony Alford hit his second home run of the season, as part of his two hits. Alford also had two hits on Saturday and one on Friday. His batting average is.469, his OPS is 1200. Alford has eight walks and eight K's in 49 at-bats. Richard Urena is off to a slow start, hitting under .200 with 18 strikeouts in 57 at-bats.
Dunedin
Max Pentecost caught for the second time this season on Saturday and threw out one runner attempting to steal. Pentecost seems to be in an "every third day" catching cycle for now, with the small sample size caveat. Catching doesn't interfere with is bat, he was 1-3 on Saturday and 2-5 with a home run on Sunday. His average is 310 with a 912 OPS.
Just last week we were noting that Dan Jansen did not have an extra base hit. He corrected that on Friday with a double and added his first home run of the season on Sunday. Over the weekend Jansen was 5-11 with a walk and no strikeouts. Young prospect Kevin Vicuna was called over from extended to fill a short term gap and went 1-3 in his debut on Sunday.
Jordan Romano took the mound after JP Howell pitched his one inning on Sunday. Romano pitched 4.1 shutout innings with six K's. The one concern is that it took him 91 pitches to cover those 4.1 innings, too many.
Lansing
The Lugnut bats are on fire and they lead the league in many offensive categories. Both Brad Jones and Ryan Hissey had two hits with a home run on Sunday. Jones had a quieter weekend, for him, 3-12 with a double and a home run. Hissey likewise was 3-12.
Vlad Guerrero Jr had two hits and two walks on Sunday. Vlad has started 16 games this season and has had at least one hit in 12 of them. In the other four he had a walk in three of them and was hit by a pitch in the fourth. His batting average is under .300 (.286) but his OPS is 932 and all of this at age 18.
Justin Maese had his best start, 5.1 innings, five hits, three K's.
Three Stars
Third Star - Max Pentecost
Second Star - Anthony Alford
First Star - Mike Ohlman
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