Paul Janish has a fractured wrist and is on the DL for Louisville. He has been their best offensive player so far this season, which really leaves them with some offensive struggles. Miguel Rojas is up to take his place on the Bats roster.
The New York Times has an article up on Amir Garrett as he gets ready to play baseball for the Reds.
“Baseball’s always going to be there for me,” Garrett said. “I don’t know, something about it; when I start playing baseball, I get into it really quick. I get back into the motions. I always snap back into baseball mode once I step on the diamond.”
There is a bunch of interesting stuff in the article, so head on over and check it out. I am excited to see how he performs, but even more interestingly, how he is used during the season.
Donald Lutz was named the California League Offensive Player of the Week.
Donald Lutz, Bakersfield
(.370/.370/.889, 6 G, 10-for-27, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 0BB, 3 K, 2 SB)
Having hit .301 with 20 homers and completing the first cycle in Dayton Dragons history last season, it comes as no surprise that Lutz is thriving in the Cal League. Beginning last Sunday, Lutz delivered at least one extra-base hit — including four home runs — in his next six games while driving in 10 runs. The 23-year-old ranks second on the circuit in homers and RBIs and has helped the Blaze put together the best record in the league.
Baseball Prospectus has up some interesting stuff on what Billy Hamilton has done so far this season.Here is my favorite one:
Billy Hamilton has scored from third when the catcher threw to first to complete another batter’s strikeout.
Over the latter half of last week both the Dayton Dragons and Pensacola Blue Wahoos were on Milb.tv. I was able to watch the games for each teams. Here are some of my impressions on some of the guys from Pensacola. Later this week I will touch on the Dragons players.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos impressions
Didi Gregorius – He went 2 for 16 in the series with a walk and 3 strikeouts and a double. I continue to think he has plenty of power in his swing, even if he hasn’t really shown it yet. He has the bat speed, size and swing plane to make it happen. Defensively, like the reports say, he has very good range and a really strong arm.
Henry Rodriguez – He went 9 for 20 in the series with a double, walk and 3 strikeouts. His swing is solid from both sides of the plate, though from the right side it is more conventional than from the left side. The main thing I wanted to watch with him in the series though was his third base defense. His arm isn’t that strong, but I think it is fringe average enough to play the position and he seemed to be able to handle it in the sample size of the series.
Ryan LaMarre – He shows off good range in center and a strong and accurate arm. At the plate he has a smooth swing and showed off some good power to the opposite field.
Joel Guzman – I was interested in seeing his plate discipline given how poor it has been in the past and how strong it has been this season. It wasn’t bad at all. He chased some pitches, but for the most part stayed within the zone. His bat will certainly be something to watch this season.
Daniel Corcino – He threw 5.1 shutout innings with 3 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. His control was hit and miss. He struggled to repeat his mechanics, which led to bouts with control. He flashed a good breaking ball and his fastball was plenty good enough to keep the opposing hitters off balance.
JC Sulbaran – He only threw 4.2 innings and allowed 3 runs with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. He struggled with his control at times. When he worked up in the zone the hitters were able to take advantage of it. When he was down in the zone, he was strong.
Donnie Joseph – Last year he struggled to throw his slider in the strikezone and hitters were able to sit on his fastball. While I only saw two innings during this series, he was able to work more closely to the zone which kept the hitters honest. His slider is almost unhittable at this level when it is thrown at the bottom of the strikezone.