A quick tour of our affiliates

[Frobby]

Norfolk (4-7): 12th/14 in the league in runs/game, 13th in ERA.   They've been outscored 70-40 so far.   They're lucky to be 4-7!  Janish and Giovatella are off to nice starts offensively.   

Bowie (6-4): Lead the league in OPS (.853) and runs/game (6.2).   ERA is 9th/12.     Mullins (1.308 OPS), Wynns (1.002), Glynn Davis (1.043) and Aderlin Rodriguez (1.130) are all killing it.   Despite the overall bad ERA, Hess, Means, Long, Grimes, Meisinger and Cleavinger are all off to solid starts.  Liranzo has been wild in the early going (8 BB in 5 IP).    

Frederick (4-6):  2nd/10 in OPS, 2nd in R/G, but dead last in ERA at 6.44.    Reyes (1.077 OPS), Hays (.949),  Mountcastle (.877) and Gassaway (.858) are all off to good starts.   Peralta (1.00 ERA) and Sedlock (2.45) have looked pretty good, Gonzalez (7.56) and Akin (14.29) haven't.    Akin's been pretty bizarre so far, 14 H, 12 K's in 5.2 innings.    I wouldn't be that surprised to see him settle in.   

Delmarva (4-7):  7th/14 in OPS, 3rd in R/G, 10th in ERA.    Jake Ring (1.292 OPS) has been killing it, and Ryan McKenna (.821) is off to a good start.    Zach Muckenhirn (0.84 ERA) and Alex Wells (1.64) have looked sharp, and Lucas Humpal (2.65) has looked OK, but Dietz (15.88) and Seabrooke (6.35) have disappointed so far.   

Overall, the hitters below Norfolk have been a pleasant surprise but the pitching has been poor at every level in the early going, with individual exceptions, of course.    Must be because we let Rick Peterson walk.    ?

[Tony-OH]

It's been upside down so far with the hitters out performing the pitchers so far. Not used to that!

Keegan Akin pitches tonight for the Keys so i should get an opportunity to scout him for the first time this year.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

I hope Akin gets it under control. I gave him a pass the first night I saw him, since it was so cold and ALL the pitchers were doing horrible with control.

For Delmarva, Chris Shaw was off to a blistering start. Did he fall off?

For Bowie, Liranzo has been less than impressive so far. He was the one that gave up a last strike, game tying home run on the home opener and nearly gave up another home run (thank you cold breeze.) Had trouble with the strike zone.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

For Delmarva, Chris Shaw was off to a blistering start. Did he fall off?

.778 OPS.   

[sportsfan8703]

If only Bowie at some SP prospects they would be a good follow nightly.  They have a hitting and bullpen prospects only.  Norfolk has been disappointing because none of the SP's are making noise, except Aquino and Asher.  

On a side note its good to see Urrutia pop up in AAA.  I was worried we were done with him.  Jason Garcia cleared waivers today.  

[OFFNY]

o

 

DOWN ON THE AAA FARM

************************

 

 

Ater an awful 1-7 start to the season, the Tides have won 4 out of their last 5 games.

 

Sisco, Dickerson Lead Norfolk to 9-5 Win over Buffalo

(Associated Press)

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/sisco-dickerson-lead-norfolk-to---win-over-buffalo/article_2fe68e34-4f91-5556-9967-17232a763a2e.html

 

o

[OFFNY]

On 4/17/2017 at 9:42 AM, Frobby said:

 

Frederick (4-6): )The Advanced-A Keys are 2nd/10 in OPS, 2nd in R/G, but dead last in ERA at 6.44. Reyes (1.077 OPS), Hays (.949),  Mountcastle (.877), and Gassaway (.858) are all off to good starts. Peralta (1.00 ERA) and Sedlock (2.45 ERA) have looked pretty good, Gonzalez (7.56 ERA) and Akin (14.29 ERA) haven't. Akin's been pretty bizarre so far, 14 H, 12 K's in 5.2 innings pitched. I wouldn't be that surprised to see him settle in.   

 ?

o

 

(APRIL 29th)

 

The Advanced-A Keys have won 6 out of their last 8 games after sweeping a doubleheader from Carolina today. They are 12-11 overall.

o

 

[bobmc]

2 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

 

(APRIL 29th)

 

The Advanced-A Keys have won 6 out of their last 8 games after sweeping a doubleheader from Carolina today. They are 12-11 overall.

o

 

 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

55 minutes ago, bobmc said:

 

With Bobby Bundy going to Frederick in his roster spot.

[Frobby]

At the end of April:

Norfolk (9-14): There's absolutely nothing interesting going on here.    Paul Janish is the leading hitter at .821 OPS.    Chance Sisco is at .707.   The starting pitching has been abysmal.    The highlight here is probably Jimmy Yacobonis, 0.00 ERA and 0.34 WHIP.

Bowie (11-11):   Cedric Mullins posted a 1.089 OPS before his injury, Drew Dosch was at 1.090 and got promoted to Norfolk.     Austin Wynns (.947) and Aderlin Rodriguez (.920) have been good, with DJ Stewart (.835, 19 RBI in 20 games)  making a nice surge in the last week or two.    John Means leads the pitchers with a 1.40 ERA (and 24 K's in 25.2 IP), Lucas Long is at 1.80 and Matthew Grimes has been respectable at 2.93.    Garret Cleavinger (2.45 ERA, 13 K's in 11 IP) and Ryan Meisinger (3.00 ERA, 16 K's in 12 IP) have been solid.    Tanner Scott, pitching in 3-inning stints, has a 2.25 ERA and 17 K's in 12 IP (but 11 walks).     The biggest disappointment so far is Jesus Liranzo, carrying an 8.68 ERA.

Frederick (12-12):   Ryan Mountcastle (.898 OPS) has been surging, Austin Hays (.889) has missed the last few games with injuries, and Jomar Reyes (.797) just broke his finger smashing a wall and needs surgery.    Randy Gassaway (.739) has been slumping.   Cody Sedlock (3.71 ERA) got battered yesterday, Keegan Akin (5.85 but 30 K's in 20 innings) has done decently after a terrible first outing, and Ofelky Peralta (7.07) got roughed up last week).    

Delmarva (12-13):  Jake Ring has a 1.085 OPS, and nobody else is over .800.     Alex Wells has a 1.00 ERA and WHIP, Francisco Jimenez (2.12 ERA), Zach Muckenhirn (2.77) and Travis Seabrooke (2.91) and Jhonny Peluffo (3.14) have all done pretty well.

Overall, the performances have been respectable except at Norfolk.

[Frobby]

I haven't updated this in a while.   Things haven't gotten better.

Norfolk (27-36): They're a respectable 6th/14 in runs scored, but an awful 13th in ERA.    Leading hitters include David Washington (.861 OPS), Chris Dickerson (.851), Johnny Giovatella (.822) and Drew Dosch (.775).    Top prospect Chance Sisco is at .715.    The rotation has been atrocious, with Mike Wright (4.19 ERA) and Tyler Wilson (4.78) the best they've had to offer.    Jimmy Yacabonis (0.90 ERA) and Stephan Crichton (1.37) have led the bullpen.   None of these guys have been very impressive during their call-ups to the majors.

Bowie (31-32):  The Baysox are 2nd/12 in runs but 10th in ERA.   Cedric Mullins missed a lot of time with a hamstring strain but has a 1.011 OPS in 20 games; other notable hitters are Aderlin Rodriguez (.883) and Garabez Rosa (.818).    Austin Wynns (.783) and DJ Stewart (.755) have both cooled off lately.    None of the regular starters has an ERA under 4.00, but spot starter/reliever Lucas Long has a 1.69 ERA and Tanner Scott has a 1.50 ERA in 12 3-inning "starts."    Ryan Meisinger (2.70 ERA) has been OK, while Garrett Cleavinger (5.70) and Jesus Liranzo (6.85) have been big disappointments.

Frederick (28-33):  The Keys are 2nd/10 in runs but dead last in ERA in the Carolina League.   The consistent hitting stars have been 21-year old Austin Hays (.916 OPS) and 20-year old Ryan Mountcastle (.911).     The starting pitching has been a disaster, with no starter under a 5.00 ERA.    2016 supplemental first round pick Keegan Akin leads the rotation with a 5.01 ERA, while top pick Cody Sedlock stands at 6.10.   A few of the bullpen guys have done OK, but nothing worth writing about.   

Delmarva (26-35):  The Shorebirds are 11th/14 in runs and 10th in ERA in the Sally League.   Jake Ring has been the star hitter, posting a .970 OPS; nobody else is over .800.     Alex Wells easily has been the star pitcher, posting a 1.99 ERA.    In the pen, Francisco Jimenez, Cody Dube and Steven Klimek all have a sub-3 ERA, sub-1 WHIP and good K/BB ratios.

Overall, the pitching in this organization is a disaster, which is a problem, since the major league pitching also sucks.    

[sportsfan8703]

So every team in the organization is in the bottom of the league in ERA. When you can name all the guys having "good" seasons it's bad. 

Scott, Long, Wells, Phellufo

This system needs a huge boost from guys coming back from injury like Harvey, Leyva, Kline, Fenter. 

[clapdiddy]

Duquette will leave after 2018, and both the major league team and minor league system will be in shambles.

I'm not sure if it's the scouts, development staff, or a combination of both, but our minor league system has gotten worse under Duquette.   Outside of a group of outfielders and a shortstop who is likely going to move to the outfield, I don't see a whole lot of hope in the minors. 

[glenn__davis]

Continues to be an odd year in the minors.  Position players, by and large, doing very well.  Pitchers doing almost universally awful.

Agree with most of RZ's main points above.  I too was never that high on Sedlock, but hopefully he's just figuring things out.  You get him and Akin back on track and get Harvey back throwing well and there's a bit more optimism there.  

[MDtransplant757]

34 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

Continues to be an odd year in the minors.  Position players, by and large, doing very well.  Pitchers doing almost universally awful.

Agree with most of RZ's main points above.  I too was never that high on Sedlock, but hopefully he's just figuring things out.  You get him and Akin back on track and get Harvey back throwing well and there's a bit more optimism there.  

I think Sedlock and Akin were pushed up because we need pitching badly. They'd be doing better in Delmarva.