AAA Salt Lake Bees, 23 wins to 13 losses
Meet our AAA murderers' row:
Sean Rodriguez. 2b, ss, cf, 3b - (this week) .565/.600/1.261 with 1 Dbl, 5 HRs, 13 RBIs, 1 SB
Matthew Brown. 3b, 1b, of - (this week) .400/.483/1.000 with 3 Dbls, 4 HRs, and 13 RBIs
Brandon Wood. ss, 3b - (this week) .400/.516/.960 with 2 Dbls, 4 HRs and 6 BBs
Freddy Sandoval. 3b, 2b, 1b - (this week) .355/.412/.710 with 4 Dbls, 2 Trpls, 1 HR, and 3 SBs
Chris Pettit. of - (this week) .333/.357/.519 with 2 Dbls, 1 HR, and 2 SBs
Terry Evans. of - (this week) .345/.424/.483 with 1 Dbl, 1 HR, and 2 SBs
The Bees averaged 9.4 runs a game in this week's romp through AAA pitching. S-Rod looks like our new D-Mac - he's on pace to hit 40+ HR's while striking out in nearly a third of his plate appearances. Wood, Sandoval and Pettit continue to do what they do, and it's nice to see Matt Brown and Terry Evans picking up steam.
AA Arkansas Travelers, 15 wins to 20 losses
Peter Bourjos. cf - (this week) .433/.469/.633 with 1 Dbl, 1 Trpl, 1 HR and 1 SB
Bourjos' great week at the plate raised his season average to .302. He also hit his first homerun of the season, which is important because his power potential is a big piece of his projected value. Let's hope Friday night's shot is the harbinger of more to come.
Mark Trumbo. 1b - (this week) .346/.370/.500 with 1 Dbl and 1 HR
Trumbo finally had some hits fall in. He's better at the plate than his April stats show, but if the patience doesn't catch up with his other skills, he's going face too many similar slumps in the future.
Hank Conger. c - (this week) .250/.379/.417 with 1 Dbl, 1 HR and erased 40% of would-be-basestealers
Conger caught a season high six games this week, getting the job done behind the plate while staying reasonably productive with the bat. Note the solid OBP.
Trevor Bell (his week) 13 IP, 4 ER, 12 hits, 14 K / 2 BB
Trevor Reckling - (this week) 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 hits, 3 K / 1 BB
Michael Anton - (this week) 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 hits, 6 K / 2 BB
Reckling, Bell and Anton all threw one-run games this week for the Travs. Bell added another quality start on Saturday, giving up 3 runs over 7 innings. When Jordan Walden gets back, these guys could be the best 1 through 4 in the circuit.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, 14 wins to 22 losses
Matthew Sweeney. 3b - (this week) .273/.429/.682 with 3 Dbls, 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, and 6 BBs
Sweeney continues to show a lot of secondary skills. Context needs to be considered - if I were your average High A right-handed hurler, I'd try to pitch around him too, since the rest of the Quakes' lineup currently doesn't seem too scary. Still, his 15 BB to 18 K ratio for the year is outstanding, as are his 17 extra-base hits, even if only 5 left the yard.
Julio Perez. of - (this week) .400/.400/.640 with 3 Dbls , 1 HR and 8 RBIs
Perez has remained consistent through April and May in the cleanup spot for Quakes: he puts up decent average, hits for good power, and rarely walks. Batting behind Sweeney and Fuller provides lots of RBI opportunities.
Robert Fish - (this week) 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, 4 K / 3 BB
Fish remains a bit of an enigma -he's a live-armed lefty with a great fastball whose performance doesn't match his generally decent peripheral stats. He posted an ugly 8.18 ERA through April, but began to right the ship over the past two weeks, tossing three consecutive quality starts. While none of those were especially dominating, he's certainly trending in the right direction.
Michael Kenney - (this week) 3.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 hits, 3 K
The Quakes were embroiled in slug-fests all week, resulting in a worked over bullpen. Kenney stood out, silencing the opposition over three and a third innings.
Cedar Rapids Kernels, 16 wins to 19 losses
Alexi Amarista. 2b - .647/.714/.824 with 1 Dbl, 1 Trpl, and 3 SB's
Wow. Just, wow. How long will Amarista stay in Cedar Rapids, given these numbers? The only knock on the guy is his lack of homerun pop - will that undermine his value at higher levels? With the gap power he's showing now at age 20, I tend to think not, but it is a valid concern.
Roberto Lopez. 1b, of, c - caught 2 of 5 base stealers
His bat fell off this week, but he had other things on his mind: he caught his first full game out of extended spring training, and the opposing team challenged him. Lopez held his own though, cutting down a respectable 40%.
Manuel Flores - (his week) 7 IP, 1 ER, 10 hits, 2 K / 0 BB
Will Smith - (this week) 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 hits, 7 K / 1 BB
Ryan Chaffee - (this week) 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 hits, 7 K / 4 BB
Flores, Smith and Chaffee all tossed quality starts this week, with everyone going at least six innings and giving up no more than 2 earned runs. Like the AA squad, they're gelling into one of the better rotations in their league.