FanPost

Minor League Report 4/28/07 AAA & AA

All the stats in this diary are up to date as of 4/28/07. All of the opinions expressed within this piece are the result of years and years of independent thinking and stubbornness. Mainly stubbornness.

And to avoid further confusion:

D = Double
T = Triple

AAA

Kevin Melillo: 299/409/442  6D  1T  1HR  15/12 BB/K in 77 AB
Melillo has committed 4 Errors thus far. If he can clean up his defense a little and keep hitting like this he'll be starting at 2B for the Oakland A's in 2008.

Daric Barton: 234/318/338  5D  1HR  9/13 BB/K in 77 AB
Barton has been in a horrible slump for a couple weeks now. I don't care how many more bodies pile up in Oakland's lockeroom, Barton isn't ready for the Show.

Kurt Suzuki: 300/386/400  4D  1HR  8/15 BB/K in 70 AB
Suzuki is only 4-13 in throwing out potential base stealers but he's stopped 3 of the last 4 who've tried to run on him. He also has 3 Errors to his name but no PB. I love the guy and he's definitely in line for a mid-season promotion... but let's not rush him. I'm aware of Kendall's suckitude but I want the Pacific Coast League to get another shot at finding any holes in Suzuki's bat.

Donnie Murphy: 313/348/469  7D  1HR  4/18 BB/K in 64 AB
Murphy has been the primary SS for the River Cats but he's also seen time at 3B and in the OF. The early returns on Oakland's attempts to develop Murphy into a Chone Figgins type player are positive but note the BB/K and K/AB rates. Murphy is going to struggle if he can't get better control over the strike zone. KC tried to push him from AA to the big leagues and that didn't work because of poor plate discipline. Murphy's only 24, there's no reason to rush him through AAA.

Colby Lewis: 2-1  2.05ERA  5GS  30.2IP  23H  3HR  7/30 BB/K
The 27 year old Lewis has been the best SP for the River Cats thus far. He's had arm and shoulder problems in the past but seems to be over them. Does that mean he'll get another shot in the majors? The Magic 8-Ball refuses to give an answer.

Connor Robertson: 2-0  3.27ERA  9G  11IP  10H  1HR  6/12 BB/K
This is just a hunch, but with McBeth traded to the Reds organization Robertson looks to be the new closer in Sacramento. Robertson has actually been more dominate than his numbers indicate. He gave up 3 hits, 4 walks, 1 HR and 3 ER in his first two appearances of the season. Since then he's pitched 9 innings and given up 7 hits, 2 walks and 1 ER while striking out 9.

Santiago Casilla: 1-0  4.32ERA  8G  8.1IP  7H  4/9 BB/K
Another guy who's been more effective than his overall numbers indicate. He gave up 2 hits, 2 walks and all of his runs allowed in one appearance. He's still got his fastball/slider combo.

Other Notables:
Jason Windsor has given up 16 hits, 7 walks and 1 HR in his last 6.2 IP. All that damage occurred right around the time the A's were deciding between Halsey and Braden to make last Tuesday's start in Baltimore. A coincidence? Possibly. Ron Flores is the hottest arm in the River Cats' pen right now, he's sporting a 1.69 ERA and 12 K in 9 appearances. Brad Halsey's on the DL and Kevin Olsen got cut. Who was that you ask? Doesn't really matter anymore, does it? Dan Meyer got a start in Midland at mid-week, now he's moving his re-hab to Sacramento. In related news, Juan Cruz is on the DL for Arizona and Charles Thomas still sucks. The official results are in and the Hudson trade is officially a bust for Oakland. Jason Stokes has used his 44 AB this season to prove that all the rumors about him are true: He's got a ton of power (4 HR) he can take a walk (8 BB) and he produces enough empty swings to alter the jet stream (19 K).

AA

Richie Robnett: 259/310/506  6D  1T  4HR  5/29 BB/K in 81 AB

"Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straight ball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, run. He will come." Pedro Cerrano - Major League.

5/29 BB/K in 81 AB? I'd skip the rum and go straight to the virgin sacrifice. Robnett has been splitting time between CF and RF and as the power numbers show he can hit the Hell out of the ball when he knows what's coming. Problem is, he's not exactly a mind reader.

Jeff Baisley: 266/330/456  6D  3HR  8/20 BB/K in 79 AB
Baisley started the year white hot but he's 6-39 with 3 BB and 15 K since April 21. The recent increase in strike outs raises a caution flag. Before the season began scouts were concerned that Baisley had a hole in his swing, that he could be tied up by inside heat. On April 21st Baisley K'd 3 times in 4 AB. He followed that up on the 22nd with another 3 K night. Now I haven't seen Baisley play and I don't have any scouting reports to back this up with, but the sudden spike in strike outs indicates to me that there is indeed a hole in his swing and AA pitchers have found it.

Gregorio Petit: 288/303/329  3D  2/9 BB/K in 73 AB
Midland's starting SS, Petit has committed 4 Errors but is generally considered a top notch defender. He still has work to do with the bat (more walks would be nice) but I'm convinced that Petit is the eventual successor to Scutaro as Oakland's primary infield reserve.

Landon Powell: 189/328/321  1D  2HR  11/12 in 53 AB
The hits aren't falling for Powell just yet but he's showing strong command of the strike zone. The big problem is he's hitting 158/289/263 vs. RH pitching. This shouldn't last, as last year Powell hit them to the tune of 272/364/422. Two pieces of good news. The first is that Powell seems to have dedicated himself to diet and exercise, we'll have to see how that holds over the course of the season. The other bit of good news concerns Powell's defense. In a word: Awesome. He's gunned down 8 of 10 potential base stealers and picked off another guy who strayed too far off 2B. He hasn't allowed a passed ball and has only 1 Error to his name.

Brad Knox: 1-0  2.19ERA  4GS  24.2IP  18H  1HR  6/13 BB/K
The 24 year old Knox continues to push for a promotion to AAA. He's never going to strike out a bunch but he's repeating AA even though he passed the "acid test" last year. If he can keep the walks under control he should get a promotion to Sacramento soon.

Brad Ziegler: 2-0  0.96ERA  7G  9.1IP  7H  1/7 BB/K
The newly commissioned submariner has a 2.67/1 ground ball/fly ball ratio. Even with Meyer headed to Sacramento, it looks like Ziegler could be headed north on I-5 soon.

Jeff Gray: 2-0  3Sv  0.00ERA  7G  11.1IP  7H  2/11 BB/K
Gray appears to be sharing Closer duties with Steven Sharpe. I imagine the RockHounds starting pitchers hope its Gray's turn to close on the day they pitch. Gray is currently sporting a 4.50 ground ball/fly ball ratio. Awfully tough to hit a ground ball out of the park.

Brad Kilby: 0-1  3Sv  3.75ERA  10G  12IP  13H  6/20 BB/K (A+/AA)
Kilby is a 24 year old LHP who the A's just promoted from Stockton on account of his 16 K in 8.1 IP. He's found AA a little tougher, giving up 7 hits in 3.2 innings thus far but he's moved quick for a 29th round draft pick from the 2005 draft. Kilby features an 88-91 MPH fastball to go with his slider and change-up. It's the fastball/change-up combo that has accounted for the bulk of his strike outs.

Other Notables:
Jason Perry and Brad Snyder continue to earn their keep on the Midland roster but a promotion doesn't seem likely. Brant Colamarino has been added to the Midland roster. Ben Fritz and Kaz Tadano have pitched very well in the starting rotation but given their backgrounds and experience their success isn't that impressive. Mike Madsen has been promoted to take another stab at AA, he got off to a good start tonight (4/28) by going 6 innings and allowing only 1 ER off of 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. Cleveland import Dan Denham also make his Midland debut tonight.