A little roster movement following the all-star break. Brian Snyder, who had been struggling to keep his head above water, was sent down from Midland to Stockton. At the time of his demotion, the third baseman was hitting just .205 with five home runs. His 39 walks to 45 strikeouts was respectable, but showed virtually no power after missing all of last season due to a hip flexor.
Richie Robnett was sent up to Sacramento from Stockton. There is a good chance he will be sent down when Doug Clark is done with his stint in Oakland, but Robnett at least has a chance to show his skills at a bigger stage. So far he's gone 1-for-11 with a double for the River Cats.
Pitcher Michael Madsen was also sent down to Stockton from Midland after giving up 15 runs in his two starts there. In his first start back with Stockton he gave up eight runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Kurt Suzuki went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and eight RBI for Midland on the 22nd. Not exactly a typical game for Suzuki, but it does highlight the success he has had in Midland. With a .406 OBP and .458 slugging percentage, he has met the expectations placed on him coming into this season. The 22 year-old catcher has struck out more than once in a game just two times this season and has a 37:34 K:BB ratio. His defense has been solid too, allowing just four passed balls and throwing out 20 of 39 base stealers. Known as "Clutch Kurt" throughout his college career, he is batting .342 with runners in scoring position with four of his six home runs coming in that situation this season.
Jared Lansford's first five starts produced results that young pitchers can only dream about having. How he was doing it was certainly a little strange, though.
30 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, 13 K, 16 BB
His K:BB was simply horrible, but his results were superb. Lansford had a stretch of three games in which he gave up just three hits over 20 innings. In his five games since, his K:BB has actually improved, but his results have been horrible.
25.2 IP, 19 ER, 30 H, 11 K, 10 BB
The 19 earned runs and 30 hits are more in line with what you would expect from a pitcher who struck out less than four batters per nine innings. Letting your defense work for you is good, but you need to be able to get hitters to swing and miss.
