Hello everyone! Taj here with a super quick minor league update for you before Game 5 of the World Series takes over the front page...
Hawaii Winter Baseball
Two-thirds of the A's contingent of the North Shore Honu has struggled mightily so far in the HWL season and the Honu's record has succumbed to those performances as they have only managed an 8-13 record so far, which is the worst mark in the league.
- Chris Carter: The big slugger is only hitting .183/.324/.333 with 2 homers, but his 12-19 BB-K ratio is encouraging.
- Sam Demel: Demel is getting wacked-around to the tune of a 11.12 ERA and .400+ Batting Average Against with a 5-4 K-BB ratio in about 5 innings. This is such a small sample size and the batting average is upsurd, so I'm not worried about Demel.
- Corey Brown: Brown has quietly put together a solid batting line of .250/.346/.426, with 2 homers and a respectable 11-20 BB-K. Not too shabby for the centerfielder.
Arizona Fall League
The Phoenix Desert Dogs have battled to an 8-8 record so far in the young AFL season and several A's prospects have assisted the team in it's efforts.
Sean Doolittle: Doolittle's plate discipline has completely disappeared recently, as he hasn't drawn a walk since the first week of the AFL season and now sports an ugly 2-12 BB-K ratio. However, his aggressive approach and power are still keeping his numbers up as he's now batting .286/.300/.555 and ranks second in the league with 4 homers. While I like the power, I would like Sean to blend a little more patience into his game.
- Adrian Cardenas: Cardenas is finally receiving some regular playing time after not getting "priority status" to start the AFL season. He's hit pretty well so far, going .296/.367/.370 with a 3-8 BB-K ratio.
- Josh Donaldson: Like Doolittle, Donaldson is showing very little in the way of plate discipline, however, with a cumulative line of .303/.314/.485 with a homer and 6 RBIs, he's still doing alright.
- Jared Lansford: Carney's son just needs to find the strikezone as he's issued 5 walks against just one strikeout in just 4 IP. His other peripherals look fine and scouting reports indicate that he looks good down there, so I wouldn't worry too much.
- Andrew Bailey: Bailey's been the performer of the season so far for the A's contingent in the AFL, as he sports a fantastic 1.59 ERA with 9 strikeouts, 0 walks and 1 save in 5.2 IP. Bailey should be ready for the majors late next season as he's been dominant since transitioning to the bullpen.
- Andrew Carignan: Andrew's been just about the type of pitcher he was throughout the year with Stockton and Midland, as he's racking up the K's and has been difficult to hit, but has also been a bit wild as he's gone 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA, 6-3 K-BB, and 2 saves in 5 IP.
Latin American Leagues
- Gregorio Petit: Gregorio is hitting a healthy .278/.341/.444 in 10 games, 1 homer, 4-12 BB-K. As his MO, Petit is not showing much plate discipline, but with consistent performance at the plate, you've got to think that he has a chance to be a decent utility option for the A's down the road.
- Javy Herrera: Javy's really struggling down in his native land as he's only gone .211/.250/.211 in 5 games with zero extra base hits. You've got to think that if he continues to struggle this winter, A's brass will think long and hard about removing him for the 40-man roster.
- Jesus Guzman: Just like he did for Midland this season, 3B Guzman has started off en fuego for his Venezulan team as he's gone .425/.531/.850 with 3 homers, 4 doubles and 2 triples in 11 games. Guzman was a minor league free agent signee by the A's last off-season, so I believe that they will need to re-sign him to keep him in the system. However, with his strong 2008 season, it might take a 40-man roster spot and accompanying major league contract to do so.
- Arnold Leon: Leon's pitching alright down in Mexico, with a 4.76 ERA, 5-2 K-BB ratio in 6 games.
- Jeff Baisley: Baisley's patented strike-zone judgment has gone out the window in Venezlua, but he's still being productive at the plate as he's gone .231/.333/.500, 2 homers, 6 RBIs in 7 games.
- Rajai Davis: Davis has come down to Venezula and has performed well so far with a batting line of .258/.303/.452 with 2 homers and 4 steals in 4 chances in 8 total games. I'm hoping that Rajai shows A's brass enough this winter to keep him on the 25-man roster to start next season.
H-Rod and Cargon are planning on playing in the Venezuelan Winter League but haven't logged any playing time so far.
Miscellaneous Updates
- Jim Callis at BA just published his analysis of the A's 2008 draft class. He had nice things to say about top pick Jemile Weeks and noted that overslot draftee shortstop Dusty Coleman is someone the A's think can become a "plus defender" at short down the road. That's welcome news since the guy can hit, but he's still a few years away from the majors unfortunately.
- Minorleaguebaseball.com recently tabbed the RiverCats as the best Triple-A team in the land. I thought that was fairly self-evident given their second straight Triple-A Championship this year...
Well, that was a quick one. Not much going on down on the farm right now...
