Down On The Farm: Minor League Ups & Downs

You know how it is in baseball - one day you're up and the next day you're down. Well, it's no different in the minors. Some A's prospects who've been struggling of late have recently turned things around while a few guys who've been riding high have suddenly gone into a bit of a funk. Second baseman Grant Green, who struggled in his brief time with the A's, has been a hot hitter since his return to the River Cats, while outfielder Michael Choice, who'd had a bit of a power outage over the past month, had a pair of big flies this week. And RHP Michael Ynoa, who'd struggled in his first few starts at Stockton, delivered an impressive outing this week, while shortstop Addison Russell, who'd been on the shelf for most of the past couple of weeks, came back with a bang on Sunday. Meanwhile, starting pitchers like Arnold Leon, Drew Granier, James Simmons and Dylan Covey, all of whom had been looking good, have started to struggle over their last few starts. You can keep tabs on the ups and downs of all the A's top prospects and minor league teams on my Athletics Farm blog and get lots more details on the last week of A's minor league action right here on Athletics Nation...

SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS

(Triple-A Pacific Coast League)

Record This Week: 5-2

Record This Season: 57-51

Top Cats:

OF Michael Taylor (15 HR / 33 BB / 64 K / .303 AVG / .378 OBP / .520 SLG / .898 OPS)

1B Daric Barton (6 HR / 74 BB / 41 K / .285 AVG / .426 OBP / .423 SLG / .849 OPS)

2B Grant Green (11 HR / 27 BB / 69 K / .326 AVG / .379 OBP / .501 SLG / .880 OPS)

RHP Sonny Gray (107 1/3 IP / 100 H / 36 ER / 36 BB / 110 K / 3.02 ERA / 1.27 WHIP)

RHP Bruce Billings (107 IP / 102 H / 52 ER / 37 BB / 103 K / 4.37 ERA / 1.30 WHIP)

RHP Evan Scribner (34 1/3 IP / 30 H / 10 ER / 8 BB / 42 K / 2.62 ERA / 1.11 WHIP)

Sacramento started out the week scoring 10 runs in 2 straight games. Outfielder Michael Choice led Sacramento's offensive surge this week, going 13 for 25 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs, while outfielder Michael Taylor also hit a pair of home runs and drove in 9 runs, and second baseman Grant Green went 7 for 15 in his first 3 games back with Sacramento. With Stephen Vogt's recall by the A's, catcher David Freitas was promoted from Midland and went 4 for 8 with a home run and a double in his first 2 games back with the Cats. Meanwhile, RHP Arnold Leon has given up 4 runs or more in each of his last 4 starts and currently sports an ERA of 5.76. And RHP Chris Resop hasn't fared any better in Triple-A than he did in the majors this year, which is pretty obvious from his 10.88 ERA after his first 17 games at Sacramento.

MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS

(Double-A Texas League)

Record This Week: 3-5

Record This Season: 48-59

Top Hounds:

OF Conner Crumbliss (7 HR / 53 BB / 34 K / .279 AVG / .415 OBP / .450 SLG / .865 OPS)

OF Jake Goebbert (17 HR / 44 BB / 79 K / .270 AVG / .352 OBP / .479 SLG / .831 OPS)

3B Tyler Ladendorf (4 HR / 15 BB / 30 K / .272 AVG / .344 OBP / .420 SLG / .764 OPS)

LHP Carlos Hernandez (111 IP / 96 H / 30 ER / 34 BB / 78 K / 2.43 ERA / 1.17 WHIP)

RHP Murphy Smith (116 IP / 121 H / 45 ER / 30 BB / 73 K / 3.49 ERA / 1.30 WHIP)

RHP Sean Murphy (98 2/3 IP / 92 H / 44 ER / 36 BB / 93 K / 4.01 ERA / 1.30 WHIP)

The RockHounds have really struggled to score runs since their best hitter, first baseman Anthony Aliotti, was promoted to Sacramento. Outfielders Conner Crumbliss and Jake Goebbert have led Midland's lineup since his departure. Goebbert currently leads the team in home runs and RBIs while Crumbliss leads all RockHounds regulars with a .415 OBP. With David Freitas's promotion to Sacramento, catcher Ryan Lipkin was activated after spending most of the season on the disabled list. LHP Carlos Hernandez had been leading the RockHounds' rotation of late, allowing just 1 earned run in his 5 starts this month, and he currently leads all A's minor league starters with a 2.43 ERA. Meanwhile, RHP Drew Granier has allowed at least 5 runs in each of his last 3 starts for the RockHounds.

STOCKTON PORTS

(High-A California League)

Record This Week: 2-5

Record This Season: 54-54

Top Ports:

SS Addison Russell (9 HR / 36 BB / 93 K / .268 AVG / .347 OBP / .483 SLG / .830 OPS)

OF Josh Whitaker (7 HR / 21 BB / 45 K / .275 AVG / .359 OBP / .455 SLG / .814 OPS)

OF Bobby Crocker (10 HR / 18 BB / 108 K / .267 AVG / .324 OBP / .473 SLG / .797 OPS)

RHP Tanner Peters (128 2/3 IP / 134 H / 57 ER / 22 BB / 113 K / 3.99 ERA / 1.21 WHIP)

RHP James Simmons (79 2/3 IP / 84 H / 42 ER / 17 BB / 64 K / 4.74 ERA / 1.27 WHIP)

RHP Seth Frankoff (60 2/3 IP / 36 H / 13 ER / 20 BB / 74 K / 1.93 ERA / 0.92 WHIP)

Top prospect Addison Russell missed a week and a half's worth of games with a bruised hand but returned on Sunday with a double, 2 singles and a walk. Third baseman B.A. Vollmuth, who really struggled over the first 3 months of the season, has picked up the pace a bit in July and clubbed his 20^th home run this week, putting him behind just Max Muncy amongst A's minor leaguers. RHP Tanner Peters continues to lead the Ports pitching staff, and his 113 strikeouts are second to only Drew Granier amongst A's minor league pitchers. But RHP James Simmons has been a little shaky of late, allowing at least 5 earned runs in each of his last 3 starts. RHP Michael Ynoa, who struggled mightily in his first 3 starts with Stockton, found his fourth time lucky, allowing just 1 run while striking out 6 over 5 1/3 innings to earn his 1^st win for the Ports.

BELOIT SNAPPERS

(Class-A Midwest League)

Record This Week: 3-4

Record This Season: 63-42

Top Snappers:

2B Chris Bostick (13 HR / 42 BB / 86 K / .293 AVG / .368 OBP / .488 SLG / .855 OPS)

3B Renato Nunez (15 HR / 22 BB / 99 K / .276 AVG / .320 OBP / .450 SLG / .769 OPS)

OF John Wooten (15 HR / 41 BB / 82 K / .251 AVG / .333 OBP / .420 SLG / .753 OPS)

RHP Seth Streich (104 2/3 IP / 107 H / 44 ER / 39 BB / 81 K / 3.78 ERA / 1.39 WHIP)

RHP Dakota Bacus (90 IP / 101 H / 39 ER / 24 BB / 70 K / 3.90 ERA / 1.39 WHIP)

RHP Derek DeYoung (80 IP / 81 H / 34 ER / 33 BB / 59 K / 3.83 ERA / 1.43 WHIP)

Second baseman Chris Bostick continues to be Beloit's best hitter, but third baseman Renato Nunez and outfielder John Wooten currently lead the team in home runs with 15 apiece. A couple of other hitters have been coming on strong for the Snappers though. Outfielder Aaron Shipman went 10 for 24 this week while catcher Nick Rickles went 11 for 22 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 9 RBIs. RHPs Dakota Bacus and Seth Streich continue to anchor the Snappers starting rotation, though RHP Vince Voiro was recently placed on the disabled list and RHP Deyvi Jimenez promoted from Vermont to take his place. This year's 4^th-round draft pick for the A's, RHP Dylan Covey, has had a harder time of it at Beloit than he did at Vermont, posting a 5.93 ERA after his first 3 starts for the Snappers.

VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS

(Class-A Short-Season New York-Penn League)

Record This Week: 6-2

Record This Season: 21-20

Top Monsters:

1B Ryan Huck (3 HR / 13 BB / 18 K / .306 AVG / .412 OBP / .514 SLG / .926 OPS)

OF B.J. Boyd (4 HR / 13 BB / 35 K / .323 AVG / .389 OBP / .504 SLG / .893 OPS)

OF Herschel Powell (0 HR / 14 BB / 19 K / .336 AVG / .409 OBP / .410 SLG / .819 OPS)

RHP Kyle Finnegan (28 2/3 IP / 20 H / 4 ER / 5 BB / 19 K / 1.26 ERA / 0.87 WHIP)

LHP Brent Powers (41 2/3 IP / 35 H / 10 ER / 12 BB / 37 K / 2.16 ERA / 1.13 WHIP)

RHP Gregory Paulino (28 IP / 26 H / 8 ER / 8 BB / 19 K / 2.57 ERA / 1.21 WHIP)

Outfielders B.J. Boyd and Herschel Powell have been the most consistent offensive threats for Vermont all season. But first baseman Ryan Huck has been a big help since his promotion, and he currently leads the team in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Two of the A's top three hitters in this year's draft, shortstop/third baseman Chad Pinder and first baseman Ryon Healy, are now together on Vermont's roster after Healy's promotion this week, though Pinder was recently placed on the disabled list. But it's Vermont's pitching staff that's really been getting the job done lately. The A's 6^th-round pick, RHP Kyle Finnegan, has been dominant of late, tossing 12 scoreless innings over his last 2 starts while LHP Brent Powers has allowed just 1 run over his last 11 2/3 innings for the Lake Monsters.

AZL A'S

(Rookie Short-Season Arizona League)

Record This Week: 3-2

Record This Season: 12-18

Top A's:

OF Jonesy Zarraga (2 HR / 4 BB / 14 K / .277 AVG / .358 OBP / .489 SLG / .848 OPS)

OF Billy McKinney (0 HR / 8 BB / 21 K / .343 AVG / .381 OBP / .407 SLG / .789 OPS)

OF Justin Higley (3 HR / 9 BB / 20 K / .250 AVG / .338 OBP / .484 SLG / .822 OPS)

OF Ben McQuown (0 HR / 9 BB / 15 K / .281 AVG / .373 OBP / .404 SLG / .777 OPS)

RHP Cristhian Perez (24 IP / 23 H / 9 ER / 2 BB / 15 K / 3.38 ERA / 1.04 WHIP)

RHP Ronald Herrera (37 2/3 IP / 43 H / 19 ER / 4 BB / 36 K / 4.54 ERA / 1.25 WHIP)

Top draft pick Billy McKinney's bat just keeps getting better down in the desert, and the outfielder went 7 for 15 this week to raise his average to .343. Third baseman/first baseman A.J. Kubala hit 2 home runs to start the week off right while catcher Iolana Akau went 0 for 6 in his first 2 games with the A's. RHPs Ronald Herrera and Cristhian Perez have been the team's top two starters. But the A's 5^th overall pick in this year's draft, LHP Chris Kohler, has now struck out 14 batters in his first 10 2/3 innings for the A's.

You can check out my blog - Athletics Farm - for daily updates on the A's minor league teams and all the top prospects down on the farm.