Here is a the current status of some of the players I am following in their minor league careers. 1. Adrian Alaniz is having a very rough start in Harrisburg in the Washington Nationals organization (AA) but he is coming back from an injury: The Link So far he has a 7.56 ERA and a 1-3 record in 7 starts. 2. Meanwhile Kyle Russell is bashing home runs for Single A Great Lakes in the Dodgers organization: The Link He has a .285 average and 14 home runs in 52 games and 193 at bats. He had a great year last year in Rookie ball so perhaps he finds himself in AA later on this year? Maybe not he strikes out a ridiculous amount of times. He has had several 0-4 games with 3 or 4 strike outs this year. 3. Somebody who is making contact is Jordan Danks who has had a great start since being promoted to Double A in the White Sox organization, playing for MIchael Jordan's old team the Birmingham Barons. The Link He has a .384 average in 92 at bats since being promoted from A advanced. 4. Randy Boone continues to be solid if unspectacular in the Blue Jays organization, he is playing AA in New Hampshire: The Link He has a 3.97 ERA so far this year in AA with a 4-2 record in 9 starts. Not too shabby but nothing incredible either. 5. I am starting to lose hope that Jay Brent Cox will ever make the Yankees. He is having a pretty rough start in AAA this year. The Link A 7.08 ERA in 20 1/3 and opponents are hitting .326 against him, and .433 with runners in scoring position. Ouch. I know it is early but he had a 4.75 ERA last year in AAA. 6. Robbie Hudson was never a dominant hitter at UT and as a pro he is decent but not spectacular in AA on the Birmingham Barons: The Link One thing I like about him is he doesn't strike out. Overall he is having a pretty good career for a guy who was not even drafted. 7. Seth Johnston is another guy with more strike outs than hits: The Link After hitting .250 last year AA maybe the highest he gets. 8. Carson Kainer seems like he has been in A Advanced forever: The Link 9. Kenn Kasparek continues to be pretty sharp in Single A, hitters are hitting less than .250 against him. Pretty good since he was pummeled in his first couple outings this year: The Link 10. I have hopes for Sam LeCure newly promoted to AAA this year. Sure he is getting shelled early on, with lots of home runs given up, but he just got there so hopefully he will adjust as the year goes on. The Link 11. Dustin Majewski has put up some great numbers at times in his Minor League career but has never seemed to gotten out of AA. He has had a slow start this year and is only playing part time now. The Link 12. David Maroul continues to do his thing in AA Connecticut. He continues to hit at about the same clip he did at Texas unfortunately. The Link It says he is in Rookie ball for some reason but he is in AA. 13. Kyle McCulloch is on the same Birmingham Barons team with Jordan Danks and Robbie Hudson. He has had an ok start ERA wise but that probably wont last as people are hitting at a .293 clip against him and hit over .300 in AA against him last year. The Link He is probably another guy who will never get past AA. 14. Drew Stubbs had an amazing May in AAA on the same Louisville team at Sam LeCure. He is also cutting down on his strike outs and that is a very good thing. His tendency to strike out alot was the thing that kept him off the Reds for so long and now he is listed as one of the top prospects in that organization. This could be the year...maybe... The Link
Joseph Krebs is off to a sold start also:The Link James Russell was just promoted to AAA ball:The Link What about Chance Wheeless, is he still playing?
Wheeless and Nick Peoples are out of baseball I think. Brandon Fahey might be also I cannot find him anywhere. Thigpen is on the Athletics AAA team but he has not played yet.
Someone asked about Belt and the draft a little while back. I found this on Belt, Wood and Clark. No college has more pitching heroes than Texas, and lefthander Austin Wood joined that list with his performance in the NCAA regionals. Wood entered a game against Boston College in the seventh inning and worked 12 1/3 innings before allowing a hit. All told, he pitched shutout ball for 13 innings, striking out 14 but receiving no-decision as the Longhorns won in 25 innings?the longest game in NCAA history. Wood threw 169 pitches, including 120 for strikes?no surprise because throwing strikes is his forte. Texas dropped Wood's arm angle from high three-quarters to nearly sidearm last year, and he has seen his fastball improve from 86-88 mph to 89-91 mph while maintaining good run this spring. He also throws a quality changeup, though he never has been able to master a consistent breaking ball. A senior who's the only draft-eligible arm who sees much action on the Longhorns staff, Wood could go between the seventh and 10th rounds and will continue to relieve in pro ball. Though Texas won the Big 12 regular-season and conference championships and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA baseball tournament, it has a young team with few enticing 2009 draft prospects. Besides Wood, the only other Longhorn with a chance to go in the first 10 rounds is first baseman Brandon Belt. He led Texas with a .338 average and eight homers heading into the super-regionals, though scouts don't love his set-up. He bats out of a deep crouch and cuts himself off, reducing his power. A disciplined lefthanded hitter with the size (6-foot-5, 205 pounds) to drive the ball, he led Cape Cod League champion Harwich with five homers last summer. He uses more of an opposite-field approach and doesn't turn on pitches consistently. He's a good defensive first baseman with average speed. Belt has been drafted twice previously, in the 11th round out of high school by the Red Sox in 2006 (as a lefthanded pitcher) and in the same round out of San Jacinto JC by the Braves in 2007. Texas' Preston Clark ranked as one of the top catchers available in 2007 but hurt a knee right before the draft and dropped to the Cubs in the 33rd round as a draft-eligible sophomore. He also had arthroscopic surgery on both knees while in high school, when the Indians drafted him in the 39th round. No team selected him in 2008 and he may not get picked as a 23-year-old senior this June. Clark used to have fine catch-and-throw skills but has lost arm strength and agility. He's now primarily a first baseman/DH and his bat doesn't profile well enough in that role. Five-foot-11 and 215 pounds, he has righthanded power but doesn't hit for average because he's aggressive and struggles versus breaking pitches. He's a well-below-average runner.
