Charlotte Knights:
Charlotte had the day off. Tomorrow they start a three game series at Durham (Rays AAA affiliate). Kyle Drabek is scheduled to start Tuesday night.
Birmingham 10, Biloxi 0:
Both from a tools and offensive output standpoint, Tim Anderson – now batting leadoff – and Jacob May make for quite the 1-2 punch.
Anderson had three hits (one of which was a triple, his fifth of the season) in five at bats, scoring three runs, driving in two runs, and striking out twice. In 49 games played, Anderson’s slash line is .318/.335/.417 (.752 OPS). He also is 19 for 24 in stolen bases. At Kannapolis, a scout told me that while Anderson’s 2014 season was horrible defensively, he is improving and thinks Anderson will remain at shortstop going forward. The soon to 22-year-old needs repetitions, that is for sure. But hopefully with repetition, the plate discipline/pitch recognition and defensive improvements will follow. Remember, Anderson started playing baseball in his junior year of high school in Decatur, AL and is hitting above league average in AA (106 wRC+).
Jacob May also went three for five with three runs scored. May drove in an RBI – his 18th of the season – and stole his 25th base of the season. In his last ten games, the plus-plus runner has five multi-hit games (14 hits in total), three stolen bases, and four RBIs. For the season (51 games), May has a slash line of .312/.360/.361 (.721 OPS).
The offense was stellar in this game, as the Barons put up ten runs. Brian Fletcher, the designated hitter, had four RBIs and a double. Joey DeMichele had a base hit and an RBI in four at bats.
Myles Jaye, acquired in a trade for Jason Frasor, blanked the Biloxi Shuckers. Jaye went six innings, allowing just two hits, no runs, three walks, while striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 3.73 for the season. The newly acquired Blake Smith worked an inning of relief, allowing a hit, no runs, while walking and striking out one. Jeffery Wendelken was stellar in relief, as he went 1.2 IP, allowing no baserunners, while striking out three with no walks.
Winston-Salem 9, Salem 8:
Everything clicked for the Dash offense Monday, as each player in the lineup registered a hit. Batting second, Jake Peter reached base twice (a double and a walk), scoring a run and striking out once in the process. Trey Michalczewski hit his sixth homer of the season, raising his OPS to .769. Both Omar Narvaez and Keenyn Walker had multi-hit efforts. Narvaez, a catcher, had two doubles, two RBIs, a run scored, and a walk. Walker had two hits, an RBI, and a run scored. Cleuluis Rondon reached base twice – a walk and a base hit, and drove in an RBI, while striking out once. It is an encouraging sign that the Dash had success off RHP Denny Bautista – a 32-year-old journeyman who has logged 200+ innings of below replacement value in the M.L.
The Dash, however, were not alone in this offensive outburst. Salem teed off on Robin Leyer, whom I scouted in-person last week (detailed here). Leyer went 4.2IP, allowing seven hits, eight earned runs, two homers, one walk, while striking out three. Leyer had a dismal game score of 20.
Greenville 10, Kannapolis 9:
Jordan Guerrero’s return from a brief stint on the DL did not go well. The two-time South Atlantic League pitcher of the week allowed nine hits, seven earned runs, and a homer in 4.2 IP. He did not walk a batter and struck out four.
The Kannapolis offense got the message and also had a robust performance, as was the case in Winston-Salem and Birmingham. Six batters (Christian Stringer, Louie Lechich, Brett Austin, Ryan Leonards, Mason Robbins, and Ethan Gross) had two-hit efforts. Brett Austin hit his fourth triple of the season. Stringer and Robbins each had two doubles, while Lechich notched his seventh double of the season. Eddy Alvarez had a hit in four ABs to go along with an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
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