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California League notebook 04/29/2009 9:00 AM ETBy Chris Martinez / Special to MLB.com
Bakersfield Blaze (Texas Rangers) THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Blaze went 3-3 and ended their week with an off-day Monday. They sit in fourth place in the North Division. WHO'S HOT: LF Timothy Smith is 8-for-19 and leads the Blaze with a .392 batting average. ... 1B Mitch Moreland had three doubles this week and is hitting .296. ... 2B Renny Osuna went 10-for-26 and stole a pair of bases April 23 against Stockton to push his season total to three steals. WHO'S NOT: RHP Blake Beavan was tagged for two losses in his starts, allowing nine runs over 10 1/3 innings. ... CF Engel Beltre is 4-for-23 this week and has the lowest batting average among Blaze regulars at .184. ... RHP Michael Main has two losses since April 20 and is 0-3 overall with an 11.66 ERA. FIRED UP: Bakersfield beat Visalia on April 22 to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Blaze went on to win two in a row and split the series with Stockton at home before their day off.
High Desert Mavericks (Seattle Mariners) WHO'S HOT: 3B Alex Liddi went 13-for-29 with four home runs and eight RBIs. He has six homers overall this year, which is second-most in league. ... LF Kuo Hui Lo's average for the week came in at .429 with nine RBIs. Lo was the team's power source along with Liddi, hitting four homers and two triples. ... RHP Michael Pineda earned the win over the San Jose Giants on April 24 with a gem, allowing one run over 7 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and no walks. WHO'S NOT: LHP Donald Hume, who issued six walks in two starts this week, blew up against San Jose on April 26 when he allowed six runs over 3 1/3 innings. ... RHP Anthony Vavaro's last two outings elevated his ERA to 8.10. The most recent was against Rancho Cucamonga on April 22, when he allowed two runs and four hits in one inning. ... RHP Steven Richard has surrendered six runs in four innings over his last three appearances. LE LANCEUR DU JOUR: RHP Phillipe Aumont has made nine appearances this year, allowing a run and five hits. He's racked up eight strikeouts and saved two games for the Mavs. The tall hurler from Quebec is getting the call as the Mavericks' closer a year after Seattle chose to use him as a part-time starter at Class A Wisconsin.
Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Dodgers) WHO'S HOT: 1B Eduardo Perez still leads the California League in hitting at .400 and is tied for the league lead in hits with 28. He had four hits and three RBIs against Lancaster on April 21. ... RF Scott Van Slyke went 16-for-29 with seven RBIs to lead the circuit in hits this week. ... RHP Chris Withrow's 10-strikeout performance on April 22 was not enough for a win, but the starter went five innings with one run allowed. WHO'S NOT: LHP Alberto Bastardo gave up three runs and four hits with three walks over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Lake Elsinore on April 24. ... RHP Justin Orenduff allowed his first run of the year in relief of Withrow on April 22. Prior to that game, the closer had four straight scoreless appearances. ... 2B Rafael Ynoa, 1-for-26 (.038) in his last 10 games, was reassigned to the Rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers. ALL IN THE FAMILY: Van Slyke, the son of former Major Leaguer Andy, is busting out of his dad's shadow. He's hitting .367 overall and had five doubles this past week. He went 5-for-5 with two RBIs on April 25 against Rancho Cucamonga.
Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres) WHO'S HOT: SS Lance Zawadski had four homers and 10 RBIs this week, tying him for the league lead in both categories. He hit three triples as well, another league best. ... RHP Bryan Oland's three saves were tied for most this week. ... RHP Jeremy Hefner struck out 14 batters since last Monday and is tied for the league lead in strikeouts with 27. Hefner has only three walks in four starts. WHO'S NOT: RHP Nick Vincent allowed two runs on April 23 against Inland Empire, recording only one out. Vincent couldn't recover from his poor outing on April 20, when he gave up two runs on three hits in one inning against San Jose. ... RHP Aaron Breit allowed three runs and three hits in two innings on April 26 in the series finale against Inland Empire. ... 2B Cole Figueroa has two hits in his last 13 at-bats. ALL EYES ON HIM: Zawadski is leading the Storm offense, despite having far fewer at-bats than his teammates. He has played in nine games and already has compiled impressive numbers. His .393 average, four homers and 11 RBIs are all team bests for the Storm. San Diego's fourth-round pick in the 2007 Draft hit seven homers last year with Class A Fort Wayne of the Midwest League.
Lancaster JetHawks (Houston Astros) WHO'S HOT: 2B Chris Minaker went 8-for-20 with three RBIs and tore it up from April 22-24. He collected seven hits, including three doubles, and scored four runs over those three games. ... RHP Chia-Jen Lo dropped his team-leading ERA to 0.61 this week, throwing three scoreless outings in a row. Lo pitched 6 2/3 innings total, striking out 11 and allowing two hits. ... 2B Marcos Cabral went 10-for-33 with two homers and four RBIs. WHO'S NOT: RHP Jose Duran has allowed four home runs this week in two appearances. Duran started the year with a 31.50 ERA after allowing seven runs in two innings on April 10 against High Desert. ... After leaping out to the league lead in homers, OF Brian Pellegrini's bat has cooled. He still leads the circuit in home runs, but is hitting .242 over his last 10 games. MAN OF STEELE: T.J. Steele, who's battled a hamstring injury all spring, did not start his season until April 23 and was forced to take two games off because of lingering pain. He returned to the lineup against San Jose on Monday and went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.
Modesto Nuts (Colorado Rockies) WHO'S HOT: LHP Ken Durst was excellent in two starts this week, allowing one run in each. He threw 12 innings and struck out six batters, walking two. ... RHP Craig Baker, who leads the league in saves, converted three straight chances and hasn't allowed a run since April 18. ... OF Brian Rike has six RBIs and seven walks in his last five games. WHO'S NOT: 1B Jeff Cunningham went 3-for-20 with 10 strikeouts this week. ... RHP Connor Graham walked four and allowed two runs on two hits in two innings on April 25 against Visalia. ... Also getting roughed up in that game was RHP Sean Jarrett, who allowed six runs in one inning. Jarrett's ERA has swelled following two scoreless relief appearances to start the year. The right-hander has allowed nine runs in his last four innings. HITTING THE WALL(NUT): Modesto's offense is suffering -- the Nuts are hitting just .228 as a team and they still have the lowest homer total in the league by far with only three in 548 at-bats. The second-lowest team total is 10 homers by Lake Elsinore.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Angels) WHO'S HOT: 1B Efren Navarro went 11-for-28 this week, hitting safely in all but one game. He has three multi-hit performances since April 21. ... CF Clay Fuller clubbed three homers in two games against Lancaster. He collected six hits, five RBIs and five runs scored in that series. ... Ismael Carmona took over the closer's role when Mason Tobin was lost to injury. The right-hander recorded two saves this week and hasn't allowed a run in four straight appearances. WHO'S NOT: LHP Alexander Torres issued a season-high six walks in 4 2/3 innings against Lancaster on April 25. ... LHP Robert Fish and RHP Tim Kiely lead the team in home runs allowed with four apiece. Both pitchers gave up three long balls this week. NO FAULT HERE: LHP Jayson Miller, recalled from Class A Cedar Rapids on April 24, pitched six scoreless innings in his Class A Advanced debut against Lancaster. He struck out four. Miller, the 2008 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year, struck out 11 and walked one in two starts with the Kernels before his promotion.
San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants) WHO'S HOT: RHP Dan Turpen's perfect 0.00 ERA is best among relievers with at least seven appearances. Turpen threw 3 2/3 innings in two games this week and didn't walk a batter. ... C Buster Posey, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2008 Draft, added to his league-leading RBI total with seven more this week, including a four-RBI effort against High Desert. Posey also collected three doubles this week. ... Brandon Crawford can't be stopped even if he leads the team in strikeouts with 23. He overtook Posey for the team lead in homers, going deep in consecutive games. ... RHP Oliver Odle doesn't throw hard, but he gets the job done. Odle struck out eight and gave up one run over six innings to earn his first win of the season on April 25. WHO'S NOT: After an encouraging start last Monday, LHP Clayton Tanner lasted only 3 1/3 innings against High Desert on April 26, walking three and allowing two runs. ... 2B Nick Noonan, one symbol of the strikeouts that have plagued this young Giants team, fanned five times this week. He went 3-for-23, but got it together at the end of the week with hits in three straight games. Giants hitters have struck out 171 times, most in the league. ... RHP Tim Alderson gave up five runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings during a rough outing in Lancaster. NEAL BEFORE ZOD: OF Tom Neal stumbled out of the gate but has put together a strong showing at the plate lately. Neal has five multi-hit games in his last 10 and has shot to the top of the Giants' offensive leaderboard with 10 RBIs and four doubles since April 18. He was dangerous in the High Desert series, belted two homers and driving in six runs in four games.
Stockton Ports (Oakland Athletics) WHO'S HOT: Though he's hitting .211 since coming to Stockton from Triple-A Sacramento, C Raul Padron has six RBIs in his last five games. ... RHP Craig Italiano has 18 strikeouts in his last three starts and posted his first win of the season on April 26 against Bakersfield. ... RHP Jon Hunton notched consecutive saves with four strikeouts in two appearances. Hunton has allowed two runs while striking out 17 in 10 2/3 innings. WHO'S NOT: Stockton's offense remains at the bottom of the league. The Ports are hitting .205 as a team and have scored 61 runs. ... RHP Pat Currin fell apart on April 21 against Modesto, allowing six runs before he recorded an out. His next outing went poorly as well, with three runs allowed in 1 2/3 innings. ... 3B Alex Valdez was hitting .043 with nine strikeouts before he was assigned to Sacramento on April 25. He returned to Stockton two days later without getting an at-bat with the River Cats. RISING STOCK: The Ports lost 14 of their first 16 games but put together their first winning streak of the year, a two-game run against Bakersfield. After an off day Monday, they face the Visalia Rawhide, who opened the season 10-0.
Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks) WHO'S HOT: RHP Wes Roemer may be the best starter on the Rawhide staff now that Jarrod Parker has been promoted. Roemer struck out eight over his last two starts and won his last outing with one run allowed over six innings. ... OF Ollie Linton has drawn 13 walks in his last 10 games. ... OF Colin Cowgill has nine hits in his last five games, including two triples on April 25. Cowgill collected seven RBIs in two games against the Nuts. WHO'S NOT: A pair of Visalia infielders are having a hard time seeing the ball. 2B Taylor Harbin is 6-for-28 with five strikeouts and 3B Kyle Greene is 4-for-19. The duo combined to fan eight times this week. ... RHP Chase Christiansen pitched 1 1/3 wild innings on April 24, giving up three runs on two walks and no hits. The reliever also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. WELL DONE: Parker is moving on to Double-A Mobile after dominating the Cal League. One of Arizona's blue-chip prospects, Parker didn't allow a run until his April 21 start against Bakersfield. This week, he recorded 10 strikeouts in 10 innings and finished with 21 Ks and an 0.95 ERA during his brief time in the league. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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