Without any Tiger news to report, I figured now would be a good time to look around at what is happening on the farm.
AAA Toledo
Shane Loux is the best prospect story in Toledo. He’s likely to find his way into the Tiger rotation at some point this season. He’s 9-6 with a 3.13 ERA. However, he’s not a strikeout pitcher with only 48 K’s in 112 IP. Nate Robertson, acquired in the Redman trade continues to show progress. Despite allowing 10 HR’s he has a 3.50 ERA with 72K/36BB in 113 IP. Franklyn German seems to have found control (or impatient hitters) in Toledo. In 8 IP he has 10 strikeouts and no walks. On the negative side he’s hit 2 batters and given up 8 hits (but no home runs). Matt Anderson continues to get hit. He’s given up 46 hits (4 HR’s) in 35.2 innings to go along with 30 strikeouts and 8 walks.
On the offensive side, the only players of note are demoted Tigers. Omar Infante has gone 8 for 55 with 1 home run being his only extra base hit. The good news about Omar is that he has walked 7 times in 62 PA’s. Brandon Inge is hitting .268/.333/.423 which isn’t great, but might this be progress for Inge? Ernie Young continues to hit well .293/.367/.484 with 13 HR’s
AA Erie
Like Toledo, the story in Erie is pitching. Rob Henkel (also acquired in the Redman trade) continues to impress, despite missing the earlier part of the season to injury. In 56.2 IP Henkel has 54K/19BB and a 3.34 ERA. Henkel could also join the team when the rosters expand to 40, and will compete for a spot in the rotation next year. While Kenny Baugh got off to a rough start at Erie, he’s had 4 consecutive quality starts. Preston Larrison has been disappointing with 43 K/43 BB in 88 IP and a 5.32 ERA.
Offensively CF Nook Logan has 28 steals, but only a .306 OBA. Jack Hanahan (3B) continues to struggle, not hitting for power or average .234/.310/.334.
High A Lakeland
Lakeland actually has some guys that can hit, and walk. Outfielder Curtis Granderson (3rd round 2002 draft) has been putting up solid numbers for Lakeland. He’s hitting .282/.356/.442 with 7 home runs. Fellow outfielder David Espinosa, acquired in the Brian Moheler trade has an OBA of .327, which is impressive given his .236 batting average. However, he probably won’t be ready before he runs out of options next year. First baseman Juan Tejada is also hitting well, .291/.362/.415. Third baseman Ryan Rayburn is hitting 245/.357/.426 with 8 home runs. Lastly, the player nobody is talking about is Donald Kelly. Kelly is a 23 year old infielder who has an OBA of .408 (.301 BA). He plays first, third and short. While he doesn’t hit for much power, he does get on base a ton. I’m not sure why he’s not really considered a prospect. Maybe it’s because he’s a little old to be in A ball, or maybe it’s because he is too skinny (6-4, 190). Whatever the case, you never hear his name and I don’t know why.
Low A West Michigan
The story at West Michigan starts with Jon Connolly and ends with Joel Zumaya. Baseball America has a piece on Connolly in it’s latest issue (you have to be a subscriber). Connolly’s ERA is an incredible 1.24, and he’s only given up 2 home runs and 28 walks in 123 IP. People are still leary though because he isn’t a power pitcher. His fastball is mid to high 80’s and he complements is with a change up and curve ball. His 5.1 K/ ( IP number doesn’t bother me, but the fact he has thrown 123 innings is cause for concern. Considering he’s 19 and only pitched in short season ball prior to this year, this is probalby his highest inning total.
Joel Zumaya is a hard thrower that scouts love, and hitters can’t seem to find. He’s 7-5 with a 2.85 ERA and 85.1 innings pitched. What jumps out at you with Zumaya is his 119K/37BB. Zumaya throws in the mid to high 90’s and received off season tutelage from Barry Zito. Jordan Gerk has also been impressive in the bullpen with 56K/7BB in 52 IP with a 2.00 ERA. Ian Ostlund has 13 saves, and a 0.37 ERA in 23 appearances. He has struck out 31 and walked 4 in 24 innings.
In the outfield Brent Clevlen has come alive. He has 10 home runs to go along with .269/.362/.444. Last year’s first round pick, Scott Moore, has struggled at times this year and is hitting .230 .326 .374 with 5 home runs and 71 strike outs.
R Oneonta and GCL
The big name here is Kody Kirkland, the player to be named later in the Randall Simon trade. Lynn Henning did a piece on the prospects the Tigers received from the trade in last week’s paper, so check it out for more info. Anthony Giarratano, this year’s third round pick, has debuted going 10 for 18 with 3 double and a homer. Jay Sborz, this year’s second round pick made his debut pitching two scoreless innings and striking out two.
Thanks for the update Billfer. The Simon trade looks to go down as a real good deal. I’ve been watching a kid SS named Sergio Santos a lot in the Cal League. 1st rounder out of a So Cal high school last year by Arizona. He’s hitting .290 with 8 HR and 41 BB. He’s still at SS and looks to stay there. He’s the same age as Moore and killing the ball at high A while Moore scuffles in low A. And Moore was taken earlier. We’ll see but the early returns don’t look to good. I’m encouraged Clevlen is doing better. Granderson I wish was doing better than holding his own at Lakeland. Lynn Henning is very high on Henkel. I see why but I’d like to see him get at least 15-20 starts at the next level before they bring him to Detroit. Kelly I suspect is one of those guys who doesn’t look like a player, has no power but can only handle a power position defensively. I’d like to see him play. The way he is hitting he could probably help the big team now. The hitting in this organization is …… well, it’s going to be a long time before I can utter the name Randy Smith without using profanity.
Evidently they had to clear someone off the 40 man to make room for Patterson, so Espinosa got DFA’d today. I agree Espinosa has been a disappointment and they would likely have to let him go next year anyway. But isn’t three more months of waiting to see if Espinosa catches fire worth more than hauling around the corpse of Matt Walbeck? I mean we have Hinch and Petrick and Inge, and we have Munson for a third catcher emergency. How many for crap catchers do we need, anyway?
Hey Billfer, Is BaseballAmercia worth $42? I’ve been kicking around getting it for some time, but not sure if it is really worth it. What do you think?
sorrel+planar%2Cadjourns