This week’s installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Sept. 20 and 26. The previous installment is available here.

Atlanta Braves
Reinstated from DL: RHP Kyle Cofield, RHP Jairo Cuevas, RHP Dustin Evans, RHP Jerome Gamble, RHP Moises Hernandez, RHP Chris Vines, LHP Lee Hyde, SS Paul Bennett, OF Jon Owings
Assigned to Arizona Fall League: RHP Tommy Hanson, RHP Deunte Heath, RHP Stephen Marek, RHP Kris Medlen, 3B Van Pope
Assigned to Hawaii Winter Baseball: LHP Jonny Venters, 1B Kala Kaaihue

Baltimore Orioles
Recalled: RHP Fredy Deza, RHP Hayden Penn, 3B Scott Moore, OF Jeff Fiorentino

Boston Red Sox
Added to 40-man roster: SS Gil Velazquez [...] Continue Reading »

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Pitchers: Bryan Augenstein, Cristian Beltre, Enrique Burgos, Ryan Cook, Jeff Dietz, Kevin Eichhorn, Trevor Harden, Scott Maine, Patrick McAnaney, Jordan Meaker, Wade Miley, Brett Moorhouse, Sean Morgan, Jarrod Parker, Rafael Quezada, Miles Reagan, Wes Roemer, Daniel Schlereth, Bryan Shaw

Catchers: Ryan Babineau, Sean Coughlin, Edward Easley, Rossmel Perez, Konrad Schmidt

Infielders: David Cooper, Jake Elmore, Nelson Gomez, Raywilly Gomez, Kyle Greene, Reynaldo Navarro, Justin Parker, Antonio Sepulveda

Outfielders: Isaias Asencio, Collin Cowgill, Luis Diaz, Ollie Linton, Alfredo Marte, Bobby Stone, Ryne White, Tyrell Worthington

[...] Continue Reading »

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas led the Midwest League with 22 home runs. The second overall pick in the draft in 2007, Moustakas played the entire season at 19 years old. In the last 16 years, how many teenagers (ages as of July 1) have hit more home runs than Moustakas in one Midwest League season? Only two.  [...] Continue Reading »

Here are the instructional league rosters for the American League teams. We will add the Texas Rangers roster as soon as we receive it.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Pitchers: Colin Allen, Jose Barajas, Jesse Beal, Pedro Beato, Robert Bundy, Brandon Cooney, Oliver Drake, Pat Egan, Vito Frabizio, Humberto Hodge, Travis Keating, Brian Matusz, Justin Moore, Nathan Moreau, Eduardo Nunez, Julio Nunez, Ryan O’Shea, Zach Petersime, Williams Princivil, Raul Rivero, Daurin Tavarez, Samuel Tavares, Hank Williamson, Richard Zagone

Catchers: Luis Bernardo, Dustin Black, Janensis Guerrero, Caleb Joseph, Xavier Lopez, Dennis Perez, Dashenko Ricardo

Infielders: Miguel Abreu, Ryan Adams, Brian Conley, Pedro Florimon, LJ Hoes, Tyler Kolodny, Dudley Leonora, Greg Miclat, Elvin Polanco, Garabez Rosa, Jonathan Schoop, Anyi Tejeda, Cory Thomas

Outfielders: Xavier Avery, Kraig  Binick, Kyle Hudson, Jacob Julius, Adam Loewen, Jaynnertt Melenciano, Jose Nivar, Luis Ramirez, Larry Rivera, Jason Rook, Ronnie Welty

Rehab: Danys Baez, Jim Hoey, Troy Patton [...] Continue Reading »

Braves righthander Matt Small, 20, tested positive for an amphetamine and received a 50-game suspension which will take effect next season.

Small, a 14th-round draft-and-follow from 2006, went 1-2, 2.55 with 27 strikeouts, six walks and only one home run allowed in 17 2/3 relief innings for Rookie-level Danville.

This week’s installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Sept. 13 and Sept. 19. The previous installment is available here.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Recalled: RHP Micah Owings
Reinstated from DL: RHP Micah Owings

Upon his reinstatement Owings was traded to the Reds to complete the August deal for Adam Dunn.

Baltimore Orioles
Released: RHP Julio Manon

Cleveland Indians
Signed: RHP Chen-Chang Lee

The Indians signed Lee, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound native of Taiwan, for a reported $4000,000. John Manuel offers a thumbnail scouting report. [...] Continue Reading »

Andrew Brackman’s first exposure to pro baseball will come later this month when the Yankees’ 2007 first-round draft pick debuts in Hawaii Winter Baseball. The 30th overall pick in ’07, he has not pitched in the minors since undergoing Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery.

His addition to the roster comes as the league readies for its Sept. 27 opener, with the circuit to last through Nov. 16.

Five first-round selections from the 2008 draft, headlined by Giants catcher Buster Posey, already are in line to head to Hawaii.

The other first-round picks include Reds first baseman Yonder Alonso, Astros catcher Jason Castro and Mets shortstop/outfielder Reese Havens. Yankees lefthander Jeremy Bleich, a first-round supplemental pick, also has been added. They were selected seventh, 10th, 22nd and 44th overall in June’s draft. [...] Continue Reading »

Rangers righthander Miguel Munoz, 20, received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for Mephentermine, a performance-enhancing substance. The suspension will take effect at the start of next season.

Munoz signed with the Rangers out of the Dominican Republic in May. He went 3-2, 2.08 with 63 strikeouts and 14 walks in 73 2/3 innings in the DSL.

Taiwan’s Olympic team had three high-profile amateur players on its roster, more than any other team. Tuesday, the Indians signed one of them, sidearming righthander Chen-Chang Lee. While his bonus hasn’t been reported officially, it’s rumored to be in the $350,000 range. (UPDATE: BA has one industry source reporting a bonus of $400,000 for Lee.)

Like current Tribe farmhand Sung-Wei Tseng, Lee pitched in the Alaska League as an amateur and is a veteran of Taiwan’s international teams, including the disappointing 2-5 Olympic outfit. Though he’s listed at just 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Lee throws his fastball in the low 90s from a sidearm delivery. He also throws a split-finger fastball and slider and projects as a reliever as a pro. He had an impressive effort against Team USA in the Olympics that helped cement his stock as one of his country’s top amateur talents.
 

The names on the roster may change, but the same team keeps winning the Bricktown Showdown.

The Sacramento River Cats won their second consecutive Triple-A Championship as the Pacific Coast League champs beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4-1 in Oklahoma City.

Scranton had won the International League championship, but they, and the IL as a whole, are still looking for a first win in the Bricktown Showdown. Tucson won the 2006 game before the River Cats won back-to-back titles.

Brooks Conrad and Wes Bankston both had RBI singles against Yankees starter Ian Kennedy in the first inning. Those two runs proved to be all that Sacramento needed as starter Brad Knox threw two scoreless innings. Chris Gissell allowed a single to the first batter he faced, but followed it up by retiring the next nine batters to get the win. Gissell was named the winner of the Bobby Murcer MVP award, which was presented by Baseball America.

Conrad was the offensive star, as he had two hits and turned the double play that ended the game.

Buster Posey’s whirlwind season is about to get even better.

Posey and four other first-round picks will be dispatched later this month to Hawaii Winter Baseball, and more highly regarded prospects likely will follow when the circuit announces its complete roster later this week.

The other first-round picks include Reds first baseman Yonder Alonso, Astros catcher Jason Castro and Mets shortstop/outfielder Reese Havens. Yankees lefthander Jeremy Bleich, a first-round supplemental pick, also has been added. They were selected seventh, 10th, 22nd and 44th overall in June’s draft.

Posey was the fifth overall selection, drafted by the Giants and signed for $6.2 million following a decorated career at Florida State University. [...] Continue Reading »

TEXAS LEAGUE

Arkansas 11, Frisco 3 (Arkansas won the best-of-5 series 3-2)

The Arkansas Travelers put up four runs in the top of the third inning last night against Frisco righthander Neftali Feliz. Feliz was pulled from the game, but the Rough Riders couldn’t get back into it and the Travelers put up seven more runs in the top of the sixth to seal the deal and become Texas League champions. Their .443 regular-season winning percentage is the lowest in Texas League history for a championship team. Left fielder Brian Stavinsky, shortstop Wilberto Ortiz and center fielder Coby Smith drove in two runs apiece for the Travelers. The championship is the first for Arkansas since 2001 when the team was declared league champions after the playoffs were cancelled because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
 

This week’s installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Sept. 6 and Sept. 12. The previous installment is available here.

Atlanta Braves
Reinstated from DL: OF Reid Gorecki

Baltimore Orioles
Released: RHP Scott Chiasson
Recalled: SS Brandon Fahey
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Brian Bass, RHP Alfredo Simon, C Omir Santos
Designated for assignment: 2B Eider Torres
Removed from 40-man roster: 2B Eider Torres
Reinstated from DL: RHP Brent Allar
Reinstated from DL: RHP Tim Spooneybarger, OF Lee Ellis

The Orioles removed Torres from the 40-man roster to make room for recent pitching acquisitions Bass and Simon. Torres was voted the top defensive second baseman in the International League in our Best Tools survey. The 25-year-old switch-hitter had a decent year with the stick, too, batting .307/.357/.381 with 28 stolen bases for Triple-A Norfolk.

Boston Red Sox
Released: RHP Robert Romero
Recalled: RHP Michael Bowden, RHP Clay Buchholz, RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP Devern Hansack, RHP Charlie Zink, C Dusty Brown, C George Kottaras, SS Argenis Diaz, OF Chris Carter
Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Bartolo Colon
Designated for assignment: RHP Marcus McBeth
Removed from 40-man roster: RHP Marcus McBeth
Placed on 7-day DL: OF Jason Place
Reinstated from DL: OF Matt Sheely

Boston called up the core of its Triple-A Pawtucket team after it was bounced from the IL playoffs by Scranton. Zink and Hansack (and David Pauley) led Pawtucket in innings, while Carter batted .300/.356/.515 in 470 at-bats and was the club’s steadiest hitter this side of league MVP Jeff Bailey. [...] Continue Reading »

Midwest League

Burlington wins best-of-five series 2-0 (Series called due to rain)

Burlington was awarded the Midwest League Championship despite only winning two games in the best-of-five series. The Bees were up 2-0 on South Bend in the series that has been cancelled due to the continued heavy rains across the Midwest. The Bees win their first title since 1999 and fourth overall. Burlington finished the playoffs with a perfect 6-0 record and defeated South Bend in the finals by a cumulative score of 18-0 allowing only five hits in the two games.

California League

Stockton 9, Lancaster 3 (Stockton wins best-of-five series 3-1)

Stockton won its eleventh California League Championship and first since 2002 on Sunday night. Chris Carter led the Ports blasting a grand slam in a six-run seventh that broke up a 1-1 tie. Carter added a solo shot in the ninth to cap a season that saw him hit 39 regular season and five postseason home runs. The Ports offense also saw Archie Gilbert (3-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI) and Josh Horton (3-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI) have big nights. Ports lefty Carlos Hernandez had another solid start going 5.1 allowing only one run. Right-hander Pat Currin (2-1) got the win going two scoreless in relief. JetHawks starter righthander Blake Maxwell pitched well through 5.2, but was let down by his bullpen as lefty Derrick Loop (0-1) gave up five in 2/3 innings for the loss. Lancaster’s offensive star Yamaico Navarro (3-for-3, 1 RBI).

Carolina League

Potomac 8, Myrtle Beach 2   Friday 8/12/08  (Potomac wins best-of-five series 3-1)

Potomac captured its first ever Mills Cup Championship in easy fashion defeating regular season champ Myrtle Beach 8-2. Nats starter righty Erik Arneson (1-0) defeated the Pelicans with a strong 6.2 innings, allowing just two runs. Arneson got more than enough offense early as they put runs on the board in the first four innings to go up 7-1. Dee Brown got the Nats off to a good start hitting a two-run homer in the first. Boomer Whiting added his own two-run shot in the second and the game was effectively over. The Nats got five (four earned) of their early runs off of Pelicans ace left-hander Cole Rohrbough (1-1) who lasted on 2.2. Myrtle Beach got its only offensive production from first-baseman Ernesto Mejia who hit two solo-homers in the game for the Pelicans. Myrtle Beach falls short in the playoffs despite a regular season that saw them win eighty-nine games. However, Potomac was dominant in the playoff outscoring opponents 41-16 en route to the Carolina League Championship.

NEW YORK-PENN LEAGUE

Batavia 9, Jamestown 3 (Batavia won the best-of-3 series 2-0)

After nearly losing their team in the offseason, the Batavia Muckdogs (Cardinals) responded by winning the New York-Penn League championship, sweeping the Jamestown Jammers(Marlins) 2-0. On Friday, the Jammers scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 3-2 lead, but Batavia answered with two runs in the top of the ninth for the win. Saturday’s game was rained out, but Batavia stayed hot by beating Jamestown 9-3 for the series sweep and the NYP championship. Center fielder Frederick Parejo had a big game for the Muckdogs, going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Right fielder Shane Peterson went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, hitting .409 in the post-season, and catcher Charlie Cutler went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Muckdogs closer Adam Reifer picked up his second save of the postseason by striking out three over 1 2/3 innings.
 

PIONEER LEAGUE

Great Falls defeated Orem in the best-of-3 series, 2-1

Great Falls (White Sox) proved the old baseball adage, “Good pitching beats good hitting.” The Orem Owlz (Angles) led the Pioneer League with 521 runs scored, averaging nearly seven per game. But Great Falls righthander Dan Hudson shut them down, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out 12 in six innings—matching a career high. Meanwhile, Orem lefthander Buddy Boshers didn’t make it out of the second inning after giving up six runs. Great Falls right fielder Doug Thennis went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs in the championship game. The championship is the first for Great Falls since 2002, when they were the Great Falls Dodgers.
 

EASTERN LEAGUE

Trenton 5, Akron 1 (Trenton won the best-of-5 series 3-1)

After being rained out on Friday night, Trenton won 4-1 on Saturday and then 5-1 yesterday for the Eastern League championship. Trenton scored the five runs despite the fact that no one had an extra-base hit. Left fielder Colin Curtis was the only player with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4. Thunder righthander Jeff Marquez gave up one run on five hits over six innings with three walks and five strikeouts for the win, lowering his postseason ERA to 3.27. The win gives Trenton back-to-back Eastern League championships and center fielder Austin Jackson was named MVP of the EL playoiffs. With the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees winning the International League title, Yankees affiliates won championships at the Triple-A and Double-A levels. The last time this happened was in 1993 when the Astros’ top two affiliates—Triple-A Tucson (Pacific Coast) and Double-A Jackson (Texas)—won their leagues.
[...] Continue Reading »

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Sacramento 4, Oklahoma 2 (Sacramento won the best-of-5 series 3-1)

With the series locked up at 1-1, the River Cats won 8-5 on Friday before taking the series with a 4-2 victory yesterday. All four of Sacramento’s runs were driven in by center fielder Carlos Gonzalez, who went 2-for-3 with a home run. Lefthander Brett Anderson gave up two runs on five hits while walking three and striking out three for his second win of the playoffs. The victory marks the second-consecutive PCL championship for the River Cats, and their fourth in the past six years. Sacramento will now face Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Bricktown Showdown on Tuesday night. River Cats outfielder Chris Denorfia shared the PCL Postseason MVP award with Gonzalez. Denorfia, the team’s leadoff hitter throughout the playoffs, hit .486 (17-for-35) with four home runs and 12 runs scored in the playoffs, while Gonzalez hit .406 (13-for-32) with two home runs and eight RBIs.

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 20, Durham 2 (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre wins series, 3-1)

DURHAM–With Yankees righthander Phil Hughes facing Bulls righthander Wade Davis in Game 4, most observers expected a pitchers’ duel. As it turned out, Davis didn’t make it out of the third inning. He gave up five runs in the second and then loaded the bases without getting an out in the third before being pulled. Davis didn’t get a lot of help from his defense, but he struggled to find the strike zone and got hit hard. He ended his season with a line of eight runs on four hits over two innings, with three strikeouts and six walks.

Hughes was also a little shaky in the first, but quickly settled down and blew through the Bulls’ lineup after that. Through five innings, Hughes gave up one run on four hits, with four walks and 12 strikeouts. His fastball sat 91-93 mph and his 73-76 mph curveball was untouchable, featuring tight rotation and depth. He did an excellent job locating his fastball low and to both corners, appearing at times to both cut and tail (two-seam) the pitch at similar velocities, and when he missed with his curve he missed low. Hughes broke out a mid-80s slider and a changeup later in the outing, but he appeared to only be doing the batters a favor by throwing them.

The Yankees combined for 18 hits, with each batter collecting at least one. First baseman Juan Miranda went 3-for-5 with a home run and six RBIs and shortstop Chris Basak went 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. The win gives Scranton/Wilkes-Barre its first-ever Governor’s Cup championship (they joined the IL in 1989 as a Phillies farm club), and the team will face the winner of the PCL final in the Bricktown Showdown on Tuesday. The game will air on ESPN2.

[...] Continue Reading »