Prospect Of The Day

Billings left fielder Tony Brown (Reds) went 4-for-6 last night with two doubles, but it wasn’t enough, as the Mustangs fell to Helena 10-8 in 13 innings. Brown scored a run and drove in two more, and the doubles give him 14 on the season. Brown was a 26th-round pick in 2006, played 2007 at Okaloosa-Walton College and signed as a draft-and-follow before the 2007 draft. He’s hitting .285/.356/.502 on the year.

Prospect Nuggets

Great Falls shortstop Tyler Kuhn (White Sox) went 3-for-4 with a double. The 15th-rounder out of West Virginia is off to a great start as a professional, hitting .377/.428/.567 through his first 247 at-bats. . . Billings second baseman Alex Buchholz (Reds) hit his second triple of the season as part of a 3-for-6 showing that raised his season line to .405/.476/.627. . . Ogden second baseman Tony Delmonico (Dodgers) stayed red hot with a 3-for-4 night against Orem (Angels). Delmonico now has a 13-game hitting streak under his belt and he’s gone .382/.443/.836 over that stretch. . . Helena center fielder Cutter Dykstra went 3-for-4 with his ninth double and three RBIs.

What To Watch For Today

Lefthander Efrain Nieves (Brewers) gets the ball for Helena as they face off against the first-place Billings Mustangs (Reds).
 

EASTERN LEAGUE

Portland 1, Trenton 2 (Trenton leads best-of-5 series 1-0)

Trenton’s runs came without any extra-base hits. Their first run, in the bottom of the first inning, came as the result of a throwing error, one of two Portland made in the game. The Sea Dogs tied it up in the top of the second, but Trenton scored again in the bottom of the fourth in what turned out to be the last run scored all day. Trenton’s pitching was lights-out. Starter Eric Hacker went 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six for the win. Lefthander Michael Dunn threw a scoreless inning and Jhonny Nunez threw 2 1/3 perfect innings with four strikeouts for the save.

[...] Continue Reading »

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Durham 3, Louisville 0 (Durham leads best-of-5 series 1-0)

Durham lefthander David Price struck out six over five innings of work for the win. He didn’t allow a run, working around three walks and three hits in the process. Jeremy Cummings, Dale Thayer and Scott Dohmann came out of the bullpen and slammed the door, combining for four scoreless innings of relief. Durham’s offense was fueled by three solo home runs. Second baseman Elliot Johnson hit one in the fifth inning and designated hitter Dan Johnson and first baseman Chris Richard went back-to-back in the bottom of the seventh. [...] Continue Reading »

Explanations can always be concocted for a first-round pick who struggles in his first professional season. He’s away from home for the first time, he’s getting used to the caliber of professional hitters, he’s making mechanical adjustments, and so on.

Diamondbacks righthander Jarrod Parker needs none of those explanations, as the ninth overall pick in 2007 made a promising professional debut this season. Parker, 19, had a 3.44 ERA with 33 walks and 117 strikeouts in 117 2/3 innings this season for South Bend in the low Class A Midwest League.

But the season isn’t over yet for Parker.

Yesterday Parker pitched in his first professional playoff game and allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings, walked one and struck out five to help South Bend beat West Michigan in the first game of the Midwest League playoffs.

"I’ve seen a lot of progress from him, and he’s had a nice year," said Diamondbacks farm director A.J. Hinch, who watched Parker’s playoff start. "It’s the most innings he’s ever pitched in his life, and now he’s pitching in playoff-caliber competition and we’re thrilled with the way his year went."

Parker has an electric fastball and good command, which was enough to obliterate the Indiana high school hitters he faced last year. Parker also throws a plus slider, a curveball and a changeup, but it’s been a learning process for him to understand how to properly mix in all of his pitches against Midwest League hitters.

[...] Continue Reading »

FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE

Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 1 (Fort Myers leads best-of-3 series 1-0)

Rene Tosoni hit only two home runs in 142 regular season at-bats, so it was a little surprising that it was his home run that led the Miracle past Dunedin. Tosoni, a .300/.408/.414 hitter for Fort Myers, hit a two-run first-inning home run, which proved to be all the runs Cole Devries needed. Devries held Dunedin to only five hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings before turning it over to the Miracle bullpen. Carlos Gutierrez, the Twins’ 2008 first-round pick, struck out two in 1 1/3 scoreless innings while Anthony Slama closed it out for the save in the ninth. It was a rockier outing than normal for Slama, who finished the year with a 1.01 ERA. Matthew Liuzza, Dunedin’s catcher homered off Slama, which was the first home run he had given up all year.

Palm Beach, Dayton ppd., rain

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE

Inland Empire 7, Rancho Cucamonga 6 (13-innings) (One Game Playoff, Inland Empire advances to California League Semifinals)

Inland Empire has had Rancho Cucamonga’s number all season, so it was fitting that they would do the same in a one-game playoff for the California League’s final playoff spot. Bridger Hunt scored on A.J. Ford’s wild pitch in the 13th to give the 66ers a one-run win and a spot in the playoffs. It was Inland Empire’s 11th win in 13 games against the Quakes this season. The 66ers jumped out to a 6-2 lead before the bullpen blew it. Rancho Cucamonga rallied for four runs in the eighth and ninth to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Reliever Trevor Bell kept the Quakes in the game with 3 2/3 scoreless innings, but it wasn’t enough thanks to the 66ers rally in the 13th. Christian Lara went 5-for-7 for Inland Empire, while Drew Toussaint went 4-for-7 for Rancho Cucamonga. Peter Bourjos stole his 50th base for the Quakes. Inland Empire will travel to face the Lake Elsinore Storm in a best-of-3 seminfinal starting on Wednesday.

Prospect Of The Day

Despite not allowing a hit over five innings, Great Falls starter Dexter Carter (White Sox) didn’t get a decision in the Voyagers’ seven-inning, 4-1 loss to Billings (Reds) in the second game of a double header. Carter struck out seven hitters, but spotty command led to three walks and an unearned run. The 6-foot-6 righthander out of Old Dominion was the White Sox’ 13th-round pick and is 6-1, 2.23 with 89 strikeouts and 25 walks over 68 2/3 innings on the season. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

Eugene right fielder Dan Robertson (Padres) went 4-for-5 with a double last night against Everett (Mariners). His last hit of the night was his 114th on the season, setting a new Northwest League record for hits. The record previously belonged to James Buckner, who had 113 hits with the Lewiston Broncs in 1972. Robertson, a 33rd-round pick this year out of Oregon State, was named the NWL MVP last week and is hitting .380/.446/.500 over 300 at-bats with 21 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 20 stolen bases on the year. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

Josh Vitters (Cubs) continued his assault on the Northwest League yesterday. Showing off his line-drive stroke, Vitters went 3-for-4 with three doubles, giving him 25 on the season. The only unanimous selection for the Northwest League All-Star squad, Vitters is hitting .327/.360/.504 on the year.

Prospect Nuggets

Mahoning Valley shortstop Lonnie Chisenhall (Indians) went 3-for-4 with two doubles, giving him 20 on the season, as the Scrappers took down Auburn, 6-1. . . Jason Castro (Astros) got a day off from behind the plate as the designated hitter for the Tri-City Valley Cats and went 3-for-4 with his ninth double and second home run of the year. The 10th-overall pick in the draft is hitting .276/.382/.398 over his first 123 professional at-bats. . . [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

Ogden designated hitter Tony Delmonico (Dodgers) went 1-for-4 with his 10th home run of the season. The effort wasn’t enough, however, as Ogden fell to Orem, 13-4. Delmonico was the Dodgers’ sixth-round draft pick out of Florida State. Normally a second baseman, he’s hitting .333/.438/.705 over his first 129 professional at-bats.

Prospect Nuggets

Over the weekend, Elizabethton (Twins) finished off their sweep of Pulaski (Mariners) for their second-straight Appalachian League championship.  Starter Dan Osterbrock (Twins) worked around 9 hits, but didn’t give up a run and struck out 11 for the win. . . In the Arizona League championship game, the AZL Giants defeated the AZL Angels, 4-2. Center fielder Wendell Fairley went 1-for-3 with two walks and first baseman Craig Ziegler went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the fourth inning. . . [...] Continue Reading »

IMPORTANT NOTE: This will be the final minor league transactions roundup to appear on the blog. Beginning next week, we’re moving it to BA.com. Don’t worry, the same information will be available—and it will still be free— but you’ll probably find that updates will be more readily apparent (don’t forget to check the RSS feed) and that the archive feature will be just as strong.

This week’s installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Aug. 22 and Aug. 29. The previous installment is available here.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed: LHP Doug Slaten
Recalled: RHP Billy Buckner
Optioned to Triple-A: LHP Doug Slaten

Atlanta Braves
Signed: RHP Rodrigo Lopez
Traded: OF Mark Kotsay to Red Sox for OF Luis Sumoza
Recalled: OF Josh Anderson
Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Charlie Morton, RHP Matt DeSalvo
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Dustin Evans, RHP Kyle Cofield, RHP Rodrigo Lopez, RHP Stephen Marek, LHP Chuck James, LHP Francisley Bueno, OF Reid Gorecki
Reinstated from DL: RHP Brett Butts, LHP Jose Ortegano
Placed on temporarily inactive list: RHP Michael Nix

Lopez, 32, is coming off a year lost to Tommy John surgery. He last pitched, for the Rockies, on July 26, 2007. He’s gone 65-65, 4.80 in a seven-year big league career that began in earnest in 2002, when he went 15-9, 3.57 for the Orioles and finished second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting.

[...] Continue Reading »

Wisconsin’s Michael Pineda pitched a gem, Chris Nash tore up Hagerstown and Mike Stanton came one home run away from making history.

South Atlantic League

Prospect Of The Day

It’s been a tough season for Lake County (Indians) first baseman Chris Nash, a player whose career is expected to be carried by his bat, but he certainly ended it on a high note. Nash went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and a stolen base as the Captains closed out their regular season with a 12-8 win over Hagerstown (Nationals). The home run was Nash’s fifth of the year, and he drove in a season-high four runs. Nash ends the regular season with a line of .230/.293/.348 in 270 at-bats. [...] Continue Reading »

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Rancho Cucamonga (Angels) righthander Sean O’Sullivan kept the Quakes’ playoff hopes alive by firing eight innings of three-hit ball in a 5-3 win against Inland Empire (Dodgers). Sullivan improved to 16-8, allowing three runs, all earned, on five hits. He also worked around five walks but had two strikeouts as the Quakes forced a tiebreaker today against Inland Empire.

Prospect Nuggets

Rancho center fielder Peter Bourjos had three hits, two runs and also stole his 49th base. … Bakersfield (Rangers) shortstop Marcus Lemon had two hits, including his 30th double, and also swiped his 12th base in a 7-6 win against Modesto. Bakersfield lefthander Kasey Kiker took a no-decision after allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits in four innings. … San Jose (Giants) righthander Daryl Maday struck out nine in five innings, allowing two runs, and first baseman Brett Pill had three hits, scored two runs and delivered an RBI in a 5-4 win against Lancaster. … Visalia (Diamondbacks) third baseman Ricardo Sosa was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored in a 6-3 win against Stockton. Righthander Barry Enright struck out six over six innings, allowing three runs on six hits to improve to 12-8. … High Desert (Mariners) shortstop Carlos Triunfel was 1-for-4 in a 6-4 win against Lake Elsinore. [...] Continue Reading »

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Memphis righthander Mitchell Boggs (Cardinals) needed to finish strong to wrest the PCL ERA title away from Nashville lefty Lindsay Gulin. He got there by allowing only one run on three hits (one of them a solo homer) in seven innings against playoff-bound Oklahoma. The 24-year-old Boggs struck out six and walked two to finish 9-3, 3.45 on the season.

Prospect Nuggets

Omaha 1B Kila Ka’aihue (Royals) capped a very strong season by going 2-for-4 with a double (four), a run, an RBI and two walks. He hit .313/.457/.629 with 37 homers, 14 doubles and a minor league-leading 104 walks in his time with Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas [...] Continue Reading »