Between Tommy John surgery and visa issues in 2009, the Rangers have had to be very, very patient with lefthander Miguel de los Santos. And then de los Santos will have a week like this past week which reminds everyone why Texas is willing to wait. The 22-year-old allowed one hit in five innings for short-season Spokane while striking out 12. Ideally, he would be excelling at low Class A Hickory, but he does have a plus fastball that gives him a chance to develop into a power reliever down the road . . . Considering Travis Wood's success in the big leagues as a fill-in for Homer Bailey and Edinson Volquez's return to the Reds' rotation, LHP Matt Maloney, 26, is further from a big league starting job now than he was at the beginning of the season. That seems almost unfair, as Maloney pitched well in two big league starts this season (after a successful September callup last year). But all that he can do for now is dominate the International League, something he's been doing a pretty good job of all season. In two starts this week, Maloney went 2-0, 0.66 for Triple-A Louisville, lowering his ERA for the season to 2.91 . . . Leaving high Class A Lancaster has taken the smoke and mirrors away from Jonathan Gaston's performance, but the Astros 23-year-old outfielder did have a solid week, going 13-for-28 with five extra-base hits for Double-A Corpus Christi . . . He's getting a boost from playing in high Class A High Desert, but Mariners 21-year-old OF Johermyn Chavez's power is real. He hit two home runs this week to bring his total to 25 on the year after batting .571/.609/.857 in 23 plate appearances on the week . . . Twins 1B/OF Chris Parmelee got off to such a tough start for Double-A New Britain (.186/.241/.333 in 112 at-bats) that the 22-year-old was dispatched back to high Class A Fort Myers. Getting a month to tune up against  FSL pitchers looks like it's done Parmelee's bat a world of good, as he's hit .313/.364/.408 in 179 at-bats since rejoining the Rock Cats in June. He hit .519/.552/.704 (14-for-27) with five doubles and four RBIs this week . . . Pirates RHP Phillip Irwin is the kind of pitcher who should succeed in the South Atlantic League. He's a relatively polished college righthander from a major program (Mississippi). But when a pitcher has a week like Irwin had, you have to honor it. In his start last Saturday, Irwin, 23, threw seven hitless innings, striking out eight while walking two. He followed it up by allowing two hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out nine in five innings on Thursday. The 2009 21st-round pick's fastball is a little short, but he makes up for it with a solid breaking ball and a decent changeup . . . When scouts see Pirates LHP Rudy Owens lack of a plus pitch (and his lack of an average pitch some days), they wonder how much longer he'll be able to keep this up. A year after going 11-2, 2.10 in stops at low Class A and high Class A, Owens lowered his ERA to 2.92 with Double-A Altoona with two solid starts. Owens allowed 10 hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out 15 and walking one in 13 innings.