There were a couple of movers this week in the ranks as Matt Koch went up to the Big Leagues and started a game for the Arizona Diamondbacks twirling 6 solid innings of 2 hit baseball.
Male High School’s very own, Jeff Arnold was moved all the way up from A (advanced) to AAA in the Giants organization. While the jury is still out on how the Tampa Bay Rays will utilize Brendan McKay at the Major League Level last years 4th overall pick is continuing to impress in the Midwest League. If you live in Bowling Green or can get there you should watch him play for the Hot Rods before his inevitable move up the minor league latter occurs. Kade McClure continues to be the definition of consistency as he picked up 2 more wins this week with the Kannapolis Intimidators.
Major Leagues
Adam Duvall: Cincinnati’s left fielder is steadily progressing through the season and continuing an upward climb after hitting .259 this week with another home run and 2 RBI’s. Through about a month Duvall is slashing .171/.213/.570 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI’s.
Adam Engel: Within the last week Engel has totaled 3 hits as he and the White Sox are struggling to find their groove in the early part this season. His overall OBP is higher than it was last year, which plays very well to his speed, and his strikeouts are down as well. To this point in the season, he is slashing .156/.250/.428 to go along with 1 double and 4 RBI’s.
Chad Green: This past week has been a busy one for “Jolly,” as he totaled 8.2 innings in 7 appearances for the Yankees. In those 8.2 innings, he struck out 13 batters, walked one and allowed just 2 earned runs. Through the first month of the season, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.80 and a WHIP of 0.70.
Matt Koch: On April 20th the Diamondbacks called Koch backup to start on the mound. It was a strong start for him as he went 6 innings, gave up two hits, one of those being a home run and the only earned run of the outing while striking out 4. Two appearances at the big league level this season and Koch has produced an ERA of 1.13 and a WHIP of 0.50.
Nick Burdi: The Pirates have placed Nick on the 60 Day Disabled List to start the season
AAA
Kyle McGrath: Since our last update McGrath has been optioned down to the El Paso Chihuahuas. In 2 appearances at the AAA level, he has thrown 2 innings with no strikeouts and just 1 earned run. These continued movements up and down may be a trend for McGrath depending on how the season progresses.
Chris Dominguez: This week has not been kind to Dominguez who went 0-14 in a 4 game stretch. So far this season he is slashing .213/.255/.638 with 1 home run, 1 triple, 3 doubles and 8 RBI’s.
Josh Rogers: In start three of the season Rogers ran into a bit of adversity, giving up 11 hits and 5 earned runs through 5 innings. He did strike out 6 though in the outing. Rogers has tallied 17 innings with 20 strikeouts, an ERA of 4.24 and a WHIP of 1.35 to this point.
Jeff Arnold: Arnold was moved up to the Sacramento River Cats early in the week but in 3 games has yet to record a hit. Between AAA and A (advanced), Arnold is slashing .200/.314/.581 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s.
Zack Burdi: The Burdi brothers are starting this season on the Disabled List as they recover from Tommy John Surgery.
AA
Dean Kiekhefer: So far things have been going swimmingly for the Oldham County lefty, in Pensacola. This week he made two more appearances and again did not allow an earned run, pushing his total to 6 innings without giving up an earned run. In 1.1 innings this week, Kiekhefer struck out 4 and gave up 3 hits.
Derek Self: Up until 4/20, Self had yet to give up an earned run, but on the 20th he did surrender his first earned run of the season. In two appearances over this past week he threw 3 innings, struck out 3 and gave up just the one earned run. His season totals are 7 strikeouts in 6.2 innings with an ERA of 1.35 and a WHIP of 0.90.
Jeff Thompson: Big Jeff has taken the move to the bullpen in great strides as he is continuing to have success. In 3 appearances he tossed 3.2 innings while allowing 2 earned runs, and striking out 5. Through 8.2 innings this season, Thompson has 9 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.08 and a WHIP of 1.73.
Joe Filomeno: This week was a split one for the long-haired lefty of the Frisco Rough Riders. Filomeno saw action twice with differing results. In his first appearance, he went 1 inning and gave up 2 earned runs while striking out 2. The second appearance saw him pitch 2 innings and strike out 1 without allowing any runners to score. Early on this season, he has 8 strikeouts with an ERA of 9.82 and a WHIP of 2.32.
Cole Sturgeon: I am still waiting in eager anticipation for the day that the Red Sox officially move Sturgeon to AAA. They do have a stable of outfielders in the system which could be a large reason that the move hasn’t come yet. Sturgeon collected 8 more hits, including 2 doubles and a home run this week. Granted, it has only been a month, one cannot deny how hot Sturgeon is right now, slashing .364/.446/1.046 with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 9 RBI’s and 5 stolen bases for the Portland Sea Dogs.
Kyle Funkhouser: Funk’s start this week was his longest of the year, and while he did take the loss in the game, he struck out 9 batters through 5 innings. He did give up 3 earned runs but the 1 walk to 9 strikeouts shows great control. His season totals to this point are 18 strikeouts in 12.1 innings with an ERA 4.38 and a WHIP of 1.54.
Nick Solak: After having a “down week” for “Nicky Baseball,” Solak is still slashing .321/.437/.901, with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, and 10 RBI’s on the season. This week he clobbered 8 more hits and his first home run of the season.
Will Smith: Smith put together a strong week for the Tulsa Drillers, adding 5 more hits, another double and another home run to his season totals of 4 doubles and 2 home runs. To date, he is slashing .275/.351/.821.
Corey Ray: The Biloxi Shuckers Center Fielder tore up the first part of the week but has been quiet lately, going without a hit in his last few games. Earlier in the week, he did have 8 hits in 3 games to go along with a couple of doubles and a triple. At this point in the year, he is slashing .276/.313/.786 with 6 doubles, 3 triples and a home run, accompanied by 5 stolen bases.
Grant Kay: Due to an injury Kay is starting the season on the 7 day DL.
Dace Kime: With the Akron Rubberducks of the Eastern League, Kime is currently on the 7-day Disabled List.
A (Advanced)
Jared Ruxer: After throwing 4.1 innings this week, Ruxer totaled 4 strikeouts and 1 earned run. He is continuing to bring that ERA down as it dropped from around 9.00 last week to 4.09 on the season now to go along with 11 strikeouts.
Drew Ellis: Another strong performance in the books for Ellis this week as he hit safely in all but two contests and added another home run and 2 more doubles to his total. He continues to slug this season as he is slashing .210/.290/.741 with 6 doubles, 3 home runs and 11 RBI’s for the Visalia Rawhide.
A
Blake Tiberi: The Columbia Fireflies Third Baseman is continuing to demolish the South Atlantic League pitching as he added 6 hits, 2 of which were doubles, to his total. He continues to swing the hot bat and is averaging .345/.465/.930 with 4 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI’s and 13 walks.
Drew Harrington: Harrington only pitched 1 time this week for the Rome Braves going 1 inning, allowing 2 runs (neither earned), and striking out 1. His yearly totals to this point are 4 strikeouts in 9 innings with an ERA of 6.00.
Kade McClure: McClure continues to roll against hitters in the South Atlantic League as he started twice this week collecting 2 wins and 15 strikeouts in 13.1 innings on the mound. Through 4 games he has 29 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.22 and a WHIP of 1.19.
Lincoln Henzman: The Lexington, Kentucky native also pitched two games this week with split results. In his first start, he only went 2 innings giving up 5 hits and 6 runs, none of which were earned. In his second outing of the week, he dominated through 6 giving up 2 hits and 1 unearned run while striking out 4. At this point in the season, he has 20 innings pitched in 4 starts with 15 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.70.
Colby Fitch: In 3 games this week Fitch has 3 hits and 3 runs scored. To this point in the season Fitch is slashing, .240/.296/.776 with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 home run and 6 RBI’s.
Brendan McKay: At the plate, McKay continues to drive in runs and get on base. He is slashing .345 /.558/.937 to go along with 1 double, 10 RBI’s and 14 walks. He started the week out cold but has 3 hits in his last 2 games. On the mound, McKay went 5 innings in his lone start this week, striking out 7 hitters. His pitching totals for the season are 15 strikeouts in 9 innings with an ERA of 2.00 and a WHIP of 0.69.
Devin Hairston: The Brewers are starting Hairston this year with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers but he has yet to play in any games.
Rookie Level
Logan Taylor: The White Sox have assigned Logan Taylor to start the season at Rookie Level but he has not played in any games to this point.
