Pastornicky, Lipka, and The Flemingses Extend Hitting Streaks To Highlight Sunday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action
by cbwilk on Aug 8, 2011 1:22 AM EDT
in Braves Minor League Recaps
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Tyler Pastornicky, Matt Lipka, and Kurt Fleming extended their hitting streaks, Julio Teheran struggled, and Todd Cunningham continued his hot stretch.
Gwinnett Braves 4, Charlotte Knights 7
- Tyler Pastornicky SS 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, E (4), .408 AVG
- Ruben Gotay 2B 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, .258 AVG
- Julio Teheran 3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 2.16 ERA
- Arodys Vizcaino 2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.29 ERA
Julio Teheran might have been disappointed that he wasn't called up to Atlanta and Mike Minor was, because he certainly didn't pitch like himself today, walking 4 and allowing 4 runs in just 3 innings of work, picing up his second loss of the season. In his last 2 starts he has allowed 8 runs in 9 innings after only allowing 7 earned runs in 55 innings in the 10 starts before that. Arodys Vizcaino allowed an unearned run in 2 innings of work, and he's made 5 straight appearances, covering 6 innings, without allowing an earned run. Tyler Pastornicky extended his hitting streak to 12 games, and during the streak he's hit .408 with a 1.279 OPS, 6 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.
The G-Braves head to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tomorrow, where Todd Redmond will take on the Yankees.
Mississippi Braves 4, Carolina Mudcats 3
- Myke Jones CF 3-3, 2B, HR (6), RBI, SB (6), .240 aVG
- Matt Kennelly C 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, .263 AVG
- Luis Avilan 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 4.44 ERA
- Benino Pruneda 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K, W (2), 3.83 ERA
In his last 3 games, Myke Jones is 5-7 with a walk, and he's gotten off to a good start in August, with a .292 average, with a .393 OBP, and a .810 OPS in 7 games. Matt Kennelly has hits in 8 oof his last 9 games, going 11-35 with 4 doubles, 5 RBI, and 5 walks in that span, though he struck out 10 times in those games. Luis Avilan had a quality start, and after putting up a 5.94 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP in 33.1 innings before the All-Star break, he's put up a 3.18 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 39.2 innings since the break.
Aaron Shafer will start for the M-Braves tomorrow.
Lynchburg Hillcats 6, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1
- Todd Cunningham CF 3-5, 2 2B, 3B, RBI, .287 AVG
- Andrelton Simmons DH 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, .297 AVG
- Joe Leonard 3B 2-2, RBI, 2 BB, .260 AVG
- Christian Bethancourt C 2-4, HR (1), RBI, .233 AVG
- Blaine Sims 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.70 ERA
- Adam Russell 4 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2), 5.53 ERA
- Ryan Buchter 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K, SV (12), 4.34 ERA
Todd Cunningham rapped out 2 doubles and a triple, and in 6 games since coming off the DL he has a .417 average and a 1.131 OPS. Andrelton Simmons had a pair of hits, including a double, extending his hitting streak to 7 games. In that span he's gone 11-30 with 5 doubles and 5 RBI. Joe Leonard had a pair of doubles and a pair of walks, and in his last 10 games he's hitting .324 with a .969 OPS. Christian Bethancourt broke out of a 2-23 slump by hitting his 1st homer with the Hillcats. After putting up a 7.39 ERA and a 1.43 in 28 innings through the end of June, Adam Russell has posted a 1.42 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP since.
The Cats return home on Monday, where Chris Masters will face the Kinston Indians.
Rome Braves 4, Augusta Greenjackets 9
- Matt Lipka SS 1-3, 3B, RBI, 2 BB, .239 AVG
- Edward Salcedo 3B 1-4, BB, SB (17), E (35), .266 AVG
- Evan Gattis DH 2-5, .287 AVG
- Chris Garcia 1B 3-5, .322 AVG
- Tony Mueller CF 2-4, 2B, E (1), .234 AVG
- Willie Kempf 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 3.63 ERA
Matt Lipka tripled, extending his hitting streak to 8 games. Durin gthe streak he's hit .286 with a .342 OBP. Edward Salcedo commited his 35th error of the season, which is a lot of errors, but midway through the year he was on pace to commit 52 errors, so the fact that he's "only" at 35 is a good indication that things have improved some as the year has gone on.
Caleb Brewer is scheduled to pitch for Rome tomorrow.
Danville Braves 5, Bristol White Sox 0
- Fernando de los Santos 3B-2B 2-3, BB, .316 AVG
- Kurt Fleming CF 3-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, .258 AVG
- Kenny Fleming LF 2-4, .222 AVG
- Greg Ross 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, W (5), 2.61 ERA
- John Cornely 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.80 ERA
The bottom 3 hitters in the order, Frenando de los Santos and Kurt and Kenny Fleming, combined to go 7-11 with a walk. In his last 3 games, de los Santos has gone 5-9 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 3 walks. Kurt Fleming extended his hitting streak to 7 games, going 12-28 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 RBI and a walk in that span, raising his overall average from .220 to .258. His brother, extended his own hitting streak to 6 games, and he's gone 10-19 in that span, raising his overall average from .113 to .222. Greg Ross picked up his league leading 5th win of the season, shutting out the Pale Hose over 6 innings. Ross is third in the league in ERA, trailing only Elizabethton's Derek Christensen and Danville teammate Lucas La Point, who also leads the league in innings pitched.
David Filak will start the series finale tomorrow.
GCL Braves - Off
DSL Braves - Off
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Andrelton
Odd to see him at DH when defense is his major calling card.
Hey! I’m new.
by ChopMaster on Jul 7, 2011 10:24 PM CDT (joined Jul 19, 2010)
Twitter: @biggentleben
Ruben Gotay
AAA zombie
My buddy and I just decided that the braves would be set if we could get Matt Kemp, Jose Reyes, and Albert Pujols.
by willlinn on May 17, 2011 2:13 PM EDT
he's not ready
Freeman isn’t on Heyward’s level in terms of tools, skills, or baseball IQ–but it’s fair to say Freeman has failed to meet the modest expectations in place for him - Capitol Avenue Club (May 28th, 2011)
Pastornicky isn’t ready defensively. He was leading the Southern League in errors while at Mississippi when he was in AA and made made four so far in AAA. An MLB shortstop has to at least be solid at the position and while he’s doing a great job offensively, he’s got to get better defensively before they should turn over the reins at SS to him.
by Sevenpointthree on Aug 8, 2011 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Judging defense by error totals, especially in minor leaguers...
is not a good way to judge them imo.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
+1
I agree. Errors does not always transistion to the Majors. See Chipper Jones
God has to bruise you before he use you. So you'll be sensitive to his touch.
I’ve seen him play a dozen or so games this year. (I got to Mississippi on business a good bit). I’m not just judging on stats alone. His range is very average, but his biggest issue is his arm. He doesn’t have a strong arm and he has accuracy issues. Most of his errors are throwing errors, which Freeman at first will cut down on some of those.
I love Pastornicky as a ball player. Plays hard, runs well, got a great bat. I just think before he’s an everyday shortstop he needs to improve some on the defensive side and with his work ethic I think he’ll do just that.
by Sevenpointthree on Aug 8, 2011 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Can someone explain this to me?
There are 2 things I find odd here: 1) we’re not talking about a low minors athlete who’s learning a new position on a bad field, but a AAA baseball lifer on one of the newest fields in all MiLB and he could be our primary SS in the not so distant future, and 2) the example being modeled is Chipper Jones.
Before I begin, understand this: I realize that typically MiL’ers aren’t finished products. In many cases, they are either learning a new position and, sometimes more importantly, learning to play everyday. Having to adjust instinct and/or mental recognition/awareness to know where/how hard/what angle to throw a ball after moving from your initial position is not easy especially when you’re already weakened by the mental grind that is a professional season. This is only exacerbated by a premium athlete who can cover so much ground that they are getting to balls to 90% of others would just wave at, since they’ve still got the “athletic arrogance” to think they can still make the throw. I think we all understand this and can all agree that an excessive error rate out of a Edward Salcedo or even an Andrelton Simmons is not something to worry about yet… but we’re not talking about them.
What we’re talking about here is someone who comes from a baseball family and his dad was able to climb the ladder to MLB. The Gwinnett field is a very nice field, and site unseen, I’d believe that the one in Mississippi is too (two things that every Mississippian I’ve met takes very seriously: baseball and grass… I’m sure they could find someone who’d take very good care of the field). He is, as of right now, the biggest challenger to our SS position next year and could man the SS position for one of the top 5 P staffs in all baseball. Yes, an excessive error rate is worrisome. I haven’t seen any report listing him as the next Ozzie Smith, so the “athletic arrogance” model doesn’t make much sense either.
Look, we simply cannot have a SS that we can’t trust to pick up the ball and throw it to 1st consistently. At this point, we’ve established that we’re willing to take a hit in the offensive production out of the SS position to get a consistently above average defender out there. To think that Pastornicky has even shown that he can do this as soon as next year is ludicrous. And, yes, even a MiL error % can show this.
As far as the Chipper Jones comp… smh. We thought so much of Chipper’s D that we moved him to 3B immediately after hitting MLB… and was considered one of the worst defenders there for much of his early career. We thought so much of his D @ 3B that we moved him to LF. Why is this a good comp to not look @ MiLB error rates?
Great comments. I will also add that I don’t buy the argument that there are “premium athlete’s” that are covering so much ground that they get to balls 90% of others would just wave at – I’ve seen this comment alot on this board when referring to some players I will not mention. That is an excuse – we are talking about minor league ballplayers and the shortstop position, which is where all of the premium athletes are in relation to overall athleticism.
All of the players’ play on the same fields so the field excuse doesn’t cut it either – or else everybody would have alot of errors. Also, if their range was so incredible the official scorer would take that into consideration and rule it appropriately.
by bravesfaninchitown on Aug 8, 2011 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions
But that is a part of it, and why error totals are not a good measure
sometimes your 1B may be an all bat, no glove hack, and expand the total to something you wouldn’t otherwise get with a MLB 1B defensively. But then the idea that some SSs get to more balls, and thus have more errors, isn’t really debatable.
Take for example Derek Jeter and Elvis Andrus.
Over the past 3 seasons, Elvis Andrus has made 60 errors. Jeter, on the other hand has made a mere 21. But in those 2 1/2 years, Andrus has had 1845 chances, while Jeter only 1399. So basically, Andrus is getting to 1 more ball every game than Jeter does. Alex Gonzalez also got to about a ball per game more than Jeter, and has a significantly higher error count in raw numbers.
Now, which one would you rather have defensively? Jeter, Andrus, or Sea Bass? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you choice isn’t the one with the significantly lower error total. So yes, judging a fielder on error count only (which 7.3 said he did not do) is not a good way to make those judgments.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
the key word in your argument is “getting” to – there is no statistic that quantifies that accurately – just because Andrus had more chances than Jeter does not mean he “gets” to more balls – it is more likely related to pitching performance ( more ground balls) than it is “getting” to as you refer – and yes, even if that was the case – you would expect Andrus to get to more balls than Jeter in the last three years because of his age alone.
To your point of some first basemen could be a factor also – there is no data to back that up either – if the first baseman screwed up – he would get the error -
by bravesfaninchitown on Aug 8, 2011 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions
not necessarily
it depends on the play. Say it’s in the dirt. Freeman makes that scoop, no error. Mauro Gomez or Barbaro Canizares don’t, error to the SS not the 1B.
And you seriously don’t think Andrus, or since you want to throw age in to this, Sea Bass, don’t have a greater range than Jeter, and that’s reflected in their increased chances?
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
that was my point – due to the age of Jeter I would expect Andrus and Sea Bass to have better range – when Jeter was Andrus age did he have comparable range – hell yes !!
My overall point was this – an error is an error – people have a tendency to make excuses for people with high error totals by saying that they get to balls that most people don’t get to – that is a total assumption and has absolutely no basis in fact. High error rates are just that – that is not to say the player can’t improve -they can but it is an area of opportunity.
by bravesfaninchitown on Aug 8, 2011 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Jeter and Sea Bass are both mid 30s, with about 2 years difference
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
Jeter is 37. Sea Bass is 34. Anytime after 34-35 is when your age starts to play a factor – case in point Sea Bass’ year this year. Your point was the last 3 years which is when Jeter would have been 35 – my point exactly !!
by bravesfaninchitown on Aug 8, 2011 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I used 3 years on Andrus/Jeter
considering Sea Bass’ past health issues, I was only looking at last season, and the two are 2 1/2 years apart.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
You’re welcome to your opinions, but I feel like you’re wrong. There are huge differences in players’ abilities and ranges and that’s a major factor in guys committing errors. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reality that anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time watching players at the different levels of Minor League baseball can easily tell you about.
As far as the official scorers, if a player gets to a ball another guy can’t get to, and then throws to first, a throw he shouldn’t have made but is too inexperienced to know that, and throws it away, he gets an error, because he still threw the ball away. Another player, with less range, doesn’t get to the ball, it goes through for a single and he doesn’t get an error. How can the official scorer have any affect on that?
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/Four-C-B-Wilkins/dp/1449578454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257720610&sr=1-1
www.dropoutproductions.com
Sounds like Tyler is more of a 2B - Utility type
as many have suggested. I still would sign Gonzalez for another year.
I think the future at SS is Simmons
Gonzo’s experience at one of the most critical positions on the field will necessitate the braves signing him for one more year. Pastornicky deserves a shot – probably a Sept. call up to get experience being around the clubhouse – can help out with pinch-running and a late-inning replacement. Simmons is still a couple of years out. He and Pastornicky are pretty much the same age but Pastornicky is performing at a much higher level (AAA) than Simmons (High A). Either way, both guys are very talented.
by bravesfaninchitown on Aug 8, 2011 3:04 PM EDT reply actions
My point is….. It’s not a forgone conclusion that Gonzo will except a one year deal. There are other teams out there in need of a defensive SS. Assuming Gonzo will except a one year offer, isn’t very smart. Assuming it will only take what we paid this year is also not very smart. I could easily see a team offerin him a 2 or 3 year deal north of 3 mil per.
Good point – considering shortstop being a premium position you may be right !!
by bravesfaninchitown on Aug 8, 2011 4:26 PM EDT reply actions
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