Beloit Snappers (Minnesota Twins)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Snappers are 6-11 in the second half and in last place in the Western Division, six games behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: 2B Ramon Santana is batting .282 (11-for-39) with a homer, 13 RBIs and five runs scored over his last 10 games. … SS James Beresford is hitting at a .355 clip (11-for-31) with eight runs scored and five RBIs over his last eight contests.
WHO’S NOT: LHP Daniel Osterbrock lasted only 2 2/3 innings Sunday, allowing 10 earned runs on nine hits to suffer his seventh loss of the season. Osterbrock (4-7, 5.80 ERA) also issued two walks and did not register a strikeout as visiting West Michigan rolled to an 11-3 win over Beloit at Pohlman Field.
ROSTER MOVES: C Alexander Soto was promoted to Class A Advanced Fort Myers and C Buddy Munroe, a 2009 draftee, was transferred to Short-Season Elizabethton. Soto batted .240 in 50 games with the Snappers, collecting 26 RBIs and five home runs, while Munroe had five hits in five games with Beloit. … The Snappers received a pair of second-round picks last week — Twins’ 2007 draftee C Danny Rams and SS Tyler Ladendorf, a 2008 selection.
MORE BACKGROUND: Rams, making his first stop in Beloit, hit .355 with six home runs and 23 RBIs for Elizabethton. Ladendorf, who also spent 17 games with the E-Twins, batted .410 with seven doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 61 at-bats.
Burlington Bees (Kansas City Royals)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Bees are 7-9 in the second half and tied with Quad Cities for fourth place in the Western Division, 4.5 games behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: 1B Eric Hosmer is batting .303 (10-for-33) with eight RBIs, seven runs scored and two homers over his last 10 games. … LF Shawn Griffin is hitting a healthy .400 (6-for-15) with two RBIs and two runs scored over his last five contests.
WHO’S NOT: RF Nicholas Francis is batting a cool .182 (6-for-33) over his last nine games. … C Jose Bonilla is hitting a mere .077 over his last nine games.
SOLID PITCHING: RHP Tim Melville pitched six solid innings for the win and LHP Blaine Hardy added three shutout innings as Burlington defeated Wisconsin, 4-2, on Monday at Community Field.
DID YOU KNOW: Hosmer and Francis hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday to help propel the Bees to a 4-2 victory over Lansing at Community Field.
ROSTER MOVES: C Juan Graterol was promoted to Burlington from Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League last week.
Cedar Rapids Kernels (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Kernels are 12-5 in the second half and in first place in the Western Division, one game ahead of Kane County.
WHO’S HOT: 1B Gabriel Jacobo has recorded 10 RBIs over his last 10 games. … 2B Alexia Amarista is batting a robust .419 (13-for-31) with nine runs scored over his last 10 games. … CF Tyson Auer is batting a healthy .382 (13-for-34) with nine runs scored and four RBIs.
WHO’S NOT: RHP Tyler Chatwood (3-5) allowed six runs on 11 hits over just four innings of work and the bullpen gave up another six runs in the top of the ninth in a 12-5 loss to the TinCaps on Thursday in front of 3,460 fans at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. On Friday, Fort Wayne completed the three-game sweep, marking the first time the Kernels have been swept in a series since mid-May.
DID YOU KNOW: The Kernels overcame a 5-0 deficit en route to an 11-7 victory over Dayton on Sunday afternoon. The Kernels, who have won 10 of their last 13 games, have won all five meetings with Dayton this season.
STREAKING: The Kernels wrapped up an eight-game winning streak July 9 with an 8-3 win and series sweep of visiting Quad Cities at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The streak came to a halt in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to Fort Wayne.
ROSTER MOVES: OF Jeff Jones was signed as a non-drafted free agent and assigned to the Kernels last week, while OF Chris Fox was granted his unconditional release.
Clinton LumberKings (Seattle Mariners)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The LumberKings are 7-10 in the second half and tied with Peoria for sixth place in the Western Division, five games behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: Clinton scored runs in bunches Sunday at Modern Woodmen Park, shelling Quad Cities pitching for 12 runs on 18 hits in a 12-4 romp. 2B Luis Nunez hit his first homer as part of a four-run second inning and added an RBI groundout to lead the attack. He finished the game 2-for-6 with his first four-RBI night of the season.
WHO’S NOT: The LumberKings went through a rough stretch last week where they managed to score just one run over 27 innings while losing five consecutive games.
DID YOU KNOW: After seeing themselves on the wrong side of two shutouts in a three-game stretch, Clinton returned the favor and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-0 blanking of Dayton on Friday at Alliant Energy Field.
Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Dragons are 6-11 in the second half and tied with Great Lakes for fourth place in the Eastern Division, nine games behind Fort Wayne.
WHO’S HOT: OF Byron Wiley is batting .485 (16-for-33) with five homers, 12 RBIs and six runs scored in his last nine games. … RHP Curtis Partch and two relievers combined on a six-hit shutout as Dayton defeated Clinton, 1-0, on Thursday. Partch (5-7, 5.08 ERA) tossed six innings to earn the win and snap a personal four-game losing streak (his last win came June 5).
WHO’S NOT: RHP Lance Janke took the loss and dropped to 4-5 with a 4.33 ERA after giving up seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks in just four innings Sunday.
DID YOU KNOW: Cedar Rapids overcame a 5-0 deficit en route to an 11-7 victory over Dayton on Sunday as the Kernels won 10 of their last 13 games — including winning five meetings with Dayton this season. … The Dragons were shutout for the first time since June 19 on Friday when Clinton scored four runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 6-0 victory.
STREAK SNAPPED: OF Andrew Means’ hitting streak ended at nine games Saturday with a 0-for-4 effort in the Dragons 6-5 victory over Cedar Rapids.
Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The TinCaps are 15-2 in the second half and in first place in the Eastern Division, five games ahead of West Michigan.
WHO’S HOT: CF Blake Tekotte is batting .275 (.11-for-40) with eight RBIs and six runs scored over his last nine games. His 18-game hitting streak was snapped July 9 in a game against Cedar Rapids. … SS Cole Figueroa is hitting at a .400 clip (12-for-30) with a homer, six RBIs and four runs scored over his last 10 games.
WALK THIS WAY: Fort Wayne batters capitalized on 10 walks issued by Peoria pitchers en route to an 8-4 win over the Chiefs on Sunday at O’Brien Field.
DID YOU KNOW?: The TinCaps enjoyed a 10-game winning streak that tied for the franchise record set earlier this season. Entering the year, the Fort Wayne record for most consecutive wins was eight. This season, however, the team has strung together a nine-game wining spurt and two 10-game streaks. … Peoria broke the string with a 5-3 win over visiting Fort Wayne on July 13.
ORGANIZATIONAL HONORS: RHP Anthony Bass and alum INF Lance Zawadzki were named the San Diego Padres’ Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Month, respectively, for June. Bass was the winning pitcher at the Midwest League All-Star Game, and Zawadzki tore through the Double-A Texas League in June.
MORE ON BASS: The 21-year-old Bass went 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA — allowing just two earned runs in 29 innings — and 23 strikeouts in five June starts. He also fired a scoreless second inning at the Midwest League All-Star Game to pick up the win. Bass was a fifth-round selection in 2008 out of Wayne State University.
PLAYOFF SET: The first round of the Midwest League playoffs is set to begin with the TinCaps on the road for Game 1 on Sept. 9. The team will return to Fort Wayne for Game 2 of the series Sept. 10, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Loons are 6-11 in the second half and tied with Dayton for fourth place in the Eastern Division, nine games behind Fort Wayne.
WHO’S HOT: CF Nick Buss is batting .308 (12-for-39) with 10 RBIs and three runs scored in his last 10 games.
WHO’S NOT: The Loons were swept in a four-game series for the first time this season, capped by a 4-0 loss to Fort Wayne at Parkview Field on July 7. Great Lakes has also been shut out three times in its last 12 games. … Following a first half in which the Loons averaged more than five runs per game and won a franchise-best 40 games, Great Lakes averaged just over two runs per game and won four of their first 11 second-half games.
DID YOU KNOW?: The Loons used back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning by OFs Kyle Russell and Alfredo Silverio in a 7-6 win Friday over Peoria at O’Brien Field. The blasts were the clubs first consecutive homers of the season.
DID YOU KNOW II?: Friday’s game could have included another Loons home run as 3B Anthony Hatch hit what appeared to be a solo shot to right field. However, it was ruled in play by umpire Matt Neuhold and Hatch, already into a slow trot, was thrown out at third base. … Although Loons manager Juan Bustabad argued with Neuhold, who conferred with partner Matt Benham, the ruling of a double was upheld. That set off Bustabad, who slammed his helmet to the ground and went nose-to-nose with Neuhold and was ultimately ejected. … The early exit marked Bustabad’s first ejection in more than a year and a half as Loons manager.
ANOTHER HOME RUN STORY: Great Lakes scored eight runs in the fifth inning Wednesday on two home runs — including a grand slam — to snap a season-long four-game losing streak with a 12-3 win over Peoria. … The convincing win helped the Loons out of an offensive funk that saw the team score just 26 runs in its first 12 games of the second half.
Kane County Cougars (Oakland A’s)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Cougars are 11-6 in the second half and in second place in the Western Division, one game behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: SS Leonardo Gil is batting .361 (13-for-36) with six runs scored and four RBIs over his last nine games. … DH Dusty Napoleon is batting .300 (9-for-30) with five runs scored and two RBIs over his last 10 games.
WHO’S NOT: 2B Carlos Arrieche is hitting a mere .065 with just two hits over his last eight games. … RF Jeremy Barfield is batting only .152 (5-for-33) over his last nine games.
DID YOU KNOW: 3B Stephen Parker is batting just (7-for-39) over his last 10 games, but has managed to still remain one of the team’s most productive hitters. Over that same span, Parker has three home runs, 10 RBIs and three runs scored.
CAPRA ON A ROLL: LHP Anthony Capra (4-6, 3.35 ERA) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Sunday and went on to earn the win in a 7-3 victory over visiting Great Lakes. Capra was perfect through 3 1/3 innings. He walked three batters before facing C Tony Delmonico with no outs in the seventh, and Delmonico doubled over CF David Thomas’ head to break up the no-hit bid. In all, Capra pitched seven shutout innings while striking out eight. In his previous outing July 7, a win over Clinton, Capra allowed just two hits in seven scoreless innings while striking out eight.
Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto Blue Jays)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Lugnuts are 5-11 in the second half and in last place in the Eastern Division, 9.5 games behind Fort Wayne.
WHO’S HOT: 3B Balbino Fuenmayor is batting .313 (10-for-32) with a a homer, five RBIs and three runs scored over his last nine games. … CF Chris Emanuele is hitting .344 (11-for-32) with a homer, four RBIs and four runs scored over the same span.
WHO’S NOT: The Lugnuts fell to 0-9 in extra-innings games and 6-14 in doubleheaders in 2009 during a doubleheader sweep at the hands of host Quad Cities on July 9.
DID YOU KNOW: 2B Justin McClanahan snapped a 1-for-35 slump with two hits and an RBI in four at-bats, while SS Tyler Pastornicky saw his team-high 13-game hitting streak end with a 0-for-4 showing in a 5-3 win over South Bend on Monday at Oldsmobile Park.
Peoria Chiefs (Chicago Cubs)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Chiefs are 7-10 in the second half and tied with Clinton for sixth place in the Western Division, five games behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: C Michael Brenly enjoyed his 16th multi-hit game of the season Saturday, driving in the winning runs with a sixth-inning single. The game also marked Brenly’s sixth multi-RBI game and third three-hit game. In 56 games this season he’s batting .294 (58-for-197) with 11 doubles, three home runs, 27 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
WHO’S NOT: Chiefs pitchers struggled with their control Sunday, issuing a season-high 10 walks in an 8-4 loss to Fort Wayne at O’Brien Field. … SS/2B Junior Lake owns a team-high 25 errors, including one in each of three starts last week. … RHP Aaron Shafer has allowed a team-high 10 home runs.
DID YOU KNOW?: LHP Ryan Buchter allowed his first home run of the season Wednesday in the Chiefs’ 12-3 loss to Great Lakes at O’Brien Field. Buchter came on in relief with no outs in the top of the fifth inning and gave up a three-run homer to 2B Jaime Pedroza. … Buchter also made it through the entire 2008 season without allowing a homer. Thus, Wednesday’s long ball was the first he’d given up since Sept. 6, 2007, spanning 40 appearances and 59 innings. … RHPs Erik Hamren and Chris Archer are now the only two Chiefs pitchers that have not allowed a home run this season.
Quad Cities River Bandits (St. Louis Cardinals)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The River Bandits are 7-9 in the second half and tied with Burlington for fourth place in the Western Division, 4.5 games behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: 3B Alex Castellanos is hitting .325 (13-for-40) with seven runs scored, four RBIs and a home run over his last 10 games. … 3B Matt Carpenter is hitting at a .310 clip (13-for-42) with four RBIs and three runs scored over his last 10 games. … LF Jon Edwards owns two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored over his last eight games.
DID YOU KNOW?: Quad Cities has not fared well in Cedar Rapids in recent years and continued the trend by being swept in its only road series against the Kernels in 2009. Over the past two seasons, the River Bandits are 2-13 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
ROSTER MOVES: The Midwest League’s leading hitter left Quad Cities as All-Star C Charlie Cutler was called up to Class A Advanced Palm Beach of the Florida State League on July 7. Taking Cutler’s spot on the roster is 23-year-old C Jack Cawley. A 34th-round pick in 2008 out of Pace University in New York City, Cawley was a collegiate teammate of 2008 River Bandits 1B Matt Arburr. After beginning his pro career with a .330 batting average for the Rookie-level Johnson City Cardinals in 2008, Cawley was off to another hot start in 2009, batting .300 through nine games for the Short-Season Batavia Muckdogs.
MORE ON CUTLER: The 22-year-old Cutler finished his run through the Midwest League with a league-best .351 batting average through 66 games. A 14th-round pick in 2008, he also homered four times and was second on the River Bandits with 44 RBIs, while his .410 on-base percentage was tied for fourth in the league. Cutler may best be remembered for a blistering month of May in which he hit safely in 22 of 26 games and posted a .410 batting average to earn the St. Louis Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Month honors. Further, half of those 26 games were multi-hit efforts while he strung together two different seven-game hitting streaks during the month.
South Bend Silver Hawks (Arizona Diamondbacks)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Silver Hawks are 8-9 in the second half and in third place in the Eastern Division, seven games behind Fort Wayne.
WHO’S HOT: RHP Randy Rodriguez allowed just one run over 8 1/3 innings Saturday as South Bend beat Wisconsin, 3-1. Rodriguez had lost six consecutive starts between wins, having not won a game since June 2. Although Rodriguez scattered seven hits, he struck out four batters and the Hawks’ defense turned a pair of double plays behind him. From the fourth through eighth inning, Rodriguez retired 14 of 15 batters.
WHO’S NOT: 1B Nelson Gomez is batting .244 (10-for-41) over his last 10 games.
DID YOU KNOW?: RHP Ryan Cook turned in his best outing in nearly two months to lead South Bend to a 6-3 victory over Beloit on Wednesday at Pohlman Field. Cook (6-8, 4.26 ERA), who struck out a team-high-tying eight batters, had not won a game since May 12, when he defeated Lansing. In the meantime, Cook had lost seven consecutive starts and spent some time on the disabled list with a blister in late May.
ROSTER MOVES: INF Justin Parker was placed on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation, while INF Ramon Ramirez takes his spot on the active roster, rejoining the Silver Hawks from Class A Advanced Visalia. Parker has been bothered by the shoulder injury for the better part of the season, being sidelined for the second time. Ramirez is no stranger to the Silver Hawks, having played for South Bend in 2008 and during the first half of the 2009 season.
West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Whitecaps are 10-11 in the second half and in second place in the Eastern Division, five games behind Fort Wayne.
WHO’S HOT: 3B Bryan Pounds is hitting .361 (13-for-36) with 15 RBIs and 10 runs scored over his last nine games. … LF Billy Nowlin is batting at a .389 clip (14-for-36) with nine RBIs and seven runs scored. … CF Ben Guez is batting .333 (14-for-42) with 11 RBIs, nine runs scored and a home run in his last 10 games.
DID YOU KNOW?: Four errors by West Michigan led to three Wisconsin runs in a 5-2 loss to the Timber Rattlers on Friday at Fox Cities Stadium. Wisconsin won the series, 2-1, as the Timber Rattlers downed the Whitecaps for the fifth time in six meetings. However, the Whitecaps’ win, an 11-2 victory, came with 17 hits as they beat the Rattlers for the first time in 2009.
ROSTER MOVES: SS Gustavo Nunez was suspended and SS Hernan Perez was assigned to the Whitecaps from the GCL Tigers on Monday. Nunez was batting .328 with a home run, 24 RBIs and 37 stolen bases in 75 games with the Whitecaps this season. Perez, who signed with the Tigers as a non-drafted free agent in 2007, is batting .255 with five RBIs in 13 games with the GCL Tigers this season.
PLAYOFF PLANNING: Individual playoff tickets go on sale July 16 at 10:00 a.m. for West Michigan’s first home playoff game, which will take place Sept. 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers)
THE SEASON SO FAR: The Timber Rattlers are 10-6 in the second half and in third place in the Western Division, 1.5 games behind Cedar Rapids.
WHO’S HOT: CF Juan Sanchez is batting .343 (12-for-35) with eight runs scored, three RBIs and a home run over his last 10 games.
BRAIN FART: The Timber Rattlers had three runners picked off first base in Monday’s 5-2 win over visiting South Bend.
FUTURE PRODUCER: With the World Team trailing, 5-3, in the seventh inning Sunday at the All-Star Futures Game in St. Louis, 2B Brett Lawrie (the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2008) doubled to lead off the frame and scored in the last-inning rally at Busch Stadium. The game featured a rain delay of over four hours and was shortened to seven innings from a scheduled nine.
DID YOU KNOW?: The top of the first inning at the Futures Game featured a couple of players with ties to the Timber Rattlers. RHP Chris Tillman, a pitcher for the Rattlers in 2007, was the starter for U.S team. After a leadoff single and a grounder, Tillman faced Italian 3B Alex Liddi, a former teammate in 2007. Liddi, who also played for the Timber Rattlers in the 2006 and 2008 seasons, drew a walk in the first and scored a run.
MAJOR HELP: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dave Bush made a rehab start for the Timber Rattlers last week, tossing 4 2/3 innings while allowing an unearned run on four hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
Tags: Midwest League
