Sept 3 minor league thread

3 for 5 with 2 doubles and homer number 20 on the season. Season line up to .291/.356/.517, this after sub-.700 OPS’s in April and May. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that he’s pretty good at hitting.

allowed 3 runs in 4 innings, but walked 0 and fanned 5

go to Harry Grove stadium to watch the Keys vs. Indians. With the promotions, the Keys roster wasn’t really a strong, prospect-laden group. Oliver Drake reached back and hit 91 a couple times. Stuff is pretty average. Billy Rowell had one of his better games. Rather than trying to force things, he took what the pitchers gave him and had some really good AB’s. If he can consistently do that, then he’d have a shot. Maybe the kid is learning. Welty/Townsend/Hoes all had good games. I like what I saw out of Townsend’s AB’s, but don’t know enough about him. Welty’s just a solid A+ level hitter who has a fairly solid approach to things.

I really went there to see the Indians, and one guy in particular. First, TJ House was bad. He simply didn’t have anything from the get-go. Velocity seemed down, but not sure I trust the stadium gun there all that much. I’ll chalk it up to simply a bad game, as he’s a good prospect and has had a solid season (it was also cool and windy). Quick question – I’m no expert on anything, but has anyone ever voiced concerns about his arm action? Seems like some unnecessary movement to me, from where I was sitting (3rd base side).

David Roberts tired in his 3rd inning of work. It was quite obvious. Not sure what he throws (guessing 2-seamer/sinker type pitch) but it started sitting up in that 3rd inning, allowing Keys hitters to tee off. Abner Abreu had a really nice LD HR shot. Not a thing of beauty, but it went to straight away center, around probably 415 feet. Juan Diaz had a solid game, really good arm strength from short and seems like he has enough range/movement. Kyle Bellows can really pick it at 3rd. Jeremie Tice seemed to have a good approach at the plate.

All that said, I really went there to see Chun-Hsiu Chen. I came away fairly impressed. He seemed to have fairly solid reactions behind the plate. While he did skip a throw to 2nd, causing it to squirt into CF, he clearly has the arm strength, so it’s a matter of consistency (or just a bad throw, which happens – the runner was going to be safe anyways). Caught a nice pop up near the plate (wind was gusting), and blocked the plate real well when Webb (who had a nice shot for a HR, but off the top, seemed a bit wind-aided) gunned a ball in to get someone out.

The defensive potential to work up the ladder seems to be there. Offensively, he was very patient at the plate. I mean, with his K/BB, it’s hard for that to be a “fluke”, but watching him at the plate, and he clearly has a great approach. He laid off a lot of pitches and really knew the strike zone. He didn’t drive the ball yesterday, but I saw a batter go up there with a good approach, adjust to what the pitchers were throwing and get two hits, and then on a 2-2 count, drive in a run.

All that said, I can sort of see some of the concerns on his bat speed. I mean, as a Cubs fan, watching Vitters BP, you can see the bat speed and how the bat explodes through the zone. Chen doesn’t have that, but I didn’t think his bat speed was bad. Can’t say I know how to really judge it, and Drake isn’t exactly a pitcher that would exploit any concerns on that, but he had good balance in transferring weight, kept his hands up, and I didn’t see any huge concerns with the load.

Came away fairly impressed with Chen. I’d be a tad surprised if his bat collapsed at the higher levels. Just not sure how good it will be, but came away thinking that, at the very least, he could have a chance to be a backup backstop if the opportunity is there, and he possibly could be more.

6 IP 5 H 1 ER 2 BB 8K

3-4 with a homer and a triple.

Bobby Borchering Low-A HR #14
Michael Burgess 3-7, 3HR, 4RBI – Doubleheader
Mike Carp 3-6, 2HR, 3RBI
Chris Carpenter 6IP, 2ER, 3H, 3BB, 5K
Lonnie Chisenhall 2-4, 2B, 3B
Hank Conger 2-3, 2B
Dee Gordon 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB , HR, 2RBI, BB
Aaron Hicks Low-A HR #7
Eric Hosmer 1-3, HR, RBI, BB
Brett Jackson 2-5, 3B, RBI, BB
Alex Liddi 3-5, HR, 2RBI
Chris Marrero 5-7, 2B, HR, 4RBI, – Doubleheader
Garrett Mock 6IP, 1ER, 4H, 2BB, 3K, WIN
Jesus Montero 3-5, 2(2B), HR, 2RBI
Jerry Sands 2-4, RBI
Mark Trumbo 2-5, HR, 3RBI
Kyle Weiland 5IP, 0ER, 3H, 1BB, 5K

Remember Charlie Morton blew up early last year. I’d trade him if I were Atlanta to cash in now on his value..

promoted to A+, and pitched 4 IP with 8 Ks and 0 BB