7/13 Winston Salem Warthogs VS Myrtle Beach Pelicans

by benzalman on Jul 14, 2007 12:32 PM EDT

Last night I checked out the Winston Salem Warthogs Vs. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans, so here's somewhat of a report on what I saw.

The story of the night was definitely Clayton Richard (8th rd. 05) who was working quickly and inducing a ton of ground balls. His fastball was 88-92 with a curve in the 70-72 range. he throws from the first base side of the rubber and throws a bit below 3/4. He also has a particularly high leg kick and uses a slide step a bit when runners are on because of it. He now has a 3.81 era on the year with mediocre peripherals, though he seems a bit more of the pitch to contact type as is.

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans sent Dustin Evans (2nd rd 06) out on a 50 pitch pitch count, so he only lasted 4 innings. This was his second start since coming off the DL. He was throwing 80-90% fastballs, working at 91-93 and throwing pretty much over the top. He registered a few of his strikeouts with his slider which was 83-85. None of the Warthog hitters got around on his pitches at all and the Pelican defense was not too kind to Evans. I was a bit more impressed with Richard than Evans.

Isaiah Kaaihue played first and came out after the 7th inning where he reached on an error. He is unbelievably slow. Slow to the point where it is definitely somewhat of an issue.

Micah Schnurstein went 1-4 with a line drive HR about 350-360 feet into the left field stands. He's listed at 6-1 207, but looks a bit stockier than that.

neither Elvis Andrus or Eric Campbell looked that great at the plate last night which was a bit disappointing, though both made a few nice playes in the field.

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Andrus isn't good at home

by Bravesin07 on Jul 14, 2007 12:35 PM EDT reply actions

Response

Do you think it might be something in the air? Could it be that the folks in Myrtle Beach use specially formulated dirt which makes it difficult for Andrus to maintain his footing at the plate?

Or could it be that he's just not that good at the plate yet? Not that there's anything really wrong with this . . .he's only 18 . . .but at the same time, when I think of his bat, I think, "you know, his glove is really good"

by mrkupe on Jul 14, 2007 6:43 PM EDT up reply actions

well...

it's obviously not only about Myrtle Beach -- Andrus' overall numbers are mediocre both in low and high A ball, and at some point he will have to produce. that said, for whatever reasons Myrtle Beach has the rep of being an awful place to hit (though by park factors it doesn't appear so terrible), so I give some credence to the idea that a super young kid who is already in water well above his head, may have a particularly tough time in an environment that takes away hits.

that said, never having been to Myrtle Beach, does anyone know specifically why it has such a bad rep for hitters?

it is one of the tricky things about Andrus, and one of the reasons I find him really interesting as a hitter: he's playing way above his head in terms of level, and also in a park that has that bad rep, so his performance is really hard to read.

So even if I know his .812 OPS on the road isn't representative, I guess I do give him a bit of the benefit of the doubt.

by scooter on Jul 14, 2007 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Wind

From what I have heard, the wind is basically constantly blowing in. I don't know if that is all there is to it though.

But I think they moved the fences in 10 feet this year, so that may be why it isn't playing so rough overall.

by aCone419 on Jul 14, 2007 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions

What about Jordan Schafer?...

...I think he is one of the three best prospects on the team (Hanson, Andrus)...what can you tell us about him?

Lincecum=Seabiscuit, Hughes=Barbaro, Michael Pelfrey=Zippy Chippy?

by uga007 on Jul 14, 2007 3:52 PM EDT reply actions

Schafer

led off and looked speedy. Didn't have many chances in the field and did not look overmatched at the plate. I recall he had a hit off of Clayton as Clayton was tiring in the 7th or 8th inning.

by benzalman on Jul 14, 2007 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions