Minor League Ball Gameday, Saturday, April 4

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the daily Minor League Ball Gameday thread for Saturday, April 4th. The season is one day away! Release the balloons, have an adult (or non-adult) beverage of your choice, and celebrate. Life begins anew.

****Excellent prospect performance yesterday from Los Angeles Angels lefty Andrew Heaney: five and two/thirds no-hit innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Freeway Series. He walked three and struck out three. Heaney's spring wasn't too hot overall, giving up 19 runs and 29 hits in 19 innings. Gophers were a big problem with four bombs hit against him, although his K/BB ratio wasn't horrible at 16/7. No surprise: he was optioned to Salt Lake City after the game.

Excess homers look like a theme for him: he gave up six in 29 big league innings for the Miami Marlins last year. He gave up 11 more in 137 innings between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans. Overall he was still effective in the minors and in general he doesn't have much left to prove in the Pacific Coast League: he did well there last year. 3.87 ERA, 91/23 K/BB in 84 innings. However, cutting back on the homers will obviously be a key detail point as he attempts to complete the transition to a major league job.

****Enjoy your evening everyone!