Minor League Update

AAA- Scranton

Until the unfortunate “ball meets balls” incident, Jesus Montero was still raking albeit still without any walks. He’ll miss a few games to nurse his “situation” back to health… Justin Maxwell has been on fire. The way he’s getting on base and his streak of HRs is pretty impressive. The strikeouts also are really impressive. This is a guy with a lot of holes in his swing and the 49% K rate tells you all you need to know… As Mike Axisa points out, Kevin Whelan has been pitching pretty well for Scranton. He’s benefited from some BABIP luck it looks like so far but the K rate is substantial.

AA- Trenton

So far, Austin Romine has been a bit better with taking some base on balls in 2011. That’s a good sign and hopefully he’ll be able to keep that going. Brian Anderson has looked good in the handful of innings he’s thrown so far… Manny Banuelos is also starting to round into form as his blister problem recedes

A+ Tampa

Luke Murton hasn’t slowed down much since the beginning of the year. Ditto on Walter Ibarra who has turned in a nice few weeks for Tampa. Chase Whitley has been exactly as advertised, the polished reliever who is likely to move quickly. Although Jairo Heredia has given up some runs so far, his peripheral numbers are strong to this point… Jose Ramirez is getting the strikeouts but has had some command issues…Brett Marshall still isn’t clicking on all cylinders quite yet…

A- Charleston

Slade Heathcott continues to be great. Since we last checked in, he’s continued to both hit well and take some more walks but has still struck out quite a bit. Ramon Flores continues to open eyes and impress with his plate discipline. With Kyle Roller, Rob Segedin and J.R. Murphy all hitting well, the Charleston offense is really clicking… Tommy Kahnle has also been as advertised although has had problems with control. Michael O’Brien has probably been one of the best pitchers in the system performance wise the first few weeks of the season… Zach Nuding, a 2010 draft pick has also performed very well so far.

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