Down on the Farm: AAA Report

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Starting Pitchers

1.) J.D. Durbin - 4-2 / 2.27 ERA / 75.1 inn / 61-44 K-BB
2.) Scott Baker - 1-0 / 3.00 ERA / 21 inn / 20-8 K-BB
3.) Jason Miller - 1-2 / 2.25 ERA / 36 inn / 35-10 K-BB
4.) Pete Munro - 5-6 / 4.14 ERA / 82.2 inn / 51-19 K-BB
5.) Mike Smith - 4-3 / 3.95 ERA / 68.1 inn / 53-29 K-BB

The big change in this group is the addition of Jason Miller to the rotation. Miller seems to have taken Kyle Lohse's place, having had the chance to start 2 games this week for the Red Wings. Durbin is pitching phenomenally well, and hopefully is returning to his "phenom" days. There is at least a chance that if Boof Bonser continues to struggle for the Twins, and if Kyle Lohse doesn't step up and earn a chance to go back into the rotation, that Durbin would get the nod next.

Relief Pitchers

1.) Pat Neshek - 5-1 / 1.86 ERA / 48.1 inn / 79-12 K-BB
2.) Ricky Barrett - 5-1 / 3.68 ERA / 44 inn / 48-22 K-BB
3.) Beau Kemp - 5-1 / 2.41 ERA / 41 inn / 17-17 K-BB
4.) Henry Bonilla - 3-5 / 4.67 ERA / 52 inn / 33-19 K-BB
5.) Kevin Cameron - 3-1 / 3.04 ERA / 23.2 inn / 21-13 K-BB
6.) Matt Ford - 1-0 / 4.40 ERA / 30.2 inn / 12-15 K-BB
7.) Bobby Korecky - 0-1 / 4.73 ERA / 13.1 inn / 10-2 K-BB
DL - Dave Gassner (no record)

Bonilla, who I had previously listed as a starter, was used twice by the Red Wings out of the bullpen this week and didn't start any games. I'm fairly confident now that the Wings have decided to use him as a full time reliever, although I suspect that if one of their starters was injured that Bonilla would be slotted back into the rotation. Neshek continues to shine, and I expect him to be called up before this season is over, and likely long before.

Catchers

1.) Chris Heintz - 33 games / .291 BA / 1 HR / 15 RBI
2.) Shawn Wooten - 54 games / .238 BA / 5 HR / 24 RBI

I'm a little hesitant to refer to Heintz as a Catcher these days, because he actually gets more playing time at 3B than behind the plate. Wooten started 5 of the games this week, and Heintz started just 2. When not behind the plate, Heintz got one day off and played 4 times at third, while Wooten got two days off. I'm going to continue to list Heintz as a catcher, however, because he and Wooten are the only two players on the team who can adequately play the position.

Infielders

1B - Garrett Jones - 67 games / .227 BA / 11 HR / 49 RBI
2B - Luis Maza - 53 games / .215 BA / 1 HR / 22 RBI
SS - Gil Velazquez - 32 games / .307 BA / 0 HR / 12 RBI
3B - Glenn Williams - 52 games / .248 BA / 2 HR / 12 RBI
IF - Tommy Watkins - 1 game / .000 BA / 0 HR / 0 RBI

With Jason Bartlett being called up this week, and Terry Tiffee being called up just a couple of weeks ago, the Red Wings infield has a very different look now than it did early in the season. Garrett Jones consistently starts at 1B, with Glenn Williams getting the nod when Jones DH's or gets a day off. Maza is usually the starter at 2B, although Velazquez and Williams both got starts there this week. Since Bartlett was called up, however, Velazquez has started every game at SS, and probably will continue to get the vast majority of those starts. While I listed Williams as a 3B, he only started there twice this week, with Heintz (as mentioned above) getting the majority of those starts. Tommy Watkins was called up from AA New Britain to fill one of the holes caused by the call-ups of Ruben Sierra and Jason Bartlett, but so far has not received any significant playing time. I expect him to get some starts at third this week.

Outfielders

1.) Kevin West - 19 games / .216 BA / 2 HR / 10 RBI
2.) Josh Rabe - 64 games / .311 BA / 3 HR / 33 RBI
3.) Jason Tyner - 61 games / .318 BA / 0 HR / 18 RBI
4.) Andres Torres - 55 games/ .249 BA / 2 HR / 18 RBI
5.) Alex Romero - 10 games / .147 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

The addition to this crew is Alex Romero, called up with Tommy Watkins late last week. Romero was with the club earlier this year for a short time as well, and has been getting some playing time since being called back up; unfortunately you can see from his numbers that he hasn't been playing all that well. Tyner and Rabe continue to hit, and not surprisingly both are in the lineup almost every day. Rabe started 6 games in LF this week, getting 1 day off. Similarly, Tyner started 6 in CF, with one off day. Right field is more of a committee position, with Torres, Romero, West, and even Garrett Jones getting some action there. West is often the DH when he isn't playing in RF.