Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (1-1)
T-3rd Place -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Nick Blackburn - 1 start
2.) Brian Duensing - 1 start
3.) Anthony Swarzak - 1 game relief
4.) Jesse Floyd - 1 game relief
5.) Brad Baker - 1 game relief
DL - Errol Simonitsch

Who's Hot: With the weather not cooperating, the Rock Cats have so far played only two games. As a result, expected starters Anthony Swarzak and Jesse Floyd have so far been used only in relief. That should change over the course of this week. Nobody on this list has been particularly "hot," but Brian Duensing's start Monday (2.2 innings, no runs, 4 hits, a walk, and 3 K's) is the closest to qualifying. With Errol Simonitsch starting the season on the DL, I've placed Brad Baker in the rotation because most of the rest of the bullpen clearly won't be starting any games -- although I can't say with any confidence that Baker will either.

Who's Not: Nick Blackburn went 3 innings and allowed 3 runs in the first Rock Cats game of the season. He was replaced by Anthony Swarzak, who went just 2.2 innings and allowed 4 runs, taking the loss. And, while Jesse Floyd was credited with the win in Monday's game, he nonetheless gave up 3 runs in 3 innings of work. By next week, the rotation will hopefully have settled down, and pitchers should be getting 5 innings of work in.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Jose Mijares - 1 game relief
2.) Jay Sawatski - 1 game relief
3.) Danny Powers - 1 game relief
4.) Tim Lahey - 1 game relief
5.) J.P. Martinez
6.) Brian Forystek

Who's Hot: Jose Mijares went 1.1 innings and struck out a batter during the Rock Cats opening game. Meanwhile, Tim Lahey pitched a perfect 1.1 innings and picked up the Rock Cats first save of the year on Monday.

Who's Not: Danny Powers allowed 2 runs in 1.1 innings of work, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks in that short span. Jay Sawatski, meanwhile, allowed a run on a hit and a walk in 0.2 innings of work.

Catchers
1.) Kyle Geiger - C (1)
2.) Korey Feiner - C (1)

Who's Hot: So I go and make fun of the Rock Cats contingent of catchers, and they combine to go 5-for-7 through the first two games. Feiner got the first start of the year and went 3-for-4 out of the 9 hole while picking up a couple of RBI's. Geiger, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 with a double and also drove in 2 runs during the game on Monday. Not a bad way to start the season as these two fella's try to prove the haters wrong and show they can hit.

Who's Not: Not a soul.

Infielders
1.) Brock Peterson - 1B (1), DH (1)
2.) David Winfree - 1B (1), DH (1)
3.) Felix Molina - 2B (1)
4.) Luke Hughes - 2B (1)
5.) Trevor Plouffe - SS (2)
6.) Brian Buscher - 3B (2)
7.) Gil Velazquez

Who's Hot: Luke Hughes went 2-for-3 in Monday's game, driving in 2 runs and scoring 2 runs himself. Hughes is likely to spend most of the season playing behind Felix Molina, but if he carries over his stats from his first game and shows he can hit, his playing time will increase. Sadly, no one else really belongs in this spot, but I'll give Brian Buscher a shout-out for going 2-5 today -- unfortunately, that followed up an 0-5 day in the opener.

Who's Not: Felix Molina (0-for-4), Trevor Plouffe (1-for-8), and Brock Peterson (1-for-6) have all struggled to do much with the ball through the first couple games of the season. Also not so hot -- Peterson has an error in his only game at 1B so far this year. I have high hopes for Trevor Plouffe this year (for which I've been mocked a bit by some), so hopefully he can turn it on a little bit this week.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF (2)
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF (2)
3.) Matt Allegra - RF (2)
4.) Rashad Eldridge

Who's Hot: Garrett Guzman is 4-for-10 with 2 RBI's and 3 runs scored in his first 2 games of the season in left. That included a big homerun on Saturday and a double on Monday. Matt Allegra, meanwhile, has debuted with the Rock Cats by going 2-for-8 and walking twice.

Who's Not: Brandon Roberts has opened his season with a 1-for-9 start to the season, including a rough 0-for-5 performance on Monday that included two strikeouts.