Down on the Farm: High A Report

Ft. Myers Miracle (20-29)
6th Place -- Florida State League West Division

Miracle Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Oswaldo Sosa - 10 starts
2.) Ryan Mullins - 9 starts, 1 RA
3.) Jay Rainville - 9 starts, 1 RA
4.) Alexander Smit - 6 starts, 1 RA
5.) Zach Ward - 4 starts, 8 RA

Who's Hot: Ryan Mullins is having a great year, although his 3-3 record wouldn't show it. He's put up a 1.98 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with a 56-12 K-BB ratio in 54.2 innings of work to establish himself as the best of the Miracle starters this season. It can't be said that this is completely unexpected -- Mullins had an ERA of 2.18 with Elizabethton in 2005 and of 3.86 with Beloit in 2006, so he's been a solid starter in his short professional career. With numbers like this, a mid-season promotion (following in the footsteps of Kyle Waldrop, already promoted to New Britain) is a distinct possibility. Mullins is hardly alone on this list; Oswaldo Sosa (2.65/1.25), Jay Rainville (3.35/1.33), and even Zach Ward (2.72/1.06), who started his season in the bullpen, have all been very good this year. Unfortunately, they aren't getting much run support (Ward is 2-6!).

Who's Not: Alexander Smit, who was added to the Twins 40-man roster in November, isn't having a very good season. He missed a little bit of time recently, but has since come back (making his lone appearance out of the 'pen). When he has pitched, though, he's been hit pretty hard, with a 5.59 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 29 innings of work. Smit will have to make significant progress in the last 2/3 of the year in order to have any chance of advancing higher in the organization next season -- and if he doesn't, the Twins will have just 2 more option years to get him ready for the MLB, or he'll be gone.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Eduardo Morlan - 16 RA
2.) Angel Garcia - 14 RA
3.) Kyle Aselton - 13 RA
4.) David Shinskie - 13 RA
5.) Joshua Hill - 13 RA
6.) Yohan Pino - 9 RA, 3 starts
7.) Armando Gabino - 2 RA

Who's Hot: Yohan Pino is putting up a great season for the Miracle, posting a 1.57 ERA/0.84 WHIP and 29-7 K-BB ratio in 28.2 innings. Frank Mata was having a better season and earned a promotion before Pino, but it's only a matter of time before Pino finds his way up to New Britain. David Shinskie (2.74/1.13) and Eduardo Morlan (2.81/0.82) are also putting together nice seasons in the 'pen. Finally, I have to mention Armando Gabino, who earned a promotion from Beloit after putting up a 0.82 ERA in 22 innings, has been great in his first 2 games (3 innings) for the Miracle, with just 1 hit allowed and 2 K's.

Who's Not: No one in the 'pen is having a terrible season, but Kyle Aselton (who was used exclusively as a starter in 2006) is having a down year. So far this season, he's posted a 4.64 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 21.1 innings of work, and he'll need to turn that around if he wants a promotion to start next season. Angel Garcia (4.57/1.48) and Joshua Hill (4.43/1.67) have also struggled this season.

Catchers
1.) Caleb Moore - C(21), DH(5)
2.) Jeff Christy -C(20), DH(3)
3.) Javier Sanchez - DH(10), C(9)

Who's Hot: None of them.

Who's Not: Caleb Moore is hitting .198/.503; Jeff Christy is hitting .182/.536; Javi Sanchez is hitting .172/.531. Which would you go with if you had to pick one? Me, I'd take Moore -- at least he's only made one error, while Christy has made 5 and Sanchez has made 2 in limited action on the field.

Infielders
1.) Whit Robbins - 1B(30), DH(9), 3B(6)
2.) Steven Tolleson - SS(21), 2B(18), DH(4)
3.) Juan Portes - 2B(25), 3B(17), RF(3)
4.) Toby Gardenhire - 3B(19), 2B(6), SS(5), DH(1)
5.) Matthew Betsill - 1B(10), 3B(7), SS(6), DH(2)
6.) Luis Ugueto - SS(17)

Who's Hot: Pretty much no one. Juan Portes (.251/.616) and Steven Tolleson (.250/.665) are the closest, but Portes has made 6 errors and Tolleson has made an astounding 12 (yeesh!). Luis Ugueto, recently re-activated from the restricted list, has been playing pretty much every day at short, and his hitting .246/.616 -- sad that that's in the top 3 of the infielders on the Miracle.

Who's Not: Matthew Betsill is hitting an absolutely woeful .157/.385 with just 3 RBI's on the season; he's also struck out 26 times in 89 AB's and made 7 errors in the field. Considering that he hit .280 last season in Beloit (albeit in somewhat limited action), his total inability to hit this season has to be considered something of a surprise. Toby Gardenhire, meanwhile, recently had a 3-hit game to push his batting average back above the Mendoza line (all the way to the stratospheric heights of .206!). Finally, Whit Robbins has been a disappointment with a .235/.637 and no homers. Considering that last season was his first in professional baseball, he gets a bit of a pass -- but he's got to turn it in as the year progresses.

Outfielders
1.) Erik Lis - LF(30), 1B(9), DH(6)
2.) Edward Ovalle - CF(29), LF(10), RF(4), DH(1)
3.) Dwayne White - RF(22), LF(12), DH(8)
4.) Eli Tintor - CF(21), RF(20)

Who's Hot: Erik Lis has been the best hitter on the Miracle roster this season -- but is still having no better than a so-so season, posting .272/.742 numbers with 3 homers and 27 K's in 169 AB's. That's the end of the "hot" list.

Who's Not: Edward Ovalle (.188/.572), Eli Tintor (.194/.552), and Dwayne White (.237/.559) have all struggled this season, although at least Ovalle has shown some power, hitting 4 homers and driving in 23 RBI's. Tintor has perhaps the most remarkable stat -- he's struck out 44 times in 139 AB's -- or just over once in every 3 at-bats. Yipes!