Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (28-24)
2nd Place -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Jesse Floyd - 10 starts, 1 RA [2 starts]
2.) Brad Baker - 8 starts, 3 RA [1 start]
3.) Tristan Crawford - 7 starts, 1 RA [1 start]
4.) Kyle Waldrop - 4 starts [1 start]
5.) Ryan Mullins - 1 start [1 start]
Suspended - Anthony Swarzak

Who's Hot: Tristan Crawford, who had been struggling quite a bit this year, had a great start this week, going 7 innings and giving up just a hit and a walk while striking out 9 runners. That dropped his ERA from 5.02 last week to 4.04 this week, along with a 1.43 WHIP and a 25-12 K-BB ratio in 35.2 AA innings of work. In fact, it was a solid week for most of these guys (the exception is listed below), with Jesse Floyd getting two starts and going 11 innings, allowing 3 earned and 3 unearned runs on 10 hits with 5 walks and 11 K's; Brad Baker going 7 innings and giving up just 1 run on 4 hits and a walk with 5 K's; and Ryan Mullins making his AA debut, going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks along with 7 K's.

Who's Not: Kyle Waldrop has yet to find his groove since being called up from Ft. Myers a couple of weeks ago. This week, he lasted just 4.2 innings, and gave up 5 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks while picking up 5 K's. That brings his season ERA to 5.09, with a 1.52 WHIP and a 12-9 K-BB ratio. Every day brings us a little closer to Anthony Swarzak's return (by my count, Swarzak -- who was suspended for 50 games on April 21 -- is only about 4 or 5 days away from being eligible to return to the team). I'm not sure what the Twins plans are for Swarzak when he comes back, but if he's stayed in shape I imagine that it will only be a short stretch before he's back in the rotation. If Waldrop doesn't pick it up, he could perhaps find himself back in Ft. Myers when Swarzak comes back.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tim Lahey - 20 RA [3 RA]
2.) Jay Sawatski - 20 RA [3 RA]
3.) Danny Powers - 16 RA [2 RA]
4.) Brian Forystek - 10 RA, 3 starts [1 RA, 1 start]
5.) J.P. Martinez - 11 RA, 1 start [1 RA]
6.) Frank Mata - 6 RA [2 RA]

Who's Hot: Frank Mata seemed to settle in this week, going 3 innings and giving up just 1 hit to lower his AA ERA to 4.00 with a 1.44 WHIP in 9 innings over 6 games. Tim Lahey also had a reasonably solid week, going 5.2 innings and allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 K's. That brings his season ERA to 3.55 with a 1.48 WHIP and a 29-18 K-BB ratio over 33 innings.

Who's Not: J.P. Martinez didn't see his ERA suffer any, but his one performance this week (after being reassigned from AAA Rochester on May 30) saw him go 1.1 innings while allowing 6 unearned runs (yes, 6 unearned runs) on 2 hits and 2 walks with 2 K's. His season ERA is still a sterling 1.29 because those runs didn't count -- but man, I bet his manager wasn't too thrilled.

Catchers

Just a reminder that the numbers listed for a player's position totals will NOT add up to the number of games played. In some cases, the number will be higher, because a player will have played at multiple positions in one game. In other cases, the number will be lower, because this list does not keep track of things like pinch hit and pinch run appearances if the player never plays in the field.

1.) Kyle Geiger - C(26), DH(3) [C(5)]
2.) Jeff Christy - C(1) [C(1)]

Who's Hot: Well, how about a shout-out for Jeff Christy, who was promoted from High A Ft. Myers pretty much exclusively because of the catching shortage at AAA Rochester, which saw Jose Morales get hurt, which then had a domino effect throughout the organization. Christy has only played once so far with the Rock Cats, but he took advantage of the situation by going 1-for-2 in his debut.

Who's Not: Kyle Geiger went 3-for-17, which dropped his batting average to .301 with an .854 OPS. He's got to be a bit upset that his significantly better offense didn't get him promoted over Korey Feiner (who's hitting just .224 in AA this season), but that should tell you something about how the Twins feel about Feiner's catching skills. Besides, Feiner will be back down as soon as Morales is healthy, so it's really just a short-term issue anyway. Who knows -- that could have played a role in the Twins decision, if the team didn't want to disrupt Geiger's routine.

Infielders
1.) Brian Buscher - 3B(32), DH(14), 1B(1) [3B(4), DH(3)]
2.) Trevor Plouffe - SS(44), DH(2) [SS(7)]
3.) Felix Molina - 2B(39), SS(2), DH(2) [2B(7)]
4.) Brock Peterson - 1B(35), DH(7) [1B(5), DH(1)]
5.) David Winfree - 3B(16), DH(16), 1B(7) [DH(3), 3B(2), 1B(2)]
6.) Luke Hughes - 2B(14), DH(5), LF(5), 3B(2), 1B(1) [2B(1), 3B(1), LF(1)]

Who's Hot: Trevor Plouffe had a great week at the plate, going 11-for-27 to raise his season average to .279 with a .762 OPS. He's also shown a little power, hitting 4 homers so far this season along with a team-leading 17 doubles. On the downside, he had 4 errors this week (3 in one game!), and now has an absolutely astounding 14 so far this season. Egad! Luke Hughes saw limited action, but went 2-for-6 and is also hitting .279 -- so I guess I'll throw him on this list as well.

Who's Not: While there were a number of so-so performances this week (Buscher, 7-for-26; Winfree 7-for-26; Molina, 7-for-27), the only really bad week belonged to Brock Peterson, who went 4-for-21 to lower his batting average to .253 with a .757 OPS.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF(40), DH(2) [LF(6)]
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF(36), DH(1) [CF(5)]
3.) Matt Allegra - RF(40) [RF(5)]
4.) Rashad Eldridge - CF(15), RF(11), LF(5) [CF(2), RF(2)]

Who's Hot: Believe it or not, Brandon Roberts had a great week, going 9-for-17 to raise his average to .252. He also seems to have reclaimed his starting Center Field job from Rashad Eldridge. I don't know whether the plan was to play him every day or not, but in his first start this week he had 2 hits. Then he picked up 2 more the next day, and 1 the day after that, and just kept getting playing time. Good for him -- his disappearance as a prospect, while not on par with the hugely disappointing season being put up right now by Denard Span, was certainly troublesome. Now, it looks like he just might be on the way back. Matt Allegra also had a decent week, going 5-for-16 to bring his average to .273 on the year.

Who's Not: Rashad Eldridge went just 2-for-14 and is now hitting .234 on the season. Garrett Guzman, meanwhile, went 5-for-24 and is hitting .269 for the year.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (24-20)
T-2nd -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Brad Baker - 7 starts, 3 RA [2 starts]
2.) Jesse Floyd - 8 starts, 1 RA [1 start]
3.) Tristan Crawford - 6 starts, 1 RA [1 start]
4.) Kyle Waldrop - 3 starts [2 starts]
5.) Ryan Mullins
Suspended - Anthony Swarzak

Who's Hot: Jesse Floyd went 7 innings and gave up just 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 5. That gives him a season ERA of 4.24 with a 1.41 WHIP and a 31-19 K-BB ratio in 46.2 innings. Nobody else deserves to be on this list for what they did at the AA level, but I'll put Ryan Mullins here for earning a promotion (just today!) from Ft. Myers, and Brian Duensing for pitching well enough to earn a promotion to AAA to replace Kevin Slowey in the Red Wings rotation.

Who's Not: Brad Baker was horrible this week, making two starts and giving up 10 runs (9 earned) on 14 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 batters in 9 innings. That was so bad that it changed the outlook on his season entirely -- he entered the week with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, and he enters it with a 4.11 ERA and a still respectable 1.22 WHIP. Kyle Waldrop also had a rough week this time around, giving up 7 runs on 12 hits and 6 walks with 5 K's in 11.1 innings of work over two starts, giving him a 3.93 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 18.1 innings of work. Finally, it didn't affect his ERA much, but Tristan Crawford gave up 6 runs (just 1 earned) in 5 innings of work in his lone start of the week. His ERA sits at 5.02 in 28.2 innings with the Rock Cats this season.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tim Lahey - 17 RA [3 RA]
2.) Jay Sawatski - 17 RA [3 RA]
3.) Danny Powers - 14 RA [2 RA]
4.) Brian Forystek - 9 RA, 2 starts [1 RA]
5.) Frank Mata - 4 RA [2 RA]

Who's Hot: Tim Lahey was smokin' this week, going 4.1 innings and not allowing a run or a hit while walking 3 and striking out 4 over the course of three games. He lowered his ERA to 3.95 on the season, but his WHIP is still at a too-high 1.57 in 27.1 innings. Danny Powers also had a solid week, going 5 innings and giving up 1 run on 5 hits with 1 walk and 2 K's. He needs some more good weeks, though, as his season ERA still sits at 6.14 and his WHIP is at 2.05 in 22 innings of work. Finally, a shout out to Jose Mijares, who earned a promotion this week to Rochester.

Who's Not: Nobody was absolutely awful this week, but Brian Forystek's one appearance saw him give up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in 3 innings of work to bump his season ERA up to 3.72 with a 1.34 WHIP and a 29-14 K-BB ratio over 29 innings. Frank Mata also had a down week, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 3.2 innings to settle his ERA in at 6.00 with a 2.00 WHIP in 6 innings of work.

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - C(25) [C(3)]
2.) Kyle Geiger - C(21), DH(3) [C(4), DH(2)]

Who's Hot: Kyle Geiger remained hot this week, going 6-for-21. That actually lowered his batting average to .329 on the season with 2 HR's and 12 RBI's to go along with a .920 OPS in 76 AB's. Pretty good for a guy who had a career .238 average coming into this season!

Who's Not: Korey Feiner went 1-for-12 on the week to lower his batting average to .233. Still no errors behind the plate, though, so that's a plus.

Infielders
1.) Brian Buscher - 3B(28), DH(11), 1B(1) [3B(3), DH(2)]
2.) Trevor Plouffe - SS(37), DH(2) [SS(6)]
3.) Felix Molina - 2B(32), SS(2), DH(2) [2B(6), SS(1)]
4.) Brock Peterson - 1B(30), DH(6) [1B(6)]
5.) David Winfree - 3B(14), DH(13), 1B(5) [3B(4), DH(2), 1B(1)]
6.) Luke Hughes - 2B(13), DH(5), LF(4), 3B(1), 1B(1) [2B(2), LF(2), 1B(1)]

Who's Hot: There was a trio of solid performances this week for the Rock Cat infielders, led by Brian Buscher. Buscher went 10-for-22 on the week with a HR (he now has 3 on the season) to bring his batting average to .289 with an .817 OPS in 159 AB's. That's good for the second-best average and third-best OPS on the team this year. Felix Molina also had a good week, going 10-for-29 to raise his average to .289 as well, with a .786 OPS and 4 HR's in 142 AB's. Finally, Trevor Plouffe (yes, that Trevor Plouffe) went 9-for-31 to raise his average to .258 in 163 AB's -- but he now has 10 errors on the season.

Who's Not: Regulars Brock Peterson (7-for-27) and David Winfree (7-for-29) were ok this week, leaving the only downright bad performance in the hands of one Luke Hughes, a backup middle infielder (and occasional left fielder), who went 2-for-15 on the week but is nonetheless still hitting .275 on the season.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF(34), DH(2) [LF(2), DH(1)]
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF(31), DH(1) [CF(3)]
3.) Matthew Allegra - RF(35) [RF(5)]
4.) Rashad Eldridge - CF(13), RF(9), LF(5) [CF(4), RF(2), LF(1)]

Who's Hot: Garrett Guzman went 9-for-22 this week and now has a .278 average and .716 OPS with 3 HR's and 22 RBI's in 151 AB's. Perhaps most impressive is his very low strikeout total, which sits at 14. Rashad Eldridge (10-for-27) and Brandon Roberts (3-for-9) also both had good weeks -- and both needed them, as Eldridge is still hitting just .255, and Roberts (who lost his starting CF job to Eldridge) is hitting just .212. Meanwhile, Matt Allegra went 6-for-21 and is hitting .269 with 6 HR's and 23 RBI's -- but also has 41 K's in 134 AB's.

Who's Not: Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (21-17)
T-2nd Place -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Brian Duensing - 8 starts
2.) Jesse Floyd - 7 starts, 1 RA
3.) Brad Baker - 5 starts, 3 RA
4.) Tristan Crawford - 5 starts, 1 RA
5.) Kyle Waldrop - 1 start
Suspended - Anthony Swarzak

Who's Hot: Brian Duensing is having a very nice season for the Rock Cats, with a 4-1 record and a 2.47 ERA/1.08 WHIP in 43.2 innings. He's also struck out 30 while walking just 7, which is also quite solid. With the suspension of Anthony Swarzak and the promotion of Nick Blackburn, he's now unquestionably the ace of the Rock Cats staff -- and if the Twins were to call up Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey, Duensing would probably be a candidate for a promotion. Brad Baker is also putting together a solid season, with a 2.92 ERA/1.05 WHIP and 20-9 K-BB ratio in 37 innings of work. Finally, Kyle Waldrop was just promoted from Ft. Myers, and went 7 strong innings in his first Rock Cats start, taking a tough luck loss despite allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) and allowing just 5 hits.

Who's Not: Tristan Crawford was demoted from Rochester after a poor start there, and in 23.2 innings with the Rock Cats he hasn't been much better, posting a 5.70 ERA and 1.82 WHIP. He does have a somewhat odd 4-2 record despite his poor pitching. Jesse Floyd has also struggled a bit, posting a 4.54 ERA/1.54 WHIP in 39.2 innings.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tim Lahey - 14 RA
2.) Jay Sawatski - 14 RA
3.) Jose Mijares - 14 RA
4.) Danny Powers - 12 RA
5.) Brian Forystek - 8 RA, starts
6.) Frank Mata - 2 RA

Who's Hot: Well, first, a shout out to J.P. Martinez, who was promoted to the Red Wings after starting out with a 1.37 ERA in 19.2 innings for the Rock Cats. Amongst the players still with the team, Jose Mijares (who is probably going to be promoted to Rochester on Wednesday or Thursday) has a 3.20 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 19.2 innings of work (and a 21-6 K-BB ratio). Brian Forystek has also been solid, with a 3.46 ERA/1.35 WHIP in 26 innings, along with a 28-12 K-BB ratio. Also nice: he's been very solid when asked to make spot starts this year, and could probably be slotted into the rotation without too much difficulty. Frank Mata, meanwhile, is another recent call-up, and in 2.1 innings he's allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk while picking up 2 saves. Not a bad start!

Who's Not: Danny Powers has a 7.41 ERA/2.29 WHIP in 17 innings of work, which isn't going to earn him any promotions. Jay Sawatski (4.95 ERA in 20 innings) and Tim Lahey (4.70 ERA in 23 innings) have also struggled a bit this year.

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - C(22)
2.) Kyle Geiger - C(17), DH(1)

Who's Hot: Kyle Geiger has a team-leading .345 batting average and .901 OPS in 55 at-bats this season, but still finds himself playing second-fiddle on the team behind the plate. That's not entirely fair -- Geiger and Feiner essentially play every other day, so they pretty much get equal playing time. Meanwhile, Korey Feiner has a reasonably strong .262 batting average and .719 OPS this season in 61 at-bats -- and I just can't bring myself to put that in the "Not" category.

Who's Not: Nobody.

Infielders
1.) Brian Buscher - 3B(25), DH(9), 1B(1)
2.) Trevor Plouffe - SS(31), DH(2)
3.) Brock Peterson - 1B(24), DH(6)
4.) Felix Molina - 2B(26), DH(2), SS(1)
5.) David Winfree - DH(11), 3B(10), 1B(4)
6.) Luke Hughes - 2B(11), DH(5), LF(2), 3B(1)

Who's Hot: Luke Hughes leads the infielders in batting average, with a .308/.840 in 65 AB's to go along with a couple of steals and 10 RBI's. David Winfree has also hit well, with a .284/.783 and 2 HR's in 95 AB's, although his 27 K's are a little on the high side. Felix Molina, meanwhile, is hitting .274/.703 in 113 AB's -- but he has made a rather high 7 errors, tied for the team lead with Trevor Plouffe.

Who's Not: None of the infielders are having truly bad seasons, but the aforementioned Trevor Plouffe does have a low-ish .250/.707 and has made 7 errors on the season in 132 AB's. Brock Peterson (.264/.776) and Brian Buscher (.263/.751) have been more mediocre than truly bad this season.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF(30), DH(1)
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF(28), DH(1)
3.) Matt Allegra - RF(30)
4.) Rashad Eldridge - CF(9), RF(7), LF(4)

Who's Hot: Matt Allegra is the closest thing to hot in the outfield, with a .265/.757 and a team-leading 4 homers to his name. He has struck out 37 times in 113 AB's, which isn't so great, though.

Who's Not: That would be the rest of the crew. Garrett Guzman is the best of the rest (.256/.667 and 3 HR's), but Brandon Roberts (.204/.485) and Rashad Eldridge (.211/.629) have been pretty awful. That's particularly disappointing with Roberts, who for a while last year looked like he might be a very solid prospect for the Twins. Now, he looks like a guy who's going to be fighting just to keep his job.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (8-9)
4th Place -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Nick Blackburn - 5 starts [2 starts]
2.) Brian Duensing - 4 starts [2 starts]
3.) Jesse Floyd - 3 starts, 1 RA [1 start]
4.) Tristan Crawford - 1 start, 1 RA [1 start, 1 RA]
5.) Brad Baker - 2 starts, 3 RA [1 RA]
Inactive - Anthony Swarzak

Who's Hot: Most of the good this week was mixed in with a little of the bad, as both of the guys who made 2 starts this week struggled the first time out before rebounding with a solid second effort. Brian Duensing did the best, putting up a 7 inning, 1 run, 5 hit gem on the 29th to follow up a 4.1 innings, 3 run, 6 hit mediocrity in his first start of the week. Duensing's season ERA now sits at 2.75 with a 1.22 WHIP in 19.2 innings, and he has a 14-4 K-BB ratio. Nick Blackburn also recovered from a weak first start in which he went 4.2 innings and allowed 5 runs (2 earned) 5 hits -- in his second start, he went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and a walk. His season numbers now sit at 3.97/1.37 in 22.2 innings, with an 8-5 K-BB ratio.

Who's Not: After a solid Rock Cat debut in relief, Tristan Crawford got a start and went just 2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits and a walk while taking the loss. He's picking up right where he left off in AAA, with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP through his first two performances. Jesse Floyd also had a so-so outing, taking the loss after a 5 inning, 3 run (1 earned) , 3 hit and 1 walk performance. Again, those really aren't that bad of numbers, but the loss gets him bumped into the "not hot" section. His season ERA is sitting at 5.40 with a 1.31 WHIP in 18.1 innings to go along with a 12-6 K-BB ratio.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tim Lahey - 7 RA [2 RA]
2.) Jose Mijares - 7 RA [2 RA]
3.) Jay Sawatski - 6 RA [2 RA]
4.) J.P. Martinez - 5 RA, 1 start [2 RA]
5.) Danny Powers - 5 RA [1 RA]
6.) Brian Forystek - 5 RA [1 RA]

Who's Hot: Jay Sawatski had a solid week, going 4 innings with just 1 hit allowed and striking out 5 batters. He needed a week like that, as it lowered his ERA to a still very high 6.30 and his WHIP to a semi-respectable 1.40 in 10 innings of work to go along with a 9-5 K-BB ratio. Danny Powers also did well in his one game this week, going 1 inning and allowing 1 hit to lower his ERA to 12.15 with a 2.85 WHIP in 6.2 innings. I strongly suspect that his numbers will correct themselves significantly as he gets more innings.

Who's Not: Brian Forystek may have picked up a win in his only outing of the week, but he gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk in just 2 innings of work on his way to doing so. His season ERA now sits at 6.55 with a 1.64 WHIP in 11 innings. That was the only really bad performance of the week for the Rock Cats.

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - C(10) [C(3)]
2.) Kyle Geiger - C(8) [C(3)]

Who's Hot: In light of the need to be generous with just 2 catchers on the team, I'll say that Kyle Geiger had a "hot" week, going 3-for-11 on the week, which actually dropped his batting average to .333 on the season with a .866 OPS.

Who's Not: Korey Feiner finally started to cool off, going just 1-for-11 this week to drop his batting average to .333 along with Geiger. His OPS sits at .859 on the season.

Infielders
1.) Brian Buscher - 3B(12), DH(3), 1B(1) [3B(6)]
2.) Trevor Plouffe - SS(14), DH(1) [SS(5), DH(1)]
3.) Brock Peterson - 1B(10), DH(5) [1B(3), DH(2)]
4.) Felix Molina - 2B(11), DH(2) [2B(4)]
5.) Luke Hughes - 2B(6), DH(4) [2B(2), DH(2)]
6.) Gil Velazquez - 1B(4), SS(3), 3B(2) [1B(3), SS(1)]
7.) David Winfree - 3B(4), 1B(2), DH(2)

Who's Hot: A whole bunch of guys! For starters, Brian Buscher had an absolutely great week, going 11-for-24 to raise his season average to .348 with a .948 OPS in 66 at-bats. He's driven in 12 RBI's and scored 9 -- and his only real downside so far has been his 4 errors in the field. Trevor Plouffe, meanwhile, went 10-for-25 this week, and he's now hitting .323 on the season with a .956 OPS and 3 homers, although he too has made 4 errors. I said at the beginning of the season that I thought Plouffe might turn things around this year (for which I was mocked!), and at least so far it looks like he might be doing just that. It's still too early to celebrate, but the early returns are quite positive. Elsewhere in the infield, Brock Peterson went 7-for-17 (.240 on the year), Felix Molina went 8-for-18 (.271 this year), and Gil Velazquez went 5-for-13 with a Grand Slam (.269 on the season).

Who's Not: Who's left? David Winfree didn't play this week, although to this point the Rock Cats transaction list doesn't list him as being on the DL, so I assume it's not a long-term injury (or at least isn't classified as such just yet). As for those who played, Luke Hughes was the only guy with a down week at the plate, as he went 4-for-17 to drop his season average to .294.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF(16) [LF(6)]
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF(14), DH(1) [CF(4), DH(1)]
3.) Matt Allegra - RF(13) [RF(4)]
4.) Rashad Eldridge - RF(4), CF(3), LF(1) [RF(2), CF(2)]

Who's Hot: Rashad Eldridge went 7-for-19 on the week, including hitting his 1st HR and a 4 RBI game yesterday. He's now hitting .242 on the season with a .719 OPS in 33 at bats.

Who's Not: Pretty much everone else. The worst of the bunch? Probably Brandon Roberts, who went just 1-for-17 on the week and is hitting just .156 on the season with a .362 OPS. This is one of the most disappointing stories on the season in the Twins minor league system, I would think -- Roberts played very well at times last year, and looked poised to become at least solid, if not top, prospect in the organization. Now, he's in a serious funk to start the season. Matt Allegra also struggled this week, going 2-for-16 to bring his average on the season to .173 with a .496 OPS and 20 strikeouts in just 52 at bats.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (4-7)
T-4th -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Brad Baker - 2 starts, 2 RA [1 start, 1 RA]
2.) Nick Blackburn - 3 starts [1 start]
3.) J.P. Martinez - 1 start, 3 RA [1 start, 1 RA]
4.) Jesse Floyd - 2 starts, 1 RA [1 start]
5.) Brian Duensing - 2 starts [1 start]
Inactive - Anthony Swarzak

Who's Hot: Brian Duensing had the best start of the week for the Rock Cats, going 5.2 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits with a walk and 4 K's. On the season, Duensing has a very solid 2.16 ERA in 8.1 innings to go along with a 1.32 WHIP and a 7-2 K-BB ratio. Nick Blackburn also had a respectable start, going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits. His season ERA is on the high side at 5.25, but his WHIP of 1.33 isn't bad. I don't know what to make of his remarkably low 2-1 K-BB ratio.

Who's Not: J.P. Martinez made a start in place of the suspended Anthony Swarzak, although I don't know whether the Twins are actually going to build up his arm strength and have him legitimately become a starter, or whether they'll just have "starts by committee" until Swarzak returns. Either way, Martinez's first official start wasn't pretty -- he went 2 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits with a walk and a K. On the season, he has a 3.38 ERA in 8 innings of work to go along with a solid 1.25 WHIP and a 7-4 K-BB ratio. Jesse Floyd also struggled this week, giving up 6 runs (4 earned) off of 4 hits and 3 walks in 4.1 innings of work while striking out 3. Floyd hasn't shown much yet, with a season ERA of 6.75 in 13.1 innings of work.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tim Lahey - 5 RA [2 RA]
2.) Jose Mijares - 5 RA [2 RA]
3.) Brian Forystek - 4 RA [2 RA]
4.) Jay Sawatski - 4 RA [2 RA]
5.) Danny Powers - 4 RA [2 RA]
6.) Tristan Crawford

Who's Hot: Well -- not too many guys. Jose Mijares did pitch 4 innings, allowing just 1 run on 1 hit and a walk while striking out 6 batters and picking up a save. On the season, he has a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings, a WHIP of 0.45, and a 5-2 K-BB ratio.

Who's Not: Everyone else. For starters, Tristan Crawford -- who was rocked in three appearances with the Red Wings -- has been demoted to AA and will be joining the New Britain bullpen. Since it was a demotion, I'm putting him in the "Not Hot" category. However, he could be joined here by just about every one of the Rock Cats relievers this week. Jay Sawatski probably had the worst week, giving up 4 runs in 3.1 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks. That puts his season ERA at 10.50 with a 2.17 WHIP on the season. Brian Forystek, meanwhile, gave up 3 runs in 5 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks, although he did strike out 6 batters. He has a 5.00 ERA on the season with a 1.67 WHIP. The rest is pretty much the same, so you get the idea. Incidentally, the worst ERA on the team right now belongs to Danny Powers, with a gaudy 14.29 ERA in 5.2 innings of work, and a 3.18 WHIP. Ouch!

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - C(7) [C(3)]
2.) Kyle Geiger - C(5) [C(2)]

Who's Hot: Somebody forget to tell these guys that they're solid defensively but struggle at the plate. Feiner went 2-for-6 this week, including an 0-0 game in which he walked 4 times. Geiger went 3-for-6 this week. On the season, Feiner is hitting .474 with an OPS of 1.194, and Geiger is hitting .385 with an OPS of 1.005. Neither has made an error. Frankly, I don't know what's going on, but I like it!

Who's Not: Nada.

Infielders
1.) Brian Buscher - 3B(6), DH(3), 1B(1) [3B(3), DH(2)]
2.) Brock Peterson - 1B(7), DH(2) [1B(4)]
3.) Trevor Plouffe - SS(9) [SS(4)]
4.) Felix Molina - 2B(7), DH(2) [2B(4), DH(1)]
5.) David Winfree - 3B(4), 1B(2), DH(2) [3B(2)]
6.) Luke Hughes - 2B(4), DH(2) [DH(2), 2B(1)]
7.) Gil Velazquez - SS(2), 3B(2), 1B(1) [3B(1), SS(1), 1B(1)]

Who's Hot: This list has to begin with Brian Buscher, who went 8-for-21 this week, including his first HR of the year, a 3 RBI game, and a couple of 2 RBI games. His batting average rose to .286 on the season, and his OPS is now at .857. David Winfree also had a good week early, going 3-for-7 to raise his average to .333 on the season. However, he hasn't played since Friday, so I assume he's nursing a minor injury of sorts (I say minor because to my knowledge he hasn't been placed on the DL).

Who's Not: Gil Velazquez continues to struggle, going 0-for-7 this week to drop his batting average to .154 on the season. Of greater concern to the Rock Cats, Brock Peterson went just 2-for-15 this week and is hitting .152 on the season with a .489 OPS. He left yesterday's ballgame after just 1 at-bat as well, so there's either an injury situation there or he got tossed from the game. Either way, the problems continue to mount for Peterson.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF(10) [LF(4)]
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF(10) [CF(5)]
3.) Matt Allegra - RF(9) [RF(4)]
4.) Rashad Eldridge - RF(2), CF(1), LF(1) [LF(1), RF(1)]

Who's Hot: Unfortunately, no one had a great week.

Who's Not: Rashad Eldridge went 0-for-7 for the week and is hitting just .071 on the season. Garrett Guzman went 3-for-15, but at least is still hitting .310 on the season. Matt Allegra (3-for-17 on the week, .194 on the season) and Brandon Roberts (2-for-21 on the week, .186 on the season) also had rough weeks.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats (2-4)
T-4th -- Eastern League Northern Division

Rock Cats Season Stats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Nick Blackburn - 2 starts [1 start]
2.) Jesse Floyd - 1 start, 1 RA [1 start]
3.) Brad Baker - 1 start, 1 RA [1 start]
4.) Anthony Swarzak - 1 start, 1 RA [1 start]
5.) Brian Duensing - 1 start [Did Not Pitch]

Who's Hot: Brad Baker went 5.2 innings of shutout ball in his first start of the year, giving up just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 5 batters. On the season, he's gone 6.2 innings and has a 0.00 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.60, having allowed just 3 hits, a walk, and a hit batter. Hard to argue with those numbers!

Who's Not: Anthony Swarzak went just 3 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits with 3 walks. On the plus side, he struck out 5 batters. On the season, Swarzak has an ERA of 11.12 and a horrendous whip of 2.47 (9 hits, 5 walks, and a hit batter in 5.2 innings). Jesse Floyd and Nick Blackburn have been better than Swarzak, with Floyd going 6 innings and allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in his start and Blackburn giving up 2 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings of work. Unfortunately, Floyd still has a season ERA of 6.00 in 9 innings, and Blackburn has an ERA of 6.43 in 7 innings.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Tim Lahey - 3 RA [2 RA]
2.) Jose Mijares - 3 RA [2 RA]
3.) J.P. Martinez - 2 RA [2 RA]
4.) Brian Forystek - 2 RA [2 RA]
5.) Jay Sawatski - 2 RA [1 RA]
6.) Daniel Powers - 2 RA [1 RA]

Who's Hot: J.P. Martinez went a total of 4 innings, giving up just 1 hit and 2 walks while allowing 1 unearned run this week, and still has a perfect 0.00 ERA for the season. Meanwhile, Jose Mijares picked up a save in 1.1 innings over 2 games, walking 1 and striking out 2. Like Martinez, he is still perfect on the season.

Who's Not: Danny Powers got banged up, taking a loss in the one game he pitched this week when he gave up 4 runs on 3 hits in just 1 inning of work. On the season, his ERA is 23.14, which translates to 6 runs in 2.1 innings. His WHIP, meanwhile, is sitting at an astonishingly high 3.00 (5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit batters).

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - C (4) [C (3)]
2.) Kyle Geiger - C (3) [C (1)]

Who's Hot: Korey Feiner went 4-for-9 this week, and is hitting .538 on the season with 2 runs and 3 RBI's. He's also played error-less ball behind the plate.

Who's Not: Kyle Geiger went 0-for-4 in his one start this week. While he's still hitting a respectable .286 on the season, these categories are meant to describe how a player has played over the previous week, and 0-for-4 has to qualify as "not hot."

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

Who's Hot: Trevor Plouffe was 5-for-13 this week, and is hitting .286 with 5 runs and 3 RBI's. He also hasn't yet made an error for the Rock Cats. David Winfree also had a solid week despite bouncing around all over the place, going 5-for-15. He's now hitting .304 this season with a HR with 3 runs and 4 RBI's. Gil Velazquez and Luke Hughes, meanwhile, both went 2-for-6 this week, which has Velazquez hitting .333 for the season and Hughes hitting .444.

Who's Not: Brian Buscher (2-for-11 this week, .190 on the season), Brock Peterson (2-for-12 this week, .167 on the season), and Felix Molina (1-for-12 this week, .063 this season) have all struggled mightily at the plate. Buscher has also made 2 errors, while Peterson and Molina have made one each. Not a solid way to start off the year.

Outfielders
1.) Garrett Guzman - LF (6) [LF (4)]
2.) Brandon Roberts - CF (5) [CF (3)]
3.) Matt Allegra - RF (5) [RF (3)]
4.) Rashad Eldridge - CF (1), RF (1) [CF (1), RF (1)]

Who's Hot: Garrett Guzman went 6-for-17 this week, including his 2nd homerun of the year. He's now hitting .370 on the season with 5 runs and 6 RBI's. Brandon Roberts, meanwhile, went 5-for-13 in his 3 games, which bumped up his season average to .273.

Who's Not: Matt Allegra went 2-for-11 this week, and is hitting just .211 on the season with 7 K's. Rashad Eldridge, meanwhile, got his first two starts for the Rock Cats, but hit just 1-for-7 on the week for a .143 season batting average.

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.