[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 36-32 (2nd, 8 GB)
Stars of the Week
Carlos Montes : 25 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .320 AVG, .786 OPS
Freddie Jones : 8 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.500 OPS
Dick Walker : 11 AB, 4 H, 2 HR, 2 RBI, .364 AVG, 1.326 OPS

Schedule
6-15: Loss vs Cannons (4-2)
6-17: Win vs Cannons (1-2)
6-18: Loss vs Cannons (3-2)
6-20: Loss vs Wolves (4-2)
6-21: Loss vs Wolves (5-2)
6-21: Win vs Wolves (2-10)

Recap
I thought the draft was today, and unfortunately it's not, because our performance on the field was terrible, and it would be a night reprieve. The draft will be tomorrow, which will works better because I can write over the weekend and won't have to force two reports in one day. And for someone who loves the number two, I did not like all the twos we saw this week. Two wins is bad enough, but just two runs in five of the six games! Are you kidding me!?!? Everything has gone wrong, but we're undeservedly still in 2nd place despite now being 8 out. I think this is it, time to focus on next year, but it's hard throwing the towel in June. If things continue like this, I'll bring Johnnie Jones up to let him walk batters in the big leagues, as I have to imagine the experience will help. Billy Hunter will now restart rehab, and when he's bat, he'll take some starts at third from John Lawson. Lawson continues to scuffle at the plate, going just 1-for-16 this week. He is now hitting .241/.273/.306 (64 OPS+) with just 7 doubles, 3 homers, and 33 RBIs. Of course, is Hunter can't stay healthy, it won't really matter, but I'd love to have his bat back in the lineup.

We had little to no offense this week, and our top five performers all had 15 or less trips to the plate. Langton was the one with 15, 5-for-14 with 2 doubles and 3 runs scored. Freddie Jones finished an even 4-for-8 with a double, homer, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs. Dick Walker was 4-for-11 with a walk and a pair of solo homers. Cliff Moss went 4-for-11 with a double, walk, run, and RBI. Carlos Montes had a decent week, 8-for-25 with a double and triple. Skipper had another week without a strikeout, 6-for-18 with a steal, RBI, 2 runs, and 2 walks. Leo Mitchell had a rare bad week, but he did hit his 9th homer. Mitchell went 5-for-22 with 3 RBIs, and still leads the CA with a .351 batting average. We'll definitely have better weeks, but I'm not feeling so good about the rest of the season.

We pitched well, but had nothing really to show for it. We did get a gem from the red hot Donnie Jones, allowing just 2 hits, 2 walks, a run, and 3 strikeouts in a dominant complete game victory. Our other win came in one of Jim Lonardo's start, as he went all nine in the second game of our double header with the Wolves. The vet allowed 10 hits and 2 runs with a walk and 3 strikeouts. His first start wasn't bad, but the Cannons got the best of him. He went 8.1 innings with 10 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, and a strikeout. Joe Brown struggled a bit, allowing 12 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) with 2 strikeouts in a complete game loss. Harry Parker looked a bit better this time, 8 innings with 10 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Dick Lyons went just 7, 7 hits with 3 runs (2 earned) and 3 walks. Ben Curtin got all the innings out of the pen, 3.2 innings with 3 hits, a run, and 3 strikeouts. We continue to do one thing right and the other thing wrong, and we're running out of opportunities.

Looking Ahead
Here's another weird series; an off day, single game with the Sailors, and then an off day. Philly is in 5th and just 32-35, now one of four teams below .500 as the Wolves are now a game over after taking three of four from us. They have a game before us, likely to give Doc Newell (5-8, 4.78, 30) the start, so we should see Herb Flynn (5-6, 5.90, 24) who may be what we need to power up the offense. The Sailors have Marion Boismenu (.320, 2, 14, 2) and Harvey Brown (.337, 14, 2) returning from the IL, but that shouldn't mean Eddie Heaton loses any playing time. A 4th Round Pick last year, Heaton has already debuted an is off to a sizzling start. Currently the 35th ranked prospect, Heaton has slashed .270/.427/.514 (156 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 3 homers, and 14 RBIs. In 20 starts he's already walked 20 times, but he does have 13 strikeouts in just shy of 100 trips to the plate. Heaton will turn 22 in a few days, and he has the potential to be a long time regular and fixture in the Sailors lineup. He has the chance to hit .300 and draw a ton of walks, but I'm not sure the power will stick. He had just 3 minor league homers in 80 games before his debut, but he did hit 10 as a junior and 26 in his three seasons at Amarillo Methodist. The Sailors always develop a lot of quality players, and Heaton is the next in a very long list of talented hitters.

The weird series continues with the Foresters. Off on Wednesday, a game, another off day, a game, and then a double header. If we don't beat Cleveland it's all over, as they are 27-41 and 17 games out of first. We're actually closer to the Stars then they are to us, but we'll find a way to drop three or four of them. They've been pitching well, getting good innings from Jack Thornhill (2-3, 3.19, 12) and even with Dick Lamb (6-8, 3.41, 12) cooling down a bit, both of these guys could be decent pieces for them. In the lineup, they've started to give more time to Walter Morgan (.297, 1, 15), a Rule-5 Pick from the Cannons. He's had a nice rookie season and may replace Brooks Meeks at the keystone indefinitely. Him and Eli Harkless (.299, 2, 21, 10) could be longterm pieces for them, as will Leon Blackridge (.247, 2, 20) if he can start to turn things around. It's still years before top prospect Hiram Steinberg can contribute to the big league roster, but they might have a nice group of players to surround him with.

Minor League Report
LHP Ed Wilkinson (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Chock up another dominant outing for Ed Wilkinson, who has now allowed 1 or fewer in runs in half of his ten starts. The most recent was a beaut, 6 hits, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Kansas City. This was right after he picked up his first loss of the season, now 7-1 with a 2.62 ERA (151 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, 14 walks, and 45 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched. I mentioned earlier how I want to give Jones starts, but maybe they should go to Wilkinson instead. The 25-year-old has been near flawless, and in 21 AAA starts he now has a 5.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9. These are impressive numbers at any level, and it might be worth giving the southpaw a shot. He has a decent low 90s fastball with four secondary picks, and while none are that great, he locates them well and does a good job mixing them up. He may be as good of a pitcher as he'll ever be right now, but I think he'd be a solid back end starter.

2B Hod Seagroves (AA Mobile Commodores): A big week in a big season for Hod Seagroves, who took home Dixie League Player of the Week. The 24-year-old from Chicago went 13-for-27 with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 walks, and 11 RBIs. Like Skipper, Seagroves almost never strikes out, and he's yet to be set down on strikes in 226 trips to the plate. He struck out just once in 501 PAs last year and has struck out just 6 times since the start of the 1940 season. A gifted contact hitter, Seagroves is hitting .340/.427/.404 (114 OPS+) with 10 doubles, a triple, and 42 RBIs. He's shown no power this year, not really something you want to see in a first basemen, but Hod has started to spend more time at second this year. 20 of his 58 starts have been at second, and the tall right has a nice 2.1 zone rating and 1.067 efficiency there. It's nice to see that he can still defend there well despite a lot of time at first, and even if he can't play third or second, he might be able to hold his own in the outfield. We have a full infield right now in AAA, but I think I'd like for Hod to end his season either in Milwaukee or Chicago. He's a hardworking kid who deserves a shot in the majors, but I'm not sure there is a spot for him yet.

RHP Jimmy Ballard (B San Jose Cougars): It's not every week a pitcher takes home Pitcher of the Week, and it's even less likely without a shutout. But Jimmy Ballard managed to win it, going 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA, 5 walks, and 5 strikeouts. His first start was a complete game win over Vancouver, where he allowed just 2 hits and a single run, and then his second start was against Fresno where he had to leave with one out in the 8th in just his second start with more then 100 pitches. This is a slight concern, as he's thrown 97 pitches 4 times and 98 pitches 3 times, showing a likely ceiling for his pitch counts. This isn't too surprising for someone who tore their rotator cuff two years ago, but he has looked alright in his 10 starts this season. Ballard is an even 4-4 with a 3.15 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, 26 walks, and 28 strikeouts through 68.2 innings pitched. He made just 7 starts last year and the year before, and with 2 more he'll tie his career high of 12 back in his draft year of 1939. Weinstock actually really likes Ballard, thinking he could be a back of the rotation arm, but he thinks command may hold back the 6'4'' sidearmer. OSA agrees, but Ballard is not listed in the league's top 500 prospects. He's got a lot of work to do and is behind a little in his development due to the injury, so it may be a while before Ballard reaches the top levels of our system, let alone the big league club.