The IBL's Chicago Iron Pigs

[gehrig38]

A snapshot

[gehrig38]

WEEK 8
2 @ New York
Off Day
3 vs Staten Island
1 @ Green Bay

DL STUFF
Chartier back tomorrow, to rehab for 15-20 ab’s, Collins the next day, same plan.

GAME 47
Ken Lee (4-3) manages to give up just 3 runs despite the 12 hits in a 6.1-12-3-3-0-3 outing. The offense was flat, again, after a Luis Chavez leadoff home run (15). Rob Powell (4-3) got the win with 8 strong innings (8-5-1-1-2-4) and Sherman Jacobs saves his 7th. Marcos Oginlara went 2-4 with a double (7) and his 14th homer.
NY 3 CHI 1 (30-17 +1)

MINORS
Chartier is headed to Tulsa for a few days, if the offense stays stagnat it won’t be as many as originally planeed.

Roberto Martinez might be a bit ahead of schedule. The 20 year old tossed a 4 hitter today beating AA Brookston 5-0 and moving his record to 5-1 2.13 in 9 AA starts.

TRADE NEWS
I almost pulled the trigger on a deal sending Mike Alexander (7-1 2.35 in Tulsa) to Sacramento for 4.5 star C George Knox. He’s 26, big time home run pop, and our guys have him as a 19 Catcher. A younger, more powerful version of Rafael Flores, making minimum with options left. But I stopped by Alexander’s page before clicking submit (was also getting their 3rd rounder for my 4th) and his page (Alexanders) just won’t let me do this, yet. He’s a 97-99 guy who’s just improved every season. He’s tossed 57.1 IP, 40 hits, 59 K’s to 16 walks to date. He was 14-6 3.42 here last year with 211 K’s in 173.2 IP. I’m going to wait a few weeks and maybe revisit. The impetus was the move of Martinez from AA to AAA, which I think I’m doing anyway.

GAME 48
Alejandrez (6-3) labors, throwing 104 pitches in 5.1-4-3-2-3-2 innings. Rodriguez (H3) Torres (H1) Johnson (H3) get it to a worn out Cruz for his 15th save. The offense left 12 on, managing just 6 runs on 16 hits. Bill Alexander was 3-5 (sure hope he’s heating up, sitting at .220 now) and Morgan (7) Miller (7) and Chavez (16) homered. Miller drove in 2 (30). Mathew Morre was 3-5 in the loss, and the former masher is struggling at .159-2-5 in 25 games so far. Wondering if, at 36, the decline is happening much more rapidly than folks thought.
CHI 6 NY 4 (31-17 +1)

GOOD GAMES
Former Iron Pig Mike Davis tossed a 4 hitter in a 4-0 win over Philadelphia. He’s 4-2 5.19 in 10 starts.

(Was wondering how he was since we dealt him. Seems like forever ago, happened in December, and did it for SP Bryan Rogers. He spent 4 months on the DL last year with a shoulder injury, which marked the 3rd time he’s been out with an arm issue, the main reason we made the move. But since the trade he’s 9-6 in 24 starts, 137 IP, 130 hits, 64 BB and 89 K’s for a 4.60 ERA. In comparison, since the trade, Rogers has gone 16-12 in 37 starts with 217 IP, 202 H, 122 BB and 204 K’s for a 4.65 ERA. Scouts view Rogers abilities and tools as trending up, while Davis’ marks seem to be trending the other way (Rogers is 17/17 13/13 10/11 with a 12 stamina and Davis is 11/11 13/13 9/10 with a 9 stamina.)

Railcat OF Barry Meyer went 5-6 in an 11-4 win over Las Vegas. Since signing his 4 year deal in early April, Meyer has hit .350-4-24 in 40 games with a .402 OBP for Baltimore. The club is 21-19 since Meyer arrived and is 25-23 on the season, 8 games back of 1st place Pittsburgh (33-15) but just 1 game back of Los Angeles in the wild card.

Houston Roughrider Roberto Morales went 5-5 in a 9-6 win over Tulsa.

Joe Phelps (FRE) went 4-5 with 5 RBI’s in an 11-2 win over LA today. Phelps hit for the cycle in the process and is 7-15 with 1 HR and 9 RBI’s in 4 games since being recalled from AAA Magnolia. Phelps was the Grizzlies 3 round pick out of Redlands College in 2015.

FREE AGENT NEWS
Edmonton inks injured veteran to 1 year pact:
The Trappers came to terms with 33 year old OF Jose Lopez on a 1 year 3.55 million dollar deal today. Lopez is a career .271 hitter with 131 home runs and a lifetime .383 OBP. He spent the last 5 seasons in New York and had his best year in 2014 hitting .311-31-114 in 147 games. Lopez tore his ACL in September of last season while playing in New York and is 3 weeks away from returning. After a physical and some tests run out of the eyes of nosy press, the club deemed him fit enough to commit to. His RH bat was one many clubs had talked about as his return nears. He will likely be a PH bat off the bench and spell DH Dave Palmer or RF Armando Arredondo vs LH pitching.

GAME 49
Bryan Rogers (5-2) needed 104 pitches to go 6-5-3-3-5-5 with walks getting at him again. Except for a slight Jorge Torres hiccup (more on this situation in a minute) the pen closed the door but Cruz was needed for the save (16). Yankee SP Diego Laconi continues his nightmare 2017 falling to 2-5 10.30 with 3.2 horrid innings. Paul Riggs was 2-3, scoring twice, Luis Chaves was 3-4 with 2 RBI’s (46) and Wes Morgan was 2-5 with 3 RBI’s (32). Bill Alexander appears to be waking up (at .235 now) going 3-4 with his 9th HR.
CHI 8 SI 4 (32-17 +1)

INJURY NEWS
Knights starting catcher Mark Doyle will miss 2-3 weeks after jamming his shoulder in a collision yesterday. He was hitting .277-5-26 and is coming off a career year in 20-16 that saw him hit .289-21-87.

GOOD GAMES
Dayton 3B Alfonso Gallegos had a day. The 23 year old went 5-5 with 3 RBI’s in an 8-0 win over Brooklyn. Gallegos has struggled early on hitting .211-5-24 on the year.

ROSTER NEWS
Struggling Jose Torres was optioned out. He’s just not getting outs, and causing more problems than he solves. Recently acquired Jake Ellison will be called up, he’s a lefty as well, so the pen stays 3-3.

STUFF
Since signing his extension, Bill Alexander is 17-55 (.309) in 16 games. The power’s still not there (3 HR’s 6 RBI’s) but at least he’s starting to hit. Super prospect Ken Jenkins (last year’s 2nd pick out of USC, two way kid) was sent back to SS Heavener. With injuries at Denison I thought I’d get him some AB’s to see if he was ready (only hit .240 at Heavener last year but he’s 22) and he was downright poop. Hit .165/.210/.248 in 35 games over 133 AB’s. Scouts have his potential with the bat at 20/20/20/10/20, which as you can imagine, has everyone waiting. I expected way more than this, but he wasn't ready. We have him as a 12 runner with 16 stealing and a 19 base runner, exceptional marks for his IF tools and he’s gonna play 2B/3B or SS, which is why we’re playing him all over the infield, but I can’t let the failures bury him. It’s a fine line right now for me, HOF potential bat, with no results. Add to that the fact he plays every game like it’s going to be his last, which we love.

GAME 50
Zamora (5-0) had a great game. 2 2 run homers could have cost him but the offense and his closer (Cruz saved his 17th) bailed him out. He went 8-8-4-4-0-7, showing many reasons why he’s trending up. Marcos Lopez went 7.1-4-2-2-1-4 in a no decision. Luis Chavez slammed his 17 HR in a 2-4 2 run 2 RBI (48) day. Wes Morgan went 1-3 with a tie breaking 2 run double (7) in the bottom of the 8th.
CHI 5 SI 4 (33-17 +1)

INJURY NEWS
Edmonton loses 1st, and their closer in the same day:
Trapper closer Nicholas Clark will be sidelined for up to 2 months with a grade 3 strain of his hamstring. He’s 2-0 12 Saves and a 2.25 ERA. Colton Courtney will take his old job back while Clark is out. Edmonton lost 10-4 to Columbus to fall 1 game behind Alaska in the West.

Hugh Collins was hurt rehabbing yesterday, it’s just DtD but still. We’ll recall him today and let him rest it where we can watch…..Jean Chartier was recalled. He went 7-13 and is clearly ready to get back. Martinez will get his first AAA start today btw.

GAME 51
Thompson (5-3) works around 3 homers going 7-6-4-4-3-7 and Jake Ellison (H1) makes his first IBL appearance, striking out Robbie Howard, the 1st batter he faces in a perfect inning of work. Eric Coates goes 2-2 with 2 runs, 2 RBI’s (20) and 2 walks with his 1st triple. Paul Riggs goes 2-3 and scores 3 runs. Mario Orosco went 3-5 in the loss and made 2 crucial errors leading to 4 unearned runs.
CHI 8 SI 4 (34-17 +2)

GOOD GAMES
Corpus Christi rookie Edward Marsh went 5-7 in an 11-7 loss to San Antonio.

INJURIES
Alaska Avalanche P Domingo Martinez will have rotator cuff surgery and be lost for the season. The 33 year old swingman was 16-11 4.63 last season in 33 starts and was 0-2 5.36 in 10 games (7 starts) this season.

Boston Bombers closer Jose Martinez will miss an additional 3 weeks as he recovers from a strained hamstring. 0-0 with 6 saves and a 2.70 ERA in 8 games since his call up, the 25 year old was claimed off waivers from Baltimore in April.

GAME 52
Ken Lee (5-3) worked around a costly Chartier error going 7-9-5-1-1-4 giving up 3 homers (Helton (6) Diaz (4) and Lopez (1) but managing the win after Ernesto Cruz survived a shaky 9th for his 18th save. Orlando Diaz was 2-4 with 5 RBI’s after his 2nd homer (5), a grand slam, off Ken Johnson in the 8th made it a game again. Enrico Rochas was 3-5 in the loss. Chartier went 4-5 with 2 RBI’s (23) and Luis Chavez was 2-5 with 2 RBI’s (50). Pedro Salinas hit his 12th homer, driving in 2 (34) and Wes Morgan was 3-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI’s (36) on his 8th double. Eric Hudson was 2-4.
CHI 11 GB 10 (36-17 +3)

WEEK 8 RECAP

WEEK 8 FL POTW-Bill Ryan (COL) 8-20 4 HR’s 13 RBI’s (.333-9-27)
WEEK 8 CL POTW-Howard Mathis (SAC) 11-21 4 HR’s 11 RBI’s (.333-9-33)

INJURY NEWS
Edmonton suffers another blow to post season aspirations:
32 year old slugger Tim Davis is likely lost for the remainder of the regular season after tearing ankle ligaments in a game yesterday. The 2B was hitting .297-11-45 and coming off a career year in 2016 when he hit .297-36-135 in 140 games. Before this season he’d never appeared in less than 140 games (135 in ’15). 26 year old 2B Noah Rouhault was recalled from AAA to take his spot on the roster. Edmonton is 1 game behind 1st place Alaska and tied with Columbus in the FL wild card but the significant injuries are mounting.

GOOD GAMES
LA’s Tommy Hobbs tossed a 5 hitter in New Hampshire today, striking out 7 to win his 6th (6-4 4.05)

CONTRACT TALKS
Chicago keeps 2B in the fold for 4 more years:
Paul Riggs and Chicago sat down to announce a 4 year agreement today. The 24 year old 2B will earn 33.39M starting in 2018, to become one of the highest paid second basemen in the game. He will earn a base of 4.48/8.37/8.97 and 11.57 over the life of the contract.

(An outsanding deal for both parties. Takes him through his 28 year old season, when he should be in his prime, and if he is we’ll hammer something out before then as well. He’s a good defender and an outstanding hitter with one of the best strike zone approaches in the game, and scouts believe he still has room to get better. Never posted an OBP below .364 as well as averaging about 40 doubles a season. Our 2018 payroll is sitting, with guesswork arb numbers, at 64.4 million. With Chartier and Alejandrez unsigned and both likely to remain that way. There could be some trades or non-tenders in the arbitration cases as its 3 relievers.)

IBL POWER RANKINGS

1) Chicago (5)
2) Pittsburgh (1)
3) Sacramento (4)
4) Columbus (3)
5) Tulsa (6)
OUT Alaska (6)

MINORS NEWS:
Was editing this week recap to post and saw the above note on Roberto Martinez who made his AAA debut 2 days ago so I went back to check. He went 8.1-4-1-1-4-13, so I guess he was ready! Hopefully his control continues to improve enough to force a September call up. He's still just 20 (turns 21 in 2 months).

[gehrig38]

WEEK 9
2 @ Green Bay (28-24 7 GB MW)
3 vs Edmonton (29-23 1 GB W)
2 vs El Paso (26-26 4 GB W)

GAME 53
Former Iron Pig Carlos De La Torre (3-4) couldn’t make it out of the 1st (0.2-6-7-7-2-1) and Alejandrez (7-3) did everything he could to give it back in a 6-6-6-6-5-8 outing. Eric Coates was 3-6 (2-2 in the 1st inning) driving in 3 (23), Hugh Collins went 2-4 with 2 RBI’s (17) and Paul Riggs hit his 3rd homer, driving in 2. Carl Crawford was 3-4 in the loss and Josh Hamilton hit his 13th homer.
CHI 11 GB 6 (36-17 +3)

MINORS NEWS
Working my minors lineups, tweaking with some injuries, making some callus I notice in Denison division of the Class A league the Dallas Texans Sullivan affiliate? Ya, there 55 games into the season with 5, count’em, 5 wins……On the bright side they don’t have an X next to their name, they’re still alive, just 34 back…

And 2016 first pick Jorge Trujillo is off to a nice start in Belleview. 1-0 1.69 3 starts in, with 16 IP and 13 K’s, 2 BB’s.


GAME 54
Bryan Rogers battled for 7 strong (7-5-2-2-2-2) and the pen went 3-1-0-0-0-4 with Winston getting the win (2-1) and Cruz saving his 19th after Jean Chartier hit a tie breaking solo shot (5) in the 10th. Pedro Salinas was 2-2 with 3 walks and Wes Morgan went 3-4 with 2 RBI’s (39). Josh Hamilton doubled twice (10) and Todd Helton was 2-3 with his 7th homer.
CHI 4 GB 2 (37-17 +4)

GAME 55
A Josh Harris 3 run homer in the 1st gave this one of those ‘looks like a turd’ games. But rookie Gerardo Zamora composed himself, and went 7-6-3-3-0-9 to move to 6-0 on the year. Jake Ellison (H2) got 3 clutch outs in the 8th and Cruz nailed it down for save 20th with a perfect 9th. Luis Chavez was 3-4 with a double, Hugh Collins hit his 5th and Eric Coates hit his 4th in a 2-4 2 RBI (25) day.
CHI 6 EDM 3 (38-17 +5)

MAY RECAP
MAY FL HITTER-Marcos Oginlara (NY) .328-9-19 26 Runs (.270-16-38)
MAY CL HITTER-Angelo Gomez (PIT) .364-8-21 26 Runs (.368-16-46)
MAY FL PITCHER-Jerry Lancaster (MICH) 5-0 2.16 (5-4 4.36) Who?
MAY CL PITCHER-Vince Bray (PIT) 6-0 0.87 (10-1 1.80)
MAY FL ROOKIE-Bill Ryan (COL) .324-10-29 (.324-10-29) His first 19 IBL games….
MAY CL ROOKIE-Enrique Ramos (BOS) .241-4-16 (.258-4-19) weak crop of rookies?

CONTRACT TALKS
I’ve given up on resigning Alejandrez, both the dollars and likely my biased irritation at his consistent inconsistency. I don’t see him becoming MORE of a workhorse in the next few years. But I did take one last stab at Chartier, and his mood entering the meeting was a decent indicator of what to expect, it wasn’t smiles btw…
I extended a 5 year 65M dollar deal, all at 15, with the last year at 20 and a vesting option for 480 games played….It was a short meeting. He’s going to file and we’re just going to have to play it by ear from here on out.
I guess I hope he rakes and pisses fans off over the next 3 months on the way to a world series MVP….

[gehrig38]

A look at the standings and stat races in the Coastal.

Pittsburgh pulling away in the Keystone, again, with a healthy Bray and free agent acquisition Angelo Gomez helping Ross Tunstall in the Bulldog lineup. Tulsa working on a repeat, but Houston's back with Romero delivering.

[gehrig38]

Some decent races.

Seems like New York is setting up to lap a weak field. We now have the IBL's best record, but just 5 games on Columbus. Edmonton making the West a solid 3 team race with Arizona hanging in.

The wild card could get real interesting in both leagues with no major injuries to the top teams.

Love seeing 4 of my 5 SP's in the top 8 for BB/9 and K/BB's as well.

Check out the ERA race, 3 Alaska SP's in the top 8....

[gehrig38]

WEEK 9 con’t



Sullivan Mudhens update
The Dallas Texans Class A Sullivan Mudhens are in the throes of a nightmare, bordering on cataclysmic, yet wildly entertaining and record breaking season. They are now 5-52 through 57 games. Going 3-25 in April, 2-27 in May (with those 2 wins coming back to back on the 27th and 28!. They are 0-20 vs LHP, 3-27 at home and 34 games back. They started the season 0-13 before winning 3 out of 4, and then went on a world record 34 game losing streak! Their leading winner in the rotation is, well it’s 3 guys at 1-7, 1-7 and 1-8. Their closer has 4 saves…
.
They are hitting .173 as a team with 115 runs. They have 21 home runs and 27 stolen bases. Their leading hitter is Oscar Simmons at .198.. Well check in on them from time to time.

GAME 56
Walt Thompson (6-3) was dominant again, going 7-4-1-1-1-11 and Randy Pennington (H9) held for Arturo Rodriguez to notch his 2nd save. There was not 1 run scoring hit in the game. Salinas and Alexander each had 2 of our 6 hits. Arredondo tripled leading off the game, and scored on a Palmer groundout for the Trappers only run. Hugh Collins was removed from the game in the bottom of the 1st after a collision at home where he was tagged out trying to score on a Salinas single. No word on the extent yet.
CHI 3 EDM 1 (39-17 +5)

INJURY NEWS
LA Wizards OF and former IBL batting champ Vincente Soto will miss at least the next 3 weeks after injuring his elbow on a play against the wall in yesterdays game. Soto is hitting .350 with 8 homers and 16 RBI’s for the 2nd place Wizards who trail Sacramento by 2 games in the Pacific and are in a 3 way tie with Vegas and Houston for the Wild Card.

No word on Collins either, he’s out a few days while we wait.

MINORS
Tulsa’s Troy Becker remains on fire in AAA. He went 5-5 in a 7-5 win today to raise his average to .432.

GAME 57
Lee (6-3) goes 8-6-2-2-1-6 and Pedro Salinas drills his 13th and 14th homers, driving in 4 (38). Luis Chavez goes 2-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBI’s (53) on his 18th homer and Jean Chartier goes 2-4 with 3 RBI’s on a double (8) and his 6th homer.
CHI 12 EDM 3 (40-17 +6)

GAME 58
Alejandrez (8-3) tires after 5+ going 5-3-1-1-4-3 on 85 pitches. This is now a going concern. He’s fatiguing earlier and earlier it seems. Ellison and Johnson combined for 4-2-0-0-1-4 innings of relief. Paul Riggs went 3-4 with 2 RBI’s on 2 doubles (18) and his 4th homer and Pedro Salinas hit another home run (15). Bill Alexander was 2-4 with 2 RBI’s and Wes Morgan had 2 hits.
CHI 8 EP 1 (41-17 +7)

GAME 59
A 17-0 rout, for the good guys. Bryan Rogers (6-2) went 7-3-0-0-4-11 and the offense scored 17 runs on 17 hits led by Eric Coates going 5-6 with 4 runs and 6 RBI’s (32) on 3 singles a double (12) and his 5th home run. Luis Chavez homered 2 more times (20) and drove in 5, Pedro Salinas homered (16) for the 4th time in the past 3 games and Massi Lorenzelli was 3-5 with 2 doubles (10).
CHI 17 EP 0 (42-17 +8)

WEEK 9 RECAP
FL POTW-Bob Herman (MICH) 11-25 5 HR’s 12 RBI’s (.261-19-49)
CL POTW-Ron Stokes (SAN) 13-34 3 HR’s 9 RBI’s (.253-16-38)

IBL CAREER SAVES LEADERS
Anbar Suhayb (ALK) 215
Julio Gonzales (LA) 208
Ernesto Cruz (CHI) 196
Joe Boswell (PIT) 181
Bill Barlow (SAC) 180

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Tulsa (5)
3) Pittsburgh (2)
4) Sacramento (3)
5) Los Angeles (8)
OUT Columbus (11)

PROSPECT WATCH
20 year old Roberto Martinez fared even better in his 2nd AAA start tossing a complete game 6 hitter (9-6-1-1-1-6 on 114 pitches in a 5-1 win, and is now 2-0 1.04.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 10
1 vs El Paso (29-30 4 GB W)
Off day
3 @ Brooklyn (25-34 7 GB EM)
2 vs Dayton (24-35 18 GB MW)

GAME 60
Neither starter showed up, 2-2 after 1, 4-4 after 2, 5-5 after three. Zamora went 4-9-5-5-1-4 but Ellison (1-0) won his first IBL game, Johnson and Pennington combined for 5-2-0-0-1-11 in dominating the back end. Bill Alexander went 4-4 with 4 RBI’s (37) on his 10th homer, Jean Chartier went 3-4 with 2 RBI’s on his 7th homer. Eric Coates was injured, and Paul Riggs had to play the last 5 innings in right. It is unknown how bad the injury is but with Collins already hurt we’re severely shorthanded.
CHI 9 EP 5 (43-17 +9)

INJURY NEWS
Collins has a cracked rib, and is out for the next 2-3 weeks. He’s DL’d, and Becker is recalled from Tulsa. Coates has a hand injury, which is going to sideline him for 2-3 weeks as well. 27 year old RP Ed Thomas was waived and designated for assignment to open a roster spot, and 22 year old Orlando Reyes was placed on the 40 man, and recalled from AAA Tulsa. I extrended offers to two older free agents, old farmhand Steve Blue and OF Ricardo Estrada to bolster AAA Tulsa’s OF spots, as we’re short handed right now. Reyes was a minor league free agent signing in 2015. A 19 round selection by Philly in 2012 out of Abborsford HS in Wisconsin, he’s an outstanding CF who can fly. Think Juan Pierre, doesn’t walk but next to impossible to K, with no pop. He’ll man center for the next few weeks. He’s a LHH as well. He was included in the 2013 deal that send Carlos Arredondo to Philly, from Houston, and spent 3 seasons toiling in the minors with the Roughriders, before being released.

SIGNINGS AND TRADES
Houston extends 2B:
Roughrider 2B Roberto Morales will remain in Houston for the next 2 seasons after agreeing to a 2 year 8.8M extension. The 29 year old Morales hit .296-4-27 after being acquired from Pittsburgh last year, and is hitting .269-7-22 in 186 AB’s this year.

West Michigan trades for veteran HR champ:
In a curious move, the White Caps traded 25 year old SP Wilson Munoz and 21 year old SS prospect Jose Rivera to Philadelphia for 40 year old slugger Carlos Arredondo today. Arredondo, the 2014 and 2015 CL HR champion and 2014 CL All Star will slide into the West Michigan lineup and play RF. They are 27-33, 16 games out in the Midwest, and 7 behind the Wild Card leaders. Munoz was the 2012 1st round pick of Las Vegas (17th overall) out of Texas Tech and a rule 5 pick in 2016 by the White Caps. He’s a 2 time minor league all star and was 5-3 4.44 in 12 starts this year. Rivera is a 4-5 star IF prospect signed out of Venezuela in 2015 by the New York Knights, traded to West Michigan in 2016 for SP Rob Powell. He was the IBL’s#29 prospect entering thi season. He’s headed to class A New Orleans.

(Insanely high price for a 40 year old bat, especially being that far back in the race, wow. Huge win for Philly in this one. To me this only makes sense if their plan is to get into immediate contention, which I don’t see, or flip Arredondo for better prospects they have their eye on, with a contender. Hell I’m short Of’ers…..)

GAME 61
Walt (7-3) didn’t have it against his former team today but he managed anyway. Thanks in large part to a 6 run 1st with a revamped, reworked lineup. He went 7-9-6-6-0-3 and gave up 2 2 run homers (Norfleet and Andrade). 4 relievers punched out 3 over 2 scorless, with Ernesto Cruz notching the final 2 for his 21st save. Steve Whiteway (2-4) was bombed, going just 2/3rds of an inning, yielding 6 earnies. Pedro Salinas was 3-5 with a double (10) and his 17th homer, driving in 2 (46). Luis Chavez was 2-5 with a double (13) and 2 RBI’s (60) and Bill Alexander hit his 11th in an 1-4 2 RBI (39) day. Eric Hudson had 3 hits, and Paul Riggs was 2-4 with his 5th homer.
CHI 9 BRO 6 (44-17 +9)

GAME 62
Bullpen dropped the ball today, giving up 3 runs plus an inherited runner to blow the lead and the game. Dave Winston allowed Lee’s runner to score and Sanchez was unusually wild in walking 2 and giving up 3 hits in just an inning of work for the loss(0-2). Dave Osborne went 4-5, as did Carlos Andrade, in the win. Luis Chavez homered twice (22) in a 3-5 2 RBI day (62) and now leads the Frontier League in both categories.
BRO 7 CHI 6 (44-18 +8)

GOOD GAMES
Bill Peters (MICH) was 5-5 in a 9-3 win over Edmonton today. The 24 year old rookie is 18-40 (.450) since his call up.

AA All Star Game
Bakersfield will have 2 pitchers representing the Iron Pig organization at the AA All Star Game: SP Ed Harris (7-2 2.57 (minor league FA) SP Bryant Thomas (6-1 3.19 89K’s 67.2 IP (2014 11th round)

A(N) All Star Game
Denison is sending 3 players to the A(N) All Star Game: SP Ramon Lopez (7-5 2.54 (FA from Domincan 2014) 1B Jake Preston (.355-6-21 (minor league FA) 2B Jason Saunders (.306-4-23 (2014 17th round out of Nebraska)

TRADE NEWS
Houston deals OF to Michigan for veteran IF+:
The Roughriders sent CF Ronald Wright (.272-13-57 in 59 games this year) to Michigan for 34 year old reserve IF Spencer Moore (.329-1-9 in 23 games) and 17 year old OF prospect Jesus Cruz. Cruz is a blue chipper signed by Staten Island in 2016 out of Puerto Rico. He was dealt to the Battlecats last year for CL Chris Stone and SP Steve Hurst. A 5 star ++ runner with a projection of top shelf power, eye and high average. Hit just .208 in 63 games of Rookie ball last year.

Green Bay fills void with trade for RP:
The Blizzard have 5 pitchers on the DL right now and are struggling. That seems to be the driver in their trade for Boston RP Emery Hampton. The 28 year old was with the Blizzard last year (2-4 1 SV 3.35 in 72 games) before Boston signed him to a 1 year 550K free agent contract. Boston sent Hampton and 550K in cash to Green Bay and received 20year old OF prospect John Woodard in return. Woodard was the Blizzards 3rd rounder in 2016 (60th overall) out of San Diego State. They had drafted him with the same pick the prior season and he went unsigned, when he committed to SDSU.

GAME 63
Alejandrez (9-3) tosses about his best game of the season (8-6-3-3-1-1) and the offense bangs out 20 hits and 5 homers in a 12-3 win. Chartier (3-5 HR (8) Riggs (3-6 2 runs) Salinas (3-6 HR (18) Miller (3-6 HR (8) have 3 hit days and Wes Morgan goes 2-6 with his 8th homer, Luis Chavez 2-5 4 RBI’s (66) on his 23rd HR.
CHI 12 BRO 3 (45-18 +9)

INJURY NEWS
Silver Stars slugger Ron Stokes suffered a severe hamstring strain and will be out the next 5 weeks. He was hitting .253-18-42 on the year after a career high 48-118 last season.

Green Bay Closer will be another 3 weeks:
Out since April 13th with a meniscal tear, Blizzard Closer Earl Roberts (7-5 35 Saves 3.00 ’16) will miss another three weeks as he rehabs from surgery. Roberts has appeared in just 5 games (4 Saves 0.00 ERA) this year.

GREAT GAMES
White Cap outfielder Walton Hunter had a day. Going 3-4 with 4 RBI’s on 3 homers in a 7-4 win over El Paso. That gave him 17 on the year and 50 RBI’s.

AAA All Star Game
Tulsa sent 5 players to this years AAA All Star Game: SP Mike Alexander (9-2 2.17 (2012 minor league FA) MR Mike Moore (1-0 8 Saves 1.44 (15th round 2012 Inaugural Draft) CL Chance Holt (1-0 16 Saves 0.89 (Trade with Alaska) SS Jesus Flores (149th round 2012 Inaugural Draft) LF Greg Leonard (.297-4-30 (Trade with Baltimore)

GAME 64
Bryan Rogers (7-2) has ‘that game’ you trade a guy for. Going 8-7-2-2-2-13 in a dominating 118 pitch effort. There was some thought to sending him out for the 9th with 13 k’s, but the risk wasn’t worth it. Ernesto Cruz got the final 3 for his 22nd Save. Wes Morgan hit his 9th, driving in 2 (42).
CHI 4 DAY 2 (46-18 +9)

STUFF
5-1 heading into Sunday and 16-1 in our last 17, 18-2 in last 20. 20-5 in our last 25. All that to say this team is now playing exactly as I had thought it would in spring training and that’s with Hugh Collins missing a large portion of the season so far (just 19 games played so far). It speaks to the depth, but more to the top to bottom rotation we are now running out there. Bryan Rogers, he’s lowered his ERA from a season high 7.67 8 starts ago, to 4.41. In his past 8 he’s 6-1 (team is 7-1) with 54.1 IP 43 H 16 ER 24 BB 60 K’s for a 2.65 ERA. THAT’S the pitcher we were hoping for in the trade. He’s gone 6 or more in every one of those 8, 7+ in 5. His last 2 starts he’s punched out 24 in 15 IP. Zamora hasn’t been nearly as dominant but has lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 6.72 in his past 6 starts, going 4-0 (team is 5-1). Bill Alexander (he of the new extension, whom the fans worship at the altar of in case you forgot) is now hitting .267-11-39. That might not sound like much, but you have to like this: .176/.212/.419 April, .274/.344/.405 May, .483/.559/.828 in 8 June games. Ya he’s ‘hot’ in a manner of speaking.

GAME 65
One bad inning. It happens to almost every young pitcher. They can toss an ugly line score up, that without one inning would look awesome. Zamora went 5-8-6-6-1-6, giving up 6 in the 3rd. Thankfully he pitches for us, and after an Arturo Rodriguez hiccup, Johnson, Ellilson (2-0) and Cruz (SV 23) covered the last 3-1-0-0-0-4 the offense did it’s job. Paul Riggs led off going 2-3 with 3 runs, 2 RBI’s (33) on 2 doubles (21), Chartier was 2-4 with 3 runs, 2 RBI’s (34) on a double (9) and his 9th homer. Luis Chavez continued his all star bid with a 4-5 3 RBI day (69) on his 24th homer. Bill Alexander walked 3 times and Ron Miller was 3-4 with 4 RBI’s (41) on 2 homers (10). Rafael Quintanilla was 2-5 with 3 RBI’s in the loss.
CHI 10 DAY 9 (47-18 +9)

WEEK 10 RECAP
FL POTW-Luis Chavez (CHI) 10-25 5 HR’s 13 RBI’s (.333-24-69)
CL POTW-Luis Cabrera (PHI) 12-26 3 HR’s 8 RBI’s (.291-5-30)

INJURY NEWS
Division leading Sacramento loses a pair:
River Cats ace George Bean will be sidelined for the next 7 weeks afer straining an oblique in Friday’s start. The 29 year old was 10-3 3.05 in 14 starts this year. Atop the league in many categories. Sacramento is tied with LA atop the Pacific, and 2 games ahead of Vegas in the Wild Card. Sacremento then placed starting SS Juan Aguilera on the 60 day DL after breaking his arm in Saturdays game. Aguilera was out for a month earlier this year with a problem in the same arm and many believe it was fractured in the 4/13 game he came out of, but just now doctors have been able to find the break, and diagnose it.

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Pittsburgh (3)
3) Tulsa (2)
4) Los Angeles (5)
5) Columbus (11)
OUT Sacramento (8)

[gehrig38]

A peek at where we are. Even without a guy that might be our best hitter, this offense is, or should, set some records for output. Chavez could be the steal of the century. Chartier is, well, Chartier. He's leaving at years end, and it's likely only he and I know it right now, so I'll take everything he has between now and then and hope like hell we patch it up, or he signs with a CL team.

Remember too, the Wild Card this year is 2 teams, 1 game, loser goes home. Definitely going to change the importance of winning a division. Also seriously going to favor a team like Pittsburgh or us even, with a true dominating Ace, but you'll need cushion to arrange for it, and it also will hose you for the early part of your next series.

Draft is in 3 days, been scouting my butt off. (also I have noticed that there is some slight changes to players when you scout them. I don't know if that's 'time' or if that's because you did scout them, but I am seeing 1 pt changes in some skills after scouting guys).

[gehrig38]

WEEK 11
1 vs Dayton
3 @ Arizona
3 vs Columbus

DL NEWS
Collins is still 2 weeks out, Coates is now a week but has 8 DL days left.

GAME 66
A rare stinker for Thompson (8-3) as he heads into the 5th up 5-0 and surrenders a 2 out 5-1 grand slam to Alfonso Gallegos (8) to blow the lead. The offense bails him out, and the pen goes 3-1-0-0-0-5 with Cruz saving his 24th. Thompsons line 6-9-5-5-0-5. Wes Morgan hit his 10th, Alexander his 12th, and Paul Riggs was 2-5 leading off again. Gallegos was 3-4 with 4 RBI’s. The save by Ernesto Cruz was career save #200. Making him just the 3rd IBL pitcher to reach the mark.
CHI 8 DAY 5 (48-18 +9)

DRAFT QUESTION
If anyone of you guys are interested, take a peek back at the bats in the draft, Cary Wallace could be an intriguing pick. He’s at Villanova, scouts call the conference “Great” competition. He’s 20, an outstanding defender (14/14 at SS/3B) and 16 Range/17 Error/11 Arm/17 Turn DP. He’s a 14 runner already, not much in the way of stealing. Can bunt, and bunt for hits. No pop whatsoever, but projecting a 17/19/7/14/16 CON/GAP/HR/EYE/K’s ceiling. Thoughts? Chartier is walking, I cannot afford him and at this point am turned off at the prospect of ‘pursuing’ him. Wallace is from Philly, and personality, from all reports is “everyday guy who cleans up in card games So he knows how to be a teammate. His college numbers are very good .338/.412/.509 with 4-44 in 48 games, 37-51 steals. 20K 21BB. Interested in feedback if you guys are reading in timely fashion. We pick 9th. There are just 18 1st rounders, 19 sandwich, and we pick 6th in the 2nd, so we have 2 of the first 43 picks meaning even with the 19 sandwich we’re picking our 2nd player in what would be the 15th pick in round 2. There are 22 2nd rounders, and 32 3rd rounders, we pick 21 and 29 in the 3rd. So we pick 9, 43, 80, 89 in the 1st 3. Oh btw, Dallas and Boston pick 1 and 2, but West Michigan picks 3-4, no sandwich, then 2-3 in round 2. Bottom line is I could likely stop gap with Lorenzelli at SS, he’s very good defensively, and won’t be a hole in the lineup, but if this kid leaves (Chartier) I need to look for a franchise guy to replace him and Ken Jenkins is a potential HoF bat but he’s 2 and just got abused in A ball. He may blossom once the Heavener season starts but he also plays all three IF positions, so I could play him anywhere. Not the defender this kid is but an extreme bat if he fulfills it.

[gehrig38]

Prepping for the draft tomorrow (and I actually am but here's a look back at last year's top 5 picks, what was said then, and what's being said now....

WHAT THEY SAID THEN:
1) Corpus Christi-Adolfo Gobbi (18), SP, Maryville Christian HS, Maryville, TN- DAMN! This was the kid we were targeting, hoping his 5.2M asking price would scare folks away. Scouts have his as a 20/17/20 peak guy. Dang, wanted this kid.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING NOW:
12-11 3.13 in 31 starts between Rookie and A Ball this year. In 187 IP he’s given up 140 hits, 233 K’s with 92 walks. No change in overall projections, a #1 in waiting.

WHAT THEY SAID THEN:
2) West Michigan-Jose Chavez (18), OF, Coachella Valley HS, Thermal, CA-Asking 8.5 million! OSA has him off the charts in every category as a hitter, and can run. Our guys believe in the power, but don’t think he’ll hit for average enough to warrant this high and that much.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING NOW:
They could not sign him, one of the reasons they have 4 picks early in the 1st 2 rounds, they missed on the 2nd rounder as well.

WHAT THEY SAID THEN:
3) New Hampshire-Joe Rhodes (17), SS, LA International HS, Los Angeles, CA-Another HS kid after none in the top 4 last year. NH likes HS talent it seems. Another guy our scouts don’t love, but can fly, and OSA has him as huge upside with the bat.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING NOW:
OSA guys still have his offense as off the charts potential, our guys still don’t buy it, especially with the below average defense. Hit .237-6-24 between Rookie and Short Season in 71 games, 7-9 steals. 70 K’s to 32 walks.

WHAT THEY SAID THEN:
4) Our guys believe Jorge Trujillo is the pick. A 20 year old lefty from Dallas Baptist. Believed to be a 20/16/20 ceiling starter who throws mid 90’s right now. He’s 6’ 205, and durable too. Would like a little more size (6’2” to me, is the size you start with when talking about an innings eating top of the rotation ace. Rare is the guy in that spot, a true #1 spot, that’s 6’ tall. Asking 2.1 for a slot we allotted 3.53 for. The only other possible pick in my mind right here is Gary Montgomery, an 18 year old righty from South Mecklenburg HS, Charlotte, NC. Our guys have him a 20/17/17 ceiling kid who throws 93-95 right now. Given his ask is 6.5 and he’s got Boras as his agent, it seems Trujillo, whose brother we already have in our system, is the likely pick. Stan Hall, 17 year old righty, is the only other name we’re looking at. His 7.5 million ask and the fact he’s 17 are downsides. His 211 K’s in 115 IP isn’t… We select Jorge Trujillo with our pick.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING NOW:
Went 4-9 5.25 in 13 starts at short season Heavener. 72 IP and 78 K’s with 69 hits. Upside projections aren’t what they were, but he’s in Belleview and not disappointing. He’s gone 1-1 2.33 in 5 starts with 27 IP 20 Hits, 26 K’s and 11 walks. He’ll spend the year there and hopefully blossom. He’s 21, turning 22 next month. Right now, based on the rotation we have if he hits our projections he’s a 4-5. OSA guys have him as a future Ace, 19’s and 20’s all over the place.

WHAT THEY SAID THEN:
5) San Antonio-Stan Hall (17), SP, Roselle Park HS, NJ-Love this kids upside, huge sticker price though.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING NOW:
Went 5-4 3.67 in 14 starts. Over 73 IP gave up 74 hits, 64 K’s and 38 walks. He’s just 18, turning 19 next month and ticketed to start at Rookie ball again, our guys think he’s ready for Short Season at a minimum.

[gehrig38]

Before Drafting tomorrow, one more look at the top players... the BOLDED ones are the guys I scouted...

[gehrig38]

Picks made in the 1st 2 rounds are 2 things on draft day, expensive and big leaguers in waiting. The 1st thing never changes, the second changes too often. Picks in the top 2 rounds are generally high ceiling superstars, or every day playing sure things, but for scouts sake they better be one of those two. Grading them is a bit easier than most other rounds because an F is simple, they don’t make it. A D is they may make it, but it’s a cup of coffee and done. You can’t help that one, because no matter how much you scout you have no idea what the players reaction to failure, and MLB competition is until it happens. Anything above a D is a draft pick that’s made it and is impacting. For this look back we’re too close to grade them on this scale, so we’ll project based on what they’ve done, and what the scouts feel about them now, and in the near future.

2012

#1 (5th overall) Anthony Martin (5’11” 220) SP (Oakwood Friends HS, NY)-Grade D-
Huge hopes for this pick. He was everything you could project in a future #1 with 1 exception; he’s 5’11” tall. We overlooked it too much, and we won’t do it again. He is likely plateaued in AA. Somewhere in the past 2 seasons he lost the ability to throw strikes, not quality strikes but actual strikes. Walked 112 in 160.2 IP last year. He sits 90-92 but the stuff just never progressed on the plane we expected. If he stays here, and doesn’t improve any more, we’ll move him to the pen for one last hurrah. He’s 23, and the clock is not ticking, its winding down.

#2 (29th overall) Raul Feliz (6’3” 200) LF (Chaparral High School, AZ)-Grade A
Spent 141 total games in the minors, went to AA out of the draft and did nothing but hit. Called up to Chicago about midway through ’13 season and had a great start hitting .282-13-56 in 85 games with 19-25 SB’s. Was the youngest guy at every stop, reached the IBL at 18 and played like a vet. Played in 123 games in ’14 going .269-8-56 with 24-32 SB’s and was 6th in the league with 7 triples. Played in 91 games in ’15 hitting .290-8-41 with 14-22 SB’s. A career 1.034 Def Eff in LF. Part of the trade, with Sib van Bodegraven, to acquire C Martin Ramirez and 3B Jose Ramirez from Corpus Christi in November of 2015. In 123 games with the Hooks has hit .262-9-50 with 7-9 SB’s. Ramirez is our top Catching prospect but Jose has flamed out. Exactly the type of player you dream of picking here.

2013

#1 (4th overall) Gerardo Zamora (6’8” 235) SP (East Ridge HS, FL) Grade A
Was a physical monster, huge and intimidating, and still is. Much care was put into the pace with which he progressed. Opinions vary but I’ve always felt at/about 500 IP was what a young pitcher needed in the minors before being ‘ready’. Zamora threw 533 before his call up last year. He’s 9-6 6.07 in 25 starts 146.2 IP 183 H 105 K’s and 48 BB’s. Those don’t look great, and they aren’t but the trend is headed in the right direction. He’s getting better and needs to be managed better in games. He’s just turned 23 and I believe he’s going to be exactly what we drafted him to be, a top of the rotation SP with outstanding control.

#2) (32nd overall) Eric Coates (6’3” 180) OF (West Virginia U.) Grade A
2016 Frontier League Rookie of the Year, making our 2nd rounders 2-2. We were stunned he was available, and weren’t wrong to be so. Hit his whole way up, and continues to do so, setting the table for the most potent offense in the game. Played in 290 minor league games (300 is my games played number based on experience, for everyday players to get under their belt). Hit a whopping .347-10-49 in 98 games to help drive the offense to within an out of a World Title. He’s likely to contend for a gold glove in a corner OF spot with one of the better OF arms in the game. Just 25 years old (26 next month) and if he stays healthy a decade or longer IBL career will certainly happen.

2014

#1) (8th overall) Roberto Martinez (6’5” 230) SP (Lee Academy, SC) Grade B+
Just 20 years old now (21 next month) and already in AAA and dealing (3-0 1.52 in 3 starts). Just passing 300 IP in the minors and has gotten better each year, and each stop. Is a combined 8-1 1.97 in 12 starts between AA/AAA with 87 IP 65 H 38 BB 82 K’s. Everything is improving and it’s coming faster than we’d expected. He’ll knock on the rotation door in September of this year, or spring training of next. He’s 93-95 now and the command is getting better with each season. Love to see him stay healthy and get in 175+ IP this season in the minors. Another pick on the exact path you hope for someone drafted this high.

#2) (27th overall ) Jorge Trujillo (6’5” 210) 1B/DH (Labette HS, KS) ?
Monster bat with 50 homer power. No speed, will be a liability in the field if he has to play there, but could hit 40 a year for the next 10-15 years. Just 20 now and In A Ball, but not with us. Sent to Las Vegas in June of last season, right after the draft (and our picking another monster bat with the same position future) as we felt we had more than enough slugging 1B/DH types, it’s looking like this could be a real REAL bad trade. We got back IF John Johnston who our scouts love as a 4th IF and OB machine, but he’s not going to do anything close to what Trujillo will do offensively. Seems to be taking flight this year, hitting .307-16-42 in 42 games in A Ball. Be interesting to see how he progresses, he’s just 20 years old.

2015

#1) (1st overall) Pedro Salinas (6’3” 210) 1B/DH (Oklahoma State) A+
The consensus #1 and he’s been everything and more in the short period since this draft. April rookie of the month this year and is currently hitting .302-20-53 in 68 games. Probably delayed his arrival a few months for no real reason. He was ready last year, hitting .300-33-99 in 131 games in Tulsa before his September call up. If he stays healthy he will have multiple top 3 MVP finishes before he’s done. He’s 25 years old (26 next April) and he’s playing 1st a bit better than we’d expected. The move of Morgan to 3rd has done ok, though our overall defense has suffered.

#2) (83rd overall) Zeke Mansel (6’5” 240) SP (Bay View HS, WI) ?
He’s returning to Omaha this season, and he’s just 19 (20 in September) and he’ll work as a swingman to continue getting IP. 79 K’s 57 BB in 73.1 IP so far. You know you have something when a players name is constantly included in trade offers from other teams. His is one of those names. The control, and movement, are less than expected but the mid 90’s fastball is there. Jury’s out but this year will likely be the year he starts moving seriously in one direction or another.

2016

#1 (4th overall) Jorge Trujillo (6’0” 200) SP (Dallas Baptist HS, TX) ?
Struggled a bit in Heavener last year (4-9 5.25 in 13 starts) but has moved to A Ball and picked it up (1-1 2.33 in 5 starts) in 27 IP 20 H 26 K’s 11 BB. He turns 22 in August but he’s progressing fine. Has 40 HR pop should the pitching thing not work with good wheels and can play 1B and the corner OF spots with very good speed. Hit .191 in 110 AB’s at Heavener when he wasn’t throwing. Now we’ve all decided, including him, that focusing on one thing is probably best. Has 104 K’s and 40 walks in 99 pro innings.

#2) (33rd overall) Ken Jenkins (6’1” 215) IF (USC) ?
Hit .240-7-32 in 62 games at Heavener and called him up to Class A Denison when injuries beat up their infield this year, and he struggled, hitting just .165-1-11 in 35 games so he’s back at Heavener. Can play 2B/3B/SS and all three at IBL avg or better right now, so position wise he will play all over until we see a need to push in certain direction. Right now, today, our scouts have his ceiling at 20/20/20/10/20, which scares me since by this time they’ve always moved their assessments down after seeing a player play through his first season. His nickname is “Hulk” which tells you about his build. Has very good range and a very good arm. Good runner, great base stealer as well. He’s 22, so I am expecting the bloom to fade, or him to explode this year.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 11 CON’T

GAME 67
Lee (7-3) goes 6-7-3-2-0-6 and the offense is just killing. Another big 1st inning with 2 homers, and 5 in the game. Salinas goes 3-6 with 3 runs, 2 RBI’s on 2 homers (20). Luis Chavez his his 25th, Ron Miller scores 4 times and hits his 11th, Wes Morgan goes 3-5 with 3 runs on 2 doubles (12) and his 11th homer. Orlando Reyes goes 3-5 with 4 RBI’s (5) on 2 doubles. Juan Cabrera goes 4-5 (now hitting .341) in the loss.
CHI 16 AZ 4 (49-18 +9)

INJURY NEWS
Dave Winston hurt himself. He’s actually been nicked up, but has full blown tendinitis and will head to the 15 day for 2-3 weeks rest. This is one place we can afford it, we have depth here. Chance Holt is recalled from Tulsa to take his spot.

GAME 68
Alejandrez takes a 4-0 lead into the 6th and with 1 out Travis Stuckey drills a game tying Grand Slam (9). He’d dealt to that point, and ended with a 7-4-4-4-3-9 line. Chance Holt got his first taste of IBL hitting and got beat up a little, giving up 2 hits and a Gabriel Flores game winning 2 run homer in the 8th (11). Will Harris went 7-6-4-4-4-2, Esteban Mendez saved his 15th. Ron Miller had 2 hits and 2 RBI’s (45).
AZ 6 CHI 4 (49-19 +8)

INJURY NEWS
Alaska Avalanche RP Koshiro Yamamoto will miss the rest of the season after a serious shoulder injury took him out of yesterdays game. The 36 year old was 1-0 4.43 in 18 games this year.

GAME 69
Rogers (7-3) had his first bad one in awhile. Gave up 6 on 8 hits in 4, walking 4 with 5 K’s. Truman Stuckey had a double (18) triple (2) and 4 RBI’s in the win. Miller (12) and Salinas (21) homered in the loss. Nick Gustafson (7-6) went 6.2-7-2-2-3-4 for the win and Esteban Mendez worked a perfect 9th for his 16th save.
AZ 6 CHI 3 (49-20 +7)

DRAFT TIME!

[gehrig38]

2017 DRAFT
The First 10 picks

1) Boston Bombers-Pat Kelley (5/27/95 6’2” 210) LH SP (South Carolina)
With their first ever draft choice Boston picks the kid asking for the highest bonus in the draft, 8.5 million. He’s also the closest arm to the IBL with a mid to upper 90’s fastball and an assortment of above average pitches. True power lefty and #1 arm.

2) Dallas Texans-Bobby Hall (5/29/99 6’4” 185) LHH OF (North Springs HS, GA)
Our scouts aren’t fans of Dallas’ first ever pick, certainly not for 4.8 million. The OSA guys aren’t hot on him either but he can run, has very good eye with some pop. Hit .545-11-38 with 35 steals in 22 games vs what many consider average HS competition.

3) West Michigan-Lee Case (7/19/96 6’0” 220) RH SP (Texas Tech)
Was a player we scouted and certainly were talking about, but his 7 million ask was a deal breaker. Against top notch competition he went 11-3 2.31 with 145 K’s in 128 IP. They have back to back picks and this was a solid 1st one if you have the money.

4) West Michigan-Joaquin Vargas (2/26/95 6’2” 195) RH SP (U of Arizona)
Well that’s one way to rebuild a staff. Another top of the rotation arm but also another 7 million dollar bonus. Was a 2 way player at Arizona but he’s top of the rotation material. Both picks are A/AA ready now. I’ve heard rumors that the White Caps are looking at 8-9 million in their draft budget, which would kill one of these picks. That would be a shame because there’s a ton of great talent on the board asking far less money.

5) Philadelphia-Allen Hunter (1/4/94 6’7” 190) LHH 1B (Northwestern)
Enormous leverage on an almost 7 foot frame. Hit 15 homers in 46 games against great competition. OSA thinks he’s the next big thing, our guys aren’t fans, he’s 23 too.

6) Dayton-Jose Torres (4/24/99 6’1” 195) LHH OF (Batavia HS, IL)
A 5 tool kid. Top tier speed, cannon for an arm, amazing range and a bat that projects top tier power. An outstanding eye for the zone. Swings and misses a bit much but not much he can’t do. Likely a LF or CF.

7) Michigan-Juan Franco (10/14/99 6’1” 205) RHH C (West Roxbury, MA)
Another guy the OSA scouts love, and ours aren’t high on. Punished northern HS pitching to a .554 average with 11-37 in 23 games. Runs ok for a catcher, good arm, workable skills. Just 17 years old.

8) Brooklyn-Larry Lowry (1/30/98 6’5” 190) RH SP (Ridgewood Baptist, IL)
Nice body for a top of the rotation arm. Touches 95 easily already at 19. 138 k’s to 12 walks in 81 IP with a 0.67.

9) Chicago-Cary Wallace (12/15/96 6’0” 185) RHH 3B/SS (Villanova)
Martin was zeroing in on the 1 kid I was, of all of them, leery of. 21 year old Catcher Chris Hall. Out of Newbury College in Brookline, Mass. Let’s see, bad competition (he hit .349-13-44), a concern with his work ethic (bigger concern since he’s 21) and many questions around his ability to stay healthy. He’s also asking 1.9 million. I’m on 3 guys. SS Cipriano Alonzo (18) SP Carlos Gonzalez (17) and SS Cary Wallace (20). And I’m trying to ignore Orlando Rea who I would KILL to take 2nd. Given OSA’s even higher ceiling for Wallace that’s the pick.

10) Buffalo-Carl Dooley (12/21/98 6’6” 225) OF (Victor Christian Academy, NM)
Monster of a kid who likely won’t come off the field once he steps on. Neither scouting department (OSA and ours) feels like he’s a 1st rounder. Runs very well for a monster, destroyed average HS pitching (.543).

2nd Round- Cipriano Alonzo (3/25/99 6’2” 180) 2B/SS (Abington Heights HS, PA)
Thinking behind the pick…
Orlando Rea is there. His ceiling is 15/14/20 per our guys. His 3rd pitch is just non-existent right now but we’re ok with that. Has the feel of a HUGE hit/miss pick for me. 20 year old who has a feel for pitching though. Out of Minnesota. The other pick is Carlos Gonzalez, 17 year old who’s a 20/11/15 ceiling guy. Both are sitting high 80’s right now, which is fine, but Rea has 3 years on this kid. Worries? He’s 6’0” 170….Rea’s 6’2” 205. However, I could go with Cipriano Alonze, after Wallace, getting our two highest rated middle infielders in 2 picks? Given how I feel about our pitching and having 2 more picks close….Alonzo has 1 thing Wallace doesn’t, Olympic speed. Take the best player, and with 80-89 grab a pitcher or 2 if there’s good arms left? Ya…..BTW, so consumed I didn’t even ask the scouts who they wanted here….

3rd Round-Orlando Rea (10/12/96 6’2” 205) SP (Minnesota)
Thinking behind the pick
Martin wants Ash Carter, 6’2” RHH 1B who can mash, just 17. A hitter more than a slugger. Decent speed. No way. Got my guy for the next decade and I cannot go three rounds and not grab an arm.

3rd Round (2nd Pick)-Ash Carter (12/11/99 6’2” 205) RHH 1B (Trabuco Hills, HS, CA)
Thinking behind the pick
Carter is still there. If he’s this good and Salinas remains, someone will trade for him

4th Round-Emilio Aragon (9/11/95 6’2” 200) RHH 1B (Clemson)
Thinking behind the pick
Now he’s recommending Emilio Aragon, Clemson 1B with monster bat too. If I did, or do, then someone’s moving to the OF to give it a whirl. There are some college relievers I like but I have no 5th rounder….

6th Round-Matt Tucker (10/23/96 6’1” 200) RH CL (San Diego State)
Thinking behind the pick
Both college arms I liked went back to back earlier this round, Sherman Marr to Philly at the 4th, and Jesse OHalloran to Dayton with the next pick. Believe it or not Martin is recommending FSU 1B Marcos Leyva.. Not happening.

7th Round Collin Thomason-CF (12/27/96 6’1” 155) TCU
8th Round-Chet O’Dineer-SP (10/14/99 6’6” 205) American Heritage, TX
9th Round-Jacob Land-MR (5/29/98 6’2” 200) Coral Springs HS, FL
10th Round-Cecil Irving OF (3/28/95 6’4” 205) Mississippi
11th Round-Johnny Taylor C (5/1/99 6’1” 220) Rice HS, NY
12th Round-Greg Owen IF (7/10/95 6’0” 200) Miami
13th Round-Pepe Macias MR (5/7/98 5’9” 180) Cocke County HS, TN
14th Round-Manuel Reyes OF (1/28/96 5’8” 175) Pepperdine
15th Round-Glenn Ratcliff SP (9/11/95 6’6” 220) Mississippi State
16th Round-Bill Simmons OF (6/1/95 6’1” 195) Long Beach State
17th Round-Marty Cook SP (8/22/98 6’1” 225) Wheaton Academy, IL
18th Round-Norberto Garcia C (11/29/94 6’1” 215) Clemson
19th Round-Miguel Lucero SP (5/4/96 5’10” 175) LSU
20th Round-Archie Walker 1B (1/30/96 6’0” 240) Michigan
21st Round-Michael Green MR (11/23/99 5’11” 200) Pearl River HS, LA
22nd Round-Pete Lewis 3B (5/1/98 5’11” 190) Roxana HS, IL
23rd Round-Tom Oglethorpe IF (12/1/96 6’4” 205) Charleston Southern, SC
24th Round-Orlando Garcia OF (5/6/97 6’1” 210) Georgia Tech
25th Round-Will McWhirter CL (3/6/96 6’6” 216) Alabama

[gehrig38]

WEEK 11 Con’t

GAME 70
Zamora (6-1) loses his first, getting tagged with 3 homers in 3.2 IP and giving up 8. 3 in the 1st, 2 in the 3rd and the outing ended on 3 in the 4th. Chartier was 3-5, Troy Becker hit his 1st in the loss, driving in 3 (9). All Star Jeffrey Hudson was 4-5 with 2 homers (22) and 6 RBI’s (67) and Wazir Ubadah hit 2 homers (6) as well.
COL 9 CHI 5 (49-21 +6)

INJURY NEWS
CC loses 2B:
Hooks 2B Randy Boyd will miss the next month with a high ankle sprain he suffered in todays game. He goes down while hitting .298-15-38.

GOOD GAMES
Diable SS Tony Ruiz went 5-5 in a 9-4 win over the Yankees today.

GAME 71
Walt Thompson (9-3) was on, going 7.2-7-2-2-0-10 and after a Harris error and a Michael Griffin 2 out homer of Cruz, he saves his 25th. Harrs was 2-3 with 4 RBI’s on a double (2), Becker went 2-2 on a double (5) and scored 3 times.
CHI 5 COL 4 (50-21 +7)

DRAFT NEWS
3rd rounder Orlando Rea has agreed to terms and will start the season at Omaha.

GAME 72
A crucial 2nd inning Pedro Salinas error led to 6 unearned runs as Ken Lee (7-4) couldn't escape the landslide. He went 1.2-7-8-2-2-2. Jorge Garcia was 3-4 2 RBI’s on a double (2) and Haqverdi Hamidov drove in 3. Ron Miller hit his 13th homer and Wes Morgan was 2-5 with 2 RBI’s (46).
COL 9 CHI 7 (50-22 +6)

WEEK 11 RECAP
FL POTW-Jeffrey Hudson (COL) 15-28 3 HR’s 15 RBI’s (.312-22-67)
CL POTW-Jelmar Walraven (LV) 14-27 2 HR’s 5 RBI’s (.352-2-15)

ORG NEWS
Tulsa 20 year old Roberto Martinez tossed a 2 hitter yesterday to move to 4-0 1.10 in 4 starts since his promotion (that’s music to the ears).

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Tulsa (3)
3) Columbus (5)
4) Pittsburgh (2)
5) Sacramento (8)
OUT Los Angeles (6)

[gehrig38]

The 2017 All Star teams:
6 Iron Pigs. Surprised to see Alejandrez name on this list. Nice, he'll make someone pay for this. First year Bill Alexander won't be at the game.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 12
Off Day
3 @ Buffalo
All Star Break

GAME 73
2 more early errors leading to 3 unearned runs were troublesome, but Jim Peck (3-5) tossed 7-5-0-0-2-5 making it a non-issue. Our defense is hurting us more than I expected. Alejandrez (9-4) went 5-8-6-3-2-5 and surrendered 3 homers. Andre Blakeway was 3-4 in the win.
BUF 6 CHI 0 (50-23 +6)

DL NEWS
Eric Coates was sent out on a rehab, as will Hugh Collins in 3 days. With the All Star Break coming up it’s the smart thing to do.

GOOD GAMES
Silver Star SP Ruben Cruz is in the midst of a miserable first impression with his new club, but today made folks forget by tossing a 4 hitter over Philly in a 3-0 win. He’s 3-10 5.17 on the season.

DRAFT NEWS
5th rounder Emilio Aragon has signed, and will get going in Omaha.

INJURY NEWS
18 game winner Marshal Wall learned he’ll miss the remainder of the 2017 season after underwent shoulder surgery today and was found to have a torn labrum. Wall was 6-5 4.33 in 14 starts for Vegas, 40-33 4 GB of Sacramento and holding the 2nd Wild Card by 2 over Houston. He’s the 3rd 51’s SP to land on the DL this year.

GAME 74
Chance Holt and Ryan Pennington came up with HUGE outs in the 7th to escape a bases loaded 0 out situation, trailing 1-0, and the offense pounced for 4 runs in the next half inning to snatch a nice win. Up against former Iron Pig Elijah Walton (8.1-14-6-6-1-4 on 141!! PITCHES!
OOTP DESIGN RANT! This needs to be addressed. No way a pitcher should stay in for that many hits, or that many pitches unless you allow a setting that lets me choose it).
Bryan Rogers battled going 6-6-1-1-5-4 to hold it with Pennington (1-1) winning and Ken Johnson getting the last 6 outs for his 1st save this year.
Paul Riggs was 3-5 with 2 runs on 2 doubles (25).
CHI 6 BUF 2 (51-23 +7)

STREAKS
Ed Thomas (SAN) went 2-5 to extend his streak to 20 straight with a hit.

DRAFT NEWS
1st rounder Cary Wallace agreed to terms and will report to Heavener to being his IBL career.

TRADE NEWS
LA snags an All Star, West Michigan saves some cash:
3 time all star Valentin Maitani will be calling Los Angeles his new home. In a deal that everyone on the planet believes was driven by money, the West Michigan White Caps sent the 27 year old slugger to the Wizards for 35 year old 1B/DH Henry Wilson. Maitani, who signed a 7 year 61.9M dollar contract extension this winter on the premise the club was going to become competitive under owner Ryan Kelly, was having a down season (.230-11-33) but at 27 many believe it’s a blip. He’s 5 short of 200 career homers and from all accounts a fantastic clubhouse presence. Wilson won’t even be a regular in the White Cap lineup. The thinking outside the White Cap organization is that this move was made to free up the capital to sign both 1st round draft choices from this years draft, with them needing almost 7 million more on top of their draft budget (Maitani is slated to earn 7.5M this year). Fans are irate in Michigan, elated in LA. This move pushes them to 2nd in the IBL with a 92.3M dollar 2017 payroll. LA is 44-30, 1 game behind Sacramento, and 3 games in front of Vegas in the 1st Wild Card position.

(If that is the logic to this deal it makes sense, otherwise this is a career ending move for White Cap GM Tomas Jaquez, who moved from Michigan to the White Caps this winter and hasn’t had a club finish with a .440 or better win % since 2012)

Pittsburgh trades for an IF:
The Bulldogs sent 19 year old Steve Smith to New Hampshire for 25 year old utility man Norm Arden. Arden has played in just 30 games the past 2 seasons and is just coming into himself as a player. A decent RH bat and an extremely good middle infielding defender, he’s a weapon on the bases as well. Smith was the Bulldogs 3rd round pick (72nd overall) in 2015 out of Parkrose HS, OR, and projects as a high average, on base top of the lineup speedster. His primary position is right with one of the leagues better arms.

Andy Fritz heads to the Yankees:
Buffalo’s Glenn Hanna has resumed his old role as the Bison closer after Buffalo sent 29 year old Closer Andy Fritz to Staten Island for 21 year old OF prospect Domingo Blanca and 20 year old OF prospect Anthony Porter. Fritz was 3-6 with 11 Saves and a 3.21 ERA in 30 games this year. He’s 26-22 with 23 Saves anda 2.98 ERA lifetime, in 327 games and 410.1 IP. He’s amassed 487 K’s and walked 198. The move was precipitated by former Yankee Closer Eli Gill’s move to the 60 day DL, and news he’ll likely miss another 10-11 months after undergoing tommy john surgery. The Yankees have been mixing and matching closers for the past month with poor results and are now 9 games behind the Knights in the Empire, and the same back of Green Bay for the 2nd Wild Card. Blanca is the better of the 2 prospects in the deal with Porter being a fringe prospect to many scouts.


GAME 75
Without the rain delays a nice way to go into the break. Zamora was rained out after 4-3-2-2-1-3 and Ellison won his 3rd (3-0) in relief. Chartier went 2-4 with his 19th homer, driving in 4 (42) and is hitting .351 at the break. Chavez hit his 26th homer, driving in 3 (78). Miller and Reyes went 2-5 and scored twice.
CHI 12 BUF 2 (52-23 +7)

DRAFT NEWS
I saved huge money on the draft this year. All players were slot guys, and none was even close to the slot # in their ask so far. Ash Carter signed today. The 17 year old will head to Omaha.

[gehrig38]

2012 Coastal 6 Frontier 5 W-Hanna (FRE) L Wells (EP) S Suhayb (LV) MVP-Tunstall (PIT) 2-3 HR

2013 Coastal 9 Frontier 3 W-Suhayb (LV) L-Watts (CC) MVP-Jongmans (BAL) 3-5 3 RBI’s

2014 Frontier 10 Coastal 4 W-Barlow (DAY) L M. Holmes (COL) MVP V. Pitzi (SAC) 2-3 2 HR’s 6 RBI’s

2015 Frontier 8 Coastal 1 W Barlow (DAY) L-Medina (FRE) MVP Chartier (CHI) 3-3 2B 3 RBI’s Run

2016 Frontier 5 Coastal 4 W Potts (ALK) L-Gonzalez(LA) MVP Alberto Villanueva (NY) 2-5 HR RBI (walk off HR)

2017 Frontier 7 Coastal 6 W Courtney (EDM) L Gonzalez (LA) S Cruz (CHI) MVP Todd Helton (GB) 2-3 HR 3 RBI, R

Frontier has now won 4 straight, LA’s Julio Gonzalez is the loser for the 2nd straight season. Paul Riggs is the 3rd star, Chavez 2nd as both homer in the game.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 12 RECAP
FL POTW-Todd Helton (GB) 11-21 3 HR’s 11 RBI’s (.343-11-54)
CL POTW-Jesus Andrales (LV) 13-24 2 HR’s 8 RBI’s (.349-8-53)

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Tulsa (2)
3) Sacramento (5)
4) Columbus (3)
5) Arizona (8)
OUT Pittsburgh (7)

[gehrig38]

WEEK 13
3 vs Alaska
3 @ West Michigan
1 @ Michigan

ROSTER NEWS
Collins and Coates are brought off the rehab, Reyes and Becker are sent back to Tulsa (who’s 50-28 +16 btw).

GAME 76
Ken Johnson blows it for Thompson in the 7th, then the pen musters 5-2-0-0-2-8 and Rodriguez gets the win when Eric Coates hits a 1 out, walk off Grand Slam in the 12th. Coates was 3-5 with 5 RBI’s (37). Paul Riggs went 3-6 and scored twice, Jean Chartier hit his 11th homer.
CHI 7 ALK 3 (12) (53-23 +7)

GAME 77
4 homers (Coates (7) Morgan (12) Miller (14) and Salinas (22) and a 7.2-2-3-3-3-8 outing from Ken Lee (8-4) ended with a 13-4 win. Ron Miller was 4-5 with 2 RBI’s (50) and Wes Morgan was 3-4 with 2 RBI’s (49) as well. Chartier, Chavez, Collins and Riggs had 2 hit days in a 18 hit attack. Alex Rodriguez was 3-4 3 RBI’s (67) on 2 homers (25).
CHI 13 ALK 4 (54-23 +7)

GAME 78
A lot of games are won with moments that don’t show up in the box score, be it momentum or an obscure play. 1st inning, 1 out, runner on 2nd, Arod up, Alejandrez intiontially walks him, next pitch is a 4-6-3 inning ending DP. We come out and knock out Zito with 5 first inning runs. Alejandrez (10-4) goes 7-4-1-1-3-5 and Zito (8-8) can’t get out of the 1st (.2-3-5-5-2-0-). Apul Riggs goes 3-4 with his 27th double, Chartier and Coates have 2 hit days.
CHI 8 ALK 1 (55-23 +7)

GOOD GAME NEWS
The 1st overall pick in the draft, Pat Kelley, signed to a 9.16M bonus, an IBL record, on the 16th. 12 days later he tosses a 2 hit shutout over Corpus Christi for his 1st IBL win. He’s 1-1 2.57 in 2 starts since signing. That’s getting a return on your investment, but damn, 9.16? He’s 22 years old.

GAME 79
Bryan Rogers had to be taken out after the 2nd with a sore shoulder. More on the injury post game, and Hugh Collins ran into the wall in the 5th and was taken out as well. Ellison (4-0) got the win with 4 solid innings out of the pen. Ron Miller was 2-4 with his 15th homer and 4 RBI’s (55) and Luis Chavez drilled his 27th in a 3-5 3 RBI day (84). Charter, Coates, Salinas and Morgan had 2 hit days.
CHI 11 WMI 2 (56-23 +7)

DL NEWS
Just 4 games back from the DL and Collins is hurt again, and out at least a month. Rogers is headed to the 15 day with a rotator issue. Curt Daugherty and Troy Becker are recalled. Alexander is 11-2 but this is a ‘make it or break it’ call up for Daugherty. If he has similar results to previous call ups we’ll call it a day and move him before the deadline, or this winter.

GAME 80
Pedro Salinas’ game tying homer in the bottom of the 9th (23) was backed up an inning later by Paul Riggs walk off game winner (6). Just 11 total hits in the game as pitching dominated. Gerardo Zamora went 6-2-1-0-3-9 and Randy Pennington (2-1) got the win with 1.1 scoreless. Harald Haas’s 9th inning homer (9) off Ken Johnson put the White Caps in front after Manny Ibarra went 8-4-1-1-1-7. Hass was 3-5 with 2 RBI’s. Luis Chavez went 2-4 with his 28th homer.
CHI 3 WMI 2 (10) (57-23 +7)

GOOD GAMES
Jesus Cordova (BRO) threw a 5 hitter in a 10-0 win over Edmonton.

JUNE RECAP
JUNE FL HITTER-Luis Chavez (CHI) .391-11-35 21 Runs. (.339-28-85)
JUNE CL HITTER-Ed Thomas (SAN) .362-7-29 26 Runs (.295-23-81)
JUNE FL PITCHER-Raymond Peters (BRO) 2-0 7 Saves 0.00 (5-3 15 Sv 2.23)
JUNE CL PITCHER-Ken Porter (BOS) 4-0 2.27 ERA (6-7 2.90)
JUNE FL ROOKIE-Pedro Salinas (CHI) .304-11-26 (.398-23-60)
JUNE CL ROOKIE-Jose Rodrirguez (TUL) .330-2-16 (.262-8-36)

GAME 81
A 4th inning grand slam from Harald Haas turned a 4-0 lead into a tie game. The offense again came to the rescue and Rodriguez (H6) Sanchez (H3) and Cruz (Save 26) tossed 2 perfect innings in relief of Walt Thompson (10-3) who went 7-6-5-5-1-8. Chartier was 2-3 with 3 runs on his 12th homer, Chavez went 3-4, Pedro Salinas was 2-5 with 3 RBI’s (63) on his 24th homer and Wes Morgan had 2 hits, a double (15) and homer (13).
CHI 7 WMI 5 (58-23 +8)

HALFWAY MARK!
Thought I’d spice the 81 game mark up a bit, and name some award winners
1st Half MVP FL-Luis Chavez (CHI) .344-28-85
1st Half MVP CL-Angelo Gomez (PIT) .327-22-58
1st Half Pitcher-FL Ernesto Cruz (CHI) 0-0 26 Saves 0.53 ERA
1st Half Pitcher-CL Vince Bray (PIT) 12-3 2.74 ERA 119 K’s

ORG NEWS
AAA SP Tony Childs took home AAA Pitcher for June with a 5-0 2.57 month. He’s 10-2 3.89 in 14 starts.