OOPS I did it again

[gehrig38]

AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Colin Courtright (BRK) .348-9-27 27 Runs
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Andy Peterson (PHX) .350-5-17 19 Runs
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Coby Kramer (CHA) 5-0 2.21
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Adam Sharpe (PIT) 5-0 0.65 with a no-hitter (just 20 years old)
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Hunter Mulrooney (CBK) 4-2 1.79
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Adam Sharpe (PIT) 5-0 0.65

[gehrig38]

Albuquerque CF Jimmy Young hit .304-10-27 to win Sentinal league POTM. Overall he's hitting .310-19-53

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Justin Krieg .367/.415/.541 8 2B 3 HR 17 RBI 59 total bases

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Nate Draper 1-0 1.56 ERA 17.1 IP 17 H 23 K 3 BB 1.15 WHIP

MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH
(A) CF Jimmy Young .304/.409/.747 10 HR 27 RBI 1.155 OPS
(A) C Alwan Cooper .355/.437/.839 9 HR 20 RBI 1.275 OPS

MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH
(AAA) Dan Ferguson 4-1 3.08 38 IP 35 H 21 K 9 BB 1.16 WHIP 4 QS

[gehrig38]

2 vs New England, off day then 3 @ Fresno and 1 @ Washington
RUNS SCORED: 277 (t-8)
RUNS AGAINST: 345 (16)
OBP: .319 (4)
STARTERS ERA: 4.85 (16)
RELIEVERS ERA: 5.34 (16)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .685 (9)
ZONE RATING: -5.6 (11)

RESULTS
6/5- CIP 5 NE 1 Guijosa W (5-6 4.96) 5.2 IP H 0 R 4 BB 5 K 108 pitches Becker SV (2) Stachowski HR (7) 3 RBI (23) Johnson HR (2)
6/6- NE 7 CIP 1 Floyd walks 5 in 5 on 103 pitches but leaves down 2-0. Rick Mckitrick has now thrown 1.2 innings over 3 games allowing 5 hits walking 4 and allowing 7 earned runs (37.80).
New England steals 4 bases and Bill Richards goes 3-4 Grand Slam (8) 4 RBI (33) and a SB (6)
6/7- OFF DAY
6/8- FRE 8 CIP 2 Powers L 3-5 5.83 6 IP 7 H 5 BB 4 ER Gross 1/3 IP H 3 BB 4 ER Kevin Rogers HR (3)
6/9- FRE 5 CIP 4 Alex Robles ND 6 IP 10 H 3 BB 4 ER Anderson IP 3 H ER (L) 0-4 6.55 Justin Krieg 3-4 HR (6) 2 RBI (36) SB (10) (2nd in the NL batting race)
6/10- FRE 5 CIP 4 Matt Hawkins 102 pitches 5.1 IP 7 H 5 ER (L) 4-7 4.72 Krieg 3H 2B (16) 2 RBI (38) Eddie Cook HR (4) RBI
6/11- WAS 8 CIP 3 Guijosa (L) 6.2 IP 4 H 3 HR 5 ER 8 K (5-7 5.12) Bick 1/3rd 4 H 3 ER Eddie Cook 3H Elijah Jones 1st HR 3 RBI (5) SB
George Hood (WAS) 2 HR (9) 4 RBI (29)
Gus Garcia comes off the IR and Anthony Tripp is optioned. He hit .159 in 113 AB's and clearly wasn't close to ready.
Justin Krieg ends the week leading the NL with a .360 average and is 3rd in OBP at .40. San Diego's Lourenco Manhas trails him in AVG at .353 and leads the league at .428 OBP.


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Josh Moser (CHA) 10-25 3 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- C Luis Mendoza (FRE) 9-17 2 HR 6 RBI

The “other” Chicago team announced they'd extended closer Matt Wright for 3 more years at 24.9 million. The 32 year old is 1-0 13 Saves this year, winner of 2 Rivera Awards and a 3-time all-star. Led the league in 2004 with 37 saves. 46-29 230 saves lifetime with a 2.74 ERA.
San Diego righty Juan Laurel fanned 7 in a 8-0 win over Pittsburgh. The 22 year old is 9-2 2.39. He led the NL with 225.2 IP last year going 15-15 4.27
Cleveland's Travis Hilly tossed a CG SHO beating Detroit 7-0. The 24 year old fanned 6 and walked 1 in moving to 8-2 3.07.

IRON PIG HAPPENINGS
OF Tom Martinez won the AAA Western League POTW. The 25 year old was the 2nd round pick in the Expansion draft from Philadelphia. He went 14-22 2 HR 6 RBI and appears to be in line for a call up in the near future. He's currently hitting .340 with 3 HR and 13 RBI's.
At AA Milwaukee 3B Adam Brigham went 13-26 3 HR 9 RBI to win the AA Northern League POTW. He's hitting .271-8-32 on the year.

[gehrig38]

I think I just realized something about this dynasty report. I don't think you guys want to get the day to day minutiae of a horrible team. It's hard to write and keep interesting. But I think I am going to gear it more towards the development aspect until the team gets good. I won't change the way I report I'll just put less wording into the every day stuff and maybe give more “around the league” stuff and my minor league development process until at least next year when there are star talents in the organization.

That being said this is the most important day of the 2011 season, the draft. I'll remind you of our picks:
We won the lottery for the top pick but are the 2nd pick in subsequent rounds with Pittsburgh having the top pick.
We are picking 1st, and there are 38 total 1st round picks with compensation picks. 5 Supplemental picks after round 1.
Our picks, Round/overall pick
1/1
2/45
2/77
2/79
3/86
4/125
No picks in rounds 5 and 6, and one pick per round through 20.

Unfortunately, there is division among the baseball people on the top choice. Our guys want College RHP Jamie Fitzgerald if we go that route, or HS 3B Chris Garcia if we go that route. I'm onboard with neither and am injecting myself in the process. Fitzgerald is a 5'9”, 165 lb right-handed pitcher. Absolutely the physical opposite of a top of the rotation ace. Not that he won't or can't be good, but that's not someone you pile 240 innings on. The arm I want is Chris Andrezejewski, a 22-year-old behemoth who's AA-ready now. Mock drafts have him going late 1st round to Charlotte. He won't make it back to us for our 2nd pick.
All of that is to say that given what looks to be a decently deep draft for high end SP we can't get off Mike Johnson. Yes, he's a 1B, but the bat is unlike anything else in the draft and the makeup is off the charts. He's a franchise cornerstone, no questions asked. I think the smart play is to grab him, also mention his ask is right around 300K for a slot that's 360K, and then grab 2 pitchers with the 3 2nd round picks. Hopefully grab a 4 star+ SS with the the other. That would be ideal. End round 2 with a franchise bat, 2 top of the rotation starting pitchers and an every day SS who can pick it.

Round / Pick # Player
1/1 Mike Johnson 1B 18 LHH the highest rated offensive prospect since 2000. A legitimate shot to be a triple crown threat. Great makeup and the bat offset the idea that taking a 1B this high up is a mistake.
San Jose takes Garcia at 2 and Pittsburgh grabs our pitcher, Chris Andrezejewski at 3. Garcia was ranked 4th, Andrezejewski 7th on the prospect list. 5-star potential

2/45 David Arroyo SP 18 6' 180 RHP trending to top out low to mid 90s with ++ curve ball and change up down the road. Natural cutter for a fastball. Hard worker. 5-star potential

2/77 Allan Velazquez SP 19 6' 185 RHP Works low 90's with a few MPH left to gain. Our guys have him as a 5-star potential ace. 4 pitches that all project to be elite. Will take on a pile of innings. Baseball is his life. Needs work on holding up the running game.

2/79 Troy Zehnder C 6'4” 220 RHH Went off the beaten path here. There were some good middle infielders still available but the 5 star guys were gone. Zehnder is already an IBL level defender with a lot of room to grow and the elite toolset to do it. The real attraction was his power. He's going to be able to handle himself, likely a 6 hole guy but with the power to move up and anchor a lineup. Our scouts have his potential power at 20. Could be a steal if he pans out to the 5 star potential we have him at.

3/86 Dan Williams SP 6'3” 190 RHP Did not expect him to still be here. A HS arm with 4 pitches. His curve and change have a long way to go but his sinker is elite. Works 90-92 right now but is likely going to get to mid to upper 90s before he's done. Another arm that will devour innings. Elite defender who is a ++ athlete when it comes to holding runners.

4/125 Josh Dufault 1B/DH 6'4” 245 RHH another HS kid we did not expect to still be around. His raw power was at the top of this class. He's got a lot of swing and miss, but an exceptional eye with legitimate line to line light tower power. Hit 78 HR's in 4 years of HS ball. He's got the tools to be a good defender but we made this pick with him being a straight DH in mind. A bit early to draft a potential 1-dimensional defender but the power aspect was too much to pass up.

7/209 Derek Dames SS 6' 185 RHH the third of three picks we thought we had no chance at. Our scouts say he has the biggest upside defensively of any SS in the draft with a bat that could be very good. Apparently he has made it known he's going to Columbus State in the fall so the money will be the hurdle but we took him knowing that and will likely pay what he wants if it doesn't get crazy. Right now our guys rate him 2.5 stars but there's potential for far more. I'd like to harken back to the 70's and have an offense so prolific my SS could hit .150 and be an asset. One thing is for sure, defense will be focused on with all prospects.

These last 3 picks will be what I judge our scouts on. They clearly liked these three far more than the other teams and the OSA.

The rest of the draft
8/241 SS Enrique Garza 18 5'11” 180 RHP 3.5 star potential with other worldly contact skills.
9/273 SP Kyle Fay 18 6' 180 RHP 4-star potential with 6 pitch mix. Cerebral kid with high baseball IQ
10/305 SP Todd Barbour 21 6'1” 190 RHP 3.5 star righty. Works 88-90 with 6 pitch mix and elite change. First College pitcher of the draft for us.
11/337 2B/3B Rick Arbuckle 18 6'2” 200 RHH 3 star 3B with defensive toolset. Could develop into a middle of the order bat with even more upside if things break right.
12/369 SP Marshall Tidrick 19 6' 180 RHP 2.5 star talent with 4 pitch mix that could be elite. Control is the concern and will be the focus. Expect to see 3-4 more MPH too. JuCo freshman.
13/401 OF Jaden Brown 20 6'1” 185 Switch hitter 3 stars. A touch better from the right side but can handle either. His arm likely puts him in left. No pop but elite bat skills that could put him as a 2 hole hitter.
14/433 SP Steve Carder 19 6'4” 200 LHP 3 stars. Will not break a barn door with the fastball but his change up has the makings of a wipe out pitch. 4 pitch mix and decently advanced for a 19 year old.
15/465 2B Josh Logan 18 6' 180 RHH 3 stars. The last of our picks our scouts gave 3 stars too. No speed and probably, at best, tops out as an average defender but our guys think he will hit a ton. Potential plate discipline to be a .400+ OBP guy with decent pop. Certainly a pick we didn't think we'd have this late.
The last 5 picks were 2 pitchers, 2 outfielders and a SS, all 2.5 star guys.

[gehrig38]

2 @ Washington 3 vs Pittsburgh 2 @ Las Vegas
RUNS SCORED: 303 (10)
RUNS AGAINST: 376 (16)
OBP: .322 (4)
STARTERS ERA: 4.94 (16)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.91 (16)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .682 (9)
ZONE RATING: -7.6 (11)

RESULTS (27-44 12 GB)
0-2 @ Washington 2-1 vs Pittsburgh 1-1 @ Las Vegas
6/12- WAS 3 CIP 2 Floyd (L) 4-5 3.97 5 IP 8 H 4 BB 3 ER 99 pitches Joey Morris 3 perfect innings in relief 2 K's
6/13- WS 5 CIP 4 Powers (L) 3-6 6.17 allows 5 in the 1st. 3 IP Pen tosses 5 on 3 H 8 K Chavez 2H HR (7)
6/14- PIT 7 CIP 2 Alex Robles walks 6 6H 4 ER in 4 IP 100 pitches (1-8 4.91) Juan Ayala 3H 2B
Sharpe (PIT) (8-2 1.70)
Xavier Wynn is off the IR but spending 7 weeks on means at least a week of rehab in Nashville.
6/15- CIP 6 PIT 5 Juan Chavez 2R walk off 1B 2 RBI Jesse Roberts HR (7) 2 RBI Hawkins ND 6.1 IP 6 K 3 ER 102 pitches Justin Anderson BS (4)
Dan Williams signed today and was sent to Nashville. Their rotation will feature 5 2011 draft picks our scouts have rated 3.5 stars or better. 4 HS arms and 1 college pitcher.
6/16- CIP 7 PIT 6 (12) Jesse Roberts game-tying PH 3R HR bottom 9 Mike White walk off solo in the 12th. Stachowski hurt with no word on severity. Krieg's knee is bothering him, he's dtd for a couple days
6/17- LV 4 CIP 3 Garcia 3H Matson 3H 2B Floyd 6.2 IP 6 K 3 ER ND Draper (L)
Brian Stachowski has a bruised wrist. He'll avoid the IR but play sparingly this next week.
6/18- CIP 2 LV 1 (11) Powers ND 7 IP 7 H 7 K 1 R Abbott GW 1B
Kyle Wise (LV) 0-5 5K
Celebrating a .500 week is a decent indicator you're a good ways from where you want to be.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B James Bruce (CLE) 12-29 5 HR 14 RBI
NL POTW- RF Jorge Madrid (PIT) 13-30 3 HR 8 RBI

Last years league leader in wins, Boston's Dan Wilkins (20-7 3.53) fired a 5 hit 8 K shutout vs Utah. He's 4-6 3.29
In that same game his teammate Vittoriano Azzopardi collected career hit 2500 and fittingly the IBL career leader in 2B's with 676, hit a 2B to achieve 2500. In his 15 year career, all spent in Boston, he's a .278/.339/.433 hitter with 116 3B's 162 HR's 997 RBI's and 548 SB's. He's a 2-time all-star and was a member of Boston's 1998 world champion club.
On Tuesday San Jose reported that starting 2B Jon Berens would miss the rest of the year due to a severe concussion. Berens was a 5th infielder on the 2008 El Paso championship club before going to San Jose and winning the job. In his 330 G he's hit .307/.354/.431 with 146 RBI's. 2009 1st rounder Fred Amling will take over. Amling was the 6th overall pick out of Wichita State.

[gehrig38]

2011 Draft update
By the week of the 12th, all our picks except one had signed with little to no back and forth. 3rd-rounder Dan Williams has not agreed to terms yet. One might argue that, for the most part, we assigned our top picks a level below where others might have started them. Given they are all HS aged, success in the minors is never a bad thing, regardless of the level. I prefer a month or two of dominance and over-matching rather than struggles. I don't want struggles until AA at the earliest. Mike Johnson goes to Nashville, along with Josh Dufault. We decided to stick 4 3.5-star or better pitchers in Nashville as well. I love the thought of internal competition that cannot help but rear its head at that age. So Arroyo, Barbour, Fay and Velazquez all start together. SS Enrique Garza also begins at Nashville while Derek Dames is sent to rookie league Minneapolis. Catcher Troy Zehnder will start at class A Albuquerque and jump right into their season. Short Season and Rookie league won't kick off for about another month.
At weeks end Zehnder is hitting .357 with a HR and 7 RBI's through 7 games for Albuquerque

[gehrig38]

1 @ Las Vegas OFF DAY 3 vs Oklahoma City 2 @ San Francisco
RUNS SCORED: 327 (10)
RUNS AGAINST: 406 (16)
OBP: .320 (3)
STARTERS ERA: 5.07 (16)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.60 (15)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .683 (9)
ZONE RATING: -6.3 (12)

RESULTS (29-48 11 GB)
0-1 @ Las Vegas 1-2 vs Oklahoma City 1-1 @ San Francisco
6/19- LV 9 CIP 2 Robles 5 ER 2.2 IP (1-9 5.31) Roberts HR (9) 2 RBI (25)
6/20- OFF DAY
6/21- OKC 6 CIP 1 Hawkins (L) 4-8 4.86 4.1 IP 7 H 4 ER 4 BB
6/22- OKC 6 CIP 3 Guijosa (L) 5-8 5.49 5 IP 5 K 8 H 4 ER 101 pitches
6/23- CIP 8 OKC 2 Floyd (W) (5-5 3.89) 6.2 IP 8 K 2 ER Josh Krieg 3H 2 2B 2 R 2 RBI Mike White 3 RBI (32)
6/24- CIP 9 SF 2 Andy Powers (W) 4-6 5.62 5.1 IP 6 BB 2 ER 110 pitches 'Pen 3.2 IP 1 H 4 K Josh Krieg 3-5 HR (8) 2 R RBI (42) (.343 trails Manhas whose at .358) Roberts 2H 3 RBI Matson HR (4)
6/25- SF 5 CIP 1 Alex Robles (L) 1-10 5.55 first P in the league to 10 losses. 'Pen 3.1 IP 2 H 2 K 0 R Krieg 3H (.348)
Juan Torres (SF) (W) 8-2 2.94 8.1 IP 1 R 7 K

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B Oscar Aviles (DEN) 16-25 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- SS Bob Kreinbring (LV) 11-25 3 HR 7 RBI

On Wednesday, Wyoming SS Mike Hunt went 6-6 in an 11-inning loss to Austin.

[gehrig38]

A recent issue of Baseball Digest had post draft prospect rankings.
Our draft has helped. We have 4 of the top 50 with C Troy Zehnder coming in at 44 and 7 of the top 100 with 1st overall pick Mike Johnson checking in at 70, SP Dan Wilson at 90. SP's David Arroyo and Allan Velazquez 177 and 104 respectively. SP Kyle Fay checks in at 188. So we, per this ranking, have 12 of the top 200 prospects and the 4th ranked minor league system. Detroit's 1st pick, SS Josh Timperio, has leaped to the top of the heap and is the #1 overall prospect. Detroit has already called him up and he's on their IBL roster as a 21 year old. 2010 6th overall pick 3B Danny Hipolito of San Jose ranks 2nd.

• At AAA New Orleans 22 year old Catcher Alejandro Rodriguez went 9-19 3 HR 10 RBI's to win the Western League POTW. Rodriguez is hitting .340-12-34 with a .405 OBP.
• Short Season Nashville is off to a 4-2 start and 20 year old minor league FA 3B Jason Schwartz went 12-24 2 HR 10 RBI to win the leagues POTW honors.

[gehrig38]

1 @ San Francisco 3 vs San Diego 3 @ Los Angeles
RUNS SCORED: 383 (5)
RUNS AGAINST: 428 (16)
OBP: .326 (3)
STARTERS ERA: 4.98 (!6)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.34 (13)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .686 (7)
ZONE RATING: -5.3 (11)

RESULTS
1-0 @ San Francisco 3-0 vs San Diego 2-1 @ Los Angeles
6/26- CIP 10 SF 6 Krieg HR (9) 3 RBI Mike Johnson PH 2-2 2B, HR (9) 3 RBI Cook HR (5) Hawkins 5 ER 4 IP ND 5-5 game after 7.
Jesus Ruiz (SF) Luis Corona (SF) both hit their 19th HR's, tied for the league lead
6/27- CIP 5 SD 3 Guijosa ND 6 IP 3 H 1 ER 5 K Becker SV (3) 2 more errors Mike Johnson & Russell Matson 3H apiece. RP Joey Morris (4-0 2.56) will move into Alex Robles (1-10 5.55) spot in the rotation the next turn around. Morris is just 23 with growth left and Robles has not had a good start in awhile.
6/28- CIP 12 SD 3 6-run 1st inning. Club record 19 hits. Chavez 3-5 2 HR 5 RBI Krieg 3-5 Jesse Roberts 4-5 2B HR 3 R 2 RBI Russell Matson 3-4 2B HR 3 RBI and hurt in the 6th. See news. Floyd 6 IP 5 H 4 BB 2 K 2 ER (6-5 3.83)
6/29- CIP 8 SD 4 'Pen 4 IP 0 H 6 K 0 BB Powers 5H 4 BB 117 pitches in 5 Justin Krieg 3 2B's (23) 2 R 2 RBI (48) Jonathan Miller HR (3) 33 hits last two games.
6/30- LA 3 CIP 2 Morris 1st start 5 IP 6 H 1 K 0 BB 1 R ND, he ran out of gas after 5. Diaz 1.1 IP 2 ER (L)
7/1- CIP 6 LA 1 Hawlkins (W) 6.2 IP 7 H 1 R 3 BB 5 K 107 pitches Garcia 3H 2 R 2 RBI Chavez 3H 2 RBI SB
7/2- CIP 12 LA 3 Gus Garcia 2H Grand Slam 4 RBI Roberts 3H 2B HR (11) 3 R Wynn 3H HR (2) 2 R Guijosa (W) 6-8 5.17 6 IP 5 H 5 K 2 BB 3 ER Draper SV (1) 3 IP 3 K H

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Sergio Santiago (SI) 10-20 3 HR 7 RBI
NL POTW- LF Jesse Roberts (CIP) 11-21 2 HR 5 RBI

[gehrig38]

• On Tuesday infielder Russell Matson went down with what ended up being a pretty serious strain of his hamstring. Devastating might be too strong a word but he's out 6 weeks, which means he's not back until mid-August, which means he's not tradeable at the deadline.
• The options in AAA are limited. Our top prospect, Juan Nieves is nowhere near ready in the field, but he's raking (.290-19-46) and Anthony Tripp needs AB's and playing time. Rocky Weir is a good defensive option but he's 22, not on the 40 man and is far from offensively ready. Scouring the market I've extended and offer to a veteran infielder who also hits LH.
• For now the Juan's will swap, Chavez moving to SS, with Ayala moving into the field from DH at 2B. Eddie Cook will move to DH from RF and Michael Johnson and Elijah Jones will split AB's in RF as they both are better defenders.
• Just off the IR Xavier Wynn will alternate starts with Cook at DH vs RHP.
• Vs LHP Chavez moves to SS, Ayala will play 3B and Garcia will play 2B. Wynn will move into this lineup and hit 9th.
• Recently acquired from Phoenix, OF Ricky Gutierrez went 5-5 2 2B 3B 5 RBI in a 13-5 win.
• At New Orleans he's hitting .476/.476/.762 in the 5 games since landing here.

[gehrig38]

I've developed a philosophy over the past 5 years or so: when I look at young pitchers in the draft and project, I assign every single one an 18-month window when they will be 'unavailable'. That's due to the TJ phenomenon. Seems every pitcher absolutely will have it. One of our 2nd-rounders, SP Allan Velazquez, has been diagnosed with an “arthritic elbow”...
That, to me anyway, is potentially far, far worse than Tommy John. That's what ended Sandy Koufax's career. The 77th overall pick came out of his last start in the third. In total, he tossed 7.2 innings, fanning and walking 5. Let's cross our fingers on this one.

At AAA New Orleans, top P prospect Brian Pennington had another rough outing. He's 2-8 5.83 and just not missing many bats. He's just 22, as the 28th-ranked prospect, it's far from a panic situation, but I want success at this juncture. He's going to be sent to AA for the remainder of the year.
Also, at Short-season Nashville, our two big bats from the draft are hitting 3 and 4 in that lineup. Mike Johnson is off to a bit of a slow start through 11 games, hitting .238/.396/.310 with 3 XBH in 53 PA. Josh Dufault, however, is not. He's hitting .295/.415/.591 with 4 HR and 18 RBI's in 11 games and 53 PA. The surprise has been 20-year-old minor league FA Jason Schwartz. In 8 games and 41 PA's he's hitting .500/.585/1.088 with 9 XBH 5 HR 18 RBI and 7 BB to 5 K's. The switch-hitting 3B is lighting it up.

[gehrig38]

The Iron Pigs and Roadrunners announced a trade that was completed today. Chicago sent 28-year-old OF Mike White and minor OF Steve Clark and their 2012 4th round draft choice to Phoenix for 25-year-old OF Ricky Gutierrez and the Roadrunners 2012 3rd round draft choice.
White was hitting .234 with 8 HR's and 35 RBI's this year, while Gutierrez was stuck in a logjam of outfielders in the Phoenix organization. He was signed as an international free agent in 2002 out of the Dominican Republic.

BACKROOM CHATTER
I have no real franchise players and I didn't just trade for one. However Gutierrez is 3 years younger, apparently a true clubhouse presence and leader and as near as 2007 was the 86th ranked prospect in the game. Xavier Wynn is off the DL today and will be recalled but there are a few potential deals being discussed to open up an OF slot for Gutierrez. If a trade is made to open an OF spot he will be recalled.

[gehrig38]

AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Oscar Aviles (DEN) .404-8-17
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Mark Drake (FRE) .364-7-22
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Travis Hilly (CLE) 5-0 1.36
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Josh Johnston (FRE) 5-1 2.76
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- 1B Bernard Gruber (WYO) .376-4-11 (Int. FA from Germany, uncle named Hanz?)
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Sergio Ramirez (WAS) 3-1 2.66

• Dallas Closer Bill Gamblin has 27 saves already. In 30.1 IP he's fanned 42 and walked 3 while allowing 17 hits. Only 2 closers have ever reached the 50 save plateau in a season. Bobby Vazquez in 1991 with the record at 53 and Josh Brady in 2001 saved 50.
• Vazquez set the save record in the IBL's 1st year, saved 49 in 1992 and never saved more than 8 through 1999. He became a starter in 2001 and went 6-20 to lead the IBL in losses and the very next year went 19-3 3.18 at 37 years old. Winning the ERA title that year. A 3-time all-star and 3-time world champion. Gamblin is on pace to save exactly 53 games.

• Fresno is the class of the IBL and running away with the NL West. Mario Mendoza has taken over the closers role since being traded. He's appeared in 13 games, 12.2 IP 18 K's with 5 Saves. Las Vegas is doing the same in the NL South. Dallas is dominating the AL Central but the rest of it seems to be up for grabs.
• Justin Krieg has crept up on Manhas of San Diego in the batting race. 20 year old Adam Sharpe (PIT) is dominating.

[gehrig38]

• Clearly, the offense is more than adequate, and I'd argue far better than one might expect in year one of an expansion team.
• 2nd in the NL in Avg (.265) 4th in OBP (.323) 4th in Runs (.365). The offense hits its way on. They're 12th in walks and 1st in K's.
• Wanna point to something that is the leading indicator of a 33-49 record?
• Look no farther than the mound.
• 16th in ERA (4.81) Starters ERA (5.04) Runs allowed (424) and walks (328). 14th in Bullpen ERA (4.42).
• The lack of control staff wide is the biggest hole.
• That's also not a problem I can solve or make better right now.

[gehrig38]

The IBL Top prospect list was just released.

• Luis Maya drops from 4th to 9th overall and our system drops to 7th from 4th. Detroit SS Josh Timperio is the #1 prospect. He was selected 6th overall by Detroit.
• Of our recent draft picks Johnson (85) Troy Zehnder (55) Dan Williams (103) Allan Velazquez (108) David Arroyo (129) show up in the top 200. Was expecting a bit more from Johnson but more importantly not sure how I, or our guys, whiffed on Timperio, if they did. Our guys have him at 4.5 stars and a bit of a problem to coach. If OSA is correct he's better by enough that he would have been the choice given the dearth of SS in our system.

[gehrig38]

Off day Monday followed by 3 @ New York and 3 vs El Paso
RUNS SCORED: 413 (6)
RUNS AGAINST: 475 (16)
OBP: .324 (4)
STARTERS ERA: 5.14 (16)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.61 (14)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .685 (7)
ZONE RATING: -2.2 (9)

RESULTS
1-2 @ New York 1-2 vs El Paso
6/3- OFF DAY
6/4- NY 7 CIP 3 Floyd 5R 1st inning. 7 ER 5 IP (6-6 4.26) Wynn HR Stachowski 3H HR Roberts 2H HR (12)
6/5- CIP 13 NY 8 14 hits Cook 3H HR (6) 2 RBI Stachowski 3H 2B 2 RBI Chavez GW 3R HR (10) Roberts HR (13) 3 RBI Powers (W) 6 IP 4 ER 5-6 5.72
6/6- NY 6 CIP 5 Up 4-1 heading into bottom 8. Joey Morris (ND) goes 7.1-4-2-2-3-6 in a great outing. Justin Anderson BS (5) and Chris Becker BS (L) give up 4 on 5 hits with 2004 Hank Aaron winner Isaiah Hart hitting his 13th HR to walk it off.
NY SP Nick Self allowed 1 hit through 7.1 innings and an earned run in the ND.
6/7- EP 11 CIP 1 Hawkins (L) 5-9 5.04 5 ER 6 IP Mckitrick 4 ER 2/3rds IP (13.94)
DJ Groff (EP) 3H 2B HR 6 RBI
6/8- CIP 5 EP 4 Gus Garcia and Mike Johnson homer Guijosa ND 4.2 IP 112 pitches 4 R 3 ER
6/9- EP 11 CIP 3 Floyd (L) 6-7 4.67 7 ER 4.2 IP Elijah Jones HR (3)
DJ Groff (EP) 3H 2 HR (15) 4 RBI (56)

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Andrew Jacobi (SJ) 15-26 HR 4 RBI
NL POTW- RF DJ Groff (EP) 13-31 4 HR 17 RBI (New IBL Record for 1 week)

• Atlanta's 2008 1st rounder, 20-year-old Matt Quaranta, was 7-3 3.38 this year, and is 16-4 2.71 over his 32 career starts with 197 punchouts to 52 walks and a 1.07 WHIP. He's legit and their future ace. Going to have to put that future on hold as he was diagnosed with a torn labrum and will have surgery or Friday. He's expected to miss 10-11 months.
• 2007 Jackie Robinson Award winner Tony Flores (OKC) went 4-4 and drove in 5, hitting 3 HR's in a 9-1 win over Phoenix.
• Pittsburgh's Adam Sharpe became the 1st IBL pitcher to twirl 2 no-hitters in a season, and in a career. The 20-year-old Koufax leader fanned 8 and walked 2 in the 100-pitch 6-0 masterpiece over New England. He's 10-3 1.76 in 18 starts.

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• At Class A Albuquerque CF Jimmy Young's magical season continues. On Tuesday he went 3-6 and hit 3 more HR's and drove in 5. The 19 year old is hitting .289 with a league leading 29 HR's and 75 RBI's.
• On Wednesday New Orleans (AAA) OF Dave Wheeler went 5-5 12 total bases hitting a 2B, 3B, and 2 HR's for his cycle in a 15-13 win. Wheeler is hitting .289 with 15 HR and 38 RBI.
• Wheeler was the 2nd pick in the expansion draft and if/when moves are made this month he'll be shopped or brought up to fill a hole made in a trade.
• On Friday 29 year old IF Sam Bunn was signed to a minor league deal. After a lot of back and forth it was decided to place him on the roster and call him up. Bunn was a member of the 2004 Columbus Black Knights world series run. A career .291/.339/.410 hitter over almost 800 games and 2800+ PA's.
• He hits LH so will be a PH option and plays 2B and 3B.

[gehrig38]

3 @ Indianapolis 3 vs Atlanta OFF DAY
RUNS SCORED: 458 (3)
RUNS AGAINST: 502 (16)
OBP: .327 (2)
STARTERS ERA: 5.01
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.49 (13)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .685 (8)
ZONE RATING: -6.6 (12)

RESULTS (42-54 11 GB)
3-0 @ Indianapolis 2-1 vs Atlanta
7/10- CIP 7 IND 1 Andy Powers (W) 6-6 5.40 7.2 IP 8 H 8 K 1 R Krieg HR (11)3 RBI (56) Chavez 3H 2B RBI Roberts 2H HR (14) 2 RBI Cook 3-3
7/11- RAIN OUT 2-2 tie in the 4th play will pickup tomorrow
7/12 (G1)- CIP 6 IND 2 Morris 4.2 IP 2 ER ND 'Pen 4.1 IP 3 H 3 K Draper 3-1 1.71 Krieg 2-4 2B Wynn 2B HR 2 RBI
7/12 (G2)- CIP 12 IND 2 Mike Johnson leading off 3H 2 HR 2 BB 2 R 2 RBI Chavez 4H 2 RBI Roberts 3H 2B 2 R Rogers 3 RBI Elijah Jones 3H 2 2B HR 2 RBI hurt late in the game. Hawkins (W) 7.2 IP 6 H 1 ER 8 K (6-9 4.77) 17 hits
7/13- CIP 8 ATL 3 Guijosa (W) 6.1 IP 8 H 5 K 3 BB 2 ER Krieg 3H 2B RBI Garcia 2H HR (8) Rogers 2H HR (4)
7/14- CIP 9 ATL 5 Floyd 7IP 8 H 4 ER (W) 7-7 4.70 Krieg 2-4 2 RBI (60) Wynn 2B 3 RBI Bunn 3H 2 R RBI Rogers HR (5) 2 RBI Season high 5 game win streak.
7/15- ATL 14 CIP 3 and...it's gone! Powers 9 K's 4 ER 5 IP 109 pitches (6-7 5.48) 'Pen 4 IP 10 H 10 Runs 4 earned 5 BB 5 K. Horrid defense again.
7/16- OFF DAY

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS

AL POTW- 3B Dave Resch (UT) 10-20 HR 9 RBI (Resch is a 6-time Gold Glover, 5 time all-star and 3 time silver slugger. Finished 2nd in the Hank Aaron 2 times as well)
NL POTW- LF Danny Lamar (PIT) 11-20 2 HR 8 RBI

• Last years AL Koufax winner Dave Lairos of Utah tossed his 1st career no-hitter in an 17-0 win over Philadelphia. It was his 8th career shutout. He led the AL in ERA (2.02) K's (239) WHIP (0.93) HR/9 (0.3) and WAR (8.0) last season.
• The 4-time all-star is signed through the year 2013.

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• Top IF prospect Jose Nieves won the AAA All-Star HR derby.
• AA 1B Oscar Alvarado hit a 3R HR to win the AA All-Star game MVP. Alvarado is hitting .279/.366/.504 with 15 2B 16 HR and 42 RBI through 74 games with Milwaukee.

[gehrig38]

7-3 in the last 10, 5 game winning streak! What's not to like. Well, a lot actually. But I feel a trend coming on.
We'll start in the minor leagues.
AAA NEW ORLEANS- They're 42-43 and 2GB in the West Division.

• Their pitching mimics the parent club in ranking at or near the bottom and their offense is the same, killing it. 1st in AVG, OPS, 2nd in OBP, Runs, HR.
• 18 year old Juan Nieves is hitting 3rd and having a very good season. He's at .279-20-58 while expansion pick OF'er Dave Wheeler is hitting .295-15-42 with a .905 OPS. OF Tom Martinez is hitting .313 and as a LH bat could provide some value later on. Catcher Alejandro Rodriguez is having a great season at 22 years old. He's hitting .319/.393/.532 with 13 HR and 43 RBI and his defense has gotten to a point that we would confidently call him up if needed.
• I told you earlier Brian Pennington had been demoted to AA and the other young arm, Dan Ferguson, sent to AAA to start, is doing great. In 15 starts he's 8-4 3.34 over 91.2 IP. His last two stinkers raised his ERA from 2.62 to 3.34 allowing 10 runs in 9.1 IP. Closer Jeff Holton, just 18, is 5-3 12 Saves with a 2.57 over 35 IP with 25 K and 19 BB.

AA MILWAUKEE- They are 46-40 and 3 games behind the Jersey City Beacons.

• Pitching ranks around 10th with a decent bullpen and their a top 5 offense. Led by AA All-star game MVP Oscar Alvarado (.279-16-42) and 21 year old 1B Dae-sung Lee (.285-13-47). Catcher Bob Mcilmoyle is the best “prospect” down there and is having a great season hitting .289/.390/.471 with 15 2B's 8 HR and 36 RBI's. The 19 year old needs a lot of defensive work moving forward. 3.5 star prospect Brian Pennington (the 44th ranked IBL prospect) is 0-1 in 2 starts with a 4.05 over 13.1 IP but has thrown well including a CG 2-0 loss his last start.

A ALBUQUERQUE- They got off to a sizzling start and I thought post-draft they'd be a juggernaut.

• I'll talk about the positives before delving into the rest. They're 56-30 and 2 games up on the Anchorage Scorpions. OF Jimmy Young continues to set the world ablaze. The 19 year olds slash line .283/.372/.680 with a 1.040 OPS is going to likely make him the league MVP. 18 year old OF Jerome Jones is slashing .345/.406/.498 in the leadoff role with 10 HR and 29 RBI's. 19 year old OF Matthew Brittingham is hitting .371/.428/.557 with 9 HR and 33 RBI's. 2011 2nd rounder Catcher Troy Zehnder is hitting .298/.351/.440 with 2 HR and 17 RBI's through 24 games.
• Now to the pitching. What's that saying about “The best laid plans..”?
• Recently acquired in a deal from Fresno John Timmerman is 3-1 3.23 putting him at 7-2 3.23 on the year. 83.2 IP 90 H 91 K's to 18 BB. So that's a great thing. He's just 19. 12th round pick Marshall Tidrick has just been moved into the rotation.

SHORT SEASON NASHVILLE- They're 16-8 and tied with the Durham Checkers in the east division.

• This was part of a “master plan” when we assigned all 5 starters from the draft, our top picks, to this rotation hoping for some great competition and camaraderie. Here's where we are:
• David Arroyo, selected 45th overall. He's 1-4 7.71 over 5 starts and 21 IP. None of the peripherals are working either and he's got one more start to get it done, otherwise he'll head to Rookie ball.
• Allan Velazquez, selected 77th overall. Injured in his 2nd start with what doctors describe as an arthritic elbow. If so that could be the end of his career. He's out the rest of the year so we will clearly take it slow.
• Dan Williams selected 86th overall. He's 3-1 4.61 in 5 GS over 27.1 IP. He's allowed 39 hits while fanning 26 and walking 7 but given up 8 HR's. Same boat as Arroyo, another start or two at most before pulling the plug on this one and moving him down.
• Kyle Fay selected 273rd overall. He's dealing. 1-0 in 5 GS with a 1.63 ERA. 27.2 IP, 24 H 28 K's to 10 BB and no HR's allowed.
• Todd Barbour selected 305th overall. 3-0 1.98 ERA. 27.1 IP 31 K 19 H 1 HR allowed. Fay and Barbour are 2.5 and 3.5 star projections as of now.
• At the plate 20 year old switch hitting 3B Jason Schwartz is hitting .460/.568/.937 with 5 2B 2 3B 7 HR and 25 RBI's through 18 games and 81 PA's. A minor league free agent signed prior to seasons start. In his last 14 games he's 24-47 5 HR 20 RBI.
• Top overall pick Mike Johnson had a nice start but has struggled as of late. He's hitting .191/.296/.245 and has yet to homer. He's mired in a 5-36 slump at the moment.
• Josh Dufault, the bat we took for the insane power potential, is hittin g.250/.367/.457 with 6 HR and 24 RBI's in 24 games.
• Our top SS pick Enrique Garza was a bit banged up to start the season but as of today will start and leadoff.

ROOKIE LEAGUE MINNEAPOLIS- They are 12-12 after a hot start.

• Steve Carder, picked in the 14th round this year, is 1-1 3.18 through 5 starts. Alex Espinosa, acquired in the earlier deal with Fresno, has allowed 13 earned runs in his last 7 IP to see his ERA jump from 3.38 to 8.34. More concerning is the 19 walks to 15 K's in 22.2 innings.
• OF Adam Wendt (.315) and 1B Matt Moretti (.280-9-23) are the bats surprising everyone as both are minor league free agents. Derek Dames, drafted this year, is hitting .211-1-9.