Prospect Watch 7/5/08

Fresno defeated Sacramento 4-1.

C Steve Holm: 1 for 3, K
This is Steve’s first game back in the minors.

1B Travis Ishikawa: 1 for 3, HR (286/354/571, 42 AB)
The 42 AB’s are still a very small sample but I’ve been very impressed by Travis’s year in the minors. He should get called up in September and be given a chance to compete for a spot on the major league roster. He’s been around so long that its easy to forget he’s only 24.

Connecticut blanked New Britain 5-0.

CF Antoan “Excitement” Richardson 2 for 5, HR (225/346/300)
Antoan hit a drive down the right field line for an inside the park home run to spark the Defenders offense. Antoan’s always had a decent batting average to go with the speed and the plate discipline until this year. But I don’t think you can blame his offensive struggles on the pitcher friendly park. In the last three years, Antoan saw his ground ball percentage fall from 60% to 53% to 47% with each level promotion. His BA similarly fell from .292 to .279 to .225. Intuitively this seems to be correlated, as Antoan’s best tool is his excellent speed which would allow him to beat out grounders. There are related factors of course, the most important of which may be that he is facing better defensive infielders in AA. Incidentally, many scouts had noted before the season that he had a hitch in his swing. If Antoan ever manages to hit for a decent average, he has a bright future as a lead-off man.

C Pablo Sandoval: 0 for 4, BB (225/279/350, 40 AB)

DH Adam Witter: 2 for 3, 2 HR, BB (223/342/437)
A monster game for Adam. He is hitting .324 in his last ten games. If he finishes the season with a BA above .260, I would count it a success.

RP Justin Hedrick: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 K (1.62 ERA, 9.14 K/9)
Justin’s has not been scored upon in his last eight appearances. He’s a flyball/strikeout pitcher (0.38 GO/AO) who has given up three home runs away and none at home. I would look for his ERA to jump quite a bit when he gets promoted to Fresno.

San Jose downs Rancho Cucamonga 3-2, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

C Jackson Williams: 1 for 4 (280/379/320, 25 AB)

SS Sharlon Schoop: 1 for 2, BB, K (230/289/325)

RP Steve Edlefsen: 2 IP, 1 H, 3 K (2.90 ERA, 2.39 GO/AO)
Steve reportedly throws a fastball in the low 80s and a fantastic slider. Last year, he used the slider quite effectively in Salem-Keizer, putting up a 1.62 ERA with a 3.80 GO/AO.

Augusta lost to Charleston 6-3.

1B Angel Villalona: 1 for 3, BB (239/294/405)

SS Charlie Culberson: 2 for 4, K (222/273/297)

RP Paul Lussier: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K (2.61 ERA, 0 BB/9, 8.71 H/9, 10.1 IP)
Paul was drafted out of high school in the 36th round of th 2004 draft. This is his second year in Augusta. Last year he struggled, allowing over a hit an inning.

Salem-Keizer lost to Tri-City 4-1.

SS Vladimir Frias: 2 for 2, SB (250/375/300, 20 AB)

SP Mike Loree: 7 IP, 1 H, 7 K, 1 HR, 1 ER (1.23 ERA, 0.36 WHIP)
Mike took a perfect game into the 7th inning before he gave up a home run his perfect streak of 38 retired batters. Count me as firmly on his bandwagon because he pitches good and he makes me look good .

The Giants defeated the Angels 6-2.

OF Wendell Fairley: 2 for 5 (214/300/262, 42 AB)

C Johnny Monell: 3 for 5, 2B, K (409/480/727, 22 AB)

LF Ryne Price: 2 for 3, 2B (353/542/529, 17 AB)
Ryne was drafted in the 33rd round of this year’s draft from Kansas. He is a local boy, born in Palo Alto.

RP Scott Barnes: 1 IP, 2 K
This is Scott’s first appearance. He was drafted in the eighth round this year from St. John’s. He is a lefty who throws in the low 90s with a slider, change and curve. You can find a scouting report of him here.

RP Eric Surkamp: 1 IP, 2K
Eric was drafted in the sixth round of this year’s draft. This was also his first appearance. Eric has a fastball in the high 80s to go alongside his curveball and changeup. A longer scouting report is here.

RP Justin Fitzgerald: 1 IP, 1 K
Justin was drafted by the Giants in the 11th round of this year’s draft from UC Davis. (Go Alma Mater!) Justin works in the low 90s, touching 95. He also has a changeup and a slider in his repertoire.