Kentuckians among MiLB All-Stars

Uncategorized

Ben Revere; Photo from Wikimedia Commons

With today’s announcement of the AAA All-Star game rosters each of the full-season Minor Leagues has unveiled its All-Star roster. I’ve listed the Kentucky-related players below on each team with links to the full roster:

International League (AAA)

  • 2B — Chris Valaika — Louisville Bats*
  • LHP — Travis Wood — Louisville Bats

Pacific Coast League (AAA)

  • OF — Brian Bogusevic — Former Lexington Legend — Round Rock

Texas League (AA)

  • RHP — Jordan Lyles — Former Lexington Legend — Corpus Christi
  • 1B — Koby Clemens — Former Lexington Legend — Corpus Christi*

Eastern League (AA)

  • RHP — Trystan Magnuson — UoL — New Hampshire
  • OF — Ben Revere — Lexington Catholic HS — New Britain

Carolina League (High A)

  • RHP — Jose Duran — Former Lexington Legend — Frederick

California League (High A)

  • OF — Jay Austin — Former Lexington Legend — Lancaster

Florida State League (High A)

  • RHP — Joshua Satow — Former Bowling Green Hot Rod — Charlotte
  • RHP — Marquis Fleming — Former Bowling Green Hot Rod — Charlotte
  • LHP — Neil Schenk — Former Bowling Green Hot Rod — Charlotte
  • OF — Isaias Velasquez — Former Bowling Green Hot Rod — Charlotte
  • DH — Henry Wrigley — Former Bowling Green Hot Rod — Charlotte

Midwest League (Low A)

  • RHP — Alexander Colome — Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • RHP — Wilking Rodriguez — Bowling Green Hot Rods

South Atlantic League (Low A)

  • LHP — Robbie Ross — Lexington Christian Academy
  • RHP — Kirk Clark — Lexington Legends
  • 1B — Kody Hinze — Lexington Legends
  • 2B — Jose Altuve — Lexington Legends
  • OF — J. D. Martinez — Lexington Legends
  • 3B — Chris Dominguez — UofL — Augusta

BluGrass Baseball rankings in BA’s 2010 Prospect Handbook

Minor League Baseball

The Baseball America Prospect Handbook is simply a must-have for any minor-league baseball fan. My handbook, in which Baseball America ranks the top 30 prospects in each organization, came in today, and since I ordered it straight from BA they included a 31st prospect supplement for each team. I’m listing where Kentucy players rank in their organizations below, but I’ll leave all BA’s analysis out as incentive for you to go buy their great product.

Houston Astros

  • 3) — RHP Jordan Lyles — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 4)  — RHP Sammy Gervacio — 2005/2006 Lexington Legends
  • 6) — RHP Ross Seaton — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 8 — OF Jay Austin — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 11) — SS Tommy Manzella — 2006 Lexington Legends
  • 12) — RHP Daniel Meszaros — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 14) — LHP Fernando Abad — 2008 Lexington Legends
  • 15) — RHP Matt Nevarez — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 19) — RHP Arcenio Leon — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 20) — C/OF Koby Clemens — 2006/2007 Lexington Legends
  • 21) — OF Brian Bogusevic — 2006 Lexington Legends
  • 23) — RHP Evan Englebrook — 2005 Lexington Legends
  • 25) — OF Collin DeLome — 2008 Lexington Legends
  • 26) — LHP Polin Trinidad — 2007 Lexington Legends
  • 27) — RHP Henry Villar — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 28) — RHP Ashton Mowdy — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 29) — LHP Brad Dydalewicz — 2009 Lexington Legends
  • 30) — RHP Kyle Greenwalt — 2009 Lexington Legends

Oakland Athletics

  • 27) — LHP Justin Marks — University of Louisville

Toronto Blue Jays

  • 1) — RHP Zach Stewart — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 7) — RHP Josh Roenicke — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 20) — RHP Daniel Webb — Ashland, Ky. (Blazer)
  • 22) — RHP Trystan Magnuson — University of Louisville

Atlanta Braves

  • 22) — LHP Richard Sullivan — Louisville, Ky. (Ballard)

St. Louis Cardinals

  • 27) — LHP Ben Jukich — 2009 Louisville Bats

Arizona Diamondbacks

  • 9) — OF Collin Cowgill — University of Kentucky

San Francisco Giants

  • 18) — 3B Chris Dominguez — University of Louisville

Baltimore Orioles

  • 31) — C Craig Tatum — 2009 Louisville Bats

Philadelphia Phillies

  • 24) — RHP B. J. Rosenberg — University of Louisville

Texas Rangers

  • 7) — LHP Robbie Ross — Lexington, Ky. (LCA)

Tampa Bay Rays

  • 4) — LHP Matt Moore — 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • 6) — SS Tim Beckham — 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • 10) — RHP Nick Barnese — 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • 13) — RHP Joe Cruz — 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • 26) — LHP Frank De Los Santos — 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • 29) — C Jake Jefferies —  2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods
  • 31) — OF Keyong Kang — 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods

Cincinnati Reds

  • 1) — INF/OF Todd Frazier — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 2) — 1B Yonder Alonso — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 4) — OF Chris Heisey — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 5) — 3B Juan Francisco — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 7) — LHP Travis Wood — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 8 — LHP Matt Maloney — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 12) — SS/2B Chris Valakia — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 14) — RHP Logan Ondrusek — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 19) — RHP Enerio Del Rosario — 2009 Louisville Bats
  • 22)  — LHP Pedro Viola — 2009 Louisville Bats

Colorado Rockies

  • 2) — LHP Christian Friedrich — Eastern Kentucky University
  • 24) — RHP Chaz Roe — Lexington, Ky. (Lafayette)

Kansas City Royals

  • 19) — OF Jordan Parraz — 2007 Lexington Legends

Detroit Tigers

  • 11) — 1B Ryan Strieby — University of Kentucky
  • 24) — 3B Wade Gaynor — Western Kentucky University
  • 28) — RHP Scott Green — University of Kentucky

Minnesota Twins

  • 5) — OF Ben Revere — Lexington, Ky. (Lex Cath)

Chicago White Sox

  • 25) — OF John Shelby — University of Kentucky
  • 26) — RHP Nathan Jones — Northern Kentucky University

Three Legends make Astros’ top prospect list

Minor League Baseball

Jordan Lyles; Photo: Lexington Legends

Baseball America released its top 10 prospects list for the Houston Astros Friday and several Lexington Legends made the cut. The Astros’ system still ranks toward the bottom of the major league organizations, but the talent improvement from 2008 to 2009 was a nice indication of the improvement of the system overall. Here’s a glimpse at the Legends who made the cut and their statistics. The analysis of the list is subscriber only, so you’ll have to check out BA for the full package.

 

#3 RHP Jordan Lyles

  • 7-11, 3.24 ERA, 167 SO/38 BB
  • 145 IP, 26 GS, 134 hits
  • BA: “He has the repertoire and control to fit in the middle of a big league rotation, and each of his pitches has enough projection for him to become a potential frontline starter.”

#6 RHP Ross Seaton

  • 8-10, 3.29 ERA, 88 SO/39 BB
  • 137 IP, 24 GS, 137 hits
  • BA: “At Lexington, Seaton stood out more with his size and control than his stuff.”

#8 OF Jay Austin

  • .267, 23 SB, 49 runs
  • .267/.32o/.360
  • BA: “He has enticing tools, but he has a lot of refining to do if he’s going to be more than an extra outfielder in the major leagues.”

Check out the full list here.

Lexington Legends Season Wrap-Up

Minor League Baseball

Brian Pellegrini

The Legends’ season ended Monday with a 5-1 victory over Bowling Green.  Lexington finished the season at 68-72, the best full-season record of any Astros’ affiliate.  The Legends roster showed a vast improvement in talent from 2008 to 2009 as its record showed, but I thought we’d highlight a few specific performances from the 2009 Legends.

Offensive Player of the Year — 1B Brian Pellegrini

  • This wasn’t even close.  Pellegrini led the Legends in batting average (.291), home runs (27), RBI (74), total bases (203), on-base percentage (.396) and slugging (.578).  Brian ranked second in the minor leagues in home runs (34) behind fellow Astros’ farmhand Jonathan Gaston.  Pellegrini also set the Legends’ records for single-season home runs (27), career home runs (48) and career RBI (143).
  • Outfielder Jay Austin was the only other Legend to record at least 100 hits (106).  Second baseman Albert Cartwright led the team in runs scored (65).

Pitcher of the Year — RHP Jordan Lyles

  • The race for pitcher of the year was much more heated than the offensive award.  Four Legends starting pitchers had sub-4 ERAs, and five pitchers logged over 100 innings.  Lyles takes the award after leading the team in innings (144.2), strikeouts (167) and games started (26).  Jordan also ranked second among Legends’ starting pitchers in ERA (3.24) and third in wins (7).  Lyles’ 167 strikeouts are second most in one season by a Legends starting pitcher.
  • Robert Bono led the Legends starters with 10 wins and a 3.20 ERA. Relief pitcher Henry Villar posted a 2.60 ERA in 43 games and struck out 109 batters in 90 innings pitched.

BluGrass Baseball Top Prospects (Part 1)

Minor Leagues

If you click over to the “Ky. in the Minors” page you can see an in-depth list of every minor league player with Kentucky ties.  As always, if you know of a player who is not on the list you can send me an email at jhale@blugrassbaseball.com.  So you have a list of every Kentucky player in the minors, but which of those players have the best chance to become impact major leaguers?  My goal in this series of posts is to let you know which minor leaguers from Kentucky are top prospects.  I’ll start by examining where these players and the members of the state’s three minor league teams rank on their Baseball America’s organization top 30s and will work toward a master list of Kentucky prospects.

In the first installment of the “BluGrass Baseball Top Prospects” post, here are the top organizational prospects on the state’s three minor league teams according to  Baseball America.

Bowling Green Hot Rods

  • #2 — SS Tim Beckham — Beckham ranked only behind Tampa Bay pitcher David Price on the Baseball America top 30 prospects list for the Rays.  Since Price is currently pitching for the Rays his prospect status will soon be exhausted, and Beckham should move up to the number one spot.  Beckham, the number one pick in the 2008 draft, is from Griffin, Ga., and has all the tools to become an all-star shortstop.  In Baseball America’s mid-season prospect report for Tampa Bay, the publication listed Tim Beckham as the player who took the “biggest leap forward.”
  • #6 — LHP Matt Moore — According to Baseball America, Moore’s only weakness entering 2008 was his control which he dramatically improved on during his time with rookie Princeton.  After posting a 2-2 record with a 1.66 ERA in 2008, BA said that Moore only needed to prove himself against tougher competition.  Moore, a 2007 8th round pick, hasn’t disappointed this season in Bowling Green.  The lefty is 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA with 116 strikeouts and 45 walks in 81.2 innings.
  • # 18 — C Jake Jeffries — Jeffries was the Rays third round pick in 2008 out of UC Davis.  In his first professional season he batted .315 with two home runs and 41 RBI for short season Hudson Valley.  Jeffries has continued to hit for Bowling Green this season.  He is currently hitting .270 with six home runs and 43 RBI in 77 games.  He has shown and exceptional eye at the plate with 28 walks and 25 strikeouts in 281 at-bats.
  • #27 —  OF Kyeong Kang — Kang was the first South Korean to be selected in the MLB amateur players draft.  He moved to the United States with his family in high school and was selected by the Rays in the 15th round of the 2006 draft.  Kang was named a mid-season all-star in the New York-Penn League in 2008 and finished the year with a .278 average, six home runs and 43 RBI.  Kang was selected to represent the Rays for the World team in the 2009 Futures Game.  Through 48 games for Bowling Green, Kang is batting .285 with two home runs and 22 RBI.

Hit the jump for the top prospects on the Lexington Legends and Louisville Bats.

Monday Morning Links: Futures Game Recap

College Baseball, High School Baseball, Major League Baseball, Minor Leagues

Sunday’s Futures Game will be remembered for its four-hour rain delay, and the representatives from Kentucky minor league teams would probably prefer it remain that way.  The two Bluegrass representatives combined to go 0-3 with a strikeout and four men left on base.  Bowling Green right fielder Kyeong Kang popped out in a pinch hit appearance in the top of the seventh before remaining in the game to play left field in the bottom of the inning, and Louisville outfielder Chris Heisey earned the start in left field for the U. S. team, but was 0-2 with a strikeout in the game.

  • Here is the complete box score for the Futures Game.
  • Jim Callis at Baseball America also has a recap of the World team’s 7-5 victory.
  • The MLB All-Star break will be interesting for both Futures Game outfielder Chris Heisey and Louisville outfielder Drew Stubbs.  Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce broke his wrist and will be out for an extended time.  John Fay at the Cincinnati Enquirer breaks down the likelihood of the Reds calling up one of the two Louisville prospects to replace Bruce.
  • The Reds did recall Adam Rosales from Louisville to take Bruce’s roster spot Sunday.
  • Ross Bagienski recaps the Bats’ 8-4 victory over the Columbus Clippers Sunday.
  • The Legends and Hot Rods were off Sunday.  Lexington opens a four-game series in Delmarva tonight, and Bowling Green starts a four-game set in Lakewood.
  • Georgetown College will host tryouts for the Under Armour Baseball Factory for high school baseball players.
  • Mark Story at the Herald-Leader has a column about Legends executive Alan Stein.
  • I missed this Friday, but Mark Maloney profiles Lexington outfielder Jay Austin’s power surge.
  • Fordham Athletics ran a story about the school’s reaction to alum John Mollicone being named SAL player of the week for Bowling Green.
  • Lafayette alum Chaz Roe lowered his ERA to 2.85 with seven strong innings for AA Tulsa, and UK alum Scott Green earned his ninth save for High A Lakeland.