Louisville Bats June Awards

Travis Wood; Photo by mwlguide via Flickr

Today marks the turn of the calendar to July so its time to look back at June awards for each of the three Kentucky Minor League teams, other Kentuckians in MiLB and Kentucky major leaguers. We’ll start by looking at the Louisville Bats:

Hitter of the month: SS Zach Cozart

Stats: 32-116 (.276), 4 HR, 15 RBI, 12 R
Honorable Mention: Todd Frazier, Wilkin Castillo, Juan Francisco

Pitcher of the month: LHP Travis Wood

Stats: 2-2, 1.26 ERA, 5 GS, 35.2 IP, 37 SO, 6 BBs
Honorable Mention: Chad Reineke, Jesus Delgado, Carlos Fisher, Lee Tabor, Pedro Viola

Louisville Bats 2010 Opening Day Roster

Uncategorized

The Louisville Bats are set to start play today and will feature two Kentucky natives in the lineup as well as several of the best prospects in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Check out the roster below via the Courier-Journal. I’ve included Baseball America prospect rankings for the Reds organization. Remember top prospects Juan Francisco and Mike Leake are starting the season with the Reds but might appear in Louisville at some point if they struggle, and Yonder Alonso is starting the season in AA but should earn a callup to Louisville early this season.

Pitchers

LHP Travis Wood (BA #7) (SP) — 2nd Round (2005)
RHP Sam LeCure (SP) — 4th Round (2005)
LHP Matt Maloney (BA #8) (SP) — Phillies 3rd Round (2005)
RHP Federico Baez — Cubs NDFA (2002)
RHP Jon Adkins — Athletics 9th Round (1998)
RHP Chad Reineke — 2005 Lexington Legend — Astros 13th Round (2004)
RHP Enerio Del Rosario (BA # 19) — NDFA 2005
LHP Lee Tabor — 30th Round (2006)
RHP Justin Lehr (SP) — Athletics 8th Round (1999)
LHP Pedro Viola (BA # 22) — NDFA (2005)
RHP Carlos Fisher — 11th Round (2005)
RHP Jared Burton — Athletics 8th Round (2002)
LHP Aroldis Chapman (BA #1A*) (SP) — Cuban FA (2009)

Catchers

Corky Miller — Amateur FA (1998)
Wilkin Castillo — NDFA 2002
Jake Long — 37th Round (2005)

Infielders

2B — Chris Burke — St. X High School — Astros 1st Round (2004)
3B — Michael Griffin — 14th Round (2005)
3B — Drew Sutton — 2005 Lexington Legend — S/R — Astros 15th Round (2005)
2B — Chris Valaika (BA #12) — 3rd Round (2006)
SS — Zach Cozart (BA #10) — 2nd Round (2007)
3B/LF — Todd Frazier (BA #1B) — 1st Supp. Round (2007)

Outfielders

RF — Josh Anderson — Pulaski Co., EKU, 2004 Lexington Legend — 4th Round (2003)
LF/1B — Daniel Dorn — 32nd Round (2006)
LF — Chris Heisey (BA #4) — 17th Round (2006)
OF — Luis Terrero — D’Backs NDFA (1997)

* — Chapman signed after Baseball America released its Reds top 10 prospects list, but is ranked higher than No. 1 Frazier on the overall top 100 prospects list published by the magazine.

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

September Callups–Updated Sep. 9

Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball

aj ellis Tuesday marked the official expansion of MLB rosters from 25 to 40. While no team actually carries 40 players during the “September Callup” period, many teams bring some young players up from the minor leagues to either reinforce their team for a playoff run or have and extended audition for next season. We’ll use this post to keep track of any players with Kentucky ties that are called up to the big leagues as minor league seasons end. Major-league players who were activated from the disabled list because of the expanded rosters are also noted. New additions are bolded.

C A. J. Ellis — Los Angeles Dodgers — Dunbar Class of 1999
RHP Matt Belisle — Colorado Rockies — 2003-2004 Louisville Bats
C Ryan Hannigan — Cincinnati Reds — 2007-2009 Louisville Bats
OF Corey Hart (DL) — Milwuakee Brewers — Greenwood High
LHP Matt Maloney — Cincinnati Reds — 2009 Louisville Bats
RHP Carlos Fisher — Cincinnati Reds — 2009 Louisville Bats
3b Chris Johnson — Houston Astros –2007 Lexington Legends
SS Tommy Manzella — Houston Astros — 2006 Lexington Legends
3b Edwin Encarnacion (DL) — Toronto Blue Jays — 2005-2007 Louisville Bats
RHP Todd Wellemeyer (DL) — St. Louis Cardinals — Bellarmine
LHP Pedro Viola — Cincinnati Reds — 2009 Louisville Bats
2B Brooks Conrad — Atlanta Braves — 2003 Lexington Legend
RHP Matt Albers — Baltimore Orioles — 2004 Lexington Legends
1B Kevin Barker — Cincinnati Reds — 2009 Louisville Bats
RP Ramon Ramirez — Cincinnati Reds — 2009 Louisville Bats

Saturday Links: Pellegrini Four from Record

College Baseball, Minor League Baseball

Brian Pellegrini

Lexington Legends slugger Brian Pellegrini launched his 21st home run of the season for Lexington Saturday to move within four home runs of the franchise record 25 long balls in a season. Astros outfielder Hunter Pence and former Legend Beau Herod currently hole the record of 25 home runs.

Pellegrini’s home run wasn’t enough for the Legends’ victory. West Virginia scored four runs in the last three innings to win 5-2.
Matthew Klinker and Pedro Viola combined on a three-hit shutout to give Louisville a 4-0 victory over Toledo in the series opener.
Chris Andujar allowed one run in six innings to lead Bowling Green to a 3-1 victory over Hickory.
EKU Sports writes about Christian Friedrich’s performance in high A ball.
Friedrich checks in at number six and Lexington Legend Jordan Lyles ranked number 11 on this week’s Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet. Bowling Green pitcher Matt Moore was listed “In the Team Photo.”
WKU sports reports that ground has been broken on the new Hilltoper clubhouse.
Don’t forget, the Russellville Little League team plays on ESPN at 7:00 in the finals of the Great Lakes Region tonight.

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.

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