*** This Week in Minor League Baseball - August 20 *** From The My Sportsbook
By Kevin Spiegel, Contributing Editor
Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - With the regular season winding down, talk has begun to circulate about who will be this season's Minor League Baseball Player of the Year. Stop the speculation...Ryan Howard. There certainly are other contenders, however Howard should be at the top of the list.
Let's go to the numbers. In 102 games with Reading of the Eastern League, Howard belted 37 home runs with 102 runs batted in, collected 111 hits and batted .297. In just 18 games with International League Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Howard has already knocked in 21 runs with 19 hits and seven home runs.
If your counting at home, that's 44 home runs and 123 RBI in 120 games. The last player to belt that many home runs in a season was Phil Hiatt's 44 back in 2001. With 17 games left on the Red Barons' docket, Howard can reach the magic mark of 50, last achieved by Rob Kittle in 1982.
STREAKS ALIVE
Pablo Uzuna collected two hits and drove in a pair for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday to extend his hitting streak to 22 games. Ozuna singled in the seventh and ninth innings to tie Matt Diaz of Durham for the longest hit streak in the International League this season.
It took his fifth and final at bat of the game, but High Desert's Enrique Cruz extended his hitting streak to a California League-best 23 games Thursday. Cruz' two-run single in the top of the ninth was part of a three-run outburst that lifted the Mavericks to their third straight win.
Kingsport outfielder Horace Lawrence continued his torrid hitting streak, as he singled in the top of the fifth on Thursday. Lawrence has hit safely in an Appalachian League-best 18 games, raising his average to .383.
The longest streak this season in Minor League Baseball goes to Dave Doster of Fresno, who hit safely in 32 consecutive games.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH IN COLORADO
Trailing 7-3 after three innings on Thursday, Colorado Springs erupted for nine runs in the fifth and five in the seventh en route to a 21-7 thrashing of New Orleans. Shawn Garrett led the assault going 5-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored while Brad Hawpe belted homers 25 and 26 as the Sky Sox snapped a three-game losing streak. Andy Tracy went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and four RBI along with his 27th home run.
BRAVES SCALP DEVIL RAYS
Danville of the Appalachian League scored early and often on Monday, as they crushed Princeton, 15-0. Carl Loadenthal collected five hits in six at bats, driving in three and scoring four and Brandon Jones went 4-for-5 with three runs batted in, as the Braves blanked the Devil Rays. Danville, currently on a five-game winning tear, got a superb pitching performance from Chris Vines, who went six innings, pitching two-hit ball while striking out seven. Rodny Jimenez and Danny Collins finished the game without allowing a hit.
HOME COOKING IN TEXAS
Conor Jackson drove in five runs and Jesus Cota, Carlos Quentin and Mike DiRosa knocked in three runs apiece, as El Paso dismantled the Arkansas Travelers, 22-3 in Texas League play Wednesday. The Diablos collected 16 hits, 10 walks and scored 11 times in the seventh inning, as they snapped a six-game losing streak. El Paso rocked Arkansas again on Thursday, 15-3, as Quentin went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and DiRosa drove in three.
FOOTBALL IN THE PIONEER LEAGUE
In what resembled a football score, Missoula outlasted Idaho Falls, 17-14 on Monday. Trailing 10-5 after six innings, Missoula posted eight runs in the seventh and four in the eighth, as the Osprey won for the fourth time in five games. Ricardo Sosa capped the seventh inning outburst with a three-run double. Javier Brito went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in, including a two- run homer.
YES, YES IN THE EASTERN LEAGUE
Dave Crouthers, Andy Mitchell and Jacobo Sequea combined on a no-hitter, as the Bowie Baysox blanked the Altoona Curve 2-0 in Eastern League action Thursday. Crouthers (8-8) tossed the first seven innings of no-hit ball, issuing four walks, and striking out six batters. Mitchell walked one and struck out one in a hitless eighth inning and Sequea hurled a perfect ninth inning for his 23rd save. Gary Cates knocked in one run and scored one run in the win for Bowie.
IT THUNDER(S) IN PORTLAND
Mitch Jones belted a grand slam, his 35th homer of the season and Aaron Rifkin went 3-for-6 with a pair of homers, as the Trenton Thunder crushed the Sea Dogs in Portland, 19-4 Thursday night in Eastern League play. Trailing 2-0 after two innings, the Thunder exploded for 12 runs in the third, including Jones' slam. Jones, Rifkin and Craig Wilson knocked in four runs apiece, as Trenton won its third straight.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Triple-A
International League: Pitcher - Travis Phelps, Indianapolis; Player - Shawn Wooten, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (3B). Pacific Coast League: Pitcher - Sergio Mitre, Iowa; Player - Adam Riggs, Salt Lake (OF).
Double-A
Eastern League: Pitcher - Kason Gabbard, Portland; Player - Ryan Raburn, Erie (2B). Southern League: Pitcher - Anthony Reyes, Tennessee; Player - Billy Hall, Carolina. Texas League: Pitcher - Wandy Rodriguez, Round Rock; Player - Brooks Conrad, Round Rock (2B).
Single-A
California League: Pitcher - Steven Shell, Rancho Cucamonga and Ben Crockett, Visalia; Player - Marcus McBeth, Modesto (OF). Carolina League: Pitcher - Tony Neal, Frederick; Player - Brad Snyder, Kinston (OF). Florida State League: Pitcher - Ricky Barrett, Fort Myers; Player - James Shanks, Jupiter (OF). Midwest League: Pitcher - Jordan Tata, West Michigan; Player - Kila Kaaihue, Burlington (IF). NY-Penn League: Pitcher - Michael Devaney, Brooklyn; Player - Curtis Thigpen, Auburn (C). Northwest League: Pitcher - JR Mathes, Boise; Player - Chris Carter, Yakima (OF). South Atlantic League: Pitcher - Adam Blackley, Augusta; Player - Delmon Young, Charleston-SC (OF).
Rookie
Appalachian League: Pitcher - Frank Mata, Elizabethton; Player - Horace Lawrence, Kingsport (OF). Pioneer League: Pitcher - Garry Bakker, Great Falls; Player - Brian McFall, Idaho Falls (OF); Seth Smith, Casper (OF).
ON THE MOUND
(Triple-A): Wins - Dave Gassner, Rochester (13), Nelson Figueroa, Nashville (12). Earned Run Average - Ben Hendrickson, Indianapolis (2.19). Innings Pitched - Jared Fernandez, New Orleans (167), Pat Ahearne, Toledo (160). Strikeouts - Danny Haren, Memphis (133), Nelson Figueroa, Nashville (129), Joe Blanton, Sacramento (119), Chuck Smith, Richmond (116). Complete Games - Nelson Figueroa, Nashville (4), Brad Halsey, Columbus (3), Seth Etherton, Louisville (3), Pat Ahearne, Toledo (3), Wilton Chavez, Edmonton (3). Saves - Matt Whiteside, Richmond (31), Franklyn German, Toledo (24), Al Reyes, Memphis (22), Darwin Cubillan, Ottawa (21).
(Double-A): Wins - Gustavo Chacin, New Hampshire (15), Jeff Francis, Tulsa (13). Earned Run Average - Jeff Francis, Tulsa (1.98), Wilfredo Ledezma, Erie (2.42), Gavin Floyd, Reading (2.57). Innings Pitched - Ezequiel Astacio, Round Rock (156.2), Justin Hampson, Tulsa (153), Patrick Misch, Norwich (149), Steve Kelly, Chattanooga (143.1), Nic Ungs, Carolina (142.1). Strikeouts - Renyel Pinto, West Tenn (172), Ezequiel Astacio, Round Rock (167), Jeff Francis, Tulsa (147), DJ Houlton, Round Rock (141), Boof Bonser, New Britain (138). Complete Games - Matt Roney, Erie (3), Patrick Misch, Norwich (3), Sergio Lizarraga, El Paso (3). Saves - Ryan Speier, Tulsa (35), Brad Baker, Mobile (30), Santiago Ramirez, Round Rock (30), Bobby Korecky, New Britain (24), Jacobo Sequea, Bowie (23).
(Single-A): Wins - Brian Slocum, Kinston (14), Steven Bondurant, Kane County (14), Ismael Ramirez, Dunedin (13), Brad Knox, Kane County (13), Virgil Vasquez, West Michigan (13). Earned Run Average - Zach Duke, Lynchburg (1.39), Chuck James, Rome (1.77), Steven Bondurant, Kane County (2.08), Trae McGill, Wilmington (2.10). Innings Pitched - Bobby Livingston, Inland Empire (165.2), Marc Kaiser, Asheville (160), Aaron Marsden, Asheville (155.2), Nibaldo Acosta, Wisconsin (153.2). Strikeouts - Steven Shell, Rancho Cucamonga (174), Brad Knox, Kane County (164). Complete Games - Alfredo Simon, Clearwater (4), Humberto Sanchez, Lakeland (3), Chris Steinborn, West Michigan (3), Leo Nunez, Hickory (3), Brandon McCarthy, Kannapolis (3), Alberto Arias, Asheville (3). Saves - Dwayne Pollok, Winston Salem (31), Ehren Wasserman, Kannapolis (30), Edwardo Sierra, Tampa (26), Jeremy Accardo, San Jose (24), Paul Thorp, Battle Creek (24).
(Rookie): Wins - Justin Sherman, Idaho Falls (8), Tyler Pelland, Billings (8), Levi Romero, Greeneville (6), Juan Gutierrez, Greeneville (6), David Shinskie, Elizabethton (6). Earned Run Average - Robert McCrory, Bluefield (1.92). Innings Pitched - Reid Santos, Burlington (64.2), Tim Vaillancourt, Missoula (64.2), Ramon Ramirez, Billings (63.2). Strikeouts - Samuel Deduno, Casper (90), Steven Duguay, Elizabethton (68), Reid Santos, Burlington (67). Complete Games - Matt Harrison, Danville (1), Garrett Murdy, Greeneville (1), Orlando Rengel, Kingsport (1), Jacob Mullis, Idaho Falls (1), Tim Vaillancourt, Missoula (1). Saves - Enyelbert Soto, Greeneville (12), Mitchell Arnold, Provo (11).
