
Iowa
Steve Clevenger-Clevenger's BA ended at 8 games on Sunday with an 0 for 4, 2 K performance. Those 2 strikeouts were his first two 27 AB's. He started off slow following his promotion to Iowa in May, but has raised his average 10 points in July.
Welington Castillo-Maybe the All Star break gave Castillo a chance to relax and refocus. Last night, he went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI's. His 3 hits were more than the total for the month and his 3 RBI's were his first 3 of the month. He also scored his second run of the month.
Tyler Colvin-Colvin may have only hit .200 for the past week, but he was productive in those 4 games. He had 2 runs, 2 RBI's, a triple and a walk. Colvin's numbers on the year nearly mimic the numbers he put up last year at Tennessee. Granted, he had offseason surgery, but I think a little of the shine has come off his star.
Jay Jackson-Hasn't pitched since July 7th, due to the All Star break.
Andrew Cashner-Cashner pitched Wednesday night, going 4 innings and giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5. Cashner was mentioned in this week's Ask BA (last question), which explains the pitch count he has been on all year, limiting the innings he's thrown.
Bonus-Maybe Jim Adduci picked up a tip or two at the All Star game, because he returned with a bang. On Wednesday night, he was a triple short of the cycle in a 3 for 5 effort. Last night, he had 2 singles, a walk, and a stolen base. If you throw in his performance the day before the AA All Star break, he has gone 7 for 12 with 6 runs and 2 RBI's, including a double, triple, HR, 2 walks, and a stolen base. In the past three days, he's raised his OPS for the season 37 points.
Daytona
Josh Vitters-Vitters added 28 points to his Daytona BA, which only puts him at .222. It's still a small sample size, just 45 AB's. The good news is that Vitters has cut down on his strikeouts (again, a small sample size); he's K'd just 4 times since joining the D-Cubs (one per 11.25 AB's) after striking out one in less than 6 AB's.
Starlin Castro-On Wednesday night, Castro went 4 for 4 with a double, 2 runs, and an RBI. In his 4 games this week, Castro hit .385 with 4 runs and he was a perfect 3 for 3 in stolen bases. Castro's stolen base percentage is back up over 70%. If you threw out April, Castro has a .335 BA.
Bonus-A year ago, Dan McDaniel was dominating the Northwest League with a 1.67 ERA and 7 saves as the Hawks closer. A year later, he's been up and down as a starter at Daytona. He went 2-0 with a sub 1 ERA in April and had a 3.86 ERA for the month of May. But June was unkind to him, going 1-4 with an ERA over 6. He's bounced back to a 3.60 ERA for this month. While his biggest issue is that he's getting hit (he's given up over a hit per inning), he is keeping them in the ballpark. 73 and 2/3 innings pitched, 1 HR.
Peoria
Ryan Flaherty-Flaherty's hitting streak ended at 7 games on Monday and so did his 7 games with a run scored streak. Thankfully for him, his 6 games with a strikeout streak also ended that night. Nonetheless, Flaherty's hitting .283 for the month, his best month of the year. Despite a low BA (.246), Flaherty has a very respectable .738 OPS.
Bonus-Manolin De Leon joined the Chiefs in May and was above average, grabbing a win and striking out 11 in 8 and 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA. He gave up his fourth run of the year in early June, pitching sporadically. Since then, he's given up just 1 earned run in 17 and 1/3 innings (a 0.52 ERA). Righties are hitting less than .100 off him.
Boise
Hak Ju Lee-Lee was a HR short of the cycle last night, and has posted numbers similar to Adduci's over the last three games. 8 hits in 14 AB's, 6 runs, 5 RBI's, a double, a triple, and 3 stolen bases. Lee still leads the league in stolen bases, is 2nd in the league in runs, and is tied for 3rd in doubles. But he is 2nd on the team in hits (see below).
Bonus-Not to be outdone by Lee, Logan Watkins went 5 for 6 last night with 3 runs. He's 11 for his last 15 and has an 8 game hitting streak in which he's batting .576 with 11 runs. Prior to this hitting streak, he was batting .217 with 7 runs. He's now 5th in the Northwest League in hitting and has 2 more hits than Lee.