Results tagged ‘ Minor league baseball ’
Tuesday, June 18th: Goebbert’s Grand Slam Leads Hounds to Win while Cats & Lake Monsters Both Fall
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Midland RockHounds First Baseman Jake Goebbert (Grand Slam)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Sacramento River Cats 0
Salt Lake Bees 10
LP – Billings 8-4 / 4.37
Farmhand Of The Game:
Third Baseman Scott Moore
(3 Walks)
It wasn’t a good night for the River Cats. Starter Bruce Billings had his worst outing in over a month, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits over 3 1/3 innings to take his 4th loss, while RHP Darren Byrd surrendered another 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Third baseman Scott Moore drew 3 walks to reach base in all but 1 of his plate appearances, but the River Cats totaled just 3 hits on the night, including doubles by first baseman Daric Barton and outfielder Michael Taylor, who now holds the River Cats’ all-time hit record with 402.
Monday, June 17th: Cats & Hounds Fall while Lake Monsters Lose Opener
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Midland RockHounds Pitcher Carlos Hernandez (6 IP / 5 H / 2 ER / 1 BB / 7 K)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Tacoma Rainiers 7
Sacramento River Cats 5
LP – Werner 6-9 / 5.88
HR – Taylor (7)
Farmhand Of The Game:
Outfielder Michael Taylor
(3 for 4 / Home Run)
Starter Andrew Werner had a rough outing for the River Cats, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits over just 4 innings to take his 9th loss on Monday. Outfielder Michael Taylor had another big night at the plate, collecting 3 hits, including his 7th home run, to tie him with infielder Esteban German for the River Cats’ all-time hit record, while catcher Stephen Vogt had 2 hits, including his 16th double, and drove in a pair of runs, and Jemile Weeks committed 2 errors at shortstop.
Sunday, June 16th: All Four Affiliates Win As Bostick Has Another Big Night for Beloit
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Beloit Snappers Second Baseman Chris Bostick (3 for 4 / 3 RBIs)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Tacoma Rainiers 3
Sacramento River Cats 6
WP – Gray 7-4 / 2.62
Farmhand Of The Game:
Outfielder Michael Taylor
(Double / 3 RBIs)
With the bases loaded and 2 outs and Sacramento down by a run in the bottom of the 5th inning, outfielder Michael Taylor doubled to clear the bases and give the River Cats a lead they would never relinquish. Catcher Stephen Vogt collected a pair of doubles and drove in another 2 runs for the River Cats in the 8th. Starter Sonny Gray allowed 3 runs on 8 hits while walking 1 and striking out 6 over 6 innings to earn his 7th win, while RHP Kyler Newby tossed a scoreless 7th in his debut with the Cats, and RHP Brian Gordon struck out a pair in the 9th to pick up his 3rd save.
Saturday, June 15th: All Four Affiliates Win As Bostick Has Big Night for Beloit
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Beloit Snappers 2B Chris Bostick (2 Home Runs / 4 RBIs)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Tacoma Rainiers 1
Sacramento River Cats 6
WP – Banwart 4-2 / 4.18
HR – Vogt (9)
Farmhand Of The Game:
Pitcher Travis Banwart
(7 1/3 IP / 5 H / 1 ER / 3 BB / 7 K / Win)
Starter Travis Banwart turned in an impressive outing on Saturday, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 7 to earn his 4th win. Designated hitter Stephen Vogt clubbed his 9th home run, while third baseman Scott Moore collected 3 hits, including 2 doubles, and drove in a pair of runs, and first baseman Daric Barton and outfielder Michael Choice both doubled and drove in a run for the River Cats.
Friday, June 14th: It’s Black Friday with Losses for Everyone – except Top Draft Pick Billy McKinney
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Midland RockHounds Pitcher Zach Neal (8 IP / 4 H / 1 ER / 1 BB / 4 K)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Tacoma Rainiers 6
Sacramento River Cats 4
LP – Thomas 3-5 / 4.15
Farmhand Of The Game:
Second Baseman Jemile Weeks
(1 for 3 / 2 Walks / 2 Runs / 1 RBI / 1 SB)
Starter Justin Thomas allowed 3 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings to take his 5th loss on Friday. Second baseman Jemile Weeks reached base 3 times, drove in a run and scored 2 of the River Cats 4 runs on the night, while designated hitter Grant Green collected a pair of hits and drove in a run in the loss.
Thursday, June 13th: Ynoa Helps Snappers Clinch Playoff Spot while Ports Win Behind Russell’s Big Bat and Cats Fall
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Beloit Snappers Pitcher Michael Ynoa (5 IP / 2 H / 0 ER / 1 BB / 5 K / Win)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Sacramento River Cats 1
Reno Aces 3
LP – Billings 8-3 / 3.92
Farmhand Of The Game:
Pitcher Bruce Billings
(5 2/3 IP / 6 H / 2 ER / 5 BB / 4 K)
Starter Bruce Billings took the loss on Thursday despite doing a good job for the River Cats. He did allow 11 baserunners over 5 2/3 innings of work, but he held Reno to just 2 runs. Unfortunately, the River Cats managed just 6 hits in the game, with their only run coming when outfielder Shane Peterson singled in first baseman Daric Barton in the 7th inning.
Tuesday, June 11th: Murphy Pitches Hounds to Victory while Beloit Wins Behind Bostick’s Big Bat and Cats & Ports Both Fall
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Midland RockHounds RHP Sean Murphy (6 IP / 7 H / 2 ER / 0 BB / 5 K / Win)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Sacramento River Cats 1
Reno Aces 4
LP – Gray 6-4 / 2.48
Farmhand Of The Game:
Pitcher Sonny Gray
(6 IP / 6 H / 2 ER / 1 BB / 6 K)
Top pitching prospect Sonny Gray made his 9th straight quality start on Tuesday, allowing just 2 runs while striking out 6 over 6 innings of work, but he still ended up taking the loss. The River Cats managed just 5 games in the game, with catcher Luke Montz doubling in the Cats only run of the night.
Catching Up With: A’s Prospect Michael Choice
by James Ham / A’s Farm Correspondent
Sacramento River Cats hitting coach Greg Sparks has had his paws on the A’s future center fielder Michael Choice ever since Oakland selected him with the 10th pick in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft.
Before becoming the hitting coach in Sacramento last season, Sparks spent eight seasons as the organization’s minor league roving hitting instructor. If there is anyone who knows Choice’s game, it’s Sparks.
“He’s an electric kid,” Sparks told Athletics Farm before Sunday’s game. “As a hitting coordinator, I had him out of the draft. I’ve been around him quite a bit. It’s nice to see the adjustments he’s made since the day he signed. He had a lot of movement; a unique approach to baseball when he first signed and to see that calm down and for him to become the hitter he is now is very good. Nice adjustments.”
The road hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the A’s outfield prospect. After a tremendous 2011 season at Class A Stockton, where he put up a stat line of .285/.376/.542 with 30 home runs and 82 RBI, Choice struggled.
At the Double-A level last season, Choice posted a line of .287/.356/.423, while hitting just 10 home runs and driving in 58. The batting average stayed steady, but the move to Midland of the Texas League seemed to overwhelm the highly touted prospect.
“For me, the biggest jump and the toughest thing for hitters to do is to go from A-ball to Double-A,” Sparks added. “He made some nice adjustments (in the Texas League).”
Midland all seems like a distant memory now. Choice took the rough season in stride and is now flourishing in Sacramento through the early part of this season.
“Every level brings a different challenge, you know, having to adjust,” Choice said before Sunday’s loss to the Las Vegas 51s. “Basically along the way, I’ve done a lot of adjusting with mechanics and that type of thing, but starting out this year, it’s the first year that I’ve been able to just focus on the mental part of hitting and not focus so much on what I’m doing physically in the box.”
Choice is locked in right now in Sacramento. The 23-year-old out of the University of Texas at Arlington has improved his plate discipline, striking out 25 times and drawing 19 walks in his first 135 at bats at the Triple-A level. He has a career-best .422 on base percentage and after Sunday’s loss, he is batting .309 with a .949 OPS.
Plate discipline isn’t the only thing that is improving for Choice, his power numbers are returning as well. After hitting 10 home runs in 402 plate appearances last season, Choice has six in just 110 official at bats this year. While others were concerned with the power drop off, Choice was confident that he would get his stroke back.
“Basically, I just try not to worry about hitting for power and just (focus on) being a good hitter and the power will come later,” Choice said.
The power will come and so will the accolades. At 6-foot, 215-pounds, Choice looks more like an NFL running back than a 5-tool baseball player. And with the A’s sitting on a $7.5 million team option for 33-year-old starting center fielder, Coco Crisp, for next season, there may be a changing of the guard coming.
Choice has nothing but respect for Crisp, who has manned the cavernous Coliseum outfield for the last three seasons. In fact, he spent a lot of time watching the 12-year veteran during spring training, trying to glean even the smallest morsel of information.
“Coco is one of the best out there,” Choice said of the A’s starting center fielder. “I watched him in spring training, watched his routine. You don’t see that many veteran guys like him that still shag hard in BP and continue to get reads and he does that. That’s why he’s one of the best out there.”
While there aren’t any plans to shuttle Choice to the big leagues right now, his time is coming. The A’s will most likely wait as long as possible before calling up one of their best minor league hitting prospects. But when the call comes, expect Choice to be ready to take his spot between Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick in the Oakland outfield.
James Ham is known for his work covering the Sacramento Kings for Cowbell Kingdom. You can follow him on Twitter @James_Ham.
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Friday, April 5th: Aliotti & Thompson Lead Hounds & Ports to Victory, while Ynoa Makes Debut in Snappers Loss and Defense Undoes Cats
A’s Farmhand Of The Day
Midland RockHounds’ First Baseman Anthony Aliotti (4 for 4 / Home Run / Double / 3 RBIs)
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (Triple-A)
Las Vegas 51s 9
Sacramento River Cats 3
LP – Chavez 0-1 / 0.00
HR – Taylor (1)
Farmhand Of The Game:
Outfielder Michael Taylor
(2 for 4 / Home Run)
Poor defense undermined the River Cats and Sacramento starter Jesse Chavez on Friday. With the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 3rd inning, errors by shortstop Andy Parrino and outfielder Michael Choice opened the door for 5 runs to score, and those were the only runs that Chavez would allow in his 5 innings of work. Outfielder Michael Taylor had 2 hits, including a home run, outfielder Michael Choice had a pair of hits and drove in a run, and third baseman Scott Moore doubled in a run in the loss. And for the second straight night, Grant Green got the start at second base with Jemile Weeks serving as the designated hitter.
TEXAS LEAGUE (Double-A)
Midland RockHounds 10
NW Arkansas Naturals 3
WP – Smyth 1-0 / 0.00
HR – Aliotti (1), Barfield (1)
Farmhand Of The Game:
First Baseman Anthony Aliotti
(4 for 4 / Home Run / Double / 3 RBIs)
For the second night in a row, the RockHounds’ lineup put double digits up on the scoreboard. First baseman Anthony Aliotti led the attack, going 4 for 4 with a home run, a double and 3 RBIs, while outfielder Jeremy Barfield homered and outfielder Chad Oberacker tripled and drove in 3 runs. RHP Zach Neal, making his first start for Midland, gave up just 1 hit in 4 scoreless innings, but RHP Paul Smyth struck out 4 in 2 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (High-A)
Bakersfield Blaze 2
Stockton Ports 4
WP – Walz 1-0 / 0.00
HR – Delgado (1), Thompson (1)
Farmhand Of The Game:
Designated Hitter Tony Thompson
(Home Run / 2 RBIs)
Stockton trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the 7th inning, when catcher Ryan Delgado homered to tie the game. Designated hitter Tony Thompson then hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to give the Ports the lead. Starter Blake Hassebrock allowed 2 runs while walking none and striking out 5 in 4 2/3 innings of work, but RHP T.J. Walz tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win, and RHP Jonathan Joseph got the final 3 outs for the save. Second baseman Wade Kirkland had a pair of hits and shortstop Addison Russell went 1 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout.
MIDWEST LEAGUE (Class-A)
Beloit Snappers 2
Cedar Rapids Kernels 3
LP – Pudenz 0-1 / 54.00
Farmhand Of The Game:
Pitcher Dakota Bacus
(5 IP / 2 H / 0 ER / 1 BB / 9 K)
In his first start of the season for Beloit, former top prospect Michael Ynoa allowed a long home run to the first batter he faced – last year’s 2nd overall draft pick, Byron Buxton – that left the park. He settled down after that though and exited the game after having allowed just 1 hit and 1 run while walking 2 and striking out 1 in 3 innings of work. He was relieved by RHP Dakota Bacus who struck out 9 in 5 innings of relief, but RHP Stuart Pudenz gave up 2 runs in the 9th to take the loss. Catcher Bruce Maxwell, first baseman Matt Olson and outfielder Aaron Shipman had the Snappers’ only 3 hits on the night.
Saturday’s Games:
Las Vegas @ Sacramento – 7:05pm PT
Midland @ NW Arkansas – 5:00pm PT / 7:00pm CT
Bakersfield @ Stockton – 7:05pm PT
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids – 12:05pm PT / 2:05pm CT
Be sure to like A’s Farm’s page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @AthleticsFarm to keep up with all the news down on the farm!
A’s Affiliates Set To Open Season on Thursday!
Raley Field in Sacramento – home of the River Cats
All four of the A’s full-season affiliates are set to open their seasons on Thursday, April 4th. Sacramento and Stockton will be opening their seasons at home, while Midland and Beloit will have their season openers on the road.
In Sacramento’s game, left-hander Andrew Werner will be going for the River Cats against former 1st-round draft pick Zack Wheeler for Las Vegas. And familiar names like Jemile Weeks, Grant Green, Michael Choice, Michael Taylor and Shane Peterson are all likely to be in the lineup for the River Cats.
You can listen to broadcasts of all the games online free of charge via MiLB Gameday Audio at http://www.milb.com/milb/multimedia/audio.jsp. Broadcasts are also available on your iPad or iPhone via the MiLB.com app.
For those of you planning to tune into the games on Thursday, I’m going to experiment with having a Minor League Game Thread on the site where everyone is encouraged to comment on all the minor league game action throughout the evening – and I’ll be there commenting as well.
The starting times for all the games are listed below. I’ve included both the local time for each game as well as the Pacific time, since I know many of our followers are on the west coast.
Best of luck to all the A’s affiliates and minor league players on Thursday!
Thursday’s Opening Games – April 4th, 2013:
Las Vegas @ Sacramento – 7:05pm PT
Midland @ NW Arkansas – 4:00pm PT / 6:00pm CT
Bakersfield @ Stockton – 7:05pm PT
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids – 4:35pm PT / 6:35pm CT
Las Vegas 51s at Sacramento River Cats
7:05pm PT at Raley Field
Andrew Werner vs. Zack Wheeler
Be sure to like A’s Farm’s page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @AthleticsFarm to keep up with all the news down on the farm!
