There have been an awful lot of players on the move in the A’s system over the past couple of weeks. Prospects like Max Muncy, Ryon Healy, Jaycob Brugman, Tyler Marincov and Ryan Doolittle have all been moving on up. #1 draft pick Richie Martin was set to join Stockton on Monday. And it looks like pitcher Zach Neal will be returning to the A’s to take Sonny Gray’s spot in the starting rotation later this week as well. A version of this weekly minor league report by Athletics Farm originally appeared on Athletics Nation…
Click here for this week’s update on Nashville, Midland, Stockton & Beloit…
SEASON’S TOP PERFORMERS:
(through games of 5/22/16)
1B Ryon Healy (Midland/Nashville – AA/AAA)
(8 HR / 18 BB / 38 K / .333 AVG / .402 OBP / .616 SLG / 1.019 OPS)
3B Matt Chapman (Midland – AA)
(11 HR / 24 BB / 53 K / .261 AVG / .367 OBP / .528 SLG / .895 OPS)
OF Tyler Marincov (Stockton/Midland – A+/AA)
(9 HR / 16 BB / 43 K / .261 AVG / .344 OBP / .491 SLG / .835 OPS)
3B Renato Nunez (Nashville – AAA)
(7 HR / 9 BB / 25 K / .265 AVG / .319 OBP / .497 SLG / .816 OPS)
1B Viosergy Rosa (Midland – AA)
(3 HR / 24 BB / 42 K / .277 AVG / .385 OBP / .423 SLG / .808 OPS)
SS-2B Yairo Munoz (Midland – AA)
(4 HR / 8 BB / 13 K / .263 AVG / .330 OBP / .463 SLG / .792 OPS)
OF B.J. Boyd (Stockton – A+)
(0 HR / 14 BB / 20 K / .328 AVG / .407 OBP / .383 SLG / .790 OPS)
1B Sandber Pimentel (Stockton – A+)
(5 HR / 18 BB / 38 K / .232 AVG / .358 OBP / .420 SLG / .778 OPS)
RHP Daniel Mengden (Nashville/Midland – AAA/AA)
(50 IP / 31 H / 4 ER / 16 BB / 51 K / 0.72 ERA / 0.94 WHIP)
LHP Evan Manarino (Beloit – A)
(40 1/3 IP / 34 H / 6 ER / 6 BB / 38 K / 1.34 ERA / 0.99 WHIP)
RHP Kyle Friedrichs (Beloit – A)
(42 1/3 IP / 34 H / 7 ER / 6 BB / 27 K / 1.49 ERA / 0.94 WHIP)
RHP Boomer Biegalski (Beloit – A)
(46 IP / 34 H / 10 ER / 10 BB / 45 K / 1.96 ERA / 0.96 WHIP)
RHP Zach Neal (Nashville – AAA)
(42 2/3 IP / 36 H / 12 ER / 4 BB / 21 K / 2.53 ERA / 0.94 WHIP)
RHP Angel Duno (Beloit – A)
(40 IP / 40 H / 12 ER / 6 BB / 33 K / 2.70 ERA / 1.15 WHIP)
LHP Patrick Schuster (Nashville – AAA)
(17 IP / 11 H / 2 ER / 5 BB / 19 K / 1.06 ERA / 0.94 WHIP)
RHP Ryan Brasier (Nashville – AAA)
(18 IP / 10 H / 3 ER / 7 BB / 23 K / 1.50 ERA / 0.94 WHIP)
NASHVILLE SOUNDS
Pacific Coast League – Triple-A
With infielder Max Muncy and outfielder Jake Smolinski recalled by the A’s, infielder Ryon Healy and outfielder Jaycob Brugman received promotions from the RockHounds to the Sounds. Healy, who had been the Hounds best hitter, has continued his hot hitting with Nashville and currently leads all A’s minor leaguers in extra-base hits with 25. Brugman put up a .261/.335/.439 slash line while playing center field and batting leadoff for Midland and has gone 1 for 7 in his first 2 games for Nashville. Catcher Bruce Maxwell returned to action on Friday after spending 12 days sidelined with a sore shoulder. And though he’s gone 1 for his last 11, with Muncy no longer on the squad, third baseman Renato Nunez has been the Sounds best hitter so far this season and he currently leads the team with 7 home runs. After a slow start, first baseman Rangel Ravelo has been getting into gear lately and is batting .333 over his last 8 games. RHP Daniel Mengden joined the Sounds early in the month and has been outstanding over his first 4 starts, allowing just 2 runs over 27 innings of work. He might seem like a good candidate to take the place of the injured Sonny Gray in the A’s starting rotation. But RHP Zach Neal was held out of his scheduled start on Sunday, so it appears that he may be the most likely candidate to take Gray’s turn in the A’s rotation on Wednesday. Meanwhile, there have also been some moves in the Nashville bullpen. RHP Aaron Kurcz joined the team from Midland when RHP Andrew Triggs was called up by the A’s, and RHP Ryan Doolittle was reassigned from the RockHounds when LHP Daniel Coulombe was recalled by Oakland. Kurcz has given up 5 runs in his first 4 appearances for the Sounds, and Doolittle allowed 2 runs in relief to take the loss in his Nashville debut on Sunday. Before his recall, Coulombe had been almost unhittable out of the Sounds bullpen, but LHP Patrick Schuster and RHP Ryan Brasier have been solid as well. Schuster has surrendered just 2 runs in his first 15 appearances, while Brasier has struck out 23 in 18 innings of relief for Nashville.
MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS
Texas League – Double-A
With outfielder Jaycob Brugman and first baseman Ryon Healy heading up to Nashville, outfielder Tyler Marincov and first baseman John Nogowski were reassigned to the RockHounds from Stockton. Marincov, who had been Stockton’s best hitter, went 0 for his first 10 with four strikeouts after joining Midland but has gone 5 for 8 since then, and his 9 home runs are second only to teammate Matt Chapman among A’s minor leaguers. Nogowski, who had begun his second season at Stockton, went 1 for 4 in his first game for the RockHounds on Sunday. With Healy gone, third baseman Matt Chapman is clearly the Hounds best hitter. His 11 home runs lead the Texas league and are also the most among A’s minor leagues. First baseman Viosergy Rosa has also been solid, with 11 doubles, 24 walks and a .385 on-base percentage. And shortstop/second baseman Yairo Munoz has done well since joining the Hounds, hitting 4 home runs and posting a .463 slugging percentage. With RHP Daniel Mengden’s departure, RHP Corey Walter came out of the bullpen to take his spot in the starting rotation, and he’s been solid, tossing 10 scoreless innings over his last 2 starts for Midland. When RHP Dylan Covey landed on the disabled list with a strained oblique, RHP Joey Wagman was summoned from the Stockton bullpen to take his place in the RockHounds rotation. And speaking of starters, RHP Raul Alcantara has been on a roll, allowing just 2 earned runs in 24 2/3 innings over his last 4 starts. The RockHounds lost one of their best relievers, RHP Aaron Kurcz to Nashville a couple of weeks ago. Then they lost their other best relief arm, RHP Ryan Doolittle, to the Sounds on Sunday, with RHP Kyle Finnegan promoted from the Ports to take his place. And with RHP Sam Bragg returning from the disabled list, RHP Ryan Gorton was sent down to Stockton.
STOCKTON PORTS
California League – High-A
With outfielder Tyler Marincov and first baseman John Nogowski moving up to Midland, outfielder Alex Glenn, who originally joined the A’s organization as a minor league Rule 5 draftee, was added to the Ports roster. And it looks like last year’s #1 draft pick for the A’s, shortstop Richie Martin, is set to join Stockton on Monday after recovering from knee surgery. With Marincov gone, outfielder B.J. Boyd is probably the Ports best hitter, and his .407 on-base percentage is currently the best among all A’s minor leaguers. After a slow start, first baseman Sandber Pimentel has been starting to heat up a bit lately and has gone 7 for his last 24 with 2 home runs and 5 walks. After taking 10 days between starts due to a trapezius muscle issue, RHP Daniel Gossett has been solid since his return. He struck out 9 over 7 scoreless innings in his last start for Stockton, and RHP Brett Graves followed that up with 8 shutout innings of his own on Saturday. Reliever Rodolfo Fernandez, who had been on the disabled list all of last season and this season with shoulder issues, was released. And with RHP Joey Wagman and RHP Kyle Finnegan moving up to Midland, RHP Ryan Gorton was reassigned to Stockton from the RockHounds and LHP Victor Veliz joined the Ports roster from extended spring training.
BELOIT SNAPPERS
Midwest League – Class-A
With infielder Jesus Lopez and last year’s 8th-round draft pick for the A’s, catcher Nick Collins, landing on the disabled list, infielder Jean Carlo Rodriguez and catcher Tom Gavitt were added to the Snappers roster. First baseman Chris Iriart and outfielders Brett Siddall and Skye Bolt have been Beloit’s best hitters so far this season. Iriart leads the team with 8 home runs, while Siddall is sporting a solid .377 on-base percentage. But since returning to action after tweaking his hamstring running down the first base line, Bolt has struggled a bit, going 1 for 17 with 6 strikeouts in his last 4 games for the Snappers. The highlight for Beloit has been the team’s starting rotation. It’s been as solid as can be without any big-money bonus babies in the mix. The rotation currently consists of 7th-rounder Kyle Friedrichs, 14th-rounder Boomer Biegalski, 20th-rounder James Naile and 25th-rounder Evan Manarino, all of whom were selected in last year’s draft, along with 22-year-old Venezuelan Angel Duno. After 9 appearances, Manarino boasts a 1.32 ERA while Friedrichs sports an ERA of 1.49. Biegalski has struck out 45 in 46 innings, while Duno has walked just 6 and struck out 33 in 40 innings of work, and Naile has now allowed just 2 earned runs while striking out 13 in 15 innings over in his last 2 starts for the Snappers.
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