Top 5 Sounds of the Week

by Rachel Davis / A’s Farm Nashville Contributor

Each week, we’ll be taking a look at some of the top performers for the A’s top affiliate, the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, over the past week. This week covers the period from Monday, May 21 through Sunday, May 27. So, let’s see who was busy making “sounds” for Nashville last week…

 
Pitcher Chris Bassitt

Bassitt had a bit of an up-and-down week, being recalled by the A’s on Saturday only to be optioned back to the Sounds on Sunday. Despite all the turmoil, he still managed to perform well on the pitching mound for Nashville. Bassitt allowed just one run over five innings of work to earn the win against Colorado Springs on Tuesday. The 29-year-old also notched what was at the time a season-high seven strikeouts. Then, on Monday, Bassitt turned in another strong start for the Sounds, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out a new season high of eight. Over the course of the two starts, Bassitt managed to lower his ERA from 7.33 down to 5.77.

 
First Baseman/Outfielder Nick Martini

The Sounds’ newest first baseman and leadoff hitter has continued to be quite productive at the plate. Last week, Martini tallied a total of eight hits over seven games, which included a pair of multi-hit games on Friday and Sunday. The 27-year-old added three walks to raise his team-leading total to 36, drove in three runs and notched his 4th stolen base for Nashville. Martini extended his on-base streak to 37 consecutive games on Sunday and leads the team with a .418 on-base percentage.

 
Pitcher Matt Milburn

Milburn was recently promoted to Nashville from the Stockton Ports to take over for Sounds starter Daniel Gossett, who was needed in Oakland. Despite being a little shaky in his Triple-A debut on Monday, when he gave up three runs in just 4 1/3 frames, Milburn came back strong in his second start on Saturday. The 24-year-old threw 6 scoreless innings to earn his first Triple-A win as he led the Sounds to a four-hit shutout victory over the Oklahoma City Dodgers. And Milburn’s ERA now stands at 2.61 after his first two starts for the Sounds.

 
Shortstop Jorge Mateo

After struggling at the plate early on, Mateo’s bat seemed to get into a bit of a groove last week. He put together a six-game hitting streak last week, during which he tallied a total of seven hits. The 22-year-old drove in three runs and swiped a base to raise his team-leading stolen base total to 11. Mateo raised his average by 18 points over the course of the week, taking it from .196 prior to Monday’s game to .214 after Sunday’s contest.

 
Pitcher Jeremy Bleich

Bleich turned in two outstanding multi-inning relief appearances for the Sounds last week. During Tuesday’s win over Colorado Springs, Bleich struck out four while throwing three scoreless frames in relief. And during Saturday’s four-hit shutout win over Oklahoma City, Bleich allowed just one hit while tossing two scoreless innings. While serving as the main southpaw out of the Sounds bullpen, the 30-year-old has put up a solid 2.45 ERA over 22 innings of relief for Nashville.

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