Written by Al Ciammiachella

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Giovanny Urshela, 3B-LCC: 3-5, R

Urshela has put together a roller coaster season, starting out hot in April but having a terrible May and a poor June. It’s still early, but so far July is looking good for the 19-year old 3B. Urshela is 6-17 (.353) with a HR and 3 RBI in 4 July games, and will hopefully get things going with the bat again. Regardless, Urshela is an outstanding defender at 3B, and is still young for the low A Midwest League. If he can have even an average 2^nd half at the plate, it would be a very encouraging sign for the teenager’s prospect standing. Overall, he’s at .228/.257/.344 on the season, but does have 7 HR after hitting just 3 all of last season for Mahoning Valley.

 

Jake Sisco, SP-AZI: L (0-1), 3 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K, 3 BB

Sisco was the Indians 3^rd round pick this year, and is the highest pick to sign and start playing for the organization. He has started 3 games for the Arizona League Indians, throwing a combined 9 innings while giving up 2 ER, walking 5 and striking out 9. Sisco’s fastball sits consistently between 92-94 MPH, and he can touch 96. He compliments the fastball with a curve, slider and change, all of which have the potential to be at least above average. He’ll get every chance to pitch in the rotation, and is a good bet to stick there due to his deep arsenal. He was considered to be one of the best JuCo pitchers in the state of California, and is definitely a guy to keep an eye on going forward.

 

• David Huff, SP-COL: 7 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K. Huff only allowed 7 baserunners including a HBP, but 4 of those runners came around to score.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: 2 IP, 2 K, BB. Hagadone has allowed just 1 ER in his last 8 2/3 innings, and just 5 hits in that timeframe as well.
• Chad Huffman, 1B-COL: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R, SB. Huffman tried to carry the load in a depleted Clipper lineup yesterday, but it wasn’t enough in a 5-4 13-inning loss.  
• Jerad Head, RF-COL: 1-5, HR (12), 2 RBI, BB, R, 2 K. After opening the season on a two-month hot streak, Head has cooled off somewhat. He hit .256/.315/.488 in June after posting an OPS over .900 for the first two months of the season.
• T.J. McFarland, SP-AKR: W (5-4), 7 IP, R (0 ER), 5 H, 5 K, 2 BB. The McFarland Show just keeps on rolling. TJ has now allowed just 1 ER in his last 20 IP, with 15 K and 5 BB over that span. He’s 3-0 in his last 3 starts, and the 21-year old is doing an outstanding job of keeping the ball on the ground. His GO/AO rate on for Akron is now 2.22 in his 70 1/3 IP for the Aeros.
• Beau Mills, 1B-AKR: 2-5, K. Mills is at .282/.335/.448 for Akron, with 5 HR and 33 RBI.
• Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 1-5, R, K. Remarkably, Weglarz has now gone 9 AB over his last 2 games without a walk! In 70 AB for the Aeros, he’s at .200/.423/.371 with 2 HR and 9 RBI.
• Marty Popham, SP-KIN: W (2-0), 6 IP, ER, 4 H, 3 K, 3 BB. Bouncing around between Kinston, Akron and even Columbus, Popham has started 8 games and come out of the bullpen 9 times this year. Still, he has a 3.94 ERA overall and has done a solid job as the jack of all trades for the organization.
• Preston Guilmet, RP-KIN: S (20), 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H. Guilmet is 2^nd in the Carolina League with his 20 saves, 3 off the league lead.
• Tyler Holt, CF-KIN: 2-3, RBI, CS. Holt is hitting .250/.369/.320 overall this year. A righthanded hitter, he’s struggled against LHP, hitting just .205/.300/.250 against southpaws on the season.
• Abner Abreu, RF-KIN: 2-3, 2B, 3B, R, SB, K. Abreu with a rare good day yesterday. Overall, he’s hitting a disappointing .218/.265/.332 in his 2^nd season in high A Kinston.
• Casey Frawley, SS-KIN: 1-4, HR (9), RBI, R. Frawley is playing solid D at SS while putting up a .213/.292/.353 line. Strangely, he has more HR (9) than 2B (7).
• Kirk Wetmore, SP-LCC: W (1-0) 5 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB. After three solid starts for Mahoning Valley, the 2009 11^th round pick moved up to Lake County and won his first low A start.
• Ronny Rodriguez, SS-LCC: 2-4, 2B, R. Rodriguez is showing surprising pop for a kid his age. He turned 19 in April, but is slugging an impressive .459 including 6 HR in 148 AB.
• Alex Monsalve, C-LCC: 1-3, HR (5), 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, SB. The Midwest League all-star just keeps on hitting. Monsalve is hitting .359/.432/.718 in his last 10 games, including 3 of his 5 HR on the season. Like Rodriguez, he turned 19 in April and is showing an advanced bat for his age and level.
• Danny Jimenez, SP-MVS: 4 IP, 3 H, 6 K, 2 BB. Jimenez has been dominant for Mahoning valley so far, giving up just 1 ER and striking out 13 in 14 2/3 IP on the season.
• Todd Hankins, 2B-MVS: 2-4, 2 R, SB. Hankins is hitting .268/.349/.321 in 15 games for the Scrappers this season.
• Luigi Rodriguez, CF-AZI: 2-3, RBI, BB, 2 SB. Converted from 2B, the speedy Rodriguez is hitting .300/.391/.300 in 8 games for the AZ Indians.