Written by Al Ciammiachella

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Jerad Head, LF-COL: 2-4, HR (19), 3 RBI, R

Someone asked me on Twitter yesterday why Head has never had even a cup of coffee at the major league level. The short answer to that question is health. Head has always been at least somewhat productive when healthy, but he’s never been able to play even 100 games in a single season. Because if his issues staying in the lineup, Head has always been a little old for the level he’s playing at, so his numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. Add that to the fact that he was an undrafted free agent out of college, and you get a guy who’s spent 6+ years in the minors without ever sniffing a 40-man roster. The 28-year old Head is putting up great numbers at AAA Columbus, but is at an age where most players are hitting their prime in the Show. He’s a righthanded bat with some pop, but so is Shelley Duncan and he’s more of a known quantity. Regardless, Head has now homered in four straight games, and is 4^th in the International League with his 19 HR on the season. It will be interesting to see how manager Mike Sarbaugh manages playing time in an increasingly crowded outfield with the newly-acquired Thomas Neal. No confirmation to the rumor that he is former WWF wrestler Al Snow’s favorite player. And in case you're wondering (Mike Kramer), no, that card pictured to the right is NOT from my personal autograph collection.

• Zach McAllister, SP-COL: 6 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 5 K, 0 BB. McAllister has 20 K and 5 BB in his last 4 starts, spanning 22 innings pitched.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: 2 IP, H, 3 K. Hopefully back on track after a rough patch, Putnam has back-to-back scoreless outings, throwing 4 innings and striking out 5 without walking a batter.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 3-5, 3 1B. Phelps has hit in 5 straight, and is 9-22 with a HR in that timeframe.
• Luis Valbuena, SS-COL: 4-4, HR (13), 2 RBI, BB, 2 R. I’m not a big Valbuena fan, but 4-4 with a walkoff HR is pretty tough to ignore. Louie is hitting .309/.382/.494 for the Clippers, and is in line for the Jeff Manto AAAA Player of the Year Award.
• Austin Adams, SP-AKR: 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 7 K, 3 BB. One of the top power arms in the system, Adams now has 100 K in 104 1/3 IP on the season. And as he announced on his Twitter last night, he touched triple digits with his fastball yesterday for the 1^st time during the 2011 regular season.
• Eric Berger, RP-AKR: IP, K. Fear the mustache.
• Cory Burns, RP-AKR: S (29), IP. Burns leads the org in saves again, and has a 2.60 ERA on the season.
• Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-5, 2B, K. Back-to-back two-hit games for Diaz, who is hitting .257 on the season.
• Kyle Bellows, 3B-AKR: 2-3, 2 RBI, K. Akron’s own Jack Hannahan with a nice night at the dish yesterday.
• Trey Haley, RP-KIN: IP, H, 3 K. Coming back from shoulder issues, the rehabbing Haley has 31 K in 27 IP between Arizona, Lake County and now Kinston. Definitely an arm to keep an eye on in the system, as he compliments his power fastball with a plus 12-6 curve.
• Jeremie Tice, DH-KIN: 2-4, HR (8), 3 RBI, R. Tice was expected to provide some pop in the middle of the Kinston lineup this year, and when healthy he has delivered. He’s played in just 48 games for the K-Tribe, hitting 8 HR and putting up an .830 OPS in 177 AB.  
• Jesus Aguilar, 1B-KIN: 1-3, BB, K. BBJA is now 3-17 (.176) in his limited time in the Carolina League.
• Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 2-4, BB, K. The converted 2B hasn’t slowed down since coming up to Lake County from the complex leagues, hitting .389 (7-18) with a pair of doubles and two stolen bases.
• Todd Hankins, 2B-MVS: 2-4, CS. Another multi-hit game for the Hammer, who’s at .361/.439/.500 over his last 10 games.
• Jake Lowery, 1B-MVS: 0-2, 3 BB, R, K. Despite just a .167 AVG in his past 10 games, Lowery has a .348 OBP on the back of his 10 walks.
• Bryson Myles, RF-MVS: 2-5, K. After missing two weeks due to injury, Myles has picked up right where he left off going 3-8 in his first two games back.