Talking Chop

Louisville 3, Gwinnett 2

• B. Hicks 1-4 HR(4), .204 Avg
• M. Minor 6IP 4H 3R 2BB 7K 2.55 ERA

If you can believe it, Mike Minor has been pitching just a little bit better since he joined the Gwinnett rotation. Granted he was a bit inconsistent in Mississippi he is allowing a few less hits and walks in his short stint in Gwinnett. His K rate is down a bit but his FIP dropped from 3.24 in Mississippi to 2.74 in Gwinnett. I really like what we have in Minor but I do get the feeling gondeee was right when he said that Mike was our most tradeable player.

Tennessee @ Mississippi - Postponed

This one will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader.

Myrtle Beach 7, Frederick 9

• D. Nelson 2-4 HR(9), 2 RBI, 2K .274 Avg
• Mi. Jones 2-4 2B, 2 RBI, .244 Avg
• L. Sumoza 2-4 HR(2), 2 RBI, K, .224 Avg

Yet another night of bad pitching from the Myrtle Beach squad with Matt Crim giving up 7 runs in 2.2 innings of work. I think the Pelicans may have to get used to some poor pitching with just J.J. Hoover remaining of the Fab 4. I do expect Cory Rasmus to perform well for them however. Don't let Luis Sumoza fool you. He is doing better this month but he still has just a .647 OPS in July.

Greenville 7, Rome 4

• R. Flores 3-5 3 RBI, .219 Avg
• K. Rose 1-1 2B, BB, .276 Avg
• S. Kent 1.1IP 1H 0R 0BB 3K 0.64 ERA

Edward Salcedo racked up another 2 errors tonight, giving him 13 in Rome. We will have to wait and see how his glove develops, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him at 3B in the future, especially if his bat develops. Kyle Rose played his first game in nearly a month tonight and collected his 8th XBH of the season in his only AB. I am really hoping he comes back strong because he really struggled after April in a lot of facets of his game. Steve Kent is another guy we need to keep an eye on because he has struck out 21 batters in his 14 innings of work this season.

Johnson City 5, Danville 7

• J. Mowry 2-4 2B, HR(1), 3 RBI, K, .261 Avg
• B. Kleinknecht 2-4 2 RBI, CS(2), .301 Avg
• E. Gattis 2-4 .383 Avg
• K. Ferrell 7IP 3H 1R 1BB 4K 3.33 ERA

If you subtract one start where Kyle Ferrell gave up 6 runs in 4 innings he has been pretty fantastic this season allowing just 14 hits and 3 walks in 24 innings. His K rate is a little lower than I like for a guy his age but he is getting a lot of groundballs. Barrett Kleinknecht pushed his hitting streak to 9 games and got his average up over .300 this season. He also improved his 0-walk streak to 18 games.

GCL Braves 8, GCL Yankees 4

• M. Lipka 3-5 4 RBI, K .352 Avg
• C. Johnson 0-3 2BB, 2K, SB(1), .250 Avg
• W. Rivera 1-3 2B, RBI, 2K, .169 Avg
• D. Alvarez 2.1IP 0H 0R 1BB 5K 2.02 ERA

Matt Lipka is a monster. He has 6 multi-hit games in his last 9 with 8 SB and 13 RBI during that span. For the year he is hitting .448 with runners in scoring position and has an 1.170 in that situation. He has been killing lefties with a .429 average against them but is holding his own against RHP as well with a .325 AVG and .807 OPS. I am still amazed at how well he is hitting with most scouts saying he was a raw prospect because of football. I can't wait till he gets some game time under his belt and learns the nuances better.

DSL Pirates @ DSL Braves - Postponed