Stars of the Day: May 15

Continuing to prove my theory that he can do whatever he wants to do, Chris Davis (.340 / .384 / .607) went 4-4 with three doubles and drew a walk as the Frisco juggernaut beat the snot out of Midland,  16-9.

It's worth noting at this juncture that there is a paucidy of southpaws in the Texas League this year, so only 21 of his 150 at-bats this year have come against lefties (.238 average).   In 94 at-bats against lefties in the Cal League last year, he hit .351 / .408 / .585.   After moving up to the Texas League for the final month of the season, he hit .229 / .308 / .543 against them in 35 at-bats.

Ben Harrison (.354 / .444 / .659) went 3-4 with a grand slam to drive in six runs.  He's a few at-bats short of qualifying for the leader board, but if he did qualify, Harrison would be second in the league, behind Max Ramirez, with a 1.103 OPS.

Starter Michael Ballard (3-2;  5.73)  bounced back from a couple of very rough outings to hold the Rockhounds to a pair of runs in five innings to earn the victory. 

Time to take a hard look at what appears to be the arrival of Clinton's Renny Osuna as a true prospect.   After going 3-5 with a double and two RBIs in yesterday's 4-2 LumberKings victory over Beloit, Osuna is hitting a robust .345 / .423 / .509 while seeing time at both second base and shortstop.

Osuna, a native of Venezuela, was a coveted prospect as a teenager, but was never signed because of visa problems.   Eventually, he made his way to America, graduated from a Houston area high school, and signed to play at New Mexico Junior College where he teamed with former Rangers pitching prospect Johnny Lujan, who was traded to the White Sox last year.

Osuna led New Mexico JC to the JUCO World Series title in 2005 (he was the tournament MVP), hitting .435 with four homers and 60 RBIs during the season and coming  within one hit of breaking Kirby Puckett's JUCO World Series record of a .688 batting average.  

Pre-draft scouting reports suggested that Osuna had plus bat speed, a plus glove and solid arm strength.  Texas took him  in the 32nd round, but couldn't get him a visa and deposited him in the Dominican.

In 2006, Osuna hit .333 / .470 / .439 in 22 games (drawing 15 walks while fanning just 5 times) for the DSL club before getting his visa and moving to the Arizona Rookie League club for the final 21 games, hitting .234 / .289 / .312.    Assigned to Spokane in 2007, Osuna hit .274 / .336 / .349 in 252 at-bats while once again exhibiting fine strike zone judgment and bat control with 33 strikeouts and 21 walks.  The right-handed Osuna is especially adept at taking the ball the other way.

On April 23 -- the day before his 23rd birthday -- Osuna was hitting .241 / .333 / .352, and then he went on a tear that has continued through last night.   In the 16 games since he turned 23, Osuna has hit safely in 15 of them and collected multiple hits in eight of them.

With Marcus Lemon and Jose Vallejo ahead of him in Bakersfield (and Elvis Andrus installed as the shortstop in Frisco, giving Lemon nowhere to go), it appears that it will take a Vallejo promotion to Frisco before Osuna will get his first crack at the Cal League.

Southpaw Derek Holland (3-0;  2.61) continued to shine for the L-Kings, holding the Snappers to a pair of runs on seven hits while fanning six in five innings as Clinton improved to 26-10.

Jason Botts homered and walked in a 2-5 outing and 4-A (.345 / .480 / .707)  went 3-6 with a triple as Oklahoma fell 6-4 to Memphis in a dozen innings.

Taylor Teagarden (.289 / .449 / .368) has righted his ship since his promotion from Frisco where he started the season in a horrible slump.   After going 1-4 with a pair of walks yesterday, Teagarden has an enviable 11 / 10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 38 at-bats with Oklahoma.