Stars of the Day: May 21

Where to begin?    

We could begin with Thomas Diamond's return to the mound for Frisco after missing a year of action while recovering from Tommy John surgery.   It had it's moments, good and bad, but we'll save TD talk for a brighter day. 

How about Bakersfield second baseman Jose Vallejo (.307 / .359 / .460)  going 3-4 with his sixth homer of the year and 18th stolen bag in the Blaze's 5-3 loss to Visalia?  

One of the hottest hitters in the system through the first four weeks slumped badly at the beginning of the month, but over his last ten games, Vallejo is hitting .415 / .455 / .659.

We could talk about Chris Davis (.331 / .378 / .593) going 3-5 with his 12th double of the year, stealing a base and driving in four in Frisco's 13-9 victory at Tulsa.   Or maybe we could talk about Max Ramirez (.391 / .460 / .689) trumping Davis by going 4-5 with his 11th double and 10th homer of the year to drive in four himself.

It wouldn't be right to lead with anything but Ian Gac's (.366 / .472 / .769) second game back after missing a week of action for Clinton, would it?    His first game  back was sort of embarassing, fanning  four times in four trips, and all.   How did the big fella respond?   Gac went 4-4 with three doubles in the LumberKings 7-2 pasting of Beloit.

To heck with it.  Now I've buried the lead....

Here's your top story:

Blake Beavan (3-1; 3.60)  took a perfect game into the fifth, surrendered a single with two down in that frame, and left after five with that lone blemish on his ledger, having fanned three.

There he is:  less than a year removed from his senior prom with his tidy little 3.60 ERA in a full season league.    And that's the worst ERA in his Clinton rotation.

Kennil Gomez:  2.45

Derek Holland:  2.45

Neftali Feliz:     2.53

Fabio Castillo:  3.03

Blake Beavan:  3.60

Think about that for a minute.  Or think about it all day if you want.

One other random prospect dream:

With all due respect to guys like Frosty, Corey Ragsdale, Foxy and Craig Gentry, I can't help but fantasize about this lineup that we could possibly see in Frisco before too long:

CF:   Julio Borbon

SS:   Elvis Andrus

C:     Max Ramirez

1b:    Chris Davis

RF:   Ben Harrison

LF:   Steve Murphy

3b:   Johnny Whittleman

2b:   Jose Vallejo

DH:  Ian Gac

Wouldn't that be sorta fun to see?   Can we terrorize the Texas League with that bunch for just a week or so?  Please?