Stars of the Day: May 7
Only two games on the ledger as both Clinton and Oklahoma were postponed.
The top batting performance of the day came from Bakersfield's Julio Borbon (.305 / .351 / .381) who went 3-5 with a pair of doubles and a walk, driving in four, stealing his 11th bag of the year (he's been caught only once) and scoring twice from the top of the order in Bakersfield's 10-6 win at Modesto.
Borbon (pictured - right) extended a 12-game hitting streak during which he has hit .368 / .410 / .491 and improved his core numbers by more than 30% across the board.
In 105 at-bats for the Blaze, Borbon has fanned just 12 times while drawing eight walks. While it would be nice to see a few more walks from a leadoff man, the 12 / 8 K/BB ratio to go along with the .305 batting average suggests that he is certainly a step ahead of Cal League pitching.
The Rangers' third first-round selection in the 2007 draft is already on the 40-man roster, so there's incentive for the organization to push him along, and if he keeps this up, he'll see Frisco within a year of signing his first professional contract.
There's another great development happening in Bakersfield as the system's most gifted defensive catcher, Manny Pina (pictured - left) is actually starting to heat up with his stick.
It's doubtful that Pina (.270 / .329 / .324) will ever become an asset at the plate, but if he can hit just a little bit, he's got a chance to carve out a long career as a backup catcher given his unparallelled defensive skills.
With last night's 3-5 outing that included a double, Pina has now posted multi-hit performances in four of his last six games. He's also one of the very few players in the system with more walks (5) than strikeouts (3) this season.
The Texas League's most dangerous lineup was tamed at Whataburger Stadium in Corpus Christi as Frisco, which had been averaging a league-high 6.29 runs per game, managed just one run while losing this series opener 2-1.
The Riders wasted a brilliant start by 6'8" righty Michael Schlact (1-2; 4.73 ERA) who was saddled with the loss in spite of holding the Hooks to two runs on five hits and one walk in seven innings of work.
Schlact began the season with three excellent starts and then struggled through his last three, getting bogged down in one bad inning while otherwise pitching very well on two of those three occasions. Last night, he obviously avoided the one bad inning, threw 66% of his 104 pitches for strikes, and game was over in just 2:32, suggesting that he worked quickly and maintained his tempo throughout the game.
His stuff -- especially his vastly improved slider and his always nasty two-seamer -- has been (somewhat surprisingly) very good and I remain confident that he is "this close" to putting it all together and stamping himself as a reliable innings eater.
Very encouraging in regards to Schlact's latest start. I am looking for continued progress from Michael. I understand that a pristine line always looks so good, but I also know that successful pitchers know how to scuffle a bit when their stuff isn't the best. Pitchers have to learn how to have a rough inning and keep the damage to a minimum. Hopefully, Michael is learning all these lessons now and we really are "this close" to seeing the pitcher you envision, Mike!
In regards to Mayberry, I was always afraid that Jr would always look like Pop did at the plate; some power, a lot of strikeouts and hit right around .250. Maybe something clicked with Jr and he will be able to be all his dad was and even a lot more. I'd love to see his recent run continue and make it to the show.
And in Goldstein's article, both Kevin and the unknow scout agreed that Feliz is the real thing. I understood that coming out of ST, that the Rangers were going to push him along this year if he was successful. Its surreal for Ranger fans to have so many places to watch all at once to keep up with the talent on the farm and making their presence known.
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