Giovanny Urshela, 3B-CAR: 1-3, HR (4), RBI, BB, R.
Urshela has homered in back-to-back games, and is hitting a sizzling .405/.436/.757 in his last 10 games with 3 HR, 4 doubles and 7 RBI. Urshela 's calling card has traditionally been his defense, as he's seen as a potential gold glover at the hot corner down the road. He'll never get a chance to practice that craft at the major league level if he can't hit though, so his recent power outburst is really encouraging. Urshela is just 21-years old, and was signed as an international free agent out of Columbia in 2008. His overall line this year is just .265/.310/.385, and the .695 OPS would actually be the highest of his career if it holds up for the whole season. Clearly, that's going to have to improve if he's going to be a legitimate third base prospect. If he can continue to add strength to his 6',195lb frame, his line-drive swing should generate some more pop and help those numbers continue to trend upwards. He's still got some work to do if he's going to be a legit 3B prospect, but at least there are encouraging signs with the bat in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League this year.
Travis Hafner, DH-COL: 1-3, K. Pronk single. This was Hafner's 1st rehab game in Columbus. Matt LaPorta pinch hit for him in his last AB, and struck out.
Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K. Phelps drove in the only Clipper run of the night, and as an added bonus he was named to the International League All-Star team yesterday.
Steven Wright, SP-AKR: L (6-5), 5 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 8 H, 6 K, 3 BB. Wright came into yesterday's game with a little pressure, as he was leading the league in ERA and had fantastic MLB journalist Anthony Castrovice in attendance. Castro penned this article on Wright and how the knuckleball could be in for a resurgence with the success of R.A. Dickey (where have you heard that before?), but Wright turned in his 2nd worst start of the season, and now has the 2nd best ERA in the AA Eastern League.
Lodovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, K. The 7'1" Van Mil had a 14 1/3 inning scoreless streak snapped yesterday. He's been solid for the Aeros, posting a 2.00 ERA with 26 K and 7 BB in 27 IP.
Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 2-4, HR (11), 2 RBI, R, 2 K. Weglarz has raised his OPS over 200 points with his big June, as he's posted a .301/.427/.687 line with 8 HR and 21 RBI in 25 games this month. His overall season line is up to .250/.362/.484, and he's poised for a promotion to AAA Columbus.
Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI. The only hitter in the system who has been as hot as Weglarz has been his fellow outfielder in Columbus, Thomas Neal. In his last 10 games, Neal has hit .371/.450/.743 with 3 HR, 4 2B and 10 RBI. He has a .968 OPS with 5 HR this month.
Chun Chen, 1B-AKR: 0-1, 2 BB, RBI, 2 R, SB. No hits, but still a productive day for Chen who's now 5th in the Eastern League in hitting with a .320 AVG, and leads the league with his 24 doubles.
Jordan Cooper, RP-CAR: W (3-4), 4 IP, ER, 3 H, K, BB. A 9th round pick out of Wichita State in 2010, the former Shocker has been outstanding for the Mudcats in his last 10 games. Dating back to May 11, Cooper has gone 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA, and has recorded 25 K and allowed just 4 BB in 30 2/3 IP. Before yesterday, he'd gone an impressive 20 innings without issuing a free pass.
Shawn Armstrong, RP-CAR: IP, 2 K, 2 BB. You can afford to walk two batters per inning as long as you strike out two batters per inning as well. Fortuneatly, Armstrong has a 46/18 K/BB # in 37 innings for the Mudcats, so yesterday was more of an abberation than anything.
Tony Wolters, 2B-CAR: 2-4, RBI, K, CS. Wolters has hit in 3 straight, and is hitting .230/.296/.332 in the season with a HR, 4 3B and 15 doubles.
Carlos Moncrief, RF-CAR: 2-4, 2B, RBI, K. Moncrief has hit safely in 7 of his last 10 games, and has put up a .333/.385/.583 line with a HR and 6 doubles in that timeframe.
Felix Sterling, SP-LCC: L (3-7), 2 2/3 IP, 9 R (4 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K. The wheels are coming off the bus for Sterling, who has put up an 8.86 ERA in his last 10 starts, while walking 21 and striking out 27 in 37 1/3 IP. His season ERA has ballooned to 5.92 in 73 innings for the Captains.
Kyle Petter, RP-LCC: 2 IP, 2 K, BB. Solid outing for Petter, who's allowed just 1 ER in 10 2/3 IP for the Captains since being sent back down from Carolina.
Jose Ramirez, 2B-LCC: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K. Another day, another two hits for Ramirez. He's collected a pair of hits in 3 straight games after going 0-8 to start his Midwest League career. In 5 games for the Captains, he's now hitting .286/.348/.333 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 BB.
Robbie Aviles, SP-MVS: 5 IP, ER, 5 H, BB. Much better start for Aviles this time out, as he had allowed 3 ER in 4 IP in his first start of the season. Again, health is the important thing with Aviles, and if he can make it through the rest of the 2012 season with no arm issues, it will be a victory for the 19-year old righty.
Josh Martin, RP-MVS: L (0-1), 4 IP, ER, 2 H, 7 K, BB. Martin was the hard-luck loser last night, as he gave up a run on a solo HR and ended up saddled with the loss in a 2-1 game. Martin was the Indians 10th round pick out of Samford this year, and in two outings he's thrown 8 innings, allowed 2 ER on 6 hits while striking out 11 and walking just one.