Written by Al Ciammiachella

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Jose Ramirez, 2B-LCC: 3-5, SB.

l'll be  honest...I did not see this coming. Ramirez was signed as an international free agent back in November of 2009, and did not make his stateside debut until the complex leagues last year. He hit a solid .325/.351/.448 with a HR and 12 stolen bases as a 19-year old in the Arizona Summer League in 2011, but was held out of action until the short season New York-Penn League got underway this year. He opened with the Scrappers in June, going 4-11 in three games before being moved up to the low-A Midwest League. Since arriving in Lake County he's been on a tear, hitting .319/.378/.404 with a HR, 7 doubles, 10 RBI and 6 stolen bases in 34 games. Ramirez is a 5'9", 165lb switch hitter with a solid glove at 2B. He's hit in 9 of his last 10 games, posting a .405/.432/.429 line in that timeframe with a pair of stolen bases. He doesn't have a lot of power, and uses a compact, level swing to slap the ball all around the ballpark. He has quick hands and does a nice job getting the barrel of the bat on the ball, even though it generates below-average power. In 141 at bats with the Captains, he's struck out just 14 times. He's also walked 14 and tallied 24 runs hitting at the top of the Lake County batting order. Ramirez was an under the radar guy coming into 2012, but he's a player that I'm going to pay a lot more attention to the next time I get to see him in action. Even witht he subpar power, he knows how to handle the bat and has top of the order skills at the dish.

Roberto Hernandez, SP-COL: 5 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 2 K, 2 BB. Same 5 innings as he worked in Lake County, but a little big different result for Hernandez. For better or for worse, he'll be in the rotation when he's eligible to be activated in a couple of weeks.

Tim Fedroff, LF-COL: 2-7, 2 R, K. Fedroff is just 2 for his last 10, lowering his line over his last 10 games to a paltry .439/.477/.707 with 3 HR and 9 RBI. Slacker.

Jason Donald, 2B-COL: 5-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R. Donald reached base in all 7 of his plate appearances yesterday, and has hit in 9 of his last 10. He's hitting .395/.469/.605 with a HR, 6 doubles and 6 RBI in that timeframe.

Matt LaPorta, 1B-COL: 2-6, HR (18), 2B, 3 RBI, R. This game was over before the Lars Anderson acquisition, so you can't say that this was in response to the trade. Not sure how manager Mike Sarbaugh is going to find at bats for LaPorta, Canzler, Goedert and Anderson, but that's why he gets paid the big bucks.

Aaron Cunningham, RF-COL: 0-1, K. No comment.

Gio Soto, SP-AKR: L (6-8), 7 IP, R (0 ER), 4 H, 5 K. Outstanding start for Mr. No-No, who didn't walk a batter in his 7 innings of work after walking 24 in his last 50 2/3 IP. He's lost 6 of his last 7 decisions, but has a 3.43 ERA in that timeframe which tells you all you need to know about how useful pitcher wins are in determining performance.

Shawn Armstrong, RP-AKR: IP, H. The Carolina League All-Star still hasn't allowed a run in 9 1/3 AA innings since getting called up to Akron in the middle of July.

Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-4, 2B. The Aeros were shut out yesterday, and Neal recorded the team's only XBH. He's on another hot streak, with hits in 8 of his last 10 and a .400/.429/.600 line with 2 HR and 8 RBI in that span.

Danny Salazar, SP-CAR: W (1-2), 5 IP, R (0 ER), 3 H, 4 K, BB. Salazar has been outstanding for the Mudcats, posting a 2.68 ERA with 53 K and 19 BB in 53 2/3 IP. He finally picked up his first Carolina League win last night, setting a season-high in innings with 5.

Jordan Cooper, RP-CAR: 3 IP, H, 3 K. Cooper had a rare poor outing his last time on the bump, allowing 6 ER in 3 IP. He bounced back with a great appearance yesterday, lowering his season ERA to 3.92 in 59 2/3 IP with the Mudcats this year.

Trey Haley, RP-CAR: S (2), IP, K. If Haley and his 100 MPH fastball can stay healthy, he could fly through the system next year similar to Cody Allen this season. But he has to stay healthy first, and that's been a challenge for the 22-year old Texan.

Tony Wolters, 2B, CAR: 2-3, BB, R, CS. Wolters turned in his best month of the season in July, hitting .343/.396/.505 with 2 HR, 2 triples, 6 doubles and 11 RBI in 25 July games.

Ronny Rodriguez, SS-CAR: 2-3, CS. Rodriguez is 4-14 since returning to the lineup on July 27 after missing a week's worth of games with a minor injury. He's hitting .269/.302/.406 with 12 HR and 50 RBI in 96 games this season.

Mason Radeke, SP-LCC: 5 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB.Radeke got touched up for a HR, but still turned in a solid start for the Captains. He's recorded 81 K in 76 IP for Lake County this season, both out of the bullpen and as a starter.

Nicholas Pasquale, RP-LCC: W (1-0), 3 IP, H, 3 K. Pasquale was selected in the 20th round this year out of Diablo Valley Juinor College in California. He's made two appearances in Lake County, allowing a run on two hits with 4 K in 5 IP.

Enosil Tejeda, RP-LCC: S (1), IP. After his rough debut, Tejeda has thrown 7 consecutive scoreless innings, lowering his Midwest League ERA to an even 3.00.

Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 3-5, RBI, R. Lindor wraps up the month of July hitting .250/.373/.348 with a HR, 6 doubles and 10 RBI. Oh, and he's still playing gold glove caliber defense. ESPN's Keith Law ranked him as the #11 prospect in all of baseball in his midseason rankings, and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus pegged him at #7. I'm really, really excited about Francisco Lindor.

Bryson Myles, CF-LCC: 3-4, RBI, SB, CS. Myles is now 8 for his last 16 with 4 RBI and a pair of doubles. His overall line is up to .281/.345/.378 on the season.

Dillon Howard, SP-AZL: L (0-5), IP, 4 ER, 6 H. Umm...I'm concerned. ESPN's Keith Law saw Howard's July 24 start against the Cubs and said that his velocity was way down, much lower than it was as a prepster in Arkansas. He's thrown 22 1/3 innings in the complex leagues, with a 7.66 ERA, 16 K and 11 BB.

Eric Haase, C-AZL: 2-4, 2 RBI, K. I love me some Eric Haase. He's hitting .266/.304/.406 with 7 doubles and a triple in 64 AB, and I wish he was getting more consistent playing time down in AZ.

Dorssys Paulino, SS-AZL: 1-5, R. Paulino has hit in 9 straight now, going 15-41 with a HR, 3 doubles and a triple in that timeframe. Hard to believe he's just 17 years old.

Jorge Martinez, 3B-AZL: 2-5, 2 R, 2 K. Almost lost with all of the attention on Paulino, Martinez is hitting .368/.395/.561 with 3 HR, 9 doubles and 2 triples in 26 AZL games. The 19-year old switch hitter needs to improve his consistency with the glove, but is an exciting prospect.