{ Whoops. This never got published, despite being about 3 weeks ago, in terms of game-time.
It's the first of June, so it's time to look at the minor leagues; throughout, we identify both the AAA team and their WBL franchise. }
Featured Team:
Albuquerque Isotopes
When writing the
April summary, Albuquerque's teenage pitchers caught my eye, so they're the focus this time around. This is a bit of a departure, as the Isotopes have a mediocre 28-25 record, 5 games behind in the
AA-West. This represents a fairly strong degree of underperformance, as (other than homeruns), Albuquerque is one of the top offenses in the league.
Two of their better performers--OF
Cy Williams and IF
Bunny Downs--have been promoted to AAA. That hurts, as Williams led the team with 11 homeruns and 35 RBIs and Downs' 360/436/472 was a key cog in their offensive engine.
OF
Danny Green's 11 homeruns and 34 RBIs pace the Isotopes currently, and a trio of infielders--
Bert Campaneris (333/379/580),
Frank Grant (312/408/453), and
Luis Aparicio (339/394/402)--have kept the offense going. But it's a team that really could use some pop: after Green, Campaneris has 5 homeruns and
Cap Anson has 4, and that's it.
Which brings us to the real interesting part. Albuquerque's pitching staff is led by a trio of teenagers. 17 year-old
Larry Dierker has been the best of them at 7-4 with a 3.93 ERA and
Joe Nuxhall, at a tender 15 years of age, is 5-1 with a fantastic 2.18 ERA. They're joined by 19 year old
Jack Jenkins, who has chipped in with a 3-0 record.
Jeff Heathcock--at the venerable age of 23--anchors the bullpen with 11 saves and
Tom Harrison (20 years old) has been almost unhittable as his setup man.
#Checking In On ...
We left the
Madison Black Wolf struggling at 6-20, having lost 15 consecutive games. They've stabilized slightly, sitting going 10-17 since that point. They're still in last place, but it's certainly an improvement.
Scott Radinsky is all the way up to 7 saves.
#AA Leaders
In terms of record,
Vern Law (9-0; Syracuse/Homestead),
Al Spalding (8-1; Troy/New York Gothams), and
John Anderson (7-0; Montgomery/Birmingham) lead the way.
Sean O'Sullivan (Las Vegas/Los Angeles) leads the league with a 1.80 ERA, followed by phenom
Joe Nuxhall (Albuquerque/House of David) at 2.18.
Steve Bedrosian (Montgomery)'s 17 saves have already gotten him promoted to the big leagues, leaving
Heathcliff Slocumb (Hudson Valley/New York Black Yankees) the league leader with 13. (
Mychal Givens also has 13, but Homestead has already moved him to AAA.) Montgomery's
Rick Camp (3-1, 2 saves, 5 holds, 0.90 WHIP) and Hudson Valley's
Joba Chamberlain (1-2, 5 holds, 1.08 WHIP) deserve a mention as well.
Offensively,
John Briggs (Jersey City/Brooklyn) and
Jimmie Foxx (Sacramento/San Francisco) have dominated the league. Briggs is hitting 333/455/559 with 37 RBIs and Foxx has 19 homeruns and a .705 slugging.
Willie Crawford of Tulsa/Memphis leads the league with a .367 average and a .466 OBP. Oklahoma City/Kansas City's
Kolten Wong leads AA with 45 RBIs.
#AA Awards
AA Pitcher of the Month:
Al Spalding, Troy/New York Gothams
AA Batter of the Month:
Ken Keltner, Rochester/Cleveland
AA Players of the Week:
Kolten Wong (Oklahoma City);
Travis Jackson (Austin/Houston);
Nate Colbert (Montgomery/Birmingham);
Charlie Grimm (Rochester/Cleveland).
#Hottest Prospects (24 Years and Younger)
SP:
Vern Law (24; Syracuse/Homestead)
9-0, 2.88 ERA;
Joe Nuxhall (15; Albuquerque/House of David) 5-1, 2.18 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 77 K
[*];
Al Spalding (24; Troy/New York Gothams) 8-1, 3.62 ERA.
RP:
Heathcliff Slocumb (24; Hudson Valley/New York Black Yankees) 0-2, 2.89 ERA, 13 Sv;
Rick Camp (23; Montgomery/Birmingham) 3-1, 3.63 ERA, 5 H;
Elmer Burkart (19; San Diego/Los Angeles) 2-0, 1.12 ERA.
C:
Frankie Hayes (24; Vancouver/Portland) 282/377/664, 17 HR.
[*]
1B:
Jimmie Foxx (20; Sacramento/San Francisco) 313/395/
705,
19 HR.
[*]
2B:
Kolten Wong (23; Oklahoma City/Kansas City) 295/337/608,
45 RBI.
3B:
Ken Keltner (22; Rochester/Cleveland) 289/372/615.
SS:
Travis Jackson (21; Austin/Houston) 298/340/555, 43 RBI.
OF:
Adam Dunn (21; Nashville/Indianapolis) 317/442/698;
Willie Crawford (17; Tulsa/Memphis)
367/
466/627,
20 2B [*];
John Briggs (20; Jersey City/Brooklyn) 333/455/559, 43 R, 43 BB.
Bold indicates league leader; * indicates a player selected for April's list as well.