OOPS I did it again

[gehrig38]

2015 HALL OF FAME
3 players received enough votes to be inducted this year with Rafael Rodela receiving 92.8% in his first year on the ballot. SP Younis Jamali, and 1B Jessie Cook both received 77% to gain their enshrinement.
Rafael Rodela

• 246-211 3.77 ERA
• 3728 K's in 4086 IP.
• WHIP 1.18
• He was a 4 time Koufax winner, 9 time all-star and a world champion.
• He led the league in W (1) L (1) ERA (1) GS (1) IP (2) HRA (3) K (7) WHIP (4) BB/9 (3) K/9 4) and WAR (3) times. He was a career 15-9 3.57 in the post season. He won his title in 2009, his 19th and final season in the game.

Younis Jamali

• 232-177 3.80 ERA
• 3686 IP 3503 H 2829 K 1,24 WHIP
• 2 time koufax winner
• 11-time all-star and 4 time world champion
• Led the league in W (1) ERA (1) GS (2) IP (2) WAR (3)
• He was a post-season stud going 16-5 2.60 1 SV over 242 IP with a 1.08 WHIP

Jessie Cook

• The greatest defensive 1B in IBL history. Won 15 gold gloves in 16 seasons, a 7-time all-star 3 time silver slugger and a world champion.
• Hit .268/.353/.494 over 2499 games and 9158 AB's with 512 HR 502 2B 1647 RBI's.
• He's 6th all-time in HR's and 4th in RBI's.

[gehrig38]

2015 SPRING TRAINING
I don't expect many roster changes from the title team last year.
ROTATION:

1. Alberto Merera (18-3 3.60) will once again be the ace and get the ball on opening day
2. Joey Morris (10-13 4.78) finished strong and then had an MVP level post-season going 3-1 1.80 in 4 GS
3. Joe Bush (10-9 5.35) Needs to be better
4. Ricky Avendano (16-8 3.95) as solid as they come and would be most teams #2.
5. JJ Sandberg made the club with a strong spring over 20.1 IP 15 H 9 K 5 BB. Acquired in the December deal with Boston for OF Jaden Brown and C Skyler Huson.

• I don't expect much change down in the bullpen but there are some roles to be worked and changed. I think we had like 60+ combined saves among the group last year and I would really prefer one 9th inning guy with a stable core of power arms in front. The new manager has made it clear that Sincere Guinn (pronounced “gun”) is his choice for closer with some combination of Gross, Mendoza and a lefty setting him up.

• A Spring training injury to Brian Stachowski has forced some shuffling. He is out the seasons 1st week so Cheol-min Cho will be the opening day catcher. He hit .265/.357/592 with 4 HR's in spring training and was flawless defensively. 2013 7th rounder Gil Ermatinger will be put on the 40 man roster and backup until Stachowski is ready to return. Ermatinger hit .280-22-74 at AA New Orleans last year with a .346 OBP. There was temptation to make this move with Dean Hahn, as defensively he's elite already, but he's just 20 and it felt rushed.

• The infield will “look” different as Jose Nieves will move to 2B, with Gus Garcia manning 3rd. The trade of Chavez opened the door for a litany of good young IF'ers and Domingo Deal made the club. There's an issue as we get to opening day though and that's the fact that Deal and Dave Pedraza are the two backup IF's and 8 million dollar SS Mark Calkins is the guy standing when the music stops. I can't get anyone to bite so if it remains that way I may have to DFA him and eat that money.
• Derek Dames will play every day at SS and hopefully his offense gets a bump.
• McLain, last years GG winner at first, will man that position again while Bill Brumfield spells him and is the full-time DH.

• I ended up trying to clear out some of the log-jam of extra outfielders and in doing so traded some young prospects I think will be good players. Veteran John Mathias and Jesse Roberts are the LH hitting OF's with Guzman, Krieg and Perez rounding it out.

• The opening day conundrum is this. I have 28 guys on a 26 man roster.
• After working the phones, I could not get a bite on Calkins, even with offering to take on 90% of his 8.4 million. He will be DFA'd and we will likely eat the money, but this is the final year of his deal.
• The decision is made to go with 4 OF's and John Mathias has no options remaining. OKC offers up two younger arms, and we take the deal, acquiring 23-year-old RH Casey Intihar and 25-year-old Manny Restrepo.

[gehrig38]

PRE-SEASON OWNERS MEETING
“I think you should win it all”
That sums up the meeting. Can't deny that expectation given what we did last year, who we did it with and the opening day roster this year.
Season tickets stayed at 20$ and sales were up 4.4%.
Oh, Mr Johns added 5 million to our budget, so we're at 95, which is 2nd, a distant 2nd with Boston at 122 million and our 68 million dollar opening day payroll is 4th in the league behind Charlotte (76) Chicago Hitmen (75) and Boston (74).

[gehrig38]

PREDICTIONS AND PROSPECTS

• Our system is now ranked 7th with Atlanta at 1, followed by New England, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Diego.
• 17 year old Int FA Marcello Dazzi is our top ranked prospect at #9 followed by two others from the Int. market CF Teobaldo Pintalho, and 16 year old SP Bobby Meza (64) with Elijah Washington at 71.

• A Wyoming vs Fresno World Series is the prediction with Philadelphia slugger Zach Stewart hitting 77 HR's and driving in 168 while Carlo Ambrogi wins another batting title at .368.
• Chicago, with no hitter or pitcher in the top performance predictions, is slated to trail OKC by 2 games at season end while winning 85.
• I'd expect a ton of things needing to go wrong for that win total....

[gehrig38]

WEEK 1
3 @ Pittsburgh 2 vs San Diego
Opening up with the two studs in Pittsburgh Andrezejewski and Adam Sharpe.
RUNS SCORED: 25 (t-5th)
RUNS AGAINST: 29 (t-14th)
OBP: .345 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 6.10 (15th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.50 (10th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .687 (12th)
ZONE RATING: -0.6 (12th)
ERRORS: 4 (t-13th)

RESULTS (2-3 1 GB)
1-2 vs Pittsburgh 1-1 vs San Diego
4/1- CIP 4 PIT 3 Merera ND 6 IP 9 H 2 ER 2 K Krieg GW HR in the 9th 2H 2 RBI Guzman 2H SB R
Andrezejewski no-hits into the 5th. 7.1 IP 2 H 2R 0 ER 6 K 5 BB
4/2- PIT 6 CIP 2 Morris (L) 6.2 IP 7 H 5 ER 6 K Sharpe (W) 8 IP 7 K 5 H 2 ER
4/3- PIT 7 CIP 5 Bush ND 6 IP 7 H 6 BB 2 K 4R 3 ER Gross BS (L) 1 IP 3 H BB 2 ER Garcia 3H HR (2) RBI (3) Krieg 3H 2B HR (2) 2R RBI (3) SB
4/4- SD 6 CIP 5 on the manager (me). Avendano led 4-2 into the 8th and I NEVER allow a SP to “lose” a game after the 7th. 2R HR with 2 outs ties it, his pitch count was not high, so I left him in, stupid. Infield 1B, HR. 7.2 IP 8 H 6 ER 4 HR

• Utah 1B Jordan Johnson went 5-5 in a 5-4 win over Charlotte

4/5- CIP 10 SD 7 Sandberg ND 4.2 IP 8 H 3 BB 2K 5 ER Gross BS (2) (W) Guinn SV (2) Krieg 3H 2B (3) HR (3) 2R 2 RBI (5) Brumfield 3 H 2 2B (3) 3R BB McLain HR GW SF 2 RBI (2)

• Jacksonville Panther closer Demetrius Leonard will miss the year after tearing his flexor tendon. Leonard saved 45 games last year for the Panthers. A late December deal with Denver brought 36 year old closer Jerrod Osborn to Jacksonville and he will take over the closing role.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 3B Bob Kreinbring (BOS) 11-24 4 HR 12 RBI 8 R
NL POTW- 2B Justin Gonzalez (EP) .9-19 2 HR 6 RBI

[gehrig38]

WEEK 2
1 vs San Diego 3 vs El Paso 3 @ Indianapolis
3x Koufax winner Juan Laurel in game 3 of San Diego series

4/6- SD 5 CIP 2 (10) Merera ND 7.1 IP 7 H 2 ER 6 K Guinn (L) IP 3 H BB 3 ER Ermatinger 2H 2B RBI 1st IBL game.
Laurel (W) 9 IP 3 H 11 K 2 ER Sacks SV (2)

• George Stout (CBK) fired a 6-hitter fanning 3 to go 2-0 0.00 in a 10-0 win over Detroit. The 26 year old is coming off back-to-back 14 win seasons.
• Josh Benjamin (OKC) threw a 4-hit CG SHO to move to 2-0 0.53 as he beat Pittsburgh 4-0.

Robert Orejel (ATL) went 5-5 in a 6-2 win over San Francisco.
4/7- CIP 9 EP 4 Morris (W) 7.1 IP 5 H 6 K 2 ER Garcia 3-4 2 2B (2) BB 2R RBI (4) Brumfield 2H HR (1) 3R 2 RBI (4)

• As expected Mark Calkins has refused his assignment to New Orleans and has been given his release. We have to eat the remaining 7.8 million on this years deal.

4/8- EP 9 CIP 3 Bush (L) 4.2 IP 5 H 6R 3 ER Alex Bazaldua (EP) 2-2 2 HR (4) 6 RBI (10) 3 BB
4/9- EP 7 CIP 2 Avendano (L) 4.2 IP 8 H 6 ER Garcia HR (3) 2 RBI (6) Bazaldua 3-4 2 2B 2R

• Staten Island righty Corey Pronovost threw a CG 4-hit SHO fanning 2 in a 9-0 win over Portland.

4/10- IND 2 CIP 1 Sandberg (L) 6 IP 6 H 4 K 2 ER

• The Chicago Hitmen took C Troy Zehnder in the Rule 5 draft in December and he's gotten a few AB's so far. But today he was hurt in the weight room, no word on what or how, and he'll be unavailable for a few days.

4/11- IND 6 CIP 5 (10) Merera ND 6.2 IP 8 H 6 K 5 ER Guinn (L) 0 IP HR ER (0-2) Perez HR (2) Brumfield HR (2) Nieves HR (2)
Sergio Ramirez (WAS) fanned 4 in a CG 4-hit SHO of Fresno. He's 2-1 2.79
4/12- CIP 5 IND 0 Morris (W) 8.1 IP 6 H 4 K (2-1 2.82) Krieg 2H 2R RBI (7) Garcia 2H R RBI (8)
HR- Krieg (4), Garcia (4), Cho (1)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 3B Aaron Bell (DAL) 15-26 2 HR 10 RBI
NL POTW- LF Alex Bazaldua (EP) 15-24 4 HR 12 RBI

[gehrig38]

MINOR LEAGUE SEASONS OPENING DAY

Our minor league teams begin their seasons on the 14th and here's a look at this years rosters with prospects of interest.

AAA- NEW ORLEANS

• 3 5* arms on the pitching staff. SP Kevin Blann was acquired in the December deal with San Francisco for P prospect Todd Barbour and IBL reliever Rick McKitrick. The Bears 3rd rounder (91st overall) in 2008 he was as high as 27th on the prospect list. He was 7-8 5.22 in 42 G and 13 starts last year for San Francisco with a WHIP driven up to 1.50 by his 72 BB on 127.2 IP.
• Juan Arevalo is another 5* and just 21 years old. Acquired in July of last year from Fresno in the 9 player deal that also brought in Joe Bush and Daniel Perez. Dealing our top OF prospect Luis Maya and a lot more + talent. Needs to refine his control but scouts already grade his Curve at 18+ and his cutter a 20+ pitch today.
• 2014 3rd rounder (102nd overall) Jamie Bowden could have started the year here but he's just 22 and spent the year in AA last year. He was 3-2 30 Saves 1.41 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP over 38.1 IP with 54 punchouts and 13 BB to 25 H. A left-handed mid 90's future closer.
• Nick Terrell (2.5*) former 1st rounder Luis Ornelas (3*) and 25 year old Danny Eckenrode (3*) round out a solid and talented rotation.
• On the offensive side one of our top prospects, Catcher Dean Hahn (4*) will get most of the AB's behind the dish (Brian Stachowski is rehabbing this first week) while IF Andy Alvarado (24 2.5* .301/.366/.520 23 HR 83 RBI at AA last year) 3B William Carver (24 2.5* .284-16-56 between A/AAA with Fresno) OF Matt Chiquete (25 2.5* .318/.360/.507 19 HR 62 RBI at AAA and .341-3-14 in 17 games in September) and Catcher Grant Morse (21 2.5* .331/.382/.503 5 HR 24 RBI at AA) are the notable prospects.
• Sluggers John Tite and Jimmy Young, both 22, look to get back on track after struggling in 2013.
• Adam Brigham (23 2* .309-17-66 at AA) keeps trying to push the decision makers despite his lower scout opinions.

AA-MILWAUKEE

• Our top P prospect Elijah Washington (22 3.5*) went 5-0 3.62 before a late call-up to AAA where he struggled a bit. He'll open in AA again but is close to taking the next step.
• David Arroyo (22 2.5* 7-4 5.34 here last year) and Augusto Campos (23 2.5* 9-8 3.89 in 181 IP) are back.
• Two “birds of a feather” round out the rotation. 23 year old Joe Holsinger (23 2*) and Bobby Hutcheson are near the end of the run if they cannot find their control. The arms are there. Holsinger has 336 K's over 290 IP in Class A but has walked 184 batters. Hutcheson has fanned 287 in 297.2 IP at AA the past 3 seasons going 21-14 4.93 with a 1.57 WHIP.
• The bullpen has John Alex (23 3*) recently acquired Casey Intihar (23 3*) and 2013 4th rounder Jake Schmidt (23 3*) alongside Juan Ybarra (21 2.5*) Jeff Holton (22 2.5*) Mike Felan (23 2.5*) and Steve Carder (23 2.5*).
  
• On the offensive side 21 year old AJ Lanigan (3*) and Catcher Willie Romero (21 3*) are the top bats with C Jim Baxley (23 2.5*) SS Enrique Garza (22 (2.5*) OF Dusty Blair (22 2.5*) and OF Corey Barr (24 2.5*). are the top prospects.
• 1st overall pick Mike Johnson (22 1.5*) was promoted after his best season so far as he hit .269/.331/.472 with 25 HR's and 61 RBI's for Albuquerque last year. Our scouts have him at 1.5* after a draft day 5* rating and using the 1st overall selection on him. Such a waste.
  
• Also pay attention to 21 year old Johnny Blackwell. Drafted for his power a few years back he's coming off back to back 28 HR seasons for Albuquerque but he managed to up his avg and his OBP by 33 pts each last year.

A-ALBUQUERQUE

• Once again they'll go with a 6 man rotation. Alex Espinosa (22 2.5*) and Craig Ruch (21 2.5*) lead the staff while Dan Williams (22 2.5*) John Smith (24 2.5*) and Bill Bundy (20 2.5*) are the top rated arms.
• The big news out of Albuquerque is the signing of 22 year old Jonathan Bailey. Why? He's the first knuckleballer the organization has ever had. He went undrafted and was signed as a minor league FA.
• Two 3.5* prospects lead the offense.
• IF Aaron Ford (20 3.5*) who was acquired for Anthony Tripp last April in a 1 for 1 deal with Boston will play all over and hopefully continue his progress. Scouts rate his bat as 10+ across all 5 categories with 14+ contact and power.
• OF Santiago Correa (19 (3.5*) was acquired with Craig Ruch from Chicago for reliever Mark Williams in July of last year. No idea of the ceiling but there's a ton to like at 19.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 3
OFF DAY 3 vs Phoenix 3 @ Los Angeles
RUNS SCORED: 75 (9th)
RUNS AGAINST: 85 (10th)
OBP: .311 (11th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.13 (8th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.73 (11th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .704 (8th)
ZONE RATING: -0.3 (11th)
ERRORS: 12 (t-13th)

RESULTS (7-11 3 GB)
1-2 vs Phoenix 2-1 @ LA
4/13- OFF DAY

• Las Vegas OF John McDermott (29) suffered a sprained ankle and will miss 4-5 weeks. Vegas is tied with Atlanta at 7-5 atop the NL Southern Division.

4/14- CIP 10 PHX 6 Bush (W) 5.1 IP 5 H 6 K 1R 0 ER Prochaska/Van Arsdale 2.1 IP 6 H 2 HR 5 ER Krieg 3H 2B (5) 3R 2 RBI (9)
HR- Guzman (2) Krieg (5) PHX- Aguirre (3) Peterson (1)
4/15- PHX 5 CIP 1 Avendano (L) 6 IP 8 H 5R 4 ER 2 HR
Ventura (PHX) (W) 7.2 IP 6 K 6 H R 0 ER (1-2 2.87)
HR- PHX-Hovey (2) Kaneshiro (4)
4/16- PHX 7 CIP 4 Sandberg (L) 4.1 IP 8 H 5R 3 ER McLain 3H 2B (3) 3 RBI (10)
HR- PHX- Rodriguez (2)
4/17- CIP 3 LA 1 Merera (W) no-hitter into the 7th 7.1 IP 3 H 2 K 0 R Guinn SV (3) McLain 3-3 BB SB (1) 2R
HR- PHX- McMurry (1)

• Rick Culp (DET) won his 1st game firing a CG 3-hit SHO to beat Utah 3-0.

4/18- CIP 3 LA 0 Morris (W) 8 IP 3 H 7 K BB (3-1 2.08) Guinn SV (4) Garcia 3H HR 3 RBI (12)
HR- Garcia (5)
4/19- LA 4 CIP 2 Bush (L) 6.1 IP 9 H 4 ER (1-2 4.03)
Boyce (LA) 8 IP 5 H 2 ER (4-0 2.25) Wells SV (6)
HR- Cho (2)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Ray Taylor (CHI) 12-25 2 HR 10 RBI
NL POTW- RF Devin Howard (JAX) 8-22 3 HR 9 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS
Matt Chiquete took home AAA POTW going 9-24 4 HR 9 RBI

[gehrig38]

WEEK 4
3 vs Fresno 3 @ New York OFF DAY

4/20- FRE 8 CIP 7 Avendano ND 6 IP 5 H 4R 3 ER 8 K Pen gives up 3 HR's Mendoza/Gross 2 IP 4 H 3 HR 4 ER Garcia 3H HR (6) 2R 3 RBI (15)
HR- Garcia (6) McLain (2) FRE- J Smith (2) Aguillon (4) Graves (2) J Colon (2)

• Travis Reilly (EP) blanked Jacksonville 6-0 on a CG 2-hitter. He's 3-1 4.12

4/21- CIP 7 FRE 6 (10) Sandberg ND 5.2 IP 5 H 5R 4 ER Guinn 1.2 IP 3 K H BB (W) Nieves 2H 3R 3 RBI Ermatinger 2H 2B walk off 1B
HR- Pedraza (2) Nieves (3) FRE- J Colon (3) Drake (2)

• New England opted to return 3B Andy Williams after his selection in the Rule 5 draft. He's assigned to AAA New Orleans.

4/22- CHI 11 FRE 8 11 runs in the 6th and 7th. Merera ND 5.2 IP 6 H 3 HR 5 ER Guinn SV (5) Krieg 3H 2 2B (8) 2R RBI (10) McLain 2H HR 4 RBI (17)
HR- McLain (3) Nieves (4) FRE- Nesbit 2 (3) Luebke (1) Drake (3) Aguillon (5)

• Denver's Matt Schempp went 2-4 in a 9-3 win over Staten Island to collect his 2500th career hit. He's a .307 hitter lifetime with 557 2B and 129 HR with 1086 RBI's.
• 14 year veteran Michiro Miyamoto of Portland announced this will be his last year. The RH is 163-136 3.72 lifetime over 2724 IP with 2497 career K's. He's a 4-time Gold Glove winner and a 6 time all-star.
• The Chicago Hitmen announced they'd signed 2B Manny Martinez to a 5 year 31.5 million dollar extension. The 31 year old is a career .275/.328/.418 hitter over 8 seasons, all spent with the Hitmen.

4/23- CHI 4 NYP 3 Morris (W) 6 IP 2 H 4 BB ER (4-1 1.98) Guinn SV (6) Perez 3H 2B (4) R
HR- NYP-M Cameron (8)
4/24- NYP 5 CIP 3 Bush (L) 6 IP 6 H 5 BB 5 ER
HR- Pedraza (3) McLain (4)

• Brian Stachowski has homered 3 times in the last 3 days and is ready to come back off his rehab. I'll give it one more day and the off day and then adjust the rosters. Gil Ermatinger has done a fantastic job in the interim.

4/25- NYP 6 CIP 5 Avendano (L) 6.2 IP 10 H 6 ER (0-4 7.26)
HR- Krieg (6) Brumfield (3) NYP-J Thompson (2)

• Columbus RF Mike Klotzbach went 3-4 and homered 3 times in an 8-4 win over Brooklyn.
• Kenny Ruckman (WYO) went 5-5 in a 16-2 pasting of Chicago.
• Detroit announced FA signing Mark Beasley would possibly miss the rest of the year after suffering a serious concussion on Wednesday.

4/26 OFF DAY


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Sergio Loredo (WYO) 12-23 2 HR 9 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Alex Aguillon (FRE) 10-18 3 HR 8 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS
3B Jake Pena went 8-20 5 HR 5 RBI to win AAA POTW

[gehrig38]

WEEK 5
3 vs Las Vegas 3 vs Washington 1 @ OKC
RUNS SCORED: 139 (t-12th)
RUNS AGAINST: 146 (6th)
OBP: .313 (14th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.91 (6th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.87 (12th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .711 (4th)
ZONE RATING: +0.7 (10th)
ERRORS: 23 (15th)

RESULTS (14-17 3 GB)
2-1 vs Las Vegas 2-1 vs Washington 0-1 @ OKC
4/27- LV 9 CIP 3 Sandberg ND 6 IP 4 H 4 BB 5 K 2 ER Mendoza/Garrison 1.1 IP 5 H 3 BB 6 ER
4/28- CIP 7 LV 2 Merera (W) 7 IP 5 H ER (2-0 3.38) McLain 3H 2 HR 2R 2 RBI (21)
HR- McLain 2 (6) Dames (1) LV- W. Williams (2)

• Danny Eckenrode (AAA) fanned 7 in a 5-hit CG SHO. He's 1-0 1.40

4/29- CIP 4 LV 3 Morris CG 7 H 6 K 3 ER (5-1 2.18) Garcia 0-1 4 BB SB (2)
HR- Cho (3)
4/30- WAS 1 CIP 0 Bush (L) 7 IP 5 H 4 K 3 BB ER (1-4 4.08)
Pozos (WAS) (W) 6.1 IP 5 H 2 K 3 BB (1-1 2.25) Steighner SV (8)

• Kyle Woodard (CLE) struck out 3, walked 3 and gave up 3 hits in a 4-0 CG SHO of Portland. He's 3-2 3.21.

5/1- CIP 2 WAS 0 Avendano (W) 8 IP 6 H 6 K (1-4 5.77) Guinn IP 2 K SV (7)
HR- Dames (2)
5/2- CIP 7 WAS 3 Sandberg (W) 7 IP 7 H 8 K 3 BB 3 ER (1-2 5.08) Guzman 3-4 HR 3R 3 RBI (15) SB (9)
HR- Guzman (3) Garcia (7) WAS- D Gonzalez (4)

• Former Iron Pig Tony Mejia K'd 7 in a 4-hit SHO of Indianapolis and an 11-0 win. He's 2-1 2.76. Pittsburgh chose him in the 2013 Rule 5 draft.

5/3- OKC 5 CIP 4 (11) Merera ND 6 IP 6 H 4 K 3 ER
HR- OKC- E Woods (1) J Ortiz (5) Garcia 3H 2B (6) 2 RBI (21) 8th error late cost us the game

• San Diego Catcher Joey Syck hit 3 HR driving in 4 in a 17-7 win over Indianapolis

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Mike Crouch (BRK) 14-30 4 HR 6 RBI 10R
NL POTW- C Joey Syck (SD) 12-28 6 HR 12 RBI

[gehrig38]

APRIL IN REVIEW
AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Michael McVaugh (WYO) .359-11-26
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Marco Lopez (IND) .429-9-18
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- George Stout (CBK) 4-0 1.55
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Jimmy Boyce (LA) 6-0 2.23
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- LF Aaron Jenkins (POR) .324-7-19
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- 1B Justin Piva (PIT) .278-10-17

IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW

• Joey Morris, Gus Garcia, and Justin Krieg appear to be the only guys who knew the real season started. Not one focal point but just a horrible month all around. Early slumps by McLain and a month long slump and probably the worst month of his short career for Jesse Roberts. Dames stuggled all month too. Jose Nieves is off to another slow start.
• JJ Sandberg isn't showing the power arm we were expecting but more importantly he's only given us 26 IP in 5 starts but he's out of options. He'll be moved into the bullpen with Sean Garrison and Danny Eckenrode, who threw really well in April (1-0 1.40 in 18 IP) exchanging places for a few weeks. Nick Terrell was the other choice as he went 3-0 3.65 in April but he's out of options and not on the 40 man after being DFA'd at the end of camp. I'll have him as next in line if this does not work out. Sandberg will actually start on Friday to keep guys on their days but move to the bullpen on Sunday with Eck moving into the rotation.
• I don't really have a solution or a “quick fix”, the team just needs to play better. Not sure I have a 'move' to make that happen.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Justin Krieg .317-6-12
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Joey Morris 5-1 2.18
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Danny McKeith (AAA) .372/.426/.721 3 2B 3 3B 2 HR 4 RBI 1.146 OPS
MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Nick Terrell (AAA) 3-0 3.65 0.85 WHIP

[gehrig38]

WEEK 6
2 @ OKC 3 vs San Francisco OFF DAY 1 @ New England

5/4- OKC 2 CIP 0 Morris (L) 7.2 IP 5 H 2R 1 ER 7 K (5-2 2.04) McLain 0-3 3K (.216) Garcia 9th error.
Omar White (OKC) (W) 8 IP 2 H 7 K (1-3 5.45)
HR- OKC- E Ward (3)

• The Chicago Hitmen lost ace Gerardo Pacheco today. The 31 year old, 17-6 3.24 last year, will miss the remainder of the year with an elbow injury.
• The 2011 trade with Detroit that netted CF Kevin Dietz saw us send RP John Sirianni to the Phantoms. He split duties last year going 10-9 4.62 in 38 G and 24 starts. The 24 year old was lost for at least this year and probably some of next after undergoing elbow reconstruction surgery.

5/5- CIP 10 OKC 8 Roberts GW grand-slam in the 9th. 5 RBI (11) Cho 3H HR 3R 2 RBI (9) BB Trevor Cooper (OKC) 4-4 BB R Bush ND 5 ER 7 H 2.2 IP Guinn SV (8)
HR- Cho (4) Roberts GS (1) OKC- Chris Adams 2 (2)
Danny Eckenrode came in, in relief of Bush and went 2.1 IP 4 H 2 HR 3R 4 K and was hurt, (pending)
5/6- SF 3 CIP 1 Avendano (L) 7 IP 5 H 5 K 2 ER (1-5 5.28) Colby Rossell (SF) 8 IP 1 ER (3-1 3.00) Former Iron Pig Rick McKitrick IP 2 K SV (6)
HR- McLain (7) SF- D Curtis (3)

• Travis Hilly (CLE) fanned 4 in a 5-hit CG SHO to move to 3-2 2.15. Travis was the AL's 2014 Koufax winner.
• Danny Eckenrode has a shoulder strain and will be out at least 6 weeks. Sean Garrison has been recalled.
• Former Iron pig RP Matt Wright signed a 1 year 900K contract with Jacksonville. We'd been talking to him about a 1 year deal as well.

5/7- SF 10 CIP 9 Led 6-3 after 6. Sandberg ND 6 IP 7 H 5 ER Van Arsdale BS (1) 1.1 IP 2 HR 3 ER Eichle (L) 1.1 IP 2 BB H ER Brumfield 3H 2 HR 5 RBI (19) Garcia 3H 2B (8) BB 2R 2 RBI
HR- Brumfield 2 (5) SF- Chester (6) Corona (11) Voelkel (3) Maldonado (1)
5/8- CIP 11 SF 4 Merera (W) 5.2 IP 5 K 4 BB 3 H 2 ER (3-0 3.48) Guzman 3H 2B (14) SB (11) 2R 4 RBI (20) Cho 3H 2B (9) HR 4 RBI (13)
HR- Guzman (4) Cho (5) SF- Curtis (4)

• Philly 2B Jonathan Flores went 5-5 in a 10-3 win over the Hitmen.

5/9- OFF DAY

• AA Milwaukee scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th, then gave up 6 in the top of the 10th to fall to 5-20 on the year.
• Cheol-min Cho will take over the catching duties for a few days. Brian Stachowski is struggling since coming off his rehab. Cho will hit 7th.
• Jason Roberts is seriously struggling. .182/.247/.247 with a HR and 11 RBI's. Matt Chiquete is once again beating on the door and Danny Perez (.246/.293/.391) isn't helping things. I am going to give it a few more days before pulling the trigger on any potential move with the added challenge of the teams most popular player is struggling big time.

5/10- NE 3 CIP 0 Morris (L) 6.1 IP 5 K 3 ER (5-3 2.28)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B Mike Carson Jr. (AUS) 12-24 2 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- C Cheol-min Cho (CIP) 7-10 2 HR 6 RBI

[gehrig38]

WEEK 7
2 @ New England 3 vs Jacksonville 2 @ Atlanta
RUNS SCORED: 199 *9th)
RUNS AGAINST: 201 (7th)
OBP: .320 (13th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.06 (7th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.92 (12th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .709 (4th)
ZONE RATING: +3.4 (8th)
ERRORS: 26 (t-12th)

RESULTS (19-25 5 GB)
0-2 @ New England 3-0 vs Jacksonville 0-2 @ Atlanta
5/11- NE 4 CIP 2 Bush (L) CG 8 IP 8 K 4 ER (1-5 4.89)
HR- NE- Cotter (10)
5/12- NE 6 CIP 5 Avendano (L) 4.1 IP 8 H 2 HR 6R 5 ER Dames E (6)
HR- Nieves (5) Roberts (2) NE Bobela (1) Cotter (11)
5/13- CIP 5 JAX 2 Sandberg ND 6 IP 6 BB 1 ER Guinn SV (9)
HR- Roberts (3) McLain (8)

• El Paso Huskie Mike Connolly lost a no-hitter with 2 outs in the 9th and had to settle for the 1-hit 6-0 win over Los Angeles. He fanned 8 in moving to 4-4 3.76

5/14- CIP 11 JAX 0 Merera (W) 7.1 IP 6 H 7 K (4-0 3.05) Krieg 3 H 2 2B (14) 2R 2 RBI (14)

• Ed Den Herder (LA) threw a 3-hitter in a 11-0 win over El Paso. He's 4-3 2.61

• Charlotte SP David York will miss the rest of the year after undergoing shoulder surgery. The 31 year old was 12-6 3.81 last year and 2-3 3.13 so far this year.

5/15- CIP 4 JAX 3 Morris ND 8.1 IP 7 H 3 ER Guinn 0.2 IP 2 K (W)
HR- Deal (1) JAX Piepenburg (3)
5/16- ATL 8 CIP 1 Bush (L) 6 IP 7 H 3 BB 5 ER (1-6 5.19) Garrison 2 IP 2 HR 3 ER
HR- ATL j Smith (3) W Rodriguez (7) J Wright (1)

• Staten Island 3B Julian Mancilla went 5-6 in a 14-5 win over Austin. He homered twice, doubled and drove in 4
• San Jose P Dave Larios threw a 5-hit CG SHO beating Detroit 5-0 to go 4-4 3.77

5/17- ATL 4 CIP 1 Janky lineup with 3 guys getting a day off. Avendano (L) 7 IP 7 H 5 K 2 ER (1-7 5.34)

• Cleveland Closer Jima Zahur will miss 2 months or more after being placed on the IL with a “sore shoulder”. He's 2-5 10 Saves after saving 67 games the past 2 years for the Gladiators.
• Rusty Francis (POR) threw a 4-hitter fanning 13 in a 6-0 win over Columbus. He's 3-5 3.96

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Andrew Hubbard (POR) 17-28 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- CF Ricardo Santana (LV) 12-30 3 HR 6 RBI

[gehrig38]

WEEK 8
1 @ Atlanta 3 vs Pittsburgh OFF DAY 2 @ San Diego
RUNS SCORED: 234 (7th)
RUNS AGAINST: 215 (6th)
OBP: .321 (12th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.71 (5th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.86 (12th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .715 (4th)
ZONE RATING: +6.3 (12th)
ERRORS: 29 (t-12th)

RESULTS (24-26 5 GB)
1-0 @ Atlanta 3-0 vs Pittsburgh 1-1 @ San Diego
5/18- CIP 4 ATL 1 Sandberg (W) 8.1 IP 5 H 2 K ER (2-2 4.33) Guinn SV (10) Guzman 3H 2B (15) SB (15) R RBI (24) Garcia 3H 2B (10) SB (4) RBI (27)

• Former Iron Pig Dan Ferguson (PHI) threw a 2-hitter fanning 7 in a 12-0 win over Boston. The 23 year old was 13-11 4.57 for the Patriots last year and is 6-3 2.62 this season. Ferguson , Dave Wheeler, and Cory Dillon, and P Marcos Acosta, were sent to Philadelphia to acquire CF Rico Guzman
• Lineups are going to get shuffled. At 5 games below .500 and nothing feels like it's clicking.

5/19- CIP 5 PIT 0 Merera CG 4 H 10 K (5-0 2.65) Deal 3H 3B (2) HR 2R RBI (4) Perez 2B (5) HR 2 RBI (7)
HR- Perez (3) Deal (2)

• Garrett Nelums (WYO) went 5-6 in a 17-3 win over San Jose. He doubled, homered and drove in 4.
• Former GG winner Kevin Dietz was released from AAA New Orleans today. He was hitting just .177 with a .194 Slg. % after a dismal 2014.

5/20- CIP 5 PIT 3 Morris (W) 8 IP 6 H 8 K 3 ER (6-3 2.50) Guinn SV (11) Cho 3H Krieg 2B (15) HR 3 RBI (20)
HR- Krieg (7)

• Fresno 1B Tony Clark went 5-5 2 2B HR and 2 RBI in a 7-4 win over Indianapolis
• Last years #1 pick Mike Harper made his Class A debut going 6.2 IP allowing 4H walking 4 and fanning 7 on 2 ER in a 2-1 loss.

5/21- CIP 6 PIT 4 Bush (W) 7 IP 7 H 7 K 3 ER (2-6 5.03) Guinn SV (12) Garcia 0-4 E (11)
HR- Brumfield (6) PIT- R Workman (6)

• Vegas CF Ricardo Santana hit 3 HR's and drove in all 4 of a 5-4 loss to San Diego. Santana was the 25th overall pick in 2013.

5/22- OFF DAY
5/23- SD 4 CIP 3 Avendano ND 7.2 IP 5 H 2R 0 ER K 0 BB Guinn 0 IP 3 H 2 ER (L) BS (1) Nieves E (5)
5/24- CIP 12 SD 2 Sandberg (W) 8 IP 2 ER (3-2 4.06) Krieg 3H RBI (21) Roberts 3H 2 HR 4 RBI (20) Garcia 12th error
HR- Roberts 2 (5) McLain (9) Brumfield (7) SD- Syck (15)

• Alberto Castillo (CHA) threw a 4-hit CG SHO to beat Utah 6-0. He's 3-6 3.42.
• Josh Johnston (FRE) threw a 1-hitter to beat Phoenix 9-0 and move to 8-1 2.41. Johnston won the Koufax in 2009 and 2010.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B Pat Arce (PHI) 14-26 2 HR 5 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Darius Harper (WAS) 10-23 2 HR 8 RBI

[gehrig38]

CHICAGO SHAKES THINGS UP
At 21-25 the defending IBL Champion Chicago Iron Pigs and their fans are not happy. GM Curt Schilling announced multiple trades and both staff and lineup changes that would take place immediately.

• The first deal saw them send minor league prospects Andy Alvarado (25) and OF Travis Rowell and a 2nd round pick to Portland for OF Jason Merchen and a 2nd round draft choice.
• The follow on deal sent IF prospects Dan Ames, William Carver, and P prospect Steve Carder to Utah for 25 year old LH reliever Steve Alfaro. The teams also swapped 2nd round picks as well.
• Alfaro was added to the 40 man roster, as was Merchen, LH reliever Sean Garrison was optioned to AAA New Orleans. OF Daniel Perez was optioned to New Orleans while Merchen was called up to take his spot. Alfaro was added to the IBL roster.
• They announced a slew of moves across their minor league clubs with the 8-26 Milwaukee Hawks releasing pitchers Joe Holsinger and Bobby Hutcheson.
• Top P prospect Elijah Washington was moved up to AAA after going 1-2 2.85 for the dismal Hawks AA club while last years top pick for Chicago, Mike Harper, was moved up to the Class A Albuquerque club and will get his 1st start on the 20th.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Jason Merchen is a potential steal. Our guys say his offense is far from done developing. He's got elite speed and rated by his peers as the best base runner in the IBL. He's 48 for his last 57 SB attempts. He just won Rookie of the Month for April.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 9
1 @ San Diego 3 @ El Paso 3 vs Indianapolis
Kind of a big series coming up with El Paso, if you can have a big series in May. Need to get into the mix with a good streak. 3-time Koufax winner Juan Laurel will close out the San Diego series in the 1st game of the week.
RUNS SCORED: 269 (t-7th)
RUNS AGAINST: 234 (4th)
OBP: .326 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.70 (5th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.25 (5th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .718 (3rd)
ZONE RATING: +7.9 (7th)
ERRORS: 33 (t-10th)

RESULTS (30-27 4 GB)
1-0 @ San Diego 2-1 @ El Paso 3-0 vs Indianapolis
5/25- CIP 3 SD 2 Merera (W) 7.2 IP 4 H 7 K 2 ER (6-0 2.62) Guinn IP 2 K SV (13) Guzman 0-4 4K
Laurel 8.1 IP 12 K 5 BB 3 ER (5-3 2.43)
HR- Dames (3) McLain (10)

• After being returned by New England Andy Williams has hit, .319—4-12 in 17 games. Today he went 5-5 2B 2R 2 RBI in a 9-0 win. Brian Pennington tossed a CG striking out 6 to move to 3-3 4.39.
• Sam Hildreth, taken 23rd overall by Denver in 2013 is the games #3 prospect. Today he went 4-6 and hit 4 HR's and drove in 6 in an 18-15 extra inning loss to Scottsdale. The teams combined for 38 hits and 11 HR's.

5/26- CIP 3 EP 1 (10) Morris ND 7 IP 3 H ER Gross IP SV (1) Garcia 3H BB 2R Brumfield 2H 3 RBI (29)
HR- EP- Ziegler (1)

• Back to .500. 7-3 in our last 10 which would be even more awesome if OKC wasn't 8-2 over that same stretch.

5/27- CIP 5 EP 4 Bush down 4-0 after 2 Guinn SV (14) Brumfield 3H 2B (11) R 2 RBI (31) Garcia 2H HR 2 RBI (29) BB McLain 0-2 3 BB SB (3)
HR- Garcia (8) EP- A Bazaldua (13)

• Zach Stewart is doing the HR thing again. He slugged his 24th today, and is on a pace for 73.

5/28- EP 3 CIP 2 Avendano (L) 6.2 IP 5 H 3 BB 3 ER Garcia HR Error (13)
HR- Garcia (9)

• Charlotte beat Chicago (AL) 11-0 and Mitch Boge threw a CG 4-hitter. Boge was 19-11 3.50 last year, he's 4-2 3.16 so far in 2015.
• In that game Defender OF Joe Davis went 3-5 hitting 3 HR's and driving in 7. The 32 year old 2-time AL HR Champion is on pace to break his career high of 50 set in 2012.

5/29- CIP 6 IND 3 Sandberg (W) 6 IP 5 H 3 solo HR's 4 K 0 BB (4-2 4.10) Guinn SV (15)
HR- Roberts (6) Brumfield (8) McLain (11)

• Utah OF Andrew King tore his ACL and will miss the year and part of 2016. The 23 year old was off to a slow start (.228-2-12) but big things were expected of the 2014 AL Jackie Robinson Award winner. The Mammoth are one of the surprise stories early on, and not a good one. From the World Series last season they are 20-35 and 8 games out in the AL West. Their offense has gone in the tank, ranking dead last across the board.

5/30- CIP 9 IND 2 Merera (W) 7-0 2.61 7 IP 8 H 3 K Garcia 3H 2B (12) HR 4R 2 RBI (32) Merchen 3H 3B (1) R BB 2 RBI (2) SB (3)
HR- Garcia (10) McLain (12) IND-J Ortega (6)
5/31- CIP 7 IND 4 Morris (W) 7 IP 9 H 9 K 4 ER (7-3 2.61) Guinn SV (16)
HR- Merchen (1) Cho (6) IND- Hogarth (10) Doerr (4)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Joe Davis (CHA) 11-25 8 HR 17 RBI (ties the record for 1 week)
NL POTW-LF Josiah Eggleston (JAX) 8-24 7 HR 10 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS

• On Saturday knuckleballer Jonathan Bailey went 8 IP 12 H 3 K 3 ER to go 4-3 3.77 for Class A Albuquerque.
• Andy Williams (AAA) has done nothing but rake since he came back from New England. He went 15-27 2 HR 10 RBI and is hitting .352-6-20 in 22 games.

[gehrig38]

MAY IN REVIEW
AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- RF Zach Stewart (PHI) .311-15-30 29R
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Mike Geiselman (SD) .370-9-19 17R
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Chris Frisk (DAL) 5-1 1.64
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Eric Davis (LA) 5-0 1.99
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- 3B Jon Cruz (SI) .268-6-18 18R
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- CL Min-Soo Jang (SD) 2-0 10 Saves 0.79

IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW

PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Gus Garcia .330/.431/.536 8 2B 4 HR 15 RBI 18 BB 9 K 2 SB
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Alberto Merera 5-0 1.90 0.98 WHIP 42.2 IP 31 H 11 BB 36 K
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Enrique Garza (AAA) .340/.411/.610 8 2B 2 3B 5 HR 22 RBI 20 R
MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- RP Jeff Holton (AA/AAA) 1-0 1 HLD 0.00 ERA 12 IP 15 K 6 H 0.75 WHIP

It felt a lot better than 18-11 and I think that's because of how bad April was. The 11-2 run the last 2 weeks was outstanding except OKC had a 22-7 month and ended the month on a 16-4 run including taking 2 of 3 from El Paso. So we enter June 4 games in back of OKC.
Josh Benjamin, one of their aces, went down on the 17th and his shoulder issues have him out at least another 5 weeks. He was 5-1 3.92. while their other big gun Frank Wood is 5-2 3.48.

• On our end Jesse Roberts (.234-6-23), Jose Nieves (.194-5-18) and Joe McLain (.188-12-34) are holding down the offense in a big way.
• I was literally 1 start from pulling JJ Sandberg from the rotation and he's gone 4-0 3.23 in 7 starts since, lowering his ERA two full runs in the process.
• Without that, Morris (7-3 2.61) and Alberto Merera (7-0 2.61) have held it down with Joe Bush and Ricky Avendano a combined 3-14 4.85!
• Avendano, in his last 6, is 1-4 2.68 lowering his ERA from 7.26 to 4.65, but getting no support In 4 of the starts he's gotten a total of 7 runs support.
• On the other hand Joe Bush, in his last 5, is 1-2 6.44. He is going to be skipped this time around just to get him a “mental break”. Sometimes that's all it takes.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 10
3 @ Phoenix OFF DAY 3 vs Los Angeles
RUNS SCORED: 306 (6th)
RUNS AGAINST: 261 (3rd)
OBP: .331 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.61 (3rd)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.63 (9th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .718 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +9.1 (5th)
ERRORS: 37 (11th)

RESULTS (34-29 3 GB)
3-0 @ Phoenix OFF DAY 1-2 vs LA
6/1- CIP 4 PHX 1 Avendano (W) 8 IP 6 H ER 3 K took SHO into the 9th Guinn (SV) 17)
6/2- CIP 5 PHX 1 Sandberg (W) 6.1 IP 8 H 6 K ER (5-2 3.87) Nieves 2B (10) HR 2 RBI (20)
HR- Nieves (6)
6/3- CIP 5 PHX 1 Merera (W) 7.1 IP 5 H 0 R (8-0 2.40) Guzman 2-2 HR 2 BB SB (16) 2R 2 RBI (32)
HR- Guzman (5) Nieves (7)
6/4- OFF DAY
6/5- CIP 7 LA 4 Morris (W) 7 IP 7 H 6 K 2 ER (8-3 2.61) Eichele SV (1) Roberts 3H HR 2R RBI (26)
HR- Roberts (7) LA- B Brooks (6)

• 7 straight and 9-1 in the last 10. Closing the gap, now 2 back of OKC.
• Roberto Escamilla (EP) drilled 3 HR's and drove in 4 in a 9-3 win over New England.

6/6- LA 7 CIP 5 Led 5-2 entering the 9th. Guinn 0.2 IP 4 H BB HR 5 ER BS (2) ERA from 3.05 to 5.06. Bush 8 IP 6 H 5 K 2R 1 ER
HR- Brumfield (9) McLain (13) LA- Nolasco (8) Cleary (8)
6/7- LA 13 CIP 11 Avendano ND 7 ER 3.1 IP Guinn BS (3) Alfaro (L) combined 2 IP 4 H 2 HR 4 ER Garcia 3H 2 2B (16) SB (5) 3R Cho 2 2B (17) 3 RBI (22)
HR- Krieg (8) McLain (14) Nieves (8) LA- Parillo 2 (13) T Miller (8) Higgins (4) McMurry (9)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Jorge Mayorga (POR) 12-24 3 HR 11 RBI
NL POTW- LF John Parillo (LA) 9-21 3 HR 6 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS
Josh Logan (AA) went 13-24 HR 11 RBI to win AA POTW

[gehrig38]

2015 DRAFT
First-year players are drafted today in the International Baseball League while front offices buzz with anticipation and opinion from GM to receptionist. The initial picks go to New England, Brooklyn, Detroit, Oklahoma City and El Paso and the favorites to be selected, according to the BNN reports, are ranked as follows:


1. Perry Weichman, 18 year-old 1B out of high-school. (8th Portland Spartans)
2. Jeremiah Mathis, 18 year-old SS out of high-school. (5th El Paso Huskies)
3. David Kallis, 21 year-old CF out of college. (1st New England Revolution)
4. George Roszell, 18 year-old LHP out of high-school. ((9th San Jose Seahawks)
5. Kyle Roa, 18 year-old C out of high-school. (20th Staten Island Sharks)
6. Anders Olsen, 18 year-old RHP out of high-school. (14th Phoenix Roadrunners)
7. Caleb Cabral, 18 year-old RHP out of high-school. (2nd Brooklyn Islanders)
8. Sean Staitie, 18 year-old SS out of high-school. (38th (El Paso Huskies)
9. Jim Larkin, 18 year-old C out of high-school. (16th Denver Saints)
10. John Masterson, 18 year-old RHP out of high-school. (3rd Detroit Phantoms)

We will pick 32nd and 37th in Round 1. 49th and 53rd in Round 2 and then 141st in round 4.

Round/Overall pick
1/32 OF Josh Buening (18) 6'2” 185 LHH 5* The arms I was after were gone and I waffled for awhile on P or position player then just decided to lean on the scouts for the best available bat. Batting Champ in the making, elite speed, with high baseball IQ
1/37 IF Campbell Hoyles (18) 6'2” 190 RHH 4.5* another elite bat and future + defender all around the IF. 20+ speed with ++ skills stealing, and running the bases.
2/49 2B Javier Herrera (18) 6' 180 RHH 4.5* Monster power bat with future 20+ approach and eye. Extremely hard worker out of the PR Baseball Academy
2/53 RP Mike Strength (18) 6' 180 LH 5* A very rare pick in a HS reliever but the potential was too much to pass up. Works 92-94 now with a curve/cutter combo that see both as 20+ potentials. Baseball rat who studies opponents
4/141 SP Richard Cabales (18) 6'3” 200 RH 3.5* If it all breaks right he's a legit #2. ++ curve ball in the making, FB, change, workable split.
5/173 RP Jerry Bryant (19) 6'1” 175 RH 4* Already mid 90's with 20+ slider potential.

[gehrig38]

CHICAGO CLUBHOUSE IN TURMOIL?
Word has leaked from the Iron Pigs clubhouse that on Friday OF Jason Merchen and captain, and leader Gus Garcia got into a physical altercation that saw Merchen shove Garcia to the ground. Teammates intervened before Garcia could retaliate but the incident has been confirmed by multiple sources.
Apparently, this was in reaction to Garcia calling out Merchen on Tuesday in the press after a game win, which he thought Merchen “quit” on the team, and that Merchen “wasn't in it to win it,” as he stated. When asked about these comments, Merchen said, “It's unacceptable for a teammate to talk about me like that and even moreso in the press.”
GM Curt Schilling was in a meeting and unavailable for comment but a press release came down 10 minutes later stating the Merchen had been suspended for 5 games by the club.