Scranton:
Jesus Montero went 3-for-6, including his first home run of the season, but Scranton blew a lead in the 9th and ultimately lost to Rochester, 7-6 in 12 innings. Scranton hit four home runs in the game – including one by slugger Ramiro Pena.
Chris Dickerson also had three hits in the 15-hit Scranton attack. Dickerson also drew a walk, scored two runs, and stole a base. Acquired for Sergio Mitre late in the spring, Dickerson (29 years old tomorrow) is a pretty good depth player to have in the organization.
Speaking of outfielders that provide depth, Greg Golson homered and stole a base, while Jordan Parraz had two hits, including a home run of his own. Parraz is a 26-year old outfielder who has bounced around the minors. He has shown some flashes of ability, but is mainly here to fill out the Triple-A roster.
Hector Noesi made the start, fighting his way through five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits. He walked two and struck out four.
Kevin Whelan, who I guess is starting 2011 as Scranton’s closer, blew the save in the 9th, allowing a solo home run. Whelan didn’t walk anybody and struck out two in the performance. Whelan pitched to a 6.02 ERA in 2010 – displaying his usual strong strikeout rate (62 in 49.1 innings) alongside of his usually poor walk rate (31). He is the last remaining player from the Gary Sheffield trade. Humberto Sanchez and Anthony Claggett both had cups of coffee with the big club before fizzling out.
Lance Pendleton, who Houston gave back to the Yankees after he didn’t make their roster as a Rule 5 this spring, took the loss. In 2.2 innings, he allowed the winning run on two hits, walking two while striking out one.
—————————————————–
Trenton:
Graham Stoneburner scattered nine hits over five innings, but only allowed one of those runners to score. Still, it wasn’t enough as Trenton’s bats went cold in a 4-1 loss to New Hampshire.
Stoneburner walked one and struck out one in his first Double-A start. Last year for Charleston & Tampa, the 23-year old right-hander went 9-8 with a 2.41 ERA in 26 starts, striking out 137 while walking only 34 in 142 innings. He is a pitcher to watch in 2011 to see if he can continue the momentum he has built since entering the organization.
Austin Romine had one of the three hits the Thunder were able to muster. The other two went to Raymond Kruml, a 25-year old left-handed hitting outfielder with very good speed but not much of a stick.
27-year old lefty Naoya Okamoto, signed this past off-season out of the Mexican League, made his organizational debut, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks in 1.2 innings pitched.
——————————-
Tampa:
Abraham Almonte went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and a stolen base while Josh Romanski pitched six solid innings in a 2-1 Tampa victory. Almonte is now 5-for-14 with two doubles, a home run, and two steals in the first three games of the season.
Romanski (24, LHP) allowed three hits, walked nobody and struck out a batter. He went 8-5 with a 3.22 ERA in 18 starts (15 for Charleston/3 for Tampa) in 2010. The former fourth round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers was signed as a free agent by the Yankees last April. Due to injuries, he never appeared in a game for the Milwaukee franchise and he made his professional debut last year for Charleston.
Mark Prior made his Yankees’ organizational debut, throwing a scoreless inning in relief, striking out one.
Ronny Marte finished off the game with 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the save.
———————————-
Charleston:
Slade Heathcott went 2-for-5, with a double, triple, and three runs batted in as Charleston took a 7-3 victory over Lexington.
JR Murphy landed his first catching assignment of 2011, and promptly did his best Gary Sanchez impersonation – launching a solo home run.
The home run was Murphy’s second of the season. Like Heathcott, Murphy was placed in a full season league in 2010, putting up a .255/.327/.376 line. With all of the hype surrounding Montero/Romine/Sanchez, Murphy truly does get lost in the shuffle. He is a legit catching prospect in his own right, and he will probably rotate the C/DH positions with Sanchez all season.
19-year old outfielder Ramon Flores drew three walks and added a hit in the victory. Flores hit .303/.390/.419 between three levels (mostly in the GCL) in 2010.
The start went to Mikey O’Brien, who three six innings of three run (two earned), five hit ball. He walked one and struck out six. O’Brien went 6-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 11 starts for Staten Island in 2010, walking 18 and striking out 38 in 60.2 innings. The 21 year old ninth round pick in 2008 draft has yet to pitch more innings in a season than he did last year. We’ll see how the Yankees use him this year.
2010 draftee Thomas Kahlne earned the win in relief, throwing two shutout innings. Kahlne retired all six hitters he faced, striking out one. He went 0-0 with a 0.56 ERA in 11 games for Staten Island in 2010 (16 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, 21 K). He is a 21-year old right-hander who was taken in the fifth round.
