Haven't done one of these in a while but I couldn't resist when I saw the pitchers' performances tonight. The hitters will have to be exceptional to make the grade today.
Odd man out from the injury-depleted rotation with the big club, Brett Cecil, started for Vegas in Sacramento and had a put up a quality start.
Brett Cecil - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
72.1 IP, 2.99 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 66 H, 26 R (24 ER), 3 HR, 19 BB, 1.08 GO/AO, .244 BAA (AA,AAA)
Brett has had a strong season in the minors even if he could not translate this success to the Major League-level. He's posted better numbers in the PCL than the EL in a small sample which is nothing to shake a stick at.
New Hampshire 3 - Binghampton 2
In Binghampton, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats featured a number of forgettable hitters and promising pitching prospects. In Sean Nolin's first start at AA, the former 6th-rounder continued his dominance in his 5 innings of work. First-round pick from this year, Marcus Stroman, had a rough go of it with his control in his inning of relief work but picked up his second win in his short stint at AA (proof that he's a winner?). John Stilson was strong in his 2 innings of relief work in his 3rd appearance since returning from an injury.
Sean Nolin - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1ER), 2 BB, 8 K, 0 HR
91.1 IP, 2.17 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 76 H, 27 R (22 ER), 7 HR, 23 BB, 98 K, 0.85 GO/AO, .226 BAA (A+, AA)
Marcus Stroman - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
17.1 IP, 3.12 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 11 H, 7 R (6 ER), 1 HR, 6 BB, 7 K, 2 GO/AO, .150 BAA
John Stilson - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
3.51 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 97 H, 46 R (38 ER), 6 HR, 38 BB, 85 K, 0.98 GO/AO, .259 BAA (A+, AA)
Aaron Sanchez got the start for Lansing in their game against Lake County and once again lowered his ERA with another scoreless outing. While he did struggle with control in his 4 innings in giving up three walks, it fortunately did not end up costing him any runs.
Aaron Sanchez - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
83.1 IP, 2.27 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 52 H, 27 R (21 ER), 3 HR, 49 BB, 89 K, 2.20 GO/AO, .186 BAA
Taylor Cole continued his strong season for Vancouver as he gave up just a single hit in his 6 innings of work. The 2011 29th-rounder out of BYU has been dominant this year for the C's after a rough debut last year. The former missionary who took time off from baseball has been dominant this year. He utilizes a four-pitch mix: 2 fastballs which topped out at 94-95 in 2011, a slider, and a changeup.
Taylor Cole - 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
53.0 IP, 1.02 ERA, 2.33 FIP, 35 H, 6 R (6 ER), 0 HR, 16 BB, 47 K, 1.06 GO/AO, .192 BAA