Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
June 7, 2004

Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Who's Hot and Who's Cold
June 8, 2004

HOT

Jeff Francis, SP – Colorado (Tulsa, AA Texas League) – Is there a hotter pitcher in minor league ball right now? The Rockie southpaw went to 9-0, 2.02, 101/14 K/BB in 80.1 IPs with a pair of quality starts last week.

Matt Cain, SP - San Francisco (San Jose, A California League) - Equally red hot is the Giants' 2002 #1 pick. Now that he's healthy, Cain has posted a 5-1 record with a 1.72 ERA and a solid 76/17 K/BB rate.

David Wright, 3B – New York Mets (Binghamton, AA Eastern League) – New York's third sacker of the future has been the model of consistency all season ... two hits here, three hits there, etc. The 21-year-old right-handed hitter is batting .351/.458/.605, with 25 doubles and a surprising 19 stolen bases. This kid's the real thing!

Ryan Church, OF and Maicer Izturis, SS – Montreal (Edmonton, AAA Pacific Coast League) – After being fleeced by the Cleveland organization a few years ago in the Bartolo Colon trade, giving up some of their best young minor league talent for a "rent a pitcher," the Expos may have earned some retribution in picking up these two youngsters for reliever Scott Stewart. Church rode a hot week, including a two-homerun game and a 4-4 outing, to season totals of .371/.438/.657 and 10 HRs. Switch-hitting Izturis, brother of the Dodger shortstop, is hitting .347/.443/.432. He's drawn 30 walks while striking out only a dozen times.

Conor Jackson, OF - Arizona (Lancaster, A California League) - The former Cal star leads a potent offense for the D-backs High A team, batting .330/.429/.568, 11 HRs, 37 BBs. The hitting skills are there for continued success as Jackson moves rapidly through the farm system.

Jason Kubel, OF – Minnesota (Rochester, AAA International League) – The 22-year-old left-handed hitter didn't take any time at all to get adjusted to AAA ball. After his first 17 games since being promoted from AA, Kubel is hitting .377/.411/.507 --- an identical batting average to what he posted in 37 AA games.

Joey Gathright, OF - Tampa Bay (Durham, AAA International League) - Speedster Gathright has done Kubel one better by improving on his .341 AA batting average. After his first nine AAA games, Gathright is hitting .385/.415/.538 with seven SBs. He could be the big league's next "Juan Pierre."

Tim Stauffer, SP - San Diego (Mobile, AA Southern League) - Last year's #1 pick made the jump to AA after six strong High A starts. After five outings for Mobile, Stauffer is 2-1, 1.80, 21/9. The right-hander pitched eight shutout innings in his latest start.

Zach Duke, SP - Pittsburgh (Lynchburg, A Carolina League) - Duke makes a long overdue appearance on the HOT list. After 11 starts in High A, the left-handed Texan is at 7-2, 1.19, 68/11, 60.2 IPs.

Steve Bondurant, SP - Kane County (Kane County, A Midwest League) - Left-hander Bondurant picked up his ninth win last week against only two losses. He's got a nice ERA of 2.21 and a very good K/BB ratio of 75/15.

Howard Kendrick, 2B - Anaheim (Cedar Rapids, A Midwest League) - He's back! Right-handed hitting Kendrick won't be a secret for much longer if he keeps hitting like he's been doing this season. After another strong week he's at .358/.390/.532.

Ian Kinsler, SS - Texas (Clinton, A Midwest League) - Kinsler is still flirting with the .400 mark; the Ranger shortstop is hitting .396/.456/.646, 29 doubles, eight HRs, 16 SBs.

COLD

Rickie Weeks, 2B – Milwaukee (Huntsville, AA Southern League) – Last year's number two overall draft pick was supposed to be on the fast track back to Milwaukee, but he's coming off a bad slump that dropped his batting totals to .235/.364/.366. Weeks is still getting on base, having drawn 20 walks and being hit by the pitch 17 times.

Jered Weaver, SP - Anaheim (???) and Stephen Drew, SS - Arizona (???) - They were both projected to be the top choices in this week's draft, but bonus demands dropped Weaver to the 12th overall pick and Drew to #15. But not to worry --- they'll get the bucks and be on the field before the end of the summer.

--- Bill Mitchell