Oh crap, I have been so busy thinking about Russell Wilson that I've completely ignored the Mariners minor league system that I've been following all summer. For shame. For Russell, but also for shame. Here is a quick update on the last four days:
Danny Hultzen had his worst start of the season on Friday! 0.2 innings, 2 hits, 4 R, 4 BB and 1 K. Maybe it's better that I had ignored the minor leagues for a few days. For all intents and purposes, Hultzen needs some time off.
Nick Franklin hasn't gotten a hit since Thursday and is 0-for-10 in that time. Really? Am I seriously effecting how well the M's minor leagues player play? I am sorry for not paying attention.
The Rainiers have won three in a row, so there's that. Erasmo Ramirez went 7.1 innings on Saturday and allowed 4 hits, 1 R, 0 ER, 6 K, and 2 BB. Alex Liddi went 2-for-3 with a double and a homer on Sunday in a 2-1 Tacoma victory. Luis Rodriguez was 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI in a 7-5 win on Monday, while Darren Ford was 3-for-5 and Liddi homered again.
Not all is lost.
The Jackson Generals went 2-2 while I was away. Brad Miller was 2-for-2 with 2 walks on Friday with a double in a 2-1 win. He has doubled four times in his last five starts. Forrest Snow pitched four shutout innings in his first start since July 25th after spending time in the bullpen. He struck out 4 and walked 0, with his biggest issue this season being walks, it was a good return to starting.
Rich Poythress was 2-for-3 with a home run and 2 walks in an 8-5 loss to Chattanooga on Saturday. Mike Zunino was 2-for-5 with two doubles. Zunino was then 3-for-4 with a home run in a 5-4 win on Sunday. He's hitting a ridiculous .389/.450/.750 with 3 HR in 10 games for Jackson, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts in 40 plate appearances. He's been so ridiculously good to start off his minor league career, don't be surprised if he forces the team's hand to bring him up sooner than you'd ever expect. (Next season. He is not on the 40-man roster.)
James Paxton made the start on Saturday. He went 4 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB and 5 K. It's not cool to see him go back to his wild ways. He's like an "out of control teen" on Maury.
Stefen Romero also homered on Sunday. He's hitting .332/.381/.597 in 51 games with Jackson, which is a higher OPS than he had at the hitter-friendly High Desert.
Finally, the Generals lost 6-1 on Minday. Miller doubled. That's your highlight.
The HD Mavericks went 1-3 while I was away. They lost 2-1 in 12 innings on Friday, with James Jones, Leon Landry, and Steven Proscia all going 2-for-5. It was another 2-1 loss to Inland Empire on Saturday. The Mavs beat them 4-0 on Sunday though with Jones hitting two triples and driving in two, while Mickey Wiswall homered. Roenis Elias pitched 6.1 shutout innings with no walks, five strikeouts and two hits.
They lost yesterday to IE by another 2-1 score. Julio Morban hit a solo homer for the Mavs.
The Clinton Lumberkings went 3-1 while I was gone. Guillermo Pimental went 5-for-14 during that stretch without a walk or extra base hit. Relief pitcher Matt Brazis struck out two in 1.1 innings on Saturday and has 30 strikeouts and 5 walks in 16.1 innings for Clinton.
Daniel Paolini has hit a home run in each of his last three games with two doubles. He is hitting .325/.386/.850 over his last ten games with six home runs and 15 RBI. Paolini is hitting .288/.368/.477 on the season now with 16 HR and a 60:47 K:BB ratio in 392 at-bats. This is the first time I have ever written about him.
Finally, Victor Sanchez went 5.1 innings for the Everett Aquasox on Friday and allowed 5 hits, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB and 6 K. The 17-year-old has only allowed 1 ER in his last 16.1 innings with 14 strikeouts and 3 walks. He is possibly headed for a low-A Clinton assignment next season when he'll barely legal.
An interesting thing happened for the Aquasox on Saturday when ever single player in the lineup had exactly one hit in a 6-3 win over Yakima. Patrick Kivlehan has a home run and three doubles in his last three games.
Thus concludes my longest update of the season!