Down on the Farm: May 1

Stealing the show in this edition of the Farm Report was High-A pitcher Evan Anundsen, who struck out 10 batters in a no-hitter on tuesday morning, more on him later.
However with the ankle injury to backup catcher Mike Rivera we will get a look at one of the deepest positions in the system.
So we'll start with the new call-up.

Carlos Corporan (C): Widely considered the best defensive catcher in the minors, Corporan has swung the bat fairly well in backup duty for Nashville, he's hit .333 in eight games and has more walks(7) than strikeouts(6).

Nashville Sounds (AAA)

Matt Gamel (3B): Over his last ten games Gamel is hitting .343 with four homers and 12 driven in. Only three more errors since the last report, giving him seven on the season.

Alcides Escobar (SS): Alcides is hitting .276 so far, his on base is still over .330 which is a good sign. He also has 11 steals in 13 attempts.

Angel Salome (C): Struggling, Salome is hitting .191 with only two extra base hits. A light at the end of the tunnel? Angel is 3 for 7 in his last two outings.


Tony Gwynn Jr. (CF)(left): Whether he's trade bait or Cameron's replacement Gwynn is doing well to re-establish himself. A .286 average and OBP nearly .100 points higher (.382) looks good. He had a 15-game hit streak snapped last sunday.

Cole Gillespie (OF): Fully rehabbed, Gillespie is up to Triple-A now. In six games he's only hitting .118.

Tim Dillard (SP): The best starter in Triple-A so far, he's won all four of his starts and has an ERA under two. However he has as many walks as strikeouts (10).

Best of the Rest:
Chris Smith(P) has 19 K's and no walks to go with 1.15 ERA. Hernan Iribarren(UTIL) is hitting over .300 on the year as well.

Huntsville Stars (AA)

Jonathon Lucroy (C): Lucroy is settling in at the dish, in his last ten he's hitting .344 with six RBI's. Even more impressive is his .360 OBP on the year. I maintain that he is a better catching prospect than Salome.

Chris Cody (SP): He's been great through the first month. In four starts Cody has struck out 20 and walked only four, his ERA sits at 1.29.

Jeremy Jeffress (SP): The flamethrowing Jeffress has been inconsistent thus far. He's been very good at times, and not so good at other times. The numbers to watch, 26 K's and 17 Walks, his ERA is sitting at 4.91.

Best of the Rest:
Mike McClendon(P) has been solid in relief with a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 relief innings, as has Donovan Hand(P) whose ERA is hovering around 2.00.

Brevard County Manatees (High-A)

Eric Farris (2B)(Right): In his last ten games Farris hit .231, his season average still isn't above the Mendoza line (.194).

Caleb Gindl (OF): Only five extra base hits for Gindl but he is hitting .380 with 19 driven in.

Logan Schafer (OF): The Manatees outfielder is hitting .299 on the year. He's also driven in 13 but has on OBP of just .322.

Evan Anundsen (SP): Anundsen's no-hitter is the big story. On the year his ERA is 1.44 and he's struck out 25.

Mike Jones (SP): Cross your fingers on this one folks, Jones is pitching well. He's thrown 22 innings and struck out 15 against 6 walks.

Mark Rogers (SP): **Sigh** Rogers was going to make his third start since rebuilding his shoulder, but instead he banged his shoulder into the outfield wall shagging balls before a game. He hasn't pitched since April 16.

Best of the Rest:
Amaury Rivas(P) has pitched well, his ERA is 1.13. Zealous Wheeler(3B) and Steffan Wilson(1B) have been good. Wheeler has driven in 16 and Wilson is hitting .323.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Low-A)

Brock Kjeldgaard (1B)(Left): In Thursday's game the big Canadian went 3-3 with a home run and two doubles, his average is a bit low (.222) but he has driven in 13, second on the team.

Brett Lawrie (2B): What's with the Canadians? In the last 10 games Law is hitting .333 with five extra base hits and 11 driven in.

Cutter Dykstra (OF): Dykstra has struggled a bit with the stick but is improving, he's hit .242 in the last ten and drove in his first three runs of the year.

Cody Scarpetta (SP): After striking out 10 in an April 22nd start, Cody gave up five runs in just 2/3 of an inning five days later. 20 K's to 6 BB is good, and ERA over five is not.

Wily Peralta (P): Peralta has been good to start the year, in 16 IP his ERA is under two and he has 10 K's against 5 walks.

Trey Watten (P): Trey's command has been excellent, with 18 strikeout and only 3 walks, hie ERA isn't bad either at 3.45.

Best of the Rest:
Corey Kemp(C) hit his first homer of the year, he's batting .294. Cody Adams(P) might be one to watch too, his ERA is 3.38 in 16 IP.

For the Record:

Greg Reinhard (P)(Former UW-Whitewater Athlete): Here's one for my fellow Warhawks. Reinhard, the ace of the 2005 National Championship team, has pitched his way to Triple-A for the Iowa Cubs. He hasn't given up a run and has 18 K's in 12.1 innings.

Matt LaPorta (OF)(Traded for C.C. Sabathia, 2008): The quintessential slugger is batting .352 with 5 homers and 14 RBI's (All less than Gamel). Interestingly enough he was not called-up when Travis Hafner landed on the DL.