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Hitter of the Night: Joey Gallo, 3B, Rangers (Myrtle Beach, A+): 3-4, 4 R, 3 HR, 3 BB. Apparently the laws of physics cease to exist not only on Mr. Tipton’s stove but also in the air surrounding the Frederick Keys’ stadium on Wednesday night, as Gallo put his power on display to its fullest extent but also showed off his patient eye, one which will serve him well as the ultimate three-true-outcome prospect in the minors.

Pitcher of the Night: Alex Meyer, RHP, Twins (Rochester, AAA): 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K.
After a trio of lackluster starts, this is the outing the Twins were hoping to see from their top pitching prospect. Even when he struggles, he misses bats, the product of an upper-90s fastball and a big breaking curve.

Best of the Rest

Stetson Allie, 1B, Pirates (Altoona, AA): 3-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB. Allie eased his way onto the MLU yesterday with a home run. Today, he forced his way on the same way he approaches every single at-bat. There’s no finesse in anything Allie does. When he was a pitcher, he threw as hard as he could and didn’t know where the ball was going. As a hitter, he’s trying to hit every ball as far as he can, but he has a much better idea of how to control the ability to do so.

Robbie Ray, LHP, Tigers (Toledo, AAA): 8 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. When his velocity is intact, Ray has a chance to be a different pitcher and miss bats at a much more effective rate.

Brent Suter, LHP, Brewers (Huntsville, AA): 8 IP, H, R, BB, 7 K. If Suter wants to be a prospect, he’ll have to earn it. After all, the deck is naturally stacked against 31st-round picks out of Harvard. He’s already 24 (you know, college and all), but he misses just enough bats to give himself a chance, and he’s doing so at an even better rate this season. Throwing strikes, missing bats, and being left handed makes people forget about where you were drafted real quick.

Jonathan Gray, RHP, Rockies (Tulsa, AA): 6 IP, 3 H, R, 0 BB, 8 K. This would be the best performance of the night on most nights, but Meyer spoiled the party. We’ve been waiting for Gray to start dominating the way his stuff would suggest he should, and his last two starts have been indicative of that ability.

Brandon Drury, 3B, Diamondbacks (Visaila, A+): 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR. Drury was the least notable player involved in the Justin Upton deal before 2013, but his increased power has made him someone to watch. His multi-homer night on Wednesday gives him five on the season, and he may develop enough with his bat to justify regular playing time at the hot corner despite below-average defense there.

Raul (Adalberto) Mondesi, SS, Royals (Wilmington, A+): 3-4, 3 R, HR, K. Mondesi is still just 18 years old, is hitting .313 in High-A ball, and just homered at Wilmington. Stay tuned.

Elier Hernandez, OF, Royals (Lexington, A-): 3-4, R, HR. With tremendous physical tools and some pitch recognition issues, Hernandez is going to have great games surrounded by bumps in the road. This is one of the former.

Fight Another Day

Zach Borenstein, OF, Angels (Arkansas, AA): 0-3, 2 K. Borenstein went off on the California League last season, but he struggled in the Arizona Fall League in October and is off to a slow start this year.

Jose Urena, RHP, Marlins (Jacksonville, AA): 4 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. This is the second bomb of an outing for Urena in four starts this season. He has some talent, though. I could go into more detail, but I can’t do better than Ethan Purser did here the other day.

Jin-De Jhang, C, Pirates (Bradenton, A+): 0-6, 2 K. Jhang can do some things with the bat and isn’t a bad receiver, but his arm is average at best and his body doesn’t project to age well. It won’t be long before he’s passed on the organizational depth chart by Reese McGuire.

Notable Pitching Performances*

  • Sam Selman, LHP, Royals (Northwest Arkansas, AA): 5 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 4 K.
  • Garrett Gould, RHP, Dodgers (Chattanooga, AA): 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, BB, 3 K.
  • Michael Lorenzen, RHP, Reds (Pensacola, AA): 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K.
  • Nick Kingham, RHP, Pirates (Altoona, AA): 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), BB, 6 K.
  • Adonys Cardona, RHP, Blue Jays (Lansing, A-): 2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 K.

*The point of the Minor League Update is to keep you, the reader, up to speed on how prospects are doing throughout the minor league season with scouting reports and explanations along with a daily stat line. Sometimes, however, you just want to know the result, especially with pitchers who were neither spectacular nor terrible on a particular night. This is that section.

Thank you for reading

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russel58
4/24
Jesse Biddle with 7IP, 2H, 1 BB and 10Ks. That is back-to-back 7IP double digit Ks for Biddle.

Huge for him is his walks are down recently.
MaineSkin
4/24
Is there a chance Gallo is not a TTO LF/1B or is his extreme hard contact just playing up that much in HiA? He has 2 or 3 triples and hitting .359, but I'm thinking it's a "Middlebrooks" type high MiL BA. I guess it's pretty hard to sustain that BA w/all those K and w/o referencing, I bet his BABIP is pretty high.
I read 2yrs ago not only do the Rangers target these extreme tool players, but they usually all have high makeup, so when I read this early offseason that Gallo and Brinson were at camp all offseason I knew at least one of these dudes would show massive K-zone improvement.
MaineSkin
4/24
Anyone read Middlebrooks comments on facing Meyer? Basically, "why is this dude in the MiLs. Did he piss someone off?" I love these types of player comments just like Cespedes in '12 stating Puig was better than he was at his age and this offseason saying Abreu is their Miggy in Cuba.
Anyone know what happened to Rusney Castillo?
spekeburton2013
4/24
Corey Black threw 6 no hit innings yesterday for AA Tennessee (Cubs) - 3BB/8K. Is his size a concern for longevity as a starter?
redguy12588
4/24
Does Stetson Allie have too much want?
SenatorsGuy
4/24
It is being reported by local (Minnesota) sources that Meyer has only recently learned a new change-up grip and that last night he threw it very effectively.
danrnelson
4/24
Looks like you're right: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140423&content_id=73159192&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

Here's hoping he replaces Pelfrey in the next few weeks.
timber
4/24
With Pelfrey under contract through 2015? Not likely.
danrnelson
4/24
It's the only likely scenario. They'll have to move him to the pen, because there's no sign of him getting better. Hughes and Nolasco are under contract for more money and more years, so no chance there. Gibson has been the best starter and is relatively young. That leaves Correia, who is better than Pelfrey and has pitched better than Pelfrey.

For a team that needs to start showing improvement to a frustrated fan base, they're going to need to get into win-now mode and make a push for 80 wins. That means bringing up Meyer. Pelfrey just isn't good enough and soon, he won't be rosterable unless he finds some utility in the pen.
LucasDad
4/25
All I could do was shake my head at the deals the Twins made this offseason. I know they had to improve their staff, but not with the Pelfrey deal. I actually thought Nolasco would be OK, and thought Hughes would continue to struggle even with a park change.

Hope the Twins don't let sunk costs on these guys keep them from brining up Meyer.
jafessenden
4/24
Intereasting about Robbie Ray. He's having a good spring. His SO rate is down a bit, but so is his walk rate. And his GB rate is up. Putting SSS aside. Is there reason to now think the Fister trade wasn't so crazy?
seabass77
4/25
Anyone know anything about Suter's velocity? I'm sure it's not great but I would love hear or read anything about it.
juice133
4/26
I haven't seen Suter since his college days, but he was consistently 87-88 and touched 90-91 at that time. My understanding is the velo hasn't changed much since that time.
seabass77
4/29
thanks, boy I was hoping to hear that he magically hits 95.