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Hitter of the Night: Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox (Winston-Salem, A+): 3-5, R, HR, K.
Anderson has plus tools but is also extremely raw, which makes his .279 batting average somewhat impressive, but oh my goodness does his 42-to-4 K:BB rate scare me.

Pitcher of the Night: Tim Cooney, LHP, Cardinals (Memphis, AAA): 9 IP, H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
A minor-league complete game is rare, but Cooney was two pitches away from the even-more-rare minor-league “Maddux,” finishing at 101 pitches. His strikeout rates have dropped in Triple-A this year and his walk rate his spiked, a surprising occurrence for a player who gets by with average stuff thanks to plus command.

Best of the Rest

Michael Feliz, RHP, Astros (Quad Cities, A-): 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 8 K. Feliz is blessed with a big-time fastball, which can be enough to dominate in the low minors, but it’s his slider and changeup that will lead to more outings like this in the future.

Maxwell Muncy, 3B, Athletics (Midland, AA): 2-3, R, 2B, HR. Muncy has yet to show any kind of consistent power anywhere outside of the California League, and he’s ultimately destined for first base, making it a tough profile to fill. He has, however, maintained his extreme on-base skills and doubles power, giving him a chance to earn some kind of role as an offensive player.

Taylor Cole, LHP, Blue Jays (Dunedin, A+): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K. Sometimes things click for a player and other times he’s just out-smarting younger players. The jury is still out on which it is for Cole, who has almost doubled his strikeout totals this season while cutting his walk rate in half, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to find the answer in the Florida State League.

Tyler Wagner, RHP, Brewers (Brevard County, A+): 8 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 8 K. With average velocity and a three-pitch mix, the former fourth-round pick has an advanced plan for the Florida State League, allowing him to succeed without missing too many bats on most nights.

Tyler Naquin, OF, Indians (Akron, AA): 4-6, 2 R, BB, K. Scouts question his bat speed and ability to hit quality breaking stuff, but he’s holding his own in the jump to Double-A. Still, the power isn’t there for an everyday corner outfielder, meaning he’ll have to really show some value as a center fielder in order to avoid being a reserve, something he’s capable of doing.

Ryan Rua, 3B, Rangers (Frisco, AA): 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, K. Rua exploded against younger competition last season to put himself on the map, but at least some of his power development was for real. He’s playing third base now in order to find a home defensively, so the power will need to play for him to have any value. He’s probably not an everyday player, but power will always play somewhere.

Henry Owens, LHP, Red Sox (Portland, AA): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. When the fastball command is on, Owens just doesn’t get hit hard. For some guys, especially those with really good stuff, sometimes it’s just that simple.

Fight Another Day

Aaron Sanchez, RHP, Blue Jays (New Hampshire, AA): 6 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. Fastball command, you must have, my young Blue Jay.

Dominic Smith, 1B, Mets (Savannah, A-): 0-5, 2 K. Smith has easy plus raw power, but it has yet to play in full-season ball, as he’s still looking for his first home run of the season.

Franmil Reyes, OF, Padres (Fort Wayne, A-): 0-4, 3 K. The strikeout numbers are relatively high for the young slugger, but not as egregious as you might expect.

Jonathan Gray, RHP, Rockies (Tulsa, AA): 5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Gray, who has been very good in his first professional season, now has two stinkers tossed into the mix, surrounded by a number of excellent outings. Perhaps he’s just preparing himself for pitching in Colorado.

Notable Pitching Performances

  • Zach Lee, RHP, Dodgers (Albuquerque, AAA): 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K.
  • Justin Nicolino, LHP, Marlins (Jacksonville, AA): 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 4 K.
  • Ismael Guillon, LHP, Reds (Dayton, A-): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
  • Jonathan Crawford, RHP, Tigers (West Michigan, A-): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

And yes, Kris Bryant homered again.

Thank you for reading

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Schere
5/30
What's the point of leaving a guy like Kris Bryant (or Eddie Butler, or a number of others) at AA, when they're demolishing the level? If they don't want to put them in the majors now, why wouldn't they promote to AAA at least?
mschieve
5/30
From what I've read elsewhere in regards to Bryant is that the Cubs want him to play more 3B. The Cubs have a 3B at AAA, Christian Villanueva, whom from what I've read is someone they would like to have more playing time.

It might be a matter of organizational depth and development.
Muboshgu
5/30
Butler is still working on pitching to contact to get his groundball % up. Colorado Springs may not be the best place to try that out.
spsalsbery
5/30
If it's going to work in Coors, it'll work in Colorado Springs.
onegameref
5/30
You may as well keep the Bryant line open for each day and simply plug in the performance that game. He seems like he has figured out AA pitching pretty well. I hope they let him stay there the whole season and let him dabble in RF once in a while too. There is truly no reason to rush any of their prime prospects since the team is going nowhere. I think it would be fantastic if they would plan Olt everyday and platoon Valbuena with Barney instead.
specketer
5/30
Totally agree with Ref, you know what you have in Valbuena and Barney so why not play Olt every day? Especially if they want to eventually move Olt for prospects- his value is low now, play him as it can only go up.
oldbopper
5/31
Henry Owens(#108-U25) vs. Aaron Sanchez(#99-U25). After watching Owens look shaky at New Britain off the car went to Manchester to watch him again. I was enticed into the long
(2 1/2hr) drive by the fact that Sanchez was starting for the Fisher Cats, but, it turned out, not getting a single batter out in an outing that was painful to watch. Gentlemen, how often has a team scored 6 runs in an inning without a hit? Owens, OTOH, looked excellent and followed it up with another solid start.
tnt9357
5/31
http://milbprospective.mlblogs.com/2014/05/29/best-of-krisbryantfacts/

Check #KrisBryantFacts on Twitter. Among my favorites:

- Kris Bryant took batting practice yesterday. There were no survivors. (Yes, I know, a retread from MattWeitersFacts, but still tried and true)

- Sharks get together to watch Kris Bryant week.

- Death had a near Kris Bryant experience

Oh, and another fact: He hit his 17th homer tonight. He also struck out once, so clearly he still has something to "learn" at AA