Fishing For Mudcats: "I expect nothing, and got it"

From the Bait Shop:

Here is part two of this week’s ‘Fishing With Mudcats,’ focusing on games from Tuesday August 7^th through Monday August 13^th.

Where We Stand After Week #19:

Second Half Record: 26-25 (4-3 the past week, 58-62 Overall), 3rd Place in the Southern Division second half

Week #19 Games:

August 2012

7 @ Salem, W 6-2 (WP: M. Rayl; LP: B. Workman)   

8 @ Salem, L 6-7 (WP: P. Ruiz; LP: G. Sides)

9 @ Salem, W 3-2 (WP: J. Reichenbach; LP: A. Jones)

10 @ Lynchburg, L 3-6 (WP: R. Weber; LP: J. Cooper)

11 @ Lynchburg, L 3-7 (WP: M. Lee; LP: J. Johnson; SV: J. Jaime)

12 @ Lynchburg, W 5-0 (WP: M. Rayl; LP: A. Northcraft)

13 vs. Frederick, W 9-5 (WP: J. Reichenbach; LP: M. Bywater)

Week #19 Transaction:

08/08/2012 Activated RHP Fabio Martinez.

08/10/2012 Placed CF Carlos Moncrief on the 7-Day disabled list. Sprained right wrist.

The Offense:

Week #19

Player	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Alex Monsalve	14	1	5	1	0	0	2	1	2	0.357
Anthony Gallas	26	2	3	1	1	0	1	0	7	0.115
Bo Greenwell	27	2	5	0	0	0	1	2	6	0.185
Carlos Moncrief	11	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	5	0.182
Delvi Cid	19	2	7	2	0	0	2	0	7	0.368
Dwight Childs	13	2	4	2	0	0	5	1	3	0.308
Giovanny Urshela	29	6	14	5	0	3	6	1	2	0.483
Jesus Aguilar	25	3	4	0	0	1	5	1	6	0.160
Ronny Rodriguez	23	7	5	1	0	3	5	1	3	0.217
Todd Hankins	14	1	1	0	0	1	2	1	7	0.071
Tony Wolters	28	3	7	1	0	1	3	0	6	0.250
Tyler Cannon	17	6	5	1	0	0	2	2	8	0.294
Totals	246	35	62	15	1	9	34	10	62	0.252

The Good…

This team was carried offensively by one guy, and probably not the guy that would first jump to mind when thinking about the offense for the Carolina Mudcats. That player is Giovanny Urshela, who was just unconscious this week, and may have had his best week offensively during his entire career. His 17 hits were tops by seven hits on the week. He led the team in RBI, homers, doubles, and was second in runs. In other words, he had a crazy good week. You’ve likely heard me talking about Urshela this season as a comer, as the third baseman has really turned on the offense, making strides with his approach at the plate.

Delvi Cid is a popgun, but his job isn’t to do anything but get on base, and figure out a way to get home. Cid got on base plenty with his hitting, but didn’t walk once, and struck out seven times. Now, anything you get out of Cid offensively is a plus normally, but this season, he’s found his bat after injury really sapped most of his past two seasons. He’s not an impact player, but he is a guy that can set the table.

In the same book with Urshela is Alex Monsalve. Monsalve was busy having a relatively big season in Lake County before getting promoted in July. He hasn’t made much of an impact yet, until this past week. I’m not sure how Monsalve’s offense will transfer to the upper levels, but he learns quick, and that can overcome some deficiencies.

…the Bad and the Ugly…

Anthony Gallas continues to play like garbage on offense. If you don’t think his job is in jeopardy, you are kidding yourself. He’s a local kid, and can hit the baseball, but it’s getting more difficult as he moves up the ladder. If he moves up next year, I’d be surprised. You can check out most of his numbers over the past month or so with regards to the next guy on this list…

Jesus Aguilar has his site set on a bigger prize, and that’s Akron. With that said, he’s been absolutely struggling at the dish. Since July 2^nd, Aguilar’s average has dropped from .312 to .277, with a slash line of .221/.326/.354, and a really bad .680 OPS. To put his average in perspective over that stretch, he’s tied with Gallas with the .221 average, they both have 17 runs, but Gallas has six more doubles, and three more RBI. This isn’t a slight on Gallas, but you would hope that Aguilar has better numbers than a kid that the Indians picked up because he wasn’t drafted. News is circulating that Aguilar is getting the call-up, and it’s an interesting time for it to happen, as he’s struggled for over a month, including this past week.

Todd Hankins is still feeling his way around the Mudcats and the Carolina League, so I hesitate to even put him here. My expectations are that he’ll have his month or two of figuring the league out, then roll into 2013 with regular expectations, and the type of play that we saw of him in Lake County. A big-time prospect, he’s not, but he, like Delvi Cid, provides a vast amount of speed. As a middle infielder though,  he has the barricade of Tony Wolters and Ronny Rodriguez ahead of him, so his options are pretty limited. He has played some left in Carolina, but they’ve mostly been DHing him with the big bats away.

The Pitching:

Week #19

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Cole Cook	3	2	2	1	1	1	0	3.00
Fabio Martinez	2	2	2	1	1	2	0	4.50
Francisco Jimenez	4	6	2	2	4	2	0	4.50
Grant Sides (BS, 1)(L, 2-1)	2.667	5	3	3	3	5	0	10.12
J.D. Reichenbach (W, 5-5)	4.667	1	0	0	1	3	0	0.00
Jeff Johnson (L, 0-1)	4	4	3	3	2	6	1	6.75
Jordan Cooper (L, 6-6)	6	5	3	3	2	4	1	4.50
Kyle Blair	2	1	1	1	2	1	0	4.50
Michael Goodnight	8.333	11	9	7	7	10	0	7.56
Mike Rayl (W, 9-8)	11	9	2	1	6	8	1	0.82
Rob Nixon (H, 1)	6	6	0	0	1	6	0	0.00
Will Roberts	7	7	2	2	1	6	0	2.57
Totals	60.667	59	29	24	31	54	3	3.56
Starters	36.333	38	18	15	20	30	2	3.72
Relievers	24.334	21	11	9	11	24	1	3.33

The Good…

Mike Rayl continues to be one of the best pitchers in the system over the past two weeks. The lefty collected two more wins, and really dominated on the hill, but not in a flame-throwing sort. Rayl is a finesse lefty, and while he does throw in the nineties, it’s never going to be confused for the type of gas that can get folks out. What he can do is log a bunch of innings, and stay in ballgames. He’ll get torched on occasion, but as he learns to curtail that, and if he can stay with the level of ballplayers at each step on his path, he could provide value in a major league setting going forward. He does walk a few too many, as his K/BB ratio in his two starts was 8/6, and he also hit three batters. But, the flip side is that he only gave up nine hits in his 11 innings. Regardless, you have to like pitchers that get better as the summer progresses.

Rob Nixon was promoted in mid-July, and promptly got shelled to the tune of 18 earned runs in his first six games over 11 1/3 innings. Then came this week, and he finally righted the ship. Nixon isn’t a name that pops out on the list of dominating relievers, but his past two three inning gems should let everyone know that he’s not the guy with an 18.78 ERA either.

J.D. Reichenbach is a guy that’s just struggled for most of the season. He’s had stretches of good with the bad, but overall, it’s been a tough road, with no real consistency. This week may have been his best back to back outings of the season, and he was nearly perfect. He’s one of the system fill guys, and he’s not a top five guy in this bullpen, but he has ability, just not consistency.

…the Bad and the Ugly…

I do believe that Grant Sides is the best bullpen arm in Carolina, but boy, he didn’t show it off this week. He got lynched in his first appearance, giving up three earned, and this coming off a three appearance stretch in which he had given up four runs. He did rebound with a nice one-inning, no-hit performance, but he has given up two big innings since July 27^th, which is something to put away for future reference.

Michael Goodnight hasn’t been very good since a July first, and it’s getting to the point that you have to consider the kid for what he is…a middling low minors pitcher. The hope is that he can somehow become something similar to Rayl, but he hasn’t put any stretch together at this level that would make you think he can. Of course, players can figure things out, so the book is still out on him, but it’s getting ready to go to press.

Week #19 Awards:

Hitter of Week #19: Giovanny Urshela

Pitcher of Week #19: Mike Rayl

Player of Week 19: Giovanny Urshela

The Archives:

Hitter of Week 1: Tyler Holt

Hitter of Week 2: Jesus Aguilar

Hitter of Week 3: Jake Lowery

Hitter of Week 4: Giovanny Urshela

Hitter of Week 5: Jesus Aguilar

Hitter of Week 6: Ronny Rodriguez

Hitter of Week 7: Tyler Holt

Hitter of Week 8: Tony Wolters

Hitter of Week 9: Jesus Aguilar

Hitter of Week 10: Tyler Cannon

Hitter of the First Half: Jesus Aguilar

Hitter of Week 12: Jesus Aguilar

Hitter of Week 13: Jesus Aguilar

Hitter of Week 14: Tony Wolters

Hitter of Week 15: Bo Greenwell

Hitter of Week 16: Carlos Moncrief

Hitter of Week 17: Delvi Cid

Hitter of Week #18: Tony Wolters

 

Pitcher of Week 1: Cody Allen

Pitcher of Week 2: T.J. House

Pitcher of Week 3: Mike Rayl

Pitcher of Week 4: Shawn Armstrong

Pitcher of Week 5: Dale Dickerson

Pitcher of Week 6: Francisco Jimenez

Pitcher of Week 7: Shawn Armstrong

Pitcher of Week 8: Kyle Petter

Pitcher of Week 9: Kyle Blair

Pitcher of Week 10: Tyler Sturdevant

Pitcher of the First Half: Shawn Armstrong

Pitcher of Week 12: Grant Sides

Pitcher of Week 13: Michael Goodnight

Pitcher of Week 14: Mike Rayl

Pitcher of Week 15: Matt Packer

Pitcher of Week 16: Danny Salazar

Pitcher of Week 17: Michael Goodnight

Pitcher of Week #18: Mike Rayl

 

Player of Week 1: Cody Allen

Player of Week 2: T.J. House

Player of Week 3: Jake Lowery

Player of Week 4: Shawn Armstrong

Player of Week 5: Jesus Aguilar

Player of Week 6: Francisco Jimenez

Player of Week 7: Tyler Holt

Player of Week 8: Tony Wolters

Player of Week 9: Jesus Aguilar

Player of Week 10: Tyler Cannon

MVP of the First Half: Jesus Aguilar

Player of Week 12: Jesus Aguilar

Player of Week 13: Jesus Aguilar

Player of Week 14: Mike Rayl

Player of Week 15: Mike Greenwell

Player of Week 16: Carlos Moncrief

Player of Week 17: Delvi Cid

Player of Week 18: Mike Rayl

Here Comes Week #19:

August

 

14 vs. Frederick

 15 vs. Frederick

 16 @ Myrtle Beach

 17 @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05 PM 

18 @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05 PM 

19 @ Myrtle Beach, 6:05 PM

20 @ Potomac, 7:05 PM

The View Astern:

Jesus Aguilar’s time in Carolina is apparently done, as the rumblings are out that he’s getting the call-up. While he’s struggling mightily at the dish right now, overall, Aguilar possesses the type of game that Cleveland fans are hungry for. He’s a big, right-handed bat, that can launch moon shots. His time in Akron will be one that is closely scrutinized, as most scouts that have only seen him once or twice are saying he’s a limited bat. I’ve seen him more than a couple of times, and while I’m not schooled as much as these guys are (and I say that somewhat sarcastically), I can say that he’s development is ahead of what the Indians likely thought with regards to pitch selection. He does still struggle with certain pitches, but I think he has the wherewithal and patience to overcome it. I think this kid’s ceiling is an all-star, major league player, while some others would likely say it’s a bit below. Either way, Aguilar is heading to Ohio, where I think we’ll see him for a good, long time.

Have a beautiful weekend everybody…

Jim is currently the co-site editor, the ATF/Carolina Mudcats/Indians/General Site Columnist, and the co-host of IPI's weekly online radio show, Smoke Signals. You can follow Jim on Twitter @Jim_IPI, or contact him via e-mail at jpete@indiansprospectinsider.com.