Farm Fresh 2043, Vol. 4
July 14-August 3
Carolina Flight, AAA
Chicago’s AAA affiliate went 20-9 for the month, emerging as a solid post-season contender in the GL East Coast Division after weeks of looking like little more than a mediocre also-ran.
Unfortunately, one of the catalysts of that run – 1B Aarnoud Budding, who was demoted from the Black Sox after an abysmal start to the season – has been recalled to the big-league club. Budding, in fact, won the Granville Sub-League’s Player of the Week award twice in a row in mid-July, capping things off with a.667 average (14-for-21), 4 home runs, 14 RBIs and 8 runs scored for the week ending July 26.
Now, the question is whether the Flight can stay hot without him.
The Flight also lost another key contributor in late July – closer Gilberto Cordero, who was called up to the Sox after RP Juan Alfonso was dealt to Long Beach as part of a package for LF Pedro Ávila.
Carolina has an able replacement in hand for Cordero, though. Ike Kocher was called up from AA Beloit to take Cordero’s spot, and has responded by going 1-0 with 5 saves and a 1.29 ERA in 6 appearances.
Now, as of Aug. 3, Carolina sits at 69-45, good for second place in their division, 1 game behind the Brooklyn Bombers. The Flight are in the driver’s seat for the wild card spot, though: they lead their closest competitor (Havana) by 9 games.
But with 5 weeks left in the schedule, even a 9-game advantage is anything but safe.
That means Carolina will need to figure out how to stay on a winning track without Aarnoud Budding, and hope that Kocher can stay hot.
It all adds up to this: It’s crunch time, baby.
Record as of Aug. 3
W-L Record for July: 20-9, .690
Overall Record: 69-45, .605
Position in Division: In 2nd place in the GL East Coast Division, 1 game behind Brooklyn.
Position in Wild Card: In 1st place, 9 games ahead of Havana.
Position Players of Interest
| Player | Slash Line | RC/27 | WOBA | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robby Clements**, DH | .313/.364/.519 | 6.9 | .381 | 12 | 41 | 1.1 |
| Emilio Lugo, 1B | .256/.365/.520 | 6.6 | .380 | 17 | 55 | 1.2 |
| José Silva, 2B* | .290/.377/.398 | 5.5 | .343 | 0 | 13 | 0.8 |
| Jeffrey Cote, 3B | .229/.332/.328 | 3.5 | .298 | 6 | 44 | 0.4 |
| Shannon Morrison, SS | .254/.322/.366 | 3.8 | .307 | 6 | 40 | 2.1 |
| Danny Bennett, DH | .253/.337/.494 | 6.0 | .356 | 14 | 57 | 1.5 |
| Ricardo Torres***, RF | .239/.327/.425 | 4.9 | .326 | 16 | 49 | 1.2 |
| Spencer Hillson****, C | .263/.378/.404 | 6.2 | .352 | 6 | 29 | 2.7 |
**Promoted to Chicago on June 9
*** Traded to Long Beach on July 14
****Sprained knee on July 30, out for 4 weeks
Pitchers of Interest
| Pitcher | ERA | W-L-SV | IP | K's | BB's | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romeu Tameiro, SP | 2.57 | 16-4-0 | 143.2 | 99 | 27 | 4.7 |
| Gilberto Cordero*, CL | 2.03 | 1-2-27 | 44.1 | 34 | 12 | 1.2 |
| Ike Kocher, CL | 1.29 | 1-0-5 | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0.1 |
Beloit Blue Sox, AA
Chicago’s AA affiliate has vaulted back over Columbus into first place for the time being, but the cushion is a scant two games.
And with just about 4 weeks left in the schedule, there’s little room for error.
Of course, Beloit has made a habit in recent years of making the post-season and is just two years removed from its first-ever Warren Cox League championship.
But, of course, there’s little holdover on the roster from even last year’s division championship club, but manager Javier Montero does have one thing going for him: many of this year’s Beloit players were on the Grand Junction Gold Sox team that won last season’s Single A championship.
“Whether they were with us last year or not, these guys are all used to winning – and used to the pressure of a pennant race,” Montero said. “That can only help!”
With a tight division race and an even more competitive wild card scramble (Frederick, Trenton and Columbus are all bunched within 2 games of each other), the Sox will need every edge they can get.
Buckle up, Beloit fans. It promises to be a wild ride!
Record as of Aug. 3
W-L Record for July: 19-10, .655
Overall Record: 73-40, .646
Position in Standings: In 1st place in the DNL Mid-Central Division, 2 games ahead of Columbus.
Position Players of Interest
| Player | Slash Line | RC/27 | WOBA | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mashashi Fujihara, SS | .262/.394/.383 | 5.7 | .357 | 5 | 37 | 3.4 |
| Franciso Rosales, 1B | .305/.391/.612 | 8.9 | .434 | 33 | 86 | 4.4 |
| Pitcher | ERA | W-L-SV | IP | K's | BB's | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John McClain, SP | 2.62 | 12-5-0 | 130.2 | 112 | 47 | 3.8 |
| Andresa Frederico*, SP | 1.48 | 2-1-0 | 48.2 | 58 | 21 | 1.9 |
| Pat Pederson, SP | 3.80 | 8-4-0 | 113.2 | 158 | 97 | 2.5 |
| Ike Kocher**, CL | 3.30 | 1-6-18 | 30.0 | 23 | 10 | 1.5 |
**Sprained elbow on 5-20, out for 4-5 weeks; promoted to AAA Carolina on July 14.
Grand Junction Gold Sox, Single A
At 60-53 on the season, the team is now under-performing its Pythagorean record of expected wins and losses by a full 11 games. Despite a run differential of +154, the Gold Sox are trailing Topeka by 3 games in the division standings and are an all-but hopeless 12 games back in the Wild Card hunt.
With just 27 games remaining on their schedule, the Sox need Lady Luck to shine on them – finally – for the first time this season.
If she doesn’t, Grand Junction could miss the playoffs completely after making the postseason for the past 3 consecutive seasons and just one year after winning the Charley Pegler League championship.
Needless to say, Sox management would not be pleased with that result.
Record as of August 3
W-L Record for July: 12-17, .414
Overall Record: 60-53, .531
Position in Division Standings: In 2nd place in the PL West Central Division, 3 games behind Topeka.
Position in Wildcard Standings: In 3rd place, 12 games behind Hollywood.
Position Players of Interest
| Player | Slash Line | RC/27 | WOBA | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emílio Morán, 2B | .262/.365/.392 | 5.0 | .359 | 11 | 60 | 2.8 |
| Trent Murphy, 3B | .236/.366/.353 | 5.0 | .348 | 9 | 48 | 2.6 |
| Pitcher | ERA | W-L-SV | IP | K's | BB's | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Smith, SP/RP | 3.51 | 7-8-0 | 110.1 | 105 | 80 | 2.1 |
| Tomás Marrero, SP | 4.14 | 6-7-0 | 128.1 | 105 | 64 | 1.7 |
| Kerry Conner, SP/RP | 3.27 | 8-2-0 | 123.2 | 90 | 45 | 3.1 |
| Ken Marshall, RP | 4.09 | 5-3-3 | 61.2 | 66 | 36 | 0.6 |
| Jorge Rivera, SP/RP | 3.74 | 6-4-0 | 120.1 | 89 | 64 | 1.7 |
| Bernie Stuart, CL | 4.91 | 4-11-23 | 55.0 | 49 | 44 | 0.3 |
| Tony Watts, RP | 1.45 | 4-0-1 | 37.1 | 37 | 15 | 1.07 |