Minor league report: Jones might not make it
by Marc Onigman, RotoWire
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HOT
Tyler Clippard, P, Nationals - Clippard's last three outings through Thursday for Triple-A Columbus show just two earned runs and a 15:7 K:BB over 17 2/3 innings. Whoo-bingo, the boy's alive. OK, it's not quite like Al Pacino commenting on Chris O'Donnell's description of Gabrielle Anwar in "Scent of a Woman." Actually, it's nothing like that at all. But this guy was down for the count for a long time — and he's back. If you're among the few who held him, you should get a loyalty award. You might be rewarded even more if he can sustain the comeback.
James Happ, P, Phillies - Happ struck out 13 and walked two over seven innings on Friday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He gave up one earned run and didn't factor in the decision. His six weeks thus far are a great example of how minor league won-lost records have almost nothing to do with major league fantasy baseball. He has a 55:23 K:BB over 46 1/3 innings and has a .205 BAA, .212 with runners in scoring position. Over his last four outings, he's given up two earned runs and has an 0-1 record to show for it, and this season he's 0-4 in eight starts. However, with the Phillies in first place and having decent pitching, Happ might have to stay put and wait for an injury.
Matt Wieters, C, Orioles - Wieters is hitting .429 over his last nine games through Saturday with three home runs for High-A Frederick. It seems he might have mastered High-A. He's hitting .355/.435/.618 in 110 at-bats and has eight home runs and a 21:16 K:BB. Against lefties, the switch hitter has a .933 slugging percentage. It would be odd if the Orioles left him down at High-A for much longer, despite promises that he'll stay at Frederick all year.
Jordan Zimmerman, P, Nationals - Zimmerman struck out eight and walked one over 6 2/3 innings Sunday for Double-A Harrisburg. This was his second start after being promoted from High-A Potomac. His combined stats over seven appearances (six starts) include a 0.91 WHIP, a .178 BAA, a 43:12 K:BB ratio and three home runs in 39 2/3 innings. Washington needs pitching as desperately as it needs just about everything else, so his road to the majors is more wide open than if he was in another organization. There's no truth to the rumor the Nats will be running a series of public service ads like the "Got Milk?" campaign that featured celebrities with milk moustaches. However, the team videographer's said to have film of a makeup artists applying a temporary "Got Pitching?" tattoo across GM Jim Bowden's forehead.
Terry Tiffee, 3B, Dodgers - Tiffee's hitting .439/.480/.632 at Triple-A Las Vegas. This isn't some small-sample stat, either. It's through 155 at-bats. He has 21 doubles, which projects to 75 in a 550 at-bat season. Perhaps the Dodgers should get his bat in the lineup or think about selling high on him to fill a need.
Ryan Tucker, P, Marlins - Tucker has a 0.97 ERA and 0.97 WHIP through his first eight starts (46 1/3 innings) for Double-A Carolina. It gets better. He has a .170 BAA and a 43:17 K:BB ratio, has allowed just one home run and his BAA drops to .065 with runners in scoring position. Other than a low home run rate last year, there wasn't anything about Tucker's stats that would have predicted this kind of performance. He could be heading up soon.
NOT
Chuck Haeger, P, White Sox - Haeger's having an unpleasant time at Triple-A Charlotte through Monday, starting with a 29:26 K:BB ratio over 45 2/3 innings. He's also got an ERA of 6.11, and he walked seven in a five-inning start and six in a 4 2/3-inning outing. He's given up six or more earned runs three times already, including his April 27 appearance in which he allowed nine earned runs on nine hits and six walks.
Fernando Perez, P, Rays – Perez is hitting .158 in his last 10 games for Triple-A Durham through Sunday when he went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. He's struck out 45 times in 137 at-bats and has no home runs. This projects to 181 strikeouts (and no home runs obviously) in a 550 at-bat season. He's way off in every offensive category compared to his 2007 numbers at Double-A.
Justin Masterson, P, Red Sox - Masterson walked four with no strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings Saturday for Double-A Portland. In the three starts since his April 19 10-strikeout performance in five innings, his three starts show a K:BB of 11:9 in 13 1/3 innings, with 14 hits and nine earned runs. This could be a blip, he could be hurt or he might finally be coming back to Earth after a great start to his career. He hasn't had a stretch like this in more than a year.
Kellen Kulbacki, OF, Padres - Kulbacki's 4-for-26 (.154) in eight games since being promoted to Lake Elsinore in the California League. Before moving up, he was hitting .164 in 18 games for Fort Wayne in the Midwest League. His combined line on the season is .161/.269/.264 with 14 walks and 24 strikeouts in 87 at-bats. That's disappointing production thus far, though the sample is small, and at least he's drawing walks. He should heat up in time, given his track record. Then again, there's no law that says he has to.
Garrett Jones, OF, Twins - Jones is stone cold for Triple-A Rochester through Sunday. He's hitting .132 in May and .175/.228/.307 with a 23:9 K:BB ratio overall. The strikeouts have started to pile up lately: 10 in his last 34 at-bats. He'll be 27 next month, so it's safe to say he probably won't be making the majors as a regular. More likely, he'll be released before the year is over unless the Twins need organizational depth.
The Sidney Watch
Of course he was involved in one of the more stupid brawls in recent memory. That's what makes Sidney Sidney. He claims he "didn't do nothing" during the Richie Sexson-Kason Gabbard non-event and said he was going to appeal his $500 fine so he could find out what he did to deserve it. Ponson began his inevitable decline last week, getting bombed on Mother's Day for seven hits, five walks and six earned in 5 1/3 innings. He has a 12:9 K:BB in his 25 2/3 innings overall and a preternaturally low GO:AO, so look for even worse things to happen.
Article first appeared 5/13/08
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