Minor Lines 8/15, 8/16 -- New Faces, Old Faces, and the Indomitable Ryan Kalish

After the rash of signings, we've finally got some guys showing up as Brandon Jacobs and Miles head make their professional debuts. The old faces run the gamut from a rehabbing Tim Wakefield and George Kottaras to the returning Lars Anderson and Anthony Rizzo. And then there is Ryan Kalish, who decided that, seeing as how Josh Reddick was going up to AAA and all, Portland needed a new crazy good outfielder.

8/15

Pawtucket L 1-10

Box Score
-Warning: Prepare to see 0s
Jeff Bailey: 0-4, 2 K
George Kottaras: 0-1, 2 BB, K
Dusty Brown: 0-1
Chris Carter: 0-4
Chris Duncan: 0-4
Aaron Bates: 0-3, K
Tim Wakefield: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Portland L 3-4

Box Score
Ryan Kalish: 1-3, BB
Jorge Jimenez: 1-4
Luis Exposito: 0-4, 2 K
Yamaico Navarro: 0-4, 2 K
Jason Place: 1-3, 2B, K

Salem L 1-5

Box Score
Che-Hsuan Lin: 1-4, K
Anthony Rizzo: 2-4, 2B
Tim Federowicz: 0-4
David Mailman: 1-3, K
Stephen Fife: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Greenville W 6-1

Box Score
Pete Hissey: 2-5, K, CS
-Finally coming around in August. .359/.432/.436 in the month.
Casey Kelly: 2-4, BB, K, E
Ryan Lavarnway: 2-3, BB, K
Shannon Wilkerson: 1-4, K
Will Middlebrooks: 3-4, 2B, 3B
Jeremy Hazelbaker: 0-3, BB, K

Lowell L 6-7

Box Score
Derrik Gibson: 3-4, BB, 2 SB
Ryan Westmoreland: 1-5, 2B, 2 K
Chris McGuiness: 1-4, 2B, BB, 2 K
Michael Almanzar: 1-5, K, E

GCL Red Sox L 1-2

Box Score
-Actually, nobody usually on the list played today, so I'll instead focus on a guy who hasn't been mentioned before...
Kenneth Roque: 2-4
-Roque is a 19 (soon to be 20) year old middle infielder who's played some 3rd in recent years. This is his 3rd year in the GCL after being drafted (10th round 2007) very young and raw, but is showing real offensive ability for the first time in his career. So let's make some room for late bloomers. In 99 at bats, Roque is batting .323/.412/.545 with an 18:15 K:BB ratio. If it weren't for the last number, it'd be easy to pass on it as a bit of SSS luck. But the low K-rate compared to previous years and the increased discipline are always a good sign. The 5 triples, though, have me wondering if the slugging percentage is at all maintainable.

 

8/16

Pawtucket L 1-2

Box Score
Josh Reddick: 0-3, BB, K, PO
Jeff Bailey: 0-3, BB
Chris Carter: 1-4, 2B, 2 K
Aaron Bates: 1-4, 2B, K
Dusty Brown: 0-2, 2 BB
Chris Duncan: 0-1
Michael Bowden: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
-Solid

Portland L 4-5

Box Score
Ryan Kalish: 3-4, 3B, HR
-After hitting 1 homer between May and June in 150 at bats, Kalish has hit 9 since the beginning of July, including 5 in the first half of August alone. That's a very good sign that the power stroke that suddenly appeared at the beginning of the year (though he was always thought capable of it) has returned as he's adjusted to Portland and, honestly, started dominating the league. 1.105 OPS in August dominating. He's certainly re-asserted himself in the Red Sox' future plans.
Jorge Jimenez: 1-3
Lars Anderson: 1-4
-1st games in a while. Hopefully that's a suggestion that he's been playing injured as compared to just getting injured early in August. Anything for an explanation of the year, right?
Yamaico Navarro: 0-4, E
-Looking like all those Greenville hitters not named "Rizzo" post-promotion. But if there's anything this year has taught us, it's that it takes some time to adjust to AA ball.
Jason Place: 1-3, K, E

Salem L 2-7

Box Score
Che-Hsuan Lin: 1-4, K, A
Anthony Rizzo: 0-3, BB
Tim Federowicz: 2-4, 2B, K
-Finally showing some production after the hot start in Salem (1.192 OPS in 26 June ABs). Sure, .286/.314/.388 isn't pretty. Neither is the 7:1 K:BB ratio. But at least it's something.
David Mailman: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K

Greenville W 4-3

Box Score
Pete Hissey: 1-4, 2 K, CS, A
Casey Kelly: 0-3, BB, 2 K
Ryan Lavarnway: 2-4, HR, 2 K
-He's gotta work on the K rate, and he's gotta work on the defense. But at some point a guy batting .288/.361/.541 has to see better pitching.
Shannon Wilkerson: 0-3, K
Will Middlebrooks: 2-3, 3B
-Bouncing back from a 1-18 slump by going 5-7 with a double and 2 triples in his last 2 games. In that poor stretch, he struck out 10 times, as compared to 3 times in his 28 other August ABs.
Stolmy Pimentel: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Lowell L 2-4

Box Score
Derrik Gibson: 0-4
Ryan Westmoreland: 0-3, K
Chris McGuiness: 1-4, 2B, K
Alex Wilson: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB
-By far his worst appearance on the year.

GCL Red Sox W 11-6

Box Score
Ken Roque: 2-5, K
Miles Head: 0-1
Boss Moanaroa: 2-3, 2 BB
Seth Schwindenhammer: 3-4, 2B, BB
-5 game hitting streak, which is notable given the .196 average on the year.
Brandon Jacobs: 2-5, 2 K
-42 yards on 8 attempts. 1 reception for 10 yards. TD