WIth a full month gone in the professional baseball season, we're taking a look at the Hoos in pro ball. How are they doing and what are their chances moving forward this season and beyond.
We're now a month into baseball season, so we thought it was a good time for a quick update on the Wahoo alumni playing professional baseball. As before, we'll start with the guys in the majors and then look at the guys in the minors.
Javier Lopez, LHP, San Francisco Giants - Lopez has pitched well so far this year, mostly as a LOOGY. He's pitched in 12 games, thrown 6 IP and given up just 4 hits and 2 walks. He's struck out 2 and has allowed just one run. He has allowed just one hit in 15 ABs against lefties.
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Washington Nationals - Fans of Zimmerman and/or the Nats may be shocked to hear that Zimmerman is hurt and is on the disabled list. Zimm broke his thumb on April 12 and was initially expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He's been able to take some ground balls but word is that he can't yet grip a bat. He's likely out until the end of May. It's unfortunate for Zimm because he was raking before the injury. He was batting .345 with a .405 OBP and .636 SLG, with 2 HRs and 6 RBI.
Mark Reynolds, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers - Reynolds has been playing almost every day for the Brewers as their regular 1B. He's been doing what he normally does, hitting some HRs and striking out way too much. Batting just .224 with a .302 OBP, he does have a .500 SLG to go along with 6 HRs and 11 RBI. He has 9 walks and 31 Ks in 21 games.
Sean Doolittle, LHP, Oakland Athletics - Doolittle hasn't been great this year, although the totals don't really reflect his overall performance. He has a 5.68 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He's also struck out 15 in just 12.2 innings and hasn't walked a batter. But he's given up 15 hits. His HR/fly ball rate is abnormally high and he's given up a number of cheap hits. Both of those are likely to change and his overall numbers should drop. He's given up 8 ER and half of those came in one outing. He'll be fine.
Twitter: @whatwouldDOOdo
Brandon Guyer, OF, Tampa Bay Rays - Guyer has remained with the big club so far throughout the first month of the season. This, despite some ugly looking numbers. Guyer is batting just .136 with a .174 OBP and .182 SLG over 22 ABs. That is really bad. He's started just 4 games, and been used mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. He's a good defensive outfielder and that is what is keeping him in the majors. If he doesn't start hitting, he'll get sent down.
Twitter: @BrandonGuyer
That's it for the guys currently in the majors. Now we'll take a look at the guys in the minors. Some of these guys are likely to spend some time in the majors this season, others are still working their way up. A few are just toiling in the minors with little hope of ever playing in the majors. We'll look at these guys in alphabetical order.
David Adams, 2B, Baltimore Orioles - Playing for the Norfolk Tides, Adams has been in a month-long slump. He's batting just .197 with a .274 OBP and .364 SLG. He has 2 HRs and 5 RBI and a 22:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He'd better get his act together if he wants a call-up anytime soon.
Stephen Bruno, 2B, Chicago Cubs - Bruno began the season in AA with the Tennessee Smokies, which was a step up from last year when he played in High-A ball. So far, in 20 games he's batting just .227, but has a .348 OBP. His slugging is a paltry .320 as he has just 4 extra base hits in 75 ABs. It's early and it's a new level, so Bruno has a long leash to become acquainted with AA ball.
Twitter: @UvaBruno11
Andrew Carraway, LHP, Seattle Mariners - Carraway has improved on his AAA numbers, mostly by limiting his walks. His numbers are much better, with a 3.80 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. He's striking out more batters, allowing less walks (17:5 KK:B ratio) and generating a lot of ground balls (nearly 2.5 GB/FB ratio). Those things are important, and the numbers are pretty good for the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Andrew is 2-1 through 21.1 innings over 4 starts.
Kyle Crockett, LHP, Cleveland Indians - Crockett has done nothing to quiet the hype he's been getting. Pitching for the AA Akron RubberDucks, Crockett has 9 strikeouts and 1 walk over 9.1 innings, and hasn't given up a run. He's given up just 3 hits and has a 0.43 WHIP. Don't be surprised if he moves up to AAA soon. He'll likely be in the Indians bullpen this year.
Twitter: @CrockPott3
Jeremy Farrell, 3B, Chicago White Sox - Now with the White Sox organization, Farrell is playing in AA Birmingham and is batting .174 with a .208 OBP and .217 SLG. He's got 1 RBI, 1 BB and 9 Ks in 7 games. He's played just 7 games, so it's a small sample size, but he's struggled before in AA.
Twitter: @Jeremy_Farrell
Phil Gosselin, 2B, Atlanta Braves - Phil is back in AAA Gwinnett, and to nobody's surprise he is raking. He's batting .333 with a .381 OBP and .410 SLG. He's yet to go yard, but he has 6 doubles and 6 RBI in just 19 games. He also has 14 runs scored. The Braves are playing very well right now, so they aren't going to make any changes, but all it will take is one minor injury in the Braves' infield for Gosselin to get the call.
Reed Gragnani, 2B, Boston Red Sox - Gragnani moved up to High-A ball in Salem for this year, and so far he's been very impressive. Through 16 games, Reed is batting .365 with a .438 OBP and .492 SLG. He has 17 RBI and 13 runs scored. He also has more walks than strikeouts. If he keeps it up, he'll likely move well up in the Red Sox organizational rankings.
Twitter: @ReedGrags
Dan Grovatt, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates - Grovatt is repeating High-A ball in Bradenton and not doing any better than he was last year. He's currently batting .226 with a .281 OBP and .358 SLG through 18 games. He's got 2 HRs to go with 8 RBI. The FSL is a hitter's league, so those numbers aren't good.
John Hicks, C, Seattle Mariners - Back in AA ball for the second year, Hicks hasn't hit any more than he did last year. He's at .232 with a .295 OBP and a .268 SLG through 15 games. He has struck out 15 times in 14 games, with 5 walks. He is a good backstop, and the Mariners are high on him, but he really does need to start hitting.
Twitter: @JohnHicks08
Danny Hultzen, LHP, Seattle Mariners - Hultzen is out for the season after having Tommy John surgery.
Branden Kline, RHP, Baltimore Orioles - Kline has impressed so far early in the season. He's coming off an injury plagued 2013, but so far is holding his own after a promotion to High-A Frederick. He's 1-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings over 5 starts. His walks and Ks are both down, and his WHIP is just 1.03.
Twitter: @BrandenKline16
Jeff Lorick, LHP, Chicago Cubs - So far, a move to AA Tennessee hasn't worked out very well for Lorick. He's got an ERA of nearly 8, and while he's K'd 10 in just 10.1 innings, he's also walked 9. Gotta work on the control. A WHIP of 1.94 isn't gonna get it done.
Greg Miclat, SS, St. Louis Cardinals - Miclat spent some time in AAA last year, but the Cardinals assigned him to AA after acquiring him from the Rangers. So far, in 21 games, Miclat is batting just .156 with a .308 OBP and .172 SLG. He's drawn 13 walks, but has just 10 hits. The patience is nice, but some balls need to start falling.
Robert Morey, LHP, Marlins - Back in AA after a brief AAA cameo last year, Morey has struggled early. In 5 relief appearances totaling 9.1 innings, Morey has a 4.82 ERA with a 1.82 WHIP. He's struck out 7, but walked 5.
Twitter: @theRMorey
Matt Packer, LHP, Cleveland Indians - Packer is dealing with a minor injury and he's rehabbing it in extended spring training. Most likely, he'll start out back at AA Akron once he's healthy.
Jarrett Parker, OF, San Francisco Giants - Parker is hitting pretty will in his second go-round at AA Richmond. He's batting .282 with a .358 OBP and .435 SLG. He has 1 HR and 16 RBI. Those numbers are pretty close to what he did last year. He should get a shot at AAA before too long.
Steven Proscia, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers - Moving to the Dodgers High-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga, Proscia hasn't hit much yet. He is batting just .205, with a .284 OBP and .307 SLG. He does have 2 HRs, 12 RBI and 2 SBs in 23 games. His performance over the past couple of years gives reason to believe he'll turn it around. So does the offseason trade the Dodgers made.
Twitter: @Prosh19
Will Roberts, RHP, Cleveland Indians - Roberts basically continued where he left off in 2013, pitching for AA Akron. He has a 4.03 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP, which isn't great. But he's 3-2 in his 4 starts over 29 innings, and that isn't bad. He's inducing a lot of ground balls, and that is his game. His Ks are down and his walks are up, so it seems like once he gets his control back to where he wants it, he'll be ok.
Twitter: @WRoberts25
Scott Silverstein, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays - Pitching solely out of the pen so far this year, Silverstein has struggled. In 9 games, totaling 10.2 innings, he has a 5.91 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He does have 11 Ks and just 3 BBs so it should get better. Of his 7 ER, 4 came in one outing.
Twitter: @silvertweet29
Kenny Swab, C, Kansas City Royals - Swab was converted to a pitcher last year, and so far he's thrown 2.2 innings in Low-A ball and the results haven't been great. He's sporting a 16.88 ERA and a 2.63 WHIP. He's walked 2 and struck out zero. It's only a couple of innings, so it doesn't mean much.
Twitter: @kennswab
Chris Taylor, SS, Seattle Mariners - Taylor continues to impress the Mariners. Seeing action in AAA for the first time, Taylor is batting .364 with a .394 OBP and a .566 SLG in 24 games. He has 2 HRs, 14 RBI and 17 runs scored. He's also stolen 5 bases. The Mariner's starting SS is batting .174, and while he's an outstanding fielder, Taylor is no slouch with the glove. Most likely, Taylor will remain in the minors all year, since this is his first taste of AAA. But an injury could force the Mariner's hand and gain Taylor a call-up. He's not on the Mariner's 40-man roster, so that is one thing holding him back.
Tyler Wilson, RHP, Baltimore Orioles - Back in AA Bowie after finishing there last year, Wilson is dominating. He's 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA in 5 starts. He's striking out better than 11 batters per 9 innings and he's kept the walks down. Wilson has now thrown about 120 innings of AA ball and he's been great there. A promotion may be forthcoming. While the Orioles starting rotation isn't great, Wilson's fastest track to the majors may be out of the pen.
Cody Winiarski, RHP, Chicago White Sox - Winiarski is also back at AA after finishing last year there. He hasn't been as successful as Wilson. Working out of the pen, he's 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP in 9.1 innings. Most of that damage came in one outing, in which he gave up 5 runs and recorded just a single out. Over the rest of his outing, he's given up just 1 ER. He's struck out 14, but he's also walked 5.
Twitter: @cody_winiarski