By Scott Barancik, Editor

Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 28 – September 3, 2017:

gurwitz rookie mug

Gurwitz

Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zane Gurwitz

2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels/rookie), a 2017 draftee, hit .500 (8-for-16) with 2 HRs, 7 RBIs and a walk last week. His .386 average is tops among all Arizona Rookie League players with at least 90 plate appearances.

Weiss

Weiss

Jewish Baseball News Pitcher of the Week: Zack Weiss

  • P Zack Weiss (Reds/AA) pitched 4 no-hit innings across 2 appearances last week, yielding just one walk while striking out 7 batters. Since his promotion to Double-A, Weiss is 2-4 with a 3.00 ERA, 9 saves in 12 chances, and 37 strikeouts in 27 innings. He gives up an average of 1.19 walks/hits per inning.

Awards and other recognition

  • Braden Bishop (Mariners/AA) has been selected to play in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, where many franchises send their top prospects for additional competition and seasoning. MLB.com ranks him Seattle’s #6 prospect.
  • Max Fried (Cubs) has been selected to play in the Arizona Fall League. Given his growing inning count, however — he currently is pitching in the Majors — it’s unclear whether he will end up playing during the offseason.
  • Tyler Krieger (Indians/AA), who played for Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic but does not identity exclusively as Jewish, has been selected play in the Arizona Fall League.
  • C Andy Yerzy (Diamondbacks/rookie), ranked Arizona’s #24 prospect by MLB.com, was the subject of two articles about his improved performance (Baseball America, MiLB.com). A 6-foor-3-inch tall catcher, he is hitting .295 with 11 HRs (#7 in the Pioneer Rookie League) and 41 RBIs (#12/tied).

Other highlights

  • LF Zach Borenstein* (Diamondbacks/AAA) hit .320 with 2 home runs, 2 triples, 8 RBIs and 2 walks last week. He’s hitting .280 this season, with 24 HRs, 7 triples, 26 doubles and a .928 OPS. Fingers crossed that he gets a call-up this month.
  • CF Blake Gailen* (Dodgers/AA) hit .400 (8-for-20) with 4 RBIs, 4 walks and one stolen base.
  • SS Scotty Burcham* (Rockies/High-A) hit .357 with 2 doubles.
  • 2B Adam Walton (Diamonbacks/A) hit .462 (6-for-13) with 2 doubles, 4 RBIs and a walk.
  • C Ryan Gold (Blue Jays/rookie) hit .500 (4-for-8) in the first two games of the Appalachian Rookie League playoffs, including a home run, double, 3 RBIs and a walk.
  • OF Justin Cohen (Marlins/rookie) hit .333 (3-for-9). After hitting just .091 in June and .042 in July, Cohen hit .360 in August.
  • P Robert Stock (Reds/AA) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings across 2 games, yielding no hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 and earning a win. Since his promotion to Double-A, Stock is 8-2 with a 2.98 ERA.
  • P Troy Neiman* (Rockies/AA) pitched a perfect inning of relief on September 1, yielding no hits or walks while striking out one.
  • P Spencer Kulman (Padres/High-A), a 2017 draftee, performed well in his first two appearances in High-A, tossing 2 scoreless innings on 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2. On San Diego’s rookie-league team, Kulman was 1-0 with a 1.21 ERA and 4 saves in 5 chances, holding opposing batters to a .160 batting average.
  • P Jared Lakind* (Marlins/High-A) pitched well in his first game since being promoted to High-A, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings on one hit, no walks and a strikeout on September 2.
  • P Scott Effross (Cubs/High-A) pitched 3 scoreless innings across 2 games, yielding a hit and a walk while striking out 3. In the past 10 games, Effross is 0-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 5 saves.
  • P Marc Huberman (Cubs/High-A) pitched a perfect inning on August 31, yielding no hits or walks while striking out one batter.
  • Last week, we neglected to mention a rather notable achievement by P Jake Fishman (Blue Jays/A). In an August 26 relief appearance, Fishman struck out 7 batters in 2 innings, a rare feat. The first batter he fanned did so on a wild pitch and made it safely to first base.
  • P Sam Delaplane (Mariners/rookie), a 2017 draftee, pitched 2 scoreless innings on August 31, yielding one hit and one walk while striking out 3 and earning his second win of the season. Delaplane is averaging 13.65 strikeouts per nine innings, #3 among all Arizona Rookie League pitchers with 30-plus innings.
  • P Matthew Gorst (Red Sox/High-A) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings across 2 games, yielding 2 hits and 2 walks while fanning 2.
  • P Mitchell Osnowitz (Red Sox/A-short-season) pitched 3 scoreless innings on September 1, yielding one hit and 2 walks while striking out 4.
  • P Kenny Koplove (Marlins/A-short-season) pitched a scoreless inning on August 30, giving up no hits and one walk.
  • P Max Lazar (Brewers/rookie), a 2017 draftee, pitched 2 scoreless innings on August 29, yielding a walk and a hit while striking out 3.
  • P Jordan Scheftz (Indians/rookie), a 2017 draftee, pitched 3 scoreless innings across 2 games, yielding 3 hits and no walks while striking out 2.
  • P Ike Davis* (Dodgers/rookie) pitched a scoreless inning on August 31, giving up one hit and no walks while striking out one. It was the first baseman’s sixth consecutive scoreless appearance since moving to the pitcher’s mound on August 6.

Transactions

  • P Max Fried (Braves) was called up by the Atlanta Braves on September 1 and made his first Major League start on September 3, earning a win over the Chicago Cubs.
  • C Michael Barash (Angels/AA) was promoted from High-A to Double-A on September 1.
  • LF Mike Meyers (Red Sox/AA) was promoted from High-A to Double-A on August 30.
  • P Jared Lakind (Marlins/High-A) was promoted from Single-A to High-A on August 31.
  • P Spencer Kulman (Padres, High-A), a 2017 draftee, was promoted from rookie ball to High-A on September 1.
  • P Kenny Rosenberg (Rays/A) was activated from the temporary inactive list on August 28.

Free agents

  • Players believed to be seeking employment include minor leaguers Corey Baker*, Zack Thornton* and Elliott Barzilli.
  • Two knowledgeable sources in the baseball world — an MLB agent and a sportswriter — tell Jewish Baseball News that former major leaguer Sam Fuld* has decided to hang up his spikes. Persistent injuries have diminished Super Sam’s ability to play full out, the only way he knows how.

Disabled list

Note to readers: Minor-League Monday does not include stats for all current Jewish minor-leaguers. Click here for a complete list of players, and then click on a player’s name to be taken to his stat page.

Members of Team Israel’s 2017 squad are marked with an asterisk.

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