By Scott Barancik, Editor
Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of May 8-14, 2017:
Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Rowdy Tellez
- 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays/AAA) began the week with a four-game hitting streak, during which he hit .375 (6-for-16) with 3 doubles, 6 RBIs, 2 walks (one of them intentional) and his first stolen base of the season.
Jewish Baseball News Pitcher of the Week: Corey Baker
- P Corey Baker (Cardinals/AA) pitched a total of 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up 5 hits but zero walks while striking out 2. So far this year, the Team Israel alum is 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA and is 2-for-2 in save opportunities.
Other highlights
- Coming off the disabled list, 1B Ike Davis (Dodgers/AAA) hit .307 (4-for-13) last week with a home run and 3 RBIs.
- C Mitchell Kranson (Twins/High-A) went 4-for-5 on May 12 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. The 2016 draftee (9th round) ranks among the leaders of his Cedar Rapids Kernels team in doubles (10/2nd), average (.292/3rd), on-base percentage (.348/3rd), RBIs (15/4th-tied) and slugging (.462/5th).
- LF Jake Thomas (Blue Jays/A) had hits in all three games he played last week, raising his hitting streak to seven games. The 2015 draftee (27th round) has an incredible .545 on-base percentage, tops among all minor leaguers with at least 80 plate appearances; the next highest rate is .488. One blogger recently commented that Thomas’s on-base percentage would “make Wade Boggs blush.”
- P Gabe Cramer (Royals/High-A) wasn’t perfect in his lone appearance last week, a 3-inning stint on May 10. An undrafted free agent signed out of Stanford, Cramer yielded an earned run on 2 hits and a walk. But pitching alongside Team Israel teammate Jake Kalish, Cramer struck out 8 of the 9 players he retired and earned the win. The only player to drive in a run off him? Nationals prospect Rhett Wiseman, who also struck out against Cramer.
- P Scott Effross (Cubs/High-A) pitched 3.1 scoreless innings over two appearances, yielding 2 hits and a walk while striking out 4.
- P Troy Neiman (Rockies/AA) didn’t fare terribly well in his Double-A debut on April 9, yielding 2 earned runs over one inning for a plump 18.00 ERA. Since then, the Team Israel alum has trimmed his ERA to a slim 3.10. Over a combined 3.2 innings last week, Neiman yielded one earned run.
Transactions
- P Richard Bleier (Orioles) was called-up from Triple-A for the second time this season.
- 1B Ike Davis (Dodgers/AAA) came off the disabled list.
- P Brandon Gold (Rockies/A) came off the disabled list.
- The independent-league Joliet Slammers released former minor leaguer Steven Pollakov.
- Former minor leaguer Mike Schwartz re-signed with the independent Joliet Slammers, joining fellow Jewish ex-minor leaguers Sean Bierman and Nate Irving on the roster.
Free agents
- Players actively seeking employment include former major leaguer Sam Fuld and minor leaguers Michael Fagan, Alec Grosser, Henry Hirsch, Raul Jacobson, Kenny Koplove, Steven Pollakov and Zack Thornton. An MLB.com reporter recently predicted the St. Louis Cardinals would “take a flyer on rehabbing free-agent Sam Fuld to fortify their outfield depth.”
Disabled list
- P Jon Moscot (Reds/AAA). Elbow.
- P Zack Weiss (Reds/AA). Elbow.
- P Jake Drossner (Brewers/A).
- P Rob Kaminsky (Indians/AA).
- P Joey Wagman (Oakland/High-A).
- C Tim Remes (Tigers/High-A).
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