By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 14-20, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Braden Bishop CF Braden Bishop (Mariners/AA) hit .458 (11-for-24) with a home run, 5 doubles, 4 RBIs and 2 walks. Since being promoted to Double-A on July 22, the 23-year-old is hitting .358 with…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler was 2-for-10 with his 20th double, three walks, and a stolen base as the Detroit Tigers (54-69) dropped two of three to the visiting LA Dodgers (87-35). Despite the token handshake with umpire Angel Hernandez, as well being fined by Major League Baseball, Kinsler stood by his comments that Hernandez might do…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Back from a great trip to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where I spoke about my Hank Greenberg book. But, my, what a lousy night for the trio of MOTs who appeared yesterday (plus one as a defensive replacement). As they frequently say about games at Wrigley Field in Chicago,…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Poor showing by the boys. The only hit came off the bat of Kevin Pillar as the Toronto Blue Jays (57-61) beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1. As for the others: Ian Kinsler returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game (sore hand). But he was ejected in the fifth inning after going…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Scott Feldman returned to action, as it were, when he started for the Cincinnati Reds (49-69) on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers (61-59). Feldman pitched just four innings, giving up three runs on a walk and seven hits including a home run. On the plus side, he also struck out six. Feldman…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 7-13, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zach Borenstein* LF Zach Borenstein* (Diamondbacks/AAA) hit .458 (11-for-24) with 4 HRs, 2 doubles, a triple and 12 RBIs last week. All 4 HRs and 11 of his RBIs came during a incredible two-game…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar was 1-for-3 and drove in the third run of the game for the Toronto Blue Jays (54-60) in a 4-0 shutout over the visiting NY Yankees. Ryan Braun singled twice in four trips to the plate as the Milwaukee Brewers (59-58) lost to the visiting Minnesota Twins, 7-2. Alex Bregman split time…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor On the day the Detroit Tigers (52-61) placed Ian Kinsler on revocable waivers, the stalwart second baseman had his best game in a while, becoming the third MOT in the last week or so to just miss a cycle. He hit his 11th home run (solo), 19th double (to drive in three), and…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Welcome to the club: Max Fried made his Major League debut last night, tossing the final two innings (scoreless!) in the Atlanta Braves’ 5-2 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. He walked two (one intentionally) and gave up two hits while striking out one. Mazel tov, Max! Alex Bregman had a two-out, game-tying, three-run…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Three days after his improbable call-up from Double-A, Atlanta Braves prospect Max Fried made his MLB debut tonight, pitching two scoreless innings of relief in a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies (see game stream). In so doing, he became the 12th Jewish player in the Majors this season and only…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor A very light night for baseball, with only two of the boys in action. Ryan Braun, batting second these days, had his best showing in awhile with two singles, a double (#16), and a run scored, but the Minnesota Twins overcame a 4-1 deficit to beat the Milwaukee Brewers (59-55), 5-4….
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of July 31-August 6, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Blake Gailen* LF Blake Gailen* (Dodgers/AA) had a career game on August 5, going 3-for-5 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs. It was his second two-homer game since being signing with Los Angeles out…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar was 3-for-9 in two games (he missed Friday’s opener) with two runs scored as the Toronto Blue Jays (52-59) lost two of three to the host Houston Astros (71-40). Alex Bregman had one hit in each game, all for extra bases: his 13th home run on Friday, 28th double on Saturday, and…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Max Fried, a 23-year-old pitcher picked 7th overall in the 2012 draft, was called up today by the Atlanta Braves. Fried’s call-up is nothing less than surprising. The 6’4″ southpaw missed most of 2014 and all of 2015 with injuries and Tommy John surgery, and he didn’t exceed Single-A ball until this season, when…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Congrats to Ian Kinsler. He became the fifth MOT to reach 10 home runs this year, thanks to a leadoff shot to start the game. He also walked and scored another run in four plate appearances as the Detroit Tigers (50-57) beat the host Baltimore Orioles (53-55), 7-5. It was the fifth time…
By Ethel Hilsenroth, contributor It’s August, and Richard Bleier‘s ERA this season is 1.56. That’s after pitching in 31 games for the Baltimore Orioles. A total of 40.1 innings. How special is that? Well, to put it in perspective, not one other American League pitcher who has pitched 40 or more innings this season has as low…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun singled and doubled in four at-bats, but the Milwaukee Brewers (56-53) came up short in a 5-4 decision to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. Ian Kinsler scored one of two runs the Detroit Tigers (49-57) plated to shut out the host NY Yankees, 2-0. Kinsler was 1-for-4 in the game, which endured multiple…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor August already? Where did the time go? Alex Bregman cracked home run #12, a solo shot, and drove in another run, but the Houston Astros (69-37) still lost to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 6-4. Ryan Braun was 1-for-4 and drove in the first run of the game on a ground out to…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor So despite all the rumors, none of the MOTs moved prior to the non-waiver trade deadline yesterday at 4 p.m. Brad Goldberg had the best outing of his young Major League career, getting his ERA under 10 thanks to two innings of scoreless relief in which he gave up one hit, walked…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of July 24-30, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Jake Thomas LF Jake Thomas (Blue Jays/High-A) hit .389 (7-for-18) with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs and 5 walks last week. His .436 on-base percentage ranks 8th-best among all minor leaguers this season. Jewish Baseball News…
