By Scott Barancik, Editor
Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of July 22-28, 2019:
Hitter of the Week: Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays)
1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays/Triple-A/Buffalo Bisons), who was sent down to Triple-A on July 15, made a strong case last week for returning to Toronto, hitting .429 (9-for-21) with 4 HRs, a double, 6 RBIs, and a .538 on-base percentage.
Pitcher of the Week: Noah Davis (Reds)
Noah Davis (Cincinnati) pitched 3 scoreless innings for the AZL Reds (Rookie) on July 22. On July 27, his first start with the Billings Mustangs (Rookie Advanced), Davis pitched 4 scoreless innings, yielding just 2 hits and no walks while striking out 4. Selected in the 11th round of the 2018 draft, Davis didn’t make his pro debut until a year later.
Mazel tov
- Israel’s baseball team took another step toward qualifying for the 2020 Olympics last week when it crushed Lithuania in a battle of B-Pool champions at the European Championships. Israel beat Lithuania 12-2 and 15-0 in the best-of-three series, amassing an astonishing .419 batting average along with 9 home runs and a 0.64 ERA. 1B Simon Rosenbaum (4-for-7, 2 HRs, double, 6 RBIs) led all batters, while former Kansas City Royals prospect Gabe Cramer tossed a one-hitter in Game 2. Israel’s next challenge will be the A-Pool tournament in Germany on September 7-15, where its pitching staff will be bolstered by three new arrivals who recently obtained Israeli citizenship: top Baltimore Orioles prospect Dean Kremer, and former MLB prospects Jon Moscot and Zack Weiss. The top 5 of 12 teams in that tourney will move on to the Olympic qualifiers in Italy on September 18-22. Click here if you want to contribute toward Israel’s $250,000 budget.
Other highlights
- 2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels/High-A/Inland Empire 66ers) shone in his first four games after being reassigned from Double-A, hitting .471 (8-for-17) with 4 doubles, an RBI, and a .500 OBP.
- C Scott Manea (Astros/High-A/Fayetteville Woodpeckers) hit .357 (5-for-14) with 2 doubles, 2 hit by pitches, 3 RBIs, and a .400 OBP.
- 2B Colby Schultz (Royals/High-A/Wilmington Blue Rocks) hit .350 (7-for-20) with 3 doubles, an RBI, and a .435 OBP. The highlight: three straight 2-hit games from July 26-28.
- In a week that began with a High-A rehab assignment, RF Rhett Wiseman (Nationals/Double-A/Harrisburg Senators) hit a combined .300 (6-for-20) with 3 HRs, a double, triple, hit by pitch, stolen base, and 6 RBIs.
- 2B Michael Wielansky (Astros/Single-A/Quad Cities River Bandits) hit .385 (5-for-13) with 3 doubles and an RBI.
- SS Zack Kone (Pirates/Single-A/Greensboro Grasshoppers) hit .333 (5-for-15) with a double and a .412 OBP.
- C Ryan Gold (Blue Jays/Single-A/Lansing Lugnuts) had an interesting day July 28. After spending 8 innings behind the plate, he took the mound for the first — and perhaps last — time in his four year minor-league career. Gold yielded 3 unearned runs on 2 doubles, 2 walks, and a teammate’s throwing error.
- C Andy Yerzy (Diamondbacks/A-short season/Hillsboro Hops) hit .292 (7-for-24) with a home run, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, and a .320 OBP.
- C Jakob Goldfarb* (White Sox/Great Falls Voyagers/Rookie Advanced) hit .286 (2-for-7) with his first professional home run and 2 RBIs.
- P Jeremy Bleich (Twins/Triple-A/Rochester Red Wings) made a strong debut with the Minnesota Twins’ franchise on July 27, yielding a hit and no walks over one inning while striking out 2.
- P Dean Kremer (Orioles/Double-A/Bowie Baysox) pitched 6 scoreless innings on July 24 to win his 6th straight decision. Kremer yielded 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6.
- P Kenny Rosenberg (Rays/Double-A/Montgomery Biscuits) pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball on July 25, yielding 4 hits and no walks while striking out 6 to earn his 7th decision in a row and improve his overall record to 10-1.
- P Jake Fishman (Blue Jays/Double-A/New Hampshire Fisher Cats) struck out the side on July 27 to earn his second save of the season.
- P Sam Delaplane (Mariners/Double-A/Arkansas Travelers) pitched 3 scoreless innings on July 24, yielding 2 hits and a walk while striking out one. His 0.44 ERA is #2 in the Texas League among those with at least 20 innings pitched.
- P Brandon Gold (Rockies/Double-A/Hartford Yard Goats) pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball on July 26, yielding 5 hits and no walks while striking out 6.
- P Matthew Gorst (Red Sox/Double-A/Portland Sea Dogs) pitched a perfect inning of relief on July 25, retiring the opposing team on just 10 pitches. Through no fault of his own, he took the loss.
- P Simon Rosenblum-Larson (Rays/High-A/Charlotte Stone Crabs) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings on July 25, yielding one hit and no walks while striking out 2.
- P Max Lazar (Brewers/Single-A/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) pitched 4 scoreless innings of relief on July 28 to earn his 4th win, yielding just 2 hits and no walks while striking out 2. Lazar’s 1.58 ERA is #2 in the Midwest League among those with at least 50 innings pitched.
- P Greg Leban* (Braves/Rookie Advanced/Danville Braves) pitched 2 perfect innings on July 25.
- P Justin Friedman* (White Sox/Rookie/AZL White Sox) pitched 5 innings of one-run ball on July 23, yielding 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2 and earning his third win.
- P Alex Segal* (Braves/Rookie Advanced/Danville Braves) pitched 4.1 scoreless innings across 2 games, yielding 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.
- P Josh Shapiro* (Brewers/Rookie/AZL Brewers Gold) pitched 3 scoreless innings on July 24, yielding 2 runs and a walk while striking out 3.
Transactions
- C Ryan Lavarnway (Reds) was designated for assignment by Cincinnati on July 28.
- Jakob Goldfarb (White Sox) was reassigned from the Great Falls Voyagers (Rookie Advanced) to the AZL White Sox (Rookie) on July 28.
- P Scott Effross (Cubs/Double-A/Tennessee Smokies), who had been on the disabled list since June 14, was sent to a rehab assignment with the AZL Cubs (Rookie) on July 28.
- 2B Michael Wielansky (Astros/Single-A/Quad Cities River Bandits) came off the injured list on July 27.
- P Jeremy Bleich was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Minnesota Twins on July 25. A day later, Minnesota assigned him to the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A).
- 2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels) was reassigned from the Mobile BayBears (AA) to the Inland Empire 66ers (High-A) on July 25.
- P Noah Davis (Reds) was reassigned from the AZL Reds (Rookie) to the Billings Mustangs (Rookie Advanced) on July 23.
Free agents
- Players believed to be seeking employment include Danny Valencia, RC Orlan and Brad Goldberg.
Injured list
- OF Blake Gailen (Dodgers/AAA/Oklahoma City Dodgers), since July 12.
- 2B Michael Wielansky (Astros/A/Quad Cities River Bandits), since July 5.
- P Evan Kravetz (Reds/Rookie/Greenville Reds), since July 1.
- P Ryan Sherriff (Rays/AAA/Durham Bulls).
* Players marked with an asterisk were drafted in 2019.
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.
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