By Scott Barancik, Editor
Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 19-25, 2017:
Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zach Borenstein*
LF Zach Borenstein* (Diamondbacks/AAA) had a tremendous week, hitting .412 (7-for-17) with 2 homers, 2 triples, 3 walks and 8 RBIs. His .533 slugging percentage is tied for 14th-best in the Pacific Coast League, and his 35 RBIs are tops among Jewish minor-leaguers.
Jewish Baseball News Pitcher of the Week: Zack Weiss
- P Zack Weiss (Reds/High-A) was nearly perfect in three relief appearances last week. Over a combined 3.2 innings, he yielded no hits and one walk while striking out 5 and earning his second victory. Weiss hadn’t pitched for 20 months when he returned to the mound May 31.
Professional debuts
Two players selected in this months’ MLB draft made their pro debuts last week:
- 2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels/rookie) went 3-for-4 with 2 stolen bases in his stellar June 24 debut.
- SS Preston Grand Pre (Dodgers/rookie) went 0-for-2 with a walk on June 24.
Season debuts
Several 2016 draftees made their 2017 debuts last week:
- C Ryan Gold (Blue Jays/rookie) went a combined 2-for-6 with 3 RBIs and 3 walks on June 22-23.
- C Andy Yerzy (Diamondbacks/rookie) hit .200 (4-for-20) with a home run, 4 RBIs and 3 walks on June 19-24.
- 1B Dalton Blumenfeld (Angels/rookie) went 0-for-3 with 2 walks on June 25.
Other highlights
- C Michael Barash (Angels/High-A) hit .462 last week (6-for-13), with 2 hits in each of the three games he played. That included the first two-homer performance of his pro career, on June 24.
- CF Braden Bishop (Mariners/High-A) hit .421 (8-for-19), and talk about consistency: he had 2 hits in each of the 4 games he played, including 2 doubles. A 3rd-round draft pick in 2015, Bishop leads the Modesto Nuts in batting average (.315), OBP (.412) and OPS (.824).
- C Adam Sonabend (Giants/A) went 3-for-10 with 2 RBIs and a walk.
- P Alex Katz* (Orioles/A) pitched 2 scoreless innings on June 25, yielding a hit and 2 walks while striking out 2. He’s held opponents scoreless in six straight relief appearances, a total of 8.2 innings.
- P R.C. Orlan* (Nationals/AA) was nearly perfect in two one-innings appearances, yielding no hits and one walk while striking out 2.
- P Joey Wagman* (Athletics/High-A) pitched a perfect inning of relief on June 23.
Transactions
- 1B Ike Davis* (Dodgers/AAA) played briefly in 2 games before returning to the disabled list.
- C Mitchell Kranson (Twins/High-A) was promoted from Single-A on June 23.
- 2017 draft pick Keith Weisenberg was assigned to the Braves’ rookie-league team.
- 2017 draft pick Sam Delaplane was assigned to the Mariners’ rookie-league team.
- 2017 draft pick Jordan Scheftz was assigned to the Indians’ rookie-league team.
- 2017 draft pick Preston Grand Pre was assigned to the Dodgers’ rookie-league team.
- 2017 draft pick Zane Gurwitz was assigned tot he Angels’ rookie-league team.
- 2017 draft pick Jacob Hoffman plans to pursue a Master’s Degree rather than play pro ball.
- 2017 draft pick Dylan Horvitz plans to attend college rather than play pro ball.
- Jewish Baseball News confirmed that Max Lazar, an 11th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers, is Jewish.
Free agents
- Players believed to be seeking employment include former major leaguer Sam Fuld* and minor leaguers Raul Jacobson and Jason Richman.
Disabled list
- P Gabe Cramer* (Royals/High-A).
- 1B Ike Davis* (Dodgers/AAA).
- P Jon Moscot (Reds/AAA). Elbow.
- P Jake Drossner (Brewers/A).
- P Rob Kaminsky (Indians/AA).
- P Mitchell Ownowitz (Red Sox/High-A).
2017 draft picks
The following players selected in this month’s amateur draft are Jewish. The list may grow as additional athletes are verified by Jewish Baseball News and our friends at Jewish Sports Review.
- Max Lazar (P), Brewers (Round 11, #324)
- Keith Weisenberg (P), Braves (14/410)
- Sam Delaplane (P), Mariners (23/693)
- Jordan Scheftz (P), Indians (23/702)
- Harrison Simon (P), Padres (24/708)
- Preston Grand Pre (SS), Dodgers (24/730)
- Zane Gurwitz (2B), Angels (26/775)
- Elliott Barzilli (3B), Marlins (32/959)
- Andy Rohloff (P), Giants (37/1116)
- Dylan Horvitz (C), White Sox (38/1137)
- Jacob Hoffman (SS), Athletics (40/1191)
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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