10 (Jesus Montero; Brandon Laird; Austin Romine; Marcos Vechionacci)

Minor Leagues Report — By Tom K on June 19, 2010 9:48 pm

Scranton:

Wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus Montero is going on a bit of a power surge?

Montero went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run, while Eduardo Nunez added two hits (including a double) and a run batted in…but it wasn’t enough as Scranton lost, 5-4.

Montero’s home run was his fourth of the season, and he now has nine extra base hits in his last 10 games played. After struggling mightily for weeks, he finally has his slugging percentage back up over .400 (.402) and he has 15 hits in his last 10 games.

Nunez just keeps motoring along, and is all the way up to .322 on the season. He is hitting .410 in his last ten games.

On the mound, Mark Melancon pitched well in relief, going two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out three. Melancon has had some struggles this season, but it will be interesting to see what the Yankees do if he gets on a roll. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last five appearances, though I think in one of those appearances he gave up some inherited runs. ————————————————————

Trenton:

Brandon Laird hit his organization leading 15th home run of the season, but Trenton’s furious late comeback was all for naught in a 10-9 loss. Trenton scored two runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth to tie the game at 9, only to lose it in the tenth.

Laird has been pretty much all or nothing as of late. He only has four hits in his last seven games, but three of them have been home runs. He is hitting .293 with 15 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs and 64 RBI.

Austin Romine, mired in a 3-for-34 slump entering the game, went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. He is now hitting .288.

The rejunivated Marcos Vechionacci contributed a 3-for-4 night with a home run, two RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. He is now all the way up to .301 on the season, thanks in part to a .424 number in his last 10 games. In June, he is hitting .442/.539/.628. Probably nothing more than a random hot streak, but wouldn’t it be fun if he has finally tapped into all of the potential he once had? Luis Nunez (23, IF) went 2-for-4 with a walk in the loss to raise his line to .252/.298/.401 on the season. He has seven hits in his last three games.

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Tampa:

Andrew Brackman has been rolling along over his last several starts, but tonight he put up a clunker as Tampa lost, 5-1. Brackman lasted only five innings, giving up five runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. He allowed two home runs.

The outing rose his ERA back above 5.00 on the season (5.10). In 60 innings this year, he has allowed 67 hits while walking nine and striking out 56. He has allowed five home runs.

Pat Venditte pitched the final three innings, allowing no runs on three hits. He walked nobody and struck out six. He has a 2.23 ERA in 20 games, striking out 48 in 36.1 innings. He has also allowed only one home run while walking nine. I think he should be promoted after Trenton’s All-Star break at the latest.

At the plate, Corban Joseph went 2-for-4 with two doubles to raise his average to .303. He has 17 doubles and four home runs in 244 at-bats.

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Charleston:

Slade Heathcott continues to hit, going 2-for-5 today with a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base…but it wasn’t enough as Charleston lost an 11-6 slugfest.

Heathcott is now hitting .313 with six steals in seven attempts. He has three doubles, a triple, six walks and 15 strikeouts in 64 at-bats.

Fellow teenager JR Murphy also contributed two hits to the losing effort. He drove in a run, scored two, and drew a walk of his own. He raised his average to .242.

Jimmy Paredes (21, SS) went 3-for-6 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored. He is hitting .280 on the season and .342 in his last ten games. After a slow start to the season (.236/.263/.303 in April), Paredes has really turned it on: .313/.339/.416 in May and .273/.324/.379 in June. Not bad for a young, developing shortstop.