10 (Brandon Laird; Austin Romine; Jose Pirela; Brett Marshall; Slade Heathcott)

Minor Leagues Report — By Tom K on September 5, 2010 9:25 pm

Scranton:

Cody Ransom showed the Yankees why they should have never dumped him, hitting a 10th inning bomb to lead Lehigh Valley to a 2-1 victory over Scranton.

Brandon Laird went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, his 101th run batted in of the season.

Juan Miranda & Chad Huffman also each chipped in two hits to the losing effort.

Lance Pendleton started, pitching seven innings while allowing one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out four (2-1, 4.24 ERA, 34 IP, 29 H, 12 BB, 22 K)

27-year old reliever Eric Wordekemper threw two scoreless innings of relief and has had a decent season in the minors (5-0, 3.00 ERA, 47 games, 66 IP, 57 H, 17 BB, 64 K, 7 HR). He isn’t a prospect by any stretch, but he is the type you may find in a small market bullpen in a year or two.

Jesus Montero did not play. And no, I don’t think it is because he is on his way to the Bronx. ———————————————————————————- Trenton:

A 4-1 loss for Trenton as they too were unable to do much offensively.

Austin Romine went 1-for-3 (.266/.323/.392; .286/.302/.429 in his last ten games). He has hit better recently. Perhaps he has caught a bit of a second wind, though he obviously is not producing nearly as well as he did early in the season.

24-year old Cory Abriso made the start, tossing six innings of three-run, eight-ht ball. He walked 22 and struck out 49 in falling to 5-5 with a 4.38 ERA (84.1 IP, 100 H, 22 BB, 49 K, 9 HR, 1.70 GO/AO). He is going to be one of those useful organization filler types who the Yankees can just throw wherever they need an arm. ———————————————————————————– Tampa:

A 4-3 loss for Tampa today.

Jose Pirela went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Bradley Suttle went 1-for-4 with a run batted in in the loss. Suttle is at .272/.340/.411 with 33 doubles, 10 home runs, and 80 runs batted in. He also has a little speed, putting up a 12-for-14 line stealing bases. He is a 24-year old switch-hitting third baseman.

Brett Marshall, who was shredding hitters while at Charleston, made the start for Tampa tonight, going four innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked nobody and struck out six. In 16 games (15 starts) this season, he is 4-2 with a 2.57 ERA (84 IP, 63 H, 26 BB, 70 K, 1.55 GO/AO). This kid has fallen behind a bit due to injury, but he is still young (20) and still has a lot of talent in his right arm. He just needs to throw for a full season to see if he can get through it without succumbing to an injury.

Chase Whitley, who was the closer in Staten Island, made his Tampa debut, throwing a scoreless inning. He is 4-2 with a 1.27 ERA (35.1 IP, 18 H, 15 BB, 45 K). With Whitley and Claiborne (who took the loss tonight) both being promoted from Staten Island to Tampa, one wonders if Thomas Kahlne is far behind. The playoffs will be starting soon (Staten Island will not make it), so it is possible they will give him some time in Tampa to close the season. Charleston is also not going to make it. ——————————————————————————— Charleston:

Slade Heathcott went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored, a walk and a stolen base while Richard Martinez threw five effective innings in his Charleston debut in a 3-2 victory.

Martinez (22) went 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA for Staten Island before his promotion to Charleston. He hasn’t really done anything overwhelming since joining the Yankees organization in 2005, but has pitched well this year at least.

Heathcott is at .259/.362/.352 in 293 at-bats. He has 42 walks, 99 strikeouts, and is 15-for-25 stealing bases. ———————————————————————————- Staten Island:

A 7-4 loss vs. Vermont today.

Gary Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Cito Culver went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk. Sanchez is hitting .278/.333/.426 since joining Staten Island (54 at-bats). Culver is hitting .186 in 43 at-bats.