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MMN Recap: Justin Dunn Pitches Well to Back Offense

By Dilip Sridhar

July 17, 2018 No comments

Justin Dunn, Photo By Ernest Dove

Salt Lake (49-46) 10, Las Vegas (45-50) 5  Box Score

Kaczmarski continues to slap a ton of singles in that thin Vegas air, but it is nonetheless nice to see him hitting well after barely playing for three weeks. McNeil got two more hits including his fifth triple of the year, and he now has a ridiculous 1.157 OPS this month. Alonso returned from the Futures Game, and unfortunately put up an 0-for despite a couple strong games before he left as well as a monster home run in the Futures Game. He didn’t strike out, however, which is a decent silver lining considering that his strikeout rate has greatly rose since his promotion to Las Vegas. He’s still batting a very strong .276/.405/.532 between both levels combined.

  • LHP P.J. Conlon (L, 3-6, 7.09 ERA): 4.2 IP, 10 H, 9 H, 9 R, 6 BB, 4 K
  • LHP Kyle Regnault (2-1, 5.66 ERA): 1.1 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 2 K
  • RHP Kevin McGowan (4-2, 4.44 ERA): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 0 K
  • RHP Drew Smith (5-1, 2.76 ERA): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Conlon had put together three straight quality starts before his ugly showing last night. He’s had a few nice starts here and there but he’s failed to put together any kind of consistent good stretch yet. He struggled with the pinpoint control that makes him successful, only throwing 50 of his 93 pitches for strikes while walking six and not getting through the fifth inning. McGowan, who has been fine overall, pitched a scoreless seventh before Smith continued his excellent season with a scoreless ninth.

Binghamton (44-48) 16, Portland (36-56) 2 Box Score

  • Levi Michael 3B: 2-for-5, Run, HR, 3 RBI, .299/.383/.475
  • Champ Stuart CF: 3-for-4, 3 Runs, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K, .132/.281/.264

Levi Michael continues to be Binghamton’s best player. He might have a stint in Las Vegas following some impending roster shake ups. Champ Stuart‘s slash is reminiscent to Jose Reyes‘ but it’s nice to see him have a game like this. The speedy center fielder is doing his third straight tour at Binghamton. Tim Tebow extended his hitting streak to 12 games after getting a hit in this one. Don’t be surprised, be ready.

Tomas Nido homered and knocked in three while Jhoan Urena had four hits,

Dunn continued his fine pitching this season. After 48 walks in 98.1 innings last year, he has 31 in 90.1 innings this year. It’s still on the higher side but it is a drastic improvement for the righty. Ryan has had three straight scoreless appearances. He struggled briefly but looks to have found his form once again. Nogosek had his first scoreless appearance in Binghamton and his first appearance without a walk.

Fort Myers (39-54) 7, St. Lucie (27-54) 4 Box Score

Gimenez returned to the lineup after his cameo in the Futures Game. He his hitting .395 in the last 10 games and has hit in all 10 of those games. It would appear his June struggles are over him and he is back to being the Gimenez we’ve come used to.

  • RHP Joe Cavallaro (1-1, 5.40 ERA): 4 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
  • RHP Trey Cobb 2.2 IP, H, ER, BB, 4 K
  • RHP Stephen Villines (2-0, 0.79 ERA): 1.1 IP, H, 2 K

Cavallaro was not good in his second start in St. Lucie. He is still registering strikeouts which is a good sign for the Mets farmhand. Villines has been the king of FIP this season. His strikeout-to-walk ratio – 67 K/8 BB – is insane and his funky delivery makes him fun to watch.

Lakewood (56-37) 12, Columbia (45-46) 6 Box Score

Lot of offense, not much pitching. Triberi had two multi-hit games on the day. He is hitting .265/.380/.357 on the season. The lack of power isn’t a shocker since he is in the Sally league. I would think it’s worth moving him up soon. He’s in a positional logjam though, perhaps things will shake up after a Cabrera trade.

“We need to teach him some control before he kills someone”– The manager in Major League. Chris Viall is a version of Rick Vaughn. His stuff is really good but his command prevents him from taking the next step. I would still give him a shot in the rotation but he could also be an electric reliever if the Mets go that route.

Columbia (45-45) 2, Lakewood (55-37) 0 Box Score

  • Blake Tiberi 2B: 2-for-3, Run, K
  • Zach Rheams RF: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI

In five games at Columbia, Rheams is hitting .357/.526/.857. He has some real power but he does swing an miss a lot. Surprisingly, he only has one strikeout at Columbia while he had eight in six games at Kingsport.

Rennie was out of affiliated baseball from 2015 until now. He re-surfaced a few weeks ago and has been pretty good for Columbia early on. Rennie had a shot with the complete game but with a runner on third and the tying run up, Hernandez came in to seal the deal.

Williamsport (12-17) 4, Brooklyn (16-14) 2 Box Score

Dirocie’s strikeouts have been much better this season than last year. Even after his promotion, he has been able to limit them. He has legitimate power and could be an interesting prospect if he maintains this newfound plate discipline.

Campusano is a little older for someone signed in the 2016 IFA period but he has been decent before a poor beginning to his NYPL career. Lozer has faced 52 batters this season and has struck out 19 of them.

Kingsport (14-11) 14, Elizabethton (16-9) 4 Box Score

This Kingsport lineup is so laughably good. There’s not enough room to even mention guys like Jarred Kelenic and Mark Vientos. Vientos doubled and walked. He has been so-so since returning from being hit by a pitch. Kelenic surprisingly did not record a hit on his nineteenth birthday, thought he did walk and steal his 7th base. Santana has been just flat out great in Kingsport. He was seen as a breakout candidate and alas, he has been great. Newton has legit power. He does swing and miss some but his eye and power combination will make him someone to keep track of. Beracierta has been great and has found some more power.

Pitching hasn’t been Kingsport’s forte so far. They have some talented arms down there but clearly their offense is what people want to see on most nights.

DSL Cubs2 (14-22) 1, DSL Mets2 (17-20) 0 Box Score

This game ended early due to rain. The DSL Mets were alas no-hit but managed five walks. The DSL Cubs pitchers did a good job of paying homage to Johan Santana.

Tough draw for someone when the opponent throws a no-hitter.

Las Vegas portion of recap done by Mojo Hill.