Who’s Hot

Dilson Herrera – St. Lucie

Herrera has been on fire. Acquired from the Pirates last season in the trade that sent Marlon Byrd and John Buck to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the young infielder from Columbia is hitting… and hitting… and hitting. He’s currently on a seven game hitting streak during which he’s gone 16 for 33 (.485 batting average) and has hit in 11 of his last 12 games. Since May 9th, he’s gone 25 for 55 (.455 average) while scoring nine runs, collecting five doubles, two home runs, five RBI, and four stolen bases. He is leading the Florida State league with 66 base hits. He has also lifted his batting average on the season to .328 (7th in the league) and his 35 runs scored is second in the league.

T.J. Rivera – St. Lucie

Rivera is certainly not taking a back seat to his teammate Dilson. T.J. saw a 9 game hitting streak snapped on May 21st. During the streak, he collected 13 hits in 38 at bats (.342 batting average) while scoring seven runs and driving in seven. His 65 base hits are second only to Dilson’s in the Florida State League and his .371 batting average on the season is tops in the league by a wide margin. His .406 OBP is good for 5th in the league, his OPS of .921 is 4th, and his 29 runs scored is 8th.

Brandon Nimmo – St. Lucie

Nimmo is the third head of the 3 headed offensive juggernaut in St. Lucie. While certainly not slighting the numbers that Herrera and Rivera are putting up, Nimmo has truly been an on base machine and next to impossible to get out. Nimmo has hit in seven of his last eight games, going 10 for 26 (.385 batting average) and since May 14th, he has collected one double, three triples, three RBI, 10 walks, two stolen bases, has a .556 OBP and an OPS of 1.210. Nimmo is leading the Florida State League with a .477 OBP, leads the league with 42 runs scored, is 5th with 57 hits, 2nd with four triples, is 3rd in batting at .337, and leads the league with a .932 OPS.

Jeff McNeil – Savannah

The bats haven’t only been hot in Florida. Jeff McNeil is currently riding a 13 game hitting streak that began on May 3rd. During the streak, he has gone 22 for 52 (.423 batting average) with eight runs scored, four doubles, and five RBI. He has raised his season average up to .342, good for 6th in the South Atlantic League. His 50 base hits on the season is good for 4th and his 11 stolen bases is tied for 8th. The 2013 12th round pick is showing his can swing the stick, nicely building upon his 2013 season at Kingsport where he hit .329 in 47 games.

L.J. Mazzilli – Savannah

After a slow start, Mazzilli and 2013 4th round selection has started to find his groove. He has hit in seven of his last eight games, during which he’s gone 11 for 26 (.423 batting average) raising his season average to .255. During his recent stretch, he’s scored seven runs, hit four doubles, a home run, driven in four run, and walked seven times for a .545 OBP.

Kevin McGowan – Savannah

While the bats have been hot, so has McGowan. In his last two starts, he’s pitched 13 innings, allowing just 5 hits, 4 walks, and zero runs for an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 0.69. On the season, he has a 2-1 record. In 7 starts, he’s pitched 39 innings, allowed 26 hits, 16 walks, and struck out 33. He’s pitched to an ERA of 1.85 with a WHIP of 1.08. On the season, opposing batters are hitting just .187 against him.

Who’s Not 

Jake Kuebler – St. Lucie

Originally drafted as a corner infielder out of high school in the 17th round of the 2008 draft, Kuebler spent five seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization before changing positions and organizations prior to the 2013 season. He’s pitched three times out of the pen this past week, and it’s been a rough go. In 3.1 innings of work, he’s allowed nine hits, walked seven batters, struck out five, and allowed six runs (all earned) for a 16.20 ERA and 4.80 WHIP. On the season, he’s appeared in 13 games, with a 5.14 ERA in 21 innings. Opposing hitters are batting .330 off him on the season.

Stefan Sabol – Savannah

Sabol has struggled during his three year minor league career and has seen his batting average dip from .241 in 2012 to .203 in 2013 and he’s currently in the midst of a deep slump and is on the Who’s Not list for the second straight week. Since May 12th, he’s batting just .040 (1 for 25) which has dropped his season average to .190.

(Photo Credit: David Conde/MMN)