Lights Out Pitching

The Asheville Tourists pitching in the second half of the season has been lights out. Three games played against the Augusta Greenjackets and only two earned runs allowed. The Tourists used five pitchers last night to shutout the Greenjackets for the second time in three games, 4-0. Alex Blalog started and went five innings, allowed three hits, struck out five and walked two; Jeffri Hernandez pitched one inning, two hits and a walk; Matt Carasiti went 1 1/3 with two walks, Dylan Stamey went 1 1/3 alowing a hit, a walk, and struck out two, and Trent Daniel came on to get the final out of the game with two men on for his 7th save on the season. The Asheville Tourists stole four bases on the game, two by Raimel Tapia, and both of his steals led to runs scored. The Tourists opened up the top of the first inning by manufacturing a run. Tapia was hit by a pitch, stole second, and Ryan McMahon singled him in. The second inning saw Second Baseman Alec Mehrten doubled and scored on a Emerson Jiminez triple. The Tourists put two insurance runs up in the eighth inning as David Dahl singled, was wild pitched to third, Tapia singled him in, a walk, Tapia steals third, an error by Augusta's third baseman, and Tapia scored the second run of the inning. The Tourists have done an excellent job of putting pressure on the other teams defense by showing a willingness to run with several of their players as six Tourists players have double digits in steals led by Max White's 15 against only one caught stealing. None of these players are going to lead the league in steals but knowing when to run is an important factor and having six players on the team that can run, keeps constant pressure on the defense provided they can get on base.

Off To A Great Start

The Asheville Tourists improved to 2-0 in the second half last night with a 4-3 win over the Augusta Greenjackets. The Tourists only managed 6 hits in the game and Third Baseman Ryan McMahon was the hitting star going 2 for 4 with two doubles and a Run Batted In. Four Asheville Tourists pitchers combined to scatter nine hits. Antonio Senzatela got the start and he went 4 1/3 innings and allowed two runs, Andrew Brown came in and pitched 2 2/3 innings in middle relief and gave up one unearned run and got credit for the win (3-0), and Matt Carasiti and Trent Daniel came on to pitch a scoreless inning a piece. Trent Daniel got his 6th save on the season. Tourists batters struggled a little bit at the plate, striking out thirteen times. Catcher Jose Brecino is quickly developing a reputation in the South Atlantic League for his willingness to throw to any base at any time to try to keep the opposing teams runners honest. He picked a Greenjackets runner off Third Base last night. Pitcher Andrew Brown also helped his own cause by picking a runner off second base.

A Wild Pitch Win

It is rare enough that the Asheville Tourists are involved in a 1-0 game, but how they won it makes it that much more rare. Michael Benjamin singled to Short to lead off the ninth inning, one of only six Asheville hits. He was wild pitched to Second and Third by Augusta reliever Daniel Slania. With two outs and Benjamin on Third, Augusta replaced Slania with Donald Snelten. Snelten threw Augusta's third wild pitch of the inning and Benjamin came home with what proved to be the winning, and only, run of the game. Asheville starter Zach Jemiola pitched probably his best game of the season, going 6 2/3 innings, scattering six singles, walked three, and struck out two. Reliever Troy Neiman pitched 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief and only walked one and got credit for the win (4-1).

First Game Of The Season

I finally got to go to my first Asheville Tourist game of the season tonight. The woman I am dating is not a big baseball fan (why am I dating her?) so my opportunities to attend have been rare. The Tourists and the Rome Braves made sure I did not overstay my welcome as they completed a 9 inning game in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Rome won 4-2 as Asheville could only muster 5 hits and their 2 runs came on two solo homeruns by Second Baseman Michael Benjamin. Rome starter Daniel Watts kept Tourists batters off balance by mixing in a high 80's fastball and a slow curve. He struck out 8 in 7 innings, only allowing 3 of the hits and one run. Third Baseman Ryan McMahon had two hits, a single and a double, and Ramiel Tapia had the only other hit, a single in the 9th inning. Tourist starter Konner Wade pitched a strong game, giving up 4 runs in 7 innings. He only made two mistakes on solo homeruns by Blake Brown and Victor Caratini. Rome manufactured a run in the top of the First on an infield single, a wild pitch, a ground out and another single. The other run scored on a fly ball that was lost in the sun by Left Fielder Max White. I did get to see the strangest double play I think I have ever seen at a game. Rome Catcher Victor Caratini was on First Base when batter Jacob Schrader swung at a pitch in the dirt for strike three. Tourist Catcher Jose Briceno kept the ball in front of him but Schrader kicked the ball away from him and Caratini advanced to second as a result of that. Caratini was called out because of batter interference and the Tourists had a double play although it was not called that in the box score. Two outs on one pitch equals double play. Jose Briceno had a great game behind the plate as he threw out a runner at second on a steal attempt and picked off Carlos Franco twice at first base.

It All Begins With The Asheville Tourists

I was browsing thru the Colorado Rockies Top Prospects List this morning (according to ColoradoRockies.com) and and I noticed that 9 out of the top 10 Rockies prospects had spent time with the Asheville Tourists. In fact, all but about 4 or 5 of the Top 20 had passed thru Asheville. There are several that have made it to AAA Colorado Springs including former 2009 First Round Draft Pick and #11 overall, Left-handed pitcher Tyler Matzek. He is listed as the Rockies #12 overall prospect. He had two different stints in Asheville in 2010-11 and compiled a 10-5 record in 30 starts for the Tourists. He has made it to AAA Colorado Springs and is 1-0 in 4 starts with a solid ERA. He has spent his entire minor league career as a starter but it seems that his future with the Rockies might be coming out of the bullpen from the reports that I have read. The Rockies had him coming out of the bullpen with moderate success in the Arizona Fall League. Control has always been Matzek's problem with a career walk of average of over 5 per 9 innings. Left-Handed pitchers, relievers or starters, are a hot commodity in major league baseball and if you have the ability to get left-handed batters out, you can usually work your way onto a major league roster somewhere. Even though it seems like he has been around in the Rockies system forever, Matzek is only 23 years old and he is only one step and figuring out the strike zone away from realizing every kid's dream of playing in the major leagues. It all started with the Asheville Tourists.

Dan's Asheville Tourists Blog: How Long Will They Stay?

Dan's Asheville Tourists Blog: How Long Will They Stay?: The problem with being a "Low A" baseball team is that if a team has any top prospects at thisd level, then they will probably not...

How Long Will They Stay?

The problem with being a "Low A" baseball team is that if a team has any top prospects at thisd level, then they will probably not be there for a season if they even last that long. Such is the case with one of the Colorado Rockies top prospects, Ryan McMahon. He has 8 homeruns and 15 RBI's in 60 at bats and 18 games with the Tourists although their schedule has been very home heavy to start the season. Starter Johendi Jiminian is off to a great start with a 3-1 record and a 1.27 ERA. The Asheville Tourists are not off to as great a start with only a 9-10 record but they are only 2 1/2 games out of first in the Southern Division in the South Atlantic League. The Colorado Rockies bypass Asheville when it comes to sending them their top prospects. A lot of bad habits can be developed in McCormick Field because of the short dimensions. Pitchers become afraid to pitch inside because those inside fastballs can quickly be turned around and the power hitters start trying to pull everything to take advantage of those short dimensions. When I saw the Asheville Tourists Opening Day Roster for 2014 I was not that impressed with the credentials of their pitching staff. A lot of Free Agent signees at this level of baseball are ordinarily roster fillers and what most organizations like to refer to as "organizational depth." The Asheville Tourists have a team ERA of 4.03 which is about a half run ahead of last years pace. Maybe there is something to be said for orgnizational depth after all.