Class AAA Indianapolis: Bryan Bullington and John Van Benschoten now have virtually identical stat lines - about 50 innings each, with about 30 strikeouts, 20 walks, and a 2.90 ERA - and as much as I like to make fun of Jim Tracy for being a moron, those aren't the sort of stat lines that force the management to consider you for a big-league rotation position. After Brian Bixler and Yurendell DeCaster, the rest of the Indianapolis roster has been unimpressive as well.
Class AA Altoona: Steve Pearce's home-run pace has slowed down since his promotion, but he's suddenly started drawing walks - actually, a lot of them - and he's now hitting .286/.375/.486. His walk spree started almost immediately after I called him out for not walking in my last minor league post. It's a coincidence - I don't have any delusions of relevance. Neil Walker's solid season continues, as does Andrew McCutchen's horrible one. He's still hitting just .196, and it's not just an April hangover - he's hit .214 in his last ten games. Every single pitcher of interest at Altoona is walking too many batters. If those problems are addressed in the next couple weeks, then I'll start pretending I matter. Anyway, the Curve has lost eight games in a row.
Class A+ Lynchburg: James Boone has only gotten better since his arrival from Hickory; he's now hitting .364/.400/.606 after hitting his seventh homer of the season last night. Might another quick promotion be in the offing? James Delaney, too, is hitting very well, at .358/.434/.541. Jamie Romak's .208/.424/.417 stat line is just weird, and it'll be totally unsustainable at higher levels. Either the batting average will increase or, more likely, the OBP will come way down. It's hard to think, offhand, of big-league players who had seasons with OBPs that good and averages that bad - Gene Tenace, maybe? Anyway, none of Lynchburg's pitchers are all that interesting except Todd Redmond, and he got hammered in his last start.
Class A Hickory: Unless you've got a thing for relief prospects, this bunch is boooorrrring.