By Scott Stedman - AngelsWin.com Minor League Reporter
Salt Lake - The Bees were whooped up on by the Las Vegas 51s, 10-1. First baseman Efren Navarro continues to shine, however. He went 3-4, just a home run shy of the cycle. When he was drafted in the 50th round in 2006, did anyone think he would be in a prime position to be in the big leagues just 5 years later? Defensive wizard Andrew Romine has been swinging a hot stick of late. He collected 2 more hits Wednesday and bumped his average to .447 in his last 10 games. In relief, Horacio Ramirez and Michael Kohn each worked a scoreless inning.
Arkansas - Rough game for the Travs as they struggled offensively today and dropped it, 5-2. Fringe - type outfield prospect Roberto Lopez went 2-4 with a double. No one else had more than 1 hit. Reliever turned starter Christian Scholl had another great game. He went 7 innings, 2 runs, 6 strikeouts. His ERA sits at a cool 2.24. David "I like the number 0" Carpenter kept his ERA at 0.00 with another shutout inning. That's 17 scoreless innings and counting for Carpenter since being moved up to AA ball.
Inland Empire - Not much to report out of IE as the 66ers lost 6-1. 24 year old outfielder/first baseman Eric Oliver went 2-4, and was the only player with multiple hits. Randal Grichuk, Travis Witherspoon and Carlos Ramirez all went 1-4 on the night.
Cedar Rapids - The Kernels were beaten by the Clinton LumberKings, 7-3. Catcher Francis Larson racked up 3 more hits and moved his average up to .364 while in CR. This is strange because the Midwest league is referred to as a tough hitters league, but Larson seems to have a beat on it. Third baseman Brian Hernandez, who has bounced around from the AZL all the way to IE has finally found a home in Cedar Rapids. Today he went 2-4 with an inside the park home run, his 2nd home run with the Kernels.
Orem - The Owlz played a well-rounded game on Wednesday, and won 6-3. Frazier Hall has arguably been Orem's most consistent hitter from day 1. His 2 hits today raised his average to .374, and his OPS to just a click below the 1.000 mark. Shortstop Trevor Hairgrove went 1-3 with a grand slam. He was drafted out of UC Riverside in the 18th round in this years draft. Juan "Junior" Carlin just keeps throwing up zeros for the Owlz out of the 'pen. With his 2 scoreless innings today, he improved his ERA to 1.80 with a very good 29 strike outs to just 7 walks in 25 innings.
AZL Angels - The Angels killed the DBacks 12-0 in the AZL this morning. 22 year old starter Lay Batista went 7 scoreless, striking out 6. His ERA now sits at 3.92. Jean Segura, who is still rehabbing, went 2-5 and is now hitting over .400... Yeah I'd say he's healthy. Outfielders Chevy Clarke and Brennen Gowens both had 2 hits. Catcher Jett Bandy went 3-4 with 2 doubles, raising his season average to .308. He is having a very solid year in the Arizona League.
DSL Angels - Off
Prospect of the day: Efren Navarro/David Carpenter
