By Scott Stedman – AngelsWin.com Prospect Reporter
Salt Lake Bees:
The Bees fell behind 6-1 in the 4th inning and couldn’t recover, losing the game 8-2. 25 year old Reliever Jeremy Berg had a terrific outing, going 2.1 perfect innings, striking out four. David Carpenter, who got a long look in Spring Training with the big boys also had a flawless inning of work, showing a very strong change up. In other news, Mike Trout is a machine. 2 more hits for the New Jersey native, who wore gold and black cleats, full of awesomeness. Those 2 knocks put him at .538 on the season with 1 stolen base thus far. No need to rush him, I don’t mind watching Bobby Abreu in left field having fly balls drop a couple feet in front of him. Veteran Jorge Cantu, who played second base tonight, picked up his first 2 hits of the year. Crafty lefty Brad Mills will go for the Bees in a day game.
Arkansas Travelers:
The Travelers also picked up a loss, after the bullpen could not nail down a 5-2 lead. Ariel Pena started the game, and had a very shaky first inning, walking a batter and giving up 2 hits. After that rough frame however, he allowed just 1 hit in 4 more innings. He was in line for the win, but a few sloppy relief appearances squashed that chance for Ariel. Jean Segura had an awesome day at the plate, going 2-4 with an opposite field big fly in the 4th inning. Later, he added a stolen base and a double to raise his season average to .400. Outfielder Matt Long also turned in a productive day at the plate, going 2-4 and providing versatility in the outfield for first year manager with the Travs’, Mike Micucci. Tomorrow, Orangel Arenas will start for Arkansas.
Inland Empire 66ers:
The 66ers suffered their first loss of the new season, dropping the series finale 5-4. Catcher Jett Bandy led the offensive effort against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, going 2-3 with a home run, a double and a base on balls. The Angels are being extremely aggressive in promoting Bandy from the Arizona League to A+ ball, and so far it is working out. First rounder CJ Cron collected his first extra base hit of the season, a double, but went just 1-4 playing first base. Nick Maronde, 2011 3rd rounder got the start and tossed 4 beautiful innings for Inland Empire. The left-handed Maronde struck out 5 hitters and walked just one. Not much else to report from San Bernardino, but they hope to turn it around on Sunday, starting Max Russell.
Cedar Rapids Kernels:
The Kernels were let down by their bullpen on Saturday and lost a rough one to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 7-6. 21 year old Ryan Crowley started for the Kernels and did a very good job. The 6’3″ lefty went 4 innings, striking out 6 and just allowing 1 run. A flurry of relievers followed Crowley, but none were very effective. The most interesting of the bunch was 20 year old Dominican lefty Eswarlin Jimenez. Jimenez tossed 1.1 innings and gave up a run, but his stuff was impressive. The lefty featured a fastball in the low 90s, a big slow curve, and a sharp change up. Look for Jimenez to have a monster year in the pitcher friendly league. Offensively, shortstop Trevor Hairgrove and center fielder Chevy Clarke stole the show, with a pair of 3-4 performances. Hairgrove had a double and a home run in his first start of the young season. Last year, the shortstop out of UC Riverside hit .254 for the Rookie Ball Orem Owlz. Chevy Clarke dazzled in every way possible on the sunny Saturday midday game. At the plate, he went 3-4 with a double. In the field, he made a pair of running plays in the outfield. And on the bases, he stole 2 bases showcasing his blazing speed. Chevy worked very hard in the off season and is primed for a huge breakout year for the Kernels.
Prospect of the day:
CF Chevy ClarkeAdd The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
