Dennis Raben is a Beast – AngelsWin.com Weekly Prospect Hotlist (August 11 – August 17, 2014)‏

By Adrian Noche, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter – 

Dennis Raben is playing like a man possessed out there in the California League. The hulking first baseman’s slash line currently sits at .296/./.368/.586. However, his numbers were not always this strong. On the first day of July, Raben’s slash line was an unimpressive .217/.308/.435. By the end of July, Raben was able raise his numbers to .264/.335/.504 thanks to a .350 batting average to go along with 7 home runs and 6 doubles. Somehow, Dennis has been able to make his July look like nothing compared to what he has done to the baseball in August. In 16 games this month, he is hitting .431 with 28 hits in 65 at-bats. Raben has already hit 10 home runs to go along with 1 double and 1 triple to give him an unreal .938 slugging percentage in August. Raben has what you would say, “light-tower power” from the left side of the plate and has 27 home runs on the season (T-3rd in Cal League). 

Upon being drafted, Way got off to a hot start in Rookie League Orem. His final slash line with the Owlz before being called up was .354/.397/.554. Since reaching Low-A Burlington, Way has done more of the same with the Bees. So far in 15 games with Burlington, Way has a slash line of .350/.426/.500. Way also hit his first Low-A home run on Wednesday, part of an impressive 4-hit game. The center fielder has also shown a solid glove with no errors so far for the Bees this season.

Sherman Johnson exploded with a huge week for the smoking hot 66ers. Sherman, once again, did it all and proved his versatility in the 66ers offense. As a leadoff hitter, Johnson managed to reach base a whopping 23 times. Johnson had 15 hits in 23 at bats (.652 AVG) and also walked an additional 8 times (.741 OBP). Once Johnson got on base, he was able to score 13 runs. Johnson also smacked 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 1 triple this week to go along with 8 RBIs in what should be a memorable week.

Eric Stamets’ average kept on climbing this week and is now at .241 on the season. Exactly a month ago, Stamets’ average was at a disappointing .193 on the season. Stamets has a slash line of .423/.434/.615 in 15 games so far in August. Eric’s glove is said to be enough to get him to the Major League’s alone and now a solid hit tool can distinguish Eric from being an everyday player or a defensive specialist.

Tyler DeLoach has handled his promotion to Double-A about as well as you could have hoped. In three starts for the Travelers, DeLoach has won twice and has held opposing hitters to a .169 batting average. Tyler’s strikeout numbers have remained strong as well, as he boasts a K/9 of 12.2. The southpaw’s most recent start on Friday was a good one. DeLoach struck out 9 batters in 7.0 innings pitched and only gave up 1 hit and 2 walks. 

Despite going 5-2 this week, the Salt Lake Bees were officially eliminated from the playoffs. Their current standings has them with a record of 54-75. Roberto Lopez collected 9 hits in 25 at-bats this week, one being his 11th home run of the season. Newly acquired Ryan Wheeler has started off hot with his new team. Wheeler has batted .340 in 13 games with the Bees. Wade Leblanc won both his starts this week, giving up a combined 2 earned runs in 13 innings pitched while striking out 12 and walking 2. Cam Bedrosian notched his first AAA save on Sunday, giving up 1 earned run in 1.0 inning pitched.

The Travs went 2-4 this week but still lead the Texas League North by 6.0 games with a current record of 32-23. Third baseman, Kaleb Cowart, hit his 6th home run of the season on Friday (his first since June 19). 1st baseman, Brian Hernandez continued his solid campaign with a .375 for the week, raising his season average to .300. Hernandez has also homered in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, his 6th and 7th of the season. Buddy Boshers pitched 5.0 shutout innings while striking out 7 in a start on Wednesday. Boshers has done well bouncing in and out of the rotation when need be for the Travelers this season, with a 2.84 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched. Jairo Diaz gave up his first earned run since July 20. Diaz currently has a K/9 of 12.6 for the Travelers this season.

The 66ers kept on rolling this week, going 6-1 and putting themselves in a tie for first place with a current record of 29-27. Outfielder, Chad Hinshaw, launched 3 homers this week (2 on Sunday) and collected 11 hits in 24 at-bats for the 66ers this week. Third baseman, Angel Rosa, has been playing well since receiving the call from Burlington earlier this season. Rosa has a slash line of .322/.364/.441 in 15 games played with the 66ers. Austin Wood made his return from his rehab assignment in the AZL on Wednesday. Wood struck out 1 in 3.0 shutout innings while giving up just 2 hits and no walks.

The Low-A Bees had a record of 3-3 this week and now sit 9.0 games behind with a current record of 26-29. Outfielder, Mike Fish, slugged his 9th home run of the season on Friday and collected 7 hits for a .318 average on the week. Sean Newcomb pitched in 2 games for the Bees this week. His first game was solid, as Newcomb struck out 3 in 3.1 innings pitched while surrendering 1 earned run on 2 hits and 1 walk. Newcomb struggled in his second game, Newcomb struck out 1 in 2.2 innings pitched while giving up 4 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Daniel Hurtado continued to pitch well this week with 5.0 innings of 1-run ball with 3 strikeouts. In the pen, Ben Carlson did not surrender a single hit in 4.2 innings pitched this week (4 K  2 BB).

The Owlz struggled and won only a single game this week (1-5) and currently sit in last place with a current record of 8-12 (5.0 GB). 1st baseman, Fran Whitten, carried the Owlz offense this week. Whitten collected 11 hits to go along with 2 home runs and 10 RBI’s  in 6 games for the Owlz. 4th round pick, Jeremy Rhoades, threw 3 shutout innings on Thursday (1 H  1 BB  1 SO). Eduardo Parades continued to be lights this season. The 19 year old currently boasts a 1.80 ERA and a 15.6 K/9 for the Owlz.

The AZL Angels went 1-4 this week and sit 3.5 GB with a current record of 9-9. Ricardo Sanchez gave up 1 earned run in his start on Thursday. The southpaw pitched 4.0 innings and gave up 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5. 2nd round draft pick, Joe Gatto, gave up 5 hits, no walks and struck out 2 while surrendering 3 earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched on Monday. Eduar Lopez struck out 6 in 6.0 shutout innings on Wednesday. Lopez gave up just 3 hits and 2 walks.