A quick note to start Double-A: Esteban Quiroz is still on the disabled list, so once again his stats haven’t changed.
Someone who has seen some major changes is Nick Lovullo. He entered May 10 hitting .073 but enjoyed a seven-game hitting streak that was snapped on Sunday. The son of Torey went 9-for-27 with two doubles in that stretch, raising his .176. After a 0-for-3 on Sunday, it’s down to .169. While that’s still not good, it’s a massive step in the right direction.
Catcher Austin Rei has been hitting better as well. His average is up to .200, and he smacked his first two home runs of the year this week. The .200 average is low but his .340 on-base percentage is strong. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to improve year-to-year. His offensive numbers have never been great, but he keeps getting better. Last season saw him hit .223, but he roped 30 doubles.
His partner in crime behind the plate, Jhon Nunez, is riding a small hitting-streak of his own. He currently holds a .265/.345/.388 slash line since moving to Portland. The 23-year-old is becoming an increasingly intriguing prospect, as he has 14 runs batted in and five steals between Double-A and Advanced-A this season.
Then there’s Chad De La Guerra. DLG has completely turned his season around since being sent down to Double-A.
In Triple-A, the infielder held a .137 average. In Double-A, he’s slashing .407/.484/.648 with two doubles and one triple, as well as three home runs. He’s already driven in 13 runs and scored 11 more in just 13 games for Portland. Meanwhile, he’s 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts between the two leagues.
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Danny Mars continues to make steady improvements at the plate. He’s now up to a .238 average and leads the active roster in doubles (8) and steals (5). His 19 runs scored are second only to Tate Matheny‘s 22. Mars is 7-for-19 (.368) since May 16 – expect his average to keep climbing.
Moving on to pitching as Travis Lakins continues to look strong coming back from injury. He has a 3.21 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 14 innings.
Matthew Kent is apparently human. The 25-year-old allowed four earned runs over six innings (still solid) to balloon his ERA to 2.16 over 25 innings.
Meanwhile, Dedgar Jimenez has struggled. He’s allowed nine earned runs over his last two starts (9 1/3 innings) which has raised his ERA in Double-A to 5.77. That being said, he looked great in his May 15 start until the sixth inning, when he ran out of gas.
I could get used to this though – Teddy Stankiewicz lowered his ERA again this week. He threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, and now has a 5.40 ERA on the year. Just six starts ago he held a 14.04 ERA.
Mike Shawaryn also lowered his ERA this week. On May 14 he had his worst start of the year, allowing seven earned runs over five innings. On May 19 though, the right-hander yielded just one earned run over six innings, dropping his ERA from 4.12 to 3.77. Opponents are hitting .232 against him in 45 1/3 innings.