Adalberto Mendez

Don't look now, but the Zephyrs appear to be developing a bullpen ace in the mold of LAAAAA's use of Scott Shields for many years. Call it the Fingers role.

Mendez's last three appearances have each been for three innings and he's given up no runs in those nine innings. Hits? Three. In 14 2/3 innings of work, he's given up a total of two runs (in the same game), and has 13Ks against 6BBs. His ERA is a cool 1.23. The sample size is small, yes, but if Mendez keeps this up, he could be bolstering Florida's bullpen before the trade deadline.

Game #54 vs. Iowa: Preview

After winning six of eight against Portland and Oklahoma City, the Zs split with Omaha. Tonight they begin a four-game set in Iowa, the Cubs' AAA affiliate. Strangely, the Zs are 12-10 away from Zephyr Field but a dismal 13-18 at home.

The Teams:
June 5, 7:00 CT
New Orleans Zephyrs: 25-28, third in the PCL South
Iowa Cubs: 28-26, last in the PCL North

The Pitching Matchup:
Zs: Hunter Jones (0-4, 4.05 ERA)





Jones last appeared for the Zs on Tuesday against Omaha in relief of Sean West. It wasn't pretty, either. The lefty went 5 and a third innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits. To his credit, Jones has been accustomed to mostly starting this year. He has a healthy reverse split, holding righties to a .260 average; lefties are hitting a robust .323 against him. Jones lives by the ground ball and gives up some hits, so he needs to reduce walks.

Cubs: Mitch Atkins (3-2, 2.79 ERA)





Mitch Atkins is a B-level prospect who made his debut for the Cubs last year. His numbers so far suggest he's figuring things out. He's generating more ground balls than he has since his first year in the low minors and he's given up just 33 hits in 42 innings. He was promoted to a starter role about halfway through this season and four of those five starts have been quality.

Games #52 & #53: Zs Win, Zs Win

Not sure I saw this coming.

The Zs niftily dusted themselves off after being rolled in the first two games of the series with Omaha by salvaging a split with two straight wins on Thursday and Friday nights.

Thursday night the Zs won 4-3, and it was all about Brian Lawrence. The palm ball was working and Lawrence went 7 innings giving up only 1 run and striking out 7. FYI, Lawrence has 47Ks to just 16BBs. LoMo had two doubles to power the offense.

The Zs brought the hammer down in the second game, taking it 15-6, establishing their season high for runs in a game. Brad Stone's start was... not great (5IP, 6R) but the Zs offense picked him up. Brad Davis had a three-hit game including a three-run HR and Richar had four hits, including two doubles, LoMo had two more hits, one of them a triple off Humber, who gave up an incredible 12 runs on 13 hits.

Games #50 & #51: Zs Lose, Zs Lose

Mr.Z's heart is in knots. And it ain't over Armando Galarraga.

After winning six of eight, including a tough series split against division-leading Oklahoma City, the Zs have sleepwalked through two home tilts with Omaha.

Tuesday night Mr.Z apparently enraged Gaby Hernandez with his withering criticism of his career (see previous post); Hernandez threw seven strong innings of two-run ball, striking out six. Sean West's first appearance of the year for the Zs was weird: he only got five outs, four of them strikeouts. Hunter Jones came in and was ineffective, giving up seven runs, including a majestic bomb to Alex Gordon, who KC has said they are converting into a left fielder... although he was the DH Tuesday. One the bright side, Donnie Murphy homered again in the 9-2 loss.

Not much good to say about last night. Things only appear reasonably competitive in a 10-5 Omaha win due to four Zs runs in the 8th and 9th. Ka'aihue took VandenHurk deep in the first, and things depreciated for the Dutchman. Badenhop was unscored upon in two and two-thirds so that's something.

Game #50: Preview

The Zs have won six of their last eight against the worst team in the PCL (Portland) and one of the best ones (Oklahoma City); tonight they open a four-game set against the formidable Omaha Royals.

Who's Interesting For Omaha
This is Kansas City's AAA affiliate we're talking about, so it stands to reason that they'd be loaded with young talent. Philip Humber is probably most interesting from a pitching standpoint. Humber was the third overall pick by the Mets in the 2004 draft and was part of the Johan Santana trade. He had Tommy John surgery in 2006 and was unceremoniously DFAd by Minnesota last season. Nice pickup for the Royals since he's pitching well this season in Omaha. He projects to pitch Friday against the Zs.

Yes, we'll see Alex Gordon, who was actually sent down by the Royals this year (and yes, KC has actually been playing Alberto Callaspo at third base in his stead). The absurdity of this has been elucidated elsewhere. More interesting is arguably my favorite prospect in the PCL, first baseman Kila Ka'aihue.








333/10/33 with a .500 OBP and an 1.150 OPS. He hits left, so maybe tonight's starter, lefty Sean West will hold him down? .458 OBP and an OPS just over 1000 against lefties. He's 26. What in the world is KC waiting for?

The Teams:
June 1, 7:00 CT
New Orleans Zephyrs: 23-26, third in the PCL South
Omaha Royals: 27-22, first in the PCL North

The Pitching Matchup:
Sean West (--- ERA) vs. Gaby Hernandez (6.59 ERA)

This is the Zs first-ever look at 6'8" lefty West. He's just trying to get his career back on track after spending much of last year toiling as a mediocre starter for Florida after being a mediocre starter for Jacksonville. He more Mark Hendrickson than Randy Johnson anyway, but the Ks just disappeared when he got the call last year. I don't think anyone in the Marlins organization knows exactly what they have in West.

Gaby Hernandez was actually once in the Marlins organization after being traded for Paul LoDuca, then moved to Seattle in a trade for Arthur Rhodes. The Red Sox claimed him off waivers during the off-season and the Royals then claimed him from the Sox. Judging by the unimpressive numbers, the guy looks to be minor league space filler... but a 2009 Baseball America report labeled his fastball, slider, and change as "average or better," saying that he's got a shot to be a end-of-the-rotation major league starter.

Zephyrs May Roundup

The Zs finished May with a 15-13 record after shuffling into the month at 8-13. They finished hot, winning six of eight against Portland and Oklahoma City. On a west coast swing, they were swept in four by Tacoma but dusted themselves right off to promptly sweep Portland.

They held their own against some of the PCL's better teams, taking four of six against OKC during the month and winning the two games that weren't rained out against Omaha. Fresno looks like the class of the league, though, and they rolled the Zs in a four-game sweep. Guess they won't have to deal with Buster Posey any more, though.

The Zs are near the bottom of the league in team ERA at 4.77, but the pitching has been outstanding over the last two series, especially the starters. VandenHurk and Hunter Jones have been above-average starters and Brad Stone has shown signs that he can scatter hits and give the Zs length. Jorge Sosa, Tankersley, and Buente have all been called up to Florida. Badenhop is now a Zeph. Florida's bullpen situation is a major problem and they're essentially throwing stuff at a wall right now to see what sticks, so expect more turnover in the coming weeks, especially when they get Reynel Pinto back from the DL.

Offensively, the Zs can often look sleepy. But new callup Javier Guzman has injected some life into the top of the order over the past week, going 10 for 20 (though he has made three errors in the middle infield). Logan Morrison is the team's top prospect, but Donnie Murphy has been its best hitter: he's working a .317 BAA with 8 HRs and 8 2Bs. His walkoff in the first game of the OKC series last week capped a late comeback and won the Zs their 5th straight game. LoMo came back from his injured shoulder and has been solid, if somewhat unspectacular. He's yet to flash much power, though he's sporting a fine .388 OBP.

Bonifacio, Klosterman, and Lorenzo Scott all hit the DL.

Mike Stanton still plays baseball in Jacksonville.

Game #49: Zs 5-3

The Zs concluded a heartening four-game series on Memorial Day by taking the final game 5-3 and salvaging a split with the division leaders. I'm thinking they're feeling pretty good about themselves after looking less than sharp in the second and third games.

Brad Davis had three hits, including a three-run shot off the Metairie Bank sign in left, and after Badenhop threw just two innings (albeit scoreless ones), Adalberto Mendez did the Rollie Fingers thing again with three shutdown innings to take the game into the sixth. He did the same thing in the first game against OKC during the series. In 11 innings for the Zs since his call from AA, Mendez has struck out 9 and given up just 7 hits. He's got a 1.54 ERA and just might be claiming the "bridge role" in the pen.

Adalberto Mendez, Mr.Z crowns you with Game #49's imperious HUGE Z.

Game #49: Preview

After five consecutive wins, the Zs have looked a little sluggish since returning to Zephyr Field against the division leaders. They'll have Burke Badenhop, recently demoted from the big club, on the hill as they try to salvage a series split.

The Teams:
May 31, 1:00 CT
New Orleans Zephyrs: 22-26, third in the PCL South
Oklahoma City Redhawks: 28-21, first in the PCL South

The Pitching Matchup:
Burke Badenhop (--- ERA) vs. Tommy Hunter (2.91 ERA)

Badenhop has spent the lion's share of the past few years with Florida, but had been one of a cavalry of ineffective bullpen arms for the Marlins. He'll be trying to get some mojo back in AAA against a middle-of-the-pack OKC offense that has been sporting a couple hot hitters, notably Brandon Boggs and Chris Davis.

Tommy Hunter is 6'3", 280lb, so it's unlikely any Zephyrs will venture to charge the mound today. A 2007 supplemental first-round pick (for DeRosa leaving via free agency), he pitched 112 reasonably effective innings for Texas last year but didn't make the team out of spring with an oblique injury. He's a strong candidate to replace the ineffective Scott Feldman or Matt Harrison any day now, so he's got plenty of incentive to stifle a Zs offense that has been been pretty well smothered since returning to New Orleans.

Game #48: Another Drubbing, 8-3

It wasn't pretty yesterday in Metairie. After a three-hour rain delay, division-leading OKC immediately jumped ahead of the Zs, reversing a formula that had led to a nifty five-game winning streak for New Orleans. Jose Rosario was tabbed for a spot start and, let's say, "failed to impress." His line: 2.1 IP, 10H, 7R, 6ER, 1HR, 1K, 2BB. He was promptly demoted to AA after the game.

This one fell apart early; the Zs were in a 7-2 hole by the end of the 3rd inning. Saltalamacchia homered again, this time a three-run bomb, and Chris Davis (who should be back in Texas before long) buried the Zephs with two run-scoring singles and a 9th-inning HR.

Transactions

Veteran bullpen arm Scott Strickland is off the DL and back on the New Orleans roster.

To clear space, the Zs sent Jose Rosario, he of yesterday's disastrous start, to AA Jacksonville.

Stanton Watch

The internets say Mike Stanton will be called up next week, bypassing New Orleans.

Game #47: Zs Lose 8-5

Mr.Z is taking his first loss hard. Reliable bullpen righty Brett Sinkbeil wiggled out of a jam in the sixth but was victimized by a three-run Chris Davis HR in the 7th. Brian Lawrence, apparently, knew what he was talking about (see below).