Before we get to the minor league report, as most people know already it's been reported that 1st round pick Corey Seager for $ 2.35M. Baseball America has a good analysis of the signing, saying "Seager's bonus exceeded the assigned value for his No. 18 slot by $400,000 and leaves the Dodgers $98,500 over budget for their signed picks in the first 10 rounds. Los Angeles has one unsigned player remaining in those rounds: Florida lefthander Paco Rodriguez, its second-rounder." The Dodgers will almost certainly announce the signing today, and my guess is that he'll probably be introduced at Dodger Stadium either today or tomorrow.
Minor League Player of the Day – Duke von Schamann - 4 IP, 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 1 K. Von Schamann was excellent in his first LoA appearance and second professional outing as he allowed just 2 base runners over 4 innings of work. The 2012 15th round pick only had 1 strikeout on the night, but that's OK because he's known for his sinkerball and his ability to induce groundouts.
AAA – The Isotopes smacked a pair of homers but eventually fell to the Redbirds (Cardinals) 9 to 5. Trent Oeltjen and Luis Cruz were the ones that hit the long balls while Matt Angle and Tyler Henson both had a pair of singles, but that was about the extent of the offense. Fernando Nieve started the game and got lit up early, allowing 10 hits and 7 runs (5 earned) over 3.2 innings. Cole St. Clair gave his first runs in a while over 2.1 frames of relief, while Scott Rice and Blake Johnson finished the loss with a hitless inning each.
AA – For the second night in a row the Lookouts shutout the Braves by a score of 1 - 0. On Friday it was Matt Magill who blanked Mississippi for the first part of the game as he fired 5 innings of shutout ball. Chris Withrow, who was recently activated from the DL, was eased back into action out of the bullpen, and he thrived with 2 perfect innings of relief. Red Patterson (win) and Steve Ames (save) were also flawless out of the bullpen with an inning each. At the plate Chattanooga matched the Braves with zero's over the first 8 innings, but in the 9th Brahiam Maldonado hit a solo homer off old friend Brent Leach for the eventual game winning run. Maldonado also doubled earlier in the game, while Nick Buss went 2 for 4.
HiA – Garrett Gould was scratched from this start due to apparent trade rumors, but the Quakes still managed to pull out a 8 - 7 victory over the JetHawks (Astros). Jordan Roberts took the ball instead of Gould and did pretty well on the short notice even if he was a bit lucky, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks over 3 innings. Ryan O'Sullivan struggled a bit in relief as he gave up 5 hits and 4 runs (2 earned) over 2 frames, but Scott McGough escaped a jam in the 8th and Eric Eadington recorded his 11 save with a perfect 9th. At the plate Rancho connected on just two extra base hits, but one was a 3-run homer by Chris O'Brien and the other was a 2-run double by Jonathan Garcia (who also singled earlier in the game). Chris Jacobs went 2 for 4, and Leon Landry had a single and collected a pair of RBI's.
LoA – The Loons pitching staff was outstanding on Friday as Great Lakes dented the TinCaps (Padres) 2 to 1. Starter Duke von Schamman, making just his second appearance as a professional, had a memorable Midwest League debut as he fired 4 shutout innings while allowing just 2 hits. The sinker-baller didn't walk a batter and struck out 1. Juan Noriega and Matt Shelton followed with a pair of hitless innings each, and even though Yimi Garcia allowed a walk and a double to start the 9th, Michael Thomas was able to come in and shut the door for his 2nd save of the year. The Loons actually only had 3 hits in this win, including doubles by James Baldwin and Scott Schebler. Both runs scored with an RBI, however, as the 1st run scored on a fielding error, and the second run was created by Baldwin who walked, stole 2nd and 3rd, and then scored on a dropped 3rd strike when the opposing catcher threw out O'Koyea Dickson at 1st.
Rookie Ogden –The Raptors won their 9th game of the year (tied for the league best) with a 6 - 5 victory over Grand Junction (Rockies). There were a lot of different contributors at the plate in this win, starting with Justin Boudreaux and JJ Ethel who both smacked 2-run homers. Jesus Valdez also drove in a run and went 2 for 3, while Alex Santana, Eric Smith, and Jeremy Rathjen also had 2 hit games. On the mound Matt Laney only made it through 4 innings and allowed 7 hits and 3 runs (2 earned), but for the most part his bullpen was solid. 2012 12th round pick James Campbell struggled in his professional debut to the tune of 4 hits and 2 runs, but Sawil Gonzalez did not allow a hit over 1.1 frames and Scott Griggs recorded his first save with a perfect 9th.
Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers rebounded from their first loss on Thursday with a 8 - 6 win over the D-backs. Tyler Ogle had another big game at the plate as he went 3 for 4 with a double and a RBI, while Arizona League veteran Bladimir Franco connected on a 3-run homer to put the Dodgers up for good. Jesmuel Valentin also had a solid game as he went 2 for 5 with a triple and a RBI. Greg Wilborn started this game on a rehab assignment and did not allow a run over 2 innings. Jackson Mateo picked up in the 3rd but struggled over 3 frames as he gave up 7 hits and 4 runs. Lindsey Caughel recorded the win with 2 hitless innings of relief and Ricky Perez collected his league leading 4th save.
DSL – The Dominican Dodgers lost to the A's 3 to 2, but Josmar Cordero did extend his hitting streak to 24 games. Cordero went 2 for 3 with a walk, but it was Jesus Perez who drove in both runs with a pair of singles. Melvin Santana doubled, but that was it for the extra base hits. On the mound Jose Agusto Diaz allowed all 3 runs in the loss over 5 innings, which meant the bullpen was great over the final 4 frames as Luis De Paula and Geuris Alcantara fired 2 shutout innings each.
Coming up – The Arizona Dodgers have today off, but everyone else is in action including the Lookouts who will send Aaron Miller to the mound. The only other starters who have been announced are Arismendy Ozoria for the Loons and Angel Sanchez for the Quakes (although I'm guessing Gould would step in if the trades all fall through).
Minor League Transactions – Arizona Rookie: The newest Dodger, Yasiel Puig, has been assigned to the Arizona Dodgers for the time being. It's yet to be determined if he'll stay in Arizona or start his minor league career elsewhere.
Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)
Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)
Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)
Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)
Arizona Dodgers Box Score (Rookie)