Two days worth of recaps, which includes action from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico.
Friday
In the Dominican, Willy Garcia made his debut as a pinch-hitter, drawing a walk and scoring a run. He stayed in the game and played the last two innings on defense in right field.
Edwin Espinal went 1-for-4 with his first double of the season.
Miguel Rosario pitched one inning, allowing a run on two hits and a walk. He actually threw a scoreless sixth inning, before allowing the first two batters in the seventh to reach base. Rosario was replaced and one of the runners scored.
In Venezuela, Jose Osuna went 1-for-4 with a single and a walk.
Elvis Escobar went 0-for-2 before being pinch-hit for in the sixth inning.
John Kuchno made his third start and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. For the second straight start, he struck out five batters. Kuchno threw 49 of his 85 pitches for strikes and had an 8:2 GO/AO ratio.
In Mexico, Carlos Munoz went 1-for-4 with his first double (first extra-base hit as well). He also struck out twice.
Saturday
In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Through 14 games, he is hitting .348/.362/.543 in 46 at-bats. Last season in Venezuela, he played 25 games, but he received just 21 plate appearances. Escobar reached Altoona at the start of August and put up a .651 OPS in 29 games. What gets lost with him being in the organization since signing in 2011, is that he just turned 22 last month.
So he made it to Double-A at an early age and now (very early on) he appears to be having a breakout winter season. Jose Osuna put up big winter numbers at age 23 last winter and that led to him putting up nice stats in Triple-A this season. Gregory Polanco had his big breakout winter at age 22 in 2013, and he would make his Major League debut the following year. Escobar isn’t in the same class Polanco was going into that winter, but he will be someone to watch next season for Altoona, and possibly Indianapolis during the second half of the season.
Jose Osuna went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and an RBI. He is batting .279/.407/.442 in 13 games.
In the Dominican, Edwin Espinal went 0-for-4 with an RBI. He is 1-for-11 in his first three games.
In Mexico, Carlos Munoz went 0-for-5, dropping him to a .188 average through nine games. He also has a 1:8 BB/SO ratio in 32 at-bats, which is well off his averages as a pro.
