Anthony Meo wrapped up his first full season of professional baseball yesterday with a bang going 5 innings while allowing just 1 hit and one earned run with 5 strikeouts, though he did walk 4. I love the look of his first season's stats especially the hit and strikeout totals. When I'm looking at a young pitcher the first things I look for are fewer hits than innings and more strikeouts than innings and Meo looks good on both counts. He notched 153 strikeouts and allowed 134 hits in 140 innings. He walked more than anyone likes to see with 71, but lots of good young pitchers walk guys early on. One of the other things I like about Meo is he's a right hander. We have so many lefties right now it's good to have a right hander working his way up. He'll be headed to Mobile next season which is always a major adjustment for young players but he has the skill set to be successful there even if if things start out a little bumpy.
Snake Stars
3 Stars: Garrett Webber, Visalia 3 for 5, 3 R, 1 TPL, 1 HR (14), 5 RBI
2 Stars: Anthony Meo, Visalia 5 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 R, 1 ER
1 Star: Matt Davidson, Mobile 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 DBL, 1 HR (23), 2 RBI
0 Stars: Pedro Ruiz, Missoula 0 for 3, 3 Errors
Game summaries after the jump.
Triple A: Reno 5 Tucson 4. Brett Tomko started and did a yeoman's job giving up 3 runs through 5 innings and the offense did just enough to win it in 10 innings on an A.J. Pollock walk-off homer. The Aces got out to an early 4-0 lead but gave it up in the 6th and it stayed tied at 4 until Pollock's heroics in the 10th. Adam Eaton went 2 for 5 with a run scored and his 44th stolen base. Brent Clevlen went 2 for 4 with a triple.
Double A: Mobile 5 Mississippi 8. Michael Bolsinger battled to keep his team in front 3-2 through 6 innings, but the bullpen was inept and it was thrown away late. Bolsinger allowed 2 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. Eric Smith and Kevin Munson, two upcoming Arizona Fall League members, were the primary bullpen culprits. Matt Davidson had his power stroke going with a double and his 23rd home run. Jonathan Griffin hit his 28th homer of the year. Chris Owings and Alfredo Marte each added a pair of hits with one of Marte's a triple.
High A: Visalia 8 @ Stockton 9. Talk about bullpen meltdowns. Visalia had an 8-2 lead heading to the 7th on the strength of a really good Anthony Meo start. But the relievers allowed 3 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th to throw away Meo's win. I jinxed Kyle Winkler for complimenting him a few days ago and he was part of the bullpen meltdown yielding the 3 runs in the 7th. The offense did its part with Garrett Webber posting a monster game with a triple and a home run for 5 RBI. Webber has had a really nice second half and may have earned himself a job in Mobile next year as a starting infielder. He developed a little pop this year and doesn't strike out a lot so he's moving in the right direction.
Low A: South Bend 3 @ Great Lakes 4. Sticking with the theme of the day, the South Bend bullpen ruined a good start by Andrew Barbosa. Leading 3-2 heading into the 8th Jesse Darrah allowed a solo home run in the 8th to tie it and Jake Barrett surrendered the game-winner on a HBP, a sacrifice, 2 walks and a single. Barbosa allowed 2 runs over 5 innings on 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. Roidany Aguila and Eric Groff led the offense with 3 hits apiece.
Rookie: Missoula 4 @ Billings 6. The Osprey lost game 4 of this critical 4-game set with Billings and ended up splitting the series 2-2. They now trail Billings by a full game with 4 left to play. Two of those are against Billings who also hold the tie-breaker over Missoula so the margin for error is getting very thin. This game started out bad as SS Pedro Ruiz committed 2 errors in the first inning that led to 4 unearned runs off starter Chris Pack. Missoula tried to come back with 4 runs in the final 3 innings but came up a couple runs short. Jake Lamb hit a 2-run homer in the 8th and Alex Glenn hit a solo shot in the 9th. I'm not sure why Velazquez isn't playing shortstop there. Pedro Ruiz has committed 30 errors on the season, a ridiculously high total for a short season.