MINORS FINAL 5/11: Mother's Day story for Meneses

[rico43]

From MiLB.com

When Joey Meneses got himself the chance to hit for the cycle on Saturday night, he had extra reason not to let it slide by.

"It was Mother's Day in Mexico and I wanted to give this beautiful gift to her for Mother's Day," the native of Culiacan said. "She and my father were playing with me in my heart."

Meseses delivered the gift, finishing his 4-for-5 performance with a seventh-inning home run. He drove in three runs and scored twice in Class A Rome's 13-2 romp over visiting Asheville. The 22-year-old infield prospect became the second player to hit for the cycle in franchise history, following Gerry Rodriguez, who completed the feat on May 27, 2009.

"No doubt about it," he said. "This was the first time ever in my life I hit for the cycle, and it was the most exciting day in my career so far."

He'd had an inkling before the game that it would be a good one but was surprised at exactly how good it turned out to be.

"We had batting practice in the cage because it was raining and we couldn't hit on the field," Meneses said. "I was feeling good, feeling like I would have a good night. But, for sure, I was not thinking I would hit for the cycle."

Meneses grounded out in the first inning but was unstoppable thereafter. He doubled in a run in the second and -- with a runner on first base in the third -- he drove a ball to the gap in right-center field for his first triple of the season.

"At that time, I wasn't thinking about the cycle. I was just running hard," he said. "I hit the ball to the opposite field and was running hard to get third base."

After he singled off reliever Logan Norris in the fifth, Meneses was thinking about the cycle, although none of his teammates mentioned it.

"Nobody told me, but I knew I needed a home run to hit for the cycle," he said.

The non-drafted free agent stepped in with one out in the seventh against reliever Matt Carasiti.

"I went up there looking for a good pitch to hit, and I hit hard," Meneses said.

The ball cleared the left-field fence and Meneses was in ecstatic shock as he circled the bases.

"I just couldn't believe it," he said. "I couldn't believe it."

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CLASS AAA

Lehigh Valley 5, Gwinnett 2

SP: Z. Stewart 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.
LP: Buchter (1-1, BS) 1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.
La Stella 1-3, 2B, BB. (.298)
Lerud 1-3, HR (2nd), 2 RBIs.

CLASS AA

Montgomery 4, Mississippi 2

LP: Northcraft (3-2) 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K.
Cunniff 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
E. Reyes 2-5, 2B, R, SB. (.369)
Carroll 2-3, RBI.
M. Jones 2-5, R, SB.

ADVANCED CLASS A

Lynchburg 5, Wilmington 4

WP: Parsons (2-1) 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, WP, 2 HBP.
Jadofsky (Save, 1) 1 IP, 0 H, 1 K.
Ahrens 3-5, 2 RBIs.
Nick 1-4, 2 R, RBI, SB.
Odom 1-1, 2B, 3 BB.

CLASS A

Asheville 4, Rome 3

LP: Marksberry (0-1) 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.
Feigl 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
Camargo 1-2, 2B, R, RBI.
Oliver 1-4, 3B, R, RBI.

[50PoundHead]

Meneses is an interesting prospect. Hasn't shown much extra-base pop until this year. He's a shade older than the average age in the SAL, but he didn't start until he was 19 in the DSL. When I look at the DSL, I see a lot of different "beginning" ages and wonder if some of the kids finish a formal high school before signing, which would account for some of the older kids in the league. I'm also curious as to how teams make the determination of DSL over GCL on some of the kids from Latin America.

Anyway, nice start for Meneses. Ks are up, but so are power numbers and walks.

Connor Oliver, our 19th round pick from last year, is supposedly a toolsy kid who has totally leapfrogged Danville, so he may be someone to watch. Off to a nice start after spending the first couple of weeks in EST.

Elmer Reyes continues to hit, but his Ks are up (not dramatically overall) and it doesn't look like he'll ever draw many walks. His hitting thus far has surprised me.