7/14 THURSDAY MINOR FINAL: MiLB profiles Allard; Povse wins AA debut

[rico43]

Allard Finding His Groove
(From MiLB.com)

A week into the Appalachian League season, catcher Brett Cumberland arrived to make his professional debut with the Danville Braves. It just so happened that his assigned locker was next to pitcher Kolby Allard, who would be throwing to Cumberland when he made his first pro appearance.
"My locker got switched over to next to him," said Cumberland, a second-round pick this June. "It was my first day. He made my job easy. He was doing what I needed."
Allard has had that impact on others this season with Danville, looking every bit like a first-round selection. He's made four outings, including the three straight stellar stints with Cumberland behind the plate. The Californians have been a good combination. Allard is second in the Appalachian League with 26 strikeouts, showing his efficiency with only four walks across his first 21 1/3 innings with Danville. Allard, who was selected 14th overall in the 2015 Draft, said back surgery from last August is far in his past because the recovery has gone well.
"I worked really hard down in [Florida in Spring Training] recovering from that," he said. "There's always room for improvement. Winning for the team [is the best thing]."
Allard said the key for him is locating pitches with precision. He has been successful with that across the first few weeks of the Appy League season.
"I worked my fastball on both sides of the plate," he said after a recent outing. "I tried to command all my pitches, putting it exactly where I want it to be."
If there's a tendency to categorize Allard as a finesse pitcher, some batters might be surprised.
"He's sneaky with his fastball," Danville manager Robinson Cancel.
Allard has notched two six-inning shutout appearances with Danville, picking up his first two professional victories. One of those came against the Johnson City Cardinals. In that game, he showed a knack for dealing with whatever minimal adversity he faced.
"He came back and he made pitches," Johnson City manager Chris Swauger said. "He was a challenge for us."
--------
THURSDAY'S MINOR LEAGUE RESULTS
CLASS AAA

Scanton/WB 2, Gwinnett 0

LP: Kelly (2-5) 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Weber 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
O'Flaherty 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Cleto 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Ruiz 1-3
(Only hit!)

CLASS AA

Mississippi 6, Jackson 2 (7)

WP: Povse (1-0) 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Peterson (Save, 2) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Franco 3-4, 2 R
Camargo 3-3, 2 2B, R, RBI
Lien 1-4, 3B, RBI
Albies/Swanson 0-6, 2 BB
Schrader 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Meneses 1-4, 2B, R, RBI

ADVANCED CLASS A

Suspended Game
Lynchburg 5, Carolina 1

SP: Clark 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
LP: Franco (5-7) 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Bird 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Curcio 2-4, 2B, RBI
Obregon 1-4, 2B, R
Edgerton 1-4

Scheduled Game
Lynchburg 10, Carolina 7 (7)

LP: O'Neal (2-3) 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Salazar 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, HR
Portuondo 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Lewis 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Curcio 2-4, HR (3rd), RBI
Murphy 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Edgerton 2-3, R
Tejedea 1-4, 2B, R, RBI
Davidson 0-2, R, 2 BB

CLASS A

Charleston 2, Rome 0

LP: Soroka (2-9) 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Jones 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
Watts 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Neslony 2-4, 2B
Herbert 1-3, 2B
Baez 1-3, 2B

SHORT-SEASON

GCL Braves 6, GCL Tigers 1

SP: Wilson 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
WP: Mejia (1-0) 3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Suarez 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
B.T. White 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Ventura 3-5, R, RBI, CS (.344)
Concepcion 2-4, HR (2nd), 3 RBI (.351)
Cruz 1-2, BB, HBP, SAC (.362)
Pache 1-3, R, BB, HBP (.284)
R. Perez 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB
Pokorney 2-4, 2B, R

-----------

DSL Angels 7, DSL Braves 5

SP: Bautista 3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LP: Diaz (BS, 1-1) 3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Michel 2-5, R
Morales 1-3, 2B, 2 R
Lopez 1-4, HR (2nd, slam), 4 RBI
Centeno 2-4

-------------

Danville 4, Elizabethton 2

WP: Martinez (2-1) 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Walker 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
B.S. White (Save, 3) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

K.Josephina 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Gonzalez 2-4
Cumberland 0-3, BB
Keller 1-4, 2 R

[CJ9]

Bryse Wilson, this year's fourth rounder, starting for GCL today. Good day so far, I'd imagine he's probably done: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

[bravesfanMatt]

the top 4 of our GCL team is just sick right now.

[CJ9]

Derian Cruz: 1-2 with a 1B, sac bunt, HBP and a walk. Average up to .362, and that was his second walk of the GCL season.

Cristian Pache: 1-3 with a walk, HBP and two strikeouts. He had two strikeouts in 64 ABs coming into today, so that doubled to four. Pache also stole two bases, now has seven in 17 games and is tied with Ventura for the team lead.

Concepcion also hit his second homer.

[yeezus]

Derian Cruz: sac bunt

why tho

[bravesfanMatt]

why tho

probably bunting for a hit, but was just credited with a sac.

[CJ9]

why tho

My thought was that he was probably bunting for a hit and was thrown out at first, but the runner still moved up to second. At least that's what I'm going to tell myself happened.

[bravesfanMatt]

My thought was that he was probably bunting for a hit and was thrown out at first, but the runner still moved up to second. At least that's what I'm going to tell myself happened.

haha.gif

[yeezus]

ah ok, let's hope so.

[mqt]

Meh, I'm not particularly concerned if our GCL Manager is willing to give away outs.

[rico43]

ah ok, let's hope so.

Notice that he and Pache were both hit by pitches as well. Wonder how that might have factored in the drama.

[50PoundHead]

There's a lot more bunting in the low minors for a variety of reasons. Maybe they were trying to make sure that: (1) Cruz was picking up signs, and (2) he was willing to do what was requested.

[SJ24]

Does anyone have a scouting report on Anthony Concepcion?

He is a bit old for the GCL, isn't he?

[50PoundHead]

Does anyone have a scouting report on Anthony Concepcion?

He is a bit old for the GCL, isn't he?

A little old, but only one year of professional experience so it's logical why he's in the GCL at his age. Great numbers thus far in his career. Curious to see how he develops and how fast they move him.

[clvclv]

A little old, but only one year of professional experience so it's logical why he's in the GCL at his age. Great numbers thus far in his career. Curious to see how he develops and how fast they move him.

Also not sure there's anywhere else they could put him - especially if they want him to get regular ABs...

Rome - Acuna, Baez, Ellison, Neslony
Danville - Hearn, James, Moss, Wilson

[KB21]

Albies just made an incredible over the shoulder catch on a pop fly in short right field.

[50PoundHead]

Also not sure there's anywhere else they could put him - especially if they want him to get regular ABs...

Rome - Acuna, Baez, Ellison, Neslony
Danville - Hearn, James, Moss, Wilson

He's playing 1B as much as OF and Colin Yelich played 1B for Danville tonight, so my guess is there wouldn't be that much of a problem getting Concepcion ABs up a level. Lee and Osuna are the other guys there. Carlos Martinez was the DH there tonight, so I don't see a problem for Concepcion playing that role either.

[DaneHill]

Albies just made an incredible over the shoulder catch on a pop fly in short right field.