WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

Catching up with the minor leagues

By Jim Shonerd, Baseball America

May 22, 2008

CATCHING UP WITH THE DURHAM BULLS

This Week’s Schedule: The Bulls are on a 12-game road trip. They played a doubleheader in Charlotte yesterday, they begin a four-game series against first-place Richmond tonight, and the trip concludes with five games, including another doubleheader, in Norfolk. The Bulls won't return home until the 30th, when they'll begin a 10-game homestand.

Ticket Information: Call (919) 956-BULL or order online at durhambulls.com

Bulls Update: The Bulls swept yesterday's doubleheader in Charlotte, winning the games 6-2 and 3-1. After a slow start, the Bulls have won seven of their last nine games to improve their record to 22-23 and pull within two games of Richmond.

The Bulls struggled for runs through much of April, but their offense looks to be coming around in May. Reid Brignac, Dan Johnson, and Chris Richard are all hitting over .400 over the last 10 games. Brignac has been as hot as anyone. He homered in both games of yesterday's doubleheader in Charlotte and has rapped out seven hits in his last four games. Meanwhile, Richard hasn't been too shabby either, collecting 12 RBIs in the last 10 games, including five last Saturday when he hit two home runs against Charlotte.

Bulls 2007 Player Of The Year Justin Ruggiano has been heating up as well. Ruggiano is on a six-game hitting streak and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game of yesterday's doubleheader. After leading the Bulls in most offensive categories last year, Ruggiano is off to a .354/.426/.608 start in 2008, with 20 RBIs in 22 games for Durham, sandwiched around a couple of brief callups to Tampa Bay in which he went 3-for-12 in six appearances for the Rays.

Bulls Bits: The Bulls have announced that the U.S. Olympic baseball team will play exhibition games at the DBAP. The games will be Aug. 2-4 against Team Canada, and will be a final tune-up for the team before it heads off to the Beijing Olympics.


CATCHING UP WITH THE CAROLINA MUDCATS

This Week’s Schedule: The Mudcats are in the midst of a five-game series at home with Jacksonville. They won the first game of the series 5-0 last night. The series runs through Sunday before the Mudcats head out on the road for a series with Tennessee.

Ticket Information: Call (919) 269-2287 or order online at gomudcats.com or etix.com.

Mudcats Update: The Mudcats appear to be heating up after winning three in a row and five of their last six. They enter tonight's game against Jacksonville at 27-19 on the season, just three games out of first place in the Southern League's North Division. Jacksonville is in the South Division, where they're in second place with a record of 21-25, five games out of first.

The Mudcats defeated Jacksonville last night behind another outstanding effort from starter Ryan Tucker. In a Mudcats rotation that's well-stocked with standout prospects, Tucker has been the best of the bunch so far. He leads the SL in ERA with a miniscule mark of 0.93 and has allowed only 37 hits in 58 1/3 innings pitched on the season. Against Jacksonville, he worked six shutout innings and allowed only two hits, one walk and struck out six.

Offensively, the Mudcats' resurgence has been led by second baseman Chris Coghlan and right fielder John Raynor. Raynor has put together three straight multi-hit games, increasing his season line to .289/.389/.500. Coghlan broke out of a four-game hitless skid by going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run on Sunday in Huntsville. He followed that up with two hits the next day and added a double last night.

Prospect Watch: Jacksonville is an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Suns have a couple of big names to watch:

• Clayton Kershaw, lhp. He's one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. He was the Dodgers' first-round pick in 2006, and he's already reached Double-A at the tender age of 20. He's the youngest pitcher in the Southern League right now. He features a fastball that can reach the mid- to upper 90s, a tough curveball, and a changeup that he's developing into a third go-to weapon. He's also lauded for being exceptionally competitive on the mound, yet humble off it. He's the whole package. Kershaw has pitched better than his 0-3 record would suggest, and his 2.34 ERA is fourth-best in the SL. He's scheduled to start Thursday night.

• Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss: DeJesus is the son of 15-year major league veteran Ivan Sr. Even though the younger DeJesus, 21, is projected to have only modest offensive upside, he's off to a solid start in 2008, his first season in Double-A, hitting .314/.422/.396. He doesn't hit for much power, but can use all fields and his approach at the plate is almost patient to a fault, as he will fall in love with waiting on pitches instead of being aggressive on balls he can pull. DeJesus' defense was considered well ahead of his offense entering the season, as he features smooth body control and excellent hands up the middle.

Mudcats Musings: The Mudcats rotation took a bit of a hit when lefthander Aaron Thompson was placed on the DL on Sunday with a left shoulder strain. He's been replaced by righthander Daniel Barone, who had been on the DL with Triple-A Albuquerque.