4/24/2011: Trenton, NJ – The Calzones nine-game losing streak came to an end with a 5-0 shutout victory over the Florida Featherheads.  Jeff Cobb started and picked up the win, and three relievers combined to close out the shutout.  In that game, Carlos Villanueva, José Lópes and Ben McGinnity all hit their first career PEBA home runs.  The Calzones went on to sweep Florida.  In the Tuesday game, 5 pitchers combined to shutout the Featherheads 1-0, the lone run coming on Orlando Valadez’s second home run of the season.  The Calzones completed the sweep with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday.  For the week the Calzones went 4-2, with newly anointed closer Yoshiteru Jouon notching 3 straight saves and providing some much-needed stability to the back of the bullpen.

Oscar Holloway has been brilliant so far.  4 starts (all of the quality variety), 1 complete game, 7 BB and 26 K in 31 innings.  He has worked at least 8 innings in 3 of his 4 starts.  He owns a 2.03 ERA… and an 0-2 record.  Most recently, he was on the losing end of a 1-0 shutout to New Jersey.  In four games, Holloway is getting 0.75 runs per game of support.  Not what should be expected from the Calzones’ offense.

The shuffling in the Calzones infield continues, as the front office has decided that Steve Harris‘s hot start at AAA merits a promotion to Laredo.  The Calzones are convinced that Harris is a late-bloomer just coming into his own.  Harris was batting .360 with 5 HR and 20 RBI through 19 games at Joplin.  The plan du jour is that Harris will move into the second base job next season, with McGinnity at shortstop and Víctor Puente at third base.  With Powell Clark at second base for now, McGinnity will be making a full-time shift to shortstop.  More of a natural second basemen, McGinnity has the tools to play shortstop, but it could be a bumpy road until he becomes a little more polished.  Harris has his shortcomings defensively; he has solid hands but is a little lacking in range and his footwork around the bag.  Harris could see some time in winter ball after the season to work on his defense.  Puente has made the jump straight from the sandlots of Costa Rica to the PEBA without missing a beat, batting .382 so far this season.  He is quickly solidifying his status as the Calzones third bagger of the future.

With the promotion of Harris, the Calzones are left with questions as to what to do with the recently acquired António Toro, who is out of options, and Keith Eby, a Rule 5 pick who has to remain on the roster.  Both are presently being shopped.  There are even some rumblings that the Calzones might consider moving Powell Clark, which could allow them to keep either Toro or Eby as the utility infielder.

Recently signed Rafael Gonzáles has taken over as the backup catcher for the Calzones.  Pablo Vélez, who started the year as the caddy to Brock Brett, was dealt last evening to the Tempe Knights, along with minor league catcher Rodrigo Aguirre and minor league shortstop Juan Jose Cedeño.  The Calzones received in return minor league shortstop Marcos Castillo and minor league pitcher Terry Jones.  Castillo is a 24-year-old shortstop with above-average defensive skills and enough speed to be annoying.  He does the little things fairly well.  He projects as a potential utility infielder someday if he can ever learn a little plate discipline.  The pitcher Jones is a hard throwing right hander who can bump 92 on the gun.  He excels at keeping the ball down.  His control has been a little lacking thus far.  With nearly 300 innings in the low minors already, he could be looking at a promotion to AA before midseason.

The Calzones will have a numbers issue when their three banged-up outfielders come back off the DL over the next few weeks.  The biggest concern revolves around what to do with José Lópes.  The power-hitting first basemen will continue to be disguised as a right fielder for the near term until Carlos Madrigal and Roger Jordan return, but what to do with him after that remains a concern.  With Rubén Cruz and Octávio Pexego sharing the DH/1B slots and 4 regular outfielders for 3 spots – plus the power hitting Shannon Davis on the bench when he returns – what to do with Lópes is a real issue.  Trying to get either Lópes or Davis through waivers would be impossible.  The Calzones would love to be able to deal Madrigal to open up the roster spot but so far have been unable to find a match.  One rumor going around is that the Calzones might sacrifice a pitching spot and go with just 10 pitchers temporarily to keep from having to expose either Lópes or Davis to waivers.

The Calzones sent their only left-hander in the bullpen down to AAA Joplin and rewarded Keith Bandelow’s hot start with a call-up to the big club.  The move leaves the Calzones without a southpaw in the bullpen for the moment, but the Calzones brass has apparently made the decision to go with the best pitchers available, regardless of what arm they throw with.  Bandelow gives the Calzones a pitcher who can work multiple innings at a time in the pen, and he could start if the need arises.  Rumor has it he could push Palmer for the fifth starter’s spot at some point.

The Farm Report

AAA Joplin
Yukio Fujita has pitched well in the early going (2-0, 2.31 ERA in 3 starts).  The Calzones are cautiously optimistic that he can regain the form that had him win the Wunderkind Award in 2007.The Calzones are taking the same approach with Alberto Magana, hoping that a trip to the minors might help him regain some of his mojo.  On a less positive note, Eric Hill has walked 18 batters in 17.1 innings.  The Calzones are hoping to see him rectify that issue in a hurry.

In the hitting spotlight at Joplin is RF Pedro Núñez.  The 28-year-old Núñez has been on fire, batting .350 with a .460 OBP, 3 HR and 8 RBI.  He has walked 8 times without striking out even once, and he has done all this in just 40 at bats.  His hot play is earning him more playing time.

AA Monterey
Cipriano Baca has pitched very well in his first three starts (2-0, 2.82 ERA, striking out 24 in 22.1 innings), but he is just 23 and has barely 50 innings at the AA level.  The Calzones are targeting Baca for at least another 100 innings at AA, so a promotion to AAA is not imminent.  On the flip side, Greg White has gotten off to a slow start and might be in over his head, having pitched just 121 innings at both short season and A-ball.  In all likelihood, White is at AA for the entire season in any scenario.

Two pitchers who can be looking forward to promotions to AAA in the near future are Floyd Davis and Armando Pérez.  Pérez has proven his arm healthy after missing most of last season, posting a 2-2, 2.57 ERA mark through 4 games, walking 6 and striking out 32 in 28 innings.  Continued success his next couple of starts could see Pérez return to AAA.  Davis, meanwhile, continues to try to rocket through the Calzones system.  Davis pitched just 58 innings in short season ball and 93 in A-ball before his promotion to AA last season, where he held his own (7-7, 3.55 ERA in 15 starts covering 109 innings).  The Calzones want him to complete at least 150 innings at AA.  So far this season, Davis is 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA in three starts, and he could be down to his final three starts before a promotion to AAA if he continues to pitch well.

On the hitting side of things, Javier Ibarra has gotten off to a bit of slow start, batting just .234 through 19 games, but the Calzones are optimistic due to what they are seeing from Ibarra, as he is showing more selectivity at the plate and drawing some walks.  If he can start getting some hits to fall in and continue the plate discipline, there is at least an outside chance Ibarra could make a jump to AAA later this season.

Hi-A Drumright
The Tornadoes went 5-1 the first week of the single-A season, led largely by a starting staff that leads the AWL with a 2.14 ERA (the bullpen’s 8.25 ERA is another matter).  Kenny Bender, last year’s 2^nd round draft pick, pitched 7 shutout innings in his first start A-ball.  The Calzones are watching Bender closely to see if he can possibly be fast tracked like Floyd Davis has been, but even if he were to be put on a similar path he needs about 100 innings at A-ball before that will happen.  We will watch his numbers closely in the coming weeks.

José Márquez, who was 2-9 with a 5.68 ERA at A-ball in the Tempe organization last season, pitched 8 shutout innings in his Drumright debut.  Harlan Mack, the 14^th round pick last season who opened eyes with an 8-3, 2.82 ERA mark at Taku, allowed 1 run in 7 innings in his A-ball debut.  Pablo López, the other pitcher acquired from Tempe over the winter, allowed 2 runs in 8 innings while punching out 11.

On the hitting side of things, a number of players had strong first weeks, but Dean Tuffin, signed as minor league free agent this offseason, opened the first week of his professional career by hitting .421 with 2 HR and 7 RBI.  Tuffin has some big-time power potential and could make it to AA later this season.