Top 2: Matt LaPorta called out on strikes against David Price

Top 4: LaPorta struck out swinging against Price

Top 6: LaPorta struck out swinging against Price

Top 9: LaPorta struck out swinging against Adam Russell

Final Line: 0-4, 4 K

Notes: One of three golden sombreros on Friday, LaPorta struggled mightily against the Rays’ David Price.  He wasn’t the only one to struggle against the left-hander, though, as the Tribe fanned 12 times against him.  And to think that the former Florida Gator was traded for C.C. Sabathia…

Total 2011 Sombreros: 30

Top 1: Adam Dunn called out on strikes against Brandon Morrow

Top 4: Dunn struck out swinging against Morrow

Top 6: Dunn struck out swinging Morrow

Top 8: Dunn struck out swinging against Mark Rzepczynski

Final Line: 0-4, 4K

Notes: Dunn’s golden sombrero on Thursday was his second of the season (and second in the past week), and lowered his slash lines to a rotten .186/.314/.346.  Mired in a season-long slump, Dunn currently leads the MLB with 65 strikeouts in 45 games, and actually has more whiffs than total bases (54).  Who would have guessed that a quarter of the way through the 2011 season, Dunn’s performance would make Mark Reynolds’ .200/.305/.381 seem desirable?  In honor of last sombrero, I noted how the big man had not collected a hit off a left-hander in 31 at-bats.  Well, it’s now up to 33 at-bats, 15 of which have ended in a strikeout.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 29

Top 1: Alex Gordon struck out on a foul tip against Jake Arrieta

Top 3: Gordon hit a ground-rule double to left-center off Arrieta

Top 5: Gordon struck out swinging against Arrieta

Top 7: Gordon struck out on a foul tip against Jim Johnson

Top 9: Gordon struck out swinging against Mike Gonzalez

Final Line: 1-5, 2B, 4 K

Notes: Although Gordon did a lot of whiffing in his sombrero on Wednesday, he did salvage some respect by doubling in the fifth.  The hit saved the rejuvenated slugger from falling victim to the platinum sombrero—or as a reader suggested it be called, “The Mongolian War Helmet,”—a feat yet to occur this season.  One thing is certain: Gordon was involved in one hell of a game of just a tip on Wednesday.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 28

With a quarter of the MLB season in the books, and some of the baseball’s best prospects now suiting up for their respective big league squads, it’s time to reflect on the performances of our Top 50 Prospects.  Today we look at 29-25, which includes: Brett Lawrie, Martin Perez, Devin Mesoraco, Jason Kipnis and Zach Britton.

29. Brett Lawrie, 2B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays

Triple-A: .342/.401/.638, 16 2B, 3 3B, 12 HR, 39 RBI, 16 BB, 39 K, 10-for-11 SB

28. Martin Perez, LHP, Texas Rangers

Double-A: 1-0, CG, SHO, 2.31 ERA, 46.2 IP, 23 BB, 48 K, 1.286 WHIP, 0.2 HR/9

27. Devin Mesoraco, C, Cincinnati Reds

Triple-A: .288/.371/.473, 12 2B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K

26. Jason Kipnis, 2B, Cleveland Indians

Triple-A: .292/.368/.497, 10 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 20 BB, 31 K, 8-for-8 SB

25. Zach Britton, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

MLB: 5-2, 2.35 ERA, 65 IP, 21 BB, 35 K, 1.123 WHIP

With the 2011 MLB draft very quickly approaching, I wanted to take a little bit of time to write about a New Mexican kid not named Blake Swihart.  Alex Bregman of Albuquerque Academy and the Albuquerque Baseball Academy, of which Swihart and Max Walla (2009 2^nd Round, Brewers) have helped make famous around club baseball circles, is already a 2-time All-State 1^st Teamer.  He likely will be selected to his third one in the next couple of weeks after a monstrous 2011 with Academy that ultimately ended in crushing defeat to Farmington’s Piedra Vista High in the title bout at Isotopes Park two Saturdays ago.  Bregman had a nice day at the plate with multiple XBH’s, but a costly error in the first inning which saw him turn an easy 2-ball into a 2-base throwing error.  Nevertheless, he was the best player in AAAA and will likely be in 2012 barring a meteoric rise from PVHS’s CF Shilo McCall.

Continue Reading »