Puerto Rican Update
Myworld will have to do the Dominican Republic update on Tuesday. This is the first update we’ve done on Puerto Rico. The reason for the uneven record is that teams in Puerto Rico are playing teams in the Dominican Republic, which count towards the standings. At least, in games played in Puerto Rico the away team is winning most of the games. The three bottom teams, Mayaguez, Caguas and Ponce have yet to win in their home park, while the top two teams, Arecibo and Carolina have yet to lose on the road.
Arecibo Lobos (6-2)
The big Cuban (6′3″, 245″), Michel Abreu, is leading the Lobos offense, hitting .357 with two homeruns and 10 RBIs. He has walked seven times against three strikeouts. He also has six doubles. The ten RBIs and six doubles lead the Puerto Rican League early in this season. Miguel Negron is second in hitting at .448. He also has more walks (8) than strikeouts (6). The Puerto Rican homerun leader so far is Seth Bynum with three. His 13 strikeouts also lead the league and his .194 average shows his inconsistency. Half of his hits have left the park. Jesus Feliciano (.324) and Jorge Padilla (.323) are tied for the league lead in runs scored with nine. Neither of them have stolen a base.
The pitching stars have been Kyle Snyder (1.50) and Jason Kershner (1.80). Each pitcher has one victory and no defeats in two starts. The bullpen is getting impressive performances from Levale Speigner (0.00), Jesus Carnevale (0.00) and Eddie Camacho (1.50).
Carolina Gigantes (6-2)
The two big RBI men for the Gigantes are Armondo Rios (.476) and Pedro Valdes (.375) with eight each. Armando leads the Puerto Rican league with that .476 average and his three stolen bases is tied for the league lead. Nate Schierholtz (.438) is the only player with at least one double (6), triple (2) or homerun (1). His six doubles are tied for the lead in that category. Ivan DeJesus missed most of the 2009 season because of a leg injury but is making his comeback with Carolina. He is currently hitting only .214, but he is making contact with only two strikeouts.
Willie Collazo (1.50) won his first two starts, but he only has three whiffs and three walks in 12 innings of work. Rick Vandenhurk (2.45) and Brian Lawrence (2.70) numbers are not quite as dominant, but they are solid. Jerome Williams has seven appearances without giving up a run to become top dog in the bullpen.
Mayaguez Indios (2-5)
Brian Bogusevic has scored nine runs and is stroking the ball at .407 clip. He’s stolen three bases and would like to find a utility role/fourth outfielder job with the Astros or some other team. Chris Johnson (.364) is the big RBI man with six and he has done that without any balls leaving the yard. The Indios have only hit two homeruns and they have been juiced by Jorge Jimenez and Johan Limanto. Lorenzo Scott has so much athletic ability, having played linebacker in college, but he’s still struggling to put it together hitting only .190.
Hiram Burgos is the Indios top hurler with a 2.08 ERA after two starts. Ryan Mullins (3.86) has provided good support for Burgos. In close to nine innings of work Burgos has yet to walk a batter and struck out nine. Bill Simas has given up a lot of hits (2.08), but he has the only save for the team.
Caguas Criollos (2-6)
Luis Figeroa (.429) and Edgardo Baez (.375) are the only two players hitting over .300. Figeroa is one of many players sharing the lead with six doubles. Alex Cintron leads the team in RBIs with five despite an anemic .233 average. Lou Montanez will be trying to crack the O’s lineup as a fourth outfielder. He’s hitting .278 and in 18 at bats but has yet to draw a walk or strikeout. Matt Tuiasosopo is struggling with a .143 average.
There are no pitchers to brag about, but Ben Kozlowski, a once promising pitcher years ago has an 8.00 ERA after three starts. He’s walked nine in his nine innings of work. The Nationals can’t be too pleased with the start of Saul Rivera (10.80) and Luis Atilano (24.30). Atilano and Kozlowski have five of the eight starts.
Ponce Leones (2-6)
The Leones have Eduardo Perez managing them. Perez led Puerto Rico to a successful World Cup finish this year. Gabriel Martinez is second in RBIs with nine and is hitting .435, which is fourth in the league. Migeul Abreu, who is forty pounds lighter than Michel,is hitting .379, tacking on to his World Cup success. Reggie Abercrombie (.294) is a player with immense tools and leads the team in homeruns with two. At 29 years old it is pretty apparent that the one tool Reggie lacks is recognition of pitches at the plate which will always keep his average low, his walk numbers low and his strikeouts high.
Philip Humber is trying to turn his career around with the Leones. In two starts and three appearances he has a 5.23 ERA. Philip was the third overall pick in 2004. He does have 13 strikeouts in 10 innings of work, but he has also given up two jacks. Giancarlo Alvarado has walked 12 in 12 innings but still despite all those walks he has a respectable 4.38 ERA.