Jacksonville Suns. Mobile BayBears. Mobile Alerts

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2 Birmingham Barons Barons Bits Birmingham s pitching staff has been depleted by several promotions, but has found a capable replacement in RHP Charlie Shirek, who began the 2009 campaign in High-A Winston-Salem and compiled an 8-1 record prior to his June 9 promotion. In four starts with the Barons, Shirek has a 2-1 record and a 2.45 ERA.... Shirek s former Winston- Salem teammate RHP Daniel Hudson has also made an impact for the Barons, earning Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors for his Double-A debut on June 20. Hudson allowed just three hits and an unearned run while striking out eight in seven innings against Mississippi.... A total of 11 Barons were named to the Southern League South Division All- Star roster, but Brandon Allen, Harrell and Omogrosso have since been promoted to AAA and will not play. C Tyler Flowers and 3B Dayan Viciedo will play in the XM All-Star Futures Game on July 12 in St. Louis. SOUTHDIVISION Jacksonville Suns Suns Block OF Mike Stanton, rated the Marlins No. 2 overall prospect by Baseball America, blasted his first AA home run on June 20 to lead the Suns to their fourth straight win. Last year, in just his second professional season, Stanton ranked second in the minors in homers (39) and total bases (286) and fourth in slugging (.611). The 19-year old Stanton was promoted from Hi-A Jupiter on June 5 after hitting.294 with 12 HR and 39 RBI through 50 games.... 3B Lee Mitchell belted two homers, including the deciding two-run blast in the tenth inning which gave the Suns a 4-2, 10-inning victory over Carolina on June RHP Nic Ungs tied for the league lead with a 1.13 ERA in June and compiled a 4-1 record. On June 11 against Huntsville, Ungs spun six shutout innings and never faced more than four batters in an inning.... RHP Kasey Olenberger and RHP Matt Peterson, both South Division all-stars, paced the circuit with five wins and nine saves in the month of June, respectively. Mobile BayBears Mobile Alerts RHP Jarrod Parker, an XM All-Star Futures Game selection as well as a Southern League all-star, made his first start on June 24 following a 10-day stint on the DL. He gave up one run on three hits in five innings, picking up the win in Mobile s 10-4 victory over West Tenn.... OF Evan Frey supplied some late-game heroics on June 22 with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Diamond Jaxx B Sean Coughlin began the season with Hi-A Visalia and was promoted to Mobile after knocking in 20 runs in 27 games. He has been every bit as impressive for the BayBears and earned an all-star selection despite only playing 42 games in the Southern League. Coughlin is batting.331 with seven homers and 18 RBI and has three straight multi-hit games.... OF Cyle Hankerd has consistently been one of the league s top hitters this season and was rewarded with an all-star selection. Hankerd is batting.311 with four homers and 43 RBI. Mississippi Braves Pearls of Wisdom While the M-Braves ended the first half on a down note, including a 22-inning scoreless drought during a five-game sweep at the hands of the Barons, they have started off the second half on the right foot, winning four of their first six games. LHP Kyle Cofield, a South Division all-star, and RHP Ryne Reynoso, the Southern League Pitcher of the Week for June 22-28, have led the way in the early going, allowing five earned runs in 28.2 combined innings.... OF Matt Young, who along with C J.C. Boscan, rounds out Mississippi s all-star representatives, played well in June, batting.323 and stealing 13 bases. For the season, Young ranks third in steals (24) and fifth in on-base percentage (.406). His 55 walks lead the league.... Despite a 3-7 record, LHP Scott Diamond, who represented Canada in the World Baseball Classic, has pitched well. For the season, Diamond carries a 3.53 ERA in 14 starts and was 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA in the month of June. Montgomery Biscuits Biscuits Bites RHP Brian Baker had his consecutive scoreless innings streak snapped on June 9 thanks to a solo home run by Birmingham s Tyler Flowers. Baker, who is 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA, had run his streak to 30 innings. When the streak began on April 29, Baker owned a 9.26 ERA but lowered that figure to He was added to the Biscuits rotation on June 4 after making 13 relief appearances and one spot start up to that point.... RHP Jeremy Hellickson also rejoined the rotation on June 22 after returning from a supra spinatus sprain in his throwing shoulder that kept him on the DL since May 5. Hellickson, a South Division allstar selection, was 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA prior to his injury and has struck out 12 and allowed just two runs in nine innings since his return.... OF Desmond Jennings, voted to the South Division allstar team along with Hellickson, RHP Eddie Morlan and Rhyne Hughes (now at AAA Durham), was selected to play in the XM All-Star Futures Game on July Southern Bases, Vol. XV, Issue 5

3 Carolina Mudcats Caro-liners The Mudcats came up a game short in their comeback bid to win the North Division first half championship, as a 8-6 loss to Tennessee coupled with a Huntsville victory on the last day of the first half schedule sealed their fate. The Mudcats, in last place on May 6, won 28 of their final 44 first half games.... OF Chris Heisey, the Topps Southern League Player of the Month for May, was a unanimous selection to the North Division All-Star Team. He was also chosen to participate in the XM All-Star Futures Game on July 12. LHP Travis Wood, also a unanimous all-star selection, has been chosen as the North Division starting pitcher by North manager Phil Plantier.... OF Todd Frazier and SS Zack Cozart will join Wood in the North Division starting lineup, and teammates 3B Juan Francisco and RHP Jordan Smith will join them on the North roster. RHP James Avery was named an all-star but will not play due to injury. NORTHDIVISION Chattanooga Lookouts Chattanooga Chatter RHP Jesus Castillo worked eight impressive innings and added two run-scoring singles to lead Chattanooga past Huntsville 8-5 on June 25. Castillo authored his longest outing of the season, allowing five hits, walking one and fanning three. He improved to 4-5 and recorded 15 ground ball outs in the process.... RHP Kendy Batista has pitched well since his June 1 promotion from High-A Inland Empire, compiling a perfect 4-0 mark and a 2.66 ERA in 23.2 innings. SS Justin Sellers has also played well in June, batting.344 in the month. He entered June batting.268 but raised his average nearly 30 points to.296 at month s end.... 3B Josh Bell will start at third base and hit cleanup for the North All-Stars. Bell leads the Lookouts with eight homers and 39 RBI. Joining him on the all-star squad will be C Lucas May, OF Andrew Lambo and RHP Matthew Sartor, who has struck out 46 and allowed just 29 hits in 43.2 innings. Tennessee Smokies Smoke Signals The Smokies clubbed four home runs in the first half finale to ruin Carolina's chance at a first-half division title, defeating the Mudcats 8-6 at Smokies Park on June SS Darwin Barney got the best of former Oregon State teammate and current Mudcats pitcher Dallas Buck on June 20, driving in two with a fifth-inning single. Barney and Buck led the Beavers to the first of back-toback national championships in Barney was selected as a North Division all-star, but was promoted to AAA Iowa on June 30 and will not play in the game.... The Smokies will be represented by 1B Blake Lalli, OF Jim Adduci, RHP Casey Coleman, RHP Jay Jackson and RHP Brian Schlitter. North manager Phil Plantier tabbed Lalli to start at first base and bat seventh.... Coleman heads into the all-star break with a lot of momentum, compiling a 4-1 record and 2.13 ERA in the month of June. Adduci is also on a tear, and led the league with a.394 average in June. Huntsville Stars Dancing with the Stars The Stars didn t skip a beat after outlasting Carolina for the North Division first half title, winning four of the first five contests of a six-game set against Chattanooga to open the second half. Huntsville outscored the Lookouts 27-6 in those games.... LHP Zach Braddock had a memorable AA debut on June 25, as he came out of the bullpen and retired all five Chattanooga batters he faced and belted an opposite field grand slam in his first professional at-bat.... C Jonathan Lucroy hit his first homer at home since Opening Day on June 23, ending a streak of 26 home games without a home run. Despite the power outage, Lucroy has 43 RBI on the year and will be the starting catcher and bat eighth for the North All-Stars. He is joined in the starting lineup by 2B Shane Justis, who will bat sixth, and OF Adam Stern, who will play right field and bat second. RHP Donovan Hand, who ranks third in the league in ERA, RHP Robert Hinton and LHP Casey Baron will also represent the Stars. West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Jaxx Facts One of the circuit s top hitters all season, OF Ezequiel Carrera hit his first home run of the year to lead off the game against Mobile starter Matt Torra on June 22. Carrera is hitting.343 on the season, and will hit leadoff and play center field for the North All-Stars. 1B/DH Marshall Hubbard, the Southern League Hitter of the Week from June 8-14, will join Carrera in the starting lineup, batting fifth as the designated hitter. RHP Anthony Varvaro was also named to the squad as an injury replacement for Carolina s James Avery. Varvaro has appeared in 17 games since his promotion to West Tenn on May 1, and has struck out 29 and allowed just three earned runs in 27.2 innings.... RHP Steven Shell has been nearly unhittable since joining West Tenn on June 11. In two relief appearances and three starts, Shell has pitched 21 innings and has allowed just nine hits and one earned run. He currently owns a team-best 0.43 ERA and has not allowed a run in 15 innings. southernleague.com 2

4 SOUTHERN LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS Week of June 8-14 Marshall Hubbard, 1B, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx HITTER OF THE WEEK 6/8-6/14 Hubbard, a 2008 Southern League All-Star, led the league in six offensive categories to become West Tenn's first player of the week winner this season. The Ashland, Va. native ended the week on a fivegame hitting streak and collected eight hits and four RBI in a threegame stretch from June Hubbard batted.500 (10-20) and added six walks to post a league-best.615 on-base percentage. He also clubbed a league-high six extra-base hits (3 HR, 3 2B) and paced the circuit with a slugging percentage. On June 12, Hubbard ended Southern League Pitcher of the Week Travis Wood's no-hit bid with a seventh-inning single and collected two of West Tenn's four hits in the game. AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB OBP SLG Travis Wood, LHP, Carolina Mudcats PITCHER OF THE WEEK 6/8-6/14 With another dominant start, Carolina's Travis Wood became the league's first two-time weekly award winner of the 2009 season. After tossing 15 scoreless innings two weeks ago, Wood continued to roll, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning against West Tenn on June 12. While Southern League Hitter of the Week Marshall Hubbard singled to end the no-hit bid, that was the only blemish against Wood, who struck out nine and walked one in seven innings. The Little Rock, Ark. native has not allowed a run in his last three starts a span of 22 innings and has surrendered only two runs in his last five starts. Wood lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.11 and has allowed just 50 hits in 81 innings this season. W-L SV ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR *stats as of 7/1 3 Southern Bases, Vol. XV, Issue 5

5 SOUTHERN LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS Week of June Stefan Gartrell, OF, Birmingham Barons HITTER OF THE WEEK 6/15-6/21 Gartrell was the league s most productive hitter during the week, as the 25-year-old outfielder drove in a league-high nine runs and also scored six times. He batted.292 (7-24), ranked third with a.792 slugging percentage and blasted three home runs, good for second in the league. In a 10-0 rout of Mississippi on June 15, Gartrell had three hits, drove in three runs and scored twice. Gartrell drove in all four runs in Birmingham's 4-2 victory over Huntsville on June 19 and blasted a two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning. The San Francisco, Calif., native also drove in a run in the following two games, finishing the first half with a three-game RBI streak. His play down the stretch helped the Barons post a league-best 15-4 record in June. AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB OBP SLG Daniel Hudson, RHP, Birmingham Barons PITCHER OF THE WEEK 6/15-6/21 Upon his arrival to Birmingham on June 18, Daniel Hudson had struck out 79 batters and posted a 2.69 ERA in 67.0 innings split between Low-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem. His dominance continued in his Double-A debut on June 20 against Huntsville, as the 22- year-old righty surrendered just three hits and one unearned run in seven innings of work to earn his first Double-A victory. The Virginia Beach, Va., native struck out eight batters and walked only two, raising his strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season to 5.12 (87-17). Hudson, a fifth-round draft pick out of Old Dominion in 2008, joined the Barons when starting pitcher Brian Omogrosso was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte. W-L SV ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR *stats as of 7/1 southernleague.com 4

6 SOUTHERN LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS Week of June Bryan Petersen, OF, Jacksonville Suns HITTER OF THE WEEK Petersen was the quintessential leadoff hitter for the Suns last week, reaching base 17 times in six games to help Jacksonville to a 5-2 second half start. After an 0-for-5 performance on Monday, Petersen rattled off five consecutive multi-hit games, including two three-hit games. He raised his batting average from.267 to.288 during the week and also drove in six runs and scored five times. He led the league with a.567 on-base percentage, setting the table for teammates Lee Mitchell and Scott Cousins, who combined for 17 RBI. He also paced the circuit with a.480 average (12-25) and 12 hits. Petersen, a native of Northridge, Calif., was a fourth round draft pick in /22-6/28 AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB OBP SLG Ryne Reynoso, RHP, Mississippi Braves PITCHER OF THE WEEK 6/22-6/28 Reynoso was a workhorse for Mississippi last week, pitching a leaguehigh 15.2 innings in two dominant victories. On June 23, Reynoso bested league wins leader Lucas Harrell by yielding just three hits in eight scoreless innings as the Braves downed Birmingham 6-1. He was nearly as dominant in his next start, striking out six and allowing one earned run in seven and two-thirds innings in a 6-3 win over West Tenn on June 28. The consecutive victories have pushed Reynoso's season record to 5-4, and the Bellevue, Id., native currently sports a 3.31 ERA, which ranks tenth in the league. After a rocky start to the 2009 campaign, Reynoso has allowed more than three earned runs in just one of 10 starts since May 5. W-L SV ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR *stats as of 7/1 5 southernleague.com Southern Bases, Vol. XV, Issue 5

7 NORTH DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM Southern League All-Star rosters are determined by a vote of general managers, field managers, radio broadcasters and print media. These rosters are subject to change before the 2009 Southern League All-Star Game, which will be played on July 13 at Regions Park in Birmingham, AL. Players that were voted onto the team but have been injured, promoted or selected to play in the Futures Game are not listed. OF Ezequiel Carrera, WTN.343, 22 RBI, 17 SB Todd Frazier, CAR.317, 7 HR, 42 RBI Adam Stern, HVL.299, 26 RBI, 27 SB SS Zack Cozart, CAR.287, 8 HR, 38 RBI 2B Shane Justis, HVL.305, 4 HR, 38 RBI 3B Josh Bell, CHA.277, 8 HR, 39 RBI RELIEVERS Casey Baron, LHP, HVL 4-3, 1.96 ERA Robert Hinton, RHP, HVL 0-4, 3.24 ERA, 9 SV Matt Sartor, RHP, CHA 1-2, 2.89 ERA, 6 SV Brian Schlitter, RHP, TNS 0-4, 4.50 ERA, 12 SV Anthony Varvaro, RHP, WTN 2-0, 0.98 ERA STARTING PITCHERS Casey Coleman, RHP, TNS 8-3, 2.79 ERA Donovan Hand, RHP, HVL 6-1, 2.39 ERA Jay Jackson, RHP, TNS 4-3, 3.15 ERA Jordan Smith, RHP, CAR 4-3, 3.29 ERA Travis Wood, LHP, CAR 8-3, 1,36 ERA, 82 SO C Jonathan Lucroy, HVL.254, 5 HR, 43 RBI 1B Blake Lalli, TNS.301, 3 HR, 20 RBI DH Marshall Hubbard, WTN.275, 10 HR, 38 RBI RESERVES James Adduci, OF, TNS.311, 28 RBI, 17 SB Juan Francisco, 3B, CAR.260, 13 HR, 50 RBI Andrew Lambo, OF, CHA.266, 7 HR, 27 RBI Lucas May, C, CHA.298, 4 HR, 11 RBI southernleague.com 6

8 SOUTH DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM Southern League All-Star rosters are determined by a vote of general managers, field managers, radio broadcasters and print media. These rosters are subject to change before the 2009 Southern League All-Star Game, which will be played on July 13 at Regions Park in Birmingham, AL. Players that were voted onto the team but have been injured, promoted or selected to play in the Futures Game are not listed. OF David Cook, OF, BIR.255, 16 HR, 54 RBI Stefan Gartrell, BIR.284, 14 HR, 54 RBI Matt Young, OF, MIS.279, 19 RBI, 24 SB SS Pedro Ciriaco, MOB.255, 23 RBI, 16 SB 2B C.J. Retherford, BIR.281, 6 HR, 41 RBI 3B Ricardo Sosa, MOB.260, 7 HR, 35 RBI RELIEVERS Fernando Hernandez, BIR 2-3, 1.55 ERA, 11 SV Eddie Morlan, MTG 3-3, 2.68 ERA Jhonny Nunez, BIR 3-0, 2.14 ERA, 3 SV Kasey Olenberger, JAX 7-1, 1.41 ERA Matt Peterson, JAX 1-2, 3.68 ERA, 18 SV STARTING PITCHERS Kyle Cofield, MIS 5-2, 3.08 ERA John Ely, BIR 6-1, 3.44 ERA Barry Enright, MOB 5-6, 3.92 ERA Jeremy Hellickson, MTG 2-1, 2.08 ERA Graham Taylor, JAX 4-5, 3.56 ERA C J.C. Boscan, MIS.292, 0 HR, 26 RBI 1B Sean Coughlin, MOB.331, 7 HR, 18 RBI DH Cyle Hankerd, MOB.311, 4 HR, 43 RBI RESERVES Brad Davis, C, JAX.232, 6 HR, 28 RBI Chris De La Cruz, SS, JAX.271, 1 HR, 15 RBI Chris Rahl, OF, MOB.293, 4 HR, 28 RBI Lorenzo Scott, OF, JAX.284, 6 HR, 33 RBI 7 Southern Bases, Vol. XV, Issue 5

9 SOUTHERN LEAGUE STANDINGS **As of July 1** NORTH 2nd HALF W L PCT GB Huntsville Tennessee West Tenn Chattanooga Carolina SOUTH 2nd HALF W L PCT GB Jacksonville Montgomery Birmingham Mississippi Mobile st HALF RESULTS NORTH W L PCT GB Huntsville Carolina Tennessee Chattanooga West Tenn SOUTH W L PCT GB Birmingham Mobile Jacksonville Montgomery Mississippi PITCHING TEAM STATISTICS W-L ERA H SHO SV BB SO AVG R H HR BB SB Birmingham Carolina Chattanooga Huntsville Jacksonville Mississippi Mobile Montgomery Tennessee West Tenn BOLD ITALICS indicate league leader BATTING southernleague.com 8

10 FEATURED STATLINE 1.2 IP, HR, 4 RBI Stars left-handed reliever Zach Braddock had one of the most memorable debuts in Southern League history on June 25 against Chattanooga. Braddock relieved Bobby Bramhall with one out in the seventh inning, and retired the final two batters of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Braddock stepped to the plate for his first professional at-bat and belted an opposite field grand slam to give the Stars a 12-1 lead. Braddock returned to the mound in the top of the eighth and retired the side in order. BY THE NUMBERS Birmingham had a league-high 11 players earn all-star honors. However, due to promotions and Tyler Flowers and Dayan Viciedo being invited to play in the XM All-Star Futures Game, only six Barons will suit up for the South Division All-Stars on July 13. After snapping a league-high 12-game losing streak on June 4, Tennessee has won 16 of its last 26 games Birmingham s David Cook drove in 29 runs during the month of June to lead the league. Teammate Stefan Gartrell finished second with 21. Both players were named to the South Division All-Star Team. Since switching to a North vs. South format for the all-star game in 2005, the North All- Stars are 4-0 against the South Division. In nine June appearances, Montgomery s Paul Phillips tossed 11 shutout innings, allowed just two hits and earned two wins. Check out the Southern League s official souvenir store online to purchase the 2009 Southern League Media Guide, which features budding MLB stars Clayton Kershaw, Evan Longoria, Cameron Maybin and David Price on the cover. Also available are Southern League New Era caps, Southern League polo shirts and official Southern League baseballs. Visit the Southern League souvenir stand today! Writer, Managing Editor and Graphic Designer Nate Beardsley Editor Lori Webb Copyright 2009, The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction southernleague.com of Southern Bases, in whole or part without the expressed written consent of the Southern 2 League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc., is strictly prohibited.