Portland Sea Dogs vs. Trenton Thunder: 5/12&13/09

On Tuesday and Wednesday we went to Waterfront Park to see the Trenton Thunder (Yankees AA affiliate) take on the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox AA affiliate). If you are not familiar with Waterfront Park, you should know that while it's one of the nicest atmospheres to watch a ball game, it's deep dimensions and the wind that blows off of the Delaware River makes it almost impossible to hit homeruns. In the 30+ games I've seen there over the last 3 years, I think I've seen 5 homeruns. Here were some highlights from the series...

Trenton:

Alan Horne, SP - Horne was ranked #5 in the Yankees farm system by Baseball America in 2008 before injuring his arm and dropping to #25 in 2009. He only made it through 3 innings due to another arm injury. He cruised through the 1st inning but began wincing soon after that.

Reegie Corona, SS - He walked three times and hit a single and a double in his 8 plate appearances over the two-day span. The 22 year old looked extremely dialed in at the plate, his defense didn't disappoint either as he turned a few tough balls in outs.

Colin Curtis, OF - Curtis fell victim to Trenton's strong winds that knocked two long fly balls down at the warning track. Overall, he was quiet, only going 1-8 in the series.

Jorge Vazquez, 1B - The first thing Clyde and I said to each other was "wow, this guy is enormous!" Vazquez, who came over from the Mexican league, is listed at 225 pounds but looks much closer to 240. Weight aside, he can hit, going 2-8 with 3 RBI in the series, all while making some pretty nice defensive plays at first base for a man that size.

Ryan Pope, SP - The starter for the Wednesday game. Pope pitched an absolute gem, going 7 innings while only allowing one hit, striking out 6, and walking nobody. His arm did not appear to be overpowering but his command of his fastball, curve, and changeup was strong. However he was certainly helped by the wind keeping the balls in the park; on a different night he might have let up 3 or 4 homeruns.

Portland:

Junichi Tazawa, SP - After getting a lot of publicity in spring training, Tazawa has not disappointed so far. He dominated hitters, going 6 innings, striking out 7, walking 1, and scattering 3 hits in one of the best pitching performances I've ever seen live. He had a mid-90's fastball that hitters looked late on all night, and also mixed in a curve ball and splitter - both looked excellent. Every hitter he faced looked over matched at one point or another in their at-bat which showed as he induced a number of weak infield pop-ups and groundballs. The 22 year old held his velocity throughout the game while displaying fantastic command. I would not be surprised if Boston called him up at some point this season.

Lars Anderson, 1B - Anderson, who ranked #16 on our top 100 prospects list this spring has been off to a rough start, only hitting .230 with a few homeruns. Anderson struck out twice and walked 3 times in the first game. He went 1-4 in the second game. Anderson showed a lot of patience at the plate and got unlucky as he lined a few balls right to the defenders. Regardless, he should be an all-star some day.

Argenis Diaz, SS - Certainly known more for his glove than his bat, Diaz struggled mightily at the plate as he went 0-6 with a walk. He didn't strike out at all, but he also didn't hit anything besides weak ground balls. He managed to hit .286 last year split between A+ and AA but had little power. If he can't hit in the majors he will most likely be a fringe utility player. if he does find a way to hit, he could very easily win a gold glove.

Other Notables: Reid Engel (POR) hit the only homerun of the series, which went well over 400 feet...Bubba Bell (POR) made a few brilliant defensive plays in center field...Justin Snyder (TRE) only played on Wednesday but he went 1-1 with 3 walks...Eduadro Nunez (TRE) hit lead-off both days and went 2-9 with 4 strikeouts and a stolen base.