Batavia Muckdogs (A-short season): Won 5-3 over the Oneonta Tigers last night.

Miguel Tapia recorded the win, now 4-2 with a 2.76 ERSA. Adam Riefer secured his tenth save.

Tapia allowed only two hits in five full innings while striking out two.

Riefer closed with one inning, but earning a hold for his three innings of one-hit work was Scott Gorgen, who struck out four.

Beau Riportella went 2-for-3 with a double and scoring two runs.

Blake Murphy went 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Shane Peterson went 1-for-3 with a double.

Springfield Cardinals (AA): The Northwest Arkansas Naturals beat the Double-A Cardinals yesterday at Hammons Field In Springfield, Missouri, 5-4.

The Naturals came back from being down 4-0 after five innings, scoring their five with the remaining innings.

Tyler Greene went 3-for-4 in the losing cause with two home runs.

Batavia Muckdogs (A): The Muckdogs beat the Lowell Spinners yesterday, 5-3. Scott Gorgen got the win, his first against no losses. Gorgen walked only two in 3 full innings or work while striking out seven.

Domnit Bolivar went 2-for4 with a home run.

Johnson City Cardinals (R): The Cardinals defeated the Lowell Flying Tigers 7-5 yesterday in extra innings. After scoring five runs in the first, the Flying Tigers chipped away, tying the game and sending it into extra frames.

The first inning assault came from a bases-loaded RBI walk by Daryl Jones, followed by a grand slam by Luke Gorsett. 

In the tenth inning Matthew Arburr hit a walk-off, two-run homer to give the Cardinals the 7-5 win.

Kenneth Maiques (1-1, 5.96) picked up the win.

4thebirds Main Web Site

Wow. I’m really zonked. Who knew that the draft could be so exhausting? Thanks everyone for tuning in, this was far and away the most trafficked day in FR history. I was trying to keep with it all, so sorry if the quality of content wasn’t quite up to snuff. Here are my meaningless, off-the-cuff ratings of how things went. I’m scratching my head on a few picks. Disclaimer: I reserve the right to flip flop on my opinion of any of these players. Heh. These are extremely premature evals.

*****-Wow pick!
****-Very good pick
***-Solid
**-Huh?
*-What the!?!?

By round:

1. Brett Wallace, 3B, Arizona St. **** Best pure hitter of the draft, should hit 25 HRs with a high OBP annually, but can he stick at third? Law’s Ranking, 9th. BA rank, 20th. My personal preference-Brett Lawrie, 3B/C.
2. Lance Lynn, RHP, Ole Miss. ***, maybe ***1/2. Some of you hate this pick, but I don’t think it’s bad. Lynn has a decent fastball, clean mechanics, good control and a solid breaking ball. Law’s Ranking, 23rd. BA ’s 83rd. Yes, he’s like a lot of starters in the system now, but pitching depth is always a good thing. My personal pick-Destin Hood OF, St. Paul’s Episcopal HS, AL, but realistically, he has some signabilty questions.
3. Shane Peterson, OF/1B, Long Beach St. **1/2. I don’t get this pick at all at the moment. He doesn’t hit for the type of power a typical corner OF does. He possesses extremely quirky batting mechanics. Strikes me as Cody Haerther, + OBP, with quirks. It’s not like I can’t change my mind on this, but right now I’m not really digging it. BA’s ranking: 75. My personal pick-Tyler Ladensdorf, SS.
4. Niko Vasquez, SS/2B, Durango HS, Las Vegas, NV. *****. At this spot this is a great pick. A young, power hitting infielder. He’s far from a finished product, but I don’t think Luhnow could’ve done any better here. Law’s ranking-38. BA-65. Personal pick-Vasquez is fine, as Melville isn’t signable, reportedly.
5. Scott Gorgen, RHP, UC Irvine. ***. Some may call three stars generous. Not too many scouts are his fans due to his size, but he’s got a decent sinker, a great change and reportedly off the charts makeup. He’s his school’s all-time K leader, definitely a results guy. BA ranking-183. My personal pick-Adrian Nieto, C, American Heritage HS.
6. Jermaine Curtis, 3B, UCLA. **?. One positive is he walks more than he K’s. Had a great season in the Cape but didn’t live up to expectations this year. Solid defender. I’ll need to do some more digging, but from what little I’ve seen, this is a weird pick from my standpoint at the moment. My personal choice-Zach Putnam, RHP, Michigan. What is the story there, I wonder???
7. Eric Fornataro, RHP, Miami Dade CC. ???. The bright side is Matt Marquis, Eric Thames, Brett Hunter and DJ Mitchell are still available, amongst others.

Luhnow took some head scratchers, to be sure. How is that any different than what he does every year? I would take his info over BA, Law or PG Crosschecker and again, these are extremely reactions are very knee-jerk.

 My general feeling so far is: Yay for Wallace and Niko, and Lynn. Myeh on the rest. Overall: Upside? But, time will tell, and the draft ain’t over yet. And I still say Luhnow deserves of slack from the fans for turning the farm from being totally barren to respectable again. And I’m sure cares more than I do, it’s his job on the line. All I’m going by is a lot of secondhand info from different sources that I trust.

I’ll be around tomorrow for more coverage.

Scott Gorgen, RHP, UC Irvine

Sorry if the content isn’t quite up to snuff, I’m just trying to keep up. I’m getting pretty zonked here, but I’m up for 2 more rounds.

I actually like Gorgen quite a bit. His twin brother Matt is the closer for Cal, but he’s considered the best prospect of the two. He throws a 88-92 MPH sinker, a sharp curveball and a plus change that has splitter movement. He’s another “results” guy, with 115 K’s in 109 innings, with just 36 BB and 7 HR allowed. Gorgen also gets rave reviews for his makeup and poise. The knock on Gorgen is his George Costanza body. (5-10, 200) Yes, these Birds won’t be selling jeans. But I like this pick.

Scott Gorgen, RHP, UC Irvine. Another pick I really like. I’ve been a fan of Gorgen for a while. He gets flack for his lack of size, but he’s got good stuff. He’s another sinkerballer, and he has one of the best changeups in this draft. Good pick.