April 12th Honor Roll: Burch Smith and Rosell Herrera
By Wally Fish
Friday night’s MiLB honor roll is a straight forward affair. A busy day of youth soccer and youth baseball is the cause.
Several years removed from his college days pitching for the Sooners, Smith is putting together a solid pro resume. (Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)
Pitcher of the Day: SD – Burch Smith, San Antonio Missions (AA): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
Drafted not once (Indians 49th round, 2009), not twice (Indians 20th round, 2010) but thrice (Padres 14th round, 2011), Smith appears to have been worth the wait. His 2012 campaign with Lake Elsinore was his first full season in the minors. In 26 starts he put together a 3.85 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 137-27 SO-to-BB in 128.2 IP which is more impressive when factoring in that those stats came while pitching in the California League. It appears he’s taken another step forward as he’s yet to allow an earned run in his first 11.0 innings over two starts with San Antonio.
Hitter of the Day: COL – Rosell Herrera, Asheville Tourists (A): 3-3, 2 R, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB
The Rockies signed Herrera out of the Dominican Republic on July 2nd, 2009 and entering his 4th season in the minors there’s already a large divergence in opinion about his standing as a prospect. Prior to this season MLB.com ranked Herrera at #12 in their Rockies Top-20, however he didn’t crack Colorado’s Top-30 according to Baseball America. As a result the 20-year old SS is now at a place in his career where the on field results need to start matching the projections. He started out in Asheville last season but hit a woeful 0.202/.271/.272 in 63 games before he was reassigned to Tri-City in the Northwest League (A-). After he was dropped a level, his performance rebounded and he went on to hit 0.284/.332/.351 in 47 games. Still not an exciting performances but certainly an improvement. Based on the results of his return to the South Atlantic League this month, it’s hard to argue with how the Rockies have handled him. In his first 10 games (counting Saturday’s action) he’s hitting 0.375/.457/.775 with 4 2B and 4 HR and 5 multi-hit games.
Honorable Mentions from the Mound:
COL – Tyler Chatwood, Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
CWS – Erik Johnson, Birmingham Barons (AA): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
DET – Duane Below, Toledo Mud Hens (AAA): 6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
KC – Kyle Zimmer, Wilmington Blue Rocks (A+): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
LAA – Kramer Sneed, Inland Empire 66ers (A+): 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
PHI – Seth Rosin, Reading Fightin’ Phils (AA): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
SD – Max Fried, Fort Wayne TinCaps (A): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
SF – Chris Stratton, Augusta Greenjackets (A): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
TB – Dylan Floro, Bowling Green Hot Rods (A): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
WSH – Brett Mooneyham, Hagerstown Suns (A): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Honorable Mentions from the Plate:
ATL – Tyler Pastornicky, Gwinnett Braves (AAA): 3-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, SO
CLE – Jerrud Sabourin, Carolina Mudcats (A+): 4-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, SO
LAD – Chris O’Brien, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A+): 3-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, RBI, SO
LAD – Paul Hoenecke, Great Lakes Loons (A): 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB
NYM – Travis Taijeron, St. Lucie Mets (A+): 4-5, R, 2B, 3B, BB
OAK – Michael Taylor, Sacramento River Cats (AAA): 3-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, BB
OAK – Chad Oberacker, Midland Rockhounds (AA): 4-6, R, 2 2B, RBI
SEA – Brad Miller, Jackson Generals (AA): 3-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
TOR – Kenny Wilson, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA): 4-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB