Royals on the Farm 5/30 -- May wrapup a day early

I'm gonna go ahead and wrap up May a day early, because I know I'm not gonna have the time to do it tomorrow. Your tops in OPS and WHIP will be listed after each team's update....

AAA - Omaha: Nashville 6, O-Royals 2 (7/G1)

SS Lisson 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI -- .190
1B Ka'aihue 1-1, 2 BB, 2B (14), RS -- .288
DH House 1-3, K, RS -- .307
3B Metcalf 0-3, K -- .243
RF-LF Aldridge 0-2, BB, OF assist at second -- .272

M. Wright 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA -- L, 0-2, 7.71 ERA
Hamulack 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, HRA, WP -- 8.05 ERA, think it's time to part ways with Tim

*** The Sounds rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to win the first of two with the Royals Saturday. Omaha's big hit came in the 2nd when Mario Lisson ripped a 2-out, 2-run triple for his first AAA RBIs. Matt Wright gave up a solo homer to RF Brendan Katin (his 7th) in the bottom of the inning, though, as the Sounds cut the lead in half. Omaha stranded 2 in the 4th and Wright lost the lead in the 4th as 3B Adam Heether clubbed his 4th homer of the season to tie the game. An RBI double gave the Sounds the lead and chased Wright from the game in the 5th as Tim Hamulack came in to strand 2. The Sounds picked up the remainder of their runs in the 6th as Katin led off the inning with his 2nd homer of the game and 8th of the season and 3 other hits brought in 2 runs to make it 6-2. Omaha stranded 1 in the 7th as Chris Narveson picked up his 5th save for the Sounds. Starter Matt Ginter got the win with 5 IP of 2 ER allowed on 3 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to improve to 2-1 with a 2.96 ERA. Katin was 2-3 with 2 HR and 2 RBI (35) along with a K to improve to .285. LF Jason Bourgeois was 2-2 with his 5th double and 2 RBI (17) to move to .296.

O-Royals 2, Nashville 1 (7/G2)

DH Thorman 1-3, HR (5), 2 RBI (12), RS -- .197
C House 0-3 -- .302
1B Ka'aihue 0-3, K -- .282
3B Metcalf 0-2, HBP, 2 K, RS -- .240
SS Lisson 0-2, K -- .174
CF Duarte 0-2 -- .182

D. Hughes 4 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 4.70 ERA
Yabuta 2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K -- W, 1-1, 5.52 ERA
Atencio IP, nothing -- SV, 2, 4.94 ERA

*** The teams combined for only 7 hits but Omaha made its 3 count as a Scott Thorman 2-run homer made the difference and the Royals split the doubleheader. Dusty Hughes made the spot start for Omaha and stranded 2 in the 2nd and then uncorked a run-scoring wild pitch in the 4th to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead. Travis Metcalf was hit by a pitch to lead off the 5th before Thorman connected on his 5th homer of the season to make it 2-1 Omaha. Yasuhiko Yabuta stranded 2 in the 5th and the Sounds wouldn't threaten again. Starter Josh Butler took the loss in his Nashville debut with 6 IP of 2 ER allowed on 3 hits with 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Four Sounds had a hit each.

The Royals are 23-27 and 3 1/2 games back. The series wraps today as Heath Phillips (2-4, 6.70) faces Sounds righty Tim Dillard (6-2, 3.48). Brayan Pena was called back up to KC as John Buck went on the DL with a back injury.

Omaha's tops in OPS (min. 20 games played overall and on active roster, * means leads team) are....1B Kila Ka'aihue leads the way with a .977 OPS (.282 BA/.439 OBP/.538 SLG, 34 RS*, 14 2B*, 8 HR*, 25 RBI, 46 BB*, 38 K, 2 E in 47 G/156 ABs, that's what we wanna see); followed by C/LF Brayan Pena at .888 (.307/.354/.534, 11 RS, 6 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 4 BB/9 K, 2/3 SB, 3 E in 22 G/88 ABs, still pulling for him to displace Buck, tho his work behind the plate seems lacking); 1B/DH Ryan Shealy at .879 (technically not on active roster as he's on the DL and keep in mind he only played 7 games in May, .345/.454/.425, 15 RS, 7 2B, 000000 HR, 12 RBI, 18 BB/25 K in 25 G/87 ABs, has better OBP than Ka'aihue in many less ABs, but where's the power?); OF Chris Lubanski at .850 (same caveats as Shealy, only played 4 games in May, .308/.388/.462, 18 RS, 6 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 12 BB/15 K, 6/7 SB in 24 G/91 ABs, hopefully back from hamstring injury soon); and C J.R. House at .756 (.302/.354/.402, 27 RS, 6 2B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 14 BB/19 K, 2 E in 43 G/179 ABs, cooled some in May). Others of note: 2B Tug Hulett was hitting .296 with an .841 OPS before his call-up with a team-leading 32 RBI along with 28 RS and 11 2B; newest Royal LF Scott Thorman is hitting only .197 but has a .775 OPS, I didn't feel he had enough experience with Omaha to put him in the top 5; OF Cory Aldridge is hitting .268 with a .750 OPS and co-leads the active roster with 26 RBI; IF Irving Falu is hitting .275 with a .719 OPS, leads the team with 3 triples and has 16 BB with only 10 Ks in 142 ABs; 3B Travis Metcalf is hitting .240 with a .701 OPS with 29 RS, 10 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI (tied with Aldridge), 17 BB/37 K and a team-leading 6 E in 48 G/175 ABs; OF Jose Duarte is hitting only .182 with a .468 OPS and 5 BB/8 K in his first 17 AAA games; and IF Mario Lisson is hitting .174/.435 with 0 BB/7 K in his first 7 AAA games.

Omaha's tops in WHIP (min. 40 IP starter/10 IP relief) are.... SP Lenny DiNardo with a 0.98 WHIP (4-1, 3.29 ERA, 2 SV, 2 HRA, 10 BB/39 K in 11 games (7 starts)/52 IP, looking good); SP Luke Hochevar at 1.02 (probably shouldn't include him since he's headed right back to KC, 5-1, 1.17, 1 CG shutout, 2 HRA, 11 BB/36 K in 7 starts/46 IP); SP Bruce Chen at 1.15 (has been nice addition at AAA, 2-2, 4.13, 1 CG shutout, 6 HRA, 18 BB/46 K* in 9 starts/52 1/3 IP*); RP Greg Atencio at 1.27 (2-2, 4.94, 2 SV, 1 HRA, 8 BB/29 K in 15 G/23 2/3 IP); and RP Yasuhiko Yabuta at 1.36 (1-1, 5.52, HRA, 5 BB/16 K in 9 G/14 2/3 IP). Others of note: Starter Brandon Duckworth has a 1.45 WHIP and 5.55 ERA with a team-leading 7 HRA and 19 BB/25 K in 9 starts/47 IP; starter Matt Wright has a 1.45 WHIP with 3 HRA and 5 BB/10 K through his first 4 starts and 18 2/3 IP; starter Heath Phillips is sitting at a 1.83 WHIP and 6.70 ERA with 3 HRA, 20 BB/32 K in 9 starts/47 IP; RP Dusty Hughes has a 1.48 WHIP and 4.70 ERA with 2 HRA, 9 BB/19 K in 14 games (1 start) and 23 IP; RP Carlos Rosa is struggling, to say the least, with a 1.73 WHIP and 7.23 ERA, 2 SV, 4 HRA, 13 BB/29 K in 15 G/23 2/3 IP, nice K rate tho; and Hamulack brings up the rear with a 2.21 WHIP and 8.05 ERA, 4 HRA, 12 BB/17 K in 15 G/19 IP.

AA - NW Arkansas: Frisco 7, Naturals 5

CF Strait 3-4, 2 2B (11), 3 RS, 2 SB (4) -- .304
C Clark 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI, RS -- .667, '09 NWA debut at catcher
SS McConnell 2-4, 2B (3), RBI (9) -- .250, must like having shortstop to himself with Lisson gone
DH Mertins 2-5 -- .270
3B C. Smith 1-5, HR (7), RBI (27), 3 K, RS, E (11) -- .230
RF Parraz 1-4, BB, K -- .331

Cortes 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K -- L, 2-5, 4.01 ERA, hasn't pitched like top prospect this season
de la Vara 2 IP, 3 UER, H, 2 BB, K, HRA, pickoff -- 4.32 ERA
Holland IP, ER, 2 H, 4 BB, K -- 2.59 ERA
Sencion IP, K -- 4.39 ERA

*** Frisco held off the Naturals to win and take the opener of the series. Corey Smith got NWA started with a solo leadoff homer in the 2nd for his 7th of the season but the Naturals stranded 2 in the inning. Frisco moved ahead with 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk off Dan Cortes in the 3rd but the Nats stranded 2 more in the 3rd and Cortes worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 4th. Cody Strait doubled with 1 out in the 4th, stole third and scored on a throwing error on the play to tie the game. Frisco grabbed momentum right back, though, with a run in the 5th on a hit, walk and 3 steals in the inning. Gilbert de la Vara came in to pitch the 6th and a Smith error helped lead to a 2-out, 3-run homer by 2B Guilder Rodriguez (his 1st of the season) to extend the lead to 6-2. The Nats would rally with 2 out in the 6th as Cody Clark and Chris McConnell hit back-to-back RBI doubles to trim the lead to 2. Greg Holland walked the bases loaded but worked out of the jam in the 8th and Clark hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to pull NWA within 1. Holland's struggles continued in the 9th as he allowed a walk, double and RBI single to make it 7-5 RoughRiders before Carlos Sencion got out of the jam. The Naturals left a runner at second in the 9th as RP Jose Diaz got his 7th save. Starter Michael Kirkman got the win with 5 IP of 2 ER allowed on 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA. CF Craig Gentry was 2-5 with 3 SB (15), a K and 2 RS to move to .254, and Rodriguez only had the homer but walked twice, stole his 7th base, drove in 3 runs (12) and scored twice to move to .279 with a 1-2 day. SS Marcus Lemon was 1-2 with 3 walks, his 3rd SB, 2 RBI (14), a K and RS and was picked off once to move to .285.

The Naturals are 22-25 and 6 games back while on a 5-game losing skid. Game 2 of the set is today as Anthony Lerew (3-3, 5.20) faces Riders righty Michael Schlact (0-1, 8.10).

Northwest Arkansas' tops in OPS (same mins. as above) are.... C John Suomi leading the way at 1.052 (.333/.411/.641, 18 RS, 4 2B, 6 HR, 13 RBI, 10 BB/14 K, 2 E in 25 G/78 ABs, too bad he's already 29 and only at AA); OF Jordan Parraz next at .911 (.331/.439*/.472, 18 RS, 10 2B, 2 3B*, 2 HR, 26 RBI, 20 BB*/15 K, 3/9 SB (yikes), 3 E in 42 G/142 ABs, and we got rid of Tyler Lumsden in the deal); 1B Brian McFall at .812 (.268/.341/.471, 20 RS, 11 2B*, 7 HR*, 32 RBI*, 11 BB/44 K*, 5 E in 44 G/157 ABs); OF Cody Strait at .805 (.304/.375/.430, 34 RS*, 11 2B*, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 18 BB/31 K, 4/8 SB, 1 E in 43 G/158 ABs, has been solid pickup from Reds); and C Jeff Howell at .777 (.282/.330/.447, 10 RS, 5 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 6 BB/20 K, 3 E in 29 G/85 ABs). Others of note: 2B Kurt Mertins is sixth at .690 but has 9 errors. He does have 2 triples and 21 RBI but has 14 walks with 35 Ks in 41 G/159 ABs; OF Joe Dickerson is on the shelf but is sitting at a .655 OPS, 7 2B, 18 BB/19 K and 5/6 SB in 34 G/126 ABs; OF Jose Duarte got called up to Omaha despite only a .651 OPS in 28 games, but it was a defensive need situation, not as bad as Mario Lisson getting called up with a .566 OPS; 3B Corey Smith has a team leading 11 errors and a .648 OPS but is tied for the team lead with 7 HR and is second with 27 RBI with 39 Ks in 47 G/191 ABs; and SS Chris McConnell is up to a .616 OPS with an OBP just over .300, 6 BB/22 K and 5/6 SB in 27 G/80 ABs.

NWA's tops in WHIP are.... RP Chris Hayes at 1.01 (3-0, 0.53 ERA, 9 runs allowed, only 2 ER, 2 SV, 6 BB/14 K in 16 games/33 2/3 IP); RP Chris Nicoll at 1.09 (3-0, 1.84, 1 SV, 9 runs allowed (6 ER), HRA, 8 BB/28 K in 15 games/29 1/3 IP, I say this is Hamulack's replacement at AAA, but Hayes could come along too); RP Dan Cevette at 1.22 (0-0, 3.38, 6 BB/6 K in 8 games (1 start) and 10 2/3 IP); starter Blake Wood at 1.45 (2-3, 6.31, 1 CG, 7 HRA, 15 BB/31 K in 9 starts/45 2/3 IP, where'd the K's go?, ungood when 1.45 WHIP is in top 5 and is best mark among SPs to boot); and starter Matt Kniginyzky at 1.56 (1-5, 5.31, 8 HRA*, 13 BB/17 K in 9 starts/42 1/3 IP, bad BB/K, bad K rate). Others of note: RP Victor Marte had a 0.91 WHIP in 22 IP before getting his call to AAA; RP Greg Holland has a 1.56 WHIP but only a 2.59 ERA with 2 saves, 10 BB/25 K in 24 1/3 IP); starter Dan Cortes is next with a 1.58 WHIP with only 2 HRA but 32 BB/36 K in 10 starts/49 1/3 IP, back to old wild ways to some extent; starter Blake Johnson has a 1.59 WHIP with only 12 BB/21 K in 8 starts and 40 1/3 IP; and starter Anthony Lerew has a 1.78 WHIP with 5 HRA and 17 BB/20 K in 9 starts and 45 IP. Not much to write home about in the AA rotation. RP Carlos Sencion has a 1.73 WHIP while RP Gilbert de la Vara has a 1.84 WHIP in a combined 51 2/3 IP.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 8, Myrtle Beach 6

SS Bianchi 3-5, RS -- .320
2B Giavotella 2-4, BB, 2 RBI (20), K, SB (9) -- .229
CF D. Robinson 2-4, BB, RBI (17), 2 SB (26) -- .242
RF Lough 2-4, BB, 2B (11), K, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .338
1B C. Robinson 1-4, SF, 3 RBI (28), RS -- .299
DH Walton 1-2, 2 BB, RBI (7), RS, picked off -- .274
LF Orlando 1-3, BB, HBP, 2B (9), RBI (13), RS, SB (7) -- .207
3B Moustakas 1-5, RS -- .271
* The Rocks stranded 11.

Caldera 5 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 8 K, HRA, E (2) -- W, 1-2, 6.00 ERA, not quite a quality start
Chavez 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, BB, K, pickoff -- 2.89 ERA
Abreu 1 1/3 IP, 2 K -- SV, 3, 5.06 ERA

*** A 7-run Rocks 1st countered a 4-run opening frame for the Pelicans and Wilmington held on for the win. Caldera gave up a 2-run triple and then a 2-run homer to LF Cody Johnson (his 17th) in the 1st to spot Myrtle Beach a 4-0 lead. Wilmington did all its extensive damage in the 1st with 2 outs as they loaded the bases off SP Jeff Locke and Paulo Orlando took a bases-loaded HBP before Clint Robinson singled in 2 runs, Jamar Walton took a bases-loaded walk, and Derrick Robinson singled home a run to chase Locke from the game with only 2/3 IP. Johnny Giavotella singled home 2 more runs before Mike Moustakas popped out to finally end the rally. The Pelicans added 2 in the 3rd off Caldera on 2 hits and a walk to cut the lead to 7-6 but Wilmington picked up an insurance run in the 4th on a Clint Robinson sac fly to make it 8-6. Caldera left the bases loaded in the 5th, the Rocks stranded 2 in scoring position that inning, the Pelicans stranded 2 in the 7th, RP Juan Abreu came in to leave the bases loaded in the 8th and then pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save. Locke took the loss with 2/3 IP of 7 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with a K to balloon his ERA to 5.52 with a 1-4 record. 3B Donell Linares was 4-5 with his 1st triple and 2 RBI (32) with 2 RS to move to .272, Johnson was 3-4 with a walk, his 11th double, the HR, 3 RBI (36) and a K to move to .276, and 1B Freddie Freeman was 1-3 with 2 walks, a K and 2 RS to move to .299.

Wilmington is 25-23 and 6 games back. The teams got an early start on the series finale today as Danny Duffy (5-1, 3.00) faced former Royal farmhand righty Erik Cordier (1-2, 3.24). Cordier is in line for the win right now in the late innings, but, hey, we got Tony Pena Jr.! Right? Right? Wooooooooh!

The Rocks' tops in OPS are.... OF David Lough narrowly in the lead with an .840 mark (.338*/.394*/.446, 20 RS, 11 2B, 22 RBI, 9 BB/22 K, 6/8 SB in 43 G/148 ABs); 1B Clint Robinson at .839 (.299/.355/.484*, 26 RS, 14 2B*, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 12 BB/33 K, 3 E in 44 G/157 ABs); SS Jeff Bianchi at .834 (.320/.381/.453, 28 RS, 12 2B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 16 BB/39 K*, 10/12 SB, 5 E in 46 G/172 ABs, not as good as April but fairly consistent); part timer IF Anthony Seratelli at .774 (.288/.304/.470, 10 RS, 4 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB/13 K, 4 E in 21 G/66 ABs); and 3B Mike Moustakas at .755 (only .706 OPS in May, .271/.307/.448, 30 RS, 11 2B, 7 HR*, 35 RBI*, 10 BB/29 K, 2/6 SB, 13 E* in 45 G/181 ABs, not getting on base much, but is producing). Others of note: OF Jamar Walton is sixth at .739; 2B Johnny Giavotella is only at a .721 OPS but leads the team with 4 triples and 35 RS with 31 BB*/24 K, 9/14 SB and 9 E in 44 G/153 ABs; C Ryan Eigsti is at .689 in 111 ABs; OF Paulo Orlando is struggling at .589 with 39 Ks but also 3 triples and 7/8 SB in 145 ABs; OF Adrian Ortiz is lagging at .584 despite hitting .267, OBP is only .283, 2 3B, 4 BB/23 K, 7/9 SB in 146 ABs; OF Derrick Robinson is next to last at .581 with 26/34 SB, 23 RS, 6 2B, 17 BB/31 K in 178 ABs; and C Matt Morizio brings up the rear with a paltry .404 OPS in 39 ABs.

Wilmington's tops in WHIP are.... starter Everett Teaford at 1.00 (5-1, 2.65 ERA, 7 HRA*, 9 BB/38 K in 9 starts/51 IP, K/BB is good, K rate is OK, nothing great, has followed up good '08 with better start to '09); RP Brandon Sisk at 1.02 (1-2, 3.66, 4 SV, HRA, 7 BB/19 K in 19 2/3 IP, struggled a little this month but has finished strong); starter Danny Duffy at 1.15 (5-1, 3.00, 4 HRA, 13 BB/46 K in 9 starts/48 IP, looking good); RP Kelvin Villa at 1.45 (1-4, 3.48, 1 SV, 2 HRA, 9 BB/27 K in 31 IP); and RP Ben Swaggerty at 1.47 (3-1, 1.96, 11 BB/20 K in 18 1/3 IP, tied with Villa for team lead in holds at 4). Others of note: RP Aaron Hartsock was tops on the team at 0.86 with a 0.48 ERA, 11 saves and 3 BB/17 K in 18 2/3 IP before getting called to NWA; Juan Abreu would be in the top 5 with a 1.31 WHIP and has 5 BB/8 K in only 5 1/3 IP thus far; starter Alex Caldera sits with a 1.50 WHIP and 6.00 ERA, 4 HRA and 22 BB/55 K* in 10 starts and 48 IP, nice K rate; P Jason Godin has a 1.54 WHIP and 2.19 ERA with 7 BB/8 K in only 12 1/3 IP; starter Mario Santiago is at a 1.64 WHIP with 4 HRA, 20 BB/30 K in 9 starts/48 2/3 IP; part-time starter Ray Liotta is struggling at a 1.79 WHIP with 5 HRA, 13 BB/18 K in 10 games (5 starts)/34 2/3 IP; RP Chris Chavez has a 1.79 WHIP despite only a 2.89 ERA; and part-time starter Eduardo Paulino has a 2.11 WHIP in 31 1/3 IP. Rowdy Hardy brings up the rear with a 2.57 WHIP in only 7 innings of work thus far.

A - Burlington: Fort Wayne 6, Bees 4

SS Franco 1-4, 2 RBI (4), SB -- .200
DH Bonilla 1-4, 2B (6), RBI (14), 2 K, RS -- .239
1B Hosmer 1-5, RBI (24), K -- .260
CF Van Stratten 1-5, K, RS -- .342

Melville 4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K, HRA -- L, 1-2, 3.86 ERA, can't complain too much
Saito 2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, K, HRA, WP -- 4.13 ERA
Thompson 2 IP, 2 UER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP -- 2.92 ERA

*** A 9th inning rally fell short as Fort Wayne evened the series at a game each. Tim Melville stranded 2 TinCaps in the 3rd and allowed only a solo homer to 3B James Darnell (his 6th) in the 4th before getting pulled in the 5th. Derrick Saito allowed a run in the 5th but Burlington got on the board in the 6th on an Eric Hosmer RBI single before stranding the bases loaded. Saito served up a 2-run homer to C Ali Solis (his 3rd) in the 6th and James Thompson gave up a 2-out, 2-run double to Darnell in the 7th to make it 6-1 Fort Wayne before he left the bases full. The Bees went to work in the 9th as Jose Bonilla hit an RBI double and Angel Franco hit a 2-run single to cut the lead to 6-4. The Bees loaded the bases with 2 outs but Hosmer grounded out to end it as RP Brad Brach got his 14th save. Starter Nick Schmidt got the win with 5 1/3 IP of an unearned run allowed on 4 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to improve to 2-0 with a 4.55 ERA. Darnell was 3-3 with a walk, his 9th double, the HR, 3 RBI (28), his 14th error and 5th SB to move to .290, Solis' HR gave him 2 RBI (8) and SS Andrew Cumberland was 2-3 with his 9th SB, a walk, his 5th error and a RS to move to .352.

The Bees are 20-28. The series is wrapping up today as Sam Runion (2-3, 6.35) got drilled again versus TinCaps righty Erik Davis (4-1, 3.57).

The Bees tops in OPS are.... OF Nick Francis is one of two over the .900 mark at .956 (.322/.391/.566*, 25 RS, 14 2B*, 7 HR* (easily leads team), 31 RBI*, 16 BB/38 K, 9/11 SB, 4 E in 41 G/152 ABs); OF Nick Van Stratten is the other at .908 (.342*/.413/.495, 26 RS*, 10 2B, 2 3B*, HR, 21 RBI, 12 BB/13 K, 6/10 SB, E in 31 G/111 ABs); 1B/OF David Wood at .813 (.286/.375/.438, 13 RS, 8 2B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 14 BB/18 K, 2/4 SB in 30 G/105 ABs); 2B Fernando Garcia at .806 (.293/.453*/.354, 14 RS, 3 2B, 23 BB/12 K, 10/15 SB, 10 E in 25 G/82 ABs, been solid); and 1B Eric Hosmer at .754 (.850 OPS in May, so hopefully the improvement continues, .260/.377/.377, 16 RS, 11 2B, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 28 BB*/41 K*, 2/3 SB, 1 E in 42 G/146 ABs, would like to see more power but it is a pitcher's league). Others of note: C Jose Bonilla is sixth way down at a .636 OPS with 8 BB/32 K in 109 ABs; C Sean McCauley is another jump down at .575 with 9 BB/15 K in 101 ABs, but is hitting only .198; Kyle Martin retired with a .530 OPS in 134 ABs; OF Patrick Norris has a .515 OPS but leads the team at 15/17 SB in 41 G/133 ABs, has also struck out 38 times; IF J.D. Alfaro earned a demotion with a .423 OPS in 101 ABs; and C Salvador Perez is still struggling with a .392 OPS and sub-.200 OBP in 100 ABs.

The Bees tops in WHIP are... RP Barry Bowden at 0.87 (0-1, 2.18 ERA, 5 SV, 2 HRA, 7 BB/26 K in 20 2/3 IP); RP Blaine Hardy at 1.12 (2-2, 3.00, 2 HRA, 8 BB/42 K* (!) in 12 games (3 starts) and 42 IP); RP Derrick Saito at 1.16 (1-3, 4.13, 2 HRA, 9 BB/31 K in 32 2/3 IP); starter Zach Peterson at 1.29 (on shelf, but 3-2, 4.24, 6 HRA, 9 BB/17 K in 7 games (6 starts) and 34 IP, expected better K rate than that); and part-time starter Manauris Baez at 1.33 (3-1, 3.05, 3 HRA, 10 BB/21 K in 11 G (5 starts) and 38 1/3 IP). Others of note: Tim Melville is off to a nice start with a 0.93 WHIP, 2 HRA, 4 BB/11 K in his first 3 pro starts/14 IP; swing starter Mike Lehmann has a 1.31 WHIP, 4 BB/5 K in his first 10 2/3 IP; RP James Thompson has 2 saves and a 1.38 WHIP with a 2.92 ERA, 5 HRA and 16 BB/29 K in 24 2/3 IP; P Luis Cota is on the shelf with a 1.42 WHIP and 5 BB/15 K in 19 IP; starter Bryan Casey has a 1.43 WHIP with a 2.74 ERA, 2 HRA, 20 BB/39 K in 9 starts/42 2/3 IP; starter Sam Runion is still struggling with a 1.54 WHIP, 7 HRA*, 10 BB/19 K in 9 starts/45 1/3 IP; reliever Carson Bryant has 2 saves and 19 BB/26 K in 26 2/3 IP despite a 1.65 WHIP; RP Justin Garcia has a 1.65 WHIP, too, with 4 HRA, 5 BB/22 K in 23 IP; and starter Mike Montgomery has posted a 1.91 WHIP, 3.27 ERA, 10 BB/12 K in his first 11 IP at Burlington.