In tonight’s first game of the double header Carlos Monasterios picked up a win for the Threshers going the distance. He held the Flying Tigers to just three hits in seven innings while striking out four and walking just one in his first start of the young season. The Thresher offense was held quiet as the team picked up only one run in the game, but thanks to Carlos’ efforts that proved to be enough.

The offense has been hot for the team this season picking up at least 5 runs in every other game this year. Tonight looked like it would be another big night for the team as they loaded the bases in the first inning with just one out, but they left all runners stranded, and things stayed quiet until with one out in the fourth inning Yonderman Rodriguez crushed a triple to the right-center gap, and then with two outs Arlon Quirozcrushed a double to score Y-Rod.

Carlos Monasterios earns the SCHMIDT LIST player of the game award for his outstanding pitching effort.

Threshers Drop Second of the Year in Second Half of Twin Bill

Unfortunately in the nightcap the Threshers pitching could not match Monasterios’ effort from the first game, and the offense remained relatively quiet for the team as well. Chance Chapman got his first start of the year, but only lasted three innings giving up two runs on six hits with three Ks and no walks. He was relived by Chris Kissock who had two solid innings of middle relief giving up just one hit with three Ks and no walks in two innings of work, but then the Flying Tigers added four off of Joe Rocchio who went the final two innings with a line of four runs on five hits with one punched out and one walked.

The offense remained pretty comatose getting just one hit through the first six innings, but they did pick up a run in the third when Michael Durant got his first walk of the season, and the scored on the one hit, a Fidel Hernandez double.

The team tried to mount a late rally as they picked up two runs on four hits in the bottom of the final frame, but it proved too little too late.

The team can’t hang their heads too low though, because so far the team has looked sharp. They own a 5-2 record and maintain sole possession of first place.

Chirs Kissock earns the SCHMIDT LIST player of the game award for his relief pitching effort.

The Threshers had a six game week this past week with a day off on Monday; overall they went 3-3 in the week.

They lost the final game of their series against the Vero Beach Devil Rays on Wednesday with Joe Savery taking the loss. After a Tursday night rain out they then split a double header to start a series with the St Lucie Mets. Drew Naylor pitched a complete game in the first game of the double header but took a 3-1 loss while Andrew Carpenter pitched a complete game in the second game by throwing a one-hit shut out in route to a 4-0 Threshers win.

On Saturday night the Threshers picked up another win easily downing the Mets 11-3 behind a three home run & six RBI effort from Clay Harris. Edgar Garcia picked up his third consecutive win in the game moving his record to a team best 8-2 on the year with a 3.97 ERA. After that impressive win the Mets shut the Threshers down on Sunday afternoon winning 5-0. Carlos Monasterios got his first start since April 26th in the game but lasted just 2.2 innings giving up three runs on four hits and three walks with one strikeout.

After a day off on Monday the team returned home on Tuesday to begin a three-game set with the Lakeland Flying Tigers. The team got off to a quick start when Michael Taylor got a first inning grand slam to put them quickly on top 4-0. The Flying Tigers would battle back however and tie the game in the eighth inning at 5-5, but in the ninth inning John Urick got a game-winning RBI single to give the Threshers a ninth inning victory.

Who’s Hot

Clay Harris had a solid week boosted by his 3-HR night on Saturday. Overall he was 8-16 at the plate with 7 RBIs and improved his batting average to a team high .344.

Adrian Cardenas kept up his usaul steady pace for the team hitting .333 for the week (.315 overall) with 4 RBIs, 4 runs, 4 stolen bases, and 2 triples.

Quintin Berry hit .364 for the week (.240 overall) with 2 doubles, 2 stolen bases and 3 runs.

Edgar Garcia as mentioned above Edgar picked up his third consecutive win this week, and improved his record to 8-2 with a 3.97 ERA with 70K v 20 BB.

Andrew Carpenter has a 1.27 ERA in his three games since coming off of the DL, and looks like he is ready to head back to Reading soon. He is scheduled to start on Thursday night, so maybe with one more solid start he can get back to where he started the year and stay on track.

Who’s Not Three of the Threshers heavy hitters had down week’s this week, but can hopefully get back on track soon.

Michael Taylor has had trouble getting going in Clearwater hitting just .190 so far. He did however pick up his first home run (a grand slam) and multi-hit game on Tuesday, so hopefully he is poised to make a surge here soon.

Gus Milner hit just .187 on the week (3-16) but he did have 3 stolen bases so a one week slump is nothing to fret over.

Matt Spencer also had a slow week at the plate going just 3-20.

And finally…Drew Naylor is still looking for his first win, but his complete game loss this past Saturday was a step in the right direction. He is scheduled to take the mound tonight, so we will know soon enough if he can get on track.

Odds and Ends

Brett Harker was promoted to Reading this past week.

Carlos Leon made a short return to the Threshers’ lineup after being put on the Iron Pigs DL, but is back on the DL for the Threshers.

Fidel Hernandez has sat out the last few games with a sore arm giving Jesus Villegas a chance at playing short stop for the Threshers for the third time this year from the GCL. Tuesday night in his first game back this time he had two spectacular defensive plays to help the team to the 6-5 win.

Alex Concepcion is back in action after starting the season on the DL, but has so far made just one appearance going just one inning.

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For the first time this season the Clearwater Threshers had a winning record for the week of their report. The team was 4-3 on the week, though they remain at 25-33 on the year and in last place in their division. The good news on the week was the announcement of the F.S.L. All-Star team. Four Threshers were chosen to represent the Western Division at the game this upcoming Father’s Day weekend in Brevard County, FL.

Edgar Garcia, Matt German, Brett Harker, and Gus Milner will all take part in the game. In addition as the defending Western Division champs the Clearwater Threshers coaching staff has the honor of leading the Western Division squad in the game.

As a team the Threshers have been showing significant improvements in the hitting department, especially in the area of extra base hits. The team is now ranked 7th in XBH up from last two weeks ago where they had languished the entire season. The team has the fewest strikeouts in the F.S.L., and the second most walks by any team in the league. They rank fifth in batting average and third in on-base percentage. The pitching has been the inconsistent part of the Threshers puzzle as of late. The starting pitching in particular has been in a constant state of flux for the team not really giving them a chance to get in any rhythmn. Of the original starting five pitchers this season only Joe Savery remains in the current line up, and his struggles have been well documented here and elsewhere.

The other four in our original starting five were Antonio Bastardo (whose fiery start earned him a promotion to AA Reading), Darren Byrd (whose early season struggles sent him to the DL and then to Lakewood), plus Edgar Garcia and Carlos Monasterios who are both out of the rotation with injuries. Zack Segovia and Tyson Brummett were late additions to the Threshers roster who have gotten starts this year, while Dan Brauer and Andrew Cruse have both seen some time starting this year with time also spent in the bullpen, though their success has been sporadic. For the most part the bullpen for the team has been strong with Brett Harker, Brian Schlitter and Sam Walls forming the nucleus of the bullpen staff.

Individual Player reports…
The Pitchers:

Dan Brauer LHP: Dan had just two appearances this past week. Overall he threw 4.1 innings giving up one run one two hits while fanning five but walking seven.

Tyson Brummett RHP: Tyson had two starts in the week earning one loss while going 5.2 and 6.0 innings in those starts. He gave up eleven runs on twenty-one hits, but struck out ten while walking just one.

Andrew Carpenter RHP: Andrew was sent down from Reading this week, but has been placed on the DL and has seen no action for the team.

Reymond Cruz RHP: Reymond was called up from XST about three weeks ago and has appeared sparingly for the team. This week he saw action twice going 2.0 and 1.1 innings with a line of 3R / 7H / 5K / 2BB.

Edgar Garcia RHP: Edgar picked up a nod for the All-Star game this week, but has not appeared for the Threshers since May 25th when he left the game after 3.2 innings of work with an injury. He has not been placed on the official DL, and there has been no real word as to the source of his ailment.

Matt German LHP: Matt joined Edgar and two others in being named to the All-Star squad, and continued his solid work from the pen this last week. He appeared three times for the team giving up two runs on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 4.0 innings of work.

Brett Harker RHP: Harker picked up a late but well deserved nod for the All-Star game as well. Brett saw action in three games this week giving up no runs on just one hit in 6.0 innings with four punch outs and one walk. He has not allowed an earned run since May 9th and has only allowed three all year giving him a terrific 0.95 ERA on the year.

Bear Hill RHP: Bear was a late addition to the Threshers after he struggled to get going in Reading at the beginning of the year. He has appeared in nine game for the Threshers including two this past week.

Carlos Monasterios RHP: Carlos was placed on the DL on 5/1 and had not seen action since. Last I heard he had about one week left to go on the DL, so he should be scheduled to return to the lineup shortly before or after the all-star break.

Joe Savery LHP: Joe has struggled with consistency this year looking great in some games and anything but in others. This past week in his one start he was somehere closer to the positive end of the scale, though great would be a stretch. He threw 6.0 innings in the game giving up just two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts, and three walks.

Brian Schlitter RHP: Brian had another solid week for the team and carries a 2.27 ERA so far this year. In his three appearances this week he gave up no hits or runs with five Ks and two BB in 4.0 innings.

Zack Segovia RHP: Zack has been mostly solid as a Thresher this season, but had a rough outing in his one start this past week. He gave up five runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings of work, but did have eight strikeouts versus just two walks in the game.

Sam Walls RHP: Sam has been nearly flawless this season with the team’s best ERA at just 0.88 on the year. He had two appearances this week and has not given up a run in over a month.

The Position Players:

PJ Antoniato INF: PJ has been in a mini slump the past week going just 1-13 in four games dropping his average to .259 from the .300 range where he had been all season long.

Welinson Baez 3B: Welinson has been hit or miss all year, and this week was more hit than miss. He picked up his second and third home runs of the season while going 4-10 in four games.

Quintin Berry CF: “Q” as he is know to his teammates leads the team in stolen bases with 17, and has been caught just three times. He is hitting .244 for the year with a 7-26 (.270) effort this past week, and currently has the most walks on the team with 27 for an OBP of .333.

Adrian Cardenas 2B: “AC” continues to lead the team with batting average of .320 for the season. Had it not been for the fact that he missed a month of the season on the DL he would have certainly been selected to the all-star team. By his standards he had an off week this past seven days hitting just .250 with one home run, one triple and two doubles.

Tuffy Gosewisch C: Tuffy started five of seven on the week and had a solid week at the plate as well as behind it. He hit 7-20 on the week with two doubles.

Clay Harris INF/DH: Clay has split time with John Urick at first base this season, and has seen some time at third base and as the DH. He is hitting .300 in his 22 games after starting the year on the DL. For the week he went 5-14 with a home run, two doubles, and four rbis.

Fidel Hernandez SS: Fidel’s hitting has been weak most of this season, but lately he has been on fire. He currently has a nine-game hitting streak going, and for the week was 12-27 (.445).

Jay Miller OF: Jay has been a solid contributor for the team all season, but as the fourth outfielder has seen limited playing time. He has taken advantage of the time he has gotten and is hitting .297 on the year with a team high .407 OBP.

Gus Milner RF: Gus was the lone Threshers position player selected to the all-star game. He leads the team in runs triples and total bases and has committed just one error this season. For the week he was his usual steady self getting hits in six of the seven games going 8-28 (.286).

Alan Robbins C: Alan had a rough week. He was 0-7 at the plate in two games as the catcher.

Matt Spencer LF: Matt had been in a small slump to start the week going hitless in the first three games, but ended the week by picking up six hits in the last four games including a triple and two doubles.

John Urick 1B: “Johnny U” has been a very solid citizen for the team this year. He leads the team in RBIs, and doubles and is tied for first in home runs. For the week he was 5-19 with four of the five hits going for extra bases including a triple and three doubles.

Get Daily Threshers recaps at http://clearwaterthreshers.jeffcrupper.com

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The team began the season with the pitchers leading the team in production, and the hitters lagging way behind. As the season has progressed the hitters have begun to get on track while the pitching has seen their stats fall in the league standings. The offense has the fourth best batting average in the league up from last place after week one, while the pitching has seen their ERA go from third best in the league after week one to the third worst at present.

Despite the good batting average the team has still got room for improvement. They are dead last in the league in all extra base hit categories, and have scored the third fewest runs as a result. On the positive side though, the hitters have the second most walks in the league and the second fewest strikeouts ranking them third in the league in OBP. As for the pitchers the team has the second most strikeouts in the league with 254, but has also allowed the second most walks with 122. Also the team lost their early season ace Antonio Bastardo to the AA Reading Phillies and has seen starter Carlos Monasterios placed on the DL this week.

The Pitchers:

Dan Brauer LHP: Dan had just one appearance this past week getting his second start of the season facing the Ft. Myers Miracle on Friday (5/2). Unfortunately the Miracle continued their dominating ways over the Threshers and over Dan Brauer in the process. Dan lasted just 2.1 innings in the start giving up eight runs on eleven hits with two strikeouts and no walks with the Threshers falling by a score of 11-10 in the game. The showing more than doubled Dan’s ERA moving it up to 8.76 on the year.

Tyson Brummett RHP: Tyson was added to the team to replace starter Antonio Bastardo. He got his first action as a Thresher on Tuesday night (5/6). Tyson was solid in the start going 7.0 innings giving up two runs on seven hits with five Ks and one walk.

Darren Byrd RHP: Darren continues to look for his first win after suffering his fourth loss in six games when he faced the Ft. Myers Miracle last Thursday (5/1). Darren made it just 4.0 innings in the game giving up six runs on nine hits as the Threshers fell 11-5 to the Miracle.

Andy Cruse RHP: Andy had some success this past week in two appearances. In his first trip to the mound he threw one shutout inning against the Ft. Myers Miracle (4/30) and then got a spot start in place of the injured Carlos Monasterios this past Sunday against the Brevard County Manatees. In the start he surrendered one unearned run on four hits with three Ks and no walks in 3.0 innings of work. It was Andy’s longest and best outing of the season despite picking up his fifth loss of the year in the game.

Edgar Garcia RHP: Edgar picked up his fourth consecutive win in his only appearance of the week as the Threshers downed the BC Manatees 6-3 on Saturday (4/2). Things looked rough for Edgar when he gave up a home run to the first hitter of the game, but he buckled down and went 6.1 innings giving up three runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts, and three walks.

Matt German LHP: Matt went his first seven games (9.2 IP) without surrendering an earned run, but in his first outing this week he gave up three runs on three hits and four walks in 2.0 innings against the Miracle as the Threshers fell 11-5 (5/1). In his next trip to the hill he recovered nicely though going 2.1 innings against the BC Manatees (5/4) giving up just one hit with two Ks and a walk in the Threshers 4-1 loss.

Brett Harker RHP: Harker has continued to find success this year and currently has the team’s best ERA at 1.29. In two appearances this week he threw 3.0 innings of relief giving up no runs on four hits with a strikeout and two walks (one intentional).

Bear Hill RHP: After a slow start in Reading Bear was sent to Clearwater on 5/2 as Antonio Bastardo was promoted to Reading. Bear has made one appearance since coming to Clearwater giving up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 2.2 innings of work in the team’s 4-1 loss to the Manatees this past Sunday (5/4).

Nate Johnson RHP: Nate made three trips to the mound this past week all three in losing efforts. Overall he gave up two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of work with eight strikeouts and two walks.

Carlos Monasterios RHP: Carlos was placed on the DL on 5/1 and missed his only scheduled start this past week. Word is he will miss about three weeks with a sore right shoulder as a precautionary measure.

Joe Savery LHP: Joe went 0-1 on the week in two starts. In his first outing he faced the Ft. Myers Miracle (4/30) giving up four runs in the first inning before buckling down and ending the game with a line of 4R / 8H / 6K / 2BB with the Threshers losing 4-2 in the game. In his next outing he faired little better giving up 5R / 5H / 8K / 4BB in 6.0 innings of work with the Threshers offense rallying for three eighth inning runs to top the BC Manatees 7-6 this past Monday night (5/5).

Brian Schlitter RHP: Brian has served as the team’s set up man for closer Sam Walls the past couple of weeks after starting the season as the closer with Walls as his setup man. In three appearances this week he went 5.2 innings giving up 2 runs on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Zack Segovia RHP: Zack was added to the team’s roster from Reading on 5/6, but has not yet seen action in a Threshers’ uniform.

Sam Walls RHP: Sam had four appearances this past week picking up three saves in the process to take the team’s lead with five saves overall. His line for the week was 4.0 IP / 0R / 1H / 6K / 1BB.

The Position Players:

PJ Antoniato INF: PJ has continued to be the beneficiary of Adrian Cardenas’ absence as he has picked up some everyday playing time at second base. PJ has been solid defensively with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 20 games at second base, and has also appeared in three error free games at third base. PJ’s bat cooled down slightly this week as he was 7-27 (.259) on the week while hitting .298 on the year.

Welinson Baez 3B: Welinson finally got going with his bat last week, and kept his hitting going this week as well. He was 8-23 (.347) in the week with three doubles, a triple, eight RBIs and five runs scored bringing his overall season average to .229.

Quintin Berry CF: “Q” as he is know to his teammates leads the team in stolen bases with 10, and has been caught three times. He is hitting .257 for the year with a 4-19 (.210) effort this past week, and currently has the most walks with eighteen for an OBP of .363

Jake Blalock OF/DH: Jake has appeared in just three games since returning from Reading with two hits and two walks in thirteen trips to the plate.

Adrian Cardenas 2B: “AC” has not played since April 17th, and as was mentioned previously on this site was finally placed on the 7-Day DL on Monday the 28th. The injury is described only as a back strain, and there is still no known time frame for his return to action.

Mike Eylward 1B/DH: Mike was promoted to Reading on May 3rd.

Tuffy Gosewisch C: Tuffy had his best week this week at the plate going 6-19 (.316) to finally bring his batting average (.207) up over .200 on the year.

Clay Harris INF/DH: Clay finally returned to the Threshers lineup after starting the season on the DL recovering from off-season knee surgery. So far he has hit .467 with an RBI and two runs scored in four games.

Fidel Hernandez SS: Fidel’s hitting has been weak this season at just .191 on the year, and the past week was about the same with Fidel going 4-21 (.190) with two walks and three strikeouts in 23 plate appearances over six games.

Jay Miller OF: Jay has been hot with the bat this year and is hitting .308 on the year, however in the three games he played this week he was just 2-8 with one walk.

Gus Milner RF: Gus got off to a slow start, but is currently hitting .294. He has hit .333 this week, and has hit safely in his last fourteen games. He leads the team in doubles, triples, RBIs and Runs, and is second behind Quintin Berry in SB with four.

Alan Robbins C: Alan got off to a very slow start with his bat picking up just one hit in his first 19 AB, but since then has gone 8-22 (.364) to bring his overall average to .220 on the year.

Matt Spencer LF: Matt has been the team’s most consistent hitter this year and is currently hitting .287. He leads the team in Runs, Hits, Walks, HR, and SLG.

John Urick 1B: “Johnny U” has gone 6-24 (.250) at the plate over the last week, but has been getting his hits at the right times. He has seven RBIs on the week, including the game winning RBI in each of the Threshers’ past three wins.

Jesus Villegas INF: Jesus has seen very limited playing time since coming over from XST. He appeared in just one game this week, but went 2-4 with a double, and a run scored.

The Threshers begin a four-game series against the Vero Beach Devil Rays on Wednesday. They will have the day off on Sunday, and then begin a three game series at the Dunedin Bluejays on Monday.

Get Daily Threshers recaps at http://clearwaterthreshers.jeffcrupper.com

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The offense has come to life a bit as of late coming up from last in the league in team batting average after week one, and next to last in batting average after week two to fourth (of twelve teams) in batting average currently. The offense has drawn the second most walks in the league, and has struck out fewer than all but one team in the league. Unfortunately the team is hitting without any power at all. The offense is last in slugging percentage, and in all XBH categories, last is RBIs, and next to last in runs scored as a result. (The odd thing is the team with the fewest runs in the league, the Tampa Yankees, are only one game out of first in the division.)

For the most part pitching remains the team’s strength and they lead the league with four shut outs so far this year, and have allowed the second fewest runs. The team has the third most strikeouts in the league with 197, but has also allowed the second most walks with 99.

I thought this week I’d write a little bit about all the players on the team, so I’ll begin with the pitchers in alphabetical order.

Antonio Bastardo LHP: (I guess it is only fitting that Bastardo comes first.) I won’t go into great detail since he has been covered so much already this week, but Antonio leads all minor league pitchers with 47Ks, and my only negative comment last week was that I wondered about his stamina as he had had three relatively short performances in his first three outings, but he has gone 7.0 and 8.0 in his two most recent trips to the hill, so what do I know?

Dan Brauer LHP: Dan got off to a great start last year as a starter, but has been relegated to coming in from the pen this season. He appeared twice this week suffering a loss this past Saturday night after the Yankees were able to overcome an 8-4 Threshers lead and take the game into extra innings. In 1.2 innings of work Dan gave up a run on four hits with one K and a walk. In his previous outing on Thursday he had pitched one inning giving up two hits, but striking out three. He has a GO/AO of 5.00, but left handed batters are hitting .400 against him while overall opponents are hitting .341.

Darren Byrd RHP: After five starts Darren is still looking for his first win this season. In his last appearance on Friday he had family in town from northern Florida, but unfortunately had his worst outing of the year. He gave up 9 runs on 11 hits walked four and struck out just two in 5.2 innings of work. His ERA stands at 8.84 on the year with a record of 0-3.

Andy Cruse RHP: Andy has really struggled to get on track this year. Overall his ERA is a team high 9.58 and he has a record of 0-4 in seven appearances. This week he appeared twice going one inning each time giving up one run on four hits with no Ks and no walks.

Edgar Garcia RHP: Edgar has been a solid starter for the team this season, and has a team best 3-0 record in five starts. This week he followed Antonio Bastardo’s performance with a gem of his own. He threw 7.0 innings on Monday fanning eight and walking one while scattering six hits. He is tied with Joe Savery for second most strikeouts on the team with 25, and has walked just eight batters. Overall his ERA is 3.34 on the year and he has won his last three starts.

Matt German LHP: Matt has the team’s lowest ERA at 0.82 and a WHIP of just 0.64, but a team high 3 HBP. He finally surrendered his first earned run of the year on Friday night as the Tampa Yankees rallied from four down to top the Threshers in eleven innings.

Brett Harker RHP: Harker has an ERA of just 1.64 on the year with two appearances this past week. His season numbers are 2R / 11H / 6K / 5BB.

Nate Johnson RHP: Nate is back for his third season in Clearwater and has an 8.82 ERA on the season which was really bumped up with his only appearance of the week this past week. He lasted only one-third of an inning giving up three runs on two hits and two walks taking the loss as the Reds rallied to beat the Threshers 6-4 on Thursday night.

Carlos Monasterios RHP: Carlos has been mostly solid for the Threshers, but has been haunted by the long ball this year. In his only outing this past week he gave up two HR and six runs, but escaped taking a a loss behind an 8-run offensive effort. Unfortunately in the end the bullpen allowed three more runs and the Threshers fell 9-8 in eleven inning to the Yankees on Friday night.

Joe Savery LHP: Joe has an ERA of just 2.25 in the year, and had his best K total of the year picking up 9 strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work in his most recent outing. He went 6.0 innings giving up three runs on seven hits, and left the game with a 4-3 Threshers lead, but could not get a win as the team fell 6-4 in the end.

Brian Schlitter RHP: Brian leads the team in saves with three and has finished nine games. He has the most innings out of the bullpen on the team, and in two outings this week went 3.1 innings with 0R / 2H / 3K / 1BB.

Sam Walls RHP: Besides Brian Schlitter Sam is the only other Threshers with a save this year with two so far while finishing five games. He has an ERA of just 1.76 and is holding the opposition to a .185 batting average against him with right handed batters hitting just .156.

Last week someone asked whether I could get video of the pitchers, but unfortunately I don’t have the ability to upload much video onto my website. (I cannot upload a file larger than 5MB, and video files are usually very large.) Also, from where I sit at the park, I don’t really have a good vantage point for analyzing pitchers, so unfortunately I cannot offer much technical analysis on pitchers delivery or the type of pitches they throw.

On to the position players, again in alphabetical order…

PJ Antoniato INF: PJ has been the beneficiary of Adrian Cardenas’ absence as he has picked up some everyday playing time at second base. PJ has been solid defensively with a 1.000 fielding percentage, and has also appeared in three error free games at third base. PJ has also been hot with his bat hitting .312 on the year, but has only one extra base hit.

Welinson Baez 3B: Welinson got off the Schnide this past week hitting .333 over the last five games including a 4-4 effort in the team’s extra innings loss to the Yankees on Saturday.

Qunitin Berry CF: “Q” as he is know to his teammates leads the team in stolen bases with 8, and has been caught just twice. He is hitting .267 for the year with a 7-19 (.386) effort this past week, and currently has a five game hitting streak going, and is tied for most walks with twelve.

Jake Blalock OF/DH: Jake was returned to Clearwater from Reading on Monday. He had hit .364 for the R-Phils in 10 games before being sent back.

Adrian Cardenas 2B: “AC” has not played since April 17th, and as was mentioned previously on this site was finally placed on the 7-Day DL this past Monday. The injury is described only as a back strain, and there is no known time frame for his return to action.

Mike Eylward 1B/DH: Mike is a Clearwater native having attended Clearwater HS and USF just across the bay in Tampa. He is a career .289 hitter, and last year hit .305 for Salt Lake City (AAA) in the PCL. so far he has hit .355 for the Threshers with six walks and only two Ks. I can’t imagine he will be in Clearwater long.

Tuffy Gosewisch C: Tuffy had a better week this week at the plate going 4-15 (.266) but overall is hitting just .176 on the season.

Fidel Hernandez SS: Fidel’s hitting has been weak this season at just .192 on the year, but his solid defense has kept him in the lineup. He currently has a four-game hitting streak going hitting .294 over those four games.

Jay Miller OF: Jay has been hot with the bat hitting .450 in his last five games with three hits in one game, and two hits in each of his last three games. Overall he is hitting .342 for a team that is desperate for some offensive production, but only has two extra base hits on the year.

Gus Milner RF: Gus got off to a slow start, but is currently hitting .282. He has hit .438 since my last report, and has hit safely in his last eight games. He leads the team in doubles, triples, RBIs and Runs, and is second behind Quintin Berry in SB with four.

Alan Robbins C: Alan got off to a very slow start with his bat picking up just one hit in his first 19 AB, but since then has gone 7-16 (.437) and has a hit in his last four games, but has yet to pick up a hit against a left handed pitcher yet this year.

John Urick 1B: “Johnny U” spent the last week at Reading before being returned to Clearwater this past Monday.

Matt Spencer LF: Matt has been the team’s most consistent hitter this year. He is the only player to have appeared in all 25 games this season, and is currently hitting .292. He leads the team in Runs, Hits, Walks, HR, and SLG, capping this past week off with a 4-4 performance in the team’s 3-1 win over the Yankees.

Jesus Villegas INF: Jesus has seen very limited playing time since coming over from XST. He currently has one hit in four AB with one run, and one RBI.

After the day off on Tuesday the Threshers head to Fort Myers on Wednesday for a 3-game set still looking for their first win against the Miracle who are 6-0 versus the Threshers this season. The team then returns home for eight games to face eastern division opponents for the first time this season.

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