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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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