Brewer, Melky power Charleston to win

June 15, 2009 by Mike Axisa 71 Comments

Two years ago today on DotF, Eric Duncan went 2 for 4 after battling a bruised thumb, and I foolishly thought it could be the start of something big.

Melvin Croussett was named Dominican Summer League Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week.

Triple-A Scranton (1-0 win to Toledo)
Kevin Russo & Eric Duncan: both 1 for 3 – Russo drew a walk & K’ed … E-Dunc scored a run
Austin Jackson: 3 for 4, 1 2B – 14 for his last 27 (.519)
Shelley Duncan & Juan Miranda: both 0 for 4 – Shelley K’ed once, Miranda twice
Justin Leone, Kevin Cash & Doug Bernier: all 0 for 3 – Leone & Cash each K’ed once, Bernier twice … Cash also allowed a passed ball
Chris Stewart: 2 for 3, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Josh Towers: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 10-3 GB/FB – 57 of 93 pitches were strikes (61.3%)
Anthony Claggett: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 4-0 GB/FB – just 13 of 30 pitches were strikes (43.3%) … you ain’t throwin’ two scoreless innings in the big leagues with that strike to ball ratio, kid
Jon Albaladejo: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 2-0 GB/FB – 5 of 8 pitches were strikes

Double-A Trenton had a scheduled off day.

High-A Tampa (8-4 loss to Palm Beach)
Jack Rye & Seth Fortenberry: both 0 for 3 – Rye drew two walks & scored a run … Fortenberry drew a walk & K’ed twice
Eric Fryer: 0 for 5, 2 K, 1 E (fielding)
Damon Sublett: 2 for 4, 1 BB
Austin Romine: 2 for 5, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Brandon Laird: 0 for 2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding) – just a .303 SLG this year after .498 last year
Matt Cusick: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 E (fieding)
Brian Baisley: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
Mitch Hilligoss: 1 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
Lance Pendleton: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HB, 3-6 GB/FB
Humberto Sanchez: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 0-2 GB/FB
Noel Castillo: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 WP, 1 HB, 0-4 GB/FB
Tim Norton: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-3 GB/FB – allowed both inherited runners to score

Low-A Charleston (11-4 win over Augusta)
Jose Pirela: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K – he’s having himself a helluva season
Abe Almonte & Corban Joseph: both 0 for 3, 1 R – Almonte drew a pair of walks as he returned from the DL … CoJo drove in two, drew a walk, stole a bag & K’ed
David Adams: 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Dan Brewer: 4 for 4, 4 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 1 HBP, 1 SB – wow
Melky Mesa: 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K – ditto Brewer’s comment
Neall French: 2 for 4, 4 RBI, 1 K, 1 E (throwing)
Mitch Abeita: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
Ray Kruml: 0 for 5, 1 K
David Phelps: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 7-3 GB/FB, 1 E (pickoff)
Brandon Braboy: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4-2 GB/FB
Charles Nolte: 1 IP, zeroes, 3-0 GB/FB

Dorian

Dan Brewer seems like a hitting machine. I’m startin to get really excited about him.
http://www.richardiurilli.com/ Richard Iurilli

Dan Brewer and Melky Mesa had two triples each? Did the other team have any outfielders?
- Jeffrey
  
  Haha, good question. I wonder if that has ever happened before. What’s the record for triples in a game for that league?
  
  What position does Brewer play? The MiLB website lists him as a DH, but that seems odd just in the fact that he must play some other position even if it isn’t that well. I can’t see many teams developing a guy who is strictly a DH since it limits flexibility. How long until he moves up to Tampa, his numbers seem to suggest he is ready.
  - Doug
    
    BA has him listed as an OF
    - Doug
      
      and played LF tonite
      - Jeffrey
        
        Thanks for the info. Would be nice to have another good OF bat in a couple years. He must have some nice speed if he can leg out 2 3Bs in one game.
http://www.puristbleedspinstripes.com Rebecca-Optimist Prime

So tell me about Brewer.
Doug

forget about ajax’s 3 for 4. no k’s, and only 2 in his last 5 games.
- Dorian
  
  What are you, his mother? relax. We all know what Ajax is doing and has been doing since the beginning of the season. Nobody really even know who Brewer is, let alone that he is hitting .345.
  - Doug
    
    so we can’t talk about jackson now. sorry, didn’t know the rules have changed around here. he is still a prospect, right?
    - Dorian
      
      But there is also no need to antagonize the people who want to know more about Dan Brewer. Especially, when we probably already know what Austin eats for his pre game meal. We don’t even know anything about Dan. Take a chill pill.
      - Doug
        
        who antagonized who again
      - K.B.D.
        
        Antagonizing is exactly what you were doing. I don’t know where you get off telling him not to be excited about a prospect.
      - http://rbiradio.blogspot.com/ Joey H.
        
        You have severe emotional and social issues right? It seems like you’re fighting on every post you comment on.
  - K.B.D.
    
    What’s up your ass?
    - DreDog
      
      Brewer’s Grandmother?
  - Drew
    
    Brewer, Low A. Ajax, has his own nickname already, and is a mere phone call away from NY. He is viewed by most as one of our OF’s next year.
    We shouldn’t follow and get hyped for Ajax, rather, follow Dan Brewer and Pat Venditte. mmkay
    - Dorian
      
      WE KNOW. Once again, we all know about Ajax. I personally am more intrigued by guys who I don’t know about. I know Ajax is great. There have been major newspaper stories written about him. Every Yankee fan knows about Austin Jackson. There are hardcore yankee prospect fans who know nothing about Dan Brewer.
      
      I just don’t see why you took it so personally that no one said anything about Austin in the first three comments.
      - Doug
        
        who took it personally? the 1st 3 comments were fine. i couldn’t add anything more, so i wrote a comment on ajax. sorry, my bad. i’ll run my posts by you first next time, make sure they’re okay.
        
        K.B.D.
        
        I don’t think our friend Dorian has a strong grip on reality. It was you, Sir Doug, who took the A-Jax thing far too personally and antagonized everyone. For shame.
      - Drew
        
        Who got offended that no one mentioned Ajax in the first 3 comments? Not me, or anyone else. You misunderstood Doug’s comment, he said forget about Ajax’s 3-4, rather, look at the fact that he had no k’s, which, in Ajax land, is a big deal.
        
        Dorian
        
        OOOOOOOOOOO…In the words of the great Jack Nicholson: “Don’t I feel like the fucking asshole?”
        
        Big B
        
        Dorian – relax baby, relax…take a chill pill. Life is too short for whining and arguing over something so silly.
        
        Dorian
        
        No seriously man I thought Doug was being sarcastic when he said forget about Ajax. He was just excited about him not k’ing. I misunderstood.
Drew

Josh Towers and Casey Fossum to the rotation! Jobber and Wang to the pen!
- Jeffrey
  
  Not the best option. There’s a reason both those guys are currently in the minors. Towers has a career MLB ERA of 4.96 and couldn’t get it done on ’06 and ’07 while with the Jays. I would view Towers as more of an option out of the bullpen. I like the fact that his only walking 7 guys in 38 IP would give him the 2nd lowest walk rate among bullpen arms. I don’t disagree that Fossum has some good numbers too, but are they really better than what the Yankees have in the rotation? I don’t think so.
  
  These guys could get closer to returning to the majors if Wang doesn’t do well on Weds, but I’d much rather see Wang get back to where he once was as a pitcher.
  
  Fossum and Towers could be packaged in a deal to get a bullpen arm or a guy off the bench from a team who needs starters.
  - Drew
    
    My man J-Dog. It was a joke.
    - K.B.D.
      
      I think you’re on to something… get Cashman on the phone. We’ve got moves to make.
  - K.B.D.
    
    I’m pretty sure he was kidding. And I doubt Fossum or Towers could get anything of value in the bullpen (seeing as how we don’t need any more bench help with Nady and Ransom returning). They were picked off the scrap heap to fill out the AAA rotation, everybody had a chance at them, including these teams who need starters.
  - Charlie
    
    wow, quite the lengthy reply to what was clearly supposed to be a joke.
  - Charlie
    
    And also, dude, NO ONE would want fossum or towers in a package of any kind. they’re 30+ year old scrub fillers, for god’s sake
Doug

2 caught stealings for mr. romine as well
http://anewfrontier.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

How good is Phelps?
- steve (different one)
  
  not as good as Jay Buhner.
  - Drew
    
    ken phelps ken phelps.
    - Bryan
      
      Well, Buhner was a good prospect, no question about it. But my baseball people love Ken Phelps bat. They kept saying “Ken Phelps, Ken Phelps, Ken Phelps.”
  - http://anewfrontier.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
    
    well-played
zs190

I had no idea Melky stands for Melquisedec. So I went looking for Melky Mesa’s stat and wow, he’s 6’1, 165? That’s some serious pop for a guy that skinny. He’s 22 playing in Charleston though and not doing all that great except the power this season, probably a non-prospect I guess.

I’m kind of excited about Pirela, switch hitter and just 19, holding his own in low A, not bad at all, .406 OBP and 14/17 BB/K ratio; small sample though, hopefully he’s legit.
- http://www.puristbleedspinstripes.com Rebecca-Optimist Prime
  
  O_O My brother is that height, insanely skinny, and weighs more than that.
  
  I demand a picture.
- http://www.retire21.org Mike R. – Retire 21
  
  Melky is a tool shed that can’t quite pull it all together. Regardless of his 22 years, if he clicks he could be very, very good.
gary

ok i read dotf every day…and i guess i haven’t followed closely enough. melvin croussett. whats the deal on this kid. is he a real prospect, how old is he, etc. i know he’s turned into some sort of a meme, but whats the underlying story? thanks ever so much.
- K.B.D.
  
  For some light reading on Melvin Croussett you’re going to want to take a look at the King James Version of the Bible. It’s all there.
  - gary
    
    g*damn it. this is the shit im talking about. i can never get to the bottom of it!
    - K.B.D.
      
      Sorry. Andy in Sunny Dayton is the resident Croussett nut, so he might know something of value. I, however, cannot give you anything other than cheap rehashes of jokes than have been made many times before.
      - gary
        
        no prob, i appreciate the heads up. melvin deserves his props, considering he killed chuck norris with his bare hands when he was out of the womb a mere 5 days.
        
        amidoinitrite?
        
        anyway, thanks.
        
        Drew
        
        http://firstinning.com/players/Melvin-Croussett-a/
        That’s about as much as you can find on the MC. Unless you want to view Mike’s take on him: http://riveraveblues.com/2009/01/prospect-profile-melvin-croussett-6724/
      - Andy In Sunny Daytona
        
        Dayton? Daytona. Big difference.
        
        Gary, let me put it this way, Jump On The Bandwagon Now! You’ll thank me later.
        
        K.B.D.
        
        Many apologies for my indiscretion.
        
        Andy In Sunny Daytona
        
        Melvin still loves you.
        
        K.B.D.
        
        Of course. Melvin loves all of his children.
- Drew
  
  He is in fact, a cross between baby jesus, the jesus that likes to party, and Mariano Rivera.
- http://www.retire21.org Mike R. – Retire 21
  
  Melvin is behind more RAB inside jokes than anyone in history. You will never get a straight answer on him.
  
  I would recommend going here:
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity
  - Conan the Barack O’Brian
    
    Ken Rosentahal reports that Crousett would be a good fit for God’s son.
- Jeffrey
  
  Google tries to translate the page about him and its harder to read their attempt at translation to English than it is the original in Spanish and I haven’t taken or read much Spanish in 5 years.
  
  Anyway, he has a crazy K rate of fanning guys, 1.82/IP or 16.39/9IP. I too would be interested in more info on him.
- JohnnyC
  
  Well, the reality is that he throws mostly slop…which is where the ungodly K rates come from. He’s 20 and still in the DSL. Unless his velocity seriously improves, he ain’t going to be seeing the States anytime soon. Think Pat Venditte but only using one arm.
http://rbiradio.blogspot.com/ Joey H.

Ha. This blog has come such a long way in 2 years. The DOTF posts of 2 years ago had a few comments a piece and Mike A. not capitalizing his I’s
McCaff

ha read the article on Croussett winning the player of the week. It translates it for you and it’s quite entertaining.
- Jeffrey
  
  My favorite was when it called him a her. I was really confused. I was like, “Wait they let girls play on the Dominican team?”
  - Miles Roche
    
    My favorite is when they write, “De La Cruz had a tugboat. . .”
    LMAO!
    - Jeffrey
      
      ROFL. Now I see that. Is that better than a grand slam, one step above a golden sombrero, or simply when the pitcher treads water and struggles?
http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak

Wow. A Humberto Sanchez sighting. He managed to pitch one whole inning without hurting himself.
- K.B.D.
  
  Humberto’s injury history is a joke. During his stints on the “DL” he’s actually just eating. That’s why he’s always on it for extended periods of time. They don’t call him Hungry Hungry Humberto for nothing.
  
  I always imagine Humberto as Galactus from the Fantastic Four, except with a better fastball.
  - Esteban
    
    LOLLERCOPTER
Jeffrey

Hmm Jack Rye & Seth Fortenberry makes me think of strawberry jam on rye bread. What is a Fortenberry anyway? Who has the best name in the Yankees farm system?
- K.B.D.
  
  Always been a fan of Lance Pendleton’s name popping up for some reason. He sound like a rich, stuck up bastard though.
  - Jeffrey
    
    He does have a good name. It makes me think of a guy with a rich family and high society parents too.
- Jeffrey
  
  Neall French & Eric Fryer = French Fryer
  Dan Brewer & David Adams = Sam Adams comes to mind
- Andy In Sunny Daytona
  
  “Marvelous” Seth Fortenberry?
  
  The Fortenberries taste like Fortenberries.
- ChrisS
  
  If Graham Stoneburner signs, he’s immediately in the top three.
Chris

wow our farm 2 years ago was boring
- K.B.D.
  
  Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy say “Hi!”.