Tacoma Rains On Montero’s Friday

Las Vegas 51s @ Tacoma Rainiers

July 1, 2016

Rafael Montero @ Cody Martin

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Las Vegas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	7	3
Tacoma	2	0	3	0	0	2	0	2	X		9	13	0

W: Martin (7-5, 3.93 ERA); L: Montero (4-5, 6.31 ERA)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Rafael Montero (L, 4-5, 6.31 ERA) – 5 IP, 9 H, 7 R (5 ER), 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 TB, 5 BB, 2 K (1 K/Sw), 2 GIDP, 9 GB: 5 FB: 6 LD, 102 Pitches (62 Strikes), 4 Swinging, 16 Called, 3.9% SwStr, 8.7% Whiff/Swing, 20.4 Pitches/IP, 28 BF

Beck Wheeler (0.00 ERA) – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 2B, 2 TB, 3 K (3 K/Sw), 1 FB, 13 Pitches (10 Strikes), 5 Swinging, 2 Called, 38.5% SwStr, 62.5% Whiff/Swing, 13 Pitches/IP, 4 BF

Jeff Walters (7.88 ERA) – 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 3 TB, 2 BB, 2 K (2 K/Sw), 2 GIDP, 3 GB: 1 FB: 1 LD, 34 Pitches (17 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 6 Called, 8.8% SwStr, 27.3% Whiff/Swing, 17 Pitches/IP, 9 BF

Batters

SS - Gavin Cecchini - 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 12.5% SwStr, 50% Whiff/Swing, 4 Pitches/PA

LF - Michael Conforto - 1-4, 2 K, 16.7% SwStr, 37.5% Whiff/Swing, 4.5 Pitches/PA

C - Johnny Monell - 1-3, 1 BB, 3 Pitches/PA

RF - Travis Taijeron - 2-4, 2 2B, 1 K, 5.9% SwStr, 14.3% Whiff/Swing, 4.25 Pitches/PA

DH - Kevin Plawecki - 1-4, 1 K, 10% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 2.5 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            The Las Vegas 51s took a lopsided 9-1 loss to Tacoma Friday night, which evened the series up at one game apiece. Rafael Montero struggled for most of the start, and would be charged with 7 runs before leaving in the 6^th inning. Recently promoted Beck Wheeler made his PCL debut and struck out 3 in a row in dominating fashion. At the plate, they wasted several opportunities to get runs home, and even their one run scored came on a double play grounder with the bases loaded.

            Montero allowed the first three to reach in the 1^st inning and found himself down 2-0 before an out was recorded. He faced the minimum in the 2^nd and 4^th innings, but threw 20+ pitches in the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th innings. He’ll show flashes of the top prospect he was, but this is not the same guy who made it to Triple-A as a 22-year old in 2013. If the 51s had more starters available to them, Montero would probably already be in the pen, which is looking like his best option right now.

51s Take Finale For 4-Game Series Win In Salt Lake

Las Vegas 51s @ Salt Lake Bees

June 20, 2016

Rafael Montero @ Nate Smith

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Las Vegas	0	2	1	0	0	0	4	0	1		8	10	1
Salt Lake	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	1		5	10	1

W: Montero (3-4, 5.78 ERA); L: Broussard (1-2, 7.11 ERA)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Rafael Montero (W, 3-4, 5.78 ERA) – 6.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R (4 ER), 3 2B, 1 HR, 14 TB, 1 BB, 3 K (3 K/Sw), 10 GB: 7 FB: 4 LD: 1 PU, 88 Pitches (62 Strikes), 4 Swinging, 15 Called, 4.5% SwStr, 8.5% Whiff/Swing, 13.2 Pitches/IP, 27 BF

Josh Edgin (H, 4, 0.00 ERA) – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 TB, 1 BB, 3 K (1 K/Sw), 2 GB, 28 Pitches (15 Strikes), 2 Swinging, 7 Called, 7.1% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 21 Pitches/IP, 6 BF

Jeff Walters (8.24 ERA) – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 TB, 1 BB, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 1 GB: 1 FB, 18 Pitches (11 Strikes), 2 Swinging, 4 Called, 11.1% SwStr, 28.6% Whiff/Swing, 18 Pitches/IP, 4 BF

Batters

LF - Brandon Nimmo - 1-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 14.3% SwStr, 30% Whiff/Swing, 4.2 Pitches/PA

1B - Eric Campbell - 1-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 8.7% SwStr, 40% Whiff/Swing, 4.6 Pitches/PA

DH - Johnny Monell - 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K, 5% SwStr, 11.1% Whiff/Swing, 4 Pitches/PA

RF - Travis Taijeron - 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 13% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 4.6 Pitches/PA

CF - Roger Bernadina - 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 1 SB, 13% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 4.6 Pitches/PA

C - Nevin Ashley - 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 K, 10.5% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 3.8 Pitches/PA

2B - Danny Muno - 1-4, 1 K, 8.3% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 3 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            The Las Vegas 51s won their third straight game in Salt Lake to take the uncommon 4-game series win on the road Monday night. The 51s got some timely hitting and key performances out of the pen, which is not how the script was going just a few weeks ago.

            For 51s starter Rafael Montero, the final line wasn’t pretty again, but there were finally some positive results to take from this start. First of all, he threw 70% strikes, which speaks to how well he was attacking the zone. Second, he was hitting 95-97 MPH throughout, which Wally Backman confirms here and I detail below. He’s been more 91-94 throughout the season, with most of his heaters coming on the lower end of that range.

            All of Montero’s problems can be traced to two Bees batters in particular: Ji-Man Choi and Quintin Berry. Choi hit a solo blast to RF in the 1^st inning, added a sac fly in the 3^rd, made a nice over the shoulder catch near the stands in the top of the 6^th, and then hit a ground-rule double off the left-center warning track in the bottom half of the 6^th. Berry hit a pair of doubles off of Montero, though he only came around to score the 1^st time.

Gsellman Took A Wrong Turn On His Way To Albuquerque

Las Vegas 51s @ Albuquerque Isotopes

June 11, 2016

Robert Gsellman @ Harrison Musgrave

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Las Vegas	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1		4	12	1
Albuquerque	2	1	3	3	1	0	0	0	X		10	13	1

W: Musgrave (3-2, 4.60 ERA); L: Gsellman (0-1, 21.00 ERA)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Robert Gsellman (L, 0-1, 21.00 ERA) – 3 IP, 11 H, 8 R (6 ER), 4 2B, 15 TB, 2 BB, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 12 GB: 3 FB: 4 LD, 70 Pitches (45 Strikes), 6 Swinging, 9 Called, 8.6% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 23.3 Pitches/IP, 23 BF

Seth Lugo (7.06 ERA) – 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 3B, 5 TB, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 4 GB: 2 FB: 2 LD, 28 Pitches (19 Strikes), 1 Swinging, 6 Called, 3.6% SwStr, 7.7% Whiff/Swing, 14 Pitches/IP, 9 BF

Jeff Walters (9.22 ERA) – 2 IP, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 3 GB: 2 FB, 19 Pitches (15 Strikes), 4 Swinging, 2 Called, 21.1% SwStr, 30.8% Whiff/Swing, 9.5 Pitches/IP, 6 BF

Zack Thornton (5.65 ERA) – 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 GIDP, 1 GB: 1 FB, 10 Pitches (5 Strikes), 2 Swinging, 20% SwStr, 40% Whiff/Swing, 10 Pitches/IP, 3 BF

Batters

2B - Dilson Herrera - 2-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 9.5% SwStr, 22.2% Whiff/Swing, 4.2 Pitches/PA

LF - T.J. Rivera - 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5.6% SwStr, 14.3% Whiff/Swing, 3.6 Pitches/PA

RF - Travis Taijeron - 2-5, 2 2B, 1 K, 18.8% SwStr, 37.5% Whiff/Swing, 3.2 Pitches/PA

C - Nevin Ashley - 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 11.8% SwStr, 22.2% Whiff/Swing, 3.4 Pitches/PA

CF - Ty Kelly - 1-5, 1 R, 1 K, 8.7% SwStr, 28.6% Whiff/Swing, 4.6 Pitches/PA

1B - Marc Krauss - 1-4, 1 K, 16.7% SwStr, 40% Whiff/Swing, 3 Pitches/PA

3B - Danny Muno - 2-4, 2.25 Pitches/PA

PH – Roger Bernadina - 1-1, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            The 51s couldn’t keep the good feels going Saturday night in Albuquerque, as they dropped Robert Gsellman’s PCL debut 10-4 to the Isotopes. Gsellman was hit around during his 3+ innings of work, and his teammates couldn’t make this into a PCL slugfest to pick him up.

            This was the most I’ve seen Gsellman get smacked around since he was pitching for Savannah in Greenville two years ago. Albuquerque is the highest scoring environment I have ever seen in the minors, so it was a tough first PCL assignment for the Mets best pitching prospect – Justin Dunn might take that title when he signs, but he’s still a Boston College Eagle at the moment. Still, there were very few positives in the outing for him, and the game was all but out of reach when he left in the 4^th.

Ynoa Smacked Around To The Sounds Of Nashville

Nashville Sounds @ Las Vegas 51s

May 23, 2016

Dillon Overton @ Gabriel Ynoa

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nashville	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	2		7	14	3
Las Vegas	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0		4	9	0

W: Overton (3-4, 4.03 ERA); L: Ynoa (5-1, 2.50 ERA); Save: Schuster (4)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Gabriel Ynoa (L, 5-1, 2.50 ERA) – 6 IP, 11 H, 4 R (4 ER), 2 2B, 1 HR, 16 TB, 2 BB, 3 K (2 K/Sw), 3 GIDP, 9 GB: 8 FB: 6 LD, 102 Pitches (63 Strikes), 8 Swinging, 15 Called, 7.8% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 17 Pitches/IP, 28 BF

Jeff Walters (6.20 ERA) – 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 2B, 2 TB, 4 BB, 3 GB: 3 FB: 1 LD, 41 Pitches (20 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 5 Called, 7.3% SwStr, 20% Whiff/Swing, 20.5 Pitches/IP, 11 BF

Paul Sewald (2.45 ERA) – 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 HR, 5 TB, 2 K (2 K/Sw), 1 GB: 1 FB: 1 LD, 18 Pitches (12 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 5 Called, 16.7% SwStr, 42.9% Whiff/Swing, 18 Pitches/IP, 5 BF

Batters

CF - Brandon Nimmo - 4-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 16.7% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 2.4 Pitches/PA

DH - T.J. Rivera - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HBP, 1 SF, 2.4 Pitches/PA

1B - Johnny Monell - 2-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 CS, 5.3% SwStr, 14.3% Whiff/Swing, 3.8 Pitches/PA

SS - Niuman Romero - 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB, 6.7% SwStr, 20% Whiff/Swing, 3.75 Pitches/PA

3B - Danny Muno - 1-2, 2 BB, 1 K, 11.1% SwStr, 50% Whiff/Swing, 4.5 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            Gabriel Ynoa finally got a taste of real PCL baseball Monday night against Nashville, as the Sounds got to him for 11 hits over his 6 innings. Ynoa limited the damage to just 4 runs, but that was enough for a red-hot Nashville team and their starter Dillon Overton.

            The Sounds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1^st thanks to Renato Nunez’s 8^th homerun of the year. It was the third homerun that Ynoa has allowed this season, and it came off a hanging slider. Ynoa allowed an RBI double to Ryon Healy in the 4^th inning, and the three runs allowed to that point matched his season high.