Around the Bases - July 10, 2009

Eric Young had a game to remember

An abbreviated version this morning, as we are working on some things to potentially make things here even bigger and better…

Prospect hitting performance of the year?…
If you ever wondered how we select players for this list, we have a daily weighted scoring system that identifies the top players each morning from all the previous day’s box scores. Only Justin Smoak’s rehab appearance in the Arizona League on June 21st and Jon Gaston’s May 6th outing have scored better than 24yo Rockies’ secondbaseman, Eric Young’s 4 for 4, with 2 HRs, a 3B, and his 48th SB of the year, yesterday. Young is still merely a ‘fringy’ prospect, but he won’t soon forget this outing.

Desperately in need of a bigger challenge…
Reds 22yo, Travis Wood is absolutely owning Southern (SOL) League hitters. Yesterday’s 7 scoreless inning outing, where he allowed only 3 hits and a walk, while fanning 9, is just the latest example. Since the beginning of June, Wood has a 1.02 ERA, a 0.736 WHIP and a 52:8 K:BB ratio.

Ugly line of the day…
20yo Jays’ OF, Eric Eiland, went 0 for 7 with 4Ks, and is now sporting a .595 OPS through 70 New York-Penn PAs.

Has there been a better pitcher this season?...
The Padres 21yo right-hander, Mat Latos continues to make this look easy. He tossed 5 perfect innings yesterday, with 7 strikeouts, and now has a 1.37 ERA with a 0.747 WHIP on the year.