Last night I took in the first game of the Appy League western division playoffs at Pioneer Park. It was nice to have playoff baseball back in Greeneville for the first time in nine years. Here are some of my observations from the game.
On The Mound:
Jandel Gustave got the start for Greeneville. He got off to a rough start as he wasn't quite hitting the right spots for the home plate ump in the first. Later in the game he appeared to be getting those calls but he didn't get them in the first inning. After giving up two runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning, he settled down and pitched the next four innings allowing just one run on three hits, a walk and a hit batter. Gustave struck out seven on the night.
Joe Musgrove relieved Gustave and pitched the final four innings in a dominate fashion. He didn't allow a single base runner while striking out four K-Mets.
At The Plate:
For the month of August, Brett Phillips was two for 15 at the plate. He was rusty after missing almost half the month with a hand injury. Last night, he appeared to shake off the rust and went three for four at the plate. After a bloop hit fell for him in the third, he had line drive hits in the fifth and the seventh.
Juan Santana and Brian Holberton had the only extra base hit for the G-Stros. Each had a double.
The G-Stros were 0-9 with runners in scoring position on the night and that sealed their doom. The most frustrating inning was the fifth. Tanner Mathis and Phillips led off the inning with back to back singles. The next batter tried to move them over on a bunt but Mathis was erased at third. The next batter hit a fly ball to right which allowed Phillips to advance to third. The next batter struck out. Greeneville has done well at manufacturing runs with small ball this season but they couldn't get it done last night.
In The Field:
Two plays deserve mention here. First, Alfredo Gonzalez made a diving catch of a bunt in foul territory in the first inning. Secondly, Thomas Lindauer made a very nice play ranging deep in the hole behind second to throw out a K-Met in the same batter in the seventh.
Summary:
The G-Stros bats just couldn't get the big hit tonight. The pitching and the defense held up their end of the bargain. Greeneville is in a 0-1 hole in the best of three series heading to Kingsport. They face elimination tonight and will be sending Chris Lee to the mound.
Showing posts with label Jandel Gustave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jandel Gustave. Show all posts
Monday, September 2, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Eyewitness Report: 7/28/13 Greeneville 10 - Pulaski 1 - How A Pitchers Duel Turned Into A Blow Out
When you get to the game and the starters ERAs are 1.83 and 1.59 respectively, you settle in for a pitchers duel. That is how the game played out for the first five innings. But then Greeneville's bats exploded for 10 runs in their last three at bats to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 10-1 victory. Here are more observations from the game.
On The Mound
Jandel Gustave only allowed one hit in six innings but he walked six batters. The walks came in pairs, with two each in the first, third and fifth innings. He wasn't wild, just missing by little bits. I had his pitch count at 75 with only 35 for strikes. Despite his control issues, he still fanned four batter and only allowed one of his walks to score. He left after five innings down 1-0.
Chris Munnelly made his Greeneville debut pitching two innings of no hit, shut out ball. He struck out two hitters and walked one. The only other runner reached on an error when the ball was knocked out of a glove on a tag play at first. Munnelly's curve ball appeared to be his best pitch tonight.
Krishawn Holley closed out the game with an effective inning, allowing just one hit.
It was quite an outing from the pitching staff.
At The Plate
The Astros bats were kept in check for the first five innings. Pulaski starter, Eddie Campbell, used effective location of multiple pitches.
In the first five innings, the Astros batters were 3 for 15 with one walk and five strike outs.
In the final three at bats, the G-Stros batters were 11 for 18 with three walks, four strike outs and 10 runs scored - all earned.
Chase McDonald reached base in each of his four plate appearances. He had a single, a double, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored.
Brian Holberton hit his first HR at Pioneer Park; a two run blast in the sixth that gave Greeneville the lead 2-1. He also singled and scored in the 8th.
Brett Phillips laid down one of the sweetest bunt hits I have seen for one of his two singles on the night. Phillips pushed a bunt past the pitchers out stretched glove and no play at first was made. He later scored two runs after reaching via a walk and single.
Three other G-Stros had two hits. Tanner Mathis and Thomas Lindauer both produced a single and a double and Juan Santana had two singles.
Only Edwin Gomez didn't join the hit parade for Greeneville. He went 0 for 4 with 4 Ks. The part of that that concerned me was that he only saw 13 pitches on the night. The first pitch he saw of the night was a ball, after that it was twelve straight strikes and four straight Ks. Obviously something is wrong there.
In The Field
Mathis gets the Oscar for selling a sliding short hop grab as a catch in the second inning. From my vantage point, it appeared the ball bounced into his glove. The Pulaski manager and bench agreed with me. But Mathis raised his glove high and the home plate ump signaled out.
Lindauer started a nice 6-4-3 double play in the fifth inning. The ball was hit to his right. He ranged over, grabbed the ball and threw across his body to start the double play. Juan Santana made a nice quick turn to complete the twin killing.
The other nice play was made by McDonald at first on a high pop fly in foul territory. He adjusted to the ball at the last minute making a lunge to his right to secure the ball to end the sixth inning.
The only error of the game was charged to McDonald. He was playing in anticipating a bunt from the speedy Aaron Barbosa. Barbosa didn't bunt. He chopped a ball down the first baseline that McDonald had to retreat to retrieve. When he did, Munnelly had not made it in time to cover first. McDonald made an attempt to tag Barbosa before he reached the bag safely but the ball was knocked out of McDonalds glove during the attempt. Heck of an effort but charged with the error none the less.
Overall
Nice team win for the G-Stros. The pitching was very good, the offense produced late in the game and the defense was solid. They end the series against a very good Pulaski team two games in front of the streaking Kingsport Mets. They start a three game series against the Burlington Royals (17-19) tomorrow.
On The Mound
Jandel Gustave only allowed one hit in six innings but he walked six batters. The walks came in pairs, with two each in the first, third and fifth innings. He wasn't wild, just missing by little bits. I had his pitch count at 75 with only 35 for strikes. Despite his control issues, he still fanned four batter and only allowed one of his walks to score. He left after five innings down 1-0.
Chris Munnelly made his Greeneville debut pitching two innings of no hit, shut out ball. He struck out two hitters and walked one. The only other runner reached on an error when the ball was knocked out of a glove on a tag play at first. Munnelly's curve ball appeared to be his best pitch tonight.
Krishawn Holley closed out the game with an effective inning, allowing just one hit.
It was quite an outing from the pitching staff.
At The Plate
The Astros bats were kept in check for the first five innings. Pulaski starter, Eddie Campbell, used effective location of multiple pitches.
In the first five innings, the Astros batters were 3 for 15 with one walk and five strike outs.
In the final three at bats, the G-Stros batters were 11 for 18 with three walks, four strike outs and 10 runs scored - all earned.
Chase McDonald reached base in each of his four plate appearances. He had a single, a double, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored.
Brian Holberton hit his first HR at Pioneer Park; a two run blast in the sixth that gave Greeneville the lead 2-1. He also singled and scored in the 8th.
Brett Phillips laid down one of the sweetest bunt hits I have seen for one of his two singles on the night. Phillips pushed a bunt past the pitchers out stretched glove and no play at first was made. He later scored two runs after reaching via a walk and single.
Three other G-Stros had two hits. Tanner Mathis and Thomas Lindauer both produced a single and a double and Juan Santana had two singles.
Only Edwin Gomez didn't join the hit parade for Greeneville. He went 0 for 4 with 4 Ks. The part of that that concerned me was that he only saw 13 pitches on the night. The first pitch he saw of the night was a ball, after that it was twelve straight strikes and four straight Ks. Obviously something is wrong there.
In The Field
Mathis gets the Oscar for selling a sliding short hop grab as a catch in the second inning. From my vantage point, it appeared the ball bounced into his glove. The Pulaski manager and bench agreed with me. But Mathis raised his glove high and the home plate ump signaled out.
Lindauer started a nice 6-4-3 double play in the fifth inning. The ball was hit to his right. He ranged over, grabbed the ball and threw across his body to start the double play. Juan Santana made a nice quick turn to complete the twin killing.
The other nice play was made by McDonald at first on a high pop fly in foul territory. He adjusted to the ball at the last minute making a lunge to his right to secure the ball to end the sixth inning.
The only error of the game was charged to McDonald. He was playing in anticipating a bunt from the speedy Aaron Barbosa. Barbosa didn't bunt. He chopped a ball down the first baseline that McDonald had to retreat to retrieve. When he did, Munnelly had not made it in time to cover first. McDonald made an attempt to tag Barbosa before he reached the bag safely but the ball was knocked out of McDonalds glove during the attempt. Heck of an effort but charged with the error none the less.
Overall
Nice team win for the G-Stros. The pitching was very good, the offense produced late in the game and the defense was solid. They end the series against a very good Pulaski team two games in front of the streaking Kingsport Mets. They start a three game series against the Burlington Royals (17-19) tomorrow.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Eyewitness Report 7/5/13: Greeneville 1 Bristol 4
When I saw that Jandel Gustave was on the mound tonight, I made sure I could be at Pioneer Park. When I got there I saw the line up had three first time starters included. Brian Holberton and Chase McDonald were making their pro debuts and Brett Phillips was making his Greeneville debut. It was a good night to be at the ballpark. Here are my observations:
On The Mound:
Jandel Gustave got off to a rough start in the first. After a strike out looking, he walked the next two batters, the second coming in a 10 pitch at bat. After a fly out and a single, Gustave got the last out with a swinging strike out. He ended up throwing 31 pitches in the first frame and that limited his night to just four innings. Of those 31 pitches, 18 were for strikes (unofficial numbers from my personal score book). He followed that inning up with innings of 12, 12 and 17 pitches respectively. So he really settled down.
Gustave is a pitcher to be excited about. His delivery is very easy and to be hitting mid to upper 90's out of a 6'2 160 frame is impressive. The two hits that came off of him were hits taken the other way through the SS/3B hole. They were nice pieces of hitting. His fast ball has good zip. There were several late swings and several foul balls that were poked into the seats because batters weren't getting around on him. His slider showed nice movement and there were a couple of sliders that were down right nasty. He ended the night with 72 pitchers - 43 for strikes (60%). He threw first pitch strikes to 11 of the 17 batters he faced - again by my unofficial count.
The high point for me is that we know based on his previous stats, that he has had control issues. For him to walk two in the first inning and regain his composure to only walk one more shows positive development.
Austin Chrismon made his pro debut last night. After nicking the first batter on the sleeve, he then got the next three batters out. One out came on due to him fielding his position well. With a runner at second, he gloved a hot shot back at him. He made the runner at second dive back to the bag, removing any chance of him advancing and then threw out the batter at first.
Christian Garcia came in in the sixth and pitched around an error for an effective inning. In the seventh, he walked two batters with one out and then allowed a single that scored the first runner. That ended his night.
Gerardo Ramirez entered the game with runners on the corners and allowed both runners to score before getting the last out. He gave up a sac fly to the first batter and then surrendered a double to left that plated the final run of the game. He ended up finishing the night on the mound with a total of 2 2/3 innings pitched.
Overall, it was the walks that did the G-Stros pitching in. Three of the four runs allowed reached via base on balls. There is no defense against the walk.
At The Plate:
It was one of those nights where the Astros hit several balls hard, they just hit them right at people. I had atleast four line drives that were either right at fielders or required the fielder to make a nice play.
Brett Phillips is fast. He made two routine grounders close plays with his hustle down the line. His final at bat of the night was a seven pitch walk where he fouled off several close pitches.
David Mayfield (Jack) wasn't lucky last night. His first at bat, he hit a hard bouncer up the middle that the pitcher deflected to the second baseman for a 1-4-3 put out. He then hit a line drive in his fourth at bat that the SS made a nice ranging catch on. He finished the night for 5 but he had better at bats than that indicates.
Bobby Borchering reached base three times in four plate appearances. A single and two walks.
Chase McDonald went 1 for 4 in his pro debut. He got a single in his first at bat and then lined out to left and center respectively in his next two at bats before striking out in his final at bat. He is one big guy. He was wearing number 62 on his uniform and it was appropriate for him to be wearing a linebacker type number. He makes solid contact.
Marc Wik turned a rough night around. After striking out in his first two at bats, he walked in the seventh and lead off the ninth with a single to left.
Overall, Greeneville just couldn't get the big hit. They went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Two of the line drive outs in mentioned earlier were to end an inning with a runner on base.
The pitcher who started for Bristol, Scott Carroll, was on rehab assignment from AAA. He missed all of last season so I assume his is working his way back from a surgery of some kind. The second pitcher was the White Sox second round draft pick this season, Tyler Danish. So they were facing some pretty good pitching but that is most nights in pro baseball.
In The Field
Brian Holberton looked pretty good behind the plate. He got a lot of work blocking balls in the dirt. He did allow one passed ball that was a low pitch that the scorer felt he should have blocked. He was apparently a little amped up for the game. He made several throws down to second during warm ups and one throw during a stolen base attempt that were fielded by the center fielder because they had easily cleared second base. Later in the night, he made a nice throw on a ball in the dirt that made a place closer than I thought it would be.
Jack Mayfield was smooth at shortstop. He had four assist and only one was routine. The rest were with him ranging to either side and making snap throws to first. He made them look easy.
Brett Phillips didn't get much action in center but he showed flashes when he did. He almost made a nice diving catch on a ball he got a good jump on. On the sac fly, he made a strong throw to third from deep in center.
Darwin Rivera made his seventh error of the year at third with a bad throw to first.
This loss ended the G-Stros seven game winning streak. They play Bristol again tonight and then head on the road for seven games in six days.
On The Mound:
Jandel Gustave got off to a rough start in the first. After a strike out looking, he walked the next two batters, the second coming in a 10 pitch at bat. After a fly out and a single, Gustave got the last out with a swinging strike out. He ended up throwing 31 pitches in the first frame and that limited his night to just four innings. Of those 31 pitches, 18 were for strikes (unofficial numbers from my personal score book). He followed that inning up with innings of 12, 12 and 17 pitches respectively. So he really settled down.
Gustave is a pitcher to be excited about. His delivery is very easy and to be hitting mid to upper 90's out of a 6'2 160 frame is impressive. The two hits that came off of him were hits taken the other way through the SS/3B hole. They were nice pieces of hitting. His fast ball has good zip. There were several late swings and several foul balls that were poked into the seats because batters weren't getting around on him. His slider showed nice movement and there were a couple of sliders that were down right nasty. He ended the night with 72 pitchers - 43 for strikes (60%). He threw first pitch strikes to 11 of the 17 batters he faced - again by my unofficial count.
The high point for me is that we know based on his previous stats, that he has had control issues. For him to walk two in the first inning and regain his composure to only walk one more shows positive development.
Austin Chrismon made his pro debut last night. After nicking the first batter on the sleeve, he then got the next three batters out. One out came on due to him fielding his position well. With a runner at second, he gloved a hot shot back at him. He made the runner at second dive back to the bag, removing any chance of him advancing and then threw out the batter at first.
Christian Garcia came in in the sixth and pitched around an error for an effective inning. In the seventh, he walked two batters with one out and then allowed a single that scored the first runner. That ended his night.
Gerardo Ramirez entered the game with runners on the corners and allowed both runners to score before getting the last out. He gave up a sac fly to the first batter and then surrendered a double to left that plated the final run of the game. He ended up finishing the night on the mound with a total of 2 2/3 innings pitched.
Overall, it was the walks that did the G-Stros pitching in. Three of the four runs allowed reached via base on balls. There is no defense against the walk.
At The Plate:
It was one of those nights where the Astros hit several balls hard, they just hit them right at people. I had atleast four line drives that were either right at fielders or required the fielder to make a nice play.
Brett Phillips is fast. He made two routine grounders close plays with his hustle down the line. His final at bat of the night was a seven pitch walk where he fouled off several close pitches.
David Mayfield (Jack) wasn't lucky last night. His first at bat, he hit a hard bouncer up the middle that the pitcher deflected to the second baseman for a 1-4-3 put out. He then hit a line drive in his fourth at bat that the SS made a nice ranging catch on. He finished the night for 5 but he had better at bats than that indicates.
Bobby Borchering reached base three times in four plate appearances. A single and two walks.
Chase McDonald went 1 for 4 in his pro debut. He got a single in his first at bat and then lined out to left and center respectively in his next two at bats before striking out in his final at bat. He is one big guy. He was wearing number 62 on his uniform and it was appropriate for him to be wearing a linebacker type number. He makes solid contact.
Marc Wik turned a rough night around. After striking out in his first two at bats, he walked in the seventh and lead off the ninth with a single to left.
Overall, Greeneville just couldn't get the big hit. They went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Two of the line drive outs in mentioned earlier were to end an inning with a runner on base.
The pitcher who started for Bristol, Scott Carroll, was on rehab assignment from AAA. He missed all of last season so I assume his is working his way back from a surgery of some kind. The second pitcher was the White Sox second round draft pick this season, Tyler Danish. So they were facing some pretty good pitching but that is most nights in pro baseball.
In The Field
Brian Holberton looked pretty good behind the plate. He got a lot of work blocking balls in the dirt. He did allow one passed ball that was a low pitch that the scorer felt he should have blocked. He was apparently a little amped up for the game. He made several throws down to second during warm ups and one throw during a stolen base attempt that were fielded by the center fielder because they had easily cleared second base. Later in the night, he made a nice throw on a ball in the dirt that made a place closer than I thought it would be.
Jack Mayfield was smooth at shortstop. He had four assist and only one was routine. The rest were with him ranging to either side and making snap throws to first. He made them look easy.
Brett Phillips didn't get much action in center but he showed flashes when he did. He almost made a nice diving catch on a ball he got a good jump on. On the sac fly, he made a strong throw to third from deep in center.
Darwin Rivera made his seventh error of the year at third with a bad throw to first.
This loss ended the G-Stros seven game winning streak. They play Bristol again tonight and then head on the road for seven games in six days.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Jandel Gustave Making A Name For Himself
What an introduction the Greeneville Astros fans received to Jandel Gustave last night. The 20 year old from Pimentel, Dominican Republic pitched six no hit innings. He finished the night with a line of: 6 innings pitched, no hits, no runs, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 7 strike outs. That makes two solid outings for the year for Gustave. Let's look a little deeper into his outing and then get into his back ground.
Getting the lead off batter out wasn't Gustave's strong suit last night. He issued a walk to lead off batter Champ Stuart but despite Stuart stealing second, Gustave got out of the inning with no damage thanks to two strike outs and a fly out to center.
In the second, he hit the lead off batter but responded by striking out the next three batters.
In the third, the leadoff batter reached on a fielding error. Gustave got the next three out with a fly out, a ground out back to the pitcher, and a strike out.
In the fourth, he got the lead off batter out on a strike out but walked the next batter. He then induced a ground out and a fly out to end the inning.
The fifth was his only one, two, three inning and the first inning with no strike outs.
In the sixth, he again walked the lead off batter but one fly out and two ground balls later, the inning and Gustave's night were over. He finished the night with a game score of 76! Six of his seven strike outs were of the swinging variety.
We learned from the game story that Gustave was effective in locating two primary pitches. A fastball and a slider. Mike Elias, scouting director of the Astros, was at the game and tweeted that Gustave was hitting 99 MPH.
Background
Gustave signed as a international free agent on May 25, 2010 as a 17 year old. He spent the next two season in the DSL where his strike out numbers were encouraging (27 in 26 1/3 IP and 19 in 19 1/3 IP), but his control issues were very troubling. In 2011, in 19 1/3 innings, he walked 34 batters and had 21 wild pitches.
In 2012, he was promoted to the GCL. There he showed improved control. His BB per nine innings dropped from 15.8 in 2011 to 8.7 in 2012. His wild pitches dropped to seven while pitching 28 innings. His strike outs dipped slightly to 22.
Early indications (small sample size alert) are that he has turned a corner in 2013. After walking more batters than he struck out for three straight years, this year, he has four strike outs for each walk he has issued. What a turn around! Here are some things I will be looking for as the season progresses.
In his first three seasons, he appeared in 38 games but only started 10. This year in two starts, he has already thrown 11 innings. He has never thrown more than 28 in a season. So how he handles an increased workload is one of the things I will be watching.
The development of a third pitch. Pitchers with two pitches often wind up in the bullpen. To stay a starter, he really needs a third pitch. Not that there would be anything wrong in having a home grown late innings guy.
How he handles seeing a team for the second time. How does he adjust as they adjust.
He has just moved to the top of the list of players I am excited about this season.
Getting the lead off batter out wasn't Gustave's strong suit last night. He issued a walk to lead off batter Champ Stuart but despite Stuart stealing second, Gustave got out of the inning with no damage thanks to two strike outs and a fly out to center.
In the second, he hit the lead off batter but responded by striking out the next three batters.
In the third, the leadoff batter reached on a fielding error. Gustave got the next three out with a fly out, a ground out back to the pitcher, and a strike out.
In the fourth, he got the lead off batter out on a strike out but walked the next batter. He then induced a ground out and a fly out to end the inning.
The fifth was his only one, two, three inning and the first inning with no strike outs.
In the sixth, he again walked the lead off batter but one fly out and two ground balls later, the inning and Gustave's night were over. He finished the night with a game score of 76! Six of his seven strike outs were of the swinging variety.
We learned from the game story that Gustave was effective in locating two primary pitches. A fastball and a slider. Mike Elias, scouting director of the Astros, was at the game and tweeted that Gustave was hitting 99 MPH.
Background
Gustave signed as a international free agent on May 25, 2010 as a 17 year old. He spent the next two season in the DSL where his strike out numbers were encouraging (27 in 26 1/3 IP and 19 in 19 1/3 IP), but his control issues were very troubling. In 2011, in 19 1/3 innings, he walked 34 batters and had 21 wild pitches.
In 2012, he was promoted to the GCL. There he showed improved control. His BB per nine innings dropped from 15.8 in 2011 to 8.7 in 2012. His wild pitches dropped to seven while pitching 28 innings. His strike outs dipped slightly to 22.
Early indications (small sample size alert) are that he has turned a corner in 2013. After walking more batters than he struck out for three straight years, this year, he has four strike outs for each walk he has issued. What a turn around! Here are some things I will be looking for as the season progresses.
In his first three seasons, he appeared in 38 games but only started 10. This year in two starts, he has already thrown 11 innings. He has never thrown more than 28 in a season. So how he handles an increased workload is one of the things I will be watching.
The development of a third pitch. Pitchers with two pitches often wind up in the bullpen. To stay a starter, he really needs a third pitch. Not that there would be anything wrong in having a home grown late innings guy.
How he handles seeing a team for the second time. How does he adjust as they adjust.
He has just moved to the top of the list of players I am excited about this season.
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