Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers: Dan Rohn, the man who held the Rainiers together while the Mariners called up most of his best players, won the Pacific Coast League manager of the year award.
What was Rohn up against this season? Going into their final weekend, the Rainiers won 76 games with 61 different players and more than 130 roster transactions.
First baseman A.J. Zapp marked a monster season with a mammoth home run last week. On Wednesday, Zapp became the first player to hit a ball over the 25-foot-tall center-field wall in the 45-year history of Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. His third-inning blast off Sacramento pitcher Joe Blanton cleared the wall, which is 425 feet from home plate, and the distance was estimated at 505 feet.
On Thursday, Zapp hit a three-run homer in the Rainiers’ 7-2 victory over Sacramento, making him the first Tacoma player to reach 100 RBI since Dan Rohrmeier in 1998. Zapp, who had 29 homers entering the weekend, also struck out for the 176th time, breaking the PCL single-season strikeout record.
Class AA San Antonio Missions: San Antonio played first-place Round Rock in a final-weekend showdown to decide the Texas League West Division champion. The Missions cut Round Rock’s lead to one game with a victory in the series opener Thursday.
Outfielder Shin-soo Choo continued to stand among the league hitting leaders with a .308 average (fifth), 80 RBI (tied for fourth), 38 steals (fourth), 158 hits (tied for second), seven triples (tied for second) and 85 runs (third).
Right-handed pitcher Rich Dorman’s 3.48 ERA is fourth best and Chris Buglovsky’s 3.64 ERA was seventh.
Class A Inland Empire 66ers: The Sixers clinched home-field advantage in the California League playoffs, which will begin Wednesday against either Lake Elsinore or Rancho Cucamonga.
Carlos Arroyo led the team with a .323 average that is fourth in the league, Jon Nelson’s 90 RBI were fifth and Gary Harris’ 17 triples led the league.
Left-handed pitcher Bobby Livingston was 12-6 with a 3.57 ERA that was the league’s fourth best, and his 141 strikeouts ranked second.
Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: A difficult season entered its final weekend with the Rattlers last in the Midwest League Western Division with a 26-40 second-half record.
Among the highlights, 19-year-old Adam Jones held up well in his first long season, entering the weekend with a .264 average, 10 home runs and 70 RBI. Chris Colton was tied for third in the league with 11 triples.
Left-handed starter Thomas Oldham, 6-6, was fifth in the league with a 2.93 ERA and right-hander Brandon Moorhead was tied for fifth with 154 strikeouts.
Rookie Peoria Mariners: The Mariners finished with a 31-25 record and one player, catcher Daniel Santin, on the Arizona League All-Star team. He was a unanimous pick after finishing fifth in the league with a .325 average and fourth with a .506 slugging percentage. He hit safely in 32 of 41 games and had 15 multi-hit games.
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