Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Baseball

South Atlantic League

Lexington Legends
vs. Rome Braves

What: Five-game series

When: Friday through Monday (5 p.m. doubleheader Friday, 7:05 p.m. Saturday, 1:35 p.m. Sunday, 12:05 p.m. Monday)

Where: Whitaker Bank Ballpark

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Major League affiliates: Houston Astros (Legends), Atlanta Braves

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Friday, LH David Rollins (1-2, 3.12) vs. LH Alex Wood (4-3, 2.03) and TBA vs. RH Navery Moore (7-7, 4.28) ; Saturday, RH Chris Devenski (7-7, 4.28) vs. RH Greg Ross (7-8, 4.39); Sunday, RH Mike Foltynewicz (14-3, 2.91) vs. LH Fabian Williamson (2-4, 4.38); Monday, LH Luis Cruz (9-8, 4.05) vs. LH David Starn (1-2, 5.85).

William Beckwith

Brave to watch: 1B William Beckwith (6-foot-1, 235 pounds, age 22, bats left, throws right, from Crawford, Miss.) leads Rome in homers (14) and RBI (74), and is tied for the lead in doubles (25). Not counting teammates who have played 12 games or less, he also leads Rome in batting average (.292), on-base percentage (.362), slugging (.477) and OPS (.839). Over 101 games, Beckwith has scored 49 runs, stolen 16 bases and has 173 total bases. Selected by Atlanta in the 21st round of the 2010 draft out of George C. Wallace Community College in Alabama, he hit .243 with two homers and 18 RBI over 21 games with the Gulf Coast League Braves in 2010. Last year, with Danville of the Appalachian League, he improved to .282-11-45. This season, Beckwith is batting .250 when the bases are empty, .337 with runners on base and .389 with runners in scoring position.

Chris Devenski

Legend to watch: Saturday starter Chris Devenski (6-3, 195, 21, bats/throws right, from Long Beach, Calif.) came to the Houston organization from the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 3 to complete the Brett Meyers trade. Devenski went 6-5 with a 4.23 ERA for Kannapolis before being moved to Lexington. With the Legends, he is 1-2, 4.43 over four starts and 20 1/3 innings. The White Sox selected him in the 25th round of the 2011 draft out of Cal State Fullerton. Assigned last year to the Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League, Devenski had no decisions and a save in seven relief outings, striking out nine and walking one over eight innings. Over 82 innings with the Intimidators and Legends this season, he has totaled 76 strikeouts and 34 walks.

Noteworthy: Katya Cengal, author of Bluegrass Baseball: A Year in the Minor League Life, will be signing books between games Friday. Cengel followed Kentucky’s four minor-league teams — the Legends, Louisville Bats, Bowling Green Hot Rods and Florence Freedom — through the 2010 season.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

This entry was posted on August 30, 2012 at 10:57 pm and is filed under Appalachian League, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Bowling Green Hot Rods, Cal State Fullerton, Chicago White Sox, Danville Braves, Great Falls Voyagers, Gulf Coast League Braves, Houston Astros, Kannapolis Intimidators, Lexington Legends, Louisville Bats, Pioneer League, South Atlantic League. Tagged: Alex Wood, Brett Meyers, Chris Devenski, David Rollins, David Starn, Fabian Williamson, Greg Ross, Katya Cengel, Luis Cruz, Mike Foltynewicz, Navery Moore, William Beckwith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.