Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Lexington Legends outfielder Steve Brown is the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the period of Aug. 3-9.

Steve Brown

Brown, from Colombia, went 12-for-28 (.429), including three homers and a triple. He drove in 11 runs while compiling a slugging percentage of .821. He boosted his season batting average from .233 to .256 and has scored at least one run in each of his last four games.

“Steve has been a valuable member to our team the past two seasons but, more importantly, Steve has been a terrific member of our community,” Andy Shea, general manager of the Legends, said in a statement released by the team. “This season he has spoken to college classes at Transylvania and he has been a significant contributor in our Hispanic outreach program. I’m very happy to see he is also being recognized for his outstanding accomplishments on the field.”

Brandon Barnes

The Legends play the third of four games against the Asheville Tourists on Monday night at Applebee’s Park. After that series wraps up, West Virginia will visit the Legends for four games, Wednesday through Saturday.

Meanwhile, Lancaster JetHawks outfielder Brandon Barnes is Player of the Week in the California League.

Barnes, who began the season with the Legends, went 12-for-25 (.480) for the week, with a homer, triple, eight RBI and six runs scored. During one 6-for-9 stretch, he drove in six runs.

Delmarva’s rotation has changed, as noted below, since this preview was first posted.

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends vs. Delmarva Shorebirds

What: Four-game series

When: Monday through Thursday (7:05 each night)

Where: Arthur W. Perdue Stadium (Salisbury, Md.)

Probable pitcher (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (7-7, 3.30) vs. LH Nathan Moreau (2-2, 4.32); Tuesday, LH Brad Dydalewicz (5-3, 3.24) vs. LH Cole McMurray (3-7, 3.75); Wednesday, LH David Duncan (1-0, 9.00) vs. RH Ryan O’Shea (5-5, 3.75); Thursday, RH Robert Bono (8-5, 2.58) vs. RH Oliver Drake (4-6, 4.03).

Shorebird to watch: All-star RF Ronnie Welty (6-foot-2, 180 pounds, from Gilbert, Ariz.) leads Delmarva with a .301 batting average, 82 hits and 115 total bases, and shares the team lead of 40 RBI. He also has six homers, five stolen bases and 41 runs scored, with no errors, over 76 games. He is hitting .395 against left-handers, .265 versus righties. Originally drafted by the Angels in 2006 out of Mesquite High School (37th round), Welty instead played two seasons for Chandler-Gilbert Community College, then signed with Oral Roberts University. He wound up being selected by the Orioles in the 20th round of the 2008 draft. Playing for the rookie-league Bluefield Orioles last season, he hit .314 with three homers and 34 RBI over 55 games en route to earning Appalachian League post-season all-star honors.

Chris Jackson

Legend to watch: SS Chris Jackson (5-11, 185, from Midlothian, Va.) joined the Legends last week after starting the season with the High-A Lancaster JetHawks of the California League. Over 58 games, Jackson hit .183 with a homer and 15 RBI, so he traded roster spots with Legends IF Ronnie Ramirez. In his first three games of the season with the Legends, Jackson is 4-for-10 (including a triple) with a run and an RBI. Selected by the Astros in the 29th round of the 2008 draft, out of Virginia Commonwealth University, Jackson broke in last season by playing 22 games with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League. There, he hit .257 with a homer and nine RBI. He was promoted to the Legends, where he hit .244 over 23 games, notching a homer, seven RBI and six stolen bases. He closed the season with eight hits in his last 16 at-bats.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Ashton Mowdy

The Lexington Legends, 9-5 winners over the Savannah Sand Gnats on a beautiful Thursday night at Applebee’s Park, lost one of their top relief pitchers after the game.

Kirkland Rivers

RH Ashton Mowdy has been promoted to High-A Lancaster of the California League. RH Kirkland Rivers comes off the temporary inactive list to fill Mowdy’s spot.

Kyle Miller

A day earlier, IF/DH Kyle Miller was sent down to rookie-league Greeneville. His spot was filled Thursday with the activation of RHP Kyle Godfrey, up from Tri-City.

Two players made their Legends season debuts Thursday — shortstop Chris Jackson and winning pitcher David Duncan. Jackson, down from Lancaster, traded places with Ronnie Ramirez. Duncan, up from Tri-City, took the roster spot that was empty due to RHP Jose Trinidad’s second stint on the disabled list. Trinidad (labrum) likely will miss the rest of the season.

David Duncan in his Lexington debut. (Photo courtesy of Legends)

Mowdy leaves Lexington with no decisions, three saves, six holds and a 1.72 ERA. He appeared in 26 games, all in relief, spanning 36 2/3 innings. He struck out 33, walked eight and held opponents to a .157 batting average.

Rivers last pitched June 15. He has no decisions over six relief outings and 7 1/3 innings, with a 2.45 ERA. He has struck out seven and walked five.

Miller played in 32 games for the Legends, batting .213 with two homers, 10 RBI and six runs scored.

Chris Jackson

David Duncan

Jackson went 2-for-4 with an RBI via a sacrifice fly Thursday night. He also committed a fielding error.

Duncan gave up five runs and nine hits over five innings but got the win. He walked three and struck out five.

For more information about Jackson and Duncan, as well as Ramirez and Trinidad, see earlier blog entries: ramirez-promoted and gnats-visit-legends.

Thanks to Mary Lay for Legends individual head photos.

South Atlantic League Baseball

A changing of shortstops came to the Lexington Legends on Wednesday.

Ronnie Ramirez has been promoted to the High-A Lancaster JetHawks of the California League.

Taking his spot is Chris Jackson, who played for the Legends last year, and returns from Lancaster.

Jackson, 22, is a 5-foot-11, 185-pounder out of Virginia Commonwealth, selected by the Houston Astros in the 29th round of the 2008 draft. He split the 2008 season between Tri-City (22 games) and the Legends (23 games), hitting a combined .250 with two homers and 16 RBI over the 45 games.

This season, he struggled with Lancaster, hitting .183 with a homer and 15 RBI over 58 games. In June, he batted .113 (7-for-62).

Ramirez played second, third and short for the Legends. Over 52 games, he hit .248 (38-for-153) with three homers and 13 RBI.

Meanwhile, Lexington’s rotation for the four-game series against Savannah has been changed: Ross Seaton, rather than Kyle Greenwalt, going in the series finale.

Coming up

Lexington Legends vs. Savannah Sand Gnats

What: Four-game series

When: Wednesday through Saturday (7:05 each night)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call       (859) 422-7867      

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Wednesday, LH Brad Dydalewicz (4-3, 3.46) vs. RH Kyle Allen (5-4, 4.35); Thursday, LH David Duncan (0-0, 0.00) vs. RH Jeurys Familia (6-5, 2.75); Friday, RH Robert Bono (8-4, 2.45) vs. RH Chris Schwinden (5-4, 3.77); Saturday, RH Ross Seaton (6-7, 2.64) vs. LH Robert Carson (6-6, 2.22). 

Wilmer Flores

Sand Gnat to watch: SS Wilmer Flores (6-foot-3, 175 pounds, from Valencia, Venezuela) is rated by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in the New York Mets’ minor-league system. Through 72 games, he is hitting .284 with two homers, 22 RBI and 24 runs. He has come on strong since hitting .235 in May. He hit .309 (29-for-94) in June and is off to a .321 start (9-for-28) in July. The Mets signed him in 2007 for $750,000 and, last year, became short-season Brooklyn’s youngest player ever, 16. He played at three levels last season, hitting .310 over 59 games with Kingsport of the Appalachian League; ,400 in one game with the Sand Gnats and .267 over eight games with Brooklyn of the New York-Penn League. His combined totals for the season: .307, eight homers, 42 RBI, 40 runs and 68 games.

Legend to watch: LHP David Duncan (6-9, 230, from New Richmond, Ohio), up from Tri-City of the New York-Penn League, is scheduled to make his Legends debut Thursday. He takes the roster spot of RH Jose Trinidad, who is on the disabled list for the second time this season due to a sore labrum. Ricky Bennett, assistant general manager and director of player development for the Houston Astros, said Duncan will stay in the rotation, but the five starters who have been here all season will not be moved. Details were still being discussed after Tuesday’s game, but Bennett said you can expect a “modified six-man rotation.” Trinidad likely is finished for the year. Selected by the Astros in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, out of Georgia Tech, Duncan went 3-4 with a 4.88 ERA over 14 starts for Tri-City last season. He began this season with High-A Lancaster, getting starts in 10 of his 11 appearances. With an 0-9 record and 8.51 ERA, he was demoted to Tri-City, where he seems to have rediscovered his form. In three starts for the ValleyCats, Duncan went 0-1 with a 3.10 ERA. Working 20 1/3 innings, he struck out 17 and walked three.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

                              Lexington Legends
   vs. Rome Braves

What: Four-game series

When: Saturday through Tuesday (7:05 each night, except Sunday at 2:05 p.m.)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Saturday, RH Robert Bono (7-4, 2.16) vs. RH Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.25); Sunday, RH Ross Seaton (6-7, 2.73) vs. RH Randall Delgado (1-7, 5.66); Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (6-7, 3.61) vs. LH Dimaster Delgado (1-2, 3.62); Tuesday, RH Jordan Lyles (5-7, 3.15) vs. RH Zeke Spruill (7-4, 3.32).

Adam Milligan

Brave to watch: OF Adam Milligan (6-foot-3, 210 pounds, from Morristown, Tenn.) was promoted to Rome on Friday, up from Danville of the Appalachian League. Milligan hit .439 with two homers, five doubles, a triple and 10 RBI in nine games with Danville. Atlanta took him in the sixth round of the 2008 draft, the third time the Braves selected the left-handed-hitting power hitter (who throws right-handed). He backed out of a committment to Vanderbilt, signing for $350,000. Milligan roomed with the son of Braves scouting director Roy Clark while attending Walters State (Tenn.) Community College. He also was recruited for football, out of Hardin County High School, where he was a Tennessee all-stater three years in a row. He played plenty of positions — quarterback, running back, receiver, kick-returner and safety.

Brian Pellegrini

Legend to watch: 1B Brian Pellegrini (6-1, 240, from Willoughby, Ohio) has tormented SAL pitchers since joining the Legends on May 16. Pellegrini began the season with High-A Lancaster of the California League, batting .171 with seven homers and 15 RBI over 30 games. Over 40 games with the Legends (through Thursday), Pellegrini is hitting .366 with 12 homers and 35 RBI. His 12 homers tie him for fifth in the league. He does not have enough appearances to qualify for league leaders in most categories, but his .366 batting, .441 on-base and .697 slugging numbers, as well as a gaudy 1.138 OPS would otherwise rank first. He hit .437 (38-for-87) with nine homers and 26 RBI in June. Pellegrini also spent much of last season with the Legends, notching 21 homers and 69 RBI over 87 games. His 33 career homers are a club record. Selected by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 2007 draft, out of St. Bonaventure University, he was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2006.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends vs. Asheville (N.C.) Tourists

What: Three-game series

When: Monday through Wednesday (7:05 each night)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call    (859) 422-7867   

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Robert Bono (5-2, 1.93) vs. RH Parker Frazier (1-5, 6.48); Tuesday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (3-5, 3.10) vs. RH Juan Nicasio (0-0, 1.00); Wednesday, RH Jordan Lyles (2-5, 3.13) vs. RH Dan Houston (1-4, 5.03).

David Christensen

Tourist to watch: RF David Christensen (6-foot-1, 195 pounds, from Margate, Fla.) is among the top 10 in the league in triples (5), homers (9), RBI (31), total bases (94), slugging percentage (.540) and OPS — on-base plus slugging percentages (.854). Also, he is hitting .259, has scored 27 runs and stolen nine bases over 47 games. Selected by the Rockies in the second round of the 2006 draft, Christensen played the past two seasons with the Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League. He led the club last season with nine homers and 62 games. He also stole seven bases.

Eric Suttle

Legend to watch: RF Eric Suttle (6-0, 190, from Marietta, Ga.) is hitting .333 (8-for-24) in seven games since joining the Legends last Monday. He also has drawn five walks, boosting his on-base percentage to .448. Suttle played the last two seasons for the Southern Illinois Miners of the independent Frontier League, hitting .271 with six homers and 54 RBI over 144 games in 2008. He led the team with 47 walks last season and, just as in 2007, he totaled five outfield assists. The Astros purchased his contract rights March 11. Suttle began this season in extended spring training and was promoted in mid-May to High-A Lancaster of the California League. In 12 games with the JetHawks, Suttle was 12-for-32 (.375) with seven RBI and four runs. He has reached safely in all seven games with the Legends and takes a six-game hitting streak into Monday’s game.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300