Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

South Atlantic League baseball

Lexington Legends
at Lakewood BlueClaws

What: Four-game series

When: Saturday through Tuesday (4:05 Saturday and 1:05 Sunday afternoon, 6:35 Monday and Tuesday nights)

Where: FirstEnergy Park (Lakewood, N.J.)

Major League affiliates: Kansas City Royals (Legends), Philadelphia Phillies (BlueClaws)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Saturday, LH Daniel Stumpf (2-0, 1.33) vs. RH Shane Watson (1-2, 5.40); Sunday, RH Aroni Nina (0-1, 3.71) vs. RH Kevin Brady (1-2, 5.24); Monday, RH Bryan Brickhouse (0-3, 3.00) vs. LH Yoel Mecias (0-1, 6.16); Tuesday, RH Miguel Almonte (1-3, 4.13) vs. RH Nicholas Hanson (1-0, 4.35).

Ethan Chapman

Legend to watch: OF Ethan Chapman (5-foot-9, 166 pounds, age 23, from Pomona, Calif., bats left, throws right) leads the Legends with a .275 batting average through Thursday. Over 27 games, Chapman is 22-for-80, with three doubles, 10 walks, five RBI, 10 runs and 14-for-17 in stolen-base attempts. Selected in the 30th round of last June’s draft, he attended Cal State San Bernadino, where he was a teammate of fellow Royals prospect Aaron Brooks. Chapman scored a school-record 60 runs as a freshman in 2010. He also tied the school record for home runs in a season (14), earned second-team All-West Region and, in 2012, won an ABCA West Region Gold Glove. Assigned to Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League last summer, he was the Chukars’ Player of the Year. He finished second in the league in stolen bases (25), third in triples (9), tied for fourth in runs (58), sixth in hits (88) and tied for ninth in doubles (9).

Mitch Walding

BlueClaw to watch: 3B Mitch Walding (6-3, 190, 20, from Lodi, Calif., bats left, throws right) is hitting .267 through 25 games, with five doubles, two triples, 16 RBI and 12 runs. Selected in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, out of St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., where he also starred in football, he turned down a scholarship to Oregon and signed for $800,000. Rated by Baseball America as the No. 16 prospect in the Phillies system, and No. 20 by MLB.com, he made his pro debut last year with Williamsport of the New York-Penn League. He batted .233 for the Crosscutters, after starting his first month at .383. Notes Baseball America: “… He ran into some struggles that snowballed as he got down on himself. Walding is learning how to translate his tools into baseball ability, but his upside is significant. He has a sweet left-handed swing that generates natural backspin, and he projects to have above-average raw power as he grows into his broad-shouldered frame.”

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

Baseball

South Atlantic League

Lexington Legends
at Lakewood BlueClaws

What: Three-game series

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

Where: FirstEnergy Park (Lakewood, N.J.)

Major League affiliations: Houston Astros (Legends), Philadelphia Phillies

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Tuesday, LH Luis Cruz (5-1, 2.84) vs. LH Ethan Stewart (0-6, 4.21); Wednesday, RH Jonas Dufek (1-1, 5.84) vs. RH Colin Klevan (3-4, 3.59); Thursday, RH Nick Tropeano (4-3, 2.94) vs. LH Lino Martinez (3-3, 6.79).

Drew Muren

Legend to watch: OF Drew Muren (6-foot-6, 195 pounds, from Ramona, Calif.), who bats left-handed and throws righty, takes a .289 batting average into the series, with 13 RBI and 22 runs. Among his 44 hits are 11 doubles, a triple and two homers. He’s riding a four-game hitting streak, going 7-for-17 (.412). He has four stolen bases, a .341 on-base percentage and .414 slugging. Against right-handed pitchers, Muren is batting .321; against lefties, .200. Selected by the Astros in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft, Muren was an All-Big West selection for Cal State Northridge last year. He also was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the 35th round of the 2010 draft. Last summer, the Astros placed him with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League. He was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Month for July and finished the season with a .257 average, two homers, 21 RBI and eight stolen bases over 67 games.

Aaron Altherr

BlueClaw to watch: OF Aaron Altherr  (6-5, 190, from Buckeye, Ariz.) leads the BlueClaws in hits (49), doubles (13) and total bases (78), and shares the lead in triples (2). Batting .241, with four homers, 24 RBI, 23 runs and 17 stolen bases, he has not committed an error. Selected by the Phillies in the ninth round of the 2009 draft, out of Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Ariz., Altherr is rated by Baseball America as the 15th-best prospect in the Philadelphia system. He spent 2009 and part of 2010 with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, parts of 2010 and 2011 with the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League, and part of last season with the BlueClaws. He earned mid-season all-star honors with the Crosscutters. For those three combined seasons, he batted .255 with eight homers, 82 RBI, 94 runs and 55 stolen bases over 195 games. This season, he’s batting .272 at home, .216 on the road. He bats and throws right-handed.

Radio: WLXG-AM 1300

Baseball

                               South Atlantic League

Lexington Legends
vs. Hickory Crawdads

What: Four-game series

When: Thursday through Sunday (7 Thursday through Saturday nights, 5 p.m. Sunday)

Where: L.P. Frans Stadium (Hickory, N.C.)

Major League affiliates: Houston Astros (Legends), Texas Rangers

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Thursday, TBA vs. RH Luke Jackson (4-4, 5.28); Friday, RH Carlos Quevedo (7-5, 4.08) vs. RH Joe Van Meter (5-5, 4.09); Saturday, RH Tanner Bushue (6-5, 4.30) vs. RH Cody Buckel (6-3, 2.40); Sunday, RH Mike Foltynewicz (5-10, 4.69) vs. RH Ben Henry (5-2, 2.92).

Domingo Santana

Legend to watch: OF Domingo Santana (6-foot-5, 200 pounds, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) joined the Legends after being acquired by the Astros on Monday as the “player to be named” in the July 30 trade of former Legend Hunter Pence to the Philadelphia Phillies. (Earlier, the Astros received RHP Jarred Cosart, OF Jonathan Singleton and RHP Josh Zeid.) Santana, who bats and throws right-handed, hit .269 over 96 games with Lakewwood, with 29 doubles, four triples, seven homers, 32 RBI and four stolen bases. He made his Legends debut Tuesday, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout at Hagerstown. Entering the season, Baseball America rated him as the ninth-best prospect in the Phillies system. Born in the Bahamas, he signed with Philadelphia as a free agent for $330,000. He made his pro debut in 2009 with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, batting .288 with six homers and 28 RBI over 37 games. Last year, he struggled in 49 games with Lakewood, hitting .182 with three homers and 16 RBI over 49 games. Dropped to Williamsport of the New York-Penn League, he improved to .237-5-20 over 54 games with the Crosscutters.

Jonathan Roof

Crawdad to watch: IF/OF Jonathan Roof (6-1, 165, from Paducah) is Mr. Versatile for the Crawdads, who have played him at second base, third, shortstop, left field and right field. Out of St. Mary High School and Michigan State University, he is batting .262 with two homers, 32 RBI, 25 runs and 14 stolen bases in 65 games with Hickory. He also has played 12 games for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League, hitting .186 and scoring five runs. An eighth-round draft pick last year, he played six games in the Arizona League in 2010 and 38 games with the Crawdads. His combined totals came to .266, 13 RBI, 19 runs and four SB. Roof’s father Gene and uncle Phil both played in the big leagues, while brothers Eric and Shawn are Tigers prospects. 

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

Lexington Legends vs. Lakewood BlueClaws

What: Four-game series

When: Friday through Monday (7:05 each night except Sunday, 5:05 p.m.)

Where: FirstEnergy Ballpark (Lakewood, N.J.)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Friday, RH Ross Seaton (6-8, 2.57) vs. RH Jason Knapp (2-7, 4.01); Saturday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (7-8, 3.62) vs. RH Jesus Sanchez (5-5, 3.90); Sunday, RH Jordan Lyles (5-7, 2.92) vs. RH Heitor Correa (6-3, 3.56); Monday, LH Brad Dydalewicz (5-4, 3.47) vs. RH Trevor May (1-1, 3.34).

Travis d'Arnaud

BlueClaw to watch: C Travis d’Arnaud (6-foot-2, 195 pounds, from Lakewood, Calif.) leads Lakewood in RBI (49) and doubles (21), and shares the lead in homers (9). Hitting .236over 81 games, d’Arnaud ranks third on the club in runs scored (46) and walks (25). Rated by Baseball America as the seventh-best prospect in the Phillies organization when the season began, d’Arnaud was drafted out of Lakewood (Calif.) High School in 2007, a supplemental first-round pick and 37th overall. (His older brother Chase, a shortstop, was a 2008 fourth-round pick of the Pirates.) Travis made his pro debut with the Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2007, hitting .241 with four homers and 20 RBI over 41 games. Last year, he earned New York-Penn League all-star honors with the Williamsport Crosscutters, hitting .309 with four homers and 25 RBI over 48 games. He finished the season by playing 16 games with the BlueClaws, batting .297 with two homers and five RBI. What really attracted the Phillies, according to Baseball America, is d’Arnaud’s “premium catch-and-throw tools, such as soft hands, quick feet and plenty of arm strength.”

Brian Wabick

Legend to watch: RHP Brian Wabick (6-0, 180, from Des Plaines, Ill.) had one of his worst outings of the season (2.2 innings, 3 ER) Tuesday at Delmarva. As his record shows, though, most often he has been effective. He’s 5-0 with two holds and a 4.78 ERA over 24 games, including one spot start. Over 49 innings, he has 40 strikeouts to 14 walks. Over five July appearances, he is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. Selected by the Houston Astros in the 34th round of the 2007 draft, out of Oakton Community College in suburban Chicago, Wabick spent 2007 with Greeneville of the Appalachian League, then split 2008 between Greeneville and Tri-City of the New York-Penn League. His combined totals for those two seasons included a 3-4 record, eight saves, 4.11 ERA, 39 games, 81 innings, 67 strikeouts and 23 walks.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300