Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

The Houston Astros have announced their minor-league players of the month for May, as determined by the field staffs of each minor-league club.

For the Lexington Legends: Luis Cruz is pitcher of the month; Matt Duffy is offensive player of the month, and catcher Roberto Pena is defensive player of the month.

Cruz, a left-hander, went 4-0 over six starts. He worked 39 innings, striking out 33, walking 10 and compiling a 1.85 ERA while holding opponents to a .235 batting average.

Duffy hit safely in 21 of the 28 games he played, going 37-for-108 (.343). He totaled 11 doubles, four homers, 11 walks, 14 RBI and 18 runs.

Pena, in 32 games behind the plate this season, has committed three errors in 312 total chances (.990).

Award winners with the Astros’ other affiliates (pitcher, offense, defense):

AAA Oklahoma City — LHP Xavier Cedeno; IF Mike Hessman; OF Brad Snyder.

AA Corpus Christi — RHP Ross Seaton (former Legend); IF Jonathan Singleton; IF Andrew Simunic (former Legend).

High-A Lancaster — RHP Tyson Perez; OF George Springer; IF Jonathan Meyer (former Legend).

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

J.D. Martinez did just about everything he could for the Lexington Legends during his half-season-plus with the team.

J.D. Martinez

He did so well enough that he has been named Most Valuable Player in the South Atlantic League.

Martinez is joined on the SAL post-season all-star team by another since-promoted Legend, second baseman Jose Altuve.

Martinez, a right fielder and designated hitter during his time with the Legends, hit .362 over 88 games, with 15 homers, 31 doubles and three triples among his 126 hits. He drove in 64 runs and scored 83. He finished with a .433 on-base percentage, .598 slugging and 1.030 OPS.

Promoted to Class Double-A Corpus Christi on July 16, Martinez is batting .302 with three homers, 25 RBI and 24 runs scored over 47 games.

Jose Altuve

Altuve stayed with the Legends through July 30, batting .308 with 11 homers, 45 RBI, 75 runs, 39 stolen bases and an .809 OPS.

Since being promoted to High-A Lancaster, Altuve is batting .272 with three homers, 18 RBI, 15 runs and three stolen bases.

The SAL post-season awards were determined by a vote of league field managers, general managers, sportswriters and broadcasters.

Most Outstanding Pitcher honors went to James Fuller (8-3, 1.93 ERA, 19 games) of the Savannah Sand Gnats.

Lakewood BlueClaws first baseman Jonathan Singleton is the Most Outstanding Major League Prospect, hitting .297 with 107 hits and 14 homers over 98 games.

Lakewood’s Mark Parent is Manager of the Year and Marc Valdes of Savannah is Coach of the Year.

All-star selections included Augusta GreenJackets third baseman Chris Dominguez, out of the University of Louisville.

2010 South Atlantic League All-Star Team

Manager – Mark Parent (Lakewood BlueClaws)
Coach — Marc Valdez (Savvanah Sand Gnats)
Right-handed pitcher — Jorge Bucardo (Augusta GreenJackets)
Left-handed pitcher — James Fuller (Savannah)
Catcher — Sebastian Valle (Lakewood)
First baseman — Jared Clark (Asheville Tourists)
Second baseman — Jose Altuve (Lexington Legends)
Shortstop — Jonathan Villar (Lakewood)
Third baseman — Chris Dominguez (Augusta GreenJackets)
Utility infielder — Robert Lyerly (Charleston RiverDogs)
Outfielder — J.D. Martinez (Lexington Legends)
Outfielder — Eliezer Mesa (Asheville)
Outfielder — Jeremy Hazelbaker (Greenville Drive)
Utility outfielder — Destin Hood (Hagerstown Suns)
Designated hitter — Justin Bloxom (Hagerstown)

Most Valuable Player – J.D. Martinez (Lexington Legends)
Most Outstanding Pitcher — James Fuller (Savannah)
Most Outstanding MLB Prospect — Jonathan Singleton (Lakewood)

Baseball

South Atlantic      League

Lexington Legends vs. Lakewood BlueClaws

What: Three-game series

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

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

Affiliations: Houston Astros (Legends); Philadelphia Phillies

Robby Donovan

Colby Shreve

Juan Minaya

Tanner Bushue

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Monday, RH Robby Donovan (6-4, 2.63) vs. RH Jared Cosart (7-1, 3.34); Tuesday, RH Tanner Bushue (3-3, 3.95) vs. RH Brody Colvin (3-6, 4.99); Wednesday, RH Juan Minaya (1-7, 5.34) vs. RH Colby Shreve (4-3, 4.24).

Jonathan Singleton

BlueClaw to watch: 1B Jonathan Singleton (6-foot-2, 215 pounds, from Lakewood, Calif.) comes in with hits in his last five games (8-for-20) and seven of his last eight games (12-for-30). An eighth-round draft pick last year out of Long Beach High School, Singleton is batting .407 over 30 games, with seven homers, 33 RBI and 22 runs. He has 20 walks to 22 strikeouts, a .500 on-base percentage, .704 slugging and 1.204 OPS.  He’s batting. 477 at home, a “mere” .359 on the road. Singleton made his pro debut last summer with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, hitting .290 with two homers and 12 RBI over 31 games. The son of former Oregon quarterback Herb Singleton, he is rated by Baseball America as the 20th-best prospect in the Phillies system.

Jose Trinidad

Legend to watch: RHP Jose Trinidad (5-11, 150, from Sabana Grande de Palenque, Domincan Republic) leads Lexington pitchers in appearances — 22, all in relief. Overall, he is 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA, three holds and eight games finished. Over 43 1/3 innings, Trinidad has struck out 32 and walked 10. In five appearances this month, he is 1-0 and has allowed only one unearned run, holding opponents to a .179 batting average. Signed as a non-drafted free agent in February of 2006, he led all Astros minor-leaguers in 2008 with a 2.73 ERA (17 earned runs in 56 innings). With the Legends last year, he was shut down after 13 relief stints and 21 innings due to injury. He was 0-3 with a save and a 4.71 ERA. His four-season minor-league totals, beginning with two years in the Dominican Summer League: 9-11, 10 saves, 2.92 ERA, 134 strikeouts, 51 walks, 160 1/3 innings.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300