Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Baseball

South Atlantic
    League

Lexington Legends
                             vs. Greenville Drive

What: Four-game series

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

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Major League affiliates: Houston Astros (Legends), Boston Red Sox

Tanner Bushue

Juan Minaya

Zach Grimmett

Jose Cisnero

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Tuesday, RH Tanner Bushue (6-7, 4.31) vs. RH Kendal Volz (6-5, 4.09); Wednesday, RH Juan Minaya (4-10, 5.04) vs. RH Pete Ruiz (8-8, 4.56); Thursday, RH Jose Cisnero (6-6, 4.25) vs. RH Ryan Pressly (4-6,3.90); Friday, RH Zach Grimmett (5-2, 3.81) vs. LH Manuel Rivera (4-9, 4.32).

Reymond Fuentes

Drive to watch: CF Reymond Fuentes (6-foot, 160 pounds, from Manati, Puerto Rico) is batting .281 with five homers 37 RBI, 53 runs scored and 35 stolen bases through 87 games. Selected by the Red Sox in the first round (28th overall) of last year’s draft, Fuentes signed for $1.134 million. A cousin of Mets CF  Carlos Beltran, the left-hander (batter/thrower) is the sixth Puerto Rican ever selected in a first round. He broke in to pro ball last year with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, hitting .290 with a homer, 14 RBI, 16 runs and nine stolen bases over 40 games. He was ranked as the third-best prospect in the rookie league and, according to Baseball America, was the seventh-best prospect in the Red Sox’ organization coming into this season. Wrote BBA: “A track star in high school, he uses his quickness to make things happen on the bases and in center field, where he has Gold Glove potential. His swing is geared more for contact, ,but he has some power to his pull side and eventually could hit as many as 15 homers per  season. … Similar to Jacoby Ellsbury, Fuentes is a far better hitter at the same stage and projects as a better defender.” Hitting .277 at the all-star break, he is .292 since and, in 12 August games, is .391 (18-for-46).

Daniel Sarisky

Legend to watch: RHP Daniel Sarisky (6-1, 175, from Duluth, Ga.) has bolstered the bullpen after missing more than two months (mid-April through mid-July) due to a back injury. Over 17 games spanning only 18 1/3 innings, Sarisky is 2-0 with a 4.42 ERA, 13 strikeouts and eight walks. Eight of his nine appearances have come at home, where he notched both wins and has a 2.08 ERA. A 40th round draft pick in 2009, out of Oglethorpe University, Sarisky split last season between the Greeneville Astros of the Appalachian League and the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League, compiling a combined record of 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 13 walks. 

Ben Heath

Player of the Week: Legends C Ben Heath is the SAL Player of the Week for the period that ended Sunday. In his first week since being promoted from Tri-City, Heath went 8-for-15 (.533) with three homers, a triple and 10 RBI, with a 1.267 slugging percentage. Three homers and seven RBI came in Friday against West Virginia. Heath, 21, was a fifth-round draft pick of the Astros in the June draft, out of Penn State University.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Baseball

South Atlantic League

Lexington Legends vs. Greenville Drive

What: Four-game series

When: Sunday through Wednesday (2:05 p.m. Sunday; 10:05 a.m. Monday and Wednesday; 7:05 p.m. Tuesday)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Affiliations: Houston Astros (Legends), Boston Red Sox

Tanner Bushue

David Duncan

Robby Donovan

Juan Minaya

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Sunday, RH Tanner Bushue (2-1, 2.04) vs. RH Kendal Volz (3-2, 3.34); Monday, LH David Duncan (0-0, 0.00) vs. LH Manuel Rivera (2-2, 2.73); Tuesday, RH Robby Donovan (2-3, 3.60) vs. RH Pedro Perez (2-2, 5.40); Wednesday, RH Juan Minaya (0-5, 5.94) vs. RH Pete Ruiz (4-2, 4.25).

Chris McGuiness

Drive to watch: 1B Chris McGuiness (6-foot-1, 210 pounds, from Charleston, S.C.) is hitting .282 with a team-leading five homers and 24 RBI over 33 games. He also leads the team in hits (33), total bases (58) and walks (23), and carries a lofty .904 OPS. Selected by the Red Sox in the 13th round of last June’s draft, out of The Citadel, where he hit .367 with 15 HR and 59 RBI in 59 games his junior season, leading the country in walks (65) and leading the team with a .520 on-base percentage. He then played 60 games of pro ball in 2009 — six games with Greenville and 54 with the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League, hitting a combined .245 with six HR and 39 RBI. He earned mid-season all-star honors in the NYPL.

Tanner Bushue

Legend to watch: Sunday starter Tanner Bushue (6-4, 180, from Kinmundy, Ill.) ranks ninth in the league with his 2.04 ERA. He leads the Legends with 39 2/3 innings pitched and 36 strikeouts. He has issued 12 walks over his seven starts. Over his last four starts (26 innings), he has yielded three earned runs and four walks while striking out 20. Selected by the Astros in the second round (69th overall) of last June’s draft, out of South Central High School, Bushue is the youngest player on the Lexington roster, 18. As a high school senior, Bushue 8-3 with an 0.62 ERA over 13 games and 68 1/3 innings. He struck out 140 and walked 22. Once signed by the Astros last year (for $530,000), he tossed five games for the Gulf Coast League Astros, going 1-0 with a 2.42 ERA, 19 strikeouts and five walks over 22 innings. Coming into this season, Baseball America ranked Bushue No. 7 among Astros prospects.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300