Road To Arlington: Rangers Minor League Report (4/11)

The depth of pitching prospects in the Rangers minor league system was on full display yesterday. Four games on the card and a top pitching prospect climbed the hill in each one of them. Neftali Feliz got the start for Oklahoma and Kakey Kiker started for Frisco while Michael Main and Tim Murphy got the starts for Bakersfield in their twinbill (Hickory was washed out).

While there were things to like about all four starts, and all four of the starters are top-notch prospects, only one was more-or-less flawless. It just goes to show you that it pays off to sit down for a chat with the fellas here at Inside Corner.

So if you are still hurting from watching Armando Galarraga’s beat down of the ballclub that gave him away last year, make the jump. To soothe your pain, you could use some Kasey Kiker.

Triple-A: Oklahoma 4 @ Memphis 2

It’s not often that one could come away a bit disappinted in a 20 year old who dealt four shutout frames and struck out four while firing off 97 mph fastballs in his PCL debut, but 20 year old RHP Neftali Feliz — who did all of that yesterday — also surrendered four singles and walked six in the RedHawks’ first win of the season.

Notably, Feliz was credited with a pickoff of a runner at first base. Last year, 38 baserunners attempted to steal on him and 32 succeeded due in large part to his inability to hold runners. During Fall Instructionals, he was ordered to pitch strictly out of the stretch and to work on his pickoff move to first (even when there wasn’t a runner on base).

RHP Thomas Diamond was credited with the win after allowing just one hit, a solo homer, while punching out three in 2.2 innings of work.

SS Joaquin Arias’s ninth-inning RBI ground-rule double, which capped a 2-for-5 outing, proved to be the difference maker for Oklahoma City. LF Brandon Boggs doubled and drew a pair of walks in five trips as did DH Ben Harrison.

Double-A: Frisco 10 @ Springfield 0

Kasey Kiker, the Rangers 2006 first round selection, dominated the Cardinals in his Texas League debut. The 5’10″ southpaw limited the hosts to a pair of singles and a walk while punching out five in as many innings before turning things over to a Riders’ bullpen which completed the shutout with four scoreless frames of relief.

Frisco jumped on top on RHP Steve Murphy’s two-run homer in the second that plated 3B Adam Fox, who walked three times in five trips. The Riders extended their lead to seven in a sixth inning that saw them draw six walks and 1B Justin Smoak, the Rangers 2008 first rounder, smashed his first Texas League homer in the eighth to cap scoring. DH Chad Tracy, who went 2-for-4 with a walk, delivered Frisco’s only multi-hit performance.

As Kiker told us earlier this week, the Rangers eliminated an Eisenhower-era high leg kick between his first and second seasons to help him (a) have a more repeatable delivery and thus better control, and (b) hold runners better — it was a huge problem at Spokane in 2006 where the NWL ran at will against him.

Kiker’s 2007 season with Clinton was impressive and compared favorably to the season that top prospect and Highland Park native Clayton Kershaw had at the same level. Each made 20 starts in the Midwest League in 2007. The Kiker posted a 2.90 ERA while Kershaw’s was 2.77. Kiker registered a K/9 of 10.46 while Kershaw’s was an incredible 12.39. Kiker walked 3.83 per nine innings while Kershaw issued 4.62 freebies per nine. The MWL hit .239 against Kiker and .203 against Kershaw.

But Kiker’s 2008 season got off to a bad start when he showed up for spring training and quickly developed shoulder weakeness that former Rangers minor league pitching coordinator (and current Mariners pitching coach) Rick Adair attributed to Kiker’s failure to show up for work in shape. His Cal League results were largely disappointing. Kiker seemed to have learned from the experience and started to earn praise for his improved work ethic as the season progressed, especially in Fall Instructionals where he started to generate some significant buzz which continued this spring when folks like ESPN’s Keith Law came away impressed with Kiker’s command and his intensity on the mound.

Advanced-A: @ Modesto 7, Bakersfield 5 (Game One)

LHP Tim Murphy surrendered seven runs, only two of which were earned, on five hits and five walks. LF Tim Smith went 2-for-2 with a dinger and a dinger and a walk. RHP Brennan Garr, back in the Cal League after spending the 2008 season with Frisco, dealt 2.2 shutout innings of relief, allowing just one base hit.

Advanced-A: @ Modesto 6, Bakersfield 5 (2nd Game)

RHP Michael Main’s California League debut had some good (six strikeouts in 4.2 innings) and some bad (a second inning that got out of hand), but overall nothing to get either too excited or too upset about. He finished having allowed four runs, three of which were earned.

Gritty, gutty 2B Matt Lawson went 2-for-2 with a walk to drive in three runs. LHP Corey Young, who has been pegged by many of us in the prospect-watching world as a likey fast-mover, suffered the loss after allowing two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of relief.