6/25/2015 6:07:45 AM
Wednesday's games were all offensive affairs, as 46 total runs were scored in the three games.  So most of the highlights will center around the position players

Teammates Ben Rortvedt and Daniel Baskt were probably the day's standouts at the plate, as each fell a hit away from the cycle while picking up three RBI.  Baskt missed his cycle on a triple and his big home run to left centerfield was the only long ball hit on Day 1.  He followed that up with a booming double straight over the centerfielder's head his next plate appearance.  Rortvedt's strong left handed swing was on display with a single, double and triple, all to the middle of the field.

Cole Stobbe was perhaps the days most impressive defensive player, as he made standout plays at third base (diving stop and throw), shortstop (play deep in the hole with perfect footwork) and second base (lightning quick feed to start a double play) as players rotated around the field showcase style.  The Nebraska native also slammed an RBI double into the left field corner and, going back to the PG National, seems to have a double about every game.

Dominic Fletcher is another player who seems to stand out every game on defense along with picking up a base hit here and there.  He made two big league plays in right field today, first throwing behind a runner at second base with his incredibly accurate laser left arm, then running a high level Big League route to steal a double away from Nicholas Quintana.

Quintana did pick up a single and a double, along with a hit by pitch, in other at bats and swung the bat exceptionally well.

Cam Shepherd continues to impress both defensively in the middle infield and at the plate, where he drove home three runs and had a hard hit double.

Mickey Moniak was snake bit today and probably didn't like the box score, which had him going 1-5 instead of the 3-5 or 4-5 that he easily could have been.  He drove two balls up the middle that would normally be clean singles except that teammates were attempting steals and pulled the shortstop over to second base.  Moniak beat a double play on one by running a 4.12 to first from the left side.

Cameron Blake filled up the scorecard, going 2-3 with a walk, four runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.  Blake also took a number of extra bases with heads up decisions as balls were in play.  A couple of Texas based scouts commented to me on what an intelligent "gamer" Blake was back in his home state.

Braxton Garrett was probably the most effective pitcher, overcoming the runfest to pitch three near perfect innings, allowing only a walk  while striking  out three in three no-hit innings.  Garrett pitched at 89-90 with a 75-77 mph breaking ball that hitters just didn't see very well.

Another lefty, Ryan Rollison, also put up three scoreless innings of his own, displaying the same type of velocity, breaking ball and command.

It won't surprise anyone that the day's hardest thrower was a big Texan, as 6-7/240 Forrest Whitley pitched in the 93-95 mph range and probably hit 96 on some guns.  Whitley did allow three runs in his two innings of work as he still has work to do with his command and consistency but he will light up the gun.

A pair of hard throwing right handers who were not in Fort Myers last week but will be regulars on the circuit for the rest of the summer, Austin Bergner and Drake Fellows, each threw three solid innings, each allowing only a single run.  Bergner's command was a bit off, as he walked three but he worked in the 91-94 mph range  with his typical sharp breaking ball.  Fellows worked at 89-92 from a big back turn delivery and consistently dropped his low 80's slider in for strikes.