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| Luis Mendoza leads the PCL with a 2.75 ERA (Photo: Gage Matthews / Kings of Kauffman) |
Giavotella, 23, is hitting .323 with 5 home runs and 53 RBIs. The second baseman has been hitting primarily out of the number two hole. He leads the team in hits with 105 and he has 22 doubles to go along with nine stolen bases. The only knock against him is his defense, but he does currently rank third in fielding percentage among second baseman in the league and manager Mike Jirschele has seen improvement from Giavotella.
“He continues to work out there,” Jirschele told MLB.com recently. “His work ethic is great defensively, he’s out there every day doing early work and just working on his weaknesses. I’ve seen improvement from Day 1. He’s turning the double play better than he ever did. His backhand has improved. He’s definitely going in the right direction.”
Clint Robinson, 26, won the Triple Crown in the Texas League last season and he continues to look outstanding this season. He’s hitting .330 with 17 home runs and 54 RBIs. He has split time between first base and designated hitter. He’ll be the DH in the All-Star game. As with Giavotella, Robinson’s only problem may be his defense – something hitting coach Tommy Gregg spoke to Omaha World Herald writer Rob White about in late April.
“He’s really worked hard at first base, and I haven’t seen anything that bad,” Gregg said. “The problem is that everyone compares him to Hosmer. Clint has to work harder at it. Clint’s not as good as Hos, of course. But he’s an adequate first baseman. He can play in the big leagues as a first baseman. It doesn’t have to look pretty.”
Mendoza, 27, leads the PCL with a 2.75 ERA (nobody else is even close – Nashville’s Sam Narron is second at 3.70). He’s been even more incredible as of late, allowing one run or fewer in eight straight appearances (including five starts) going back to May 26. He is 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA in 45.2 innings during that stretch.
Other PCL starters include:
C – Anthony Recker (Sacramento)
1B – Bryan LaHair (Iowa)
3B – Brian Barden (Round Rock)
SS – Cody Ransom (Reno)
OF – Collin Cowgill (Reno)
OF – Trayvon Robinson (Albuquerque)
OF – Andrew Brown (Memphis).
SP – Brad Mills (Las Vegas)
Gregg, 47, will be coaching on the All-Star team as well. He is in his third season in Omaha, fifth in the Kansas City organization and ninth overall in Minor League Baseball.
The 24th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game, pitting the best players from the 16-team Pacific Coast League against the 14-team International League, will be broadcast nationwide on MLB Network Wednesday, July 13 at 8 pm (CST).
