Released Pirates Prospect Daniel Arribas playing in Independent League with Rockland Boulders

Former West Virginia Black Bears' Daniel Arribas is currently playing for the Canadian-American League Rockland Boulders. In five games with the Boulders, he is hitting .400 with 1 home run and 4 RBIs.

Arribas was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization on June 28, and signed with  Rockland on July 7, 2017.

West Virginia Black Bears fans will remember Arribas from the inaugural 2015 season, after the team’s relocation to Granville from Jamestown, New York. He was named to the New York-Penn League All Star Game that year and batted .284/.357/.379 in 60 games with the league champion Black Bears.

Arribas was signed as an international free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 27, 2011. He spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons with the Dominican Summer League Pirates and was promoted to the Gulf Coast League Pirates for the 2013 season.

In 2014, Arribas played for the Bristol Pirates and was named to the Appalachian League post-season All Star team. He was named to the South Atlantic League All Star game in 2016 while playing for the West Virginia Power.

He was batting .168/.302/.215 in 33 games with the Bradenton Marauders at the time of his release from the Pirates organization.

Photo Credits: YouTube

The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

Friday Night's Bright Spots in the New York-Penn League

Staten Island won their seventh straight with a 4-3 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Yankees are 5 games up in the McNamara Division with a 14-2 record.

Raiwinson Lameda, Lowell Spinners: 2 hits (1 double), 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs in the Spinners 11-7 win over the Connecticut Tigers before before 3,086 fans at LeLacheur Park. Lameda signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in May, 2012 out of Venezuela. Played in the Dominican Summer League in 2013-14 and the Gulf Coast League during the 2015-16 seasons.

Daniel Castano, State College Spikes: 8 innings pitched (90 pitches, 60 strikes), 0 earned runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. On the season, Castano is 4-0, 1.24 ERA, 28 strikeouts, 3 walks, 0.90 WHIP in 29 innings pitched. Castano was selected by the Cardinals in the 19th round of 2016 draft out of Baylor and played at Johnson City (Appalachian League) in 2016.

Raiwinson Lameda

Daniel Castano

Jhonny Santos, Batavia Muckdogs: 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored in the Muckdogs 7-4 victory over the West Virginia Black Bears. He is .338/.386/.477 in 16 games this season. A native of Panama, Santos was signed by the Miami Marlins in 2013. In his second season in Batavia, Santos began the 2016 season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers (South Atlantic League) and was assigned to the Muckdogs on April 2, 2016.

Jhonny Santos

Jack Meggs

Jack Meggs, Vermont Lake Monsters: 3 hits, 1 RBI in Vermont’s 1-0, 15 inning (4 hours 6 minutes) win over the Hudson Valley Renegades. Meggs slash line this season is .389/.421/.611 in nine games. The Chico, California native was selected in the 10th round of the 2017 draft by the Oakland A’s out of the University of Washington.

Aaron Nieckula, Vermont LakeMonsters: picked up his 700th career victory as a minor league manager.

Adam Haseley, Williamsport Crosscutters: 3 hits (1 home run), 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored in the Crosscutters 7-3 win over Mahoning Valley before 1,685 fans at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. Haseley was the Phillies 1st round pick in the 2017 draft out of the University of Virginia ($5.1 million bonus). He was initially assigned to the Gulf Coast Phillies and was promoted to Williamsport after three games. He has a slash line of .467/.556/.633 (1.189 OPS) in 8 games for the Crosscutters.

Photo Credits: MiLB.com

The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

Who's Hot in the New York-Penn League - from Thursday night's games

The Staten Island Yankees (13-2) have won six in a row and lead the McNamara Division by 4 games.  Dom Thompson-Williams had 2 RBIs for the Yankees in their 5-3 win over the Hudson Valley Renegades.

The Auburn Doubledays defeated the Batavia Muckdogs 4-3. Ben Braymer (1-0) picked up the win for Auburn, allowing one run on five hits over five innings.

Tri-City had a team batting average of only .194 going into Thursday's game against the Brooklyn Cyclones. The ValleyCats had 15 hits in their 13-0 win over the Cyclones at home before 4,291 fans. Reid Russell hit two home runs. JJ Matijevic, Jake Adams and Kyle Davis each added a home run. Starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval gave up no runs and struck out eight in five innings.

Brandon Benson went 4 for 5 with a grand slam home run, a triple and six RBIs to lead the State College Spikes to a 9-0 over Williamsport Crosscutters.

West Virginia defeated the Mahoning Valley Scrappers 5-0. Black Bears starter Ike Schlabach (1-2) pitched 6 strong innings, allowing no runs and striking out 6 for the win. Tristan Gray and Gift Ngoepe homered for West Virginia. Ngoepe, who played in 28 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this season is on a rehab assignment from the AAA Indianapolis Indians.

The Vermont Lake Monsters defeated the Connecticut Tiger 2-0 to sweep their three game series and get their 800th regular-season win in franchise history dating back to their inaugual season in 1994.

The Aberdeen IronBirds and Lowell Spinners were rained out last night.

The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

Morning News in the New York-Penn League for July 5, 2017

The Aberdeen IronBirds are the hottest team in the league, winning last night over Lowell 4-2. Aberdeen tied a franchise record with its seventh consecutive win. The IronBirds previously won seven in a row from July 1-7, 2006. Despite their win streak, they are 2.5 games behind the Staten Island Yankees (11-2) in the McNamara Division.

With their 8-4 extra inning win last night against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (9-5), the West Virginia Black Bears (10-5) are one game up in the Pinckney Division. The Black Bears had 17 hits in last night’s game and improved their team batting average to .226, after a very cold start at the plate this season.

The Connecticut Tigers (9-5) are one game up in the Stedler after their 5-4 loss last night to the Vermont Lake Monsters (8-6) before 6,195 fans at Dodd Stadium.

Players to watch:

Auburn Doubledays' (3-12) Ben Braymer was named the New York-Penn League pitcher of the week for June 26 thru July 2. He pitched five scoreless innings, striking out seven against the Staten Island Yankees on June 30. Braymer was selected in the 18th round of 2016 draft by the Washington Nationals out of Auburn.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ first baseman Ulysses Cantu slash line is .390/.410/.576 with 2 HR and 6 RBIs after 14 games. The Cleveland Indians selected Cantu in the sixth round of the 2016 draft out of Saginaw, Texas.

Jorge Guzman of the Staten Island Yankees pitched 6.2 innings against the Tri-City ValleyCats on July 3, giving up no runs and striking out 10. He is 3-0, 1.53 ERA, 21 SO, 4 BB and a 0.62 WHIP in 17.2 IP this season.

West Virginia Black Bears catcher Yoel Gonzalez had a career high five hits and four RBIs last night. On the down side, he also had two throwing errors. After a slow start this season, his slash line is .357/.345/.536.

Other items of interest:

The Brooklyn Cyclones are averaging  a league high 6,008 fans in seven home dates.

The Batavia Muckdogs are averaging a league low 1,155 fans in five home dates.
 
The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

News from the New York-Penn League - July 4, 2017

The Aberdeen IronBirds (8-5) have won six in a row, but trail the Staten Island Yankees (10-2) by 2.5 games in the McNamara Division.

Mahoning Valley, State College, and West Virginia are tied for the lead in the Pinckney Division with 9-5 records.

The Connecticut Tigers are 5-1 on the road and lead the Stedler Division with a 9-4 record.

Despite a 3-10 record, the Brooklyn Cyclones lead in attendance average with 6,008 in seven home games.

Sandy Santos

The West Virginia Black Bears went on a tear at the plate last night getting 11 hits in their 11-6 win over the Willamsport Crosscutters (15 hits). Tristan Gray, Jose Barraza, and Sandy Santos all had 3 RBI for the Black Bears. Twenty-nine year old Cuban native, Yoandy Fernandez (3-0, 1.80 ERA) got the win in relief. The Black Bears team batting average is just . 211 over the first 14 games.

Jack Meggs

Jack Meggs of the Vermont Lake Monsters (7-6) was named NYPL player of the week for June 26 - July 2. He was selected by Oakland in the 10th round of this year’s draft out of the University of Washington. In just six games in the minors, Meggs has a slash line of .450/.500/.850 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in 20 at bats for the Lake Monsters.

Brenan Hanifee (3-0, 1.50) pitched six strong innings and got the win in the Aberdeen IronBirds 5-3 victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades last night.

There are a full slate of Independence Day games. Get ticket information here.

State College (Shew (2-0, 0.84))  at Williamsport 1:05 pm ET (Garcia (1-1, 0.82)

Lowell at Aberdeen (Myers (1-0, 1.00) 6:05 pm ET

Brooklyn at Tri-City (Javier (0-0, 6.00) 6:30 pm ET

Hudson Valley at Staten Island 7:00 pm ET

Auburn at Batavia (Mateo (0-0, 3.27) 7:05 pm ET

Vermont (Dunshee (0-0, 0.00) at Connecticut (Bass (0-1, 6.00) 7:05 pm ET

West Virginia (Meyer (0-1, 4.22) at Mahoning Valley (Vasquez (0-0, 2.00) 7:05 pm ET

Photo Credits: MiLB.com
 
The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

Who's Hot and Who's Not in the New York-Penn League

It's a little early in the season, but here are a few items of note after 13 games in the New York-Penn League.....

Who’s hot:

The State College Spikes have won five in a row and lead the Pinckney Division by 1 game. The Aberdeen IronBirds have also won five in a row and trail the Staten Island Yankees (9-2) by 2.5 games in the McNamera Division.

Joshua Lopez

Joshua Lopez of the State College Spikes is the leading hitter in the league. The Valencia, Venezuela native has a slash line of .500/.575/.853, 3 home runs, 9 RBI in 34 at bats.

Oliver Ortiz

Auburn Doubledays’ Oliver Ortiz was the NYPL player of week (June 19-26) and currently has a slash line of .333/.422/.692 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI in 39 at bats.

Oscar Gonzalez

Oscar Gonzalez of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers currently has a slash line of .375/.380/.542. Gonzalez had 2 HR and 5 RBI in the Scrappers win over Auburn on June 23.

Ivan Andueza

Vermont Lake Monsters pitcher Ivan Andueza is 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 SO, 2 BB, 0.72 WHIP in 9.2 IP.

Brenan Hanifee

Brenan Hanifee of the Aberdeen IronBirds is 2-0, 0.75 ERA, 12 SO, 2 BB, 0,83 WHIP in 12 IP.

The West Virginia pitching staff is the main reason the Black Bears have won 8 of 13 games. They lead the league in team ERA (1.85) and WHIP (0.97) and are third in SO with 122 in 117 IP. 

Who’s not:

The Auburn Doubledays have lost six in a row and are currently in the cellar of the Pinckney Division with a 3-10 record.

The Batavia Muckdogs are averaging 919 fans in four home dates this season.

The West Virginia Black Bears finally got above the Mendoza Line last night with a team batting average of .201.

The Tri-City ValleyCats are currently hitting .193 as a team.

Photo Credits: MiLB.com, The Stedler Report
 
The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League.

New York-Penn League Transactions for July (thru July 2)

Juan Robles assigned to Tri-City ValleyCats from Greeneville Astros.

Matt Ruppenthal assigned to Tri-City ValleyCats.

Cristian Javier assigned to Tri-City ValleyCats from Buies Creek Astros.

Hunter Owen assigned to West Virginia Black Bears from West Virginia Power.

Yeremin Lara assigned to Batavia Muckdogs from GCL Marlins.

Weston Davis assigned to Auburn Doubledays from Hagerstown Suns.

Enmanuel Mercedes assigned to Batavia Muckdogs from GCL Marlins.

Max Engelbrekt assigned to Auburn Doubledays from GCL Nationals.

Miguel De Los Santos assigned to Batavia Muckdogs from GCL Marlins.

Nick King assigned to West Virginia Power from West Virginia Black Bears.

Cesar Rosado assigned to Quad Cities River Bandits from Tri-City ValleyCats.

Luis Vilorio assigned to Syracuse Chiefs from Auburn Doubledays.

Hunter Wells assigned to Greensboro Grasshoppers from Batavia Muckdogs.

Brigham Hill assigned to Auburn Doubledays.

Michael Osinski assigned to Lowell Spinners from GCL Red Sox.

Auburn Doubledays released Conner Simonetti.

Auburn Doubledays released Diomedes Eusebio.

St. Lucie Mets sent Chase Ingram on a rehab assignment to Brooklyn Cyclones.

Dylan Busby assigned to West Virginia Black Bears.

Chris Sharpe assigned to West Virginia Black Bears.

Bryan De La Cruz assigned to Tri-City ValleyCats from Quad Cities River Bandits.

Addison Russ assigned to Lakewood BlueClaws from Williamsport Crosscutters.

Josh Alberius assigned to Batavia Muckdogs from GCL Marlins.

Elih Villanueva assigned to Portland Sea Dogs from Lowell Spinners.

Trevor Stephan assigned to Staten Island Yankees from GCL Yankees East.

Bryce Howe assigned to GCL Marlins from Batavia Muckdogs.

Montana Parsons assigned to Batavia Muckdogs from GCL Marlins.

Source: MiLB.com
   
Logo Credits: MiLB.com
 
The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League