Thursday Farm Report: Spanberger Claims 2nd South Atlantic League POW Award

Low-A Asheville first baseman Chad Spanberger was selected the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the second time. Spanberger was 13-for-24 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, nine RBI, eight runs scored and two stolen bases last week.

It was the third time  a Tourists' player won the award. In addition to Spanberger also being selected the Week of May 28-June 3, Bret Boswell won the honor May 21-27.

Spanberger, a sixth-round draft choice out of Arkansas in 2017, leads the South Atlantic League with 60 RBI, a .603 slugging percentage, 185 total bases and 42 extra-base hits. He is second in the league with 21 home runs and 98 hits, and third in the league with a .319 batting average and 59 runs scored.

Wednesday's Games

AAA Albuquerque (44-45) was off Wednesday. The Isotopes are at Fresno Thursday night. In addition to Josh Fuentes' MVP performance in the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday night, Isotope outfielder Mike Tauchman was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a stolen base, and reliever D.J. Johnson struck out the only batter he faced in the AAA-All-Star Game.

AA Hartford (43-44) was off Wednesday. The Yard Goats are at Harrisburg Thursday night. Four members of the Yard Goats took part in the Eastern League All-Star game, which was played to a 4-4 tie. Shortstop Brendan Rodgers was 1-for-5, and outfielder Sam Hilliard was 0-for-3. Mitch Horacek pitched a shutout inning of relief, and closer Matt Pierpont came on to retire the final two outs, both on strikeouts,. Right-hander Peter Lambert was named to the team, but in the interim was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque, and outfielder Yonathan Daza was selected, but has been on the disabled list since June 6.

High A Lancaster (12-9 2nd half; 45-46) won 6-2 at Rancho Cucamonga, ending Rancho Cucamonga's 15-game winning streak. Ty Culbreth (5-3, 5.12) allowed two runs in seven innings, giving up seven hits and three walks, and striking out two. Tyler Nevin (.299) scored on a sacrifice fly in the second, and doubled home a run to give the Jet Hawks a 3-0 lead in the third. Colton Welker (.314) had a sacrifice fly but went 0-for-4, ending his 13-game hitting streak.

Low A Asheville (11-6 second half; 38-48) was rained out at Lakewood, N.J.

Short-season A Boise (15-11) won 6-5 against Vancouver. Terrin Vavra (.417) delivered a walk-off grand slam, the final statement on a night in which he drove in all six runs. The Rockies third-round draft choice out of the University of Minnesota also singled home a run in the first and doubled home another run. PJ Poulin (1-1. 0.00) eanred the win. Pearson McMahan (4.67) started and allowed three runs on eight hits, walking one batter and striking out three.

Rookie Grand Junction (13-13) won 7-2 at Billings thanks to eight strong innings from the bullpen. Starter Alfredo Garcia (5.89) walked four batters and struck out one in the first inning, and came out of the game. Six relievers combined to allow one run on seven hits and two walks, striking out 12 in the final eight innings. Lefty Jared Skolnicki (1-0, 2.00), a free-agent signed out of Kent State last month,  replaced Garcia and was credited with the victory with two shutout innings in which he gave up three hits and struck out four. Will Goslan (.333) delivered a two-run single in the second to give the Rockies the lead, and Grant Lavigne (.413) extended his hitting streak to 11 games when he singled and scored in the sixth.

Dominican Summer League South (14-20) split a doubleheader with the Twins, winning 4-1 in game 1 and losing 5-0 in Game 2. Jesus Baptista (.267) delivering a two-run triple in the three-run first inning in Game 1. Helcris Olivarez (2-1, 3.51) pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks, striking out four. Anderson Pilar (2.37) struck out three in 1 2/3 innings to earn his third save. In game 2, Juan Mejia (2-3, 4.46) allowed three runs on four hits and a walk, striking out eighth, in four innings. Bladimir Restituyo (.365) and Johan Liberato (.213) both singled for the Rockies only hits.

Dominican Summer League Northeast (18-15) won 7-2 at the Giants. The Rockies had five doubles, including RBI doubles from Walking Cabrera (.240), Jonatan Mezquita (.227) and Vladimir Dilone (.227). Luis De Avila (7.01) started and allowed one run on five hits and two walks, striking out five in four innings. Gregoris Chalas (1-0, 7.71) was credited with the victory, allowing one run on three hits and two walks, striking out two, in two innings.