Corcino Tosses Another Gem

Daniel Corcino is hitting his stride at Pensacola. After skipping high-A to start the season the 21 year-old is putting up some impressive outings against more advanced hitters. He threw eight innings of a no-hitter before he was selected to the Southern League All Star team. Last night he continued to build a case for another promotion when he allowed only one over eight against Jackson.

Josh Fellhauer opened up Pensacola’s scoring when he singled with bases loaded in the first inning last night. Those two runs turned out to be all the Fish needed en route to a 6-1 win over Jackson at Blue Wahoo Field. Ryan LaMarre added some insurance with a solo home run in the second. In just his second game after a promotion to AA, Bryson Smith had great game at the plate going 3-4 with a homer. LaMarre had two hits and drove in two. David Vidal added a solo home run to lead off the sixth.

On the mound Daniel Corcino had another strong outing allowing only one run on five hits and two walks while striking out seven. It appears that he and Tony Cingrani are in a healthy competition for top pitcher in the Pensacola rotation. Corcino threw eight innings of a no-hitter before the recent all-star break. Since then Cingrani came back with a dominant outing where he struck out a Pensacola record fifteen. Last night Corcino worked eight innings using only 90 pitches. He evened his record to 4-4 and brought his ERA down to 3.18, the seventh lowest in the Southern League.

Corcino came into the season as the top rated returning pitching prospect in the Cincinnati organization. The 21 year-old skipped high-A to begin this year at Pensacola. He’s now really hitting his stride against the higher level hitters and was rewarded with an appearance on the Southern League All Star Team. He brought his K/BB ratio up to 78/39 and his WHIP is at 1.29 over 82 innings pitched.

It’s likely that the right-hander’s performance is earning consideration for a promotion to AAA Louisville by the end of the season. The Reds made news this offseason in some “win-now” moves dealing top prospects to add veterans to their MLB roster. They were considered “all-in” in with the talent depleted at their top level. They did retain top pitching prospects that will be making an impact to the Bats rotation in the near future.

Corcino figures to be the next dividend returned from the Reds efforts to tap into foreign talent. He signed a free-agent contract and started pitching in the Dominican League at the age of seventeen. Cincinnati found a future star when they signed Johnny Cueto in 2004. After following a similar career path Corcino is often compared to the Reds ace. They also have some highly regarded young hitters working on their game at the lower levels.

With their series tied at two wins each Pensacola will play the finale of their five-game set with Jackson Saturday. J.C. Sulbaran is scheduled to take the hill for the Wahoos. Their 5-4 second half record has them currently in second place of the Southern League Southern Division, one game behind Montgomery.

Other News from the Farm:

Louisville finished successful road trip with a 8-0 loss at Buffalo. The Bats managed only three hits on the night while striking out twelve times. Ryan Feierabend allowed three home runs and six earned runs for the loss.

Bakersfield evened their home series with Modesto at one win each with a 4-3 win last night. Billy Hamilton had three doubles, drove in two, and scored twice. Juan Duran added two hits to the offense. On the mound Pat Doyle got the start and spent most of his night pitching from the stretch. He navigated around six hits and three walks to hold the Nuts to only one run before he was lifted in the fourth. Reliever Justice French threw three innings for the win. Kyle McMyne retired the side in order in the ninth for the save. Devin Lohman left the game early for a pinch runner when he suffered a hand injury while stealing his 20th base of the season.

Billy Hamilton Theft Watch:

Even though all of Hamilton’s hits went for extra bases he still managed to swipe two bags. He led off the first with a double and stole third before scoring the game’s first run on a groundout. He duplicated that in the third. After doubling in a run he stole third and scored on another groundout. After doubling in another run in the seventh he was picked off second base. He either scored or drove in all four Blaze runs. He now has 96 SB out of 117 attempts in 75 games.

Dayton continued their second half struggle losing 9-3 at South Bend. The Dragons are 1-7 after the break. Sean Buckley had three hits. Radhames Quezada started the game off well with four shutout innings while allowing only one hit. He left early due to bleeding under a fingernail on his pitching hand. Erik Miller pitched one inning and was roughed up for eight runs for the loss.

Billings took the lead with a three-run eighth inning before getting a 5-3 win over visiting Great Falls. Carlos Sanchez was 3-4 with three RBI to raise his average to .415. Spencer Dickinson went 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs. Wagner Gomez added two hits to the Mustang attack and Carlos Sanchez provided a run on a solo homer in the seventh. Robert Stephenson got the start and allowed two in five innings on three hits. He struck out seven without a walk to bring his K/BB ratio to 19/2 over 14 innings pitched in his young professional career. Sean Lucas threw a scoreless eighth for the win and Matt Wiley shut down the ninth for his fourth save.

The AZL Reds fell behind 9-0 before losing 13-4 to the visiting AZL Royals. Tanner Rahier went 2-4 with a home run to raise his average to .300. Starter Johnathan Perez didn’t allow a hit, but he had control issues and walked five before he was lifted in the second. He was charged with three runs and the loss.

The DSL Reds won 8-5 over the visiting DSL Padres. Deyvi Burgos entered the game as a substitute and went 2-2. Geraldo Valor had two hits and scored twice. Hot-hitting Yonatan Suero had only one hit, but it cleared the wall for his first homer of the season. Reliever J.R. Morillo allowed one run in three innings for the win. Jesus Parra ended the game by throwing two scoreless to pick up the save in his first appearance of the season.