Silva Leads Dayton to Walk-Off Win

Juan Silva came into the Cincinnati organization out of Puerto Rico in the 8th round of the 2009 draft. Ever since his teenage years in the AZL he's had an impressive plate discipline and drawn walks at a rate that gives him an OB% .100' higher than his average. He's finishing strong at Dayton and his athleticism in the outfield should enable him to ascend in the Reds organization.

Dayton got a walk-off double by Juan Silva in the bottom of the ninth to give them a 7-6 win over Great Lakes at Fifth Third Field. The Dragons took an early lead when they opened up scoring with a four-run fourth inning. Leadoff hitter Juan Perez was hit by a pitch and crossed the plate on a double by Sammy Diaz. Diaz later scored on a sac fly by Joey Votto. The big hit if the inning was two run homer by Junior Arias scoring Yorman Rodriguez.

Dayton added on with a solo home run by Silva in the fifth and then fell behind by allowing three in the sixth and two in the seventh. Silva tied the contest with at sac fly in the seventh before he struck the final blow in the ninth. He led the Dragons with two hits and three RBI. Votto was 0-2 with a walk in five plate appearances.

Wes Mugarian got the start and was lifted in the sixth and charged with four runs (three earned) on six hits/no walks. Dan Jenson finished the contest with three scoreless innings and picked up the win. The Dragons will travel to West Michigan Saturday for a three game set which will conclude their season.

Silva has come on strong to put together a solid season at Dayton this year. He’s now gone 15-35 (.429) with three home runs in his last ten games. He entered the Cincinnati organization from an 8th round selection in the 2009 draft out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in Gurabo, P.R. After signing he spent a couple of teenage years in the Arizona league where he hit .252 in 370 plate appearances. Last year at Billilngs he was at .293 with an OB% over .400. His recent run has raised his single A average to .272 on the season with a .384 OB%.

As evidenced by the large AVG/OB difference, Silva developed a good plate discipline at an early age and has walked in 14% of his plate appearances. His patience at the plate has cost him some contact with strikeouts in 24% of those same 1,000 PA’s over three minor league seasons. He’s added base stealing to his repertoire and this season has stolen 25 out of 36 attempts.

He’s played all three outfield positions with most of his action in left. In 239 games he’s fielded at a .964 percentage and been charged with fifteen errors (1 per 16 games on average) and gunned down 20 base-runners. Oddly enough none of those errors occurred in his 65 games in center. He has speed that should allow him to play anywhere in the outfield and has been clocked throwing 88 mph, so arm strength should not be a concern.

Silva is an intriguing prospect. Not a lot of power has shown up in his game yet and he’s never slugged much more than .400. Still he has good athletic skills that should enable him to ascend in the organization. He’s still only 21 years old and his ability to draw walks on top of a good average has been impressive for a prospect at such an early age. Early on he struggled against southpaws but this season he’s hit .256/.347 OB% against them in 86 AB. Some analysts have him in top-25 lists of Reds prospects and a career as a fourth outfielder on certainly within his projections. There is still time for further development that might allow him to nail down more regular duty someday.

The 09 draft for the Reds is shaping up nicely. Mike Leake has been a member of the Reds rotation nearly the entire time he’s been a professional and Billy Hamilton was the top-rated prospect remaining in their system at the start of this season. Two other high picks, Brad Boxberger and Donnie Joseph, were used in trade packages to bring in pitching help. Josh Fellhauer has hit over .300 at AA Pensacola this season while C Tucker Barnhart and RP Brian Pearl did well enough at high-A to earn a midseason promotions. Mark Serrano had gotten his ERA under four and moved into the Pensacola rotation and thirteenth rounder Nick Christiani has a mid-three ernie coming out of the Louisville pen. Juan Silva can throw his name into the mix and should expect to don a Bakersfield uniform next season.

Other News from the Farm:

Louisville was pounded 13-2 at Columbus. Mike Costanzo had two hits and drove in both of the Bats runs. Felix Perez and Cody Puckett also added two hits apiece. Tim Gustafson was lifted in the third and charged with seven runs for the loss. Catcher Corky Miller pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Pensacola was held to two hits when they were shut out at home 5-0 by Tennessee. Daniel Corcino allowed only one run on five hits/two walks, but that was enough to charge him with the loss.

Billy Hamilton Theft Watch:

Hamilton again failed to reach base to keep his season total at 154 SB in 129 games.

Bakersfield fell behind when they allowed three runs in the top of the ninth and came up short in their comeback attempt in an 8-7 home loss to Rancho Cucamonga. Theo Bowe had three singles, an RBI and scored twice. Kurtis Muller and Dominic D’Anna added two hits each. Josh Smith allowed two runs on four hits/two walks in five innings for no decision. Andrew Brackman threw the final two innings and allowed six runs (four earned) for the loss.

Billings lost at home 3-2 to Missoula in ten innings. The Mustangs were held to five hits on the night. Sal Romano gave up a run on three hits/no walks in five innings and struck out five for no decision. Matt Wiley tossed the final two innings and allowed the winning run for the loss. His ERA is now at 1.13 over fifteen appearances.

The AZL Reds lost their season finale at AZL Dodgers by a score of 3-1. The Dodgers put two across in the bottom of the eighth for the margin of victory. Brayan Arias had two hits to bring his average up to .295. Avain Rachal tripled and scored the Reds only run. Starter Pedro Diaz and Abel De Los Santos held the Dodgers scoreless on two hits/one walk for first five innings while combining for nine strikeouts. Jackson Stephens pitched the eighth and took the loss. The AZL Reds finished with an 18-38 record.