June 28, 2004|By Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko,SUN STAFF
Hayden Penn, a fifth-round pick in the 2002 draft out of Santana (Calif.) High, was supposed to be a reliever at low Single-A Delmarva, not an integral part of the rotation at higher Single-A Frederick. But he didn't follow the Orioles' blueprint.
Now, he's building quite a career.
Penn, 19, worked out of the Shorebirds' bullpen until making an emergency start when Adam Loewen went on the disabled list with a strained rib-cage muscle. Penn, who spent most of last year at rookie-league Bluefield, was 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 13 appearances with Delmarva, including six starts, before being promoted to Frederick on June 5.
The move hasn't slowed him down. Penn was 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA in his first 22 1/3 innings with the Keys.
Team officials have taken note of Penn's major league-caliber changeup and curveball, but they also like his demeanor.
"He's got tremendous stuff and a great approach," said Doc Rodgers, director of minor league operations. "He's very aggressive. He's not afraid to challenge hitters."
Triple-A Ottawa
Catcher Geronimo Gil will represent the Lynx in the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 14. Gil was batting .268 and had thrown out 36 percent of runners attempting to steal. ... The Lynx hit its 61st home run Saturday, one more than last year's franchise-low total. Eddy Garabito, Chad Mottola and Clay Bellinger went deep in a 10-8 win over Charlotte. ... Left-hander Bruce Chen has rebounded from a rough start. He tossed a seven-inning shutout in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against Charlotte, striking out eight, and hasn't permitted a run in 18 1/3 innings this month.
Double-A Bowie
Brandon Fahey hit his first homer Friday since joining the Baysox and taking shortstop Jose Morban's place on the roster. Morban was reassigned to Single-A Frederick. ... Catcher Eli Whiteside hit a grand slam Thursday and left-hander Brian Forystek, who was reassigned from Ottawa, tossed seven shutout innings, striking out eight. ... Brian Finch continues to struggle at Double-A since moving up from low Single-A Delmarva. He allowed six runs in two-thirds of an inning Wednesday in a 13-2 loss to New Hampshire.
Single-A Frederick
Tony Neal, who replaced the injured Richard Stahl on the Carolina League's All-Star team, picked up his first save in Saturday's 5-2 win over Potomac. He is 2-0 and has not allowed an earned run in 11 games this month covering 16 1/3 innings. ... Tripper Johnson hit his team-leading 15th homer Friday.
Single-A Delmarva
Dustin Yount took a nine-game hitting streak into the weekend. He was batting .452 over that span. ... Loewen is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in four June appearances spanning 9 1/3 innings. ... James Johnson blanked Lakewood over eight innings in Saturday's 4-0 win, which returned the Shorebirds to .500.
Short-season teams
Aberdeen went into the weekend ranked third in the New York-Penn League with a .273 average and last with a 5.82 ERA, though Luis Ramirez set a professional baseball record with 12 consecutive strikeouts Wednesday against Jamestown. ... Bluefield won three of its first four games and ranked third in the Appalachian League with a .250 batting average.
