More Moves For Orlando

To boost the offense and to find a suitable replacement in the starting rotation, the hometown Stars have completed another deal, this time with the Kearney Bearcats.  The deal sends 3B Jesus Medina, made expandable after the trade to acquire Scotty Cowley, SP Daniel Gendron, a starter last season who made 24 starts and SP prospect Juan Moreno to the Bearcats for SP Willie Craig and veteran SS Nolan Winter.

Craig, currently the #2 starter for Kearney has underperformed in that role but it is expected that the Stars pitching coach and a move to the #5 spot in the rotation will restore Craig's confidence and get him to pitch to potential which would make him a very effective 5th starter.

The prize of the deal as SS Nolan Winter.  Winter hit .301 last season with  28 home runs and 118 RBI!  Those are incredible numbers for a middle infielder and fills a huge gap in the Stars lineup.  Shortstop has been a weakness since the teams inception and now it will be a strength.  The pundits will question the acquisition of the 37 year old but if his play this season is any indication, Winter has a lot of great baseball ahead of him.  Currently, he is hitting .319 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI.

Swift Leaves Town, Swiftly!

In an unexpected move, the Orlando Stars moved #2 starting pitcher Dusty Swift to the Maine Freeze for star 3B Scotty Cowley.  Swift, drafted in the 7th round of the initial draft, was 3-3 with a 3.86 era this season.  He went 12-9 last season with a 3.93 era.

Coming to the Stars is 24 year old 3B Scotty Cowley.  Cowley brings a solid glove to the hot corner as well as a potent bat.  Last season for the Freeze, Cowley hit a lofty .340 with 14 home runs and 87 RBI.  This season he is hitting .333 with 2 home runs and 19 RBI.   He will give the Stars offense a boost which is currently ranked around 5th in the BLFB.

The loss of Swift will present a challenge to Orlando but there are a number of candidates who could move into the rotation and perform well.  Recently called up Carl Rose and recently demoted Dylan Logan will be expected to pick their games up with the loss of Swift.

Frontier League Winner is González

 
 
Raúl González has the tools to stick in this league for many years. The 23-year-old left fielder of the Orlando Stars had a pretty fair bat in the Frontier League over the past seven days and won the Player of the Week honors.

González batted .517 with 15 hits in 29 at-bats, 1 home run and 3 RBIs.

This year González has collected a .316 batting average to date with 61 hits in 193 at-bats, 22 RBIs, 6 home runs and scored 35 times. He has played in 50 games.

Young's Hit Streak Soars to 20 Games

 

Jason Young's hitting string continues. The 29-year-old Orlando first baseman upped it to 20 games today with 2 hits in the Stars 10-5 win over the Kearney Bearcats at Epcot Stadium.
J. Young doubled in the 1st, singled in the 3rd, flied out in the 5th and grounded out in the 7th.

Currently Young is hitting .259 and has collected 15 home runs, 44 RBIs and scored 30 times, while playing in 51 games.