SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Intimidators vs. GreenJackets - Game Notes - June 20, 2013

June 20, 2013 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


Today's Preview: The Intimidators (A, White Sox) open the second half of the season with a seven-game road trip, starting with a four-game series against the GreenJackets (A, Giants). Kannapolis enters the series with a new look, gaining five new players on the other side of the South Atlantic League All-Star Break, including the White Sox 2013 first round pick Tim Anderson, who will make his professional debut today. Anderson, along with 2012 supplemental first rounder Keon Barnum, and three others joined the Intimidators today as part of 12 roster moves affecting Kannapolis. Two Hot Teams: Kannapolis is coming off a season-high four-game winning streak to end the first half while Augusta won eight of its final 10 games heading into the break, including a three-game sweep against the Intimidators in Kannapolis last week. Intimidating Starters: Euclides Leyer, 22, makes his team-leading 14th start of the season and his third against Augusta. He is 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA (4 ER/11.1 IP) in two starts against the GreenJackets, including his last start of the first half on June 12. He has lost his last five decisions with his last win coming May 10 at Asheville, in which Leyer gave up two runs on seven hits. Leyer has been better on the road this season, going 2-4 with a 3.56 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 48 innings over nine starts compared to 0-4 with an 8.84 ERA in four home starts. He is holding hitters to a .244 average in his road starts. He has also struggled in first innings, posting a 9.00 ERA (13 ER/13 IP). Augusta's Arm: Kendry Flores, 21, is coming off a win over the Intimidators in his last start of the first half, a 6.0-inning outing on June 11 in Game 2 of a doubleheader. He is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA (2 ER/12.2 IP) in two starts against Kannapolis. He is coming off back-to- back 7-strikeout games, equaling a season high, two shy of his career- high (9). Flores is two starts removed from a complete game (8.0 IP) in a loss at Greensboro on June 5. Flores ranks fourth in the SAL in WHIP (0.97) and fifth in IP (69 IP) while also ranking third in fewest base runners allowed per 9 innings (9.00). He spent the last two seasons with Short-Season Salem-Kaizer, going 5-6 with a 4.78 ERA in 22 games (19 starts) from 2011-12. The Giants signed Flores as a UDFA in 2010. I Smell MVP: Micah Johnson earned MVP honors in the SAL All-Star on Tuesday in Lakewood, N.J., going 1-2 with two SB and a run scored, leading the Northern Division to a 2-1 win over the Southern Division. Johnson swiped second and third base in the third inning before scoring the go-ahead run for the Northern Division squad. Hello, Mr. Anderson: Shortstop Tim Anderson, the White Sox top pick in the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft (17th overall), joins Kannapolis for his professional debut today after signing with Chicago on June 12. Anderson hit .495 with 62 runs scored and 41 stolen bases for East Central (Miss.) Community College and was named NJCAA Div. II All- American. He added 18 doubles, 11 triples, 10 HR and 45 RBI. He led the nation in batting average and on-base percentage (.563) among all JuCo players. Raising the Barnum: Keon Barnum, the White Sox supplemental first round pick from the June 2012 draft, also joins the Intimidators today to make his season debut. He is coming off surgery in March to remove the hamate bone in his right hand. Barnum also missed much of his professional debut due to a shoulder injury last season, appearing in 13 games with Advanced Rookie Bristol, batting .279 with three home runs, 8 RBI. Running for the Record: Micah Johnson is two stolen bases shy of equaling an 11-year-old franchise record, set by Chris Amador, who stole 56 bases for the Intimidators in 2002. Amador played in 124 games for Kannapolis that season, attempting to steal 71 times. Johnson, who leads the Minors with 54 stolen bases, has attempted 70 stolen bases in 66 games this year. Johnson leads the SAL in runs scored (64) and triples (nine). He is batting .339 (87-257), third in the SAL, and ranks third in at-bats (257), hits (87), on-base percentage (.422). Johnson ranks second in MiLB in runs scored. Connect Four: Kannapolis won four straight games to end the first half, sweeping the Rome Braves at CMC-NorthEast Stadium June 13-16. The last time the Intimidators won four straight games was June 21-24, 2012, sweeping the Delmarva Shorebirds at home in the first four games of the Second Half of the 2012 season. The Intimidators current streak is the longest since the team won seven straight June 15-24 last season. Coats vs. Jackets: All-Star outfielder Jason Coats is batting .542 (13-24) against the Augusta GreenJackets, including five doubles, a home run and two RBI in seven games. He has an on-base percentage of . 560 in those games. As a team, the Intimidators are batting .248 against the GreenJackets compared to a .252 team season average.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 20, 2013


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