CarL1 Hill City Howlers

Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes

Published on April 6, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release


LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (0-0) vs. POTOMAC NATIONALS (0-0)

April 6th, 2012 -- 6:05 PM

Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium

RHP Gus Schlosser (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Kyle Winters (0-0, 0.00)

THE HILLCATS: Last season the Hillcats finished the 2011 season with an overall record of 60-78...In the first half the team posted a record of 30-40 and finished in third place in the four-team Northern Division...The second half of the season saw the 'Cats go 30-38, again finishing in third...Despite the two third place finishes, the Hillcats overall record was worst in the circuit...The Hillcats begin the 2012 season tonight at home against the Potomac Nationals...It is the second straight year Lynchburg has opened with the Nationals...Last year's scheduled opener was rained out in Potomac...

VS. POTOMAC: The Hillcats went 9-11 against the Nationals in 2011 and 2-8 at City Stadium...Lynchburg holds the all-time advantage 171-157...Each team swept a four games series against the other on the road last season...

CONSISTENCY COULD HELP: Lynchburg has finished with disappointing records in each of the past two seasons, 61-77 in 2010 and 60-78 in 2011...Each of those seasons were the first with a new affiliate, Cincinnati Reds in 2010 and Atlanta Braves in 2011...Before the Reds, the Hillcats had been an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates for 15 years and won the Carolina League Mills Cup Championship in 1997, 2002, and 2009...This year, the 'Cats are excited to return as a Braves affiliate for a second consecutive season...

ADDING TO THE FAMILIAR: For the first time in Hillcats history the team will return all members of the coaching staff...Manager Luis Salazar, Pitching Coach Derek Botelho, and Hitting Coach Bobby Moore are all back for a second season in the "Hill City"...Ty Cobbs (no relation) will also return as the team's Athletic Trainer...The only new face on the staff side of the clubhouse will be strength coach Jason Curry, who is in his first year with the Braves Organization...

WHO ELSE IS BACK?: Nine players on the Hillcats Opening Day roster spent some part of the 2011 season with Lynchburg...RHP Andrew Wilson finished with a 2.70 ERA in Lynchburg last season in 36 appearances and earned a promotion to Double-A Mississippi towards the end of the year...OF Robby Hefflinger started 2011 in Lynchburg but was reassigned to Single-A Rome after hitting just .114 through 12 games and finished the season there...C Braeden Schlehuber is also back after bouncing between Lynchburg and Mississippi last year...He played 36 games with the 'Cats, hitting .248 with four home runs including a grand slam and saw 26 games with Mississippi, where he hit .233 with one home run...The rest of the returners are as follows: RHP Caleb Brewer, LHP Dimasther Delgado (DL), LHP Chad Rodgers (DL), LHP Blaine Sims, RHP Ryan Weber, and C Ryan Query...

HOW THE BRAVES STACK UP: The Atlanta Braves farm system was ranked 15th among Major League organizations by Baseball America this year...A pretty steep drop from their second overall ranking in 2011...A large reason for this is the youth movement at the Major League level...Five of their 2011 top ten prospects, Freddie Freeman (2), Randall Delgado (3), Mike Minor (4), Craig Kimbrel (5), Brandon Beachy (8), are currently on the Atlanta roster...Another, Arodys Vizcaino (7), who started 2011 with the Hillcats, would most likely be with Atlanta as well had he not needed season ending Tommy John surgery this spring...Two others, Brett Oberholtzer (9) and J.J. Hoover (10), have been traded...Oberholtzer was part of the package of minor league prospects traded to the Houston Astros for Michael Bourn last season, and Hoover was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in a two-player deal for third baseman Jaun Francisco this spring...

PROSPECT WATCH: Once again, the Hillcats will start the season with eight of the top-30 Braves prospects...Second most of the Braves affiliates to Double-A Mississippi who have started the year with 10...3B/SS Edward Salcedo (6), RHP J.R. Graham (13), SS/2B/OF Matt Lipka (14), SS Nick Ahmed (15), LHP Dimasther Delgado (18), RHP Cody Martin (19), C Evan Gattis (27), and 2B Tommy La Stella (28) are the eight top-30 prospects on the Hillcats Opening Day roster...

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: 3B/SS Edward Salcedo has had the Atlanta Braves organization buzzing since his record signing back in 2010...His $1.6 million signing bonus is the largest ever given by the Braves to a foreign minor league free agent...He had been sought after by the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the Seattle Mariners back in 2007 and reportedly agreed to a deal with the Indians for upwards of $2 million, but he was unable to sign while Major League Baseball investigated his identity and birthdate...After signing with the Braves, he reported to the Dominican Summer League in 2010...He went straight to Single-A Rome after just 23 games, skipping the Rookie-level clubs, the Gulf Coast League Braves and Danville Braves...He spent all of 2011 with Rome, showcasing his combination of power and speed, hitting 12 home runs while stealing 23 bases...Salcedo is projected to be Atlanta's starting third baseman by the 2015 season...

LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED: Manager Luis Salazar made his Hillcats debut last season at the Hillcats Home Opener, April 15th...He was met by a record crowd of 5,170 as well as a frenzy of both national and local media attention...ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated, The Associated Press, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The News and Advance, WSET ABC 13 Lynchburg, WDBJ 7 Roanoke, and WSLS 10 Roanoke were all on hand to cover Salazar's return to coaching after losing his left eye in an accident at Spring Training...Salazar was struck by a foul line drive off the bat of Brian McCann...He suffered multiple facial fractures, a fractured arm, and his left eye was crushed, forcing the doctor's to remove it...However, just over five weeks later, after numerous surgeries, and rehab for his arm and hand-eye coordination, he was in uniform and managing the Hillcats...He returns this season as the manager, with a permanent prosthetic eye after sporting a patch or a bandage, and eventually a temporary prosthetic last season...

VIZZYING RISE TO THE SHOW: RHP Arodys Vizcaino started 2011 in Lynchburg...He went 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA in nine starts...Promoted to Mississippi in late May...Made eight more starts before transitioning to the bullpen for three appearances (2-3, 3.81) and earning a promotion to Triple-A Gwinnett...After just six relief appearances in late July and early August, Vizcaino was promoted to Atlanta and made his Major League debut on August 10...Went 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA in 17 games...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Kyle Winters was signed as a minor league free agent by the Nationals in 2012...Originally drafted in the fifth round in 2005 by the Florida Marlins and played six seasons in their organization reaching his peak at Double-A Jacksonville in 2009...Started just 12 games that season before needing Tommy John Surgery...Missed the rest of 2009 and the entire 2010 season as well...Returned from surgery in 2011 with the Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League...Went 8-3 with a 4.10 ERA in 19 starts, struck out 75 in 96.2 innings...

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