CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes

Published on April 7, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


POTOMAC NATIONALS (0-1) @ LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (1-0)

April 7th, 2012 -- 6:05 PM

Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium

LHP Bobby Hansen (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Ronan Pacheco (0-0, 0.00)

THE HILLCATS: Last night the Hillcats cruised past the Potomac Nationals 9-3...RHP Gus Schlosser (1-0) tossed eight innings allowing just two runs on six hits, while striking out four to earn the Opening Day win in his first professional start...C Braeden Schlehuber and OF Robby Hefflinger both homered deep over the left field wall for their first tape measure shots of the season...2B Tommy La Stella contributed with a pair of hits and three RBI as well...

VS. POTOMAC: The Hillcats went 9-11 against the Nationals in 2011 and 2-8 at City Stadium...Last night's win gives them the early 1-0 advantage in the 2012 season series...Lynchburg holds the all-time advantage 172-157...Each team swept a four games series against the other on the road last season...

FIFTY PERCENT OF THE TIME, THEY WIN EVERY TIME: 2012 marks the 18th season since the Lynchburg club adopted the Hillcats moniker...After last night's win the team is now .500 in their home openers as Hillcats at 9-9...Potomac played in their fourth Hillcats' Home Opener last night...The 'Cats are 2-2 against Potomac in those games...

FAMILIAR LEADERS: 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...

DOMINANT DEBUT: RHP Gus Schlosser made his Hillcats, Advance-A, and professional starting debut last night...Went eight innings, allowing just two runs (earned) on six hits, while striking out four, and earned the Opening Day win...Drafted in the 17th round in 2011, he made 21 relief appearance in his rookie season last year...Starting was not exactly new to Schlosser as he was the number one starter for Florida Southern University in 2011...Went 7-1 and led his team with a 2.90 ERA...

PRODUCTION FROM THE BOTTOM: OF Robby Hefflinger and C Braeden Schlehuber hit eighth and ninth for the Hillcats lineup respectively last night...They also scored or drove in seven of the 'Cats' nine runs...Schlehuber homered in his first at-bat and finished the game 3-for-4, missing only a triple for the cycle...Hefflinger reached base three times as well...Went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, two RBI, two runs scored, and a walk...

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...

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: LHP Bobby Hansen was selected in the 18th round of the 2008 draft out of Lewis Palmer (CO) High School...Originally from Monument, CO...Spent his first two professional seasons with the GCL Nationals...Primarily worked as a starter (19 games, 12 starts)...Has moved up a level each year since repeating in the GCL in 2009...Has not topped more than 56.1 innings in any single season...Has posted an ERA over 4.00 in each of his first four seasons...Easily had his best season in 2011...Went 5-1 with a 4.10 ERA with Low-A Hagerstown...Struck out 49 and walked just 14 in 52.2 innings pitched......Set career marks in ERA (4.10), batting average against (.262), and strikeouts per nine innings (8.4)...

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