Matt Tone's dominance for Cortland has carried over to Rookie ball for the Elizabethton Twins. The only difference is he's now dominating out of the bullpen. Tone, a former D3baseball.com All-American starter, is 4-1 with a 1.31 earned run average in 16 games and 34.1 innings. The 21-year-old has allowed just 13 hits for a .119 average against. If that's not enough to prove his dominance, how about 83 right-handed batters have dinged the left-handed Tone for just six hits for a measly .072 average? That'll do. Want more? Over his last 10 games, Tone has tossed 23 innings and given up just one run (.39 ERA). Oh yeah, there was a stretch over the past 10 games when he tossed 15 hitless innings, although he walked 11 during that time. But yes, 15 consecutive hitless innings while going 2-0 with one save. That, by any measure, is dominant.
Relief pitcher Brett Holland (Texas Tyler) has made appearances at two levels this season -- Rookie and Short Season -- but is now back with the Rookie AZL Padres. For the year Holland, a former D3baseball.com All-American, is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 10 games and 14 innings. But take away one of his two outings in Short Season, the one in which he gave up four runs in one inning, and his overall ERA drops to 1.39. That's because at the Rookie level the 22-year-old righthander has a nifty 1.64 ERA, a .179 average against and nine strikeouts in 11 innings.
There was a promotion since the last update: relief pitcher Thomas Phelps (Whittier) is now with the Orioles Short Season club in Aberdeen after his start at the Rookie level. With his new team, Phelps is 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA in five innings and two appearances. Overall, the 21-year-old righthander is 2-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 18 games and 44.1 innings. Phelps has allowed a palindromic 41 hits and 14 walks while striking out 34 and picking up one save.
After playing about one-third of his season in the Low-A Midwest League, Frank Pfister (Emory) is now the everyday third baseman for the Reds Rookie club in Billings. Pfister hit .214 in 112 at-bats at Low-A and is batting .272 in 195 at-bats at the Rookie level. Pfister, 23, is batting .251 overall with 35 runs batted in, 25 runs, 17 doubles, one home run and two steals in 89 games. Pfister has gone 9-for-17 (two doubles, one home run) in his last four games and is batting .429 in September. Pfister is teammates of D3 alumni Bryan Gardner and Adian Kummet.
Former D3baseball.com All-American outfielder John Semel (Chapman) is batting .215 for the Kingsport Mets. Semel, 21, is 26-for-121 in 34 games with 15 runs, 15 RBI, 10 stolen bases and 20 walks against 18 strikeouts. Semel also has a .386 on-base percentage with runners in scoring position.
Former D3baseball.com All-American pitcher Adian Kummet (St. Scholastica) comes out of the 'pen for Billings, the Reds Rookie team. In 18 games and 29.1 innings, Kummet is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA and 24 strikeouts. The 22-year-old righthander also has three saves and has not allowed a home run. Kummet's teammates in Billings include former D3 players Frank Pfister and Bryan Gardner.
Outfielder David Hissey (Emory) is batting .226 with five runs and two RBI for the GCL Phillies. In 22 games and 53 at-bats, the 23-year-old has a .344 on-base percentage and two steals.
Relief pitcher Bryan Gardner (Ithaca) is 1-0 with a 9.42 ERA for the Reds Rookie affiliate in Billings. Gardner, 22, has thrown 28.2 innings in 17 games. The lefty has struck out 26 but has walked 29 and
allowed 30 hits. However, Gardner has allowed just three hits to left-handed batters all season. Gardner is teammates with D3 alumni Adian Kummet and Frank Pfister.
David Iden (Cal Lutheran) is a backup second baseman for the Dodgers Rookie squad in Ogden. The 22-year-old is batting .232 with 10 runs, five RBI, five steals and two doubles in 29 games and 82 at-bats.
Harold Baines (McDaniel) is a backup outfielder for the Bristol White Sox. The 21-year-old is batting .147 with four runs and five RBI in 25 games and 75 at-bats.
Relief pitcher Chris Handke (Cornell) has made just two appearances for the AZL Dodgers. The righty has no record and a 13.50 ERA in 1.1 innings, allowing three hits and one walk without registering a strikeout. Handke, 21, last pitched on July
18.
Backup catcher Alex Herrnberger (Allegheny) is hitless in 10 at-bats for the Diamondbacks Rookie club in Missoula. Hernnberger, 23, has scored two runs and driven in two. The switch-hitter has appeared in seven games since signing in July.
