Bus Leagues Express: July 14

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Louisville crushes Gwinnett: When they went down 13-0 after two innings, the Gwinnett Braves probably knew they were in for a rough night. Before starter Yohan Flande even recorded an out, the Bats were out to a 4-0 lead, largely due to Neftali Soto‘s three run homer. With two outs, Louisville put three more on the board before Billy Bullock came in and put out the fire by recording the last out. He started his on fire next inning when the Bats scored six more runs before an out was recorded, including the first of two grand slams on the game. Those belonged to Denis Phipps and Chris Valaika, and the only starter to not record a hit this game was pitcher Sean Gallagher. Making his first appearance of 2012, infielder Terry Tiffee allowed five runs in an inning of relief.

Martin strikes out 14 in shutout: As far as I can tell, top minor league game scores aren’t readily available, but I would imagine that Cody Martin‘s Friday night shutout is the best so far. In Lynchburg’s 1-0 win, he struck out 14 while only allowing two hits and a walk. That comes out to a game score of 96 which would be tied for second in the majors this year, tied with two one-hitters and Philip Humber‘s perfect game and behind Matt Cain‘s perfect game. Baseball America ranked him as the team’s 19th best prospect coming into this season, and it’s hard to imagine his stock isn’t rising with a very good first full season in pro ball.

Gallo did it again: There may not be a short season hitter off to a hotter start than Texas’ Joey Gallo. The first rounder overcame a bit of a slow start and is now showing off his enormous potential after hitting his 9th homer of the season last night. Although short season stats are to be taken with a grain of salt, it’s always nice to see a player performing in box scores. In the early going, he’s batting over .300 despite questions about his hit tool, and his plate approach has been solid. He’s just another high ceiling player in the Texas system.

McCullers has good pro debut: Lance McCullers also made his pro debut Friday, and he threw three scoreless innings for the GCL Astros in their 1-0 loss to the GCL Nationals. McCullers struck out two and only allowed one hit. Since he competed in Florida high school ball, it’s likely that he threw a lot of innings this spring, and the Astros will carefully manage his workload over the summer. The 41st overall pick, McCullers received a $2.5 million signing bonus, slightly less than the recommended value for the 12th overall pick. McCullers showed improvement this spring, and now scouts are more optimistic about his chances of staying in the rotation.

Appel heads back to Stanford: After a shocking draft day slide that had many wondering if he would sign, Mark Appel spurned the Pirates’ contract offer and will pitch at Stanford for one more year. Pittsburgh reportedly offered the 8th overall pick over $3.8 million, the most they could without forfeiting a draft pick. While at this moment it seems likely he could earn more in next year’s draft, it appears that the money wasn’t the driving factor in Appel’s decision, but a genuine desire to play at Stanford one more year. The Pirates will receive the 9th pick in next year’s draft as compensation.

Giolito a National: The other biggest storyline from yesterday’s deadline was the fate of Lucas Giolito, Washington’s first rounder at 16th overall. He could’ve been the first overall pick if not for an elbow injury that cost him most of his senior season. He slipped as far as he did because of that injury, and when Washington picked him, they knew they would have to pony up to get him. They did just that Friday, giving him a bonus in excess of $2.9 million. That’s worth a little more than the recommended value for the 8th pick. It’s $800,000 more expensive than the recommended value for the pick he was taken with, but to land one of the draft’s top talents, it’s certainly worth the risk.

On tap today

MiLB.TV schedule

Nick Blackburn tries to get back to majors

Hector Noesi heads back to AAA

Gray, Sampson meet in TL matchup of pitchers supposed to be pitching better

Dylan Bundy makes first start since Futures Game

Wood, Syndergaard meet in top MWL matchup

Pat Light takes the mound for Lowell