Bus Leagues Express: August 28

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MiLB recognizes Player of the Week recipients: Every Monday, MiLB recognizes each league’s Player of the Week recipient. This week’s honorees include not Darin Ruf but Bryce Brentz in the Eastern League. Brentz had two or more hits in every game during the week with five extra base hits. Also honored was Jacksonville’s Kyle Jensen in the Southern League. Jensen had a rough start to the season, but he homered in five straight games last week. Other honorees include Justin Henry (IL), Caleb Gindl (PCL), Mike O’Neill (TL), Steven Proscia (Cal), Orlando Calixte (Car), Cody Stanley (FSL), Sean Buckley (MWL), Caleb Ramsey (SAL), Preston Tucker (NYPL), Balbino Fuenmayor (NWL), Jabari Henry (APP) and Wade Hinkle (PIO).

MiLB recognizes Pitcher of the Week recipients: Every Monday, MiLB recognizes each league’s Player of the Week recipient. This week’s honorees include Jameson Taillon, recently promoted to Altoona. Taillon has 13 strikeouts and no walks in 11 innings since being bumped up. Also honored for a second straight week was Jesse Biddle in the Florida State League. He has 21 strikeouts in 14 scoreless innings over his last two starts. Other honorees include John Lannan (IL), Shelby Miller (PCL), J.R. Graham (SL), Joe Gardner (TL), Christian Bergman (Cal), Jordan Cooper (Car), Boone Whiteing (MWL), Edwin Escobar (SAL), Jesse Hahn (NYPL), Jose Valdespina (NWL), Alonzo Gonzalez (APP) and Keegan Linza (PIO).

Pacific Coast League announces postseason All-Stars: The Royals have resisted every temptation to promote Wil Myers to the majors, but his consolation prize is being named to the PCL All-Star Team. The former Springfield Isotopes were represented with four players including Jerry Sands who will soon be on his way to the Red Sox organization. Reno was also well represented with three position players, including Jake Elmore, owner of a 31 game hitting streak, and sparkplug outfielder Adam Eaton.

Springfield clinches playoff berth: With a Jermaine Curtis walkoff single in the 11th inning, the Springfield Cardinals clinched the Texas League North division second half championship. As of now, they’re 11.5 games ahead of 3rd place Tulsa, the first half champion struggling with a 29-34 second half record. The Cardinals also appear poised to finish the entire season with a better record than the Drillers. They’re returning to the playoffs after a one year absence that followed consecutive years of postseason play and looking for their first championship in team history. Springfield boasts one of the league’s most well-rounded teams, anchored by breakout outfielder Oscar Taveras, a potential top five prospect in baseball.

Ruf takes home run lead: For the last two months, Wil Myers has comfortably sat atop the MiLB home run leaderboard. Not anymore. Darin Ruf hit his 36th homer of the year Monday night, passing Kansas City’s top prospect. While Myers’ home run pace has slowed down in August with just two dingers, Ruf’s has sped up at a prodigious pace. 18 of his 36 home runs this season have come in the last month. He’s posted an absurd 1.353 OPS for the month with a slugging percentage north of .900, and it looks like he’ll be carrying the Reading Phillies right into the Eastern League playoffs. Ruf is in some elite Reading company; he’s one home run shy of Ryan Howard‘s franchise record of 37. Howard did it in 30 fewer games, but it’s still amazing that one of his records could fall.

Clearwater pitching leads FSL All-Stars: The Clearwater Threshers have had one of the league’s toughest pitching staffs this season, and the Florida State League postseason All-Star roster reflects that. Three Clearwater starters, Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan and Austin Wright, are the top three strikeout pitchers in the league, although Biddle was left off the roster. Although they lead the league in runs by a pretty significant margin, Kevin Nolan is the only Dunedin Blue Jay position player to be named to the roster. Christian Yellich represents Jupiter and the Bus Leagues Top 100 Prospects list.

On tap today

MiLB.TV schedule

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Appy League wraps up regular season

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