Greene blazes A-ball
By Steve Behr
 
Former Watauga and Western Carolina standout Johnny Greene had a big night last Thursday for the Bakersfield Blaze, the Texas Rangers’ affiliate in the advanced Class-A California League.

Greene hit two home runs, a double and drove in four runs in Bakersfield’s 6-3 win over High Desert. Greene is currently hitting .257 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs, which is second on the team. He also has 16 doubles.

Former Appalachian State starter Josh Dowdy is 0-0 with an 0.00 ERA in three appearances with the Bluefield Orioles of the Appalachian Rookie League. He’s struck out 12, walked one and allowed five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Rand Smith, who played center field for Appalachian State this past season, is off to a slow start, hitting .182 for the Jamestown Jammers of the New York-Penn Rookie League. Smith has just four hits in 22 at-bats in the six games he’s played. He has three RBIs and has scored two runs.

Former ASU slugger Isaac Harrow of the Gulf Coast Rookie League Yankees is hitting just .200 with one home run and two RBIs. He also has scored two runs and plays second base for the New York Yankees.’ affiliate. He played third base for ASU.

Appalachian State’s closer in 2008, Garrett Sherrill, is 1-0 with an ERA of 6.10 in six games with the Wisconsin Rattlers of the Class-A Midwest League. Sherrill is in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization.

However, Sherrill injured his pitching arm this year and is likely lost for the season.

Zach Quate, ASU’s closer in 2009, picked up his first save over the weekend and has maintained his 0.00 ERA after two appearances. He’s given up two hits this season for Hudson Valley, the New York-Penn League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Quate was selected in the 14th round by the Rays in the 2009 MLB First-Year Draft.

Former ASU outfielder David Rubinstein has improved his average to .282 with 11 hits and four RBIs for the State College Spikes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ New York-Penn League affiliate. Teammate Pat Irvine, who played at Elon this past season, is hitting .276. Matt Payne, the former Alexander Central and N.C. State standout, is hitting .095 for the Spikes.

Jason Rook, playing for the Aberdeen Iron Birds of the New York-Penn League, got his first hit of the season, a two-run double, over the weekend. The former ASU standout is 1-of-15 for the season and his batting .067.
Former South Caldwell ace pitcher Madison Bumgarner continues to be impressive with the Class-AA Connecticut Defenders. Bumgarner, the 10th overall selection of the San Francisco Giants, is 5-1 with the defenders after starting the year 3-0 in Class-A San Jose and has a 1.96 ERA in Connecticut with 38 strikeouts in 46 innings.