The news flash that Stephen Strasburg gave up his first earned run in Triple-A isn't nearly as interesting as why he was taken out after only 52 pitches. It could be that the Nationals wanted to limit his pitch count and chose a start where he was merely good but not dominant to do it. It could be that he'll be in Washington sooner than expected. Or perhaps they're just babying him. Only time will tell...
- Speaking of guys who probably shouldn't be in Triple-A, Jeremy Hellickson retired the first 18 batters he faced en route to 8 scoreless innings of one-hit ball, reports Robert Emrich of MLB.com. Hellickson would probably be in the majors for 29 other teams, but not the Rays.
- Someone needs to get Kyle Russell out of the California League before he hurts someone and into a more hitter-neutral league so we can properly gauge his abilities. The Dodgers' OF prospect hit two more home runs on Monday to bring his 2010 Cal League totals to .341/12/41. Dee Gordon, the team's top prospect, collected 4 hits in his Double-A game on Monday night to get his batting average back up to .291. After a red-hot April in which he hit .345, Gordon is still hitting just .239 in May.
- Buster Posey put together a 4-hit game bring his average to .344 on the season, continuing to prompt speculation like this and rebuttals like this.
- Tyler Skaggs turned in a nice performance, striking out 6 over 5 innings while giving up just one earned run as part of an Angels' system that is becoming increasingly deep in the low minors.
- Tim Alderson (PIT) responded with a solid outing, tossing 7 strong innings while striking out 5 and walking none, lowering his ERA to 5.17 on the season.
