Who's hot
BRIAN ANDERSON (High-A Marlins) raised his batting average from .320 to .330 in six games. He scored 3 runs on 8 hits (including 2 doubles) with 2 RBI in 22 at-bats. He is 14 for 37 (.378) with 3 RBI and 7 runs scored over his past 10 games through Thursday. Anderson was 3 for 4 with a run scored on May 2 in a 4-2 loss to the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs (High-A Rays).
TREY KILLIAN (A Rockies) has recovered from a rocky start to the season and has won each of his past two starts for the Asheville Tourists. In a 2-0 victory over the Lakewood (Fla.) BlueClaws (A Phillies) on Wednesday, Killian allowed 4 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts in 6 innings.
Who's not
MATT REYNOLDS (AAA Mets) saw his batting average drop from .288 to .277 in seven games. Despite the drop in average, Reynolds was productive in his 28 at-bats, scoring 5 runs on 7 hits (including 2 doubles) with 2 RBI.
RYNE STANEK (AA Rays) suffered another loss to drop to 0-4 this season, but his ERA dropped from 5.39 to 4.21. The loss came May 1 to the Chattanooga Lookouts (AA Twins), in which Stanek allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts in 7 innings.
News and notes
• Former Arkansas Razorbacks outfielder Andrew Benintendi's hitting streak for the Salem Red Sox (High-A Red Sox) ended at 23 games Saturday as the Red Sox lost 4-2 to the Winston-Salem Dash (High-A White Sox) in the first game of a doubleheader. Benintendi, who went 0 for 3 in the loss, tied a Salem franchise record set by Art Howe of the 1971 Salem Rebels. He was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI in Salem's 9-2 victory over the Carolina Mudcats (High-A Braves) on Thursday and went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI again Friday in a 9-0 victory over the Dash. Earlier in the week, he went a combined 4 for 8 with 5 runs scored as Salem swept a doubleheader from Carolina. He went 2 for 4 in the first game to help former Razorbacks pitcher Jalen Beeks earn his third victory of the season. Beeks allowed three earned runs in the 15-3 victory on 5 hits with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk in 5 innings.
• Pitcher Daniel Wright (Arkansas State) was assigned to the Billings (Mont.) Mustangs (R Reds) from Class AA Pensacola, Fla., on Friday. Wright was 2-0 with an 0.45 ERA in 8 appearances for the Blue Wahoos this season. He allowed just 1 earned run in 20 innings pitched on 10 hits with 4 walks and 22 strikeouts, while opposing batters were hitting .145 against him. Pensacola team officials did not respond to a request for comment on the move.
• Former UALR third baseman Tanner Rockwell signed a contract April 19 with the Alpine (Texas) Cowboys of the independent Pecos League. Rockwell started all 49 games for the Trojans last season and had the second-highest batting average on the team (.314). He ended his career at UALR with a .317 average, 10 home runs and 82 RBI. "He was one of our leaders," UALR Coach Chris Curry said. "He's got good range and a good arm defensively and he has a good feel for hitting."
• Third baseman Zack Cox (Arkansas Razorbacks), who was selected by the Washington Nationals in the Rule 5 draft in December and was released by the Class AAA Syracuse Chiefs on April 2, has signed a contract with the independent Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association.
Sports on 05/08/2016