EL notes: Brentz hitting in bunches

Every hitter who jumps to the Double-A level has to make adjustments. The key, according to Portland Sea Dogs hitting coach Dave Joppie, is to make them as quickly as possible and apply them in the game situations. One of his prized pupils, 23-year-old outfielder Bryce Brentz, is doing just that.

Brentz, who ended last year at Class A Advanced Salem in the Carolina League, struggled at times in April while getting his first taste of the Eastern League. But Brentz, the No. 2 prospect in the Boston system, caught fire in May and has been among the top hitters in the league this season.

"There are things we focus on in the cage every day, and he's been able to take that to the games," Joppie said. "He has to identify what he can handle and what he can't, and now he recognizes that. He's made tremendous strides in a short amount of time."

What's been the difference?

"For me it's been strike zone decisions," said Brentz, who noted that he gets pitched around more with runners on base in the Eastern League. "Last year with a base open they would not try to walk you. I think [pitch selection] is part of the development process."

Brentz, who was named Eastern League Player of the Month in May, became the first player in Portland franchise history to get five hits in a game more than once in a season. Brentz accomplished the feat May 13 against Trenton and again versus Harrisburg on May 31.

"I got to see some pitches to hit," he said of the Harrisburg game. "It was one of those good days where everything clicked.

He had four hits for the Sea Dogs on May 20 and closed the month batting .388 but has cooled off since. He's batting .194 in his last 10 games to lower his season average to .289. He's also leading the club with 73 strikeouts.

"He's made some adjustments with his approach," said Kevin Boles, the Portland manager. "He has a chance to be an impact bat. He focuses pitch to pitch and makes adjustments during an at-bat. He has a lot to offer. He is an average runner with an above-average arm in the outfield."

Brentz grew up in Knoxville and had the chance to play at the University of Tennessee, but Middle Tennessee offered him the chance to be a two-way player. He was the 36th overall pick by the Red Sox in 2010, and hit .274 with 19 homers at Salem last year after a promotion from the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League.

With his numbers at Portland, another promotion could happen this year. But Brentz said he is not going to let that get in the way of his approach to the game.

"Last year I wanted to move up so badly when I started out at Greenville," he said. "Here you realize a call-up to Triple-A means there are a lot of Major League guys there."

Two for the price of one: Not many pitchers from Division II colleges reach the Double-A level, but New Hampshire has two on its bullpen staff from the same school. Lefty Matt Wright and righty Evan Englebrook are both products of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, though they were not teammates in college. Wright was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2008; Englebrook, taken by Houston in 2004, was signed by the Blue Jays prior to this season after playing last year for Lancaster in the independent Atlantic League. They roomed together on a recent trip to Richmond and Bowie, and their lockers were next to each other in the clubhouse at Bowie this past weekend.

An impressive debut: Starting pitcher John Stilson made his first Double-A start Saturday for New Hampshire and turned in a strong performance, He tossed five shutout innings with just three hits allowed and two strikeouts in a 5-3 win at Bowie. A third-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2011 by Toronto, Stilson was 3-0 with an ERA of 2.82 in 13 starts for Dunedin in the Class A Advanced Florida State League before getting called up to the Fisher Cats.

Hitting shoes: The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh hitters in the Altoona lineup each went 3-for-5 on Sunday as the Curve won at Binghamton, 15-6. Altoona scored five runs in the top of the ninth and had 20 hits in the game. Miles Durham, Stefan Welch, Quincy Latimore and Charles Cutler combined to go 12-for-20, and Welch and Latimore homered. Durham is hitting .342 in his last 10 games.