Pioneer League Notebook

Billings Mustangs (Cincinnati Reds)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Mustangs are 32-30 and in third place in the North Division.

WHO'S HOT: SS Todd Frazier is hitting .350 through 80 at-bats in August. He has four doubles, four triples, three home runs and 12 RBIs this month. Frazier's .327 batting average and .419 on-base percentage this season currently rank him ninth and fifth in the Pioneer League, respectively.

COUNT HIM: 3B Brandon Waring leads the Pioneer League with 50 runs scored this season. He has scored 16 times in August. Waring is hitting .291 with 17 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs for the Mustangs on the season.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: 1B Michael McKennon's 25 doubles currently lead the Pioneer League. He has nine doubles in August. McKennon is hitting .299 with a pair of triples, nine home runs and 49 RBIs this season.

TRIP-BASES: 3B Brett Bartles' six triples, three of which have come in August are second-most in the Pioneer League this season. In 39 games since joining the Mustangs from the Reds' Gulf Coast League affiliate, Bartles has 17 extra-base hits, including five home runs.

Casper Rockies (Colorado Rockies)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Rockies are 16-46 and in last place in the South Division.

WHO'S HOT: 2B Jordan Pacheco is hitting .333 through 69 at-bats in August with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs. He has been walked a team-high 13 times this month. Pacheco is hitting .285 with 12 extra-base hits and 25 RBIs for the Rockies this season.

WHO'S NOT: 1B Bo Bowman, who has hit .163 in August after a .340 showing in July. Bowman has just seven hits this month and has struck out 12 times. He is hitting .254 with eight extra-base hits and 13 RBIs this season.

TAKE A WHIFF: Casper batters have struck out a combined 218 times in August, which brings the team's season total to a Pioneer League-leading 608. The Rockies are hitting a collective .241 this season, the worst in the league.

WORKHORSE: RHP Jhoulys Chacin continues to lead the Pioneer League in innings pitched this season with 80 1/3 under his belt so far. Chacin has gone at least six innings in his last eight starts. The native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, is 5-4 with a 3.47 ERA and 29 strikeouts on the season.

Great Falls White Sox (Chicago White Sox)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The White Sox are 41-21 and in first place in the North Division.

WHO'S HOT: OF Jim Gallagher continues to impress in August. The native of Durham, N.C., is hitting .364 with seven doubles and nine RBIs this month. He has been walked a team-high 10 times as well. Gallagher is batting .325 with 18 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 35 RBIs for the White Sox this season.

HOT HAND: RHP Johnnie Lowe is 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA and 16 strikeouts through 20 innings pitched in four August starts. His three wins place him in a four-way tie for most by any pitcher in the Pioneer League this month. In 12 starts this season Lowe is 4-1 with a 4.12 ERA and 47 strikeouts.

ERA IN LOW PLACES: RHP Juan Moreno sits atop the Pioneer League with his 2.50 ERA this season. In 14 starts this season, Moreno is 5-4 with a league-leading 71 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings pitched.

TRIP-BASES: 3B C.J. Retherford continues to lead the Pioneer League in extra-base hits with 37 this season. He has 25 doubles, four triples and eight home runs for 94 total bases. Retherford has 10 extra-base hits in August.

Helena Brewers (Milwaukee Brewers)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Brewers are 39-24 and in second place in the North Division. Helena won the first-half division title.

WHO'S HOT: Infielder Curt Rindal is hitting .429 though 56 at-bats in August. He has eight extra-base hits, including six doubles, this month. Rindal is batting .339 with 13 RBIs for the Brewers this season.

WHO'S NOT: OF Lee Haydel is hitting .213 this month, a far cry from the .306 batting average he posted in July. He is one of six Brewers who have struck out 10 times or more in August. Haydel is batting .247 with 13 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs on the season.

HOT HAND: In four appearances this month, including two starts, LHP Bobby Bramhall is 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 20 strikeouts through 17 innings pitched. Bramhall has been solid for the Brewers all season. In nine appearances he is 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29 innings on the mound.

HEAVY HITTER: OF Caleb Gindl continues to lead the Pioneer League with his .376 batting average this season. Gindl is hitting .292 in August, nowhere near the .404 he posted in July, but he still has 10 extra-base hits and a team-leading 13 RBIs for the Brewers this month.

Idaho Falls Chukars (Kansas City Royals)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Chukars are 39-24 and in first place in the South Division. Idaho Falls won the first-half division title.

WHO'S HOT: 1B Clint Robinson has continued his hot season through August, in which he has hit .324 with six doubles, seven home runs and a team-leading 21 RBIs. He leads the Pioneer League in home runs (14) and RBIs (56), and is second in slugging percentage (.615), fourth in extra-base hits (31) and eighth in batting average (.333).

TAKE A WHIFF: RHP Zach Peterson (5-3, 3.26 ERA, 7 BB, 47 K) set a new Pioneer League record this week when he struck out 11 consecutive batters in a 9-1 Chukars win over Billings on Tuesday. He finished the game with a career-high 13 strikeouts across six shutout innings, in which the hurler yielded a single hit and no walks.

WHAT A STEAL: SS Anthony Seratelli continues to lead the Pioneer League in stolen bases with 25. He is one of only two players in the league to eclipse 20 steals so far this season. Seratelli is 8-for-9 in base-stealing opportunities in August.

COUNT THEM: OF O.D. Gonzalez and Seratelli have both scored 47 runs this season, placing them in a tie for second place among all hitters in the Pioneer League behind Billings' Brandon Waring, who has 50.

Missoula Osprey (Arizona Diamondbacks)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Osprey are 25-38 and in last place in the North Division.

WHO'S HOT: OF Ariel Urena is hitting a team-best .333 through 42 at-bats in August. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has three doubles, a pair of home runs and 10 RBIs this month. He is batting .224 with 11 extra-base hits and 12 RBIs for the Osprey this season.

WHO'S NOT: RHP Jason Durst, RHP Cristian Beltre and LHP Thomas Layne are all chasing Casper RHP Jeff Fischer in a few unimpressive stat categories. Fischer (0-9) tops the Pioneer League in losses with Durst, Beltre and Layne in tow with eight, six and six defeats, respectively. Beltre has also allowed 12 home runs while on the mound this season, four off Fischer's lead.

COLD HAND(S): The Osprey pitching corps continues to struggle this season. Missoula hurlers are 10-13 with a 5.75 team ERA in August, which brings their season totals to 25-38 with a Pioneer League-worst 5.73 team ERA. Osprey pitchers have combined for 446 strikeouts this season, the least of any staff in the league.

ERA IN HIGH PLACES: A pair of Osprey pitchers rank in the Pioneer League's bottom five in terms of ERA in August. LHP Josh Blake has posted a 5.82 ERA and Layne a 6.00 ERA this month. Brewers RHP Evan Anundsen has the league's worst August ERA at 9.00.

Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Raptors are 26-36 and in third place in the South Division.

WHO'S HOT: SS Jaime Pedroza is red hot in August. The native of Riverside, Calif., is hitting .415 with nine doubles, seven home runs and a team-best 26 RBIs this month. He is batting .372 with 27 extra-base hits and 29 RBIs for the Raptors this season, and he leads the Pioneer League with his .426 on-base percentage.

LONG BALLER: OF Travis Vetters lost the Pioneer League-lead in home runs this week to Idaho Falls' Clint Robinson, but his 13 long balls this season have him right in the hunt for the home run title as the regular season wanes. Vetters' .627 slugging percentage leads the league.

ONE OF A KIND: Amazingly, there has only been one complete game shutout tossed in the Pioneer League this season. Raptors RHP Michael Gardner is the only pitcher to accomplish the feat. Gardner is 5-5 with a 4.10 ERA and 45 strikeouts through 74 2/3 innings pitched in 13 starts.

WHAT A STEAL: OF Jovanny Rosario is just four stolen bases behind Idaho Falls' Anthony Seratelli, who leads the Pioneer League with 25 stolen bags this season. Rosario is 4-for-6 in base-stealing opportunities in August.

Orem Owlz (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Owlz are 32-31 and in second place in the South Division.

WHO'S HOT: OF Jeremy Moore is hitting .342 with 14 extra-base hits and a team-leading 24 RBIs through 76 at-bats in August. He has five doubles, three triples and six home runs to his credit this month. Moore is batting .281 with 11 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs for the Owlz this season.

HEAVY HITTER: Infielder Jay Brossman continues to lead the Pioneer League in hits with 83, but he has been tied by Great Falls' Salvador Sanchez. Brossman missed 10 days of games this month due to injury. He has been hitless in the two games since his return.

SAVED: RHP Ryan Brasier (1-2, 1.48 ERA, 6 BB, 23 K) has five saves in five opportunities in August, which have skyrocketed him to the top of the Pioneer League stat sheets. He is now tied with Helena RHP Robert Bryson for the league lead. Both hurlers have eight saves this season.

SEE YOU ON-BASE: 1B Gordon Gronkowski's .421 on-base percentage places him fourth in the Pioneer League this year. Gronkowski is batting .351 with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 47 RBIs for the Owlz this season.