As I said last month, these posts are not going to provide any revelations or much new information.  They're just a way to step back and look at the month gone by.  Bakersfield, Frisco, and OKC coming soon...

Team Overview   How are the Lumberkings awesome?  Let's count the ways.  Clinton is 35-12, in first place in the Western Division by 7 games (in front of Oakland's affiliate Kane County).  The offense is scoring 5.81 RPG, 2nd place West Michigan scores 4.71 and the league average is 4.16.  The team batting line, .282/..355/.429 is tops in all three categories, and their OPS is in front by .068.  Other league leading categories include runs, hits, HRs, RBI, and total bases.

The pitching is swell, too, 2nd in team ERA at  2.88,  1st in WHIP at 1.14.   The team K/BB ratio is 2.64 and they've allowed the 2nd fewest walks.

Hitters

• Ian Gac  1B/DH  April - .395/.485/.802; May - .246/.416/.522   He spent a week on the bench after being clocked in the face by a foul ball, and only hit .246, but also has 19 BBs (a 21% walk rate) and a .938 OPS in May.   It's time to see how he handles high-A ball.
  
• Engel Beltre  OF  April - .247/.291/.341; May - .292/.303/.433   Beltre's avg. and slg. show a nice improvement, but he only drew one BB in May (but 4 triples).  But for an 18-yr. old in A ball to show that improvement and hold a pretty fair K rate of 16.9% is a very good sign.  For contrast, see the next hitter...
  
• Christian Santana  OF  April - .274/.349/.466; May - .125/.222/.275   Yikes.  Last month he was striking out a lot but hitting pretty well when he made contact; now he's just striking out.  A stunning 48.9% K rate in May, 42.2% overall.  Let's hope that his injury is not too serious, and that it gives him time to reflect on plate discipline.
  
• Jose Felix  C   April - .333/.383/.444; May - .273/.284/.288  After a hot start Felix has slumped, hitting just .158 in his last 10 games and with just 1 extra base hit in May.  Just 1 BB and 5 K's in the month.  A lot of singles and ground outs.  We may have another Manny Pina here.
  
• Jonathan Greene  3B  April - .214/.309/.329; May - .282/.427/.541  Last month I wrote that Greene had a fine walk rate and a low BABIP and would probably pick up soon.  (pats self on back)  He's walking even more, and his ISOP spiked with over half of his hits going for extra bases.  In a system bereft of true 3B prospects we should be praying for reports of his defense coming around.
  
• Tim Smith  OF  April - .342/.396/.494; May - .208/.300/.281   Smith's BABIP in April:  .391, in May:  .241.  He'll probably come around soon. 
  
• Mitchell Moreland  1B  April - .357/.386/.476; May - 300/.358/.520   16Ks vs. 10BBs thus far, and half his hits for extra bases in May.
• Renny Osuna  2B  April - .288/.376/.411; May - .426/.491/.606  Nice OPS from a 2B, and more BB's than K's this year, and 50 BB's vs. 63 K's as a pro.  A few months older than Gac (23 in April) he needs to move up the food chain sometime this year to see how he handles the tougher competition.
  

Pitchers

• Neftali Feliz   April - 2-1, 4.64; May - 2-0, 0.34.  A 3-1 K/BB ratio, 2 ground outs for every fly out, 0 HR's allowed, a .195 avg. against...(drools on keyboard)
  
• Blake Beavan  4-1, 2.90   A 15-1 K-BB ratio.  Pretty good for your first 6 starts as a pro.  The 1.45 GB/FB ratio and .226 BA against look nice also.  His ERA is a little lucky right now, but I predict a gradual rise in his K rate over the next couple months.
• Kennil Gomez  7-1, 2.21   Raise your hand if you saw this coming.  Mike Hindman spoke highly of him during spring training, but I don't recall anyone else noticing.  Twice as many GB outs as FBs.  Hitters are managing just a .196 avg., and he sports a 3.5-1 K/BB ratio.  I'd like to see the strikeouts get back up to 2007's rate, but this is perhaps the nicest surprise in the entire system.  He might be the first to go to Bakersfield from this amazing rotation.
• Derek Holland   5-0, 2.47   I doubt Holland is going to be an ace, but the lefty profiles well for Arlington.  A nice 1.76 GB/FB ratio, only 1 HR allowed.  After walking 11% of batters faced in April he cut that in half in May, and his overall rate now matches that of last year.  Another good bet to be in Bakersfiled before the summer is over.
• Fabio Castillo  0-1, 2.88   After beginning the year in the bullpen to limit innings, Castillo has two starts.  As a starter so far: 10 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 8 K, 3 BB, 1 HR; a measly .152 BAA, and a 1.5 GB/FB ratio.  Small sample, obviously, but there is not a single thing there not to like.  He'll have some ups and downs, but I suspect he's going to be less anonymous nationally in a couple of months.