JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Friday (9/3/2010):

  • 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins went 2/3 and hit a key single in a 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Shortly after hitting his second single of the night, the 25-year-old rookie left the game due to tightness in his right hamstring, but the pinch-runner who replaced him eventually scored to tie the game, 3-3. Valencia is batting a blistering .343 since being called up from the minors in June.
  • C Ryan Lavarnway of the “AA” Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) hit a 2-run single, drew an intentional walk and scored the winning run in a 7-4 victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Cats had good reason to walk Lavarnway: in a season split between Portland and the “A-Advanced” Salem Red Sox, he’s batting a combined .289 with 22 HRs and 98 RBIs.
  • SP David Kopp of the “AA” Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) gave up one run over 6 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Tulsa Drillers. Kopp left the game with a 2-1 lead, but the Drillers scored 3 in the 8th to win it. The 24-year-old Clemson recruit allowed 7 hits and no walks while striking out five. He was 0-5 during a stretch in “AAA” this season but is 12-4 with Springfield, where he has a trim 3.05 ERA.
  • RF David Rubinstein of the “A” West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh Pirates) went 2/4 with a single, double and run scored in a 6-5 loss to the Hagerstown Suns. An 11th-round pick in the 2008 amateur draft, Rubinstein leads the Power in doubles (36/tie), ranks 2nd  in batting average (.288) and stolen bases (22), and is 4th in on-base percentage (.348) and slugging percentage (.410).
  • SP Daniel Rosenbaum of the “A+” Potomac Nationals (Washington Nationals) gave up just four hits and walked none in a 5-0 win over the Salem Red Sox. His “overpowering” performance, which included four strikeouts, moved the Nationals within one game of clinching a spot in the Carolina League playoffs. A 22nd-round pick in the 2009 amateur draft, Rosenbaum is 3-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 115 strikeouts for the Nationals. In a stint earlier this season with the “A” Hagerstown Suns, he was 2-5 with a 2.32 ERA.

And now, your Jewish Star of the Day:

  • 1B Nate Freiman of the “A” Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) went a combined 7/7 with 3 doubles and 3 RBIs as the TinCaps split a double-header with the South Bend Silver Hawks. A 6’7″ recruit from Duke University, Freiman is batting .298 with 14 HRs, 82 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .373 and a .461 slugging percentage. According to this article, his 41 doubles this season are a franchise record.

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