View Full Version : Hernan Iribarren
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=307431#post307431 target=_blank>Minor-league honors</a>
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=393177#post393177 target=_blank>Minors: Hinton and Iribarren named to All-Star team</a>
<b><font size=4>Iribarren benefits from 'gift of good legs'</font></b>
Your dad would've liked Hernan Iribarren. His dad would've liked Hernan Iribarren. And his buddies would've toasted a drink for the West Virginia Power second baseman.
He's a throwback.
"Run fast," Iribarren says. "Once you see the ball, keep running fast. That's the key, man. Keep running fast."
He's explaining the triple, a not-so-common feat in what's becoming known as the steroid era in baseball.
So, what's better, a homer or a triple?
"I love triples," said Iribarren. "I'm a line drive hitter, so I like triples more than home runs."
His Power teammates are toasting to that. Iribarren's eighth-inning RBI triple scored the go-ahead run in the Power's 10-8 win over Lakewood on Monday night at Appalachian Power Park.
His game-turning hit not only tied Iribarren with teammate Alcides Escobar for the South Atlantic League lead in triples (6), it also gave the Power (24-41) its longest win streak -- four games -- of the season.
"The kids are playing great baseball," Power Manager Ramon Aviles said. "Even when we're behind, we feel like we can come back. We have a lot of confidence, and we're getting some big hits."
West Virginia trailed until Iribarren ripped one down the right field line to score Escobar. Utility man Will Lewis knocked in Iribarren from third to set the final at 10-8.
"They've got good speed," Aviles said of Iribarren and Escobar, who both are top-10 in the minor leagues in triples. "They know how to run the bases. They turn singles into doubles, and doubles into triples. Those are gifts from the good Lord. A gift of good legs."
Sure, there are some who wonder about Iribarren. They ponder whether he'll project as a singles hitter in the Majors, or if the 20-year-old will develop more power over time.
There's no question about his bat.
In two minor league seasons, Iribarren is batting .371 (183-for-493) with 20 triples, 22 doubles and seven homers. Scouts are impressed about how well he covers the plate.
Word of mouth suggests Iribarren even held his own against Milwaukee's big league ace Ben Sheets in spring training.
One thing is for sure, he's no longer the guy who struggled to a .240 April batting average when the Power looked destined to finish last in the SAL Northern Division. Now, two clubs have worse records and Iribarren is a SAL All-Star.
"Sometimes you have bad moments," said Iribarren, who is hitting .316 after posting a .351 average in May. "We need to keep our head up and keep working."
In a way, that's what Iribarren does when he hits the ball. Instead of admiring its distance, he focuses on that extra base.
So, on a night when both teams wore Sally League throwback jerseys, Iribarren stood out.
He's the one that's old school.
POWER PLUGS: South Atlantic League throwbacks were in style Monday, as both teams dressed in various past uniforms from around the league. Lakewood starter Maximo De La Cruz wore a Charleston Wheelers jersey ... Front row heckler Rod Blackstone got shown up in the game's first inning after calling Lakewood first baseman Doug Gredvig "Mr. Big Stuff." Gredvig hit a solo homer off the Kyle building behind the wall in left field, and pointed at Blackstone after he rounded the bases ... PowersStarter Brian Montalbo was yanked after just 11/3 innings. He had given up three earned runs and thrown 45 pitches before being pulled in what would become a tie for the shortest outing by a Power starting pitcher this season. Josh Baker went 11/3 in a May 3 start ... The Power will look for a sweep at 7:05 tonight when the teams wrap up a five-game series.
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=396268#post396268 target=_blank>Nelson Cruz & Hernan Iribarren To Play All-Stars Futures Game</a>
<b><font size=4>Future looking bright for Venezuelan second baseman</font></b>
Ramon Aviles has been to "The Show."
That's one reason the West Virginia Power manager is so certain second baseman Hernan Iribarren has a Major League future.
"He will play in the big leagues," said Aviles, a former big league middle-infielder with the Philadelphia Phillies. "There is no doubt."
Apparently, Aviles isn't the only one who thinks so.
The 20-year-old Venezuelan was selected to represent the World Team in the July 10 All-Star Futures Game in Detroit.
Iribarren, who is also a South Atlantic League All-Star, most likely will miss two Power home games because of the Futures honor. His absence translates into the Power being without 15 percent of its hits this year.
"I'm so excited," said Iribarren. "I just got the notice. All my teammates were happy for me."
Just last year, another Charleston minor leaguer -- catcher Robinzon Diaz -- doubled and scored a run for World Team.
"(Hernan) works hard, very hard," said Aviles. "He's very aggressive and he is a very good hitter."
Iribarren's bat appears to be his ticket, even though his glove and speed are above average.
In 67 games this season, the second baseman is batting .327 with seven triples, 10 doubles, 32 RBI and 23 stolen bases.
Iribarren has shown steady improvement since April when he batted .240. He has followed a .351 May average with four triples and a .371 mark in 18 games this month.
"In April, I didn't feel really good," Iribarren said. "Every day I've been working hard. June has been a good month for me."
Those numbers follow his .422 batting average between Class A Beloit and the Arizona Rookie League in 2004.
Scouts that have visited Appalachian Power Park rave about his ability to cover the plate, but they wonder if Iribarren ever will hit for power.
In 128 professional games, Iribarren has hit only seven homers.
Just last week, Milwaukee's assistant director of player development, Scott Martens, said the organization is content with leaving Iribarren partnered with 18-year-old shortstop Alcides Escobar.
Which means despite his gaudy hitting statistics, Iribarren might not leave the Power this year because Escobar still is considered a youngster who needs time to develop at the low Class A level.
Lexington pitcher Troy Patton and Augusta infielder Marcus Sanders were the South Atlantic League selections for the U.S.
Former Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Willie Hernandez will manage the World Team, while longtime Kansas City Royals' third baseman George Brett will guide the United States.
The first Futures Game in 1999 proved to be a fair representation of baseball's future. Of the 20 starters (including designated hitters), only one player didn't reach the Majors. Those who did include Chicago's Aramis Ramirez, Houston's Lance Berkman and Texas' Alfonso Soriano.
Game time is set for 4 p.m., July 10 at Detroit's Comerica Park.
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=400371#post400371 target=_blank>Promising Brewers farmhands happy to be part of show</a>
<b><font size=4>Iribarren opening eyes for Power</font></b>
Take a look around the Milwaukee infield and what do you see?
J.J. Hardy at shortstop. He figures to be there for a while. Rickie Weeks at second base. Yeah, that spot seems to be locked up for the foreseeable future as well. Throw in Prince Fielder at first base and the recently drafted Ryan Braun at third base sometime in the next year or so, and, well, you get the picture.
The neighborhood is crowded, but Brewers general manager Doug Melvin says there is always room for one more, especially when that someone is Hernan Iribarren. The young second baseman, who is slated to play in the XM Satellite Radio Futures Game on July 10 in Detroit, is currently tearing up the South Atlantic League, blistering opposing pitching the way he did in 2004 while playing in the Arizona and Midwest Leagues.
Iribarren was hitting .323 through 71 games for the West Virginia Power, driving in 34 runs and stealing 25 bases. He's been handling Sally League pitching all right, but that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise considering he hit a combined .422 last year in Arizona and Beloit. His .439 average was the second highest in Arizona League history.
Yet, while Melvin says that Iribarren may get bumped up to the Florida State League before too long, switching positions out of an already crowded infield picture isn't likely to happen. Not for a while anyway.
"I think he's best staying where he's at," Melvin said. "Those things seem to work themselves out later on, and a lot can happen over the next two or three years. But he's a pretty exciting offensive player. At the end of Spring Training last year, he started to come on and open some people's eyes. Not a lot of people had talked about him that much.
"But he has a nice stroke, and he uses the whole field. He has more power than you think; he'll hit a lot of triples and doubles. Last year he started to hit in extended spring, and he followed that up in the Sally League this year after a slow start. Since May 1 he's hitting between .350 and .360."
Signed as a free agent out of Venezuela in 2002, Iribarren (who turned 21 on Wednesday) quickly showed that the Brewers may have come up with a big-time prospect. He played 46 games in Arizona last year and averaged nearly two hits per game before earning a promotion to the Class A Midwest League. A 15-game stint in Beloit produced nearly the same results (25 hits), leaving little in the way of discussion when it came time to decide on where to place Iribarren this season.
"Every team signs young Latin players, but he wasn't a high-profile signing," Melvin said. "He just came on the scene and started opening eyes last year. It happens with a lot of young Latin players. Not many will open eyes that first year because they are just getting acclimated. They try to adapt and gain knowledge, but when they do come around, they come real fast.
"You've heard stories of Pudge Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez. Juan might have been on the radar, but Pudge wasn't. And this kid can hit pretty good pitching. He could come fairly quickly, too. With us having Rickie, it's not necessary to have him come quickly, though. It just gives us more depth in the organization which we haven't had."
Melvin likened Iribarren to Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, saying the two were similar in the way they both slash the ball at the plate. And, he'll surprise you, like Reyes, with his power.
"He doesn't run like Jose, but he has more discipline at the plate than Jose did at an early age," Melvin said. "I saw him drive a ball in Spring Training over the center field fence. He's a little like Reyes that way."
Moving Iribarren up to the Florida State League is a consideration, but Melvin feels that since Iribarren will hit wherever he is, he should probably stay in West Virginia for a while. Iribarren's close friend, Alcides Escobar, plays shortstop for the Power while the club is managed by Ramon Aviles, a native of Puerto Rico, which Melvin says is of benefit to the youngster.
"He's in a good situation in the Sally League," Melvin said.
<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=427260#post427260 target=_blank>Brewers Add 5 Players to the 40 Man Roster</a>
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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=452441#post452441 target=_blank>Moving out</a>
Brewers sign RHP Capellan, 4 others (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=509119#post509119)
Player: Hernan Iribarren
Date: 03/19/2007
Action: Optioned
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Huntsville Stars
Player: Hernan Iribarren
Date: 03/14/2008
Action: Optioned
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Nashville Sounds
Player: Hernan Iribarren
Date: 04/09/2008
Action: Recalled
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Player: Hernan Iribarren
Date: 04/17/2008
Action: Optioned
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Nashville Sounds
Player: Hernan Iribarren
Date: 06/09/2008
Action: Recalled
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Player: Hernan Iribarren
Date: 06/21/2008
Action: Optioned
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Nashville Sounds
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