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By BOB PUTNAM
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 10, 2001
The Dunedin Blue Jays, the Florida State League leaders in team batting average (.267), have talented hitters who can make opposing pitchers count ceiling tiles the night before a game.
Rich Thompson, Shawn Fagan and Jimmy Alvarez are ranked in the top five in the league in hits and Thompson and Fagan are the top two in runs scored.
Now add Joe Bernhardt to the hit parade.
The outfielder was named FSL's player of the week for July 30-Aug. 5. Bernhardt hit .500 (10-for-20) with 6 runs scored, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI and a .600 slugging percentage.
CLEARWATER: Outfielder Jorge Padilla had a big night Monday, driving in six runs in a 12-5 win against Charlotte. Padilla, a third-round draft pick of Philadelphia in 1998, hit a three-run homer in the top of the first inning, doubled home a run and scored in the fifth and had a two-run double in the ninth to cap the scoring for Clearwater. The 21-year-old has 12 homers and 48 RBI on the season ... Travis Chapman is third in the league in batting average (.321) and fourth in on-base percentage (.410).
TAMPA: The Yankees, the leaders in the Western Division with a 29-16 record, received a boost to their pitching staff this week with Orlando Hernandez on a rehab assignment.
With George Steinbrenner in attendance, Hernandez pitched Monday night in his first minor-league rehab start.
He allowed one run and three hits in three innings. Pitching against the Fort Myers Miracle, Hernandez struck out the side in the second inning and finished with four strikeouts. He threw 27 of 48 pitches for strikes and allowed all three hits in the third inning. The run scored on a wild pitch.
Hernandez had surgery on the second toe of his left foot in June. He is expected to return to New York later this season.
While Hernandez was limited in his pitch count, the rest of the rotation has been able to go the distance.
Tampa is second in complete games with five. Sam Marsonek, a former Jesuit standout who was a first-round pick by the Rangers in 1996, is tied with Dunedin's Martire Franco and Clearwater's Cameron Reimers for the league lead in complete games with three.
TOOL TIME: Baseball America released its best tools list for the minor-league prospects this week. In the FSL, Mitch Jones of Tampa was named the best power prospect, Anderson Machado of Clearwater was named the best defensive second baseman and Marty Pevey of Dunedin was named the best manager prospect. The list is selected by league managers.