Back early at City Stadium in advance of today’s doubleheader between the Keys and Hillcats, which is scheduled to start at 4:35 p.m. The radar looks mostly clear for now, save for a flare-up due north of Lexington. NOAA’s forecast is for a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and a 30 percent chance this evening.

The big news here today is the promotion of Devin Mesoraco from Lynchburg to Carolina. The Reds made a shrewd choice after spring training, sending Mesoraco back to High-A after he spent the entire year in High-A last year in the Florida State League. This was smart for a couple of reasons. One, Mesoraco didn’t hit last season because of an assortment of injuries. Plus, he spent so much time working on defense last year that offense was of secondary concern. Starting him in Lynchburg gave him a chance to bat in a more hitter friendly league and gain some confidence. And by being in Lynchburg, Mesoraco benefited from working with manager Pat Kelly, the organizational’s catching coordinator.

It all worked out beautifully. Mesoraco tore up the Carolina League in his time here, batting .335 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 158 at bats. He only struck out 27 times and drew a team-best 19 walks. His OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) was an obscene 1.035. The second best OPS on the team? Cody Puckett at .897.

If you wanted to quibble, you could say that Mesoraco struggled a bit defensively (seven passed balls) and that he could still use some work against lefties. He’s batting .364 with eight homers against righties and .271 with two homers against southpaws. But in reality, Mesoraco had little else to learn here, so the move to Double-A was a natural one.

Anyway, let’s get to the lineups. Frederick’s is the same as what was posted yesterday before the rainout. Mesoraco’s move necessitated some changes for the Hillcats.

FREDERICK (28-19)

Xavier Avery lf (.297, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 13 SB)

Kyle Hudson cf (.238, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 13 SB)

Ronnie Welty rf (.264, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 3 SB)

Joe Mahoney 1b (.322, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 4 SB)

Miguel Abreu 2b (.208, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB)

Buck Britton 3b (.266, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB)

Greg Miclat ss (.298, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 3 SB)

Bobby Stevens dh (.212, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 2 SB)

Brian Ward c (.197, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB)

Ryan Berry RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 APP, 1 GS, 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K)

LYNCHBURG (19-28)

Josh Fellhauer lf (.297, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 3 SB)

Cody Puckett 2b (.281, 6 HR, 2 RBI, 5 SB)

Carlos Mendez 1b (.299, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB)

Alex Buchholz 3b (.288, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 5 SB)

Neftali Soto c (.272, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 0 SB)

Jose Gualdron dh (.313, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB)

Kyle Day rf (.233, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 SB)

Miguel Rojas ss (.224, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB)

Efrain Contreras cf (.200, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB)

Curtis Partch RHP (2-3, 3.53 ERA, 8 APP, 7 GS, 35 2/3 IP, 40 H, 14 ER, 13 BB, 25 K)

Some notes:

—The Reds promoted C Kevin Coddington from Low-A Dayton to Lynchburg, and I’m guessing we might see him in the second game of the doubleheader today. Coddington’s numbers in the Midwest League: .239, 3 HR, 10 RBI. Coddington hit homers in each of his first two games this season but has only hit one since. He was a 44th round pick in 2008.

—Quick note on Ryan Berry, the Frederick starter in today’s first game. He was a 2009 ninth-round draft choice out of Rice, where he was named the national freshman of the year in his first year. He won 11 games that year and led Conference USA in strikeouts (125), innings pitched (122 2/3) and starts (20).

—So we’re sitting up here just shooting the breeze pregame when we notice what Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg would call “a mountain masquerading as a man” shagging grounders at first base. It turns out that giant human being was Frederick’s closer, Jose Diaz, who is 6-foot-4 and weighs 321 pounds. This is not a typo. Adam Pohl, the radio voice of the Keys, told us that when Diaz was signed as a free agent (the Rangers released him last year), he came to Frederick while the Keys were on a road trip. One problem. They didn’t have any pants that would fit Diaz’s 48-inch waist. So someone on the Keys staff had to drive three hours round trip to get some larger pants from the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate in Bowie. Strangely enough, Diaz moved over to short during BP and starting taking grounders there. He looks pretty fleet afoot for a man his size. Apparently he throws a mid-90s fastball. Should be entertaining to watch if he comes in at some point. You don’t see a lot of baseball players who tip the Toledos at more than three bills.

—Jordan Hotchkiss will start the second half of the doubleheader. Brad Boxberger’s start has been pushed back to Sunday.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION
Friday’s scores

MLB—Cincinnati 15, Houston 6
Sam LeCure won in his big-league debut; Johnny Gomes went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs; and the Astros sent a position player to pitch the final inning. The Reds won for the 22nd time in 31 games.
Reds’ record: 29-20, 1st NL Central, 1 game ahead of Houston, best record in National League

AAA—Gwinnett (Braves) 4, Louisville (Reds) 0
Remember Todd Redmond? He went 7-12 with a 4.54 ERA for the Hillcats back in 2006. Well, he no-hit the Bats last night, walking two and striking out three. Redmond threw the no-no on his late grandfather’s birthday.
Bats’ record: 22-26, 4th International League West, 7 1/2 GB

AA—Carolina (Reds) 2, West Tenn (Mariners) 1
It was a former Hillcats party in Zebulon. Scott Carroll allowed seven hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings and Jeremy Horst picked up the win in relief.
Mudcats’ record: 23-25, 4th Southern League North, 5 GB

HiA—Frederick (Orioles) at Lynchburg (Reds), ppd., rain
Doubleheader today.
Hillcats’ record: 19-28, 4th Carolina League North, 9 GB

LoA—Dayton (Reds) 5, West Michigan (Tigers) 4
C Kevin Coddington has two hits in his final game with the Dragons before moving up to Lynchburg
Dragons’ record: 20-29, 7th Midwest League East, 12 GB

Moving on to the weekly look at the rest of the Carolina League:

CAROLINA LEAGUE POWER RANKINGS

Your weekly dose of power rankings:

1. WINSTON-SALEM DASH (32-16)
ORGANIZATION Chicago White Sox
WHO’S HOT? In his last two starts, Nevin Griffith has allowed one earned run and struck out 10 in 13 innings. And he’s somehow 0-1 during that time.
WHO’S NOT? Brandon Short, the Carolina League’s second-leading hitter, is batting just .227 in his last 10 games.
LAST WEEK #1
THE SKINNY The Dash have actually looked human of late, losing three straight. But Salem hasn’t been able to close the gap in the Southern Division.

2. FREDERICK KEYS (28-19)
ORGANIZATION Baltimore Orioles
WHO’S HOT? P Kenny Moreland has struck out 16 in his last 11 1/3 IP.
WHO’S NOT? Who else? Billy Rowell was batting .125 in his last eight games before being mysteriously placed on the inactive list.
LAST WEEK #3
THE SKINNY The Keys should feel confident in printing playoff tickets. They’re up 6 1/2 games on Wilmington with 23 to play.

3. SALEM RED SOX (29-19)
ORGANIZATION Boston Red Sox
WHO’S HOT? OF Mitch Dening is batting .483 in his last nine games.
WHO’S NOT? C Ryan Lavarnway is batting .167 in his last 10 games, but three of his six hits during that span have been homers.
LAST WEEK #2
THE SKINNY The Red Sox have won three straight to pull within three of the Dash in the Southern Division.

4. KINSTON INDIANS (26-22)
ORGANIZATION Cleveland Indians
WHO’S HOT? Kyle Bellows is batting .395 with two homers and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games.
WHO’S NOT? P T.J. House has struck out 14 in his last 12 innings, but he’s allowed nine runs in those two starts.
LAST WEEK #4
THE SKINNY Kinston suddenly has moved into contention in the Southern Division, winning eight of its last 10 to pull within six of Winston-Salem.

5. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (22-26)
ORGANIZATION Kansas City Royals
WHO’S HOT? How about former Hillcat Jamie Romak, who is hitting .361 with two homers and eight RBIs in his last 10 games?
WHO’S NOT? How about former Hillcat Eddie Prasch, who is batting 4-for-26 in his last seven games?
LAST WEEK #6
THE SKINNY Wilmington has won seven of its last 10 to at least stay in striking distance of Frederick.

6. POTOMAC NATIONALS (21-27)
ORGANIZATION Washington Nationals
WHO’S HOT? In his last 11 IP, Evan Bronson has struck out 10, walked none and allowed two earned runs.
WHO’S NOT? 1B Tyler Moore is hitting .194 in his last nine games.
LAST WEEK #5
THE SKINNY C Derek Norris, the Nationals’ No. 2 prospect, is back for Potomac.

7. LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (19-28)
ORGANIZATION Cincinnati Reds
WHO’S HOT? SS Miguel Rojas is showing signs of life at the plate, going 10-for-32 (.313) in his last 10 games.
WHO’S NOT? P Lance Janke fills this spot again. In his last 5 2/3 IP, he’s allowed 12 hits and 10 earned runs.
LAST WEEK #7
THE SKINNY The Hillcats lose their best hitter (Devin Mesoraco) and most consistent starter (Matt Fairel) to promotions on consecutive days. The closing stretch of the first half could get ugly.

8. MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (14-34)
ORGANIZATION Atlanta Braves
WHO’S HOT? P Julio Teheran has sizzled since his promotion from Low-A Rome—1-0, 13 IP, 1 ER, 14 K
WHO’S NOT? SS Ryan Barba is batting .095 in his last seven games.
LAST WEEK #8
THE SKINNY Cue the Benny Hill theme song.