Around the Minors: The week of April 11-17
April 17
April 17
It was an egg-citing day
Baseball aficionados never need an excuse to enjoy a ballgame, but spending time with family and friends out at the park increased the fun for fans, the players and the franchises across the Minor League landscape. This year's celebrations included an array of Easter egg hunts and visits from the Easter Bunny. And Tampa Bay's Triple-A affiliate in Durham just may have won the day with time-release video of fans speedily motoring around the Durham Bulls Athletic Park outfield.
We present to you the fastest Easter Egg Hunt in DBAP history (perhaps the world even)
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) April 17, 2022
Thanks to everyone for coming out & joining us! pic.twitter.com/a4w4hLaT5J
It may be a grand opening
After compiling a slash line of .294/.423/.604 between Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley last season, Volpe is batting .156 with seven runs and six RBIs so far this year. The 2021 Yankees Organization All-Star jumped from MLB Pipeline's No. 15 prospect overall to No. 8 to start this season.
Brother, can you spare a couple homers?
Looking more and more like his big (half) brother, Yoelqui Céspedes delivered the first multihomer game of his professional career, mashing his first two long balls of the season in Double-A Birmingham's 7-6 loss to Charlotte.
The No. 4 White Sox prospect drove in a personal-best four runs with a three-run jack and a solo shot. Céspedes opened the scoring with a long home run off the scoreboard in left field, and with the Barons trailing, 7-3, in the eighth, brought them to within a run with his three-run shot to left-center. The dingers pushed the 24-year-old's OPS to .814 over his first nine games. Céspedes has three doubles, six RBIs and six runs in 37 at-bats to begin the season.
The Cuba-born slugger put together an impressive professional debut last year, batting .285/.350/.463 with 30 extra-base hits, eight roundtrippers, 27 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 72 games with High-A Winston-Salem and Birmingham. He was also one of the White Sox representatives at the All-Star Futures Game selection.
He can name that milestone in seven pitches
Hitting for the cycle is an accomplishment for any hitter, but doing it in as few pitches as Matt McLain did adds to the impressiveness of the feat.
McLain, the No. 86 prospect in baseball, needed to see just seven pitches to hit for the first cycle of his career in Double-A Chattanooga’s 7-6 win over Birmingham. The 22-year-old was a perfect 4-for-4, driving in three runs and scoring three runs in his second career four-hit game.
“I was just trying to get my pitch in my spot and hit it hard and I got to do that a couple times today,” said McLain following the game. “It was just fun. Playing baseball is fun.” Full story »
Six games, six homers
You know the drill, by now. The name
Baseball’s No. 32 overall prospect continued his power surge at the dish by going yard in his fourth straight game -- the sixth time in six games -- and ran his hitting streak to seven as Triple-A Memphis fell in its series finale at Charlotte, 9-3.
After being hit by a pitch in the second inning and popping out to second base in the third, Gorman came through in the sixth. The Redbirds' designated hitter connected on an offering from Knights starter John Parke and went the other way, depositing it atop the pavilion roof in left for a solo shot. Full story »
Snow place like home
Kids may await word of school cancellation when it's snowing outside, but Jordan Westburg was unfazed by the flakes during Bowie's game in Binghamton. The sixth-ranked Orioles prospect teed off on his fourth homer of the year, taking righty Willy Taveras deep to right-center field.
Through eight games, Westburg is batting .273 with 10 runs and nine RBIs.
And although the precipitation has stopped by then, top Mets prospect Francisco Álvarez delivered a spectacle for his fourth homer as well en route to the Rumble Ponies' 9-6 victory. In the bottom of the fifth, the top Mets prospect launched a towering shot off lefty Antonio Velez.
In the potent Binghamton lineup, Álvarez has compiled a slash line of .375/.419/1.000 with 10 RBIs and six runs scored.
April 16
Striking out the side on eight pitches?
The new normal is here! With updated pitch clock rules in the Minors this year, Triple-A Worcester starter Darwinzon Hernandez struck out three batters on eight pitches. The rule states that with no batters on base, a pitcher much deliver the ball within 14 seconds or else an automatic ball is called. Batters must be in the box, ready to swing with nine seconds left on the timer or else an automatic strike is called.
After Hernandez struck out Lehigh Valley's Will Coffey on three pitches, the Red Sox hurler threw a called strike to Drew Maggi. The IronPigs' No. 7 hitter was then not ready for the pitch with nine seconds on the clock, according to home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso, so the count became 0-2. Maggi then took a called strike three to complete the at-bat. Austin Wynns stepped up and took the frame's only ball before a called strike and a swinging strike. With a 1-2 count, Wynns was called for an automatic strike, which sealed the punchout for Hernandez. Worcester went on to win 13-1.
The exact same situation happened on Friday when Double-A Hartford pitcher Nick Kennedy struck out the side on eight pitches, including a ball, plus two automatic strikes.
Minor Leaguers had a two-week grace period to adjust to the new pitch clock, but that ended after play on Thursday. The decreased pitch clock was tested in the California League and the Arizona Fall League last year, before getting added to all four full-season levels for 2022. When there is at least one runner on base, the clock increases to 19 seconds at Triple-A and 18 seconds for Double-A, High-A and Single-A. Relatedly, pitchers are only allowed two pickoff attempts or step-offs each plate appearance. The penalty is effectively the same as a balk.
Only rain could stop history
Jared Shuster seemed to be in complete control for Double-A Mississippi. The Braves' No. 10 prospect reached his previous career high of seven punchouts in the fourth, then nearly doubled it with 12 strikeouts in five frames. Shuster tied a Southern League record with eight straight punchouts and was on his way to breaking it, when rain came down in the sixth. With Mississippi topping Biloxi, 4-0, the came was called early, so the sourthpaw did not get a chance to break the record. Shuster had worked around two hits and walk before the streak began.
After being selected in the first round of the 2020 Draft out of Wake Forest, Shuster fanned 73 batters in 58 1/3 innings for High-A Rome before getting promoted to Mississippi to finish the 2021 campaign. In his 2022 season debut, the 23-year-old allowed a run on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts in five innings.
In the Southern League record books, Shuster joins Chattanooga's Jim Jefferson (1988), Carolina's Dan Miceli (1996), Tennessee's Anthony Reyes (2004) and Chattanooga's Nik Turley (2017).
Biloxi and Single-A Fort Myers entered Saturday as the only undefeated teams left in the Minors. The both lost in rain-shortened games.
April 15
For Jackie
All 120 Minor League teams honored Jackie Robinson on the 75th anniversary of the baseball legend breaking the MLB color barrier. Among the celebrations, Triple-A Iowa players wore the No. 42 while No. 8 overall prospect
Our Buck O’Neil Award winner @BrennenDavis__ celebrating #JackieRobinsonDay 📸:@dylan_heuer pic.twitter.com/c24ONuq3xJ
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) April 15, 2022
Anthony Volpe rocking Jackie Robinson cleats tonight. #JackieRobinsonDay | #RepBX pic.twitter.com/mXVYHdVTBL
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 15, 2022
Triple-A Charlotte hosted its seventh annual Negro Leagues Night, which they always hold on Robinson's anniversary. The Knights honored Eddie G.G. Burton, a former member of the Harrisburg Giants and a special member of the Charlotte baseball community, who passed away in 2018. His son, Tony Burton, threw out the first pitch on Friday.
Such a special night! #JackieRobinsonDay
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) April 15, 2022
📸: @laurawolffphoto pic.twitter.com/aJh3q3TiVL
III for Jr.
Stepping into the box against a rehabbing Major Leaguer can be tough, but Single-A Modesto cleanup hitter Robert Perez Jr. didn't show any nerves against James Kaprielian. The Mariners prospect took an 0-1 offering from the A's hurler to left center in the second, then added a first-pitch jack to left in the fourth; both solo shots. Perez Jr. stayed hot against Stockton reliever Kyle Virbitsky, slugging a two-run blast to left center in the eighth.
The big day at the plate marked Perez Jr.'s first three-homer game and third career multihomer contest. The milestone was Modesto's first three-homer game since top Mariners prospect
Not 1
— Modesto Nuts (@ModestoNuts) April 16, 2022
Not 2
But three home runs by Robert Perez Jr. tonight!
The first three-homer game since Noelvi Marte did it last year, also in Stockton.
Nuts down 14-8 | Bot 8https://t.co/pAahtNktnw
7th Heaven
Only two teams remain undefeated this season: Double-A Biloxi and Single-A Fort Myers. Both clubs advanced to 7-0 on Friday night. The Shuckers went up 6-0 early, posting a five-spot against Mississippi in the third. Biloxi leads the Southern League with 46 runs scored, topping the M-Braves, 7-3 in the latest victory.
The Mighty Mussels scored early and often, blanking Jupiter, 12-0. Emmanuel Rodriguez slugged two homers while Kyle Schmidt plated four runs in the victory. On the other side of the ball, John Stankiewicz was dominant, striking out a career-high 11 while working around three hits and no walks for his second straight win. Fort Myers also leads its respective circuit in runs with 48 to best the Florida State League.
Fireworks look even better when you're 7-0#MusselUp pic.twitter.com/LooWrGw949
— Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (@MightyMussels) April 16, 2022
No sophomore slump for McGreevy
Michael McGreevy had a tough start to his career last summer, but the 2021 first-rounder has cruised to start his full-season debut. The Cardinals' No. 8 prospect was stingy for High-A Peoria, never allowing a runner to reach second. McGreevy shook off an early single and a couple errors by his teammates to retire 15 straight before allowing a single to his final batter of the night. The 6-foot-4 right-hander yielded two hits and no walks with four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings as the Cardinals went on to win Game 1 of a doubleheader with Great Lakes, 2-1, in 10 innings.
After being selected 18th overall in last summer's Draft, McGreevy allowed eight runs in 7 2/3 innings across Rookie ball and Single-A. The UC Santa Barbara product has started off his sophomore campaign strong, filling up the zone with a sinking fastball while mixing in a slider and curve. In two starts this year, McGreevy has held Midwest League foes to two hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over 11 2/3 scoreless innings.
April 14
Perfect imperfection
In the fourth inning of the High-A Lansing-West Michigan doubleheader, Grant Holman was immaculate.
The A's righty threw nine pitches, all of them strikes. He victimized Mike Rothenberg, Ben Malgeri and Trei Cruz so methodically that the Whitecaps' broadcasting team didn't seem to realize it was happening.
The rest of the nightcap didn't go so well for Holman. He suffered the loss after giving up five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits in five innings in the Lugnuts' 6-0 loss. But for one frame, he was perfect.
'It was definitely a blast'
After fanning eight in his season debut on April 8 against Birmingham, Kerry whiffed a pro-best dozen vs. Pensacola. The only blemish on his night was a home run given up to Cobie Fletcher-Vance in the fifth. All told, the South Carolina alum fanned 12 of the 17 batters he faced, firing 49 of his 72 pitches for strikes and generating 13 swings-and-misses. Eight of his strikeouts came on swings and four were caught looking.
The 2021 fifth-round Draft pick made five starts last year, allowing just two earned runs over 14 1/3 innings across Single- and Double-A. In two starts to begin 2022, Kerry has allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out 20 over 10 innings. Full story »
Stormin' Gorman
He took a couple of games to get going, but
The No. 32 prospect in baseball followed a five-hit performance by launching a solo home run in Triple-A Memphis' 3-2 loss to Charlotte, giving him four long balls in his past four games. Gorman ended the day 1-for-4 with two strikeouts but pushed his hitting streak to five games.
After striking out looking in his first at-bat, Gorman blasted an 84-mph changeup off the upper-deck façade in right field at Truist Field for the Redbirds’ first run of the game. It was the first homer the Cardinals’ No. 2 prospect has pulled to right this season. Full story »
'That guy just won the day'
A spectator at the Pensacola-Rocket City game became an instant legend after a foul ball hit by the Blue Wahoos' Jerar Encarnacion landed in his beer cup in the top of the second inning. The undeterred fan promptly chugged the beverage down to the approval of the crowd at the Trash Pandas' Rocket Stadium.
The best of times, the worst of times
It's either "just in the nick of time" or "so close but yet so far," depending on your point of view. Cincinnati's Single-A affiliate Daytona took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning against host Palm Beach. Tortugas starter Sam Benschoter struck out seven over the first four perfect innings. Righty Jose Franco issued a couple of walks and made a couple wild pitches, but he fanned eight to get the Tortugas through eight frames.
Things started to unravel in the bottom of the ninth. Luis Mey plunked the first two batters, balking the first runner to second base before hitting the second. The righty struck out the third, but then came the big blow -- St. Louis prospect Oswaldo Tovalin ended the no-hitter and the game with his first homer of the year -- a walk-off shot to center for a 3-1 win.
THE SWING HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD@osvaldotovalin with a walk-off three-run 💣 to smash a combined no-hit bid in the bottom of the ninth!
— Palm Beach Cardinals (@GoPBCardinals) April 15, 2022
Take in all 424 feet 😆 ❗️ pic.twitter.com/StIBhMWWMU
Inside information
Everyone loves an inside-the-park homer ... well, except maybe the opposition.
Through five games, Marte is hitting .316/.458/.532 with five RBIs and five runs scored. Last season between Single-A Modesto and Everett, he compiled a slash line of .273/.366/.459 with 17 homers, 91 runs and 71 RBIs en route to being named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star.
April 13
Busch has a grand old time
With no homers through the first four games of the season, Michael Busch finally figured it was time. And then he decided to add another for good measure.
Baseball's No. 66 overall prospect left the yard in consecutive at-bats, the latter a go-ahead grand slam that proved to be the difference in Double-A Tulsa's 13-11 win over Amarillo. Busch equaled his career high with six RBIs, which also came during his only other multihomer game last September.
After watching the Drillers cough up an early five-run lead, Busch evened the score with a two-run homer to left in the fourth inning. Again trailing by a run, Tulsa turned to their 24-year-old slugger who ripped a first-pitch slider over the right-field fence for his first career grand slam an inning later. Full story »
Yes-yes to the no-no
It may have been 38 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of first pitch, but Chase De Jong and the Triple-A Indianapolis bullpen could not be cooled down against host St. Paul. And the result was the first no-hitter of the Minor League season.
The 28-year-old and fellow right-handers Austin Brice and
But it was Indy's night. De Jong navigated one of the most potent lineups in the Minors for seven innings, striking out nine while walking two. Brice and De Los Santos combined to strike out three more over the final two perfect frames. Full story »
Trio has opposition seeing Redbirds
The third, fourth and fifth spots in a starting lineup are typically reserved for a team’s main run producers. Cardinals prospects
Batting third, Gorman tallied five hits in six tries, swatting his third home run of the season. Yepez crushed two three-run homers as the cleanup hitter -- including a game-tying shot with two outs in the ninth inning -- to finish 3-for-5 with six RBIs and a walk. Burleson matched him from the five-hole, swatting two three-run homers and adding a walk in six plate appearances.
Together, the trio combined for 10 hits, five home runs, 14 RBIs and 10 runs scored in the Redbirds’ come-from-behind victory. Full story »
Kirby your enthusiasm
George Kirby exceeded all expectations in 2021, skyrocketing past several highly touted pitchers on the organizational depth chart and reaching Double-A in his first full professional season. If he keeps pitching like this, the ascendant righty might not need many more reps at the level.
Seattle's third-ranked prospect was sensational in his second start of the season, scattering two hits over five innings to pace Arkansas’ 8-0 win over Springfield. The right-hander struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter, retiring his final 12 hitters in order at Dickey-Stephens Park. Full story »
New Yorke looks a lot like old Yorke
Baseball’s No. 54 overall prospect set a personal best with five hits -- all singles -- and reached base six times, tallying four RBIs as High-A Greenville piled up 20 knocks in a 17-3 rout of Asheville.
“I think hitting’s contagious,” Yorke said after his team’s big win. “I really do, and when you’ve got someone like Tyler McDonough and Ceddanne Rafaela hitting in front of you and they’re going in and being super aggressive, taking really good pitches and putting really good ‘A’ swings on a lot of pitches, it kind of feeds over into my at-bat and then hopefully into the guys behind me.” Full story »
Milo's Making a Difference
This year, the Triple-A Red Wings' bat dog, Milo, will be helping raise money for two Rochester area charities. The Nationals affiliate has set a season goal of $10,000 for the Bivona Child Advocacy Center and the Society for the Protection and Care of the Children. The club then plans to make a matching $5,000 donation for each charity.
As part of the initiative, the area's Flower City Group will donate $50 for each bat retrieved by Milo during a home game. In the Red Wings' home opener against Buffalo on April 12, Milo retrieved 26 bats over eight innings to get the campaign off to a solid $1,300 start.
Fans will be able to get in on the action at Rochester's May 21 and Sept. 17 games. They can meet and get a photo with Milo after his game duties are done for a $10 donation on those days. A portion of the proceeds from all Milo merchandise sold this season will be donated as well.
Milo's got some history when it comes to supporting local charities -- $2,336 was donated to T.A.P.S. (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) last season and he helped raise $3,500 for the Wounded Veterans Foundation in 2019.
Milo's stat line from last night:
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) April 13, 2022
8 innings
26 bats retrieved
$1,300 raised (thanks to @FlowerCityGroup)
More info on Milo's Making A Difference campaign here: https://t.co/zytV8lbuU8 pic.twitter.com/6yFHkP6AKM
April 12
Coming as advertised
There are a lot of eyes on Double-A Binghamton with the top three Mets prospects (Francisco Álvarez,
In a 9-4 victory over the Baysox, Álvarez homered in his third straight contest, going 2-for-4 with a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored out of the No. 2 spot. Baty collected two hits and crossed the plate twice, while Mauricio cranked his first long ball of the season and plated three runs.
Álvarez is batting .538/.571/1.385 with seven RBIs. Baty, who contributed his third multihit effort in four games, is off to a .421/.421/.737 start to the season with four extra-base hits. Mauricio sports a .316 average with an .895 OPS.
He's got the power
It's early in the season, but Logan Cerny is already in the swing of things. The Astros' No. 26 prospect has only played four games, but he's homered in the last three for the Single-A Woodpeckers.
Fayetteville's leadoff man belted his first long ball of the year to left field to lead off the April 9 tilt against Kannapolis en route to a three-hit, four-RBI game. The next day, Cerny parked the first pitch he saw against the Cannon Ballers over the left-field fence. And he didn't stop slugging when the Woodpeckers opened a series with Salem. In the third inning, he lofted a two-run homer to left-center.
The Troy product hit .200 without a long ball in 13 games between the Florida Complex League and Single-A Clearwater last year. Through four contests for Fayetteville, Cerny's batted .294/.455/.824.
It seemed perfect at the time
In his second start of the season, Max Meyer could do no wrong on the mound for Triple-A Jacksonville. It was 15 up and 15 down with eight strikeouts against Durham for the No. 34 prospect in the game. And then came the cramp in his calf, Meyer reportedly told MLB.com's Christina De Nicola.
But that didn't take away from his outing at all. The third-ranked Marlins prospect threw 53 pitchers, 37 of them for strikes as he rebounded from his Opening Day start against Worcester. On April 5, Meyer didn't pitch too badly, giving up two runs on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman while whiffing five over four innings. But the perfect outing brought his ERA down to 2.00.
The Jumbo Shrimp's no-hit bid continued until the seventh, when the Bulls' Isaac Paredes singled to lead off the frame. Jacksonville went on to win, 7-0.
Throwback Tuesday
Back in 2013,
Although he played in the White Sox, Reds and Dodgers systems after that, the 31-year-old first baseman returned to the D-backs system this season. And when the Sacramento-Reno game turned into a veritable Home Run Derby, Davidson showed he still has the muscle with dingers in back-to-back at-bats at Greater Nevada Field.
He greeted reliever Corey Oswalt with his fourth homer of the season to center field. In the sixth, he got to the right-hander again with another solo shot, this time to left, en route to the Aces' 11-4 victory.
As safe as Casas
The second homer of the season by Triple-A Worcester's
The second-ranked Red Sox prospect has gotten off to a bit of a slow start at the plate this year, batting .182 through the first six games of the season. But that number doesn't tell the whole story as he's drawn six walks, scored five runs and driven in five more for the WooSox.
April 11
Kaden can do
With no other games on the Minor League slate, Kaden Polcovich had his time in the spotlight. The No. 24 Mariners prospect made the most of it, lining a tiebreaking triple to right in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Double-A Arkansas a 4-3 win over visiting Springfield.
Polcovich's first triple of the season produced his second RBI of the game and fifth in his first three contests of 2022. All three of the 23-year-old's hits in the early going have been for extrabases. Seattle's third-round pick in the 2020 Draft was off to a solid start with High-A Everett last season, but he struggled after his promotion to Arkansas last July. Overall, Polcovich batted .219 with a .749 OPS, 32 extra-base hits, 12 homers and 61 RBIs in 94 games.
A week of firsts
New rules, a three-homer game and a managerial debut for the ages all were part of a jam-packed opening week for Minor League Baseball. Led by the historical managerial debut of Single-A Tampa's Rachel Balkovec, the first days of the 2022 season will be talked about for years to come. But there were plenty of other firsts to go around, including the anticipated debut of Top 100 prospect