Around the Minors: The week of April 25-May 1
May 1
May 1
Another May Day milestone
For the second time in less than a year, Single-A Myrtle Beach tossed a no-hitter. And for good measure, it came against the same opponent. Three Cubs prospects combined on the franchise's third no-no with an 8-0 win over the visiting Fireflies in the second no-hitter of the day.
Pelicans right-hander Walker Powell faced one over the minimum through five innings before lefty Adam Laskey and righty Jake Reindl closed out the historic night with two innings apiece.
Making the first start of his career following 12 relief appearances, Powell struck out seven, tossed 41 of his 60 pitches for strikes and allowed one baserunner on his own fielding error in the second. The 25-year-old struck out three of the first four batters of the game and closed out his outing by retiring the last 11 hitters he faced. He struck out six and has fanned 25 in 18 innings this season. Full story »
Two times as good
Michael Harris II has reached base safely in each of Double-A Mississippi’s 21 games to start the season, and he was more than comfortable rounding them in his latest outing.
The top Braves prospect slammed two home runs in six trips to the plate in the M-Braves extra-inning 11-7 win over Montgomery. It was the first multihomer game of Harris’ career and extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
"Lately, I’ve just told myself to play with confidence and ever since then I’ve been doing damage and just playing the way I know I can play," said Harris. "I just go out there with confidence every day and try to have fun and the streak still continues.” Full story »
Slugging in the desert
Kevin Padlo has hit six home runs this season. All six of them have been at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque. But Padlo does not play for the Isotopes.
The 25-year-old infielder has played for two different teams in the young season. He posted a two-homer game with Triple-A Tacoma on April 14, then was traded to San Francisco. In his latest outing, he swatted three dingers for Triple-A Sacramento in a 16-8 loss to Albuquerque.
The 25-year-old recorded the top two exit velocities and the top two distances of the game, with two of his three dingers traveling more than 430 feet and the ball twice flying off his bat at 109.3 mph. Full story »
Polishing off a gem
With just a single Minor League no-hitter the first month of the season, the time was ripe for another. Nick Swiney and two relievers delivered in the first game of a doubleheader.
The No. 17 San Francisco prospect struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings for High-A Eugene en route to a 3-0 win over Tri-City in the opener at Gesa Stadium. Cole Waites and Nick Avila finished off the Emeralds' sixth no-hitter, their first one since 2015.
In his third start of the season, Swiney walked Dust Devils' leadoff batter Kyren Paris, the third-ranked Angels prospect. The southpaw set down the next 12 batters before a fielding error by first baseman Luis Toribio, the No. 22 Giants prospect, snapped the streak. Swiney worked his way out of the inning and set aside the first batter in the sixth before exiting after tossing 76 pitches, 51 for strikes.
Waites fanned one of the two remaining hitters in the frame and gave way to Avila, who tallied his third save in as many opportunities with a perfect seventh. Full story »
YOU’RE SEEING THAT RIGHT, COMBINED NO NO BY SWINEY, WAITES, AND AVILA. #goems pic.twitter.com/D3W9OwXAGn
— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) May 1, 2022
Next stop: Bowie
The
After a stellar season debut in which he went 6-for-13 over four games with High-A Aberdeen, the game's No. 2 prospect will continue his road back from a right triceps strain with Double-A Bowie beginning Tuesday. Rutschman will make the climb along with fifth-ranked Orioles prospect (No. 88 overall), D.L. Hall. The left-handed pitcher is recovering from a stress reaction in his left elbow that ended his 2021 season in mid-June.
Rutschman finished his brief stint with the IronBirds with a .462/.533/.692 slash line and ended on his best note, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles on April 30. He walked twice without a strikeout and scored a pair of runs.
Rutschman.
— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) May 1, 2022
Hall.
Scheduled to join Bowie on Tuesday
Tickets: ⬇️
April 30
Machín's best friend
On Star Wars Night,
Vimael Machín visits @finnthebatdog and Lambo for good luck, then knocks an RBI double in his first at-bat for @AviatorsLV!
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 1, 2022
Finn and Lambo are magic. Facts. pic.twitter.com/umTtVKONp1
Adley doing Adley things
After four rehab games with High-A Aberdeen,
“I’m feeling great. Just excited to be back," Rutschman told MLB.com “It’s crucial to get back in the swing of things, be able to see pitches, get your timing, and just be able to have competitive ABs again in game situations.”
Cavalli quiets bats
After a tough start to the season, Cade Cavalli not only reached the win column on Saturday, but he flirted with history to get there. In his longest outing of the month, MLB's No. 37 overall prospect spun 5 1/3 hitless innings, working around three walks and a hit by pitch. Cavalli, who led the Minors with 175 strikeouts last year, relied on his other weapons, registering just one punchout in the win.
After the Nationals' top prospect excited,
Birds of a feather
Ever since
April 29
Flashing vintage form
It hasn’t been the best start at Double-A for Eury Pérez after moving swiftly through the Marlins system to this point. But that all changed on Friday as baseball’s No. 39 overall prospect overpowered the Biloxi lineup – posting five one-hit frames without allowing a walk and fanning a career-high 12 to lead Pensacola to a 4-0 victory. The No. 4 Marlins prospect whiffed the first five batters he faced, setting down rehabbing third baseman Luis Urías, Brewers No. 2 prospect Joey Wiemer and No. 3 prospect Garrett Mitchell. He also finished his outing by retiring the last eight batters he faced. The 19-year-old struck out 108 batters in 78 innings with a 1.96 ERA and a .158 average against between Single-A and High-A last season. Through four starts this season, Pérez has a 5.29 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP with 30 strikeouts to five walks. Full story »
Eury Pérez 😮
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 30, 2022
5 IP
1 H
0 R
0 BB
12 K (career high) pic.twitter.com/Hzz7viYqqj
Duran Duran x2
Through 11 games this season, Duran has a .381/.469/.548 slash line with seven stolen bases in eight attempts. The big game helped power Triple-A Worcester to an 8-6 victory over Buffalo. From the opposing dugout, MLB's No. 78 overall prospect
High Tiede
Ricky Tiedemann somehow did it again. After a solid outing to start the season, the Blue Jays lefty gradually outdid himself each time out since. Even after posting five hitless frames with eight strikeouts in his last start, the 19-year-old found another level on Friday. The sixth-ranked Blue Jays prospect was perfect over five frames for Single-A Dunedin, while whiffing a career-high nine. Of the 18 batters he faced, Tiedemann only went to a three-ball count once – in the fourth inning. He exited after tossing 41 of his 58 pitches for strikes. The Long Beach, California native is sporting a 0.90 ERA, a 0.75 WHIP and a .081 average against with 33 punchouts over 20 innings this season.
Hall-iday
Lehigh Valley swept the double dip, topping Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 11-3, then 7-3.
April 28
There's no holding the Mayo
After singling to right in the fourth, the 20-year-old got the green light at 3-0 and doubled his team’s lead with a no-doubt, two-run shot to left. Mayo entered the series batting just .232 with 10 RBIs and has boosted his average up to .286 in just three games while collecting 10 more RBIs in that span. The 2020 fourth-rounder is up to six homers through 17 games.
Gifting and ungifting
Sure, homering on your birthday is pretty cool. But how about hitting one and stealing one in the same game on your birthday?
That’s what
Thomas launched a towering solo homer over the wall in right-center field, his third of the season, in the top of the fifth inning off El Paso starter Ryan Weathers. Then, in the bottom half of the frame, he leaped against the center-field wall to rob Nomar Mazara of a go-ahead homer of his own. Full story »
U can't touch this
Four starts in and
The 21-year-old has yet to allow a run over his first 21 2/3 innings for the Wind Surge, tallying 18 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .101 average. He's worked five frames in each start and has surrendered two or fewer hits in all of them.
Obtained from the Blue Jays in last year's Jose Berrios trade, Woods Richardson struggled to a 5.91 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) Double-A New Hampshire and Wichita. Despite his high ERA, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder averaged 13 strikeouts per nine innings, fanning 77 in 53 1/3 frames.
Long time coming
Donning a slick throwback jersey for Triple-A Durham, the left fielder hit the trifecta in a 4-for-4, five-RBI performance en route to the Bulls' 8-2 win over Memphis at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Boldt showed off his skills by smacking each homer to a different field -- right, left and center.
“It’s something I’ve never done in my life, so it’s pretty cool,” he said. “After I hit that third one, I was standing in the outfield and kind of smiling at myself and thinking like, ‘That’s unbelievable.’ I’ve never had anything like that in my life, and I’ve played baseball for a long time.” Full story »
Doffing his TinCap
Working his way back into the rotation after being sidelined due to left adductor tightness,
Snell threw four scoreless innings on 44 pitches, yielding two hits without a walk while hitting a batter and striking out four at Parkview Field. Five days prior to the rehab start, the 29-year-old left-hander threw 38 pitches in a simulated game at Petco Park.
Following two Grapefruit League starts in which he gave up five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, Snell was a late scratch before his scheduled regular-season debut on April 10 against the D-backs at Chase Field. The injury was similar to the one that caused him to miss his final two scheduled starts of 2021, although Snell reportedly said this time it was “way more minor.”
Third time's the charm
On his 21st birthday,
The top Yankees prospect lofted a sacrifice fly to center field in his second at-bat against right-hander Victor Santos to get the Patriots on the board in the fifth, but the third time he came to the plate was the real gift. With lefty reliever Brendon Nail on the mound, Volpe plated three runs while racing for his first triple of the year on a line drive to center in the seventh. He added a single to left off lefty Oddanier Mosqueda in the eighth.
Over 16 games, Volpe's compiled a slash line of .200/.324/.383 with 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored with back-to-back multihit games in his first taste of the Eastern League.
Those numbers may seem light on the heels of a stellar 2021 campaign in which the No. 8 overall prospect batted .294/.423/.604 with 27 homers, 33 stolen bases, 86 RBIs, 35 doubles, 113 runs scored and a 170 wRC+. He was the only player in the Minors with at least 25 homers, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases. Full story »
🎂🐶
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 29, 2022
With his dog, Jedi, in the crowd, #Yankees SS @Volpe_Anthony has a big birthday game for the @SOMPatriots! pic.twitter.com/S9IzOUOhmJ
April 27
Taking flight with Aviators
The second-ranked A's prospect mashed a go-ahead, two-run shot to the deepest part of the park in center in the fifth -- for his sixth dinger of the season. It was the 24-year-old's second long ball in the past three games.
MLB Pipeline's No. 58 overall prospect is sporting a .290/.389/.629 slash line with nine extra-base hits, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored over 17 games this year.
Fourth time is a charm
Will Bednar’s first three outings this season were good. His fourth was great.
San Francisco’s No. 4 prospect struck out five over five hitless innings as Single-A San Jose rallied late for a 5-3 win over Modesto.
“I started out really hot that first inning,” said Bednar, who struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the side in order. “My fastball and slider were playing really well early on, and then kind of in that middle few innings, my slider lost a little bit. I was kind of yanking it or front-dooring guys, not really on purpose, and then that last inning, I really dialed it back in.” Full story »
The Short game
There were lots of numbers for
The Detroit farmhand racked up a career-high seven RBIs during a two-homer night. Short belted a fourth-inning grand slam to left field off right-hander Jackson Kowar, plated another run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and capped his scoring with a two-run homer to left off Colten Brewer in the eighth. The Mud Hens roughed up the righty for three long balls that frame.
Short's offensive output in the 14-0 rout of host Omaha more than doubled his total of six RBIs amassed over his 18 previous April games. It also was an RBI over his professional best, set when he had a multihomer game for Class A South Bend Tennessee on April 25, 2017.
Cabrera's colossal comeback
In his first start since being activated off the Minor League injured list, Marlins No. 2 prospect (and the No. 33 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline)
Cabrera was shut down from throwing and placed on the injured list in early April due to a right biceps injury. A biceps issue also sidelined him last season, with an inflamed nerve delaying his season debut until June 6.
The 24-year-old right-hander was impressive in his lone Grapefruit League start this spring, striking out three over three hitless innings against the Nationals on March 28. He had been eased into Spring Training because of a late arrival to camp due to a visa issue, as well as an abnormal offseason training regimen due to the lockout. Full story »
Back on the bump and spinning zeros.@Marlins No. 2 prospect Edward Cabrera compiled 7 K's over 4 frames for the @GoHammerheads: https://t.co/aEvbhMa3FZ pic.twitter.com/0ja9jXWuN8
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 28, 2022
Just call him Mr. 2,000
“We mark the time with numbers,” Pat Dillon said.
This week's digits add up to something special and unique. As High-A Everett hosted Spokane on Wednesday night at Funko Field, AquaSox radio voice Dillon was behind the mic for his 2,000th game. That's a milestone for any broadcaster, let alone someone who has called games for the same franchise since Opening Day 1998.
“It took 26 seasons and about two weeks to get here, and I’m just grateful,” said Dillon. "I’m grateful to be doing what I do for a living. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve worked with and for great people. There are so many memories, and it has been such a rewarding experience for me and my family.” Full story »
Congrats on your 2000th game @AquaSoxRadio pic.twitter.com/XcBF75BViF
— Everett AquaSox (@EverettAquaSox) April 28, 2022
100 percent chance of Gorman homers
There has been inclement weather overhead in a lot of Minor League cities this week. But nothing like stormin'
Baseball's No. 32 overall prospect went yard in his first two at-bats of the night for Triple-A Memphis. In the first inning against Durham's Easton McGee, he skied a 1-2 pitch into the right-field bleachers at Durham Bulls Athletic Park's Goodman Field.
The second result was much the same, this time on an 0-2 pitch from the right-hander in the second. But that two-run long ball did have the added distinction of tying him for the Minor League (and affiliated baseball) lead with fellow Cardinals prospect Moisés Gómez. Gorman added two more knocks on a four-hit night that extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Full story »
April 26
Missed it by that much
After laying claim to the first no-hitter of the year, Triple-A Indianapolis came within two outs of the second one. Instead, the Indians settled for a most unconventional one-hit shutout.
Despite yielding nine walks, four Indianapolis pitchers combined to hold Iowa hitless over 8 1/3 innings before capping off a 4-0 blanking of Iowa at Principal Park. The I-Cubs' lone hit of the game came on P.J. Higgins' seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield.
"Guys just go out there and compete," first-year Indians pitching coach Dan Meyer said. "It's a good group of guys, talented group of guys, who are always willing to get better and to learn and to execute the gameplan. And credit to our catchers too. The catchers do a great job behind the plate to call a great game and lead them in the right direction.
"Tonight was a little too many walks than you like to see, but it was a little cold out there, so that happens. But it was good to see us limit the damage and get some weak contact. They have a filthy lineup over there and I thought we did a great job of keeping them under control." Full story »
'It's great to be out there'
Spring Training ended for
Playing his first game of 2022, Rutschman went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a run scored, catching five innings in the IronBirds' 10-2 win over Jersey Shore at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
“I was glad to get a couple of hard-hit balls, just get in the box again and see some pitches,” Rutschman said. “It's great to be out there. … When you're just getting early ABs, it's one of those things where you don't really know what to expect.” Full story »
The Winn column
Cole Winn was dealing before a ball that careened off his left foot caused him to exit the game early in Triple-A Round Rock's 5-3 win over Salt Lake.
The Rangers' No. 3 prospect fanned seven in the first three innings of his outing before allowing two earned runs on three hits in the fourth. Winn registered 13 swings-and-misses on 36 strikes in 48 pitches.
The 22-year-old has gotten off to a great start this season, posting a 2.20 ERA with 15 strikeouts to five walks in four starts spanning 16 1/3 innings. Full story »
Count to 10
The first Minor Leaguer to hit double digits in home runs this year is ... Moisés Gómez.
The St. Louis outfield prospect has racked up 10 over the first 13 games of the season for Double-A Springfield. Gómez got hot right off the proverbial bat. After going yard on Opening Night vs. Northwest Arkansas, he added two more in his next contest against Arkansas. Since then, he hasn't gone more than a couple days without a long ball. The 23-year-old parked a 3-2 pitch into left field in the first inning in his latest game against San Antonio.
Gómez, whose career high is 19 in 122 games for Class A Bowling Green in 2018, has already surpassed last year's total of eight over 76 games with Double-A Montgomery. He signed a Minor League contract with the Cardinals in November.
Welcome back, Adley!
Life got very busy for High-A Aberdeen after it was announced that the No. 2 prospect in baseball was starting his rehab assignment with the IronBirds.
The top pick in the 2019 Draft was sidelined by a right triceps strain for the start of the season. Baltimore's batted .285/.397/.502 while continuing to develop as an elite defender behind the plate between Double-A Bowie and Norfolk in 2021.
It’s a damp, chilly night in Aberdeen, MD, but Orioles top prospect Adley Rutschman (@MLBPipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect in @MLB) is excited to get back on the field to start his rehab assignment. Rutschman played 20 games here in 2019. “Its kind of cool how it all circles.” pic.twitter.com/32qeRqsxC7
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) April 26, 2022
Rounding the corner into April's final week
With the first month of the season coming to a close, the third week of April was packed with news across the Minors. Last week, teams across the landscape commemorated Jackie Robinson's Minor League debut 76 years on, the High-A Vancouver Canadians returned to their home ballpark north of the border for the first time in two-and-a-half years and two Minor League clubs were announced as the participants in the first edition of Minor League Baseball at the Field of Dreams. On the prospect front, Nolan Gorman kept crushing dingers and