Louisville Bats Notes: April 28
ONE WIN FROM .500: The Louisville Bats and Toledo Mud Hens meet Saturday night for the second game of a three-game series at Fifth Third Field. Coming off a 9-6 victory Friday night, the Bats look to win their fourth straight game and climb back to the .500 mark. With
ONE WIN FROM .500: The Louisville Bats and Toledo Mud Hens meet Saturday night for the second game of a three-game series at Fifth Third Field. Coming off a 9-6 victory Friday night, the Bats look to win their fourth straight game and climb back to the .500 mark. With a win tonight, LOU would be .500 this late into a season for the first time since 2016, when they were 53-53 following a July 29 loss at Durham. Last season, the latest into the year that Louisville owned a .500 record or better was after 10 games when they were 5-5.
SEASON HIGH RUN TOTAL: The Bats scored 9 runs last night, their highest run output this season and most since August 20, 2017 vs. Rochester in a 13-6 win. They also matched their season-high in the hit column (15), previously recording 15 hits in their 8-2 win over Columbus on April 11 at Louisville Slugger Field.
SENZEL HAS BEST GAME OF SEASON: Top prospect Nick Senzel had the best game of his young Triple-A career Friday night, and one of the best offensive performances by a Bats player this season. The infielder went 3-for-4 with a home run, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, registering season highs with his hit, RBI and run totals. Senzel has hit safely in 9 of his last 11 games, batting .318 (14-for-44) in that span.
MULTI-HIT MADNESS: The Bats had five hitters register at least 2 hits in last night's 9-6 win, their second most of the season. On April 11, the Bats had 6 hitters register at least 2 hits. In addition to Senzel's 3-hit performance, Mason Williams, Tyler Goeddel, D.J. Peterson and Brandon Dixon all notched 2-hit games as the Bats scored 3 runs in the first and 6 runs in the sixth inning to back Jackson Stephens ' winning effort in the series opener.
IN THE BIG INNING: The Bats scored 6 runs in the top of the sixth of last night's ballgame, doubling their previous high (3) of runs in an inning this season. The 6 runs are the most put together by a Louisville offense in a single inning since August 20, 2017 vs. Rochester, when the Bats scored 7 runs in the bottom of the fourth in a 13-6 win, with Brandon Dixon hitting his last of 3 home runs he hit that day.
ERVIN, QUACKENBUSH JOIN LOUISVILLE: The Cincinnati Reds optioned to Class AAA Louisville outfielder Phillip Ervin and right-handed pitcher Kevin Quackenbush to make room on the Major League roster for infielder Eugenio Suárez , who returned from a rehab assignment, and infielder/outfielder Rosell Herrera , who had his contract selected by Cincinnati, making his Major League debut (0-for-1) at Great American Ball Park on April 26 against the Atlanta Braves.
- Ervin appeared in 99 games with Louisville last season, making his Triple-A debut on April 6, 2017 vs. Columbus. He batted .256 with 7 home runs and 40 RBI for the Bats, including a 2 HR game on April 14 at COL. The outfielder made his MLB debut April 22, 2017 against the Cubs, and homered in back-to-back games at Wrigley Field, August 16-17 last season.
- Quackenbush joins the Bats after appearing in 10 games for Cincinnati this season. He was a regular in the San Diego Padres' bullpen for four seasons from 2014-17, appearing in 193 games with the Friars with a 4.38 ERA.
SCHOFIELD NAMED MANAGER: The Cincinnati Reds announced last Friday that Dick Schofield has been named interim manager for the Louisville Bats. Schofield, who was serving as Louisville's bench coach, replaces Pat Kelly , who managed the first 10 games of the 2018 season for Louisville, compiling a 4-6 record. Kelly was recently promoted to Major League bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds also announced Darren Bragg will take over Schofield's previous role as Louisville's bench coach. Bragg is in his 12th season in the organization and was in his 10th as outfield coordinator at the time of his transfer to Louisville.
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.