We are a full month into the minor league season. As the sample size grows larger, we can begin to draw conclusions based off performances. So here is where we are at with a few top prospects:
-Brailyn Marquez: has not pitched. He's in AZ building arm strength.
-Brennen Davis: He's had just 23 at bats for A+, buit has a nice .261/.370/.609 line. 2 homers and 2 doubles means that nearly 17% of the time he's hitting it for extra bases. He's looked good in his shorter sample size after getting hit in the face with a pitch.
-Miguel Amaya: in 71 ABs at AA, he's got a .225/.398/.324 slash line. Love the on base, but the lack of pop is a little concerning. 19 Ks means he's striking about about 26% of the time, which is a bit high. It's good enough for right now, but he's not going to fly through the system with numbers like that. With some of the injuries at the big league level, there's been a few pundits murmuring about when he comes up. I don't see it happening in 2021.
-Ed Howard: In 53 ABs, he's got a line of .208/.288/.245. He's drawn just 5 walks while striking out 25 times. Yes, nearly half the time. He's young, so we'll see how it goes.
-Kohl Franklin: Has been hurt and hasn't pitched for the Pelicans yet.
-Christopher Morel: In 88 ABs, he's got a line of .205/.247/.375. He's struggled, walking just 6 times while striking out 25 times.
-Chase Strumpf: In 55 ABs, he's got a line of .309/.418/.382. he's got 7 walks to 17 strikeouts. Not a lot of pop, but he's certainly been getting on base.
-Burl Carraway: He's had an interesting year. in 8 appearances, he's pitched 7.1 innings. ERA is 3.68, despite not allowing a single hit. He's walked 10, while striking out 14. As he has faced 31 batters, he's basically struck out half, walked a third. The remaining 7 batters have been split between ground outs and fly outs. While the walks are high, 5 of those (and his 3 ER) came during a disaster outing on 5/13. If you cherry pick that outing out of his stats, he's faced 26 batters and struck out 14 of them while walking 5. Those are Nolan Ryan numbers. He has upside, but is obviously a bit raw.
Onto some team highlights:
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs had a tough week, falling to 9-13. After losing the last two games in Omaha, they were swept, 6 straight losses vs St. Paul. Ouch. As for individual players of note:
• Sergio Alcantara was called up after remaining hot, currently at a .940 OPS.
• Rafael Ortega was also called up, after putting up an .818 OPS
• Through 4 starts, Kohl Stewart has a 3.68 ERA. He's got 23 strikeouts, 5 walks in 22 innings, so he's been quite in control.
• Cory Abbott has been a bit of an enigma: 25.1 IP 14 walks and 41 strikeouts. Along with 6 home runs in 5 starts, he's put up a 6.39 ERA. Keep an eye on him though, as he may figure it out.
Tennessee Smokies
The AA Smokies struggled against Chattanooga this week, falling to 9-14 on the season. For individual players:
• Levi Jordan is the current leader in OPS at Tennessee, with a .806 figure.
• Darius Hill is second at .795. Despite only 3 extra base hits, his .333 BA and .382 OBP has been nice.
• Cam Sanders is up to 5 starts, and has maintained a 3.86 ERA. He's walked 9, struck out 27 in 23.1 innings.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The low A Pelicans are now 13-11 after winning their series against Salem. There was an untrue rumor floating around that players were not getting housed upon completion of that series.
• Edmond Americaan leads the team in ABs, and has a nice .750 OPS
• Manuel Espinoza has now started 5 games, and pitched to a decent 4.44 ERA.
• Scott Kobos still has not given up a run, striking out 19 in 11 innings.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs A+ are now 11-12 after a tough series vs Fort Wayne. They had a big fight vs the Tin Caps this week.
• Delvin Zinn isn't on any top prospect lists. He's currently OPS'ing .638. That said, he currently has 18 stolen bases, and has been caught 0 times. He has 22 hits and 19 strikeouts, just to show you how often he's been running.
• Peyton Remy is up to 5 starts, and has a nice 3.70 ERA. He's struck out 28 in 24.1 innings.
• Cole Roederer has struggled a bit of late, OPS down to .645 with just a .300 SLG.
• Brennen Davis had this nice play:
Play of the week:
Robert Stock stays hot with this nice off balance grab and throw:
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