Luke Wortman and Mac Lyons | April 16, 2024
The Colorado Rockies are off to a slow start but there is a lot to be excited about in the lower levels! Spokane Indians had a 7-game win streak to begin the season, Albuquerque Isotopes ended their skid with a walk-off homer, the Hartford Yard Goats boast some of the best arms across all Minors, and the Fresno Grizzlies have a guy named Braylen Wimmer, who is a must watch at the moment.
Albuquerque Isotopes
Series Record: 1-5 | Season Record: 3-12
It would be an understatement to say that it was anything less than a rough week down in Albuquerque. Clint Hurdle, former manager and current front officer staffer, said on a ‘Topes broadcast Saturday, “this is the roughest week of baseball I’ve seen in my many years of baseball.” Before Sunday’s win, they were on an 8-game losing streak and were going through the worst start in franchise history. However, it’s not all doom and gloom as the Isotopes showed a lot of fight and resiliency, capped off by a walk-off win on Sunday.
Top Performers
Jordan Beck: 24 PAs, .286/.375/.619 (.994 OPS), 6 H, 1 HR, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
Sam Hilliard: 24 PAs, .429/.500/.810 (1.310 OPS), 9 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 SB
Drew Romo: 20 PAs, .450/.450/.500 (.950 OPS), 9 H, 4 K
Coco Montes 24 PAs, .368/.500/.368 (.868 OPS), 7 H, 5 BB, 7 K
Noah Davis: 11 IP, 3.27 ERA, 1.545 WHIP, 6 BB, 14 K
Recap:
Isotope hitters have a strike-out problem, as they struck out way too much this week. They also are a potent offense that scored 36 runs this week and did damage against a struck Space Cowboys staff. Both things can be true.
On the pitching side, they have a bunch of pitchers with explosive, big-league-ready stuff. These pitchers also struggled to throw a strike this week. Karl Kauffmann and Riley Pint, two top performers from last week, struggled badly. Kauffman gave up 7 earned runs in 3 innings (it should be noted that most of the contact was soft, but found a hole), while Pint walked 6 in 1.2 innings.
Thomas Ponticelli and Julio Carreras have continued to struggle badly this season, but it is a small sample size. Ponticelli was primarily a reliever in the Guardians system over the past few years and his opportunity to start may be running dry as all of Ponticelli’s starts have not gone to plan.
Jordan Beck was arguably the hottest bat of the week, not just hitting the walk-off on Sunday, but having a great week overall. It was a strong week for the whole hitting core, as they made an impact with their bats. It was good to see infielder Aaron Schunk hit much better after a slow start to the year. Young catcher Drew Romo, also looked much more comfortable at the plate, although it would be nice to see him work more counts and draw walks. If the Rockies want to call up a hitter, soon they have plenty of options.
As stated earlier, the pitching was rough, and one of the main reasons they lost 5 games this week. Noah Davis pitched two solid games this week as the lone bright spot pitching wise. Like last week, Jeff Criswell struggled a bit, but he looked electric and MLB-ready as well. If the consistency can improve a bit, he will be in the majors soon.
Due to injuries, we saw Stephen Jones and Dylan Spain make their Isotopes debut this season. Jones is a flamethrowing righty who split last season between Hartford and Albuquerque with mixed results. Spain was a 10th-rounder by the Braves in ‘21 who the Rockies coincidentally acquired for current Isotope Sam Hilliard. He spent most of last season at Hartford, having a 5.85 ERA. As the team turns their focus to the El Paso Chihuahuas this week, it will be interesting to see if they can improve on some of their weaknesses. The potential is here for the ‘Topes, they just need to put it all together.
Call-Up Power Rankings
These rankings intend to show which 3 players are most likely to be called up at the moment for a multitude of reasons. These may not be the three best players on the team, but those who I think are likeliest to get the call. This week’s power rankings have three new players, as Riley Pint, Ty Blach, and Sean Bouchard all struggled this week.
- Noah Davis – RHP – 2024 Season Stats: 6.62 ERA | 17.2 IP | 21 K | 10 BB
- Jordan Beck – OF – 2024 Season Stats: .306 AVG | 4 HR | 10 BB | 14 SO
- Sam Hilliard – OF – 2024 Season Stats: .347 AVG | 2 HR | 9 BB | 14 SO | 5 SB
Looking Ahead
The Isotopes take on the El Paso Chihuahuas next week in El Paso. The Chihuahuas have a 6-9 record. Their roster primarily consists of MLB vets.
Hartford Yard Goats
Series Record: 4-2 | Season Record 5-2
The Yard Goats were matched up with a strong Bowie Baysox team (Baltimore Orioles affiliate), but still managed to win 4 out of 6. They were competitive in every game and proved to be a dynamic squad. One major takeaway from watching the team was that Hartford showed a mature approach and was not afraid to take a walk or two. With the Rockies and Isotopes really struggling with strikeouts this season, it was refreshing to see a much younger team showcase a good approach at the plate.
Top Performers
Zac Veen: 24 PAs, .381/.458/.762 (1.220 OPS), 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K
Bladimir Restituyo: 19 PAs, .556/.526/.778 (1.304 OPS), 10 H, 4 K, 2 SB
Benny Montgomery: 21 PAs, .400/.429/.850 (1.279 OPS), 8 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 SB
Sterlin Thompson: 22 PAs, .350/.409/.600 (1.009 OPS), 7 H, 2 BB, 9 K
Andrew Quezada: 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1 BB, 4 K
Carson Palmquist: 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 5 BB, 7 K
Bryce McGowan: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 0 BB, 2 K
Jarrod Cande: 9 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3 BB, 7 K
Dugan Darnell: 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 1 BB, 6 K
Recap:
It was difficult putting together the top performers list as almost every player on the team had a great week. It seems the Yard Goats have the best bullpen in the entire system. Not only have they pitched well, but the guys in the bullpen have electric stuff. Bryce McGowan and Jaden Hill both hit 100 mph this week. Hill looked absolutely dominant against the Baysox, and perhaps most impressive was the fact that he didn’t walk anyone.
Arguably the most impressive reliever of the week was Dugan Darnell, who threw 4 scoreless innings. That’s the main reason why he’s #1 on my call-up power rankings this week. While he didn’t make the top performers list, 21-year-old Angel Chivilli continues to show electric stuff each chance he gets and, as a 40-man player, could get a cup of coffee in September if he continues at this pace.
Veen, Montgomery, and Restuyo dominated this week. It was especially nice to see Veen hit well (with power) after struggling last season due to a wrist injury. Veen is proving to many that the injury was a legitimate cause of his struggles last year. Sterlin Thompson had a great week with a 1.009 OPS and fittingly snagged MLB’s newest top 100 spot.
While his stats don’t show it, top prospect Adael Amador showed a solid approach at the plate and continues to get on-base even though his batted balls aren’t resulting in hits. I’d expect him to hit much better in the coming weeks.
Palmquist, Quezada, and Cande balled out in the rotation this week. Walks were an issue for Palmquist, but he was nearly unhittable, putting forth a strong resume for a promotion to Albuquerque or, better yet, Colorado.
The one downside of the week was that some of the young outfielders struggled with K’s, but that should be expected with their age.
Call-Up Power Rankings
- Dugan Darnell – RHP – 2024 Season Stats: 0.00 ERA | 4 IP | 6 K | 1 BB
- Jaden Hill – RHP – 2024 Season Stats: 3.00 ERA | 3 IP | 5 K | 0 BB
- Sterlin Thompson – OF – 2024 Season Stats: .348 AVG | 0 HR | 3 BB | 10 K
Looking Ahead
The Yard Goats take on the Somerset Patriots (Yankees Affiliate) this week on the road. The Patriots have a 4-5 record and carry a stacked roster, including top 100 prospects Chase Hampton (RHP) and Spencer Jones (OF). This week will be entertaining for fans who want to see a glimpse of the game’s future and will serve as a true test for the Goats.
Spokane Indians
Series Record: 5-1 | Season Record: 8-1
Spokane went on the road to play the Tri-City Dust Devils and pushed their season-opening winning streak to seven games with a 4-0 win on Tuesday, a 5-4 win on Wednesday in extra innings, a 4-3 win on Thursday, another extra innings win by a score of 7-6 on Friday, and an 8-3 win on Saturday before their winning streak was snapped at eight games with a 4-2 loss on Sunday. They have asserted themselves as one of MiLB’s best teams behind a dynamic rotation and trio of hitters.
Top Performers:
Dyan Jorge: 30 PA, .333 BA, .400 OBP, .807 OPS, 9 H, 2 RBI, 9 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 4 SB
Kyle Karros: 29 PA, .348 BA, .483 OBP, 1.048 OPS, 7 H, 8 RBI, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 6 BB, 7 K, 1 SB
Mason Green: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Blake Adams: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Connor Staine: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Chase Dollander: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Sean Sullivan: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Victor Juarez: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Recap:
Jesus Bugarin crushed his first HR of the season in Tuesday’s game, a two-run shot to left-center field as he quests to best the 10 HR he hit last year. However, Bugarin did struggle in the next two games, striking out four times on Wednesday alone and finished the series with only four hits in 20 PAs in the series.
Also making an impact in Tuesday’s game, lefty Mason Green made his return to the mound for Spokane in an impressive start, lasting six innings and fanning four while only allowing one hit and one walk. Green appears back in the rotation after making just 9 of his 26 appearances out of the rotation last year.
Blake Adams made his first start of the season on Wednesday and didn’t disappoint, cruising through six innings where he only gave up two hits, no walks, and added six strikeouts. Adams was with Spokane during the 2023 season after earning his promotion in June of last year, but seldom was the righty able to have successful outings as he finished with a 6.10 ERA. Unfortunately, Adams is still searching for his first win at the High-A level after the near collapse Spokane had in the ninth inning when Sergio Sanchez entered the game and gave up four runs through 0.2 IP.
More dominance from Spokane’s starting pitchers? A trend is beginning to develop. Connor Staine waltzed through four innings in his first start at the High-A level on Thursday, only allowing one hit, one run, while striking out six. Staine would’ve held Tri-City to zero runs had it not been for multiple infield errors by 1B Bryan Betancourt and C Jesus Ordonez in the bottom of the fourth, although fielding issues plagued the Indians throughout the series.
While Cole Carrigg may have not had the best start to the series in terms of offensive output, he was still able to drive in crucial runs during Tuesday’s and Thursday’s wins, adding another two RBIs on Saturday and Sunday as well. He also had five SB in the series, raising his total to a Northwest League leading six on the year. His .222 BA on the season suggests a slow start, but with only four strikeouts and six walks throughout the series against Tri-City, along with a grand total of six hits across 36 PA in the series, it’s clear Carrigg is slowly building up the consistency needed to earn a promotion to Double-A.
Dyan Jorge has also been a huge factor throughout the Tri-City series in a variety of ways. After going hitless in Tuesday’s game, Jorge had three-hit games on Wednesday and Friday. He’s also scored a run in every single game but two for Spokane this season. Add all of this in with a SB in four straight games against Tri-City and it makes sense why Jorge is hitting .368 with a .442 OBP. Jorge has 12 R on the season, six more than the next closest player on Spokane (Carrigg, 6).
Dollander. That’s really who everyone’s waiting to hear about, right? The Rox highly-touted pitching prospect returned to the bump on Friday night and picked up right where he left off. It was inevitable that Dollander would give up his first professional hit, and while he did allow a total of four hits and one Caleb Ketchup solo HR Friday night, he also struck out seven in five IP.
Unfortunately, Dollander wasn’t able to secure another W for his record as Felix Ramires had some struggles on the mound in relief, surrendering four runs in the bottom of the ninth, eerily similar to the breakdown on Wednesday night. Also similar to Wednesday night, Zach Agnos entered the game and earned the W once again, striking out two batters while allowing two hits, which tripled his number of hits allowed on the season to an astonishingly low total of three.
Kyle Karros also stepped up in a big way during Friday’s game with a 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 SB finish. All of Karros’ RBIs came courtesy of his two doubles on the evening. This was Karros’ first multi-hit game of the series against Tri-City in which he had only two hits in 15 PA, a .133 BA for the series which was quickly raised to .250 after Friday’s outburst of hits. He now leads Spokane with ten RBI. But Karros wouldn’t stop there, going on to add another pair of RBIs from an inside-the-park home run in the top of the ninth on Saturday, securing Spokane’s 8-3 win. It’s another example of Karros’ improving confidence at the plate after the Vancouver series that was inconsistent at times.
Much like Dollander, Sean Sullivan’s second start proved that he was also human. Although his six strikeouts were significantly less than the 13 Ks he had when he made his debut with Spokane last week, Sullivan still had another quality outing, giving up only five hits and two runs over five IP in Saturday’s win over the Dust Devils. Interesting enough, Sullivan has not given up a walk in either of his two starts, another testament to the lefty’s control early on in the year.
The winning streak did come to an end on Sunday when the Indians lost by a score of 4-2. The bats weren’t necessarily quiet as the team had a total of seven hits, but the inability to bring runners home hurt Spokane in the long run, with multiple instances where inefficiency at the plate squandered chances to score. However, Victor Juarez did have an amazing game, allowing only one hit and one walk through six innings in addition to four strikeouts.
Spokane fell apart after Juarez was replaced by Brayan Castillo, who allowed four runs in one inning to make the score 4-2 in favor of Tri-City. It’s clear Spokane may be limiting Juarez pitch count as he’s reached 76 pitches in both appearances this season before exiting. He’s only 20-years-old, and while the winning-streak sadly ended after Juarez left, it makes sense to place his development and health over the importance of a game.
Next Series Preview:
The Spokane Indians will return to Avista Stadium on Tuesday, April 16th to take on the Everett AquaSox. Everett is only 1-8 so far this season and haven’t been able to find much success so look for Spokane to hopefully begin another win streak once again.
Fresno Grizzlies
Series Record: 2-2 | Season Record: 5-2
The Fresno Grizzlies returned to Chukchansi Park for their first home series of the 2024 season against the Inland Empire 66ers and treated the fans to quite a shootout on Tuesday night with an 11-8 win, on Wednesday, Fresno’s four-game, season-opening winning streak ended with an 8-6 loss, they returned to the win column Thursday with a 4-1 victory, but dropped Friday’s game by a score of 3-0 before both games on Saturday and Sunday were postponed due to weather.
Top Performers:
Andy Perez: 18 PA, .471/.500/.765 (1.265 OPS), 5 H, 6 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 SB
Braylen Wimmer: 18 PA, .286/.444/.286 (.730 OPS), 4 H, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Jason Hinchman: 11 PA, .667/.778/.633 (1.611 OPS), 3 H, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 SB
Cole Carrigg: 31 PA, .231/.355/.346 (.701 OPS), 6 H, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, 3 SB
Collin Baumgartner: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Austin Emener: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Jack Mahoney: (L, 1-1), 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Series Recap:
The Fresno Grizzlies returned to Chukchansi Park for their first home series of the 2024 season against the Inland Empire 66ers and treated the fans to quite a shootout on Tuesday night with an 11-8 win. On Wednesday, Fresno’s four-game, season-opening winning streak ended with an 8-6 loss, they returned to the win column Thursday with a 4-1 victory, but dropped Friday’s game by a score of 3-0 before both games on Saturday and Sunday were postponed due to weather.
Andy Perez continued his hot start on Tuesday night when he knocked in three runs with one monstrous double in the bottom of the third, his first first of two doubles in that game. Perez would then go on to drive in another three runs in Wednesday’s game when he sent a fly ball over the fence in right field, which raised Fresno’s lead to 5-1 before Inland Empire’s comeback began. During Perez’s first season with Fresno in 2023, there were only nine games where he hit more than one RBI, showing he’s much more comfortable now as a 19-year-old.
Braylen Wimmer offered up some offensive support during Wednesday’s loss as well. He had a good night at the plate going 3-4, including one RBI right before Andy Perez’s fifth inning home run, where he was finally brought home as well. Wimmer’s had a successful season thus far and will look to keep being one of the leaders of this Fresno squad.
As mentioned above, Fresno was leading 5-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday when both Caleb Franzen and Welinton Herrera gave up a combined six runs over the span of 3.1 IP. Both pitchers have struggled so far coming out of the bullpen this season. Franzen’s ERA currently sits at 11.57 over 4.2 IP with only two strikeouts, while Herrera’s rough outing on Wednesday raised his ERA to 12.27 over 3.2 IP but with seven total strikeouts. This is Herrera’s first season with Fresno after spending last year in the ACL. Franzen started 21 games for the Grizzlies last year but is seemingly being transitioned into a bullpen, long-reliever role.
The pitching woes were quickly forgotten on Thursday when Austin Emener made his first start of the season, delivering a stellar performance. Although he didn’t earn the win, the lefty carved through Inland Empire over the span of 4.2 IP, surrendering only four hits, one ER, and two walks, but fanning seven. Emener is second only to Jack Mahoney (8) with the most strikeouts by a Fresno starting pitcher in a single game this season.
Fresno was helped on Thursday by a pair of Jason Hinchman hits, including a 2B in the bottom of the second that scored both EJ Andrews Jr. and Felix Tena. Although Hinchman hasn’t seen much playing time this season, he’s still managed to collect five hits in 13 PA and has a .375 BA in the series against Inland Empire to go along with three RBI. While the veteran Hinchman isn’t utilized much, when his name is called he’s been able to live up to the task so far in this young season.
Jack Mahoney was unable to replicate the success he had in his first start when he returned to the mound on Friday night. His three strikeouts were five less than he had in his first start against San Jose but by no means was the game against Inland Empire bad by anyone’s standards. In 5.1 IP, Mahoney gave up five hits, two walks, and only allowed two runs, while the bullpen outings from Stu Flesland III, Collin Baumgartner, and Welinton Herrera, combined for seven Ks over 3.2 IP. There wasn’t a lot of run support from the Grizzlies offense on Friday either as the team only recorded six hits in the 3-0 loss, two more hits than the team had in Thursday’s win.
After Friday, Saturday’s game was postponed due to weather and moved to a double-header on Sunday. But, the weather didn’t change much because Sunday’s double-header was also postponed, so Friday’s loss was the last game for the Grizzlies on the weekend.
The series against Inland Empire proved to be troublesome for the team with some bullpen trouble and quiet bats causing Fresno’s season-opening winning streak to end at four games. The Griz are still playing good ball and several players have exceeded expectations thus far.
Next Series Preview:
The Fresno Grizzlies look to finally find the sunshine again when they head to Banner Island Ballpark to take on the Stockton Ports. Stockton’s has a 2-5 record on the year and has clearly been struggling to get some run support as their 21 RBI is ranked dead last in the California League team totals. For reference, the Grizzlies are ranked third with 39.
That wraps up our second full coverage MiLB recap of the season. The pitching (outside of Albuquerque) has shown promise and some bats are already scalding hot. Keep your eyes and ears out for more MiLB content.
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