Hot Ibanez walks off for Crawdads in 17th

Andy Ibanez homered for Hickory in the bottom of the seventh to tie Wednesday afternoon's game against visiting Greenville at 4-4. At the time, Ibanez's third hit of the day seemed like just another big one from the South Atlantic League's hottest hitter. As the innings and the zeros continued to pile up -- through the 11th, 12th, 13th -- it became clear that Ibanez would have to deliver again. Approximately one whole ballgame later, he did just that.

The Rangers' No. 18 prospect plated leadoff man Eric Jenkins from first with a double off reliever Victor Diaz in the 17th inning to give the Crawdads a 5-4 walk-off win over the Drive at L.P. Frans Stadium.

Hitting second as the club's designated hitter, Ibanez finished 5-for-7 with a homer, two doubles, three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk, raising his slash line to .456/.500/.754 through the first 13 games of his professional career.

Hickory manager Steve Mintz couldn't imagine someone on the roster he'd rather have up in the box with a chance to end Wednesday's marathon.

"No doubt, you'd want him there," Mintz said of the right-handed-hitting Ibanez, who is playing his first season after signing for $1.6 million out of Cuba last July. "The guy he was facing was throwing 97, 99, and it was his second time facing him, so he knew what to expect. He may have thrown 99 on that last pitch, but he turned it around after Jenkins had a good base hit to start the inning. Every time he's up there, Ibanez has a chance to do some damage, whether guys are on or not."

Ibanez's career-best five-hit day marked his eighth multi-hit game of the season and pushed him into the Minor League lead with 26 hits, passing Fort Wayne's Austin Allen (24). He also sits fifth in the Minors with his .456 average, 56 points higher than his closest competition in the Sally League (West Virginia's Ke'Bryan Hayes, .400).

"The adjustments he makes pitch to pitch, you can tell he's definitely a step above everybody else," Mintz said. "Instead of swinging at a ball in the dirt, he recognizes that the next pitch is going to be higher, and he's able to square it up when it comes. I think it's a little early to call him similar to one player or another. But what he's doing in the first couple weeks, it's been special."

Though no one quite expected these numbers, the 23-year-old second baseman's hot start isn't altogether surprising, given his track record in his home country.

Ibanez had a .283/.348/.419 line over three seasons in the Cuban National Series with Isla de la Juventud and produced a .377 on-base percentage with a 28/33 K/BB ratio in his final season as a 20-year-old in 2013 before defecting in 2014. He also was the youngest player at 19 on the country's World Baseball Classic team in 2013, although he had just one official at-bat during the tournament.

Despite that experience, the Rangers sent Ibanez to Class A to start his Minor League career -- he hadn't played in a competitive summer league for three years. MLB.com gave him an above-average 55 grade for his hit tool, with both his power (40) and speed (45) coming in just below average. However, it's his history in the nation that produced Major League sluggers like Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu that should help him in all facets of his offensive game, his manager believes.

"We've all sent the talent that comes out of Cuba," Mintz said. "It's not like it's a poor baseball country by any means. I'm sure he's faced better pitching in Cuba when he was a youngster than he's seen here. Anytime you can face talent that is better than you, that's when you get better. That forced him to grow up, forced him to make adjustments, and you can see it here."

Ibanez was able to play the hero Wednesday, thanks to the stellar job by the Hickory bullpen. Jeffrey Springs, Adam Choplick, Jacob Shortslef and Blake Bass combined to throw 10 scoreless innings, fanning 10 while allowing three hits and four walks.

Red Sox No. 8 prospect Luis Alexander Basabe hit a two-run homer for Greenville but finished 1-for-8 with four strikeouts.