NOTEBOOK: Cullen Large breaks through vs Scranton Wilkes-Barre

Baseball is a game of patience. Cullen Large probably already knew that, but the 2021 season sure has reiterated that lesson for him.

Large, a William and Mary alumni, was picked in the 5th round of the MLB Draft by the Blue Jays in 2017 and has worked his way up the ranks of minor league baseball fairly quickly. Large spent just two years in Single-A and Double-A baseball before getting the chance to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 2019.

Just a few months after the season ended, and before the 2020 season could start, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the plans of minor league baseball. Large had to await another year before he could get his opportunity at the Triple-A level. But, that call did come this offseason and he opened 2021 on the Bisons.

The first month and a half of the season was and adjustment for Large. After starting the year with a seven-game hit streak, the 25-year old prospect batted just .194 through 26 games. But his average was not indicative of his ability.

Large was hitting the ball well, but in baseball, hitting the ball hard isn’t solely going to produce hits. A batter needs to find the holes in the defense, and when Large was able to do just that, his breakout performances came.

Hidden behind a 3-2 loss in the first game of Thursday evening’s doubleheader against Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Large went 1-for-2 at the plate, providing both of the Herd’s runs with a 7th inning home run. The club decided to move Large up in the batting order for game two of the doubleheader and the decision paid dividends for the team. Large batted 2-for-2 at the plate in game two, with a run batted in and a pair of walks. The hot hitter kept his momentum going and remained towards the top of the team's order throughout the rest of the series, batting .333, with six runs batted in and two extra-base hits.

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The Herd will look to keep Cullen Large hot as they travel to Rochester to take on the Red Wings, and well, they may need more than just one hitter to be hot.

The Red Wings may have started the season slow, losing twelve of their first fourteen games, but in the past month, the rival has been on a roll.

To say the Red Wings offense is powerful is an understatement. The club scored 18 runs during their 18-5 win on June 2nd over the Worcester Red Sox. Just three days later, they did it again, scoring 18 runs to win 18-1. Proving it wasn’t a fluke, the Red Wings scored 12 runs the next day to beat the Woo Sox 12-5.

The Red Wings came back down to earth in their last series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, but the rival has still been successful. In their last two series, the Red Wings are 8-4, outscoring opponents 82-42.

The Bisons will need offensive production to beat the red-hot Red Wings, but their pitching and defense will also help aid the Herd’s batters. The club still leads Triple-A baseball with the least number of runs allowed, 124, and is second in strikeouts with 362.

The Bisons’ pitchers have been able to accomplish this even with what seems like a revolving door of talent. There has been a ton of movement between the Bisons and their parent club, the Blue Jays, since the beginning of the season due to injuries, but it hasn’t slowed down the Herd one bit.

The Bisons will look to combine their talents at the plate and on the mound to take down the red-hot Red Wings. The series starts Tuesday night in Rochester. First pitch is set for 7:05 pm. Jacob Waguespack is expected to start on the mound for the Herd.