Cannon Baller Chronicle: Week Twelve

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. –The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers have completed week eleven of the 2021 season, winning four of the seven games in the week in Fayetteville against the Woodpeckers, including a sweep of Wednesday’s doubleheader. Here are some notable performances from the road trip to SEGRA Stadium:

(All stats are reflective of games from 7/20 to 7/25)

RHP Matt Thompson:

0-0, 5.63 ERA, 8.0 IP, 5 ER, 3 BB, 9 K

While the numbers may lie, Thompson’s two outings in Fayetteville were effective and successful. The No.3 overall prospect in the White Sox system allowed baserunners and runs in his first outing on Tuesday but settled in on Sunday by allowing just two hits and tallying five punchouts in five innings. Thompson will look to use the two good outings as momentum in the upcoming series against Salem.

RHP Tyson Messer:

0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Messer has had quite possibly the roughest stretch of any arm out of the bullpen for the Ballers. The former Campbell righty has seen his season ERA go from 0.00 in early June to a 9.00 ERA as of July 26. Messer’s much-needed quality outing last week against the Woodpeckers turned the tables on his recent struggles. Despite walking three batters, Messer settled down and struck out the side to get out of a bases-loaded jam and not allow any runs.

INF Samil Polanco:

12-31, .387, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI

Polanco’s success has been a welcome sight. In seven games against Fayetteville, the infielder continued his hot-hitting ways by reaching base in six of the seven contests. Polanco is now tied for third place in the team in batting average and has cemented himself as a fixture in the top of the lineup for skipper Guillermo Quiroz.

OF Luis Mieses:

9-27, .333, 2 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI

Two weeks into his stint, the demotion from Winston-Salem appeared to be detrimental for Mieses. Despite the struggles, the outfielder persevered and has fought his way into the top of the stat sheets with consistency. Mieses tallied three multi-hit games and eight RBIs in seven games, raising his July batting average to .337 and his season batting line to .302.

LOOKING AHEAD:

*07/27-08/01 *

Salem Red Sox (1st Low-A East North Division, 42-30)

The Red Sox, Low-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, visit Kannapolis for the first time in franchise history. Salem joins Low-A East in 2021 after spending the last 30 years at the High-A level. The Red Sox recently acquired first place in the North Division, overtaking the Delmarva Shorebirds who had the lead for the majority of the season thus far.

Salem holds seven of the top 30 prospects in the Boston Red Sox organization in OF Gilberto Jimenez (No.5), INF Nick Yorke (No.8), INF Matthew Lugo (No.12), RHP Aldo Ramirez (No.19), RHP Chih-Jung Liu (No.20), OF Nick Decker (No.23), and INF Ceddanne Rafaela (No.30).

Jimenez is on an active five-game hit streak and 14-game on-base streak. The right-handed bat from the Dominican Republic profiles as an all-around talent with above-average speed and defense to go with his success at the plate. Yorke, who was the 17th overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, has an active eight-game hit streak that has helped his cause in the month of July. The infielder from the San Jose, California area is batting .373 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs in the month of July. Lugo, the nephew of long-time MLB player Carlos Beltran, was drafted in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Puerto Rico. The infielder is on an active 13-game hit streak.

Ramirez is currently listed on the 7-day IL and has not pitched since June 13. Liu joined Salem in early July and has struggled in his four starts. The righty from Taiwan is 2-1 with a 9.88 ERA. Decker missed time earlier in the year due to an injury but has come back and been in the lineup consistently. The 2018 second round pick is turning in solid numbers, batting .283 among all levels of minor league baseball in the month of July. Finally, Rafaela has seen his numbers boost a little bit after having a rough month of June at the plate. The infielder from Curacao batted .194 in the month of June but has raised the average in July with a batting line of .239, three home runs, and eight RBIs.

As a team, the Red Sox are second in the league with 610 hits in 72 games. Salem is first in the double’s category with 123. INF Nicholas Northcut and INF Stephen Scott are tied or not far-apart in many offensive categories, including doubles, home runs, and RBIs. OF Dean Miller leads all active Salem bats with a strikeout percentage of 38.7 percent.

On the mound, LHP Jeremy Wu-Yelland has settled down after a tough start to the season and looked good in his last few starts. The southpaw who attended the University of Hawaii is 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA. RHP Jordan DiValerio leads the team with eight wins despite only notching one start on the season. Salem’s effectiveness in their pitching is found in the bullpen. RHP Ryan Fernandez is 3-1 with a 0.31 ERA in 14 games, while RHP Casey Cobb is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 19 non-starting appearances.

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers face the Salem Red Sox, Low-A East affiliate of the Salem Red Sox at Atrium Health Ballpark from July 27 to August 1, before taking a two-week road trip with stops in Zebulon to face the Mudcats, Low-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Augusta to face the GreenJackets, Low-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

Tickets can be purchased for any upcoming home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark. Fans can also keep up with the action on the team’s social media outlets, with live in-game updates being provided on Twitter at @kcannonballers.