Around the Minors: The week of May 2-8
May 8
May 8
It's moving day!
The first overall pick in last year's MLB Draft just earned a promotion, according to a report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Henry Davis, the Pirates' No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline and No. 23 overall, seems headed to Double-A Altoona after hitting .341 with a 1.035 OPS and five home runs in 22 games at High-A Greensboro this season.
The Pirates selected Davis with the first overall pick out of the University of Louisville, where he hit .370/.483/.663 with 15 homers in 50 games in 2021. In his first taste of pro ball, he batted .308 with three homers in eight games between Rookie level and High-A before an oblique injury cut his first season short.
Moving on up.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 8, 2022
After impressing with High-A Greensboro, last year's top overall pick Henry Davis is reportedly headed to Double-A Altoona: https://t.co/yvNK8jUB2e pic.twitter.com/wfiRmvDZZG
Special delivery from Mom
The continued emergence of women in professional baseball took another historic step over the winter. Already employing Bianca Smith as a Minor League coach, Boston became the first baseball team to hire two female coaches when Katie Krall was named player development coach for Double-A Portland in February.
One month into her new job, Krall got to share a special moment on Mother's Day ... with her mom.
Joan Krall, who unabashedly admits to being her daughter's No. 1 fan, took the mound in a Sea Dogs uniform alongside her daughter. Following a few photographs, Katie set up behind the plate and received her mother's first pitch. It was a moment and a Mother's Day that won't soon be forgotten for the Kralls.
Fanning the flames
The spectacular start to the 2022 season for
The Yankees’ No. 6 prospect struck out a career-high 12 across five no-hit innings in Double-A Somerset’s seven-inning 3-2 win over New Hampshire. Of the 17 batters he faced, seven went down swinging and four were caught looking.
In just about every no-hit bid, everything has to go perfectly, both on the mound and in the field. Waldichuk said that was exactly the case in this game.
“I felt like my fastball and slider were working pretty well,” Walidchuk said. “I felt like I was getting ahead [in the count]. We had some great plays in the field, and some great plays behind the plate from [catcher Mickey Gasper] too, so I felt like a lot of things just went right.” Full story »
Showing off twice as much power
Entering Saturday’s Double-A matchup between Amarillo and Midland,
MLB Pipeline’s No. 19 overall prospect belted two home runs in back-to-back games for the Sod Poodles, the first two multihomer games of his career. The 21-year-old went 2-for-5 with two solo shots in Amarillo’s 18-9 blowout on Sunday and was one of three Top 30 D-backs prospects to hit two home runs. No. 18 Dominic Fletcher drove in seven runs in a 4-for-6 day and No. 24 Blaze Alexander plated three, going 3-for-6.
“Last year being cut short, I didn’t really get to prove what I had in the tank but I think this year, just having the opportunity to play these games, it’s starting to come out,” said Carroll of his power increase this season. “It’s been a total team effort and it makes it a lot easier to go out there and have some pitches to hit when the whole lineup’s doing damage.” Full story »
Nothing to see here
Before most of the country could even finish Mother’s Day brunch, the Double-A Baysox put themselves in the franchise record book.
Baltimore prospect Garrett Stallings went six stellar innings, and Morgan McSweeney was perfect in the seventh, as the duo combined to no-hit visiting Harrisburg in a 4-0 Bowie win in the first game of a double dip.
From their 12:05 p.m. ET first pitch, the Baysox were locked in. Stallings walked Harrisburg’s Taylor Gushue with two outs in the first inning and Jackson Cluff with one gone in the third. Those were the only baserunners the right-hander permitted. Stallings retired the final 11 batters he faced -- including three straight via strikeout --before inducing a groundout to second base Jake Alu to finish his day.
With the lead firmly in-hand and history at hand, McSweeney sealed the deal, though not without a heart-stopping moment. On the penultimate pitch of the game, Harrisburg’s K.J. Harrison laced a line drive down the left-field line which hooked just foul, providing McSweeney one more chance to finish things off. The reliever came through, inducing a flyout to right from Harrison to complete the 11th no-hitter in Baysox history. Full story »
May 8
Reunited, and it K's so good
The top battery in the Minors was finally reignited on Saturday. After starting the season on the injured list with a triceps strain, then making rehab appearances for High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie,
Back with his catcher of choice behind the plate, Rodriguez turned in one of his best starts of the season, working around two hits and three walks with five strikeouts for 5 1/3 scoreless frames.
“It’s huge," Rodriguez told MLB.com about having Rutschman back. "He’s one of the best catchers that there is. Getting back, throwing in a game with him, it’s awesome.”
Rutschman went 1-for-3 as Norfolk fell, 1-0, in a nail-biter with Nashville.
Jack on the attack
Jack Leiter reached new heights on Saturday with not only the longest outing of his career, but also his first scoreless start for Double-A Frisco. MLB Pipeline's No. 17 overall prospect struck out five without issuing a walk. After allowing a pair of hits early, Leiter settled in to retire the final 15 batters he faced.
"I felt like it happened the same way at Vanderbilt. The first couple starts, the feel wasn't really there, and it ended up coming along as the season went," Leiter told MLB.com. "I just stayed confident that it would click -- the fastball command, how my body's feeling -- and just trusting the defense. ... They made some really nice plays for me."
The Rangers' top prospect picked up his first career win as Frisco blanked Arkansas, 5-0.
May the 7th be with Carroll
On the anniversary of his first Little League home run, Corbin Carroll drilled his 10th professional dinger. But MLB Pipeline's No. 19 overall prospect didn't stop there. Carroll powered up once again for a three-run shot in the 8th for. The D-backs' No. 2 prospect plated four runs and worked a walk in a slugfest as Double-A Amarillo fell, 12-11, to Midland.
"My mom texted me a picture of me holding my first Little League home run ball," Carroll told MLB.com. "Just like, I don't know, it just popped up on her phone and it was a fun little tidbit."
During the contest -- which marked Carroll's first career multihomer effort -- his mom, Pey-Lin Carroll tweeted a throwback to that first roundtripper. The Seattle native was selected 16th overall in the 2019 Draft out of high school, but was limited to just 49 career games before 2022 due to the canceled 2020 season and shoulder surgery in 2021.
May 7th must be a home run day for @corbin_carroll First HR on 5/7/2012 in little league. Today another HR! https://t.co/gjyOBc5MR6 pic.twitter.com/C8nlyQRAHx
— Pey-Lin Carroll (@peylincarroll) May 8, 2022
Running on empty
Stealing bases is hard enough, so to do it four times like Tyler Black of Wisconsin did in the Timber Rattlers’ 6-3 win over Fort Wayne was an impressive feat. But that alone isn’t what made it remarkable – it’s the fact that he did it without recording a single hit.
Batting leadoff as the designated hitter, Milwaukee’s No. 6 prospect finished the game 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. He only reached base two times, but he was a terror on the basepaths. After drawing a six-pitch walk to start things in the bottom of the first, he successfully stole second when Zavier Warren struck out, then bolted for third on the very next pitch. It paid dividends, as Joe Gray Jr. lofted a sacrifice fly to bring Black home as the first run of the game.
Leading off the bottom of the fourth, the 21-year-old was plunked on the fourth pitch of his at-bat, and it was deja-vu all over again. He slid safely into second for his third steal, and two pitches later, Black once again broke for third and beat the throw for his fourth stolen base of the game. He had swiped just one bag through his first 11 games prior, and he’s now matched his total number of steals in 26 games last season.
May 6
A family affair
Gus and Louie Varland have played baseball with each other their entire lives, from Little League to high school to college together at Concordia-St.Paul in Minnesota. The brothers pitched against each other on Opening Night in April – Gus with Double-A Tulsa and Louie with Double-A Wichita – but Louie came out of the bullpen, while Gus was the starter. So, the Wind Surge's 7-2 victory over the Drillers on Friday was a milestone a lifetime in the making as the Varland brothers finally squared off as starting pitchers.
“It was unbelievable,” Gus said. “It’s one of those things that you dream of. … In pro ball, you don’t really think that you’re gonna play against each other, because [Louie] is a year younger and the Twins and Dodgers affiliates never really play each other. But in Double-A, it just so happens that we get to play each other. It was awesome. Just to pitch against each other was unbelievable. The emotions were flowing, which was so cool.” Full story »
Rutschman returns to Tides
A triceps injury in Spring Training sidelined top Orioles prospect Adley Rutschman for the start of the season. After successfully completing a seven-game rehab assignment that began on April 16 and included stops in Aberdeen and Bowie, Rutschman returned to Triple-A Norfolk for the first time this season on Friday.
MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect lined a single into center on the second pitch he saw in the opening frame. After working the count full in his next at-bat in the second, Rutschman was hit by a pitch. After grounding out to third in the fourth, the 24-year-old battled back from an 0-2 count to work a six-pitch walk in the sixth. In his final plate appearance, Rutschman sent another line drive into center, but this time it was tracked down by fourth-ranked Brewers prospect Brice Turang.
In 43 games with the Tides last season, the 2019 No. 1 overall Draft pick posted a .312/.405/.490 slash line with 16 extra-base hits, 25 runs scored and 20 RBIs.
Welcome back Adley! @RutschmanAdley records his first hit in a Tides uniform this season in his first plate appearance of the game.#RisingTide pic.twitter.com/Pd1zJuZsRz
— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) May 6, 2022
Moreno mashes
Gabriel Moreno flew out in his first at-bat for Triple-A Buffalo, but it would be the last time MLB Pipeline's No. 7 overall prospect would be retired. Moreno got the Bisons' offense going in the third with a two-run single to left, then added an RBI double to left in the fifth and a single to left in the seventh. Durham's René Pinto was doing his own mashing as well, drilling a pair of homers, including a game-tying shot in the ninth.
In the home half of the frame, Moreno stepped up with the bases loaded and nobody out. In a 2-2 count with five Bulls patrolling the infield, the Blue Jays' top prospect found a hole and poke through a walk-off single to right. The winning run came from
Express roll to victory
Triple-A Round Rock posted a six-spot in the game's opening frame and never looked back. Led by two homers and six RBIs from
May 5
Promise for Thomas
A quick glance at the numbers shows
Baseball's No. 18 overall prospect was a catalyst from the two-hole in the Triple-A Reno's lineup, homering, doubling and reaching base four times while scoring three runs in an 8-4 win over Round Rock at Greater Nevada Field.
Half of Thomas' four home runs have come in his last six games.
Thomas entered the day having hit safely in 11 of his previous 15 contests, but only three times in that span had he collected more than one hit. The 22-year-old walked and scored during the Aces' five-run opening frame and then added some muscle to the offense with his fourth roundtripper in the second. The 369-foot blast gave Thomas multiple RBIs in a game for the first time since April 20. Full story »
It's good to be king
No matter if you're looking at the leaderboard in the Majors or Minors, Moisés Gómez stands alone with 14 long balls.
The St. Louis outfield prospect added to his total during a 2-for-4 performance in Double-A Springfield's 9-6 loss to Northwest Arkansas. It also marked the third straight game Gómez has gone yard. The 23-year-old's big fly came in the fifth -- a solo homer to right-center that put his team up 5-2. He also doubled in the seventh.
Gómez is on a seven-game hit streak with four home runs and four multihit games during that span.
The first of many career highs
Henry Davis, MLB Pipeline’s No. 23 overall prospect, did it all in High-A Greenboro's 13-6 win over Asheville. The No. 1 pick in the 2021 Draft delivered a three-hit game with a home run and a career-high four RBIs.
The long ball came in the first at-bat of the night for the No. 2 Pirates prospect, his fifth of the year and third in the past five games. Davis added RBI singles in the third and fourth innings, and capped off his night with an RBI on a fielder’s choice in the eighth. The 22-year-old has been rock solid at the start of the season, hitting .350 with a 1.048 OPS through 21 games.
Davis is riding a five-game hitting streak, batting .391 with 12 RBIs and four extra-base hits in that span. He’s only failed to reach base in one game this season, back on April 14.
The four RBIs gave the Louisville product 22 this year. He finished his night in a four-way tie atop the South Atlantic League leaderboard in RBIs with teammate Matt Gorski, Aberdeen's Coby Mayo and Rome's Landon Stephens. Davis also sits fourth in the league in batting average and second to Aberdeen's Cesar Prieto in OPS.
Henry Davis is on 🔥
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 6, 2022
The No. 2 @Pirates prospect drilled his fifth homer during a career-high 4-RBI performance for the @GSOHoppers: https://t.co/bFLzegct2W pic.twitter.com/AFKWLC6PIr
The answer is blowin' in the wind
The Double-A Pensacola bullpen was pressed into some unusual action during the Blue Wahoos-Braves game ... and all at the same time. With winds gusting in the bottom of the fifth inning at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., Mother Nature showed who really was in charge of the ballgame.
Time was called when the gates in right-center field were opened by the wind and then the tarp on the mound in the visitors' pen started blowing around. Four Blue Wahoos jumped up to try and help secure the gate, but it took a few more people to lock it down so the contest could continue.
The M-Braves may have won the game, 2-1, but the Marlins prospects in Pensacola's 'pen definitely spelled relief.
Just your average outfield-fence-blowing-open, tarp-flying-around weather delay. pic.twitter.com/qExkJCB6jA
— Pensacola Blue Wahoos (@BlueWahoosBBall) May 6, 2022
Seeing way to Sea Dogs' no-hitter
Brayan Bello had only thrown seven innings once in his four-year professional career. When he did it for the second time in Double-A Portland’s 3-1 win over Reading in Game 2 of a doubleheader, he did it in emphatic fashion – namely a 96-pitch, seven-inning no-hitter.
“I knew I had no hits, but it wasn’t on my mind until the seventh inning with two outs,” Bello said through interpreter and teammate Oddanier Mosqueda. “When I realized it, I was focused on attacking the hitter more than the other guys.”
The Red Sox No. 5 prospect fired 55 pitches for strikes and finished with an unearned run, three walks and five strikeouts. Full story »
A matched set
Rutschman has hit 11-for-25 (.440) with a .517 on-base percentage through his first seven games, lining up at catcher four times and designated hitter for three. Backstopping the Baysox against the Senators marked his second time catching all nine innings in a span of three days.
The outing was Hall's first start in the Eastern League since a stress reaction in his left elbow ended his season there last June. The left-hander allowed two runs on three hits and one walk with six strikeouts across 3 2/3 innings in the 6-1 loss. Full story »
Pssssst Grayson and Adley are about to be reunited at Triple-A Norfolk. pic.twitter.com/bNoykxXCZZ
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 5, 2022
May 4
The offensive tide rolls in for Myrtle Beach
The box score showed 24 runs on 22 hits -- and that was just one side of it. Single-A Myrtle Beach's offense delivered a Minor League season high in runs during the 24-6 romp over Salem at Haley Toyota Field. The output topped the previous high of 21 runs by Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on April 30 against Visalia.
The biggest contribution came from the No. 9 hitter in the order, Peter Matt. The 2021 10th-round Draft pick accounted for 10 of the Pelicans' runs -- driving in seven and scoring three.
Seven starters finished with multihit performances with 11th-ranked Cubs prospect Reginald Preciado and Cole Roederer delivering four knocks apiece. Sixth-ranked Pete Crow-Armstrong provided a spark at the top of the lineup with a two-run homer on a three-hit night, while Preciado broke out of an early-season slump in a big way: doubling twice and driving in a career-best six runs. Full story »
Strikeout streaks are a thing!
A pair of pitchers strung together whiffs in most impressive fashion, seemingly within minutes of each other.
Bryce Bonnin wasn’t in Dayton's 5-1 win over Lake County for long -- he went only 3 2/3 innings -- but he made the most of it. Cincinnati's No. 15 prospect fanned nine batters, including a streak of seven in a row. The 23-year-old righty tossed 40 of his 71 pitches for strikes and fanned nine of the 15 batters he faced.
Leaving them quaking in their cleats
Top Dodgers prospect
Cartaya’s blast off Snell was a no-doubter in the third inning. Storm left fielder Justin Farmer took just a few steps back before watching it fly out of The Diamond. It was the fourth homer in three games for the 20-year-old, who has belted six long balls this year.
In the 10th inning, Cartaya roped a two-run double to left field en route to the Quakes' 9-7 win.
Going from great to grand
Finding the power stroke is usually the last attribute to emerge for a ballplayer. In the case of Matt McLain, consider that potential tapped.
Baseball's No. 85 overall prospect went deep twice for the second time in three games, capping his power-packed stretch with the first grand slam of his career. The display propelled Double-A Chattanooga past Rocket City, 13-4, at Toyota Field.
McLain's five RBIs equaled a personal best established last Aug. 11 with High-A Dayton and gave him nine in his last three games. Full story »
Three is a magic number
Boston's No. 6 prospect smacked a two-run shot in Triple-A Worcester’s 7-1 win over Toledo. The 23-year-old took advantage of a leadoff single and parked a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left for his sixth dinger of the season.
Downs is batting .270/.400/.676 with four homers, seven RBIs and seven walks in his past 10 games.
May 3
The Bakers have it going on
On the night Dusty Baker became the 12th member -- and first Black manager -- of the prestigious 2,000-win club, the celebration became a family affair about 1,500 miles away at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware.
Darren Baker, Dusty’s son, cracked a walk-off sacrifice fly to seal a 3-2 win for High-A Wilmington. Taking his fifth trip to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning, Baker hit a 1-2 offering into deep center field to bring home the winning run.
Baker went 1-for-4 as the Blue Rocks’ leadoff hitter, reaching on an infield single on the first pitch of the game. On the year, the 23-year-old is batting .296 with a .761 OPS, seven extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in 20 games. Full story »
On the night Dusty Baker became the 12th manager to reach 2,000 wins, his son Darren had a celebration of his own.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 4, 2022
The Nationals prospect walked it off for the High-A Blue Rocks: https://t.co/F1Zrv6znn5 pic.twitter.com/17hoRpOEqy
Talk about making a big splash!
Trash Pandas fans should want to get to Toyota Field for Brett Kerry’s starts just based on his early season success. They might get to take part in something sudsier too.
For the second time in his three home starts this year, a foul ball off a Kerry pitch resulted in a fan guzzling a beer, and on the hill, Kerry dazzled with seven dominant innings as Double-A Rocket City blanked Chattanooga, 5-0.
In the top of the second inning Tuesday night, Kerry yielded a foul ball to Chattanooga’s Matt Lloyd that reached a fan on the third-base side. After making “a nice play … beer in hand,” according to the Trash Pandas' broadcast, the woman proceeded to show off her new souvenir and downed said beer. The event occurred on Kerry’s 23rd pitch of the night.
It was remarkably similar to something that happened on April 14, when Kerry twirled five one-hit frames with a dozen strikeouts. Full story »
There's a new trend brewing at @trashpandas games...
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 4, 2022
🍺 2nd inning
🍺 Brett Kerry pitching
🍺 Foul popup
🍺 Fan catches ball, chugs beer pic.twitter.com/K7r4Ku9b0q
Climb every mountain
Kyle Lewis never got to take cuts for the Triple-A Rainiers during his sojourn through the Minor Leagues. He bypassed the top level of the Minors, jumping from the Double-A Travelers to the Mariners in 2019.
After suffering a right meniscus tear in early April, though, Seattle's center fielder finally got his chance. Serving as the designated hitter as Tacoma visited Salt Lake, the 26-year-old tattooed an 0-2 pitch 464 feet into the Smith's Ballpark night in the first inning against No. 25 Angels prospect Ryan Smith.
Lewis was the first player to go yard in his first Rainiers at-bat since Jaycob Brugman on June 1, 2019, in El Paso.
Waters still runs deep
Fresh off a rehab stint in which he went 4-for-11 with a dinger and five runs scored over three games for High-A Rome, the 23-year-old outfielder hit the ball hard to all fields in the Stripers' 11-7 win over the Charlotte Knights. He followed his first-inning jack to left-center with a sharp single to right in the second, pulled a base hit into left in the fourth, and batting from the left side in the sixth, dropped an RBI single into right-center.
The four hits match a career high the 2017 second-rounder has achieved several times, including three times with the Stripers last year. Waters had a .240/.329/.381 slash line, 11 homers and 22 doubles over 103 games for Gwinnett in 2021.
One weekend, three titles
Get ready for Minor League Baseball's inaugural Triple-A Triple Championship Weekend, which will feature the very best teams at the top level of the Minors from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The three-game series will begin with the division winners of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League squaring off for the league crown that Friday night. The following evening, the International League division winners will meet to determine the International League champion.
And the final faceoff -- the two league champions will play that Sunday to crown the overall Triple-A National Champion. Full story »
.@AviatorsLV to host inaugural Triple-A Triple Championship Weekend, a new postseason format featuring three winner-take-all games!
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 3, 2022
📰: https://t.co/s2qftN2lxk pic.twitter.com/MQ6i43C4bP
Turning the calendar to May
With the festivities of Opening Day long in the rearview mirror, the 2022 Minor League campaign embarks upon its first full month. Last week, Single-A Myrtle Beach and High-A Eugene turned in combined no-hitters while Atlanta prospect Michael Harris II flexed his power at the plate and Arizona's