Series Preview: Peoria Chiefs vs. Quad Cities River Bandits III

66 games down. 54 games to go.

The Peoria Chiefs will make the trip across the Mississippi River this week to take on the first-place Quad Cities River Bandits, the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Per MLB Pipeline, Quad Cities has seven of the Royals top 30 prospects in the organization. The Chiefs and River Bandits have faced off in two series this season. This series will be the first of two series in Davenport.

This Season vs. Quad Cities

Through 12 games this season, Peoria is 4-8 against the River Bandits. Quad Cities took five out of six games from the Chiefs in the first series on May 18-23 and forced a split in the second series. At home, Quad Cities has a record of 18-5 on the year. Combined with Peoria’s 9-21 record, the upcoming games against Quad Cities could provide a challenge going forward.

Scouting Report: Quad Cities

The River Bandits are sitting comfortably in first place in the West division with a 43-21 record and are a comfortable eight games ahead of Cedar Rapids. After a split against Wisconsin, Quad Cities turned on the jets this week, taking five out of six games from Beloit. The team’s five wins came in the first five games of the series. As a team, Quad Cities leads the High-A Central in on-base percentage and runs scored. In order to beat Quad Cities this week, Peoria’s pitching staff must continue the run they’ve been on the last two games.

Who to Watch: Quad Cities

Michael Massey: Massey has been on a tear in the past week, slashing .364/.417/.955 with four home runs, eight runs batted in, and a 1.371 OPS. His hot streak includes a three homer, five RBI game on July 14 in Beloit. With a hitter this hot, it’s worth watching to see if he continues to hit the ball well this week.

Eric Cole: In five games against Beloit, Cole managed to hit safely every game of the series. Additionally, he has hit safely in 13 out of 16 games in the month of July. Cole is a threat to get on base, which will lead to runs for Quad Cities.

Peyton Gray: In the month of July, Gray has been lights out after being demoted to Quad Cities a month ago. He has yet to give up an earned run and has struck out 18 batters while recording three saves. When the game is on the line, Quad Cities has a pitcher they can trust in high leverage situations.

Chiefs Last Series: Coming off being swept against Cedar Rapids, Peoria forced a split in the final series against Wisconsin at Dozer Park last week. The Chiefs took three out of the final four games of the series. Three home runs from Tyler Reichenborn, Matt Chamberlain, and Chandler Redmond helped Peoria take the third game of the series. The fifth game of the series saw two-solo home runs from Moises Castillo and Redmond in the bottom of the eight inning that lifted Peoria over Wisconsin in a 3-2 contest. Two solo homers and dominant pitching gave Peoria a 2-0 shut-out win to force a split in the season series.

Who to Watch For: Peoria

Chandler Redmond: Redmond’s bat was on fire last week, hitting three home runs in six games in last week’s series. It is a good sign for him considering his inconsistencies in the month of June. It will be worth watching to see if Redmond continues to hit the ball out of the ballpark this week.

Moises Castillo: Castillo has been hitting for power very well as of late as he has homered in his last two games played. He has also been playing stout defense at shortstop throughout the entire season. Castillo should be considered a player to watch with his bat starting to heat up.

Logan Gragg: Gragg achieved his first professional win on Friday, going six innings while giving up three hits and one earned run. It was a welcome sight to see as he has battled through an inconsistent season. This week will be key for Gragg to see if he can turn his season around.

Wilfredo Pereira: Pereira recently made the transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. On Sunday, he performed stellar, pitching five innings of shutout baseball while giving up three hits. Although it would not be considered a gem, it did show that Pereira could be a reliable arm going forward.

Single Game Ticket Information

August and September single game tickets are now on sale! Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and on Friday’s from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The box office will be closed for lunch daily between 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The Peoria Chiefs are locally owned and operated and play their games at Dozer Park. The Chiefs are a committed community asset and premier entertainment venue for families and individuals in Central Illinois.