AAA: Round Rock 2, at Sacramento (SFO) 1
Round Rock: 4 hits, 8 walks, 12 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
Record: 12-5, 0.5 GB
SP Cody Bradford: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 81 P / 56 S, 0.77 ERA
RP John King: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.00 ERA
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-5, 2B, .203/.373/.254
1B Blaine Crim: 1-2, 2 BB, .273/.385/.364
Cody Bradford went out and did Cody Bradford things. Six swinging strikes on fastballs in a range of 88.7 to 90.4 MPH. Four more on secondaries. To be clear, that fastball is a straightforward four, not a bowling-ball two-seamer, and it tends to work high, as evidenced by this graphic of last night’s whiffs.
Blaine Crim and Yoshi Tsutsugo scored on a Jonathan Ornelas double in the 7th. Appropriately, Crim and Tsutsugo walked. Sacramento has a 20% BB/HBP rate and opposing OBP of .416, both worst in minor league ball.
Crim’s rates of hard hits and good velo/angle combinations are solid overall, but what’s missing so far are any balls I classify as likely homers. He’s hit two in the “maybe a homer” group, one of which did leave the yard.
AA: suspended
Frisco leads 9-0 after four. They’ll resume Saturday.
Hi-A: Hickory 5, Bowling Green (TAM) 1
Hickory: 0 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
Opponent: 6 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts
Record: 6-4, 1 GB
SP Josh Stephan: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 SO, 83 P / 58 S, 0.75 ERA
2B Jayce Easley: 3-4, SB (3)
DH Josh Hatcher: 1-3, HR (2), BB, SB (3)
Seven-inning starts are rare in the lower levels, especially in April, but averaging 12 pitches per inning can get you there. Per longtime Crawdads’ follower/reporter/scorer/etc. Mark Parker, Stephan didn’t throw many fastballs, missed 14 bats, and had first-pitch strikes to 19 of 26 batters.
Entering the season, 2018 5th-rounder Jayce Easley had reached 163 times on hits and 163 times on combined walks/HBPs.
Lo-A: Down East 3, Carolina (MIL) 8
Down East: 6 hits, 6 walks, 9 strikeouts
Opponent: 10 hits, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Record: 5-6, 1 GB
SP Jose Corneill: 4 IP, 4 H (1 HR), 5 R, 4 BB, 4 SO, 81 P / 46 S, 5.73 ERA
CF Anthony Gutierrez: 2-4, HR (1)
DH Yosy Galan: 2-2, 2B, HR (1), 2 BB
Anthony Gutierrez (.286/.324/.400) has his first full-season homer and fifth of his young career. Two walks are far more unlikely than a homer from Yosy Galan.
Down East has scored seven runs during a five-game losing streak.
Five Years Ago Yesterday
Hickory’s AJ Alexy walked four in 3.1 innings and had nine in 11.1 for the season. Alexy never had good control, but it improved enough for him to reach MLB in 2021. He backslid last year, and his time as a Charlotte Knight (CHW AAA) is going exceptionally poorly: 13 walks, a hit batter and two homers in seven innings.
Alexy and Nick Solak were teammates for two days, but Solak never appeared for the Knights and may not have even joined the team for all I know. Solak has been DFA’ed three times in a span of 17 days. For the moment, he’s a Gwinnett Striper.