Francisco Mejia is off to a fast start for El Paso. (Photo Ivan Pierre Aguirre/El Paso Chihuahuas)
Chihuahuas 2, Oklahoma City Dodgers 1
Key Stats: RF Forrestt Allday 2-for-4, BB; C Francisco Mejia 3-for-4, 2B; LF Dusty Coleman 1-for-4, HR (11); LHP Jerry Keel 5 IP, 3H, 1ER, 1K, 2BB
Prospect Watch: After starting just two of his first six games in the system, Francisco Mejia started behind the plate Saturday and collected three hits. The 22-year-old switch-hitter had a double and two singles in four at-bats while catching and batting in the third spot. He is five for his first 12 in an El Paso uniform. … Dusty Coleman had a homer in the top of the ninth to give El Paso the final margin of victory before Trey Wingenter came on for a scoreless ninth to record his third save. He’s allowed a run in only one of his last 14 outings.
Missions 4, Frisco RoughRiders 1
Key Statistics: 2B Peter Van Gansen 2-4; RF-CF Michael Gettys 1-3, HR (12) 2 RBI, SB (14), BB; RHP Jesse Scholtens (W, 6-2) 6.2 IP 7 H R ER 2 BB 6 K; RHP T.J. Weir 1.1 IP 2 K; RHP Andres Munoz (S, 5) 1.0 IP 2 K
Is Michael Gettys starting to turn it around? Photo Credit: Grant Wickes.
Prospect Watch: After struggling in Triple-A with the Chihuahuas, Jesse Scholtens has continued to pitch well for the Missions. Scholtens has a 3.23 ERA in his last six starts for the Missions with 30 strikeouts against nine walks in his last 39 innings…Although it seems like we have been writing about Michael Gettys, 22, forever, he’s actually a year younger than centerfielder Buddy Reed, 23, whose breakout season with the Storm earned a Future’s Game spot at this year’s All-Star Game. In his first 56 plate appearances in Double-A, Reed is off to a slow start hitting .160.246/.200 as Gettys has been moved over to right from center field. The move to right might be working because in a very small sample size which includes eight of the last ten games, Gettys is hitting .344/.377/.578. Before Reed’s arrival Gettys had some sporadic starts in right, but as always with a player with Michael’s prodigious skill set, any sign that the performance is even starting to equal the potential is interesting…Andres Munoz is now five for five in save opportunities and has not given up a run in his tenure (9.2 innings) with the Missions. He has five walks in that time which is high, but when you are only 19 and throw consistently around 100 miles per hour range we can wait for the slider to develop.
Stockton Ports 8, Storm 6
Key Statistics: 3B Hudson Potts 2-4, 2B; 1B Brad Zunica 2-3, 2 2B 2 RBI; LF Rod Boykin 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; RHP Ronald Bolanos (L, 4-7) 6 H 7 R 4 ER 2 BB 6 K HR
Prospect Watch: Hudson Potts continues to produce in the Cal League. At 19, the six-foot-three Texas is nearly three and a half years younger than the average players he is competing against but is leading the league in total bases (197) and doubles (34) and is tied for second, with four others, with 17 home runs. In the second half (146 plate appearances) he is hitting .333/.388/.578 with 45 hits in 34 games.
TinCaps 3, Bowling Green Hot Rods 0
Key Statistics: LF Robbie Podorsky 2-4, 3B; SS Gabriel Arias 3-3, 2B, RBI, BB; LHP Osvaldo Hernandez (W, 8-4) 5.1 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 4 K; LHP Travis Radke (S, 13) 1.0 IP K
Osvaldo Hernandez has been as good as anyone for the TinCaps in 2018. Photo Credit: Jeff Nycz
Prospect Watch: If Gabriel Arias, 18, can hit, there are a lot of great things that can happen. Arias has a cannon for an arm and is one of the more athletic shortstops you will ever watch. The problem is that he simply hasn’t hit yet. After hitting .182 in May he posted his best line in June at .270/.309/.382 and while that is a long way to go the Venezuelan would also be a high school senior if he was in the states. Tonight was his second three-hit game of the season…In the second half, this season (36.1 innings) Osvaldo Hernandez, 20, has a 1.24 ERA with a 30 to six strikeout to base-on-balls ratio.
Dust Devils 11, Boise Hawks 5
Key Stats: SS Owen Miller 3-for-4, SF, E; 2B Olivier Basabe 2-for-5, 2B, E; DH Luis Asuncion 3-for-4, 2B, BB; LF Michael Curry 3-for-5; RHP Henry Henry 5.1IP, 9H, 4R (3ER), 5K, 0BB
Prospect Watch: Tri-City pounded out 16 hits and broke the game open late with six runs over the final three innings. Luis Asuncion extended his hitting streak to seven with a three-hit night and has even started to draw a few walks. He’s nudged his OPS back up to .755 for the year. … Owen Miller and Michael Curry both had three-hit nights as well. Curry had been mired in a 0-for-24 slump coming into the night. The 16th-round pick out of Georgia hasn’t had much production in professional debut, but he’s posted a reasonable 20.7% K rate and a 9.1% walk rate. … The Dust Devils bullpen allowed one unearned run over 3.2 innings of work, including a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for Jose Galindo. The relief corps has been stellar all year, posting a 2.71 ERA.
AZL Padres-1 3, AZL Rangers 1
Key Stats: SS Xavier Edwards 0-for-3, BB, SB (10), E (3); CF Jawuan Harris 0-for-2, 2BB, 2SB (11), R; RHP Efrain Contreras 5IP, 6H, 1ER, 1K, 2BB
AZL Dodgers 8, AZL Padres-2 3
Key Stats: SS Tucupita Marcano 3-for-5; 3B Sean Guilbe 1-for-3, 2BB; LHP Joey Cantillo 1.1IP, 6H, 5R (3ER), 2K, 1BB; RHP Tyler Mortensen 3IP, 3H, 2ER, 3K, 1BB, 2HR
Prospect Watch: JC Cosme restarted his rehab assignment after a three-week layoff, working a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Hansel Rodriguez followed with his own clean inning. The would-be Storm closer has allowed one hit with five strikeouts in four innings so far. Watch for back-to-back outings before he’s ready to rejoin Lake Elsinore. … Tucupita Marcano continues his absurd campaign. The 18-year-old had three of his club’s six hits and now sports a .398/.496/.437 line. His partner on the left side of the infield, Sean Guilbe, also reached three times with a hit and two walks. He’s posted a 1.069 OPS through his first 75 professional plate appearances. Righty Efrain Contreras picked up his first professional victory, allowing one run over five innings. The 18-year-old, who came over from the DSL last month, has a 19:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 21 innings in the desert.
John Conniff wrote the San Antonio, Lake Elsinore and Fort Wayne sections today. As David Jay will happily inform you, any and all errors are his.
