Round Rock Express 8, Chihuahuas 7
Key Stats: LHP JP Sears, 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, BB, 7 K; RHP David Morgan (L, 0-4), 1.1 IP, 2 H, ER; RF Samad Taylor, 2-for-5; DH Will Wagner 1-for-3, HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB; CF Jase Bowen 0-for-3, 2 HBP, 2 R
David Morgan is working to find teh balance between more strikes and less damage by opposing batters. (Photo: Jorge Salgado)
Prospect Watch: El Paso starter JP Sears had an adventurous outing. The southpaw worked five innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits, walking one, and striking out seven. Sears’ arsenal was hit hard across the board, yielding an .433 xwOBA while generating just seven whiffs and a 17.9% whiff rate. While ERA isn’t a perfect indicator of results in the PCL, Sears’s does sit a 6.70 ERA with just a 19.7% strikeout rate. If there is a silver lining, it’s that Sears has held opponents to a respectable 3.3% barrel rate and 38.3% hard hit rate. Subscribers can read more about Sears’ disappointing assignment and results this year in John Conniff’s recent interview. … David Morgan entered with two on and two out in a tie game in the eighth and got a pop fly to escape the jam. However, he came back out in the ninth and gave up the deciding run on two one-out hits before getting a double play to avoid more damage. Morgan’s fastball sat 98 mph for most of the outing and his sinker at 97.2 mph. Perhaps the most encouraging numbers, though, is that he threw 72.2% of his pitches for strikes and zoned 11 of his 18 pitches, including seven of eight fastballs. Even with the improved control, Morgan saw his ERA since being sent out to El Paso swell to 7.56. … Will Wagner homered for a second straight day as part of his 1-for-3 effort at the plate. His homer in the bottom of the fifth was a three-run shot, which left his bat at 99.4 mph and traveled 404 feet. Wagner was acquired at the deadline last year in exchange for Brandon Valenzuela. He has had decent box score numbers in 64 at-bats, but the batted ball data isn’t great, as he owns just a 22.4% hard hit rate. Still, his plate discipline numbers are noteworthy; he’s whiffing at just a 13.3% clip with a 93.6% in-zone contact rate.
Frisco RoughRiders 8, Missions 1
Key Stats: RHP Miguel Mendez (L, 1-1) 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; RHP Andrew Moore, IP, 2 K; RHP Johan Moreno 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, BB; C Ethan Salas, 0-for-4; 1B Romeo Sanabria, 1-for-2, 2 BB, R, SB (4); RF Braedon Karpathios, 1-for-3, BB; 2B Carson Tucker, 1-for-4, SB (10); CF Kai Roberts 1-for-3, SB (12)
Miguel Mendez has been hit more often this season. (Photo: Rey Holguin)
Prospect Watch: It was a struggle-filled outing for Missions’ right-hander Miguel Mendez. The hard-throwing 23-year-old worked just 2.1 innings and allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five. Mendez struggled to generate the swings and misses he often gets, posting just a 21.7% whiff rate (5 whiffs on 23 swings). In 19.2 Double-A innings wrapped around a two-week IL stint, Mendez owns a 5.49 ERA, though his 3.07 FIP is more encouraging. His strikeout rate has plummeted to 24.4% this season. … Romeo Sanabria continued to trend in the right direction Sunday, going 1-for-2 with a single, two walks, and a run scored. After a horrid month of April, the first basemen is hitting .352 with a .980 OPS this month. While his power numbers are strong, they may tick up even more if he can start pulling the ball in the air at a greater frequency. This season, Sanabria is sporting just a 9.7% pull fly ball rate and 36% pull rate. Along with the improved power numbers, Sanabria has drawn more free passes. His two walks Sunday give him 13 this month against 14 strikeouts. … Andrew Moore worked a perfect eighth inning for San Antonio, striking out two to lower his ERA to 3.00. The hard-throwing right-hander still has a very real problem with command, with Sunday being just his second appearance this season without issuing a walk. Still, the stuff does pop for Moore; his high-90s fastball and two-plane action on his slider have helped him strike out 37.1% of hitters and generate an absurd 40.6% whiff rate. … After a three-hit outing Saturday, Ethan Salas went 0-for-4 to close out the series. Still, the 19-year-old — who’s facing competition on average four years older than him — owns an .810 OPS and 123 wRC+ this month.
Alex McCoy has been at the center of much of the TinCaps’ success. (Photo: Jeff Nycz)
TinCaps 6, Dayton Dragons 3
Key Stats: LHP Jamie Hitt, 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; RHP Tucker Musgrove, IP, 2 H, 2 K, RHP Clay Edmondson, (S, 10) IP, BB, K; LF Alex McCoy, 3-for-4, HR (9), 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, SB (8); 3B Zach Evans, 2-for-3, R; RF Kavares Tears, 1-for-3, RBI, SB (1)
Storm 10, Visalia Rawhide 3
Key Stats: 1B Truitt Madonna, 1-for-2, 2B, 2 R, 3 BB, SB (11); SS Jorge Quintana, 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, R, SB (6); 3B Kerrington Cross, 1-for-3, HR (4), RBI, 2 R, BB, SB (6), CS (1); CF Ryan Wideman, 1-for-5, 2B, CS (7); SP Carlos Medina, 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Jorge Quintana is finding his stride in the Cal League. (Photo: Robert Escalante)
Prospect Watch: Jorge Quintana collected just his second multi-hit game in his last 12 starts, going 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. While the exit velocities are encouraging, the young shortstop is still struggling to put the ball in the air, boasting a 56.6% ground ball rate against just 26.5% fly balls. In May, Quintana is slugging only .317 with four extra base hits and no home runs. … Truitt Madonna reached base four times against Visalia pitching, going 1-for-2 with a double, three walks, an RBI, and three runs scored. It continues what’s been a strong stretch for the Seattle product, who now owns an .844 OPS since the calendar flipped to May. Madonna has made a few mechanical changes in recent weeks, including going into a slightly more crouched stance at the dish and lowering his hands from high above his head to level with his ear. The changes have helped to shorten his swing, in turn, helping him make more frequent contact. The big-bodied catcher also swiped his 11th base in 15 attempts. While speed certainly won’t be a major part of his game as he advances, his aggressiveness on the basepaths is in line with the entire Storm approach. The club has 70 more attempts than any of the Cal League’s seven other teams and has converted at a 76.5% clip. … At 24, Kerrington Cross is significantly older than his competition, but that doesn’t take away from what he’s done in recent weeks. After going 1-for-3 with his fourth homer of the year and a walk, the University of Cincinnati alum owns a 10-game hitting streak. Since May 6, he’s 18-for-44 with a 1.340 OPS and has walked more (14) than he has struck out (10). After largely platooning early in the year, he’s had stellar results against right-handed pitching since being forced into action after Luke Cantwell was sent to the IL. He’s hitting .333/.527/.636 against same-handed pitchers this season. … Ryan Wideman went 1-for-5 in Sunday’s win, with his lone knock of the afternoon being a ringing wall-ball off the top of the wall in center. Over his last 25 games, Wideman is hitting .273 with a .711 OPS– working just five walks against 21 punch outs in that same time span.