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MiLB Notes: Toronto Blue Jays prospect showing power

By Brody Hilgenkamp

Jun 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A Toronto Blue Jays hat on the players bench in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Toronto Blue Jays won 13-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A Toronto Blue Jays hat on the players bench in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Toronto Blue Jays won 13-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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In part two of this week’s minor league notes, a Cincinnati Reds prospect and a Toronto Blue Jays prospect are showing off their power in the lower minors.

This is part two of the week’s minor league notes. Today we check out what’s going on in Class A Advanced and Single-A. Yesterday’s portion focused on Double- and Triple-A. (All stats are entering Wednesday.)

Class A Advanced
Aristides Aquino, outfielder, Cincinnati Reds
Aquino has homered in two of his last three games and is working on a six-game hitting streak. Aquino is tied for second in the Florida State League with 15 home runs and is second in isolated power (.235). He’s gotten more powerful as the season has progressed, slugging .434 in April, .411 in May, .593 in June and .680 in July.

Justus Sheffield, pitcher, Cleveland Indians
Sheffield is wrapping up one his strongest months of his season. In Monday’s start he tossed six innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits, three walks and six strikeouts, bring his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 2.75 for the month of July. That rate is the highest of any month this season even though he’s had his second highest walk rate (4.21 per nine innings) of any month. Those walks were balanced by 11.57 strikeouts per nine innings, Sheffield’s highest rate this season. His 3.62 Fielding Independent Pitching is also the lowest of the year.

Grant Holmes, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
Holmes shook off a rough outing from last week by throwing a productive five innings and allowing two earned runs yesterday. (In his last outing, he allowed seven earned runs in five innings.) In the offensive haven that is the California League, Holmes’ 3.67 FIP is sixth in the league and his home run rate (0.45 per nine innings) is fourth. The Dodgers are treating the 2014 first round draft pick with kid gloves as he’s thrown more than five innings in just seven of his 17 appearances—he’s also thrown 90 or more pitches just seven times.

Single-A
Juan Kelly, infielder, Toronto Blue Jays
Kelly is third in the Midwest League in slugging (.481) and ISO (.201), but he’s not a typical all-or-nothing slugger. Like a typical power hitter he is drawing walks in a respectable 8.1 percent of plate appearances but he is striking out in just 20.3 percent of PAs, much lower than many of the other ISO leaders in the league. He’s been particularly good over the past 30 games, slashing .304/.360/.452.

Next: A dubious first for King Felix

Roniel Raudes, pitcher, Boston Red Sox
Raudes is one of two 18-year olds in the top five of the South Atlantic League in FIP—the other is Mike Soroka of the Rome Braves. Raudes, who is scheduled to pitch tomorrow, is coming off a bit of a rough stretch, allowing four earned runs in each of his last three starts. Even though he has the league’s seventh best K/BB (5.00) and doesn’t give up many home runs, he still has the league’s lowest strand rate, stranding just 56.2 percent of base runners.

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