The Buffalo Bisons remain the kings of the International League despite struggling a bit this week. A mere half game, however separate the Bisons from the next four best teams as the Pawtucket Red Sox, Rochester Red Wings, Charlotte Knights, and Indianapolis Indians all remained hot.
While the Bisons have the best record in the International League, the Knights have the best player in the IL. Carlos Sanchez is playing with a huge chip on his shoulder since being passed over for Micah Johnson in Chicago, and right now, he can not be stopped.
Several of the bigger stars of the IL made their way to The Big Show this week. Blake Swihart was called up to the Boston Red Sox, Mike Foltynewicz earned a victory in his Braves debut, and AJ Cole was rocked in his Washington Nationals debut. Other big names, like Daniel Norris and Dalton Pompey returned to Triple-A after slow starts, in their case Syracuse.
It was an exciting week in which the North Division continued to reign supreme while the West continued to falter. Here is the week that was in the International League.
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH
Early in the week, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders traveled to Gwinnett in a showcase of the two of the best second baseman in Minor League baseball. Rob Refsnyder, the New York Yankees No. 5 prospect, may have had the better offensive series, but Grading on the Curve’s No. 27 prospect, the Braves Jose Peraza took the series two games to one.
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Speaking of second baseman, 26-year old Rochester Red Wings second baseman James Beresford is on fire. He has a tough road to Minnesota with Brian Dozier locked in at second, but he is amid an 8-game hitting streak consisting of 6 multi hit games. He went 9-for-21 this week, and has his season average up to .345.
Chris Colabello ended his week on a 4-game hitting streak while taking home the April IL Player of the Month Award. He had a phenomenal April, hitting .338 with a league best five home runs. He has powered the heart of the lineup for the best team in the International League.
Eduardo Rodriguez had yet another fine outing for Pawtucket. The 22-year old lefty went 6 strong innings agains Durham, striking out 6 while improving to 3-0 and lowering his ERA to 1.82. Rochester’s Taylor Rogers, the Twins No. 18 prospect had a big week as well. The 24-year old lefty went 1-0 over two starts, striking out nine and allowing just three runs over 15 innings. Rogers’ teammate, and the Twins top pitching prospect Alex Meyer was rocked around this week, but was still able to go 1-1, despite letting up 8 runs over his two starts.
At some point, the Blue Jays are going to have to call up Randy Wolf who is absolutely dominating the International League batters. He didn’t pick up any wins this week, but hurled two more scoreless outings. He now owns a 1.24 ERA on the season, despite having a 1.55 WHIP. Randy Wolf has always been a pitcher who gets in and out of trouble, and right now he is doing it better than he has in some time.
NORTH STANDINGS
Buffalo Bisons 15-9
Rochester Red Wings 14-9
Pawtucket Red Sox 15-10
SWB RailRiders 12-13
Syracuse Chiefs 10-14
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 6-19
IL NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Rob Refsnyder. The RailRiders second baseman is amid an 8-game hitting streak, picking up 9 hits this week, including 3 multi hit games. The Yankees top second base prospect raised his average from .246 to .275 on the season and is batting .346 in his last 10 games.
IL NORTH PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Taylor Rogers
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH
We are just going to call this slot the Carlos Sanchez Show until further notice. Every week thus far, Sanchez has been part of the highlights, and this week was his best so far. Why you ask? He ended the week on a five game hitting streak. He had 15 hits over that streak, including a 5-hit game Friday followed by a 4-hit, 2 home run, 7 RBI night Saturday. The 22-year old is slashing an insane .407/.432/.582 and is hands down the hottest player in the IL.
The Gwinnett Braves had a huge week, going 5-2 and ending the week on a 3-game winning streak. The Braves have been highlighted by stout pitching. While names like Manny Banuelos, Matt Wisler, and recently promoted Mike Foltynewicz were household names, 23-year old righty Williams Perez has been having a quietly sensational season. He hurled two more great outings this week, picking up a win over SWB in a 7 inning, one run performance before getting a no decision after pitching shut out ball on Sunday. He struck out 10 over the span while walking just two.
Rays No. 12 prospect, Durham Bulls center fielder Mikie Mahtook, had a big week going 9-for-25, concluding the week with a 3-for-4 performance and a home run on Sunday. Mahtook has seen both big league and International League time this year and if he keeps up his hot hitting, he may be back in Tamp soon.
While the Baltimore Orioles have big name pitching prospects like Dylan Bundy, Hunter Harvey and Zach Davies, No. 7 prospect Mike Wright has quietly put together a nice season. The 25-year old righty moved to 3-0 on the season defeating the Red Wings this week. He now has a 2.81 ERA and 1.01 WHIP on the season.
SOUTH STANDINGS
Charlotte Knights 14-9
Norfolk Tides 14-11
Durham Bulls 12-12
Gwinnett Braves 11-13
IL SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Carlos Sanchez
IL SOUTH PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Williams Perez
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
Aside from the Indianapolis Indians, the International League West had a rough week. The Clippers ended the week on a 5-game losing streak, and the Mud Hens were on a 3-game losing streak.
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It’s time to keep an eye on the Louisville Bats Irving Falu. It’s long past Falu’s prospect window, but the 31-year old third baseman is amongst a 12-game hitting streak. He closed the week with four consecutive 2-hit games and is now slashing .400/.433/.533 on the season.
Wilfredo Boscan, the 25-year old righty on the Indians, has been a victim of bad luck this season. He has gone 6 innings in every start, hasn’t allowed more than 2 runs in any of them and has only been able to go 1-0 on the season. He pitched another strong game this week going six innings of one run ball against the Bats.
The Reds No. 14 prospect, 23-year old righty Jon Moscot had yet another impressive outing this past week. He hurled 5 innings to go to 3-0 on the season. He has an ERA of 2.16.
Francisco Lindor continues with his early season struggles. The top short stop prospect in the International League, the Indians top prospect had just two hits this week as his season average plummeted to .239.
The Toledo Mud Hens Mike Hessman made history this week, sliding into the sixth slot on the all time Minor League home run list. It was the lone highlight in a rough week for the Hens.
IL WEST STANDINGS:
Indianapolis Indians 15-10
Columbus Clippers 11-13
Toledo Mud Hens 10-13
Louisville Bats 10-14
IL WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Irving Falu
IL WEST PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Wilfredo Boscan