Welcome to Week Four of Grading on the Curve’s High-A recap.
In the California League North Division, Modesto went 5-2 to move into second place behind Visalia. The San Jose Giants’ struggles continued as the team had a 2-5 week and now sit at 10-21 on the season. In the Southern Division, the Lancast JetHawks jumped the Inland Empire 66ers for second place by going 5-2 to sit two games behind division leader Rancho Cucamonga.
The Dunedin Blue Jays had a forgettable week that saw them go 2-4 and fall to last place in the Florida State League North Division. Division leader Daytona maintains first place even after a 2-4 week of its own. In the South Division, the Fort Myers Miracle won five of six games to jump the St. Lucie Mets and the Jupiter Hammerheads to finish the week in fourth place.
Wilmington moved into a tie for first with the Frederick Keys in the Carolina League Northern Division after going 4-2. Lynchburg had the roughest week of any team in High-A after going 1-7, including being swept in a double header Wednesday against the Carolina Mudcats. In the Southern Division, Myrtle Beach went 6-3 to maintain a half-game lead over Carolina.
This week, we’ll start in the Carolina League…
Next: Carolina League
Carolina League
Northern
Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)—16-13
Frederick Keys (Orioles)—17-14
Potomac Nationals (Nationals)—12-18
Lynchburg Hillcats (Indians)—10-21
Southern
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs)—19-12
Carolina Mudcats (Braves)—18-12
Salem Red Sox (Red Sox)—16-15
Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)—14-17
Notable performances:
The Cubs farm system is going to pay out for years to come. Pelican outfielder Billy McKinney is usually mentioned in passing when referencing the army of hitting-proficient prospects within the organization. If we was playing for another organization, more people would know his name. He’s hit .441 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in the past ten games. His latest performance was a 2-for-4 day with two runs Sunday.
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The hot streak has launched him to the top of the Carolina League offensive leader boards, where he is first in average (.333), on base percentage (.433), slugging (.545) and third in RBIs (22). He’s also only struck out 13 times 120 plate appearances and has drawn 17 walks on the season.
Mike Papi’s struggles have continued. He struggled early in the season, then showed life with a six-game hit streak towards the end of April. Now, he only has three hits in his last 36 at bats, and he has struck out 16 times in that span. The competitive balance pick out of Virginia hasn’t taken well to professional pitching, as he struggled after being drafted last year as well.
Nationals prospect Nick Pivetta put together a solid first month of the season. He is fifth in the league in ERA (1.41) and tied for fifth in strikeouts (28). Walks are a concern, as he’s given out 13 free passes which has undermined his K/BB ratio, but that hasn’t hindered his ability to keep runs from crossing the plate.
Next: California League
California League
North
Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks)—22-8
Modesto Nuts (Rockies)—16-15
Bakersfield Blaze (Mariners)—14-16
Stockton Ports (Athletics)—14-17
San Jose Giants (Giants)—10-21
South
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers)—18-13
Lancaster JetHawks (Astros)—16-15
Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres)—15-16
Inland Empire 66ers (Angels)—14-16
High Desert Mavericks (Rangers)—14-16
Notable performances:
Rancho Cucamonga centerfielder Devan Ahart has moved his way up the offensive charts with a 13-for-37 hitting display over the past ten days. He drew a walk in nine of those games, which has risen his OBP to .420, good for fourth in the league. The 2014 16th –round pick out of Akron has made a seamless transition from college to professional pitching. He hit .344/.376/.463 in 64 games last season and stole 19 bases, although he was also thrown out 20 times. He has three stolen bases and has been caught five times so far this season, so swiping bags may not be in his future.
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Teammate Jose De Leon threw a gem Sunday; he struck out 12 over seven innings and only allowed one run. The 24th round pick in 2013 now stands at 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA—fourth in the league—and a 0.84 WHIP—second in the league. More impressive is that he’s blown by other pitchers with 50 strikeouts in six starts—the next highest is 41, also in six starts.
Lake Elsinore shortstop Jose Rondon had a productive weekend that culminated in a 3-for-5 with three runs performance Sunday. From Thursday-Sunday, Rondon was 8-for-19 with six runs. His batting average now stands at .333, and his modest 22 strikeouts have allowed him to post a productive .357 OBP.
Next: Florida State League
Florida State League
North
Daytona Tortugas (Reds)—18-12
Tampa Yankees (Yankees)—16-14
Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)—15-15
Brevard County Manatees (Brewers)—14-15
Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)—13-16
Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)—13-17
South
Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays)—20-10
Palm Beach Cardinals (Cardinals)—16-14
Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)—15-15
For Myers Miracle (Twins)—14-16
St. Lucie Mets (Mets)—13-17
Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins)—12-18
Notable Performances:
Clint Coulter continues to show improvement. He’s drawn 13 walks and only whiffed 19 times in 130 plate appearances, leading to a robust .415 OBP. He’s also hitting .324, which is attributable to a .337 Batting Average on Balls in Play. Normally, that would scream fluke, but it’s not far off from his BABIP from 2014 when he hit .287. Coulter’s power stroke seems to be developing even more as well: his AB/HR last season was 19.5, this season it is 15.9, which is tied for the league lead.
The tie is with Phillip Ervin of the Daytona Tortugas. Ervin hasn’t homered since April 28 and is hitting .179 over his last ten games. He only has eight Ks in that span and 23 on the season, which is hardly a concern. It looks like a normal slump, especially considering his BABIP (.298) is very similar to where it was last season.
Jacob Faria continues to dominate the league from the mound. Saturday, he went seven shutout innings and struck out seven and walked two, dropping his ERA to 1.60 and improving his K/BB ratio to 2.64. Pitching in the pitching-friendly Florida State League has allowed Faria’s to post a 0.91 groundout-to-airout ratio, which is the highest of his career.