In this week’s High-A recap, division standings begin to take shape and a couple notable pitching performances are the headlines.
In the Florida State League, first-half division winners Clearwater (North) and Charlotte (South) are off to very different starts to the second half; Clearwater is in first place at 8-3 while Charlotte is 2-9 and in the cellar. Clearwater holds a 2.5 game lead over Daytona and Tampa, both of which are 5-5. The Bradenton Marauders are tied for first place with the Palm Beach Cardinals at 8-3 in the South.
In the Carolina League, the Potomac Nationals are in first place of the Northern Division with a 7-3 record, one game ahead of the first-half division winners Wilmington Blue Rocks. In the Southern Division, the Winston-Salem Dash lead with a 6-4 record, 1.5 games ahead of the 5-6 Carolina Mudcats and first-half division winner Myrtle Beach.
The Modesto Nuts are tied for the lead the California League North with the Visalia Rawhide at 7-3—Visalia won the North in the first half. Stockton is one game behind at 6-4. In the South, the Lancaster JetHawks lead the division with a 6-4 record, one game ahead of the 5-5 Inland Empire 66ers and first-half division winner Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
For notable performances, we begin in the Carolina League…
Next: Carolina League
Carolina League
Northern
Potomac Nationals (Nationals)—7-3
Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)—6-4
Lynchburg Hillcats (Indians)—5-5
Frederick Keys (Orioles)—4-7
Southern
Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)—6-4
Carolina Mudcats (Braves)—5-6
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs)—5-6
Salem Red Sox (Red Sox)—4-7
Notable performances:
National’s pitching prospect Nick Pivetta has given up a combined four runs over his last three starts. Over those three starts, he’ s pitched 20 innings and struck out 20 batters and walked only four. Sunday, he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and went seven innings and gave up one run on two hits and nine strikeouts. This is the second consecutive start he’s only allowed two hits and is now holding opposing offenses to a .219 average with a 2.29 ERA, third in the Carolina League.
Lynchburg outfielder Mike Papi did not start the season well. On June 6, Papi was hitting .186/.332 OBP/.251 SLG without a home run. Since then, he’s hit .348 and hit his first two home runs of the season, both against the Salem Red Sox. The Competitive Balance A-Round Pick from last year’s draft is now hitting .232/.378/.339 on the season. One reason for the offensive turnaround is his offensive discipline: Papi has drawn a walk in 18.4 percent of his plate appearances this season.
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Myrtle Beach Pelicans third baseman Jeimer Candelario went-2-for-4 with a double and scored two runs in a 12-0 win over the Carolina Mudcats. Candelario is now hitting .285/.336/.445 on the season with 21 doubles and five home runs. The 21-year-old is on the rebound after two rough seasons: from 2013-14, he hit just .240. He’s only struck out 17.2 percent of his plate appearances, which is typical of his offensive approach—his K-rate from 2013-14 was 16.4 percent.
Next: Florida State League
Florida State League
North
Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)—8-3
Daytona Tortugas (Reds)—5-5
Tampa Yankees (Yankees)—5-5
Brevard County Manatees (Brewers)—4-6
Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)—4-6
Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)—3-6
South
Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)—8-3
Palm Beach Cardinals (Cardinals)—8-3
Fort Myers Miracle (Twins)—7-4
St. Lucie Mets (Mets)—5-6
Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins)—4-7
Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays)—2-9
Notable Performances:
Recent promotion Dustin Fowler is hitting at a .368/.429/.395 clip in his first 12 games for the Tampa Yankees. He was promoted to High-A just before the first half of the season ended. He was hitting .307/.340/.419 with four home runs and 18 stolen bases for Class-A Charleston. Fowler, a 2013 18th-round pick, is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases attempts since the promotion.
Alex Swim of the Fort Myers Miracle is playing all over the field: he’s played 27 games at catcher, 18 at first base, 14 in right field and 12 at designated hitter. As a catcher, he has thrown out 33 percent of attempted base stealers and has allowed five passed balls. Offensively, Swim has succeed ever since he was drafted in 2013 out of Elon; in 2013, he slashed .287/.357/.344 in 37 games; in 2014, he slashed .311/.351/.349; he’s churning out a steady .315/.357/.356 line. The lack of power is very noticeable, however, as he still has yet to hit a professional home run.
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Dunedin pitcher Sean Reid-Foley a 2014 draft pick who could be part of a trade package for the Blue Jays, pitched five scoreless innings in his FSL debut. He only allowed two hits in the game, and more importantly, he didn’t walk anyone. In Class-A Lansing, Reid-Foley walked 40 batters in 54 1/3 innings. That lack of control undermines his 79 strikeouts over that same span and pushes his WHIP to 1.62. When he got hit, he got hit hard, as opposing offenses had a .367 batting average on balls in play in Lansing.
Next: California League
California League
North
Modesto Nuts (Rockies)—7-3
Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks)—7-3
Stockton Ports (Athletics)—6-4
Bakersfield Blaze (Mariners)—4-6
San Jose Giants (Giants)—4-6
South
Lancaster JetHawks (Astros)—6-4
Inland Empire 66ers (Angels)—5-5
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers)—5-5
High Desert Mavericks (Rangers)—3-7
Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres)—3-7
Notable performances:
A.J Reed is separating himself—with some help from one of the California League’s most hitter-friendly parks—from the rest of the CL’s premier power hitters. The Houston Astros’ 2014 second-round draft pick leads the league in average (.328), home runs (20) OBP (.434), RBIs (72) and is second in slugging (.595). While the power numbers may be a bit inflated, other power prospects like Kevin Cron (Visalia) and Cody Bellinger (Rancho Cucamonga) have OBPs over 100 points lower than Reed’s, who also leads the league in walks (55).
Giants 2013 first-round pick Christian Arroyo missed a month-and-a-half earlier this season, but he has rebounded nicely. He’s hitting .327/.371/.503 on the season and a gaudy .410 over his last 10 games. The pace was especially sweltering from over a four-game stretch from Tuesday to Friday, when he had 11 hits in 17 at-bats–including a 5-for-5 day Tuesday–and two home runs. Sunday, the shortstop went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.
If Sean Newcomb figures out his control troubles, he’ll be in the majors in no time. Sunday, Newcomb walked four batters over six innings in a 2-1 win over Rancho Cucamonga. He also struck out five, and now has 106 strikeouts on the season in 82 1/3 innings between A- and High-A, good for an overpowering 11.4 K/9 IP. He’s also walked 44 batters in that time for a 4.8 BB/9. Even with all of those walks, Newcomb’s WHIP is an acceptable 1.32 and he’s held opposing offenses to a paltry .216 average. His ERA now stands at 2.94, (rank) in the league.
All stats from MiLB.com, FanGraphs.com and Baseball-Reference.com
Next: Five Prospects that Could Make an Impact in the Second Half