Minor League Baseball: Opening weekend minors roundup

Minor League Baseball opened their season on Thursday. Who had big opening weekends at each level?

As part of what will be a weekly feature here at Call To The Pen, we will take a look at the week’s action in minor league baseball, highlighting both teams and players who played very well, and also looking ahead to some series that could be very intriguing through the week. We’ll go level by level, starting with AAA and working our way down to each level that is active!

AAA International League

No team came out of opening weekend unscathed, as four teams finished 2-1, four teams finished 1-1, four teams finished 1-2, and Rochester and Buffalo were unable to get a single game played over the weekend, so neither has played a game yet.

Mike Gerber swung the big bat on opening weekend, hitting 2 home runs and going 7 for 12 over the weekend series with Louisville. With a career minor league line of .293/.360/.483, Gerber hitting well isn’t surprising, but to have him start off so well is definitely a positive sign for the Tigers.

Pitching was the order of the day in the IL to open the season with colder temperatures keeping the ball in the park, but Indianapolis certainly had their share of impressive pitching this weekend. Nick Kingham and Tyler Eppler combined for 10 2/3 innings in their starts without allowing a single run, allowing 7 combined hits, 4 walks, and striking out 20 between the two of them. Indy reliever Kyle Crick added 3 innings of relief on the weekend, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and no walks, striking out 5, giving the Indy trio 25 strikeouts in a combined 13 2/3 innings.

Anthony Banda had an impressive debut for the Tampa Bay system as well, going 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, no walks, and striking out 8 in his debut for Durham. Atlanta Braves top prospect Mike Soroka also showed out in his AAA debut, going 5 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits and a walk, striking out 5.

AAA Pacific Coast League

More calm weather conditions allowed for more games to get played in the PCL on opening weekend. Memphis came out strong, with a 4-0 record, while four teams finished the weekend 3-1. Only Round Rock finished the weekend winless at 0-4.

Colorado catching prospect Tom Murphy returned from an injury that cost him his 2017 season with a fine opening weekend, going 10 for 16 with a double and a pair of home runs for Albuquerque. Teammate Raimel Tapia was on a power tear over the weekend, with a pair of doubles and three home runs. However, the home run leader in the PCL after the first weekend is Memphis’ Tyler O’Neill, who hit 4 deep flies along with a double on the weekend.

Memphis was led to their big week by a pair of dominant starters. Jack Flaherty and John Gant tossed 13 combined innings, allowing 2 runs combined on 11 hits and 2 walks, striking out a combined 16. Taylor Clarke struck out 9 over 5 shutout innings for Reno, and Zac Gallen tossed 6 scoreless for New Orleans with 4 strikeouts.

Week ahead

Top White Sox prospect Michael Kopech will make his season debut Monday for Charlotte. Braves prospect Kolby Allard will make his season debut on Tuesday against Durham in what should be a very good series. After not being able to play opening weekend, Fernando Romero will make his season debut at home against Syracuse on Wednesday.

Over in the PCL, in what seems like an unfair set up, the one undefeated team in the league is matched up with the one team without a win to open the week as Memphis and Round Rock square off Monday. Top Dodgers pitching prospect Walker Buehler will pitch for the second time this season on Wednesday against Round Rock, and Mets righty Zack Wheeler takes the mound the same day for Las Vegas against Albuquerque.

Next: AA

California League

A fairly balanced weekend saw Stockton and Lancaster finish with 3-1 records, four teams finish 2-2, and Modesto and Lake Elsinore finish at 1-3 on the weekend.

Teammates Colton Welker and Roberto Ramos of Lancaster had big opening weekends. Welker went 8 for 12 with a double and 2 home runs, also drawing 5 walks. Ramos went 5 for 12 with 3 home runs. Lancaster teammate Willie Abreu flashed speed and power, going 6 for 17 on the weekend with a double, two home runs, and three stolen bases.

While others may have had more “pretty” numbers, none had a more impressive start than Griffin Canning of Inland Empire, who went 4 shutout innings, allowing one hit and 2 walks, striking out 6. Bo Takahashi of Visalia struck out 12 over 5 innings without a walk, and Parker Dunshee of Stockton and Jose Suarez of Inland Empire each struck out 10 without a walk in their respective starts. Lake Elsinore’s Reggie Lawson fulfilled his draft reputation with a 5 inning masterpiece, allowing just a solo home run among 3 hits and no walks, striking out 8.

Carolina League

While no team came out of opening weekend unscathed, three finished the weekend at 3-1 – Frederick, Salem, and Carolina. Conversely, Buies Creek, Myrtle Beach, and Winston-Salem all finished 3-1.

A pair of Potomac middle infielders, Carter Kieboom and Jake Noll, each hit a pair of solo home runs over opening weekend. While he only had three hits, Wilmington’s Rudy Martin stole 6 bases and walked 4 times.

Wilmington’s Gerson Garabito had the best start of the weekend, going 6 innings, allowing a hit and two walks, but no runs, striking out 9. Matthew Crownover of Potomac struck out 11 over 5 2/3 in his first start while Hector Perez struck out 10 over 5 innings for Buies Creek.

Florida State League

The FSL showed incredible balance over opening weekend as 6 teams finished the weekend 2-2. Daytona, Dunedin, and Bradenton each finished 3-1, while Clearwater, Florida, and St. Lucie each finished 1-3.

Clearwater catcher Edgar Cabral had a solid first week, going 4 for 10 with a home run. Dunedin’s Nash Knight pounded out 2 home runs and a pair of doubles in his 5 hits over the weekend. Charlotte’s Josh Lowe filled up the stat line, going 6 for 16 with a double, a home run, and a pair of stolen bases.

Week ahead

While there are plenty of good series to watch over the week in the Cal League, the talent on the field during the Rancho Cucamonga and Inland Empire series will be very intriguing starting on Thursday.

Draftees from 2017 will feature on Monday in the Carolina League as Alex Lange, Wil Crowe, and Tanner Houck all take their first trip to the mound of the season. Tuesday will feature the debut of 2017 draftee Corbin Martin. Wednesday’s matchup of Frederick and Carolina should feature two very different pitchers who are both very good at their craft in Alex Wells and Marcos Diplan.

Monday will feature a very impressive first start for both Florida’s Ian Anderson and Fort Myers’ Clark Beeker. Florida’s Bryse Wilson will get his first start the following night. Alex Faedo will look to improve upon his first start in his start Wednesday for Lakeland.

Next: low-A

Midwest League

Weather played games with much of the schedule in the Midwest League over opening weekend, with many teams missing at least one of their scheduled games. Cedar Rapids and Lake County both finished the weekend undefeated, but that left Cedar Rapids with 2 wins and Lake County with 4 due to the disparity in games played.

Peoria’s Juan Yepez was hot, with 4 hits in 6 at bats along with 3 walks. West Michigan’s Cole Peterson went 4 for 10 with a double and three steals. Reds 2017 draftee Jeter Downs started strong with a 6 for 16 weekend, hitting a pair of doubles and stealing 3 bases.

Lansing’s Yennsy Diaz had a tremendous first start, going 5 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out 10. Fort Wayne’s Nick Margevicius went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit, walking none and striking out 9. Lake County’s Elijah Morgan went 6 strong innings, allowing an unearned run on 4 hits and no walks, striking out 8.

South Atlantic League

The Sally League probably had the most disparity of any league on opening weekend, with two undefeated teams (Delmarva and Greensboro) and three with 3-1 records (Kannapolis, Lexington, and Rome). Hickory and Asheville were the unfortunate teams to end up going without a win over the first weekend.

Few players hit as well as Lexington outfielder Seuly Matias over opening weekend. He went 6 for 15 with a triple and 4 home runs. Kannapolis second baseman Tate Blackman went 8 for 14 with a pair of doubles and a pair of homers. Hagerstown top prospect Juan Soto filled up the stat sheet, going 6 for 16 with a triple, two home runs, and a stolen base.

In a loaded Braves system, a pitcher can fall through the cracks, but performances like Rome’s Jasseel De La Cruz had in his first start will certainly get the minor league baseball world to take notice. He went 5 hitless innings, allowing one walk, and striking out 8. West Virginia starter Travis MacGregor struck out 12 over 5 1/3 innings in his first start. Michael Baumann followed up an impressive pro debut with an impressive season debut for Delmarva, going 5 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and one walk, striking out 10.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Week ahead

The Midwest League will see some very intriguing debuts on Monday. Hunter Greene will make his season debut on Dayton and Blayne Enlow will make his season debut with Cedar Rapids. On Tuesday, top lefty arm MacKenzie Gore makes his season debut for Fort Wayne against Lansing. Wednesday sees the season debut of top Astros draft pick J.B. Bukauskas.

The South Atlantic League will see some less-heralded arms get their chance to show their elite stuff as Will Gaddis, Zac Lowther, and Alex Scherff all get their first start of the season on Monday. All three are pitchers who are not considered among the top of their organization’s depth chart, but each has the stuff to surprise.

Next: 10 Under-radar Minor Leaguers to watch

We will return each Monday with a run down of the week’s happenings of each league, so check back to see what’s been happening in minor league baseball!