BPKC Hitter of the Day: Jecksson Flores 1-3 R, 2b, RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yunior Marte 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 2-1 GO-FO 32p/19k

Notes from J.J. Picollo 

On the Jon Jay Trade – Elvis Luciano has a big arm; our scouts like him as an amateur. We have noticed his improvements in velocity, command, and quality of pitches. We have great reports on his makeup and feel even better about it once we got to be with him for a couple of days. We feel really good about his chances to be a quality starter.  Gabe Speier – Been traded a few times but they were legitimate trades. Has a three-pitch mix with command. His reports read like a starter but he’s a reliever likely in the middle relief mold to 7th inning type. Arizona pursued Jon Jay which is the reason this deal came together now, they had a need and they were willing to give up something that we value.

On promoting Khalil Lee – There are people who think we need to be looking at it. He’s trending the way we want him to trend, appears to be making some adjustments to the league which gives you a good reason to talk about it. I don’t think we’re there quite yet if he continues to go the way he’s going then we can look at it towards the end of the year. You don’t want to go on such a small sample from High-A to Double-A because in a lot of people’s opinion that is one of the largest jumps a player can make. Obviously, it’s going to come at some point either this year or next. We just want to be sure it’s the right time.

On Lee in centerfield – To be candid, I was one of the ones who questioned it early but the more I watch him play, the more you see him move, the more you believe he is going to play there. Before I was one that said he was going to be a gold glove rightfielder but the more I’ve watched him play the more I think he’s an everyday centerfielder. He’s won me over.

Lexington Legends 2 Columbia Fireflies 1

The Legends won last night when the rain washed away the game in the eighth but on this night it wouldn’t even get that far, getting a rain washed win after five. Outfielder Seuly Matias led off the second with a double and scored in the second inning to take a early 1-0 lead. After Columbia scored on an infield single in the third the Legends countered with a Cal Jones walk and a run on an error to take the lead that would eventually prove to be the deciding factor in the game. Shortstop Cristian Perez extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the win.

Cristian Perez: 1-2
Seuly Matias: 1-2 R, 2b, K
Nick Pratto: 0-2 SB (8)

Game 1 Down East Wood Ducks 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 F/7
Game 2 Down East Wood Ducks 8 Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 F/7

In both games of the doubleheader, Wilmington fell behind by significant margins only to claw back in the game before falling. In game one starter Dan Tillo struggled with the zone, walking four in five innings while allowing five runs due in part to a pair of home runs allowed. The lefty was off the hook for the loss after Gabe Cancel answered the 5-1 deficit with a grand slam to tie the game but an error on his part in the sixth helped yield the eventual winning run, In game two starter Jace Vines was knocked around for eleven hits in just three and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs in the process to put his club behind. Four defensive errors behind the pitching helped in the pitching struggles including a pair of unearned runs against Justin Camp. The offense did their part with five runs on the board with eight hits and four walks but may have left too much on the bases with a 3 for 11 effor with runners in scoring position.

Khalil Lee: 2-7 3R, BB, 2K
Meibrys Viloria: 3-7 2 RBI, BB, 3 K
Gabe Cancel: 2-8 HR, 5 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 7 Arkansas Travelers 4

Three errors by the Mariners Double-A squad opened the door for a series victory that gave the Naturals a share of first place with a little more than a week to play. Starter Zach Lovvorn struggled in his third inning, giving up five hits and four runs that put NW Arkansas behind. The offense countered with their typical pressure, scoring a pair in the fifth on a Donnie Dewees hit and a passed ball that scored him. An inning later the Naturals tied the game with a double by Jecksson Flores and a bases-loaded walk by Alex Liddi that brought Flores home as five consecutive hitters reached. With two down a pair of fielding errors helped lead to three more runs to give the Naturals a 7-4 lead. Three relievers would follow Lovvorn with shutout work to finish off the game and earn that tie for first place.

Elier Hernandez: 1-5 R
Nick Dini: 2-3 R, 2b, BB
Donnie Dewees: 1-5 R, RBI

Tuesday Boxscores
Wednesday Probables
Omaha – TBD
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 3-4 5.21 ERA 1.62 WHIP
Wilmington – Anthony Bender 3-2 5.17 ERA 1.57 WHIP
Lexington – Andres Sotillet 5-2 2.82 ERA 1.32 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Seuly Matias 2-4 HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Carter Hope 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K 1-0 FO-GO 25p/17k

Notes from J.J. Picollo, Assistant GM of Player Personnel

A few pitchers that Picollo spoke highly about are three who were away from the organization for different reasons for quite some time. Two of which made their 2018 debuts on Friday evening in Jason Adam, a former 2010 5th round pick and Carter Hope, a 3rd round 2013 pick. In Adam’s case, he was the prospect the Twins acquired for Josh Willingham as the Royals readied their roster for the eventual 2014 World Series run. While things would look great for Adam’s hometown team during the next couple of seasons, Jason would run into a wall, encountering multiple arm surgeries while appearing with the Twins and Padres franchises. Last season, after  Royals scouts checked into Adam, they brought him back into the fold knowing his outstanding character and seeing some mechanical tweaks that made his delivery shorter and cleaner. According to Picollo, Jason was up to 98 mph this spring with the shorter arm motion. He believes the slider still needs to come forward some, but he’s in a better position than he’s been at for some time to make his baseball future take focus.

On the other side is Carter Hope, a pitcher who the Royals released in May of 2016 after on-field and personal struggles. Hope had taken some time away from the game to reevaluate his life and came back to baseball early last year with his own personal workouts. After working out, he called Scott Sharp looking for a tryout. Picollo happened to be in the Tulsa area around that time and went to watch the 6-3, 205 lbs right-hander workout. After some discussion with him and a decent workout, J.J. gave him another chance signing him in July, a little over a year after the team had released him. This spring Carter came in and was throwing 91-93 mph which is a few ticks above the mid to high 80s level he was at the time of his original release. As Picollo told me he thought Hope looked okay in the workout but this spring he went out and earned a spot on the Lexington roster with his performance.

The other pitcher working his way back is former 2011 3rd round pick, Bryan Brickhouse, a pitcher the Royals were extremely excited about in 2011 when they signed him for $1.5m from his The Woodlands, Texas high school. A power right-hander, the Royals sent him to Low-A in 2012 and 2013 with what was supposed to be the second wave of prospects. While Brickhouse faired decently in ’13, he ran into arm problems during both seasons which would set a precedent the talented pitcher would continually deal with over the next three seasons. From his draft in 2011 until the 2015 season, he appeared in just 38 games, throwing 156 innings as his arm struggled to recover from outings and the overall pain of pitching. That forced him away from the game and into selling real estate in Texas. Perhaps for a moment he thought that would be his route, but according to Picollo he started working out this past offseason in Houston. Some changes he made with Dave Evans and the Dynamic Sports Training team may have changed Brickhouse’s fortune all together, building back his velocity, and putting his arm in the best shape it has ever been. The Royals saw a different pitcher this spring, hitting 96-100 mph in one of his final spring outings, pushing his way onto the Wilmington staff where he will try to rebuild the once promising career the Royals had previously hoped he would have. It’s still early, but it’s already a pretty remarkable story that a pitcher who hasn’t pitched since 2015 is hitting personal-best velocities and pitched his way to a level he had never previously reached in the minor leagues.

Lexington Legends 5, Charleston River Dogs 2

The Legends received some more thunder out of their uber-prospect Seuly Matias on Friday, getting a two-run fifth inning home run to push their advantage out of reach. Starter Garrett Davila’s struggles with control continued, walking three and allowing four hits and a pair of runs in three innings before leaving. Trailing 2-0, Lexington would plate a pair of runs in the third with an infield single by Matias that scored Michael Gigliotti and a fielder’s choice that scored Nick Pratto. An error led to a run in the fourth inning before Matias gave the final gap in the fifth. The relief corps of Carter Hope, lefty Holden Capps, and Sal Biasi tossed the final six innings scoreless with nine strikeouts and just three hits allowed.

Potomac Nationals 9, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

Starter Jace Vines couldn’t get out of a couple innings despite collecting two outs, leading to a lopsided loss. In the first, a ball found it’s way over Khalil Lee after a misstep in centerfield, scoring a pair and starting the Nationals on the way to a four-run frame. Two innings later, a pair of doubles plated three runs, ending Vines’s night with a line of nine hits, one walk and seven runs allowed. Those runs were plenty with Wilmington getting just a pair of runs on solo home runs by Emmanuel River and Khalil Lee.

Corpus Christi Hooks 11, NW Arkansas Naturals 9

The Naturals built a 9-4 lead after trailing 4-0 through the Hooks first five trips in the lineup but couldn’t keep the lead. Starter Zach Lovvorn struggled early, giving up three runs in the first on three hits including a two-run two-out double by Taylor Jones. The right-handed starter gave up three singles in the second but navigated around them before a perfect third and fourth inning ended his night. Reliever Jason Adam followed Lovvorn, giving up three steals in his two innings which led to a run allowed despite not giving up a hit in that time. From there the Naturals offense got going, plating nine runs over the next three innings with outfielder Anderson Miller plating four runs in that time with a three-run double and a rbi groundout. Up 9-5 reliever Sam Selman couldn’t complete the win, giving up six runs in the ninth on three hits, a pair of walks and hitting another batter, allowing six runs and taking the loss in the process.

Boxscores from all games