BPKC Hitter of the Day Isaiah Henry 2-4 2R, 3b, RBI, BB, K

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Nolan Watson 6 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K 3-6 GO-FO 72p/49k

Gm1 Lakewood BlueClaws 3 Lexington Legends 2 F/10
Gm2 Lakewood BlueClaws 1 Lexington Legends 0 F/8

The Legends offense struggled in their two-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies Low-A club on Saturday night. With just eight combined hits in 18 innings of action the Legends normally potent offense managed just two runs in the two games with Nick Pratto connecting on his ninth home run in the first game and Cal Jones driving in the other run, both in the fourth inning of game one. With a lack of offense, Charlie Neuweiler took a no-decision despite setting a career high with nine strikeouts, allowing two runs in six innings with two runs allowed on four hits and a pair of walks. The Legends took a loss in the first game when their offense failed to score the free runner in the eighth and ninth innings, taking the loss in the ninth when Lakeland scored on a sac fly. During game two 1st round pick Jackson Kowar was more effective than he had been previously, working three and two-thirds innings without a run allowed. The right-hander worked primarily with his four-seam fastball that was registering 95-98 mph on the scoreboard (typically hot 1-2 mph) while mixing in approximately 10 other secondary offerings on his 67 pitches. The former Gators pitcher walked three hitters while striking out three against one hit allowed. Like the first game, this one went to extras where the Legends failed to score in the eighth and Lakewood walked it off with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Charlie Neuweiler 6 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 9 K 3-2 GO-FO 87p/56k
Jackson Kowar 3.2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 3 K  4-1 GO-FO 67p/39k
Nick Pratto 3-7 HR, RBI, K, CS

Gm 1 Frederick Keys 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1
Gm 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Frederick Keys 2

The Rocks Dan Tillo has struggled with his control recently, walking four or more five times since June 12th including six walks last start. With that trouble, Tillo quickened his pace and went more on the attack this time out instead of nibbling. With that, the lefty was able to toss six innings with just a run allowed on seven hits and a pair of walks. Despite Tillo’s work, Wilmington was tied through seven innings as the only run provided by the offense was via a D.J. Burt rbi single. The game went to extras where a double off Anthony Bender scored the free runner before the Rocks went scoreless to drop the game. Game two was a little different for Wilmington as the offense was a tad more lively with nine hits and four runs with four different Rocks driving in runs. Starter Nolan Watson gave his squad his fourth quality start in five tries with just an unearned run allowed in six innings. The right-hander gave up just a first-inning single before a pair of singles sandwiched around a wild pitch and a passed ball helped score an unearned run in the sixth for his only run allowed. Reliever Julio Pinto gave up a run in the ninth before getting the final out to secure the win. The Rocks have a three-game lead in the division at the end of play on Saturday.

Dan Tillo 6 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 5 K 5-3 GO-FO 101p/63k
Brewer Hicklen 2-5 R, 2-2b, BB, SB
D.J. Burt 2-7 2 RBI, 3K

Saturday NW Arkansas Naturals 1 Springfield Cardinals 0

The Naturals won a pitching duel on Saturday behind a resurgent Foster Griffin. After carrying a near eight-run earned run average during May and June Griffin has found himself his last four starts out including this one. Matching Springfield starter Evan Kruczynski with scoreless inning the lefty was doing what he did last year, mixing and matching while creating groundball outs. Striking out six hitters with 61 strikes on 93 pitches the lefty worked around seven hits and a pair of walks over seven shutout innings. Scoreless into the Naturals put the only run on the board with a two-out triple by Jecksson Flores prior to a rbi single by Samir Duenez. That proved to be the winning run with Griffin and reliever Pedro Fernandez shutting out the Cardinals offense.

Samir Duenez 1-3 RBI
Jecksson Flores 2-4 R, 3b, SB (19)
Pedro Fernandez 2 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 2 K 1-1 GO-FO 23p/12k

Salt Lake Bees 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

The Chasers struggled to score runners in scoring position, going 1 for 7 on Saturday night in a narrow loss. The Angels Triple-A squad didn’t do much better (2 for 7) but got some help with a Sam Selman wild pitch scoring a run in the eighth which ended up making the difference in the game. After pulling within a run and placing the tying run at third base with one out, Donnie Dewees grounded into a double play to end the rally and ultimately hand the Chasers a defeat after a 1-2-3 ninth.

Nicky Lopez 0-4 R, BB, 2K, CS
Frank Schwindel 2-4 R, 2b
Zach Lovvorn 6 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 4 K 2-2 GO-FO 53p/33k

Idaho Falls Chukars 4 Grand Junction Rockies 3

Despite being limited to just four hits the Chukars were able to give J.C. Cloney his ninth win of the season thanks to a couple of errors by Grand Junction. The Pioneer League’s best pitcher lowered his ERA to 1.93 with six scoreless innings while scattering five hits and a walk over six innings. Idaho Falls scored a run in the first after a single by Tyler James, an errant pickoff moved him to second and a pair of groundouts brought him around. That score remained until the sixth when an error and a pair of wild pitches helped tack on an additional two runs following a triple and a rbi single by Kyle Kasser. Infielder Nathan Eaton walked, stole second and moved to third on an errant throw by the pitcher before scoring on a wild pitch. Reliever Stephen Greenlees struggled in the in the seventh, allowing three runs on three hits and walk before Jose Ramirez bailed him out and tossed the final two innings scoreless to secure the save.

J.C. Cloney 6 Ip 5 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 5-4 GO-FO 86p/58k
Tyler James 1-3 R
Andres Martin 2-3 R, 3b

Saturday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Meibrys Viloria 4-5, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Nolan Watson 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3-7 GO-FO, 77p/48k

Lexington Legends 7, Asheville Tourists 5

The Legends put six runs up in the first frame and then held on for the win. The first four hitters all reached with Kyle Isbel’s leadoff double starting the game off, scoring on a Nick Pratto single before an Asheville error scored a pair and helped the Legends toward the big inning. A pair of errors dented Charlie Neuweiler’s line, with the right-hander yielding two unearned runs on his four-run line after giving up three hits and three walks while striking out four. With a 7-4 lead, Asheville loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Danny Hrbek finagled a way out of the jam with a pop out and a double play. Again in the eighth, the Tourists put a couple in scoring position with no outs before reliever Tad Ratliff struck out two before ending the inning by inducing a groundout before giving up a run in the ninth and securing the win.

Kyle Isbel: 1-5, R, 2b
Seuly Matias: 0-3, R, HBP
Charlie Neuweiler: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 5-6 GO-FO, 94p/55k

Gm 1 – Wilmington Blue Rocks 8, Frederick Keys 0 – F/7
Gm 2 – Wilmington Blue Rocks 7, Frederick Keys 6 – F/7

Wilmington finished off a 6-1 roadtrip with a doubleheader sweep of the Orioles High-A squad Monday afternoon. The first game featured big days at the plate by Gabriel Cancel and catcher Meibrys Viloria with the duo each hitting a home run and driving in three runs apiece. That was more than enough for Nolan Watson who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before finishing off the shortened game with his third consecutive seven-inning start. In game two, Dan Tillo lost his way in the third inning, giving up four runs on four singles and three walks, forcing the bullpen to take over. The four runs allowed evened the game after Wilmington had built a 4-0 lead after four singles scored runs in the second. Three more singles in the sixth inning scored a pair before D.J. Burt scored on an errant throw after he stole second base. Reliever Julio Pinto gave up a run in the final inning before securing the win.

Gabriel Cancel: 2-7, HR, 3 RBI, 2K
Brewer Hicklen: 3-8, 3R, K
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-3, 2R, RBI, BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Arkansas Travelers 2

Royals lefty Eric Skoglund made his Double-A rehab appearance with NW Arkansas, going four innings with just an unearned run allowed. Working on a limited pitch count, Skoglund tossed 29 strikes on 42 pitches while giving up three hits and striking out two. The offense got on the board in the third inning with a Jecksson Flores RBI double and an RBI groundout by Erick Mejia that scored Khalil Lee. In relief, Scott Blewett gave up a run over three innings to even the game up at 2-2. In the late innings, a pair of doubles helped towards two more runs for NW Arkansas,: Nick Dini’s leadoff double put him in position to score on a Lee single in the seventh, and Kelvin Gutierrez’s double in the eighth brought home Samir Duenez to push the advantage to two runs. Reliever Franco Terrero earned his fourth save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.

Khalil Lee: 3-4, R, RBI
Kelvin Gutierrez: 2-4, 2-2b, RBI
Eric Skoglund: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4-6 GO-FO, 42p/29k

Greeneville Reds 5, Burlington Royals 3

The Royals right-hander Elvis Luciano yielded two runs in five innings during the team’s loss. The young starter acquired in the Jon Jay trade gave up five hits including three for extra bases while striking out six against one walk. Strikes weren’t a problem on this night as Luciano tossed 51 strikes on 73 pitches. With the game tied 2-2 after five, the Royals scored just one run in the seventh while the Reds squad scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth off relievers Ismael Maldonado and Kyle Hinton.

Jackson Lueck: 2-4, 2b
Eric Cole: 1-4, RBI
Elvis Luciano: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 5-1 GO-FO, 73p/51k

Idaho Falls Chukars 8, Missoula Osprey 3

Another quality start for J.C. Cloney as the lefty worked 6.2 frames with three runs allowed. In typical fashion for the Chukars top starter, he pounded the zone with 67 strikes on 96 pitches while allowing three runs on nine hits. The offense scored eight runs on 14 hits and five walks, with Jose Caraballo hitting a two-run home run and driving in a third run to lead the way for the Idaho Falls offense. Reliever Robert Garcia tossed the final 2.1 innings scoreless to secure the save.

J.C. Cloney: 6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4-3 GO-FO, 96p/67k
Jose Caraballo: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI
Nate Eaton: 2-4, R, 2b, BB

Monday Boxscores

Tuesday Probables

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kyle Isbel 4-5 3R, 2b, 2 HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Holden Capps 3 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 3-0 GO-FO 43p/32k

Lexington Legends 7 Greenville Drive 5

Starter Charlie Neuweiler had a rough second inning due to some rough defense behind him but settled himself down and gave his squad time to make a comeback. After Ricky Aracena singled in a run in the second inning, Greenville scored five runs (2 ER) in the home half, getting four hits and a pair of errors from the Lexington defense to put the five runs on the board. The fourth inning saw Marten Gasparini get his big offensive night jump started with an RBI single. After the second, Neuweiler found a groove, working around a leadoff error in the third inning to retire the final nine hitters he would face. In the sixth, the offense would bail him out of the loss with a rbi triple by Manny Olloque to cut the lead to two before Gasparini went deep to tie things up at 5-5. Lefty reliever Holden Capps tossed three consecutive shutout innings to keep the game tied and Gasparini would be back at it, doubling to lead off the ninth to help set up a two-run inning that would complete the comeback and ultimately give the Legends the win.

Marten Gasparini: 3-3 2R, 2b, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Cristian Perez: 2-5 RBI
MJ Melendez: 0-4 BB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 Salem Red Sox 2

Starting pitcher Nolan Watson had one of his best outings of the season in leading the way for a Wilmington win Monday night. The former 1st round pick worked seven innings for the second consecutive start, working efficiently with 59 strikes on 89 pitches with his High-A high seven strikeouts. The Red Sox used sacrifice flies in both the second and third innings to plate runs versus Watson but could do more against him or the bullpen. The Rocks trailed 2-1 through five but took the lead back with a pair of runs in the sixth, scoring on a wild pitch and a single by Nick Heath. An eighth inning RBI single by D.J. Burt and a run-scoring double by Gabe Cancel added a pair of insurance runs which were more than enough with reliever Tyler Zuber tossing a scoreless ninth frame.

Gabe Cancel: 1-4 2b, RBI
Nick Heath: 1-4 R, 2 RBI, SB (29)
D.J. Burt: 2-4 R, RBI, SB (23)

Springfield Cardinals 10 NW Arkansas Naturals 6 F/10

The two teams exchanged five runs in the first six innings to push the game into extra innings after a pair of scoreless innings by Walker Sheller. The Naturals took the lead in the tenth with a two-out single by Nick Dini to score their free baserunner but that lead wouldn’t last long. Struggling reliever Bryan Brickhouse got two outs in the tenth but tossed a pair of wild pitches that allowed the Cardinals free baserunner to score before Victor Roache connected on his second home run of the game to walk things off, giving Brickhouse his fourth loss in just eight Double-A appearances.

Jecksson Flores: 3-5 2b, 2 RBI, SB (14)
Nick Dini: 2-4 R, RBI
Jace Vines: 4.2 IP 6 H 4 R 4 ER 5 BB 3 K 2 HR HBP 5-2 GO-FO 104p/53k

Nashville Sounds 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 4 F/11

The Sounds overcame the Storm Chasers scoring their free baserunner in both the tenth and eleventh innings before walking the game off in the eleventh. In a spot start, Arnaldo Hernandez struggled with his control, walking five against five strikeouts. The right-hander worked five innings, giving up a pair of runs with three hits allowed leaving the game with runners on that scored to tie it up with Richard Lovelady on the mound. The game stayed knotted at 2-2 until the tenth when Nicky Lopez walked with the bases loaded to give Omaha the lead. The Sounds tied it up in the bottom half with no outs and then connected with a pair of singles in the eleventh to tie the game up and take the win home against reliever Kevin Lenik.

Nicky Lopez: 1-3 BB, CS
Ryan O’Hearn: 1-5 R, 2b
Arnaldo Hernandez: 5 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 5 BB 5 K 4-4 GO-FO 99p/56k

Burlington Royals 6 Johnson City Cardinals 5

A four-run ninth led to a walk-off win for Burlington over the Cardinals rookie squad. The Johnson City lineup plated a pair of runs on four hits against rehabbing right-hander Janser Lara despite four strikeouts from him in his two innings of work. Catcher Freddy Fermin homered to cut the lead in half in the second but after the two teams exchanged runs in the next two innings the Cards tacked on a pair in the seventh. With things looking gloom for the home team the Royals got off to a quick start with a leadoff walk to Fermin and a double by Brhet Bewley to put a pair of runners in scoring position. A pair of groundouts would put the game on the edge but a Jeison Guzman two-run single kept things alive while putting the tying run on base. That tying run would come on home when second baseman Jose Marquez blasted a 1-0 pitch out to right for a walk-off home run to win things for the Royals.

Jose Marquez: 2-5 HR 2 RBI
Freddy Fermin: 1-3 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Juan Carlos Negret: 1-3 R, BB

Idaho Falls Chukars 9 Missoula Osprey 0

After Missoula shut down the Chukars offense for two games in a row, the Idaho Falls pitching staff returned the favor on Monday night. Starter J.C. Cloney spun six innings of shutout ball with just four hits allowed before turning things to the pen which kept the shutout going until the end. While the pitching staff kept things quiet, the offense did the opposite, connecting on 18 hits with a pair of hitters collecting four apiece. 2018 draftee Kyle Isbel led the way driving four runs in with a double and two home runs as the offense scored nine runs in the convincing win.

Reed Rohlman: 4-5 R
Tyler James: 1-3 R, 2b
Angel Medina: 3-4 R, CS

Monday Boxscores

Tuesday Probables
Omaha – Zach Lovvorn 5-5 5.10 ERA 1.46 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando 5-6 7.15 ERA 2.22 WHIP
Lexington – Jackson Kowar

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Reed Rohlman 3-5 2R, 3b, HR, 7 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Julio Pinto 1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 15p/11k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Frederick Keys 3

Outfielder Nick Heath opened the game with a solo home run off Baltimore’s Chris Tillman to start the game and, from there, the runs kept coming. The Rocks scored six runs off the major league starter, getting four runs in the second inning with the aid of a pair of walks, a hit by pitch, ane error and a Vance Vizcaino single. Starter Nolan Watson was the beneficiary of the runs, working around 10 hits in seven innings while getting by with just three runs allowed to earn his second High-A win.

D.J. Burt: 2-4 RBI
Vance Vizcaino: 2-4 2R, RBI
Rudy Martin: 1-3 R, RBI

Danville Braves 10 Burlington Royals 5

Starter Randy Acevedo struggled in his start, giving up 11 hits and a pair of walks while allowing six runs in five innings. The offense got within 7-5 thanks to a big night at the plate by Freddy Fermin who had two doubles and a home run while scoring two runs and driving in three more. Unfortunately, reliever Emmanuel Estevez gave up three runs to put the game out of reach of the offense.

Rhett Aplin: 2-4 RBI
Juan Carlos Negret: 1-4 R, 2b, CS
Freddy Fermin: 3-4 2-2b, HR

Idaho Falls Chukars 15 Helena Brewers 8

One of those Pioneer League high scoring affairs broke out on Tuesday night in Idaho Falls with the two teams combining for 23 runs. The Chukars outslugged the Brewers connecting on 17 hits, walking six times and scoring 15 runs. The 2-5 hitters combined for 13 of the hits and 11 of the runs scored including seven runs driven in by Reed Rohlman who finished a double shy of the cycle. Starter J.C. Cloney improved to 5-0 despite giving up five runs while allowing a pair of home runs. The win kept the Chukars one game back of Ogden in the division race.

Kyle Isbel: 3-4 4R, SB (12)
Nathan Eaton: 4-4 3R, 3b, 3 RBI, BB, SB
Angel Medina: 3-5 2R, 2b, RBI

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
NW Arkansas – Arnaldo Hernandez 0-0 3.84 ERA 1.53 WHIP
Wilmington – Dan Tillo 3-2 3.93 ERA 1.31 WHIP
Lexington – TBD
Burlington – Bryar Johnson 1-1 10.38 ERA 2.08 WHIP
Idaho Falls – TBD

BPKC Hitter of the Day Frank Schwindel 3-4 R, 2b

BPKC Pitcher of Day Nolan Watson 9 IP 6 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 7 K 13-2 GO-FO 89p/65k

Lexington Legends 4 Rome Braves 0

It’s been a struggle for three seasons for former 1st round pick Nolan Watson but on this day had it working as well as he ever has to defeat the Braves Low-A squad. Working efficiently thanks in part to some over aggressive hitters Watson set a new career high in innings pitched in a game by completing his effort, his previous best was six innings which he had done on five different occasions. Along with the complete game, Watson put away seven hitters via strikeout while also inducing thirteen groundouts. The offense backed him with a pair of runs in the third inning when shortstop Cristian Perez singled in a run before Nick Pratto drove in another with a sacrifice fly. For Perez that hit was part of a two-hit night that saw him raise his batting average to .393 while extending his hit streak to sixteen games. The game remained 2-0 until the ninth inning with Watson tossing zeroes when Seuly Matias got ahold of his twenty-first home run of the season to expand the lead and the eventual margin of victory with his two-run blast.

Seuly Matias 1-4 HR, 2 RBI, 2K
Nick Pratto 0-2 RBI, BB
Sebastian Rivera 1-3 BB

Winston-Salem Dash 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks scored a pair of the runs in the first before going silent in another loss in Winston-Salem. Three hits in that first inning helped score the two runs with Xavier Fernandez doubling in D.J. Burt to push the lead to 2-0. Starter Gerson Garabito gave up a run in the fourth and another in the fifth as he struggled to get through the lineup a second time. With the game tied reliever Julio Pinto couldn’t hit the zone, walking one in front of a Blake Rutherford double before giving up a sac fly in falling behind 4-2. The final twelve Rocks hitters went in order as the White Sox farm club defeated them for the second night in a row.

Khalil Lee 0-4 2K
Kort Peterson 2-3 2b, BB
Gerson Garabito 5 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 7 K 5-2 GO-FO 87p/53k

Tulsa Drillers 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

The Naturals hitters were limited to just five hits in a defeat that pushed them back into second place. Starter Jake Kalish spun four scoreless innings before giving it up in the fifth, allowing three runs on back to back doubles before Will Smith hit his seventh home run of the season. For Smith, it was his third home run of the season against the Naturals and his second in this series. Those runs were plenty as the Naturals went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and scored their only run on a sac fly by Elier Hernandez.

Donnie Dewees 2-4
Erick Mejia 1-3 R, BB
Nicky Lopez 0-3

Tacoma Rainiers 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

Starter Josh Staumont couldn’t match his effort the last three times on the bump as Tacoma hitters waited and fought him off early to run his pitch count up. The right-hander tossed 42 pitches in the first inning, walked four in just three innings and gave up a pair of runs in that first during his short outing. A Jorge Bonifacio infield single in the third inning scored a run and an Humberto Arteaga sac fly in the fourth tied it up. Unfortunately reliever Luis Vazquez gave up a three-run home run in the fifth inning to put his squad behind. From there the Chasers had just two hits and couldn’t muster a run in defeat.

Josh Staumont 3 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 4 BB 4 K 2-3 GO-FO 73p/38k
Adalberto Mondesi 2-4 2b, 2K
Sam Selman 1.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 2-1 GO-FO

Idaho Falls Chukars 4 Ogden Raptors 2

Starter J.C. Cloney gave up three first-inning singles and two runs before finding a groove. From the final out in the first inning until the second out in the fifth Cloney put the Raptors in a cage, striking out eleven on the night while yielding just four singles. The Chukars answered the two first inning runs with two of their own in the third inning on a pair of rbi singles by Nick Hutchins and Reed Rohlman. The game stayed tied until the seventh when Manny Olloque singled in Freddy Fermin following his double. An insurance run would cross in the eighth inning while Robert Garcia was finishing the last two innings off.

Billy Butler had his number retired prior to the game. The former 1st round pick played there in 2004, hitting .373 as an 18 year old in the league.

J.C. Cloney 7 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 11 K 6-2 GO-FO 82p/61k
Rudy Martin 1-4
Freddy Fermin 2-4 2R, 2b

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 6-2 3.24 ERA 1.14 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 3-6 5.63 ERA 1.58 WHIP
Wilmington – Arnaldo Hernandez 6-4 3.92 ERA 1.48 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 3-2 4.94 ERA 1.26 WHIP
Idaho Falls – C.J. Eldred

BPKC Hitter of the Day: John Brontsema 4-4 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Wily Peralta 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K 5-0 GO-FO 47p/33k

West Virginia Power 3 Lexington Legends 2

Each team had trouble connecting with runners in scoring position in this one, but the Power did just that, powering up for a win. The Legends used errors to plate both of their runs after an 0-5 effort with runners in scoring position. Solo home runs off Nolan Watson in the first and sixth innings combined with a run on a wild pitch against Watson contributed to the other in the loss.

Nick Pratto: 1-4 3K
MJ Melendez: 1-4 2K
Sebastian Rivero: 0-3 SAC

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 1

A fluky inside the park home run paved the way for a Wilmington win on Thursday night. The Wilmington pitching staff did their part on the night, limiting Myrtle Beach to just one run on six hits and four walks as they combined to strikeout thirteen hitters on the night. Starter Ofreidy Gomez’s wavering control limited him to just five innings but he was able to escape four hits and three walks allowed to just one run against in that time. From there, the bullpen of Grant Gavin, Josh Mitchell and Bryan Brickhouse shutdown the Pelican lineup for the final four innings. With the game tied 1-1 into the bottom of the eighth, Nick Heath hit a shallow pop up to left that caused the two outfielders to collide, allowing Chris DeVito to come home from second and the blazing fast Heath to race all the way around the bases for a little league inside the park home run.

Bryan Brickhouse: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 11p/7k
Josh Mitchell: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 16p/12k
Nick Heath: 3-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 9 Arkansas Travelers 7

The Naturals offense continued their hot run, jumping all over Arkansas starter Johendi Jiminian for eight runs in the first three innings of this one. Four different NW Arkansas hitters had multi-hit games with John Brontsema and Anderson Miller leading the way with a home run and double each. It was Brontsema’s fifth inning home run that pushed the advantage to 9-3 which would be too large for the Travelers to overcome despite five runs off Scott Blewett and a late run off reliever Walker Sheller when he struggled to close the door in the ninth.

Scott Blewett: 6 IP 7 H 5 R 5 ER 3 BB 0 K 13-8 GO-FO 101p/56k
Nicky Lopez: 0-3
Anderson Miller: 2-3 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI, BB

Iowa Cubs 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 3 F/11

Starter Heath Fillmyer could give his team just four innings in this one, allowing three runs in the fourth to end his night in favor of rehabbing Justin Grimm. The Chasers pen kept Iowa off the board for the next six innings but a struggling Omaha offense could muster just a three-run eighth to tie the game. In that inning, a solo home run by Paulo Orlando, RBI double by Humberto Artea and a run-scoring single from Billy Burns provided the three runs. Tied into extras, the Cubs took home the win in the eleventh frame on a single against Brandon Maurer after Omaha failed to cash in on two opportunities with the free runner.

Ryan O’Hearn: 0-1 3BB
Jack Lopez: 1-4 R, 2b, SB
Paulo Orlando: 1-4 HR

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Scott Barlow 1-1 2.66 ERA 1.33 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando 2-2 6.26 ERA 2.05 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 1-2 2.34 ERA 1.33 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 1-1 3.68 ERA 0.95 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cal Jones 2-5, 2R, 2b, HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Nolan Watson 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4-4 GO-FO, 88p/55k

Transactions – Lexington placed Dennicher Carrasco and Ricky Aracena on injured reserve. In their spots, they added Matt Morales and Brewer Hicklen. Omaha added Clay Buccholz while optioning Zach Lovvorn to NW Arkansas and placing Seth Manness on the Idaho Falls roster.

Lexington Legends 9, Hagerstown Suns 2

After relievers blew leads in the last two games, the Legends pitching staff straightened things out while the offense kept slugging for a win to secure a series split. Nolan Watson rebounded after a difficult last outing to toss five innings of one-run baseball (0 ER), giving up just an unearned run on four singles and a pair of walks. The righty whuffed five as he hit the zone with 55 of 88 pitches on the afternoon. A four-run fourth inning gave Watson a lead with his batterymate Sebastian Rivero connecting on his first home run of the season, a two-run number that scored Jeison Guzman. That lead stood up until the eighth when Cal Jones connected on his first longball to push the score to 8-1. A Nick Pratto double would add a tally while extending his multi-hit streak to four games before Lexington goes back on the road to Asheville.

Nick Pratto: 2-4, 2b, RBI, BB
Jeison Guzman: 3-4, 3R
Sebastian Rivero: 2-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI

Frederick Keys 6, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks were unable to finish off the four game series sweep of the Keys as the offense struggled to do damage on Sunday. Just three hits from Wilmington along with three walks with Frederick pitchers piling up the groundouts, collecting fourteen of them on the day. An Angelo Castellanos error in the sixth helped break a 2-2 tie before a pair of home runs off reliever Grant Gavin put the game out of reach.

Khalil Lee: 0-3, RBI
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-4, R
Jace Vines: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 11-2 GO-FO, 77p/50k

Tulsa Drillers 8, NW Arkansas Naturals 6

A close game got away from the Naturals when one of their relievers had trouble keeping the ball in the yard. NW Arkansas scored a pair in the first inning off hard-throwing Yadier Alvarez when Donnie Dewees singled in a pair with two out. That lead held up until the fifth inning when an error by Elier Hernandez to start the inning may have made it difficult for Glenn Sparkman to get things together, giving up the lead with a single and a triple that plated two runs to put NW Arkansas behind 3-2. The Naturals would tie the game in the seventh and again in the eighth, but in both innings home runs off reliever Franco Terrero would put them back down. The right-handed reliever struggled mightily, giving up four home runs in just two innings of work, allowing five runs to take the loss after a comeback bid by the offense fell short.

Jason Adam: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 31p/18k
Nicky Lopez: 2-3, 2R, 2BB, SB (4)
Donnie Dewees: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB, SB (3)

Omaha Storm Chasers 4, Nashville Sounds 1

Three players that will likely be Royals by the end of next week paced the way to a Chasers win on Sunday. Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz continued his preparation for a shot at the Royals major league roster with 6.1 innings of efficient pitching. The right-hander, who says he’s pitching pain-free for the first time in a couple of years, worked around the lineup with relative ease, giving up just a solo home run to Franklin Barreto while getting nine groundouts. On the offensive side, a pair of RBI doubles by Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon, in their final tune up before heading back to Kansas City, plated three runs in the sixth inning to give Omaha a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Catcher Nick Dini tagged a solo home run one inning later to give the offense their final margin of victory. Scott Barlow worked the final two innings to earn the save.

Clay Buchholz: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 9-2 GO-FO, 84p/54k
Alex Gordon: 1-3, 2b, RBI
Salvador Perez: 1-3, R, 2b, 2 RBI

Boxscores from Sunday

Monday Probables
Omaha – Jon Dziedzic (lhp) 0-1 1.50 ERA 1.22 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin (lhp) 1-1 3.09 ERA 1.54 WHIP

HR Roll Call: Alex Liddi (1), Xavier Fernandez (1), Michael Gigliotti (1) 

BPKC Hitter of the Day :Michael Gigliotti 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB (1)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Foster Griffin 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 5-4 GO-FO, 87p/54k

Lexington Legends 5, Greenville Drive 4

One of those ugly Low-A affairs broke out on Tuesday with 10 combined errors, but the Legends pitchers kept it together a touch better to earn another early-season win. Lexington’s starter Nolan Watson and a pair of relievers limited Greenville to just eight singles and one walk with the defense committing six errors behind them which led to four runs (2 ER). The Lexington offense countered themselves, getting two runs in the first with back to back doubles by Marten Gasparini and Nick Pratto. After Greenville took the lead in the fifth frame, outfielder Michael Gigliotti drove in a run to knot it back up before a Sebastian Rivero sacrifice fly brought home the lead run an inning later. After another Lexington error tied things up in the top half of the seventh, Gigliotti gave Lexington their lead back with his first home run of the year. From there the Legends bullpen shut things down to push their record to 5-1.

Nick Pratto: 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Seuly Matias: 0-3, 2K, HBP
Nolan Watson: 5.1 IP, 6 H 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 8-1 GO-FO, 89p/62k

Salem Red Sox 3, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

For the second night in a row, Wilmington was unable to take advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position in dropping a game in Salem. The Rocks went 1 for 9 in those situations without driving in a run, while Salem used back to back doubles in the fourth to plate a pair of runs before using another double in the fifth to push their advantage to 3-0. Wilmington’s only run came via a solo home run from Xavier Fernandez in the seventh, but would strand multiple runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth to drop their third game in a row.

Khalil Lee 1-4, 2K
Gabe Cancel 2-3, 2b, BB
Kort Peterson 2-4, 2b

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, San Antonio Missions 0

A couple former 1st round pitchers were in a groove Thursday afternoon as Foster Griffin and Cal Quantrill helped their respective clubs play a quick getaway game. Naturals starter Griffin faced the minimum through five innings after getting double-play groundouts to erase singles in each of the first three innings. Padres #3 prospect Cal Quantrill matched Griffin before a two-out single off the bat of Donnie Dewees snuck through the left side which allowed Samir Duenez to come home. The Missions would load the bases off Griffin in the sixth with two outs and the #1 prospect in the organization at the dish in Fernando Tatis Jr., but Foster would get him to fly out to center to end the threat. From there, the Naturals bullpen cruised through the final three innings while the bats tacked on a solo home run in the seventh by Alex Liddi and a two-run double in the eighth by Corey Toups to secure the final margin of victory.

Samir Duenez: 0-2, R, 2 BB, SB, CS
Nicky Lopez: 0-1, R, 3 BB, SB (3)
Donnie Dewees: 1-4, RBI, SB

Memphis Redbirds 7, Omaha Storm Chasers 0

Omaha starter Heath Fillmyer struggled mightily in his first start with his new franchise in Memphis. After the A’s former farmhand worked around a pair of walks in the first inning, he couldn’t escape the second, giving up seven consecutive hits and getting tagged for seven runs after reliever Kevin Lenik let a pair of inherited runners come in. Those runs were more than enough with Omaha going scoreless on six hits and three walks.

Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4, 2b
Hunter Dozier: 2-3, BB
Kevin Lenik: 2.1 IP, 1 h, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Wednesday Probables:
Lexington – Garrett Davila
Wilmington – Jace Vines
Omaha – Trevor Oaks

Boxscore Link

Tossing out the ’13 and ’14 drafts due to the Sean Manaea and Brandon Finnegan trades that helped put a flag in left field, which players from the top 101 could the Royals have in the system currently? Obviously, they couldn’t have taken any of the picks in the ’16 draft prior to their 67th pick in ’16 which rules out Bo Bichette and players picked ahead of him in that draft as well the teams picked ahead in the ’15 and ’17 drafts. In addition, I’ve added the Cuban players to this list as the majority of their contracts are closer to free agent deals than drafts. By doing this, one can eliminate 44 of the Top 101 players in the Baseball America’s list as available players. Still, that means 57 players were available to the Royals and they didn’t land one of them. To say that’s not good would be an understatement.

Nolan Watson 2015 Burlington Royals

The Culprits

The Royals biggest culprit just based on the list is the lacking impact international talent in the system currently. With seven of the Top 10 players in the Top 101 being international players, the biggest way that this farm could be ranked higher would be to have signed one or multiple players from those ranks. Even when subtracting the Cuban players due to their free agency, the international players make up 26.7% of the Top 101. Only 2016’s Kevin Maitan is a player the Royals were unable to acquire due to their penalty from ’15 class. The ’15 class was one they invested heavily on, and as it stands currently, Seuly Matias and Esteury Ruiz would probably be the only players in the vicinity of the Top 100. With the trade of Ruiz to the Padres organization, that leaves only Matias as a player that could be close to the list.

In addition to the international class, one can’t deny the failure that is the 2015 Royals draft class as the other major reason they don’t have any players in the Top 101 and their farm is ranked as low as it is. That year, the Royals took a pair of Indianapolis area pitchers in Ashe Russell and Nolan Watson instead of seven players that currently appear on the Top 101.

The first pick, Russell, was chosen in front of Walker Buehler (17), Mike Sroka (33), Beau Burrows (80) and Chris Shaw (86), while Nolan Watson was taken instead of Triston McKenzie (24), Scott Kingery (52) and Nick Neidert (84). The decision to choose two pitchers from the same cold weather area is an interesting one indeed, and it has proven to set the farm system back significantly.

Selection vs. Development 

The list, and many lists before it, makes one ask the question, how much development are teams actually doing? It’s common for Baseball America to list a few recent draft picks on their Top 100, and this is also the case with the midseason list, but many of these players are in their first full season of minor league ball or have been in the game since just 2015. In fact, 40 of the Top 101 are 2015 or later signees. When you again exclude the Cuban players due to their involvement in pro ball in their country, that means 42% of the Top 101 players have either no development given from the team they currently play for or very little.

How is this different than the Greatest Farm Since the History of Whenever? For the Royals prospects that year, at least it was slightly different in that the Royals featured nine players in the Preseason Top 100 in 2011 with six of them being in the organization two years or longer. This is a little different than the current #1 BA system, the Atlanta Braves which features the same number of players in the Top 100 at nine, but with five of those players being added to the system since 2015. These two systems were both built through a combination of international signees and the draft. The difference being the Royals squad had achieved more success before climbing up the Top 100 charts, with multiple players having a big 2010 season prior to the 2011 list.

Much of the reason for this change is likely due to the change in draft rules. Up until the new agreement, each team decided their own draft budgets and adjusted draft spending on an individual basis. Teams like the Royals and Rangers were loading up on the draft in multiple years and across many rounds. Take for example Jake Junis, a 29th round pick, was paid $675,000 as the 876th pick in the 2011 draft. With the new rules and the draft caps imposed on each team, a player with his stock isn’t likely to last past the 11th round and is more likely to get picked in the top 5 rounds. The majority of the draft talent now goes to the teams with the larger draft pools. Many teams now have limited ability to toss their weight around to get players and their agents to spots that they want in the draft. Teams now are rewarded for their ineptitude the year prior instead of their own desire to invest in players. In recent years, the best farm clubs have all been teams that have failed on the major league field. That isn’t likely to change soon.

Photo credit: Denny Medley, USA Today Sports

2018 and On

The Royals, as the 29th ranked farm system, obviously lack the high-end talent of other farm systems without a single player on the Top 100. That speaks to a lack of a big time player on the cusp or in the low minors but doesn’t speak to the positives of the last year, however. The Royals have done a decent job of developing a few players that they added in ’08-’11 that should continue to contribute at the major league level. Second baseman Whit Merrifield has backed up his 1.1 WARP rookie year with a 2.7 WARP so far in 99 games. Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio has had a solid rookie year at age 24 with 15 home runs. Cheslor Cuthbert has shown signs of possibly being a major league worthy second tier third baseman at a cheap price tag should the Royals lose Moustakas. The signals from these players show that maybe we shouldn’t downplay the possible upsides of Raul Mondesi, Jorge Soler, Hunter Dozier, Ryan O’Hearn, etc. There are players in the system that present upside and who I would have ranked higher than a couple players in the Top 100 that I have seen.

In addition to other possible players, the Royals should have an abundance of draft picks and international money coming. First off, the Royals having been penalized the past two years for international spending in ’15, will land in one of the two larger international pools going forward. In ’17 the Royals were in the $5.75m pool, which was the top spending amount allotted to any team and the only thing that kept them from competing for the top international players was their max budget penalty. This will change going forward and the Royals are likely to compete for the top international prospects again in 2018 and on into the future as teams aren’t likely to exceed pool amounts and incur penalties.

While the international pool is a nice addition, those players are usually a year or two away from being additions worth landing on a list. The biggest change the Royals are likely to see will come from the draft. First, let’s take a quick look at the change in the competitive bargaining language for the Royals.

• If the team that loses the free agent was a revenue-sharing recipient the previous season, based on its revenues and market size, and if and only if the player it lost signs with another club for at least $50 million, that team’s compensatory pick would land between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A of the 2018 MLB Draft. If the player signs for less than $50 million, the team that lost the player would receive draft pick compensation after Competitive Balance Round B.

This means that the Royals will be looking at picks #31, 32 and 33 (or very close) for Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer should they all sign for greater than $50 million from another team. In addition to their regular pick which will likely fall between #15 and #22. One other pick the Royals have the possibility of receiving is a pick in the first round of the competitive lottery. What do all these picks possibly do for their 2018 draft? Let’s take a look, using picks around where they’re likely to be as a guess.

1st Round Pick #20 $2.995m
Compensation for Eric Hosmer #31 $2.135m
Comp for Mike Moustakas #32 $2.085m
Comp for Lorenzo Cain #33 $2.035m
Competitive Lottery Pick #40 $1.71m
Rd 2-10 $3.225m
Based on the best case scenario – Royals Pool $14.185m

In this best case scenario, the Royals would have a larger pool amount than the Twins did this year. The team with the #20 pick would end up having as much power as any team in the draft with this scenario, likely creating a scenario that we haven’t seen since the new rules were imposed. Just based on this past year’s draft the Royals would have $4m more in draft pool money than the team with the seventh pick. They have a chance to be in truly powerful spot which should allow them to add multiple Top 20 valued players.

Yes, the Royals are ranked 29th currently, but one can see the light in the mine and the diamonds aren’t far from being extracted.

HR Roll Call: Travis Jones (1), Randor Vargas (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Robert Garcia 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 77p/46k, 2-4 GO/FO

Omaha Storm Chasers 8, Memphis Redbirds 4

The Chasers got after Baseball Prospectus’ 7th Ranked Cardinals prospect on Monday night, blistering Luke Weaver for 12 hits and seven runs in just 5.2 innings. After a mini-PCL slump by his standards, Jorge Soler is back to causing havoc in the league, connecting on a pair of hits to drive in four runs against the right-hander. The first was a two-run single in the first to plate Billy Burns and Dean Anna, while the second was a double off the left-field wall that capped a five-run sixth inning for Omaha.

Three Chasers pitchers combined to work the nine innings, with Kyle Zimmer working the final two. Zimmer allowed a solo home run while collecting four strikeouts. The righty is regularly hitting mid to upper 90’s of late, and is starting to look more dominant in his bullpen role.

Boxscore Link

Jorge Soler 2-5, 2b, 4 RBI
Frank Schwindel 2-5, R, 2-2b —-The 1b/DH is hitting .379/.396/.676 since June 29
Kyle Zimmer 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 37p/23k

Asheville Tourists 7, Lexington Legends 0

The Rockies Low-A affiliate and Columbian pitcher Erick Julio kept the Legends bats at bay in game one of their series in Asheville. Centerfielder Khalil Lee continued his struggles with a 0-4 night that featured three strikeouts versus Julio as the righty got him swinging ahead of his changeup multiple times.

In addition to Lee’s struggles, pitcher Nolan Watson continued his dismal performance at the Low-A level. He allowed 11 hits and six runs (5 ER) in just 4.2 innings. The Indianapolis native saw his record drop to 1-8 with the loss.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 3-4, 2-2b
Khalil Lee 0-4, 3K
Gabe Cancel 1-3, BB

Idaho Falls Chukars 6, Billings Mustangs 2

The Royals 15th round draft pick, Robert Garcia, had the best outing of his brief pro career, spinning five innings of no-hit ball with just two walks allowed. The lefty hit the zone with 46 of 77 pitches and struck out six hitters to collect his first win.

The Chukars bullpen backed him with four innings by two pitchers, allowing two runs. The offense plated six runs with the aid of seven walks next to their eight hits.

Boxscore Link

Travis Jones 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Robert Garcia 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 77p/46k, 2-4 GO/FO

AZL Mariners 3, AZL Royals 1

The Surprise squad committed three errors which led to a pair of unearned runs against starter Ismael Maldonado. Among those miscues was first baseman Nick Pratto’s ninth error in his 30th game.

Those two runs were enough to hold off the Royals as their lineup struck out 13 times on the evening.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 1-4
Tyler James 2-3 Bb, SB (20)

DSL Royals 3, DSL Dodgers 2 F/11
DSL Dodgers 13, DSL Royals 2

The Dominican squad split a doubleheader with the Dodgers Monday, getting an extra-inning win and getting blown out in the other game. Just three hits but three runs were plated in the victorious first game, including a home run by Randor Vargas.

Boxscore G1
Boxscore G2

Tuesday Probables
G1 Omaha – LHP Brian Flynn 4-2 6.00 ERA
G2 Omaha – TBD
NW Arkansas – Josh Staumont 1-2 6.04 ERA
Wilmington – TBD
Lexington – Ofreidy Gomez 5-9 5.11 ERA
Idaho Falls –  TBD
G1 Burlington – Nathan Webb 3-3 4.35 ERA
G2 Burlington – Connor Mayes 3-0 3.20 ERA
Surprise – Charlie Neuweiler 1-2 2.33 ERA