Kansas City » Travis Jones

Royals Prospects at Class-A Lexington-Part Two

Doc Riddle — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 12:00:24 +0000

In Part One, I took a look at the four Lexington Legends selected to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game, this year. While these four are certainly deserving of the attention, there is more to this team than just the high-profile prospects; a great deal more, as it turns out. Here’s just a few more that deserve your attention.

Brewer Hicklen, OF

2018: .320/.380/.525 in 137 PA, 151 wRC+, 8.0% BB, 35.0% K

A personal favorite coming into the 2018 season, Hicklen has shown himself to be virtually what I expected. A plus defender in the field with outstanding speed and present gap power, Hicklen lost some time to football in both high school and at college, and still has some untapped potential. He’s more than a slash-and-dash hitter, since he does have some raw power that he has yet to show in games on a regular basis, but that should come along as the season progresses. He’s a fast-twitch athlete with quick hands and a level swing geared toward line drives, at the moment, and should generate more loft as he learns to be more selective at the plate. His BABIP is impossibly high (.486), but is somewhat reflective of previous limited appearances in rookie-level ball. He will certainly need to start utilizing the whole field, if he’s going to reach his offensive potential; he’s gone to left field 61.8% of the time in 2018, perhaps swinging for the fences, but his bat is far more valuable if he learns to go with the pitch and spray the ball around.

Travis Jones, LF-3B

2018: .296/.384/.432 in 245 PA, 136 wRC+, 6.9% BB, 20.4% K

Looking like he could eventually be seen as a late-round steal, Travis Jones is cut from similar cloth as Hicklen: an athletic, solid all-round player, with some room for growth. At 6’4”, 210, Jones is very quick for his size, demonstrating both the range to play left field and the quick-twitch reactions to handle third base. Coming out of the 29^th round of the 2017 draft, Jones was seen as being a bit raw with an average tool set across the board. What helps him is his advanced base-running sense, and ability to make use of high-percentage steal opportunities. While most Royals-focused sites tend to talk a lot about Matias et al, Jones currently leads the team in hits (63), doubles (12), runs scored (40), walks (17), HBP (14!), and steals (also 14), while holding second place in RBI (31) and sixth in fewest strikeouts (50). Jones has a quick swing and typically a short swing path, especially on the back end, but can get a little long vs. advanced off-speed pitches (like a lot of Class-A batters). He is quick out of the box and isn’t afraid to take that extra base. He can certainly drive the ball deep into the gap, and I feel like he will demonstrate at least 12-15 HR pop this season, with the potential for average in-game home-run power as he advances. He’s a ground-ball hitter, at the moment (1.77 GB/FB ratio, 49.7 GB%), but with his size and bat speed he could become a legitimate power source if he can learn to put some loft on the ball.

Defensively, his better position at the moment is probably left field, though he has the versatility to handle all four corner positions. He is quick on his transfers and throws, enough to make what is considered average arm strength play up. In the outfield, he runs efficient routes and his straight-line speed appears to me to be slightly above advertised (also considered “average”). He is roughly age-appropriate for this league, though the Royals may push him if he continues to handle Class-A pitching as well as he has, so far.

Ricky Aracena, 2B-SS

2018: .243/.292/.350 in 119 PA, 82 wRC+, 5.9% BB, 14.3% K

Set aside the numbers, for a moment, and recall that when Aracena was signed in 2014 as an international free agent, his game and style of playing was compared favorably to Rafael Furcal. There’s good reason for this. Indeed, Aracena’s nickname is “Furcalito” (“little Furcal”), so it stands to reason that he would have some things in common with the former ML shortstop. Aracena has more than enough arm to play short, though he has spent much of the year at second with Jeison Guzman (we’ll get to him) and now Cristian Perez (ditto). He also covers plenty of ground and pairs that range with plus speed and quickness. Don’t let his size fool you into thinking that he can’t hit, either. He is stronger than his generously-listed 5’8”, 160-pound frame would suggest. Aracena has slowly been adding gap doubles power to his repertoire, and since he came into the season at age 20, he certainly has time to work on his offense.

One would like to see his line-drive percentage climb, considerably (18.3%), but I expect that to happen over the coming months. He can drive the ball to left or right, but has struggled vs. RHP in an admittedly-small sample size of AB (.209 in 78 PA, .333 vs LHP in 38 PA). While April was awful (.400 OPS in 36 PA), he managed a .765 OPS in May over 46 PA, and has thus far in June batted .367 with a .764 OPS in 34 PA.

Aracena has the speed to swipe 20-25 bags, easily, with more frequent appearances on base, and possibly more. As mentioned, like so many other players on this 2018 Legends team, he is young for the level (he turns 21 on October 2^nd), and has time to improve his offense.

At the risk of stating the obvious, simply making more frequent, hard contact will do wonders for him, as his speed and quickness (see a recurring theme, here?) make him a nuisance on the bases.

Marten Gasparini, OF

2018: .231/.272/.331 in 185 PA, 71 wRC+, 4.3% BB, 29.7% K

Gasparini has now spent 280 games in full-season Low-A ball, starting with 111 games in Lexington back in 2016. Of course, he played shortstop back then, and that experiment was a dismal failure (48 errors in 107 games, 31 of those fielding errors). Certainly not “the second coming of Derek Jeter”, as he was called after being signed in 2013.

However, since being moved to the outfield in 2017, Gasparini has taken to the switch very well. He has worked at improving his routes and consistently makes strong throws back to the infield, and has always covered more than enough ground to play either left or center. Splitting time between left and center in 2017, Gasparini is now almost exclusively a center-fielder, where he has made several highlight-reel plays in only 42 appearances at the position, thus far.

Gasparini has always had the tools defensively to be a regular, and the minor-league rolls are littered with players who failed at short, only to excel in the outfield. An above-average arm, coupled with plus defensive skill and speed (in the outfield, of course), make him a valuable prospect despite the poor offensive showing over the past 2+ seasons. He was always young for A-ball, coming to Lexington in 2016 at age 19 and having only turned 21 as of May 24^th of this year. He was also a very raw talent, growing up in Italy before being noticed by international scouts and moving to the Italian Baseball Academy at age 14 to begin working out in earnest. At the time, he was considered the finest European prospect since Max Kepler signed with the Twins in 2009.

Gasparini’s swing is still timing-based, but he is slowly beginning to show the ability to drive the ball, especially in a hitter’s count. Strangely enough, his splits at home vs. road are very far apart (.295 BA, .762 OPS in 24 home games; .141 BA, .398 OPS in 23 road games), and he continues to struggle vs. RHP (.204 BA vs. RHP in 123 PA, .259 BA vs LHP in 59 PA). The splits regarding hitting vs. lefties have always been higher for him, leading one to wonder how much better off he might be if he stuck to batting right-handed.

As mentioned earlier, Gasparini has easy-plus speed, and could be a 30+ steal guy if he could get on base with even average frequency. He is still very raw at the plate, especially when it comes to reading counts and pitch selection. At times, he looks overwhelmed and his swings will reflect that, but he’s starting to assert himself more often and drive the ball with confidence, an element that has been missing up to this point in his career.

I’ve been following Gasparini closely since he came to Lexington two years ago, and I still believe that he could put it all together. Defensively, he could progress to the higher rungs of the minor-league ladder, but his floor would be much lower without even modestly-improved offense. There’s enough potential remaining to make him a deep sleeper-type of prospect, but he’s likely going to be passed over by the likes of Michael Gigglioti and Vance Vizcaino, not to mention Travis Jones and Seuly Matias, so he’ll need to step up his game fairly soon.

Diamonds in the Rough 6-1-18

Clint Scoles — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 11:00:39 +0000

HR Roll Call Frank Schwindel (8,9), Vance Vizcaino (2), Seuly Matias (15), Travis Jones (4)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Frank Schwindel 3-4 3R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Andrew Beckwith 2 IP 1 H 1 R (free baserunner) 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-0 GO-FO 30p/20k

Augusta GreenJackets 4 Lexington Legends 3
Lexington Legends 8 Augusta GreenJackets 7 F/9

The Legends starters in both games of the doubleheader gave up three-run home runs in the first inning. Starter Garrett Davila in the first game hit a couple of batters around an error by third baseman Dennicher Carrasco’s error before Manuel Geraldo’s three-run home run put Augusta up. From that point Davila was solid, limiting Augusta to just three hits while matching a season-high seven strikeouts. Outfielder Seuly Matias tied the minor league lead for home runs with his fifteenth of the season, a 418 foot shot to center. Reliever Sal Biasi gave up a run in the seventh inning which proved to be the difference maker after a Travis Jones two-run home run in the seventh pulled Lexington within a run. In the second game Jacob Gonzalez hit a three run home run off starter Janser Lara to put the GreenJackets up 3-0 once again. Two more runs in the third and fourth innings put Augusta up 5-1 but the Legends battled back in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring four runs with the help of four hits around an error. Shortstop Cristian Perez doubled in a run in that frame while Jones connected on a single that tied the game up. The two teams exchanged runs late with Augusta scoring in the sixth before MJ Melendez tied it up with a single up the middle with one down in the seventh. In extras the two teams exchanged free runners in the eighth inning before Tyler Zuber kept the free runner from scoring in the ninth before Mr. Clutch, Travis Jones walked it off in the ninth with a bases-loaded single to left to score Perez.

Seuly Matias 1-7 HR, 2K
Travis Jones 4-8 2R, HR, 2b, 4 RBI, BB
Brewer Hicklen 3-6 R, 2b, BB, 2 SB

Salem Red Sox 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks once again couldn’t capitalize on offense, wasting a solid Jace Vines start in the process. The Rocks scored a run in the first and got a solo home run by Vance Vizcaino in the ninth but went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position to put up just two runs on the board. Right-hander Vines gave up a run on a pair of singles in the first and then reeled off six straight scoreless innings. Unfortunately, Vines ran into trouble in the eighth after a throwing error by Gabe Cancel preceded a pair of hits during a three-run frame to take a 4-1 lead on the way to the win.

Jace Vines 7 IP 7 H 4 R 3 ER 1 BB 4 K 11-2 GO-FO 94p/56k
Khalil Lee 2-4 2-2b
Vance Vizcaino 3-4 2b, HR

Midland RockHounds 11 NW Arkansas Naturals 4

The Naturals starter gave up seven runs for the third straight game while the offense just couldn’t cash in enough. Starter Zach Lovvorn gave up eleven hits and three walks in just four and two-thirds while getting touched up for those seven runs. The bullpen didn’t fare much better with both Franco Terrero and Grant Gavin giving up a pair of runs in the lopsided loss. Outfielder Elier Hernandez stayed hot with another 3 for 4 effort to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, he’s hitting .500/.521/.783 during that time.

Elier Hernandez 3-4 R
Nicky Lopez 1-5 R
Erick Mejia 1-4 RBI, BB

Oklahoma City Dodgers 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 7

A rough start for Heath Fillmyer put Omaha in a big hole that they nearly dug out of before just falling short. The right-hander acquired from the A’s gave up three home runs during a seven-run start over five and one-third innings. Omaha trailed 8-3 into the seventh when Frank Schwindel connected on a solo home run in the seventh before again leaving the yard in the ninth as part of a three run inning but the comeback bid would come up one run short in a second consecutive loss.

Adalberto Mondesi 1-5 R, 2b, RBI
Paulo Orlando 2-5 2b, 3b, RBI
Cam Gallagher 1-3 R, RBI, 2 BB

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Josh Staumont 1-1 1.82 ERA 1.50 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 2-4 5.81 ERA 1.75 WHIP
Wilmington – Ofreidy Gomez 2-3 4.28 ERA 1.63 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 3-5 6.56 ERA 1.83 WHIP

Diamonds in the Rough 5-29-18

Clint Scoles — Wed, 30 May 2018 11:00:06 +0000

HR Roll Call: Alex Liddi (5), Nick Dini (5), Chase Vallot (6), Seuly Matias (14), Travis Jones (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 2-5 HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jacob Condra-Bogan 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 0-4 GO-FO 22p/15k

Lexington Legends 12 West Virginia Power 6

Legends starter Carlos Hernandez couldn’t match his effort the last three times on the hill, but the offense picked him up in a win. Following a pair of runs allowed in the second inning by Hernandez, the Legends piled on six runs from the second through the fourth, getting a solo home run by Seuly Matias, a two-run shot by Travis Jones and three runs in the fourth after an error following two singles helped Lexington out. In a good position to earn the win, Hernandez was unable to finish the fifth, giving up five hits and four runs before reliever Tad Ratliff had to replace him. Despite the game being tied, Lexington’s offense didn’t cool down, scoring three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings with six hits in that time including three doubles. Infielder Ricky Aracena was in the mix of both innings, getting on after being hit by a pitch and scoring in the sixth before doubling in a run in the seventh as part of a two-run, two rbi night. Relievers Ratliff and Jacob Condra- Bogan worked the final four and one-third innings scoreless to secure Lexington’s fourth straight win.

MJ Melendez: 2-5 RBI, SB (2)
Seuly Matias: 2-4 2R, HR, 2b
Brewer Hicklen: 3-4 2R, 2b

Frederick Keys 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The Rocks offense couldn’t get any offense going outside a Chase Vallot home run while a two-run home run by Frederick did them in. Back from Arizona, Chase Vallot took a 3-2 pitch out to left in his return to Wilmington and to the catching position as part of a two-hit night that gave Wilmington an early 1-0 lead. That lead held up until the fourth inning when the Keys took a 2-1 lead when Gerson Garabito gave up two-run job to Collin Woody. Despite Wilmington getting two hits in each inning from the fifth through the eighth, they were unable to tie the game, losing possibly their best chance in the eighth when Frederick tossed Vallot out at the plate after a two-out single by Angelo Castellanos, killing that rally and the chances for Wilmington in this game.

Chase Vallot: 2-4 HR
Khalil Lee: 1-4 2K
Gerson Garabito: 7 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 1 K 8-7 GO-FO 88p/53k\

NW Arkansas Naturals 10 Frisco RoughRiders 5

The Naturals continued to do what they have been lately, flooding the bases with runners after hits and scoring in bunches; this time with the help of some poor Frisco defense. All nine hitters in the lineup had at least one hit with the top of the lineup helping to plate four runs in the third inning with Erick Mejia driving in two runs on a triple and Nicky Lopez bringing him in with a single to put NW Arkansas up 4-1. After Frisco had pulled within a run, NW Arkansas put the game away late, getting a pair of runs in the eighth with a pair of singles and a couple of walks before putting the game well in hand in the ninth on home runs by Alex Liddi and Nick Dini. The win pulled the Naturals within a game of .500 and two games back of first place.

Nicky Lopez: 1-5 RBI, SB (9)
Donnie Dewees: 1-3 R, 2b, RBI, 2 BB
Yunior Marte: 3 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 1 K 4-2 GO-FO 35p/25k

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 5-2 2.96 ERA 1.06 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Andres Machado 0-6 6.86 ERA 2.02 WHIP
Wilmington = Arnaldo Hernandez 5-2 3.64 ERA 1.43 WHIP
Lexington – Garrett Davila 3-1 3.50 ERA 1.31 WHIP

Diamonds in the Rough 5-27-18

Clint Scoles — Mon, 28 May 2018 11:00:13 +0000

HR Roll Call: Seuly Matias (13), Dennicher Carrasco (6)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Dennicher Carrasco 3-6 2R, HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Collin Snider 5 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 4 K 5-4 GO-FO 64p/42k

Gm 1 Lexington Legends 5 Asheville Tourists 4
Gm 2 Lexington Legends 5 Asheville Tourists 3

Starter Nolan Watson fell behind during Sunday’s start but the Legends offense bailed him out in the middle innings for a win. The two teams exchanged sac flies in the first two innings before Asheville connected on a pair of doubles in the third to push ahead 3-1. The score stood there until the fourth inning when Dennicher Carrasco drove in Nick Pratto following his double. With Carrasco standing on first Seuly Matias connected on his 13th home run of the season to grab the lead in the seven-inning affair. An inning later MJ Melendez drove in a run with a single and Watson turned the final two innings over to Tyler Zuber who worked around a run in the seventh to secure the save with five strikeouts in two innings.

In the second game, spot starter Collin Snider gave the Legends five quality innings to help them establish an early lead. Attacking the zone with 42 strikes on 64 pitches Snider limited Asheville to just three hits and one walk to limit them to just one run. A first inning two-run home run by Carrasco gave him a 2-0 lead and MJ Melendez drove in another run in third with a groundout. After Snider had completed five innings of work it was Melendez padding the lead with a two-run double to push Lexington’s advantage to 5-1. Those runs came in handy as Andrew Beckwith gave up a couple in the bottom of the sixth before completing the final six outs to complete the doubleheader sweep.

MJ Melendez: 2-7 2b, 4 RBI
Seuly Matias: 1-3 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
Travis Jones: 3-6 4R, 2b, 2 BB, SB (13)

Salem Red Sox 7 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks offense was stalled in this one, limited to just four hits while the defense made an equal number of errors in defeat. Starter Jace Vines got ran over by the singles train in the second inning when Salem got on board with four of them while also reaching with a walk and a hit by pitch in the inning to score four times. The Rocks countered with a pair of runs in that inning but struggled the rest of the way, going scoreless over the final seven innings. Unfortunately for Vines he was tagged for a pair of unearned runs in the fourth and seventh innings after the leadoff hitter reached base on shortstop Angelo Castellanos errors in both innings. Wilmington which leads the Carolina League in walks drawn did draw six of them on the day but were unable to cash in with a 2 for 11 effort with runners in scoring position.

Kort Peterson: 1-3 2b, BB
Jace Vines: 7 IP 9 H 6 R 4 ER 1 BB 2 K 7-9 GO-FO 95p/68k
Vance Vizcaino: 2-4 R, 2b, RBI

Midland RockHounds 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 5

The Naturals fell behind by a large margin early before battling back late against Midland in search of their sixth consecutive series win. Starter Scott Blewett struggled early, giving up five runs in the first three innings of this one. In the first frame, it was Eli White jumping on a 3-1 pitch to put Midland up 2-0 on Blewett’s fourth home run allowed of the season. Two innings later a pair of doubles followed a White sac fly to give Midland a 5-1 lead, a deficit that would get increased to 6-1 on an RBI single in the sixth. Despite the five-run deficit, the Naturals would make a game of it, scoring two runs in the fifth on an Elier Hernandez single and then two more an inning later with a double by Donnie Dewees. Trailing by a run the Naturals would get the tying run to second in each of the final three innings but in all three they would fail to advance them any further, dropping the game and ending their series win streak at five.

Nicky Lopez: 3-5 R, SB (8), CS (3)
Elier Hernandez: 2-4 RBI, BB
Donnie Dewees: 2-5 R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 OF Assist

Round Rock Express 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Starter Heath Fillmyer didn’t have it going in this one, giving up twelve hits and seven runs in just five innings for Omaha. The right-hander acquired in a deal with Oakland this offseason saw his ERA spike back up to 5.58 with the loss that saw him give up a home run to big leaguer Tommy Joseph in the first before surrendering five more runs over the next two innings. A three-run second inning by Omaha briefly tied the game off former All-Star Yovani Gallardo before he settled in, retiring the last eight that he faced while striking out nine Chasers in six innings of work. The Chasers didn’t get much going against the bullpen also, getting just one hit off the final three pitchers in defeat.

Richard Lovelady: 2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K 4-0 GO-FO 35p/26k
Adalberto Mondesi: 1-4 2b, K
Humberto Arteaga: 2-4 R hitting .615 over last 7 games

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables
Omaha – Scott Barlow 1-1 3.94 ERA 1.41 WHIP
Wilmington – Anthony Bender 1-2 6.00 ERA 1.83 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 2-2 2.33 ERA 0.83 WHIP

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Diamonds in the Rough 5-20-18

Clint Scoles — Mon, 21 May 2018 11:00:31 +0000

HR Roll Call: Ryan O’Hearn (3), Alex Liddi (3), Dennicher Carrasco (5), Travis Jones (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 4-8, 2R, 2b, HR, 4 RBI, SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Kalish 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 5-6 GO-FO, 70p/46k

Game 1 – Lexington Legends 6, West Virginia Power 4
Game 2 – Lexington Legends 7, West Virginia Power 6 – F/7

The Legends trailed 2-0 at the resumption of the suspended game on Sunday, but quickly dispersed of the deficit on their way to a win. Third baseman Dennicher Carrasco hit his fifth home run of the season in the second inning to quickly tie the game up. An inning later, Travis Jones drove in a run and later scored on an error off the bat of MJ Melendez. A pair of solo home runs off Collin Snider tied the game in the third and fourth innings before Jones quickly grabbed the lead back with a solo home run of his own in the fifth. Scoreless relief work by Julio Pinto and Tyler Zuber secured the win, while the Legends offense tacked on another run in the ninth with a Ricky Aracena RBI single. The win put Lexington a game over .500 for a moment.

The Legends took control of game two momentarily with a five-run fourth inning before getting a late hit for the doubleheader sweep. With the game tied 1-1 after three innings, Lexington put that five spot up with three consecutive hits with two out, getting a double from Cal Jones to score two runs prior to a two-run single by Julio Gonzalez and another RBI single from Travis Jones. Starter Janser Lara would struggle in the fourth, giving up two runs before lefty Robert Garcia would take over. Unfortunately, Garcia wouldn’t fare much better, allowing three runs in the sixth to tie the game. With the game tied and two outs in the final inning, an infield single by Brewer Hicklen would score Julio Gonzalez after his leadoff walk to give Lexington the lead and the eventual doubleheader sweep.

MJ Melendez: 1-8
Brewer Hicklen: 5-7, 2R, RBI, BB, 3 SB, CS
Dennicher Carrasco: 2-7, 3R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Game 1 – Salem Red Sox 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 – F/7
Game 2 – Salem Red Sox 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 – F/7

The Rocks were swept in Salem for the second time this season as both starting pitchers struggled to silent the Red Sox bats. In game one, Arnaldo Hernandez gave up nine hits in just 4.1 innings while surrendering five runs in the process. That was more than enough as the Rocks put together just three runs in the second before going down without any damage the rest of the way as the top four in the order combined to go 0-12. In the second game, it was more of the same as Dan Tillo ran into trouble in the fifth inning of his first High-A start after being staked to a 3-1 lead. A two-out, base-clearing double from the Carolina League’s leading home run hitter, Bobby Dalbec, did the damage, scoring three runs and putting Tillo in line for the loss. The Sox tacked on three more off reliever Matt Wynne an inning later to put the game out of reach. All told, Salem combined for 21 hits in the two games to just nine for Wilmington.

Dan Tillo: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 8-1 GO-FO, 91p/55k
Khalil Lee: 0-3, 3 BB, K, HBP, SB (10)
Kort Peterson: 2-7, R, 2b, 2 RBI, K

Game 1 – NW Arkansas Naturals 6, Springfield Cardinals 3 – F/7
Game 2 – NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Springfield Cardinals 1 – F/7

The Naturals offense got back on track Sunday after being shut down the previous night, knocking around the Cardinals pitching for six runs prior to a long rain delay. Those six runs came with three consecutive two-run innings as they leaned on a singles barrage, hitting eight of them in those three innings while also reaching base with three walks and a hit by pitch in that time. Reliever Walker Sheller worked 2.1 scoreless before getting help from Jake Newberry to close things out. In game two, the Naturals received a three-run first inning home run by Alex Liddi along with some solid pitching by Jake Kalish in a spot start opportunity to sweep the Cardinals. The left-hander worked five innings of one-run ball before turning things over to Michael Mariot who earned the save with the Naturals by working two perfect innings.

Foster Griffin: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 5-2 GO-FO, 67p/43k
Jecksson Flores: 2-6, 2R, HR, BB
Nicky Lopez: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, BB

Iowa Cubs 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Chasers were unable to finish the series off with a win Sunday despite an early 2-0 lead. It was a second inning solo home run by Ryan O’Hearn that gave Omaha their lead before a sac fly by Frank Schwindel an inning later pushed it to 2-0. Starter Trevor Oaks spun six shutout innings to keep that lead into the seventh, but an error opened the door in that frame. Following a one-out hit by pitch, shortstop Humberto Arteaga made a throwing error on a possible double play ball that kept both runners safe and opened the door for the Cubs. A single loaded the bases and following a strikeout, Mike Freeman singled to center to tie the game up. The Chasers last eight hitters in the game went down in order and Freeman came through again, connecting on a walk-off single against lefty Eric Stout to split the four game series.

Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4, HR, 2K
Manny Olloque: 1-3, R
Trevor Oaks: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 11-5 GO-FO, 98p/60k, 1 HBP

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables
Omaha – Jonathan Dziedzic (lhp) 1-5, 3.66 ERA, 1.31 WHIP
NW Arkansas – TBD
Wilmington – Jace Vines 2-5, 6.10 ERA, 1.69 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 2-4, 7.34 ERA, 1.79 WHIP

Diamonds in the Rough 4-11-18

Clint Scoles — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 11:00:20 +0000

HR Roll Call: Chase Vallot (1), Marten Gasparini (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 2-5, R, 2b, 3 RBI, SB (3)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Julio Pinto 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0-2, GO-FO 27p/18k

Lexington Legends 9, Greenville Drive 6

The Legends countered a five-run inning by Greenville with one of their own on Wednesday to finish off a three-game sweep of the Red Sox farm club and a 6-1 homestand. Reliever Dillon Drabble came in for Garrett Davila in the sixth with a runner on and struggled mightily. He hit the first two batters he faced before walking in a run and giving up an inside-the-park home run on a ball that eluded Michael Gigliotti’s grasp. The 2016 draftee plunked one more hitter before being lifted for Julio Pinto who promptly ended the five-run frame and would go on to retire all seven hitters he would face on the afternoon. Trailing 6-1 with two outs in the seventh inning, Lexington would take advantage of a run-scoring error that allowed their inning to keep going. With the extra out and the bases loaded, Travis Jones doubled to bring in all three baserunners and quickly pull the squad within a run. A triple by MJ Melendez, his second of the day, would bring Jones in to even the score. An inning later, the Legends would put the game out of reach with a sac fly by Oliver Nunez and a two-run home run from Marten Gasparini to push the advantage to three runs, more than enough for Tyler Zuber to finish off the win.

Seuly Matias: 0-1, 2R, BB
MJ Melendez: 2-4, R, 2-3b, RBI
Travis Jones: 2-5, R, 2b, 3 RBI, SB (3)

Salem Red Sox 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks

Coming into Wednesday’s game with Salem, the Rocks hitters were 1 for 20 with runners in scoring position. Things didn’t get much better, but a mammoth 3-run blast by Chase Vallot in the top of the fifth inning provided Wilmington a 4-2 lead. Up to that point, 11 of the 14 balls that Salem had made contact with had come on the ground, resulting either in hits or outs against starter Jace Vines. In the fifth, he couldn’t duplicate those results, giving up a pair of line drive hits sandwiched around a walk and another groundball single that helped generate three runs for Salem. Trailing 5-4, the woes with runners in scoring position continued with the Rocks missing out on two more opportunities to finish off the three-game sweep. They ended the series going an abysmal 3 for 29 with runners in scoring position.

Chase Vallot: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 K
Meibrys Viloria: 1-2, BB, 2-3 CS-Att on defense
Bryan Brickhouse: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 19p/10k

Memphis Redbirds 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Chasers offense continued their scoring struggles in another loss to Memphis Wednesday afternoon. With just five runs scored in five games this season, the Chasers plated just a pair in the fifth on a double by Ryan O’Hearn. That would be their only hit with runners in scoring position. Those two runs pulled them within a run following a three-run third inning against starter Trevor Oaks that included a pair of run-scoring doubles by Tyler O’Neill and Adolis Garcia. Those runs would prove to be enough for the win despite a quality start from Oaks and shutout relief work by Richard Lovelady and Mike Broadway.

Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4, 2b, 2 RBI
Hunter Dozier: 1-4, R, 2K
Ramon Torres: 2-4, R, 2b, BB

Diamonds in the Rough 9-7-17 Texas League Playoffs

Clint Scoles — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 11:00:50 +0000

Tulsa Drillers 11, NW Arkansas Naturals 7 –
Series Tied 1-1

Game two turned in to a wild affair as the two Texas League combatants tried to keep hold the attention of fans during a hectic night of sport. The Royals starter who had started the season as their #1 prospect at the start of the yeand sent to Double-A to regain confidence and mechanics, Josh Staumont looked to build on his quality work as of late.

Unfortunately for Staumont, he struggled with the zone and struggled to miss bats as well. The Drillers capitalized against the hard thrower, connecting on five hits while walking five times on the way to six runs in just 2.1 innings. A pair of doubles led to two runs in the first by Tulsa and was followed a two run home run. Two inherited runners scored off a single allowed by Yunior Marte in the third to push the deficit to 6-0 for the Naturals.

Another run in the fourth put NW Arkansas down 7-0, but they wouldn’t be deterred, getting a sac fly and a two-run home run by Nick Dini in the fourth to pull within 7-3. An inning later, three singles to start the frame was followed by an error on a ball hit by Ryan O’Hearn to pull them within a run. One more run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Donnie Dewees tied it up and gave the Naturals a new game.

The new game though turned out much like the earlier one for NW Arkansas. After Yunior Marte plunked a hitter, manager Vance Wilson turned to reliever Matt Tenuta. The lefty didn’t quite have it on this night and things got away from him and his squad. After allowing a walk and a single to load the bases with no outs, Dodgers Drew Jackson took Tenuta deep for a grand slam and a four run Tulsa lead. The Royals Double-A squad couldn’t find an answer, and the series is even at a game apiece.