Three of the affiliates have played four games, the Bisons have been rained and/or snowed out so far. In general it has been a good start for the affiliates but as usual we have to say it's early. Buffalo, Lansing and New Hampshire are all northern teams but Buffalo have been the unluckiest with the weather so far. Although the Lugnuts played with the temperature below zero so its not exactly baseball weather.
New Hampshire have started 4-0 and its not all down to Vlad and Bo. Vlad is adjusting to AA, his reputation has proceeded him and the pitchers are wary of giving him anything to hit. His average is just .200 but he has just one K in four games with three walks. He hit his first home run on Sunday. Bo took an oh-fer in his first game but since then he has been hitting. Bo's average is up to .333 and he just two K's in 4 games. Lourdes Gurriel, Cavan Biggio, Connor Panas and Juan Kelly have all been hitting well. Jonathan Davis, Harold Ramirez and Max Pentecost are all off to slow starts.
Sean Reid-Foley pitched six shutout innings on Sunday, although he was a bit wild at times. Nick Tepesch and Jordan Romano also pitched well.
Dunedin have started 3-1 against Clearwater. Josh Palacios had a tough year last year with several injury issues. He is red hot to start the season. The Jays put him at the top of the order and he is hitting .533. Nash Knight is hitting over .300 but he has two home runs. New Jay Ivan Castillo is also hitting, as is the forgotten DJ Davis. Riley Adams and Logan Warmoth are on the cooler side of the ledger hitting around .200, although Adams has hit his first home run. You would expect some acclimation for those two having skipped the low A level in Lansing.
The four Jays starters have pitched OK, but not great. Patrick Murphy might have been the best, three hits and three walks allowed over five innings.
Lansing are 2-2 through their four games, that's not bad, but they started 0-2 and lost both ends. The two young speedsters, Chavez Young and Reggie Pruitt, are both hitting over .300, as is Kacy Clemens. There are many hitters who are cold, physically and at the plate. Samad Taylor and Kevin Smith are two of the hitters slow off the mark. For some of these Lansing players it is their first exposure to cold weather.
Yennsy Diaz dominated on day one, Zach Logue did well in game two but Graham Spraker and Turner Larkins did not do well. Ty Tice has pitched very well out of the bullpen.
Three Stars
Third Star - Bo Bichette
Second Star - Sean Reid-Foley
First Star - Josh Palacios
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