New Hampshire and Dunedin won, Lansing lost two, Buffalo were rained out. Now that April is behind us, it's time to look at which prospects played up to their level and which disappointed in the first month of the season. Don't read too much into April numbers. In many locations the weather is an obstacle and for others they are getting used to a new level. By the end of May teams will have played over a third of the season and that will be a better measure.
Pawtucket at Buffalo - Postponed
Doubleheader on Thursday
First we will look at who is playing well. The fact that Lourdes Gurriel and Cavan Biggio are hitting is not news. Richard Urena and Roemon Fields are doing OK. None of the starting pitchers are playing well. The best of them is Jacob Waguespack who has a WHIP of 1.5 and an ERA of 4.62. Among the relievers Dusty Isaacs is standing out. He has a zero ERA with 19 K's in 13.2 innings.
On the negative side, Anthony Alford continues to disappoint with 30 strikeouts in 65 at-bats. Reese McGuire is also not hitting. Among the pitchers SRF and Shawn Morimando are being hit around the park.
New Hampshire 4 Trenton 1
New Hampshire were outhit 8-5 but a grand slam from Alberto Mineo was the difference. Yennsy Diaz pitched well, five innings, six hits one walks, five K's.
When only one hitter has an OPS over 800, it's hard to say there are offensive standouts. Thirteen hitters have gone to the plate for NH and six of them are hitting under .200 and four more at .250 or under. The only hitters over .250 are Mineo, Forrest Wall and Santiago Espinal. Mineo would be the biggest over achiever as Wall and Espinal are repeating AA. Among the starters Yennsy Diaz has pitched well, especially given his age and relative inexperience. Andrew Sopko has also pitched well, he has the lowest WHIP among the starters. Also don't forget Kirby Snead and his 0.37 WHIP. Bryan Baker has pitched nine innings and still has a zero ERA. He has only allowed two hits in those nine innings. But, he has walked seven with 12 K's.
On the disappointing side we have to start with Kevin Smith who is not hitting and is striking out 30% of the time. Chad Spanberger and Brock Lundquist are hitting under .200. On the pitching side, Hector Perez has a WHIP of 2.75, ouch! The nearest WHIP to him is Andrew Case at 1.80 and he retired.
Daytona 2 Dunedin 8
It was Nate Pearson's turn for a two inning start, five K's, ho-hum. Turner Larkins pitched four innings, seven hits, not so good, seven strikeouts, yes, good. Christian Williams went 4-4 including a home run. Cullen Large had two doubles. Cal Stevenson had two hits, maybe starting to get used to high A.
Riley Adams and Cullen Large are hitting well. Adams is still only 22 while Large is 23. This is a good time for both to start hitting. The starting pitching in Dunedin has been excellent, each of Nate Pearson, Maximo Castillo and Nick Allgeyer have excellent numbers.
On the below expectations side are Chavez Young, Cal Stevenson and Demi Orimoloye. For Stevenson, Dunedin is a big jump so he might need time to adjust, but Chavez's performance is disappointing after his good 2018. Among the pitchers Emerson Jimenez has a WHIP over 2.
Wisconsin 8 Lansing 3 - game 1
Wisconsin 2 Lansing 1 - game 2
Game one was a continuation of a game postponed yesterday. Cobi Johnson took over from Sean Wymer, he went 5.1 innings with just two hits allowed. The Lugnuts had only four hits, Ryan Gold had two of them. Game two was shaping up to be a pitchers duel, Fitz Stadler was on the mound. But in the fifth Wisconsin got some runners on. A single brought in one run and then a squeeze brought in the second. That squeezed in run was the winner. Lansing had six hits, Nick Podkul have half of them and scored the only run.
Jordan Groshans and Alejandro Kirk have received attention for their hitting. Jake Brodt has also hit well and Reggie Pruitt is off to a good start. Josh Winkowski has been the best of the starters although its worth noting that Joey Murray leads in strikeouts with 33 in 24.2 innings.
The prospects in Lansing are hitting, some fringe guys like Ryan Gold and Dominic Abbadessa are finding it tougher. Juan DePaula has an ERA over 7.
3 Stars
3rd star: Yennsy Diaz
2nd star: Alberto Mineo
1st star: Christian Williams
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