Buffalo split a doubleheader. They had bad pitching in game one and lost, good pitching in game two and won. The hitting was poor in both games. New Hampshire won thanks to Kevin Smith and Logan Warmoth, backing up Yennsy Diaz. Dunedin, Lansing, Vancouver and Bluefield lost. The two rookie teams won, the GCL hitters are on fire.
Buffalo 4 Scranton WB 6 - Game 1
Scranton WB 0 Buffalo 1 - Game 2
New Hampshire 4 Trenton 2
Dunedin 0 St Lucie 3
Lake County 9 Lansing 4
Vancouver 1 Eugene 7
Danville 6 Bluefield 8
GCL Jays 7 GCL Phillies 2
DSL Padres 1 DSL Jays 2
Here are some things I noted from Thursdays games:
TZ Zeuch was poor for Buffalo. Uncharacteristically he walked six in 4.2 innings. There was also the issue of seven hits allowed. It was an "ouch" for sure.
On the other hand Taylor Saucedo was outstanding in game 2, 4.2 shutout innings. Saucedo is 26 now and has been an organizational soldier, moved to wherever there was a need. But this year his numbers have been excellent, a 1.01 ERA in New Hampshire and now a 1.44 ERA in Buffalo. His WHIP is over 1 and his K rate is nothing to get excited about so maybe he is just getting lucky. But he is filling a need in AAA.
Ty Tice and Jordan Romano closed out the shutout in game 2. We know about Romano but Tice hasn't slowed since his promotion to AAA. Tice impressed in spring training so he might get a late season look after all the trades are made.
The Buffalo doubleheader was unusual. Scranton were the home team in game one, Buffalo were home in game two.
A couple of surprises led the way for New Hampshire. Kevin Smith had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two. One of his hits was a two run home run, the other a double. Smith is not "hot" but his bat has warmed a little over the last week. The other producer was Logan Warmoth who had three hits. One of his hits was his first AA triple.
Yennsy Diaz continued his good season with one run allowed over six innings. His ERA is 3.47, his WHIP is 1.18 and his K/9 is just over seven. Those are very good numbers for the 22 year old. It was a surprise when the Jays added him to the 40 man roster in the off-season but he has shown that the front office knew what they were doing.
Spencer Horwitz had half of Bluefield's hits, four of eight. He has been Bluefield's nest hitter but he seems like others before him, without a position, who will struggle at higher levels. Horwitz hit his first home run tonight.
Vancouver lost and are now 3-11 for the season. This is unusual for Vancouver. The Northwest League runs a split season format, the C's will be hoping for reinforcements for the second half, Alek Manoah anyone? The only hitter doing well is Yorman Rodriguez.
Jose Espada is another pitcher working his way back from injury. He started and pitched one inning for the GCL Jays.
The GCL Jays have 15 hitters on their roster. 14 of them are Latino, from the Dominican, Venezuela, Puerto rico and Mexico. One is American. 14 of the players were born since September 1999, meaning they are aged between 17 and 19. The one exception is the American. Troy Squires is the only American among the hitters, I assume he is the only native English speaker and he is 24 years old, five years older than his closest hitter-mate. I just thought this was interesting. I hope he knows some Spanish. Squires is from Kentucky and went to the University of Kentucky. Having said all of that, Squires has not had an at-bat this season so he is probably injured and not with the team. In his absence, the team lineup is 100% Spanish speaking.
The hitting has been excellent so far in the GCL. Javier D'Orazio had two more hits Thursday and is hitting .500. Jhon Solarte had one hit and his BA is at .471. Orelvis Martinez also had one hit and his average is .357. A Rod, Alberto Rodriguez, received $500,000 in 2017 and he is hitting .364. Jose Zepeda, an 18 year old 3B from Mexico, is hitting .500 while Erickvi Celedonio had three hits and is hitting .300. Its only four games but there is hope!
3 Stars
3rd star: Spencer Horwitz
2nd star: Kevin Smith
1st star: Logan Warmoth
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20190627145712387