Tue. 8/30: Logan Henderson and Stiven Cruz take the Hill; Gasser Promoted (!)

[Joseph Zarr]

Thread will be utilized for any minor league news Tuesday, lineup updates, etc.

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[Joseph Zarr]

WOW:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

AND, as Wisconsin takes the road...they'll lean on their recently promoted trio of Aces. Tonight, it's RHP Stiven Cruz:

 

[Ro Mueller]

I prefer to wait until the lineup photos are posted to the club Twitter accounts, but the early Game Day link for Carolina having Eric Brown Jr. leading off and DH’ing is a good sign that he’s likely back.

Gotta wonder if Jacob Misiorowski will also make his organizational debut tonight (in relief).

[Joseph Zarr]

Speaking of Mudcats, how cool is this?

 

[Spencer Michaelis]

31 minutes ago, damuelle said:

I prefer to wait until the lineup photos are posted to the club Twitter accounts, but the early Game Day link for Carolina having Eric Brown Jr. leading off and DH’ing is a good sign that he’s likely back.

Gotta wonder if Jacob Misiorowski will also make his organizational debut tonight (in relief).

Earlier today I noticed that Misiorowski was listed as the probable starter on Thursday. I don’t know how far in advance I should trust probables at that level but still seemed noteworthy.

[Joseph Zarr]

2 minutes ago, Smichaelis9 said:

Earlier today I noticed that Misiorowski was listed as the probable starter on Thursday. I don’t know how far in advance I should trust probables at that level but still seemed noteworthy.

I saw that as well. I imagine they'll treat him like they've treated Logan Henderson - 2 IP goal for the first game(s). I'm really excited to see Misiorowski's stuff! 

(Laughs to self: I say that about every prospect)

[Ro Mueller]

Wisconsin is in Peoria this week to battle the Cardinals' High-A affiliate. RHP Stiven Cruz aims for a 3rd straight impressive start (12 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 12 Ks in first 2 games). Will DH/OF Jackson Chourio (.844 High-A OPS) play all 9 innings tonight? First base will likely be an interesting rotation, with INF Jose Acosta (.670 High-A OPS) getting a crack at it tonight:

[Ro Mueller]

Carolina hosts Royals' Low-A affiliate Columbia this week and welcomes 2022 first round pick DH/SS Eric Brown Jr. (.839 OPS in 56 Mudcat plate appearances) back to the lineup after a one-week absence. RHP Logan Henderson (4 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks in first 2 outings) is starting the opener:

[Joseph Zarr]

You know the system is trending in the right direction when you consider the number of roster shuffles manager Victor Estevez has undergone in 2022...and, here we sit in very late August and I look at that young roster and have one reaction:

One of the surprising questions I have as Carolina's season comes to a close: 

Can 3B Branlyn Jaraba keep a semblance of this offensive production up? Can he cut down on the K:BB ratio? He's suddenly come onto our radar here in the past couple of weeks.

[Ro Mueller]

First place Nashville hosts Cardinals' AAA affiliate Memphis this week and has RHP Josh Lindblom (2.12 ERA with 23 Ks in last 17 innings) looking for his 4th straight victory tonight. SS Brice Turang has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games:

[Joseph Zarr]

The Sounds return from a 12-game road trip with an 8-4 record overall. The 4-2 series victory in Durham (68-55 - 1st place tie atop the Int'l East Division) was perhaps most impressive considering how lefty-dominant their batting order is and Nashville (74-48) now has zero lefties in their bullpen. Memphis (63-59 - 4th place Int'l West) will head to First Horizon Park having taken 5 of 7 games in Charlotte last week. The Sounds lead the Columbus Clippers (71-50) by a mere 2.5 games in the International West Division and the Clippers will be home as well taking on the second to last place Iowa Cubs (56-67). Another big series as the Sounds make a post-season push. Let's go!

[Ro Mueller]

The Shuckers are in Madison, Alabama (part of Huntsville metropolitan area) this week to take on Angels' AA affiliate Rocket City. RHP TJ Shook (4.07 ERA in High-A/AA) gets the start tonight. DH/1B Thomas Dillard comes in with a 13-game on-base streak:

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Just so many promotions this year.  Congrats to Gasser.  He showed he could hold his own in AA.  This is clearly an organizational philosophy to promote aggressively this year.  I'm sure it has to do with the lost 2020 season.  They have one less year of control (effectively) so they want to push these guys as much as they can.

[Joseph Zarr]

2 K, 2 BB, 2 H, 2 Errors and, well, that's a 3-0 deficit for the Mudcats going into the bottom of the 1st. Not a pretty inning. Henderson's stuff looked quite good on his last batter - tho, I see he threw 31 pitches...ummm. I got back from an errand to see a poor Sibrian decision on a stolen base attempt with a runner on 3rd base leading to the 3rd run. Let's get it going, Mudcats!

[Joseph Zarr]

Broadcaster, Greg Brown, just stated Eric Brown Jr. was shelved last week with 'soreness'. Unspecified.

[Joseph Zarr]

And chalk Brown's first out to: incredibly good contact. He hits an absolute rope deep to the wall in right center but the right fielder takes the perfect route and reaches up at the last second to corral the line drive at the warning track. Heck of a grab.

[Joseph Zarr]

And, after a lead-off single to CF...Logan Henderson commits his 2nd error. That's 3 Mudcat errors and we are in the 2nd inning. Henderson then proceeds to hit the next batter on a heater up and in. Men on 1st and 2nd. No outs. Nobody is up in the Mudcats bullpen. This is the first time Henderson has exceeded 30 pitches as a Mudcat. He definitely does not have his best stuff tonight. let's hope he can grit it out.

[Joseph Zarr]

With the emergence of Jeferson Quero (now in Wisconsin) and the consistent play of Jose Sibrian...and now the play of Alex Hall...the Mudcats now lead all of the Minor Leagues with 81 baserunners caught stealing (CS). That's a vast turnaround from last year. Quite a remarkable feat. That is the first 80 CS for a Minor League team (in all of the MiLB system) since 2016. 

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Logan Henderson leaves after 2 IP - he was definitely not sharp tonight. He makes way for RHP Fernando Olguin who comes on here in the third inning and proceeds to give up a lead-off single. The Fireflies are knocking singles all over the ballpark tonight.

[Joseph Zarr]

Cruz just threw a 69 mph raindrop gorgeous curve in for a dime strike right down the heart of the plate at the upper edge of the zone - a 12-6 plopper. He follows with a 92 mph heater that had to have felt like 102. This young hurler has a developing craft. He works around a walk, and a mistake slider deep double and strikes out the side. 0-0. On to the 2nd frame.

The fascinating thing about Cruz, as it stands today (at just 20 years old), is his changeup is effectively a strikeout pitch against lefty bats. It has ridiculously late tailing action off the plate. It's already a very impressive pitch. You don't know if that's coming or the inside sweeping slider/breaking ball. Lots of tools to work with for the young hurler.

[Joseph Zarr]

Olguin just gave a grand salami after getting the double play out of his third inning bases loaded jam. Yowza. Carolina trails 8-0. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Alright, Cipppppp! First pitch solo bomb over the wall in left field. Looked like possibly a changeup? Exit velo of 102. 1-0. 

This just in: Stiven Cruz is a pitcher. Man, he's fun to watch. Not in the MLB pipeline so called 'Top 30'? Yeah, right. This kid, at 20 yo, already has a fairly high floor. 5 K's through 2 IP. He's not quite on tonight but he never seems uncomfortable. And, man, he is so dang crafty.

[Joseph Zarr]

This just in: 

I LOVE watching Josh Lindbolm hurl the white rat. He gives middle aged men a sense of hope they too can have as fine-tuned and savvy a skill set as he does (Josh, you're not old. I'm old). Man, he just knows how to pitch. I don't care about his MLB experience or lack of success at that level. He has so much skill and tools in the pitching toolkit. Very humble guy in all his interviews too.

[Joseph Zarr]

Cruz tonight:

67 mph 12-6 curve

74 mph slider

87-93 on the fastball - I swear he also has two different versions of this pitch. I'll need to find out more in the coming months.

0 R through 4 IP. Not as efficient as he can be. BUT, literally one real mistake pitch in his entire outing so far. He's so advanced for his age. Such a joy to watch.