Sat. 9/7 - Evening Action

[Jim Goulart]

Thread will be utilized for any minor league news Saturday.

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[biedergb]

Shuckers are 33-28, M-Braves are 30-30 in the second half. By my count Shuckers magic # is 7.

Shuckers have 2 more against the Trash Pandas, and MBraves play 3 (DH tonight) against Tennessee.

Then a huge 6 game head-to-head of Biloxi and Mississippi next week.

So a split 3-3 next week should be enough for Biloxi as long as they win a game this weekend or MBraves lose one.  If Biloxi wins both and Braves lose one this weekend then even a 2-4 series will be enough. Huge games for the Shuckers. These are big asks at a very crucial time in the season.

The Shuckers have been so uneven. They NEED some bats to come alive (thank you EMJ), but we need other like Wilken, EBJ, or any of the OF to get going, and hope for the usual great pitching (especially the bullpen).

2 affiliates are in the playoffs, and Nashville is still hanging around but realistically needs to win at a .750 clip the next couple of weeks and hope that Columbus plays closer to .500 or even lower. Uphill big time.  The past two nights big losses to Gwinnett hurt the playoff chances, and allowed Gwinnett back into the essentially 4 team race in the International League.

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, biedergb said:

The Shuckers have been so uneven. They NEED some bats to come alive (thank you EMJ), but we need other like Wilken, EBJ, or any of the OF to get going, and hope for the usual great pitching (especially the bullpen).

I'm at the point of this season where I don't anticipate EBJ will suddenly figure out how to make that inexplicable swing set-up work. I've mentioned it on several occasions this past month. The more I see it, and the more I see the predictable results, I just find it extremely hard to buy-in to it magically working. It is a serious problem in his game. If he can't commit to simplifying everything in his swing or if the org can't impart to him the desperate need to do so, well, that's just a road I don't even want to contemplate traveling down. 

The real loss in the Shuckers line-up in this do-or-die stretch is they lost OF Connor Scott this past Sunday. We haven't heard anything since and we haven't seen him this entire Rocket City series. Hopefully, it's just a nagging something like O'Rae dealt with but his loss in the middle of their line-up is significant. He's been a real plus since coming aboard. His absence is very much felt. It has led me to go back to Sunday's 10-0 shellacking at the hands of the Biscuits to see if I can't deduce what may have happened.

Speaking of O'Rae, it would be really nice if he figured out how to be a lead-off in Double-A. He continues to have brief moments, yes, but these are happening amidst a prolonged struggle. The walks are a plus - the K:BB ratio is still solid. But, boy oh boy, the overwhelming feedback from his over 200 AB performance continues to be: has to get stronger in the off-season. There is no other option. He continues to be consistently overmatched in this League at present. This isn't me being a debbie downer - it's a credit he continues to battle - but it's fair to propose this placement was over-aggressive. OR, in the very least, it gave O'Rae and the org the clear directive for the coming 7 months of work before next season.

[Joseph Zarr]

OK, I went back and watched the Scott AB this past Sunday vs Montgomery. I would gather something may have happened in a left CF gap drive to open the 3rd frame. Scott sprinted in pursuit and definitely looked to pull up and jog it off well into CF territory. In true fashion, the ball found him a few more times that inning and he looked to be running with a discernible hiccup in an overly deliberate and ginger stride. He didn't see another AB. He didn't see another ball in his direction. He was pulled for Hall to start the fifth frame.

[Ro Mueller]

DH/SS Cooper Pratt returns to the High-A Wisconsin lineup for the first time in 15 days as they get healthy before next week’s playoff semifinal series. RHP Tyler Wehrle (4.45 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 in 54.2 IP) makes his 2nd start (28th appearance) of 2024, as the team aims for a 3-2 series lead at Cedar Rapids.

[Joseph Zarr]

We are preparing for a late-season LHP Adam Seminaris start at Rocket City for game 5.

We had a 3.79 ERA from the well-performing middle-relief arm. Since the calendar flipped to August?

6 GS, 19 2/3 IP, 38 H, 25 ER, 11 BB, 18 K, + 0.300 BAA, + 2.00 WHIP

ERA today: 6.22

'Ugly' would be the only appropriate word here. Can he find some semblance of his earlier form?

 

[Ro Mueller]

19-year old LHP Anthony Flores makes his 3rd start (7th appearance) for Low-A Carolina, which tries to get back on track after dropping 2 straight at home to Delmarva. SS Daniel Guilarte has 2 hits in each of his last 3 games. 

[Ro Mueller]

LHP Adam Seminaris tossed 153 pitches in 2 starts last week (unpleasant results) and AA Biloxi calls on him again as they shoot for a 4-2 series lead at Rocket City. 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. had the game-winning 3-run homer yesterday and is on an exceptional run (.947 OPS in last 192 PAs). 

[sveumrules]

Eventful bottom of the first for Carolina as Yophery walked (wild pitch),  Marco Dinges was hit by a pitch and subbed out for Miguel Briceno, Bitonti walked, Braylon Payne walked (1-0), David Garcia walked (2-0), Daniel Guilarte sac fly (3-0), wild pitch (4-0), Reece Walling home run (6-0), Yhoswar single and stolen base.

Hopefully Marco Dinges is alright and one of our MiLB viewers can fill in the details.

[Joseph Zarr]

13 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Eventful bottom of the first for Carolina as Yophery walked (wild pitch),  Marco Dinges was hit by a pitch and subbed out for Miguel Briceno, Bitonti walked, Braylon Payne walked (1-0), David Garcia walked (2-0), Daniel Guilarte sac fly (3-0), wild pitch (4-0), Reece Walling home run (6-0), Yhoswar single and stolen base.

Hopefully Marco Dinges is alright and one of our MiLB viewers can fill in the details.

Watching now. Will report back. Took me a moment. I saw 'Ball in play (runs)' during Walling's AB arriving back at the farm after a day at a friend's farm and nearly drove into the wetlands...

[Ro Mueller]

AAA Nashville trails Columbus by 6 games for a playoff spot after dropping consecutive home games to Gwinnett. RHP Taylor Clarke (4.72 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6.9 K/9 in 61 IP) makes his 14th start (21st appearance) of the year. 1B Wes Clarke has 9 homers in his last 32 games (.920 OPS in last 137 PAs). 
 

EDIT: It appears that hot-hitting Isaac Collins was a late scratch in favor of Noah Campbell.

[Joseph Zarr]

Re: Dinges. 2-2 count. Fouls an inside rising heater off down the 1B line. Took a high rising heater (maybe high 90's! Chris Edwards is saying almost 99 mph) too high and inside and it went smack dab right on his glove hand/wrist. Threw his helmet immediately into the dirt and broke it. Trainer and Nick Stanley came out. He was moving his hand and fingers but they pulled him after asking him to ball his wrist and flex it back and forth up-and-down. 

[wiguy94]

6 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Re: Dinges. 2-2 count. Fouls an inside rising heater off down the 1B line. Took a high rising heater (maybe high 90's! Chris Edwards is saying almost 99 mph) too high and inside and it went smack dab right on his glove hand/wrist. Threw his helmet immediately into the dirt and broke it. Trainer and Nick Stanley came out. He was moving his hand and fingers but they pulled him after asking him to ball his wrist and flex it back and forth up-and-down. 

Did it get his hand/wrist? I thought it caught him right on the left elbow guard.

[Joseph Zarr]

4 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Did it get his hand/wrist? I thought it caught him right on the left elbow guard.

Very much a hand/wrist thing

[Joseph Zarr]

This is the second game in this Delmarva series the Mudcats bats and their collective approach has sent the Delmarva starter to the showers in the first inning. They should do that in every playoff game. Seeing Sykora hit the showers in the first frame would heal a lot of 2024 wounds. 😂

[Joseph Zarr]

My baseball gods, Walling absolutely obliterated that 3-2 offering. Holy smokes. That ball went over the RF wall and over the shed out there. 384 down the RF line. 107 mph jack. Sheeeeeesh.

[Joseph Zarr]

Don't take my word for it. Enjoy:

I'll add my personal lil Walling-ism..."Walling stans unite! <looks around...see I'm the only one standing...continue standing tall and proud>"

[Joseph Zarr]

Payne continuing to show an approach at the dish well beyond his years. Really good eye and patient approach. Just worked an 0-2 count to 2-2 and ripped a one-handed pull sinker over a leaping second baseman. Really nice knock. Just a smooth easy swing. He then swiped his first base. Advanced on Garcia's ground out. Scored via a Guilarte (who continues to play fantastic baseball himself) Sac Fly. Just fabulous baseball.

[Joseph Zarr]

Gentlemen. I already like Payne more than I reasonably should. He has an 'It' factor. He just has something there you don't see every day. With a young man his age? He carries himself with a sure confidence you just don't see all that often at his age. AND, he is backing it up with some crisp fundamentally sound baseball. 

[Joseph Zarr]

We have consecutive scoreless frame from Seminaris. It's predictably 0-0 with the Shuckers bats always ones for drama. I'm just thankful Seminaris experienced some early success after a truly rough past month. Keep it going, young man!

[Stealofhome]

Payne really went after the first pitch fastball and totally missed. I kinda wish he had hit it to see how far it went.

[Stealofhome]

Ends up working a walk and then stealing on the first pitch. He actually took off for third on the second pitch but it was fouled off. Got to third on a balk, seemed to really be in the pitcher's head.

[biedergb]

Ugh. EBJ with a great hit, flies out deep to LF at the wall.  Just missed a HR by about 10 feet. Just got under it too much. 

[biedergb]

Clarke with. Grand Slam to get Mashville up.

And Seminaris is pitching into the 5th. That’s asking a lot. Hitters need to get going - can’t stomach another “1-0” game that’s been all too common for the Shuckers.

[biedergb]

I forget how young the Mudcats are - Baez, Bitonti, DiTuri, Rodriguez all born in 2005 and Payne in 2006. These are all kids who would be starting classes as freshmen in college, and they are gettin regular at bats in low A ball. Then”older” guys are born in/around 2003 (Dinges, Bricneo, Walling, Castillo).