And Christian Koss hits three home runs
Worcester W 5-3 (F/11)
Yairo Muñoz, 2B: 1-6, 1 R
Jeter Downs, SS: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 2 K
Raynel Espinal (SP): 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K (105 pitches)
Kevin McCarthy: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (19 pitches)
Kaleb Ort: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (24 pitches)
Seth Blair (W): 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (40 pitches)
Just looking at this box score, I’m not entirely sure how Worcester won this game or how they even scored five runs, considering the offense had six hits on the day, all of which were singles. They did draw six more walks, and three of the singles came in the 11th, which surely helped. Anyway, not a lot to talk about player-wise. Muñoz did manage to extend his hit streak to 27 games, and Espinal had a really nice start. The former minor-league Rule 5 selection has been pretty solid of late, allowing two or fewer runs in four of his last five outings.
Portland L 3-4
Devlin Granberg, DH: 0-4, 3 K
Pedro Castellanos, RF: 0-4, 1 K
Hudson Potts, 3B: 0-4, 4 K
Ronaldo Hernández, C: 2-4, 1 R, 2 K
Kole Cottam, 1B: 3-4, 2 2B, 1 K
Wil Dalton, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI
Jeisson Rosario, CF: 0-4, 1 K
Josh Winckowski (SP; L): 6.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (93 pitches)
This game for the Portland offense was reminiscent of the one we’ve seen at the big-league level of late, with some baserunners but a lack of contact coming back to bite them. They had 14 strikeouts as a team, with four coming from Hudson Potts. It’s been a rough year for the former Padres prospect who came in the Mitch Moreland deal last summer, and with this game his average falls back below .400. He got off to a late start due to injury, and aside from a couple of short runs he’s had trouble ever really getting momentum in this season. Rosario, who was the other piece in that return, is also struggling with a .624 OPS. This was a season where the hope was presumably for him to get some time in Triple-A. Instead, he’s been moved down from the leadoff spot in Double-A. More positively, Winckowski did well by the strikeouts and walks, though four of the nine hits went for extra bases, including one homer.
Greenville W 4-0
Christian Koss, SS: 3-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 K
Cameron Cannon, 2B: 0-5, 1 K
Tyler Dearden, LF: 0-3, 1 BB
Brandon Howlett, 3B: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K
Joe Davis, 1B: 2-4, 1 K
Jaxx Groshans, C: 0-3, 1 BB
Jay Groome (SP; W): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (58 pitches)
Jacob Wallace (H): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (26 pitches)
Zach Bryant (SV): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (36 pitches)
Well look at Mr. Koss stealing the show from the pitching. Greenville shut Rome out thanks to one of the most talented arms in the system making up for his last start, a struggling but talented relief prospect having perhaps his best outing of the year, and one of the hottest relievers in the system continuing his streak. But Koss was the story. Acquired for Yoan Aybar this past winter, the infielder hasn’t always been consistent this year, but he’s made hard contact and has heated up with the weather. He finished July hitting .366/.412/.581, and he apparently saved his best for August with this game. But we also can’t ignore Groome, who shoved after getting hit all around his last time out. He had missed a few weeks, but he looks back into form with this start. He’s gotten lost in the shuffle a bit amid some other breakouts in the system, but Groome finishing this season strong would be perhaps the biggest momentum boost this system can get down the stretch.
Salem W 9-7
Nick Yorke, 2B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI
Antoni Flores, 3B: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 K
Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K
Ceddanne Rafaela, SS: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K
Nick Decker, LF: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 K, 1 CS
Nicholas Northcut, 1B: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 E
Alex Erro, DH: 2-4, 1 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Jeccorah Arnold, RF: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
Chih-Jung Liu (SP; W): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (64 pitches)
It really seems as though this offense is starting to come together at the same time, and that’s before Blaze Jordan has even gotten a chance to join the group. Yorke and Jimenez in particular are swinging good bats and setting the table for this offense. On Thursday, we saw some pretty rare power from Yorke, with this being his fourth homer of the year. He was never really projected for big power anyway, and his .389 OBP is more than enough to satisfy on that front, but if he can develop into that 15-20 home run kind of hitter, that would be a huge plus for his overall skillset. As for Jimenez, he now has three straight multi-hit games and is hitting .347/.394/.458 since June 27. Liu deserves a shoutout as well for a really nice outing. He’s had some trouble with consistency in his first pro season, but the flashes of what he can be have been there and he’ll be a guy to watch for next season.
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Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
FCL G1 L 6-8
Brainer Bonaci, SS: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
Eduardo Vaughan, RF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Bryan Gonzalez, DH: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
Danny Diaz, 1B: 0-3, 1 K
Eddinson Paulino, 3B: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 R
Phillip Sikes, LF: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Felix Cepeda (SP): 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
FCL G2 W 7-3
Eddinson Paulino, 2B: 1-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K
Marcelo Mayer, SS: 0-1, 3 BB, 1 R
Bryan Gonzalez, LF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K
Tyler Miller, 3B: 2-2, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI
Freddy Valdez, RF: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Gabriel Jackson: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Well, we won’t bury the lede here. Clearly the biggest story from the day down in the FCL was Mayer making his pro debut. The first round pick showed off some big-time patience, too, walking in each of his first three appearances before grounding out. His professional OBP will probably never be as high as it is today. He was not the only debut here today, though, as Miller, this year’s ninth rounder, had a big day getting on base all three trips to the plate, while Sikes, the 18th round pick this year, had a hit as well. We also saw a nice day from Paulino, who is off to a hot start this year with a 1.193 OPS.
DSL Red SUSP
DSL Blue SUSP
Player of the Day: Christian Koss
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