Ernesto Jaquez vs. Salem: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 6 K Carlos Calderon is on for Fayetteville as they trail the Red Sox 2-0 in the 6th.
Enmanuel Valdez hit his second homer of the year for Corpus. Jaime Melendez gave up two runs in the 1st but rebounded for a decent outing: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K
By my count there is only one 40 man position player in the minors, (Joe Perez) an injury to any position player other than first or third base will force the trade or DFA of a rostered pitcher. Trading one or two now would be better than waiting to trade under duress when a third catcher or a short stop (the most vulnerable spots) is needed.
We are still 2-3 weeks from taking any real meaning from minor league stats, but in the first 2 weeks the overall results have been a little disappointing; of course, the hitters are probably still behind the pitchers, so I expect things to improve on the hitting front. 5 hitters I am pleased with in the early going: JJ Matijevic: he has done exactly what he needs to do: hit for elite power while keeping his k rate low enough to be viable. He won’t maintain this power output but it won’t matter if he keeps his k rate at 21% like it is now. 200 more pa of this and he will project as an everyday caliber 1B. Grae Kessinger: I was mildly disappointed by his placement back in AA, but he’s off to a good start. He has had good overall performance despite some bad luck. He needs to take a step forward and so far it looks like he has. Colin Barber: it’s only 12 pa, but he hasn’t struck out. He hasn’t played in a few games so hopefully he isn’t hurt, since if he doesn’t stay healthy this season he will likely be slapped with the injury prone label. Mike Papierski: I remain convinced this guy will play in the majors for a good while. In these first 2 weeks he’s continued to do what he’s always done: get on base without hitting for power. For a guy who can manage a pitching staff and has good overall marks for his defense, that’s pretty valuable. Shay Whitcomb: his 3 k game last night undid a lot of his early success, but so far so good for him in AA. K rate under 20% while slugging .526 bodes really well for him. It’s even more premature to judge pitching, but Hunter Brown, Peter Solomon, Parker Mushinski, Angel Macuare, Misael Tamarez, and Aaron Brown have caught my eye in the very early going.
Luis Guerrero replaced Joe Perez on the AA roster; Perez was called up when Yordan Alvarez hit the COVID IL. There are now only 5 (by my count) Astros position player prospects in minor league roster limbo: CJ Stubbs, Yohander Martinez, Freudis Nova, Justin Williams, and Adonis Giron. Nova is injured. Not sure about the other 4 guys.
Colin Barber with a couple of hits tonight, including a two-run double for Asheville. Nerio Rodriguez went deep for the second straight game. Wilyer Abreu hit his first homer of the year for Corpus. EDIT: Hooks putting it on Midland in the 3rd as Justin Dirden hit a two-run double, Wilyer added an RBI double and then Ross Adolph homered. They're up 8-1.
Well, Corpus Christi's pitchers decided to see how big of a lead they could give up. Enmanuel Valdez has 4 hits! All 5 outs that Enoli Paredes recorded came via strikeout. Fayetteville got bludgeoned, but Quincy Hamilton hit his first homer of the season. Nice outing for Alex Santos out of the bullpen too: 3.1 IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K
Grae Kessinger's homer in the 11th gave us 3 of them back. Part of a 4-spot that frame. Now can they hold on to this lead?
Leosdany Molina and Quincy Hamilton have homered for Fayetteville; it's the second for both of them. In between those homers, Tyler Whitaker tried for an inside-the-park one but he was thrown out at home.
Edinson Batista had a nice 2022 debut for Fayetteville: 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K Batista, who turns 20 on May 19, signed in 2019 out of the Dominican Republic and had a solid debut that year, going 2-0 with two saves and a 4.00 ERA in 15 relief appearances in the DSL. He struck out 44 in 36 innings that year and allowed a .241 average against him. He was in the FCL last year and finished off the season with one appearance for Fayetteville. All of Batista's appearances as a pro have come in relief, but he recorded more than three outs in 21 of his 27 appearances, so it's possible he could have a spell as a starter this year.
