Nolan Devos @ Salem: 5 IP, 3 BB, 5 K Trey Dombroski is on for Fayetteville with a 2-0 lead to work with.
Colton Gordon lost his no-hitter with one out in the 6th. 6 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 90 pitches (55 strikes); the run scored on a disengagement violation.
Shay Whitcomb has 2 HR tonight, his 7th and 8th of the season in 22 games played. Could be a 25 HR / 15 SB threat who can play SS. Lindor and Swanson were the only 2 SS to meet that mark in the majors last season. Altuve and Semien were the only 2B to do it. Crazy stat but since 2006 no Astros SS prospect has hit more than 19 HR in a season. Whitcomb leads during that time with the 19 he hit last year. In fact, since 2006, only Hunter Pence, Domingo Santana, and Koby Clemens have hit 25+ HR in a season in AA for the Astros.
Fayetteville loses the no-hitter in the 9th but Ryan Clifford got the outfield assist to keep the bases empty.
What about him? He only played in AA for 53 games in 2015, and only hit 11 HR. As far as comparing Whitcomb to Reed, Reed was an extremely gifted hitter but was lazy and didn’t have defensive value. Whitcomb is a plus athlete and 4 tool player. For Whitcomb the degree to which he can manage his strikeouts will determine where he ends up between flaming out in AAA and becoming an MLB star.
As for some other High Schoolers drafted, Jackson Holiday put up a .523 OBP in 13 A-ball games, and got sent up to High-A. Druw Jones isn't doing so hot to start out, .283 OBP in A-ball so far. As for Clifford, The Big Red God: There's a real chance Clifford is the 2nd high schooler to make the majors out of this draft, we might have our long term 1st baseman sooner than we could imagine. 21 Ks to 23 BBs for Clifford, Gilbert with an 1.100 OPS so far. I think Clifford and Gilbert get promoted on the day McCormick finishes his rehab stint.
Whitcomb probably a better candidate at 2B think his SS range and arm are a little fringy, hoping he can just keep making contact and keeping the strikeouts down. Always known as an aggressive hitter, hoping he can hone his approach, definitely has the talent
Quincy Hamilton has hit the 200 AB mark in AA (239 plate appearances). His line is .230/.344/.375 through 200 AA at-bats. Hamilton hit a solo homer (1) and added a two-run double tonight. He made short work of both Class A levels last year on his way to finishing in Corpus, where he had his first taste of adversity (.250 BABIP probably didn't help much). It seems like he's gotten himself acclimated to AA. Most likely not an everyday player, but he should be a major leaguer in some capacity.
Whitcomb's putting up a good Jonathan Villar impression, but even Villar never struck out at Whitcomb's rate when he was in Corpus
You're right, Reed hit 34 home runs in 2015 and 2017 and 28 in 2018. He flopped so Yordan could flourish.
Villar struck out in 27% of his AA pa in 2011 and 23% in 2012. Going into tonight Whitcomb has a 21% k rate. It is worth noting that Villar was much younger than Whitcomb but they are very different players regardless. Villar never hit more than 14 HR in a minor league season.
Granted it’s anecdotal but the clips I’ve seen of Whitcomb his arm looks plenty good for SS. I do think his range might be slightly lacking, but for now I think he will be viable at SS for the next few years.
Are there any available stats on exit velocity (evol) for Gilbert and Clifford? I remember the articles on Acuna as a minor leaguer and how even though good, his BA wasn't scorching, his evol was insane, though. The ball just jumped off of his bat when he connected. Not saying these two are Acuna, just curious if those numbers are available. Thanks!
I have a feeling Garcia's injury is even worse than Urquidy's. Lucas Giolito can be a solid rental we can add, since the Sox are almost certain to be sellers given how bad their season has started. I've already seen his name linked to us, though it's very early. Cease would be a better get from them but he has 2 years of control after this year, and is better so he'd cost way more (and they'd be less inclined to move him).
Remember when posters were like the White Sox might be better than we thought after splitting the series with them? LOL.
