The first week and first series of the minor league season has been completed. Let’s take a look at some news and notes from week one of the minor league season. I will start by listing a few players who have been hot over the last week.
Who’s hot?
J.J. Matijevic – Matijevic had an under the radar solid season in 2021 connecting on 25 HR between Double-A and Triple-A. He has started the 2022 season hot hitting 2 HR in his first 4 games of the season. Matijevic has shown off the power for quite a while now but a continued hot start will be hard to overlook.
David Hensley – Hensley is coming off a hot finish the season in 2021 and has continued that to start this year. Through 5 games in Triple-A, he is 6-for-18 (.333 BA) with HR, 5 RBI and 2 SB. He has played at both first and third this year but has the ability to play all over the infield.
Shay Whitcomb – Whitcomb had a monster season last year and like the others, has continued that success into 2022. Through his first three games of the season, he is 6-for-11 (.545 BA) with a HR and 3 RBI. Even better, is he has drawn two walks and has yet to strikeout this season.
Logan Cerny – Acquired this off-season in the deal that sent Stubbs to Philadelphia, Cerny has gotten off to a hot start going 4-for-12 through the first three games off the season. This includes lead-off HRs in Saturday and Sunday’s game. He has also drawn four walks and stole a base.
Sugar Land Space Cowboys
The Space Cowboys went 2-4 in the first series but had a lot of positive. Chad Donato made a start this week and was great tossing 6 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts. J.P. France had two starts this week and after the first one was rough, he bounced back to strikeout 8 over 4 innings in his second start. Jonathan Bermudez and Peter Solomon both had scoreless starts too. Nick Hernandez has gone 4 scoreless in relief and Shawn Dubin pitched an inning in relief and struck out the side.
Matijevic and Hensley has led the way on offense but Alex McKenna has been off to a hot start as well. One of the top prospects, Pedro Leon, has driven in 6 runs this week, though he does have 12 strikeouts. Alex De Goti and Michael Papierski have been solid too. Sugar Land is back in action tonight at 7:05 for their home opener.
Corpus Christi Hooks
The Hooks opened the season with a blow out win but struggled the next two games. On the pitching side, Jaime Melendez was solid striking out 5 over 4 innings where he allowed just one run. Endersby was also solid striking out 5 over 4.1 innings allowing just 1 run in the season opener. Record, Ruppenthal, Conn and Sprinkle all had scoreless outings in relief over the weekend.
The offense was led by Whitcomb who hit .545 through 3 games. Enmanuel Valdez had 2 2B and a HR through 3 games. Berryhill drove in 2 runs and is 3-for-10 so far. Yainer Diaz also had a double and triple over the weekend. The offense will be getting Joe Perez back as well, with Yuli being activated off the paternity list. The Hooks will be back in action tonight at 6:30.
Asheville Tourists
It was a rough first week for the Tourists who were outscored 23-7 and went 0-3 over the weekend. The best start of the week came from right hander Aaron Brown who struck out 8 over 5 innings while allowing just 1 unearned run. Chaidez, McDonald and Taveras were all solid in relief tossing scoreless outings.
The offense really struggled this weekend only scoring 7 runs through three games and not connecting on any homers. The upside is there with guys like Jordan Brewer, Colin Barber, J.C. Correa, Cristian Gonzalez and others. They are back in action tonight at 5:35.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
The Woodpeckers also struggled this weekend getting outscore 42-21 and going 0-3 through the first three games. The starters had a tough time with Calderon having the best start of the weekend (4.1 IP, 3 R). Jacob Coats, Jacob DeLabio, and Deylen Miley all had solid outings in relief though.
The offense saw some fireworks, most notable with Logan Cerny who had two lead-off HRs. Miguel Palma had a homer and 4 RBI, Victor Mascai had a homer and 3 RBI, and Kenedy Corona and Leosdany Molina also had homers. Quincy Hamilton has started the season 6-for-14 with 2 SB. The Woodpeckers will be back in action tonight as well with first pitch at 6:05.
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