Well, it didn’t happen in the first game in his new organization, but hitting two home runs in your second game isn’t so bad. And that’s just what Noelvi Marte did on Thursday night in Dayton. The home runs almost went to the same exact spot, too, landing in the area beyond the wall in left-center where the Dragons keep their portable batting cage for batting practice. The second one went a little bit further and was a little closer to the pavilion, but was pretty close to the same spot the first one went.
The two home runs last night gave Noelvi Marte 17 home runs on the year after he hit 15 of them for Everett, the Seattle Mariners High-A affiliate before he was traded to Cincinnati.
Wednesday night wasn’t just Noelvi Marte cracking two home runs, though. TJ Friedl also hit two home runs on Wednesday, though he hit one in each game of the Louisville Bats doubleheader.
TJ Friedl has been on fire since the start of July. In 83 plate appearance since the start of the month he has hit .351/.383/.571 with nine extra-base hits and six stolen bases. He started out slow in Triple-A this year, hitting under .200 in April and May (22 combined games), but has really turned things around and is now sporting a .277/.363/.492 line on the season with 8 home runs in 56 games. That’s the second best home run season he’s had in his career (12 last season in 113 games with Louisville).
Other Tidbits from around the minors
Allan Cerda has been to the plate eight times in the last two nights and he’s gone 6-6 with 2 walks. From July 16th through August 1st he went 1-36 with 3 walks. That’s one way to bust out of a slump.
Luis Mey is one of the hardest throwers in the farm system, if not the hardest thrower. In his appearance last night in St. Lucie against the Mets he threw four pitches between 101 and 102 MPH. The 21-year-old is still developing, and on the season his numbers aren’t looking great. He’s got a 6.48 ERA in 33.1 innings with 21 walks and 45 strikeouts. But there’s more to the story here. In his first 15 appearances this year he posted a 9.37 ERA with 14 walks and 24 strikeouts in 16.1 innings for Daytona. In his next 13 appearances (June 8th through today) he’s posted a 3.71 ERA with 7 walks and 21 strikeouts in 17.0 innings.
Javi Rivera started that game last night for Daytona in St. Lucie. He allowed a run in 5.0 innings as he lowered his ERA to 2.81 on the season. Last year’s 20th rounder has been good all season, but he’s been downright filthy in his 10 games since June began. He’s thrown 38.2 innings (Daytona has spent much of the year with a piggy-back starting system which is keeping innings lower for everyone on the pitching staff) in that stretch while posting a 1.86 ERA and holding hitters to a .164/.238/.246 line. He’s also walked just 11 batters and racked up 51 strikeouts in that time.
Have to wonder what is going on in the system with medical prodigals. Both DSL and ACL games cancelled due to CoVid.
The DSL is going to miss 2 weeks of games. That’s probably going to happen with just about any team that has an issue down there since all of the teams house players in dorms. There’s no isolation.
In the ACL we don’t even know if it’s the Reds at fault for the game tonight.
That’s a long break, seems like potential for injuries coming back.
Good point about the ACL and not knowing which team has the outbreak. Arroyo and Moore must have tested neg. to be moving to Daytona, correct? Any idea if the protocols get stricter as you proceed thru levels? I’m thinking at AAA, what with families and all, you at least have single housing, or shared rooms, not dorms? Do any levels still have families taking in players? I recall you discussed this a bit back when MLB slashed MiLB affiliations to ostensibly upgrade housing and nutrition monitoring.
Steer, starting at SS, batting second, 1-1 with run scored in the first. If he can play SS, McLain, EDLC and hopefully Marte soon, can stay in Chattanooga. The Bats have Hernandez as a backup SS too.
Would rather see Friedl lead off instead of Cedrola. Friedl a much better OBP guy. They should switch with Friedl leading off and Cedrola batting 9th. The camera shot from behind second base showed Steer at SS. He wears number 15 and kinda looked like Senzel in the Bats red uniform. Lol
Interesting to see that DeLeon has moved up to Louisville. Marte to Chattanooga soon? I hope so. Marte and Rey to Chattanooga and Rivas down to Dayton. Make it happen!
Moore and Arroyo both in Daytona. I guess the escaped the COVID scare in Arizona and tested negative.
Strand not in the starting lineup for the Lookouts. Maybe come off the bench later in the game.
Both Rivera (20) and Aguiar (12) have done nicely as draftees from the second half of the 2021 draft.
Yup, wondering what they need to do to get promoted to Dayton
Seems like the supply of new players in AZ may be delayed due to Covid, so I’m hoping once replacements are ready for Daytona, they’ll move up. Even then, with the piggyback system, their innings are going to factor no matter where they are. Either way, really greater values at 12 and 20, and great scouting.
Cardona(19) and Cooper(35), also late round draft picks have pitched pretty well for Daytona. Hajjar should immediately help to improve the staff at Dayton as well as Moore in Daytona
Siani and McGarry in a little funk recently, but some others like Free, Hopkins and Quintana have picked it up. Chattanooga is a fun team to watch and I hope the addition of Marte and Rey soon will make this team even better. Send Rivas down to Dayton and maybe even Hurtubise to get more PT. They should start and get max ABs because they will continue to not play much on a stacked Chattanooga team.
They, and others at all levels, may find themselves released given this influx of draftees and trade acquisitions. It’s the law of the jungle.
That’s true. Draftees should be placed on teams throughout August and unfortunately, we may see players released. Oh well, it happens every year at this time.
Siani has been streaky over his pro career. With McGarry, he’s been around the AA circuit a bit now so pitching may be catching up to him.
That’s the good thing about this team. When some struggle, others pick them up. We just need to continue to improve the pitching at all levels as it has fallen behind the hitters now. Injuries are a big part of it, I know. We can’t continue to go into games hoping to outslug the other team every night. Hopefully from now, we don’t have to rely on FA retreads to fill in out our pitching staff at Louisville and continue to develop pitchers throughout the organization.
McGarry has been in AA since June 11.
I would say that is a small sample size for the biggest jump in baseball
Doug, you gotta get video of the catch EDLC just made in shallow LF. One of the best I’ve seen for a SS going away with his back to the IF.
It was a nice play, but I’m limited in the videos I can get. I need permission from the teams to use the videos and I don’t get that for road games from any non-Triple-A team.
Any updates on Jacob Heatherly from his Tommy John surgery?
He and Richardson, both high prospects, have been bypassed by other prospects in the pipeline. Hopefully, both can come back strong and contribute in the future.
I haven’t heard anything. But to be fair, I also haven’t asked. With Heatherly, I’ve basically been in wait and see mode. He’s struggled to stay on the mound, unfortunately.
Mr Doug, I thought you was going to write something about Levi Stoudt’s outing. It was good through 5 IP…How did he look related to his stuff? Stoudt is expecting to be one of the players reaching the majors sooner , isn’t he?
Not Doug, but watched the game. Fastball mid 90’s, can throw 3 pitches for strikes. Showed good command on the corners and induced a lot of weakly hit balls.
Ok thanks for your reply, so he should be projected to start at AAA next season and likely reaching the majors to the end of year if he stays healthy of course…
Any reason why De La Cruz had a PR for him last night?
Never mind. Found it in Doug’s game notes.