Beck's Minor League Threecap: 4/18/24
Beck breaks down three major things you need to know from yesterday's MiLB action.
Good morning! I’m writing this in the wee hours of the morning as I have a big day at the job that pays the bills and can’t afford to leisurely tap away like I normally would. I hope you’re all having a great week and are able to wrap up nicely into the weekend. Thursday is a slow MLB slate – there are just five big league games – but the MiLB side looks bumpin’. If the team you pull for has an off day I strongly recommend changing it up and throwing on milb.tv for your evening.
Away we go!
Gone Fishin’ (for Homers).
Go Fish!… is what they must have been saying in the Asheville dugout after Cam Fisher (HOU) lifted his first, second, and third home runs of the year all in the same game. Fisher was a 4th rounder in last summer’s draft out of UNC-Charlotte where he compiled a .348/.507/.813 slash with 30 home runs and 10 stolen bases in his final year as an amateur. He was billed as a plus-power, plus-approach bat with serious concerns about his hit tool, and while it’s probably too early to diagnose whether the scouts got it right just yet, it sure seems that way. Fisher finished Wednesday’s game against Rome with three hits in four at-bats (the aforementioned home runs), six RBIs, a walk, and a strikeout.
Did you know Damiano Palmegiani (TOR) isn’t even Italian? He’s Venezuelan! That has no bearing on his ability as a ballplayer, but feels like a tidbit the broadcast will mention when he debuts. He’s not a stranger to the Threecap, and I wrote a lot about him this fall when he broke down the AFL. Here’s what you need to know: he can really hit. He makes fringe-average contact but has above-average swing decisions and power. He went yard twice on Wednesday in a 3-for-5 effort, adding three RBIs, a walk, a strikeout, and two runs scored.
Hunter Goodman (COL) heard Kris Bryant was headed to the IL and said ‘this is my time’. He may not have been the initial corresponding move (that went to outfielder Sean Bouchard), but he made his case rather persuasively on Wednesday with a pair of home runs in a 2-for-5 night. Goodman has top-of-the-scale game power and has led the minors in home runs over the last two years (70), but there are some legitimate questions about his hit tool after running a 30% K-rate in a small 2023 MLB sample.
Brenner Cox (WSH) was Washington’s fourth-round selection in 2022 and has since scuffled through the lower minors. He posted a 43.6% K-rate in 133 plate appearances at Low-A Fredericksburg in 2023, and he’s returning to the level in 2024. Things have gone better thus far (it would be truly difficult for them to go worse), and he’s coming off of the best game of his season – perhaps his career – in which he went 4-for-6 with a double and a homer. He’s up to an .817 OPS but is running a 33% K-rate through 45 plate appearances.
AL East? AL Beast.
19-year-old Luis Serna (NYY) is already in his fourth professional season after signing in 2021 and subsequently playing in the DSL (‘21), Rookie Ball (‘22 & ‘23), and Single-A (‘24). He’s tossed 109.1 innings to this point with a 2.72 ERA while striking out 30% of all batters faced. His best pitch is a changeup, followed by a fastball that has been up to the mid-90’s, and his repertoire is rounded out by an average pair of breaking pitches. His short introduction to Single-A (8.2 innings) hasn’t been fantastic as he was shelled for four earned over 4.1 innings, but his second go was a gem. He went 4.1 innings on Wednesday with nine strikeouts, two hits allowed, one walk, and one earned.
I’m a big fan of Trevor Martin (TBR). He’s making his second appearance on the Threecap with a 5.2-inning, eight-strikeout night on Wednesday. He allowed one earned on four hits. It’s hard to really push him just yet as a 23-year-old at High-A, but I like his strikeout potential and his full arsenal led by a big fastball. He’s a name I’m trying to follow every time he takes the bump, mostly because he’s 6-foot-5, 240 lbs, and looks like a brown bear throwing lasers, but also because I’m genuinely intrigued by what Tampa Bay could mold him into.
Richard Fitts (BOS) has been on radars for a while and now finds himself just one step away from Boston after throwing 152.2 innings in Double-A for the Yankees last year. He went 6.0 innings of one run-ball while striking out five on Wednesday against a pretty good Durham Bulls team. He was sitting 93-94 (T-95) with his fastball and touching 20 inches of induced vertical break while mixing in sliders, changeups, and the occasional cutter. He doesn’t scream upside but could be a solid rotation piece at the next level if all breaks right.
A.J. Blubaugh (HOU) is the hottest arm in Houston’s system after coming out of the gate ablaze to open the year. He’s made three appearances thus far, totaling 15.1 innings, and has allowed just one earned run in that time while striking out 19 and earning a promotion to Sugar Land. He threw just 18.1 innings at Double-A between 2023 and 2024 before shipping off to Triple-A. He went 6.1 on Wednesday and allowed his only earned run of the year in the start, but struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter. His changeup has wicked arm-side fade, his fastball was sitting mid-90s, and he showed off a nice pair of breaking pitches (sweeper and curve) en route to a 38% whiff rate for the evening.
Who’s on the Bump?
This is a relatively loaded pitching slate. It might be your last opportunity to watch Paul Skenes pitch against Minor League competition. I recommend settling in with a snack and beverage of your choice and then not moving for several hours.
Jaden Hamm in his third start for the West Michigan Whitecaps at 6:05 ET
Jackson Ferris in his third start for the Great Lakes Loons at 6:05 ET
Paul Skenes in his fourth start for the Indianapolis Indians at 6:35 ET
Ty Madden in his third start for the Erie SeaWolves at 6:35 ET
Luis Perales in his third start for the Greenville Drive at 6:35 ET
Will Warren in his fourth start for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders at 6:35 ET
Mick Abel in his third start for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at 6:35 ET
Santiago Suarez in his third start for the Charleston RiverDogs at 7:05 ET
Cooper Hjerpe in his third start for the Peoria Chiefs 7:30 ET
Adam Mazur in his third start for the San Antonio Missions at 7:35 ET
Tink Hence in his third start for the Springfield Cardinals at 8:05 ET
Cristian Mena in his fourth start for the Reno Aces at 8:35 ET
Jordan Beck still behind Goodman for callup?