Beck's Minor League Threecap: 4/4/24

Beck breaks down three major things you need to know from yesterday's MiLB action.

Good morning and welcome back to the Minor League Threecap. All Triple-A all the time – at least until Friday – and there was a lot to cover from Wednesday’s games. Grab a cup of coffee, buckle in, and let’s go!

Wednesday’s MILB Standouts

We had Scorigami (this is a Norfolk blurb and I apologize).

For those unfamiliar, Scorigami refers to the first time a score has ever been achieved. It was coined by Jon Bois of SB Nation and is far more commonly tracked in the NFL. A final score of 26-11 has never happened in the American or National Leagues in MLB, but we got one in Triple-A on Wednesday. Norfolk hung over two dozen runs on Charlotte by way of 29 hits, eight of which carried over the fence.

We’ll start with Jackson Holliday, as has become tradition. He was not one of Norfolk’s yard-goers, but he racked up six total bases on four hits (two doubles, two singles) while adding two walks and two RBI. It’s early and this series is against the White Sox Triple-A squad, which isn’t exactly loaded, but Holliday does not seem phased whatsoever by the pitching he’s seen so far.

Heston Kjerstad is leading Triple-A (and subsequently all of the Minor Leagues) in OPS among batters who have at least ten plate appearances – and it isn’t particularly close. These things are noisy over a month or a half a year, let alone a week, but it’s emblematic of how dominant he’s been. He hit another two home runs last night, bringing his season total to four, and drove in seven runs. He has more home runs than strikeouts as of Thursday morning.

I could probably fill out the entire Threecap with just Norfolk, but I’m going to practice some restraint and touch on Kyle Stowers to close out the blurb. He hit a homer on Wednesday, and then he hit another, and then he added a third just to be safe. They left the bat at 100.1 mph, 104.9 mph, and 107.0 mph. He exited the game with 10 RBIs and now finds himself at the top of the Minor League leaderboard for home runs while trailing just Heston Kjerstad in the RBI column.

And now some quick hits to make sure nobody is forgotten:

• Coby Mayo went 5-7 with a double and a triple but struck out twice, he’s been whiffy

• Connor Norby went yard again, giving him a total of three on the year

• Peyton Burdick had three hits in five at-bats including a home run and a double

Firsts and Career Bests.

You’d think Kyle Stowers would qualify under a “career bests” blurb, too, but he had actually already logged a three home run game in 2022. Close, but no cigar! Instead, we’ll focus on first-time yard-goers and an unprecedented Statcast figure.

Kyle Manzardo left the building for the first time this spring with a 100.5 mph, 354 foot dong that cleared the 22 foot wall in right field. In his defense he has just eight plate appearances on the year, but outside of the homer they aren’t the eight plate appearances you’d hope to come out of the gate with. He has one hit and three strikeouts in two games.

Luis Matos responded to his demotion to Triple-A with a two-bomb evening. He was originally called up after Austin Slater suffered a setback with his elbow, and Mike Yastrzemski was placed on the paternity list, but he only got four at-bats and was hitless in them. His two home runs on Wednesday had EVs of 103.0 and 103.6 mph, and he added a 101.0 mph line out on top. Matos added good weight over the offseason and is hitting the ball harder thus far in 2024. He should be added in any dynasty leagues he’s available in.

Joey Loperfido went yard again on Wednesday, giving him four on the year. That isn’t particularly notable in and of itself, but the ball left the yard at 110.3 mph, which is very notable as it represented the hardest-hit ball of his career captured in public datasets. He may very well have eclipsed that mark at a level without Statcast, but he’s shown a markedly improved impact this year.

The Pitchers were, in fact, Belly-Itchers.

Good pitching performances were hard to come by. Names you know like Slade Cecconi (4 IP, 9 H, 2 HR, 6 ER, 5 K, 1BB) and Nick Nastrini (3 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 ER, 5 K, 2 BB) got shelled. Names you don’t know like Noah Davis and Darren McCaughan… also got shelled. There were a few, infinitesimally small bright spots, though.

Xzavion Curry (80-grade name) pitched extremely well, racking up seven strikeouts while only facing 11 batters (2.2 innings). He generated 11 whiffs. He’s pretty firmly in the “bulk guy” bucket of arms, but could be another piece in the Guardians’ bullpen. Little fantasy appeal, but a very nice evening.

Kyle Hurt tossed two scoreless innings with five strikeouts. He generated 14 whiffs against ten batters, primarily on his changeup, and finished with a 40% CSW. He’s nasty and will figure in for the Dodgers at some point this year, likely in the bullpen to begin and eventually as a rotation piece. It’s worth reaching out to the Hurt owner in your league and at least gauging price.