Beck's Minor League Threecap: 5/2/24
Beck breaks down three major things you need to know from yesterday's MiLB action.
Hello! Happy to see you there. Today is my brother’s birthday, everyone say happy birthday Jake! We have a full rundown on nine players today and I’m trying out adding the statlines from yesterday’s ‘what to watch’ segment to keep you all as up to date as possible.
Away we go!
Little Guys, Big Game.
I’ve put these fellas in order from shortest to tallest, and Jared Serna (NYY) stands a mighty 5-foot-7. You might remember him from his early-season exploits last year as he got off to a hot start with Single-A Tampa and hit eight home runs in the month of May. He ended the year with a respectable .813 OPS to go with 19 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 37 attempts (78% success) before playing quite well in the Mexican Pacific Winter League with Jalisco. He’s back with Hudson Valley (High-A) to open 2024 and has already walked more than he’s struck out (15:10) and hit five home runs in 21 games, which is a surprising amount of in-game power output given his stature. Three of those home runs came on Wednesday against Wilmington.
We’re up to 5-foot-11! What a behemoth! Noah Miller (LAD) was traded to the Dodgers this offseason in exchange for Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon as the Twins searched for an answer in center field following the departure of Michael Taylor and in light of Byron Buxton’s proclivity for injury. He is the younger brother of Brewers utilityman Owen Miller, both of whom attended my high school around the same time I did and smashed athletic records along the way. His primary appeal is as a defender, where he’s smooth and rangy and could play an above-average shortstop at the big league level. The questions are primarily offensively, where he’s shown a surprising amount of swing-and-miss to pair with a lack of damage, but he’s off to the best start at the dish of his pro career. He was 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored on Wednesday, bringing his total line to .258/.362/.483.
Max Anderson (DET) is also listed at 5-foot-11, so we’re still under the 6-foot threshold. He was Detroit’s second round selection last summer out of the University of Nebraska where he put together a stellar platform campaign by slugging 21 home runs and compiling a .414/.461/.771 slash. His underlying data during that time was great, too, as he ran a 28% barrel rate and a 94 mph average exit velocity but chased a bit more than the average top-of-the-draft college talent. As it turns out, professional ball is a little bit tougher than the Big Ten, and Anderson has merely treaded water in 53 games split between Single- and High-A. He had the best night of his pro career on Wednesday with a 5-for-6 night that included a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
It must be nice to be truthful about your height on dating apps (I’m very happy with my fiancée and am not a user, but if I were I’d be rounding up). Orelvis Martinez (TOR) is a flat six feet tall. Some might even say that’s too tall. He’s been on a tear this year, already sitting with eight home runs and a .997 OPS through 25 games. He’s encroaching on 100 games at Triple-A, so it would be accurate to say he’s seasoned enough to give it a shot at the big league level, but it sounds as though the Blue Jays will be patient to ensure his defense is up to par. He went 3-for-5 with a home run Wednesday.
Finally, a real tall guy. Jay Allen II (CIN) is 6-foot-2 and has been absolutely dominant through his first 12 games. I last wrote about him on Monday – he definitely has my ears perked:
“Remember Jay Allen II? He went 30th overall in 2021 to the Reds, who had very different results from their pair of first rounders that year. They took a falling Matt McLain with the 17th overall pick and he’s become a productive big leaguer despite some missteps in his path to the bigs, meanwhile Allen has had a rough go just about everywhere he’s been while dealing with injury. He played just 31 games last year after missing significant time with a UCL sprain in his thumb and stumbled his way to a .570 OPS and a 34.1% K-rate. The new season has been much, much kinder to him and he kept up his reign of terror on Sunday with a 5-for-6 effort. More importantly – he’s running a 15.9% K-rate at High-A.”
He belted two home runs and walked twice on Wednesday, bringing his season home run total to five.
Pretty Iriarte-itating to Hit Against (Sorry, That Was Bad).
Some guys just channel raw electricity. Jairo Iriarte (CHW) is one of them. Now, don’t misconstrue electricity for effectiveness, as plenty of electric arms are wildly ineffective, though in Iriarte’s case he’s largely been very good. He has a very whippy arm action that gives his fastball and slider extra life, but it also contributes to command/control issues that could portend a shift to the bullpen. He’s in the rotation for now and I think he’s got a decent shot to stick, particularly if he keeps putting up results. He went 7.0 innings on Wednesday, a good sign that he’s being fully stretched out in a starter’s role, and allowed three earned runs while striking out seven and walking just one. He’s one of the most fun arms to watch in all of affiliated baseball.
Santiago Suarez gets all the love in Tampa Bay’s system, but I have to say I’m quite fond of Yoniel Curet (TBR). He has a double-plus heater, which is something I covet in a pitching prospect, that sits 96-98 mph over the duration of a start and pairs nicely with his hard slider. He’s not unlike Iriarte in the sense that there is plenty of bullpen risk and he’ll need to develop a third pitch to be truly effective multiple times through an order. He went 6.0 innings, allowed two unearned runs, and struck out seven on Wednesday, dropping his season ERA to 2.35 over 23.0 innings across five starts.
Ciao, Samuel Aldegheri (PHI)! He’s back on the Threecap for his second consecutive outing, which should tip you off to the fact that he’s been excellent this year. Through 22.0 cumulative innings with High-A Jersey Shore he’s racked up 28 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run while averaging almost eighty pitches and over five innings a start. He’s had a slew of injuries that have cut his minor-league workload short since his signing in 2019, but he’s healthy and looking to prove he can eclipse his career high innings count. He went 6.2 innings on Wednesday and allowed just a single earned run while striking out seven.
I strongly recommend Farm to Fountain, they do excellent work covering Royals prospects. That doesn’t have much to do with Felix Arronde (KCR) – who was excellent on Wednesday – but feel it’s worth tipping my cap to people creating useful prospect content. He was stellar last year over 48.2 innings split between starting and relief. He’s returning to Single-A to open 2024 and has maintained a similar level of performance thus far. He’s operating with a four-pitch mix: a fastball that lives in the mid-90’s, a curveball that is probably his strongest offering, a curveball, and a slider. He went 6.0 innings and struck out 10 of the 22 batters he faced yesterday.
What to Watch on Friday.
Trying out something new today by incorporating statlines for the arms included in the Wednesday viewing guide.
Wednesday’s results:
Lyon Richardson (CIN): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Paul Skenes (PIT): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Bubba Chandler (PIT): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Justin Wrobleski (LAD): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Tink Hence (STL): 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Drew Thorpe (CHW): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Robert Gasser (MIL): 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Noah Cameron (KCR): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Friday’s viewing guide, with my particular interests italicized as usual:
Thomas White (4.60 ERA) for the Jupiter Hammerheads (MIA) at 6:10 ET
Josh Knoth (3.09 ERA) for the Carolina Mudcats (MIL) at 6:30 ET
Luis Perales (5.00 ERA) for the Greenville Drive (BOS) at 6:35 ET
Brock Selvidge (1.71 ERA) for the Somerset Patriots (NYY) at 6:35 ET
Brandon Sproat (1.23 ERA) for the Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) at 7:00 ET
Brett Wichrowski (2.45 ERA) for the Biloxi Shuckers (MIL – AA debut) at 7:00 ET
Jarlin Susana (6.57 ERA) for the Fredericksburg Nationals (WSH) at 7:05 ET
Michael Forret (3.07 ERA) for the Delmarva Shorebirds (BAL) at 7:05 ET
Chayce McDermott (3.80 ERA) for the Norfolk Tides (BAL) at 6:35 ET
Marco Raya (2.38 ERA) for the Wichita Wind Surge (MIN) at 8:05 ET
Cristian Mena (3.75 ERA) for the Reno Aces (ARI) at 10:05 ET
Love the added stats on the previous days starters!
Ditto that, here! I have to ask about Frank Mozzicato - I’m watching his Friday outing in Beloit as well as those listed. With 3 consecutive 1-hit shutout starts and reasonable K:BB, is he worth a mention or old news? Thanks for your work! Sorry I didn’t get to it until after midnight.