Beck's Minor League Threecap: 5/27/24

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

Happy Memorial Day, all. Thank you to all who have served and families of servicepeople. I was able to spend today with family and doing yard work, which I think sounds a lot like the ideal way to go about the holiday. Let’s dive into yesterday’s performers!

Lord Farquhar(d).

Trent Farquhar (PHI)’s name bears unfortunate resemblance to that of Shrek’s Lord Farquaad, and his listed height (5-foot-7) would seem to imply they’re similar in stature, too. If you’re reading this, Trent, I’m just having a little fun. He had a stellar day at the dish on Sunday, collecting five hits and a walk in six plate appearances as well as swiping two bags. Farquhar is a product of Bowling Green and then Michigan State, and he carried a .294/.416/.418 slash for his collegiate career. It was likely his frame that kept him from being drafted, but he caught on with the Phillies as a free agent regardless and has since played pretty well, albeit as an old-for-the-level guy. There isn’t any fantasy intrigue here but it’s a good story for a guy who might otherwise go pretty under the radar.

Cam Collier (CIN) came out of the gate extremely hot, posting a .298/.326/.607 line in the month of April and making everybody look a little foolish for being so down on him after an underwhelming age-18 season in Low-A. He hit a 15 game skid in May in which he collected just four hits and struck out 20 times over a 60 plate appearance sample and it entirely cratered his full-season line. Still, there’s some optimism that the player we thought he was when he went 18th overall in 2022 is in there somewhere as evidenced by his underlying exit velocity data. He’s putting the ball on the ground too often, and when he’s not doing that he’s occasionally popping it straight up, so it’s clear there’s some work left in terms of optimizing his spray angles. His 4-for-5 night that included a home run and a double might be the spark he needs to get back on track.

Return of the Mack.

Adam Macko (TOR) is having the best season of his professional career thus far. His ERA (3.68), WHIP (1.11), and walk rate (8.8%) are currently either the lowest or second-lowest figures he’s posted. He’s on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster and already has 44.0 innings at Double-A, so it would be unsurprising to see him contributing at the MLB level in some form or fashion toward the end of the year. The lefty has a slew of offerings to help him turn over lineups, including a four-seam fastball, a cutter, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup, and shows enough command to ostensibly stick as a starter. He turned in 6.0 innings of one-run ball and struck out nine batters on Sunday.

Peter Heubeck (LAD) has been on a heater this year and it’s likely because of his heater taking a step forward. He’s the proud owner of a 3.00 ERA and a 36.8% strikeout rate for the Great Lakes Loons (A+), and wouldn’t you know it: the Dodgers are developing another arm. He had his best start as a professional on Sunday, going 5.0 innings of one-run ball and striking out 11. His fastball was 93-95 mph and he mixed in a curveball, slider, and changeup. He’s a new-ish name to me and will be one I highlight in the viewing guide moving forward.

Whise Guy. 

The table exited last week with a whimper. We had four outings that were 3.0 innings or less, only two arms that punched out more than five batters, and just one blank (by Jonah Tong, who collected six outs).

Tuesday’s viewing guide with my recommendation(s) italicized:

• Chayce McDermott (3.77 ERA) for the Norfolk Tides (BAL) at 6:35 ET

• Hayden Birdsong (2.29 ERA) for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (SFG) at 6:35 ET

• Gary Gill Hill (2.31 ERA) for the Charleston RiverDogs (TBR) at 7:05 ET

• Luis Medina (19.29 ERA) for the Las Vegas Aviators (OAK) at 10:05 ET

It looks like a scant slate, but there are a lot of TBA’s still on the schedule. I strongly recommend checking back in on the MiLB app on Tuesday morning.