Beck's Minor League Threecap: 5/1/24

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

*Extremely NSYNC voice* It’s gonna be May! Hello all, welcome back to the Threecap. Yesterday was a day off from article writing but we’re back in the swing with both the Arizona and Florida complex leagues kicking off on Saturday. It’ll be nice to monitor the DSL crop from last year and their transitions to stateside ball.

Without further ado, let’s jump into Tuesday’s standouts!

Swagger Restored.

I’ve gotta admit, I may have been wrong about Tre’ Morgan (TBR). I wasn’t his biggest fan coming out of LSU and I think it might have been an eye scouting thing. I wasn’t enthused by his unorthodox operation at the dish and I am skeptical of his future power output as a first baseman, but he’s been really solid through 29 games at Single-A between this year and last. He’s up to a career .333/.429/.471 line at the level after adding four hits in four at-bats including a double and a triple to his resume on Tuesday. He’s a phenomenal defender at first base, and while first base defense isn’t the most important thing in the world, the Rays generally value defense greatly.

Speaking of slick defenders, Carson Williams (TBR) may be best known for his heroics with the leather but has taken his offensive game to another level with Double-A Montgomery. He ended last year there and produced a 1.062 OPS in six games and has now compiled a .368/.415/.592 line through 18 games this season. He’s cut his K-rate by five percentage points to 26.8%. I ranked him 40th in my off-season top 100 and I think it was too low. He’s on today’s rundown for his antics on the basepaths on Tuesday as he stole three bags in a 1-5 night bringing his season total to seven swipes in nine attempts.

Samuel Basallo (BAL) is out here yelling “I think I got my swagger back!”. I last wrote about Basallo just two days ago in the last edition of the Threecap, here’s what I had to say then:

“The early season hasn’t necessarily been kind to Samuel Basallo (BAL). First it was announced in early February that he had suffered a stress fracture in his right elbow and was unable to throw, then he got off to a 12-for-51 start though his first 12 games that left him with a .235/.231/.314 line while serving as the primary designated hitter for Bowie. He’s found some traction over the last week and pumped two homers on Sunday, raising his season line to .253/.268/.392. I’m not at all worried about him long term and I suspect that having a broken elbow in the recent past, especially in his lead arm, was impacting his ability to do damage at the dish.”

He proceeded to hit another home run on Tuesday in a 2-for-5 effort. He’s going to be just fine.

Despite being an undersized middle infielder, Pedro Ramirez (CHC) made big waves in 2021 and early 2022 with his performances in the DSL and ACL. He was one of the best bats at both levels before hitting a rough patch as an 18-year-old at Single-A, which isn’t totally unexpected. The switch-hitter had a respectable 2023 returning to Myrtle Beach and now finds himself at High-A with his best start since 2022. It looks like an average hit tool from both sides with well below-average power. He went 4-for-5 with two runs scored on Tuesday, raising his average to .349 on the season.

I Tink, Hence I am.

I’m pretty proud of the section header today and I have Tink Hence (STL) to thank. He was stellar on Tuesday, putting together his strongest outing of the year by going 7.0 innings, striking out 10, and allowing just one earned run. Perhaps even more important than the line was his length – he bested his career high pitch count by 10 and recorded five more outs than he had in any other outing as a professional.

I would love to see David Festa (MIN) make the 15-minute trip on I-94 from St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis. He’s clearly the top pitching prospect in the organization and has been strong through six starts in 2024, with Tuesday’s performance standing out as the best day of his season. He struck out 10 over 5.0 innings and allowed two earned runs, but most importantly issued just one free pass and fired 66% of his pitches for strikes. Command had been an issue early this year but seems to have rectified it of late, but it’s also clear he’s still building up and that’s the primary reason I don’t think a call-up is imminent despite the state of the Twins’ rotation. We’ll see!

Michael Cuevas (WSH) is repeating Double-A after throwing 97.2 innings of 5.53 ERA ball at the level last year, and things are going a little better for him this time. He’s down to a 3.38 ERA in 21.1 innings after pitching perhaps the best game of his career on Tuesday. His final line ended at 6.0 scoreless innings and nine strikeouts with just four baserunners. There isn’t much to see here in terms of fantasy – he doesn’t strike enough guys out to really carry value – but I tip my hat to him for a very nice outing.

Hey! Paul Skenes (PIT) went 6.0 innings for the first time as a professional. He struck out seven and did not allow an earned run. Adjust your ranks accordingly.

The ups-and-downs of Alek Manoah (TOR)’s career are well-documented. I’m here to ensure the latest ‘up’ is captured for posterity: he struck out 12 over 6.0 one-run innings on Tuesday. Not at all sure what this means, but it’s nice to see nice things happening for him.

TV Time.

We have an awesome pitching slate on Thursday. If you had plans, clear them because there are screens (plural) to which you’ll need to be glued. Here’s what I’m looking forward to, with games of particular intrigue italicized:

• Moises Chace (1.20 ERA) for the Aberdeen Ironbirds (BAL) at 12:00 ET

• Jonah Tong (0.00 ERA) for the Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) at 12:00 ET

• Jack Leiter (2.66 ERA) for the Round Rock Express (TEX) at 1:05 ET

• Braxton Ashcraft (6.91 ERA) for the Altoona Curve (PIT) at 5:00 ET

• Keider Montero (1.69 ERA) for the Toledo Mud Hens (DET) at 6:15 ET

• Trace Bright (2.41 ERA) for the Bowie Baysox (BAL) at 6:35 ET

• Hayden Birdsong (1.65 ERA) for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (SFG) at 6:35 ET

• Sem Robberse (1.82 ERA) for the Memphis Redbirds (STL) at 7:05 ET

• Luis De Leon (1.65 ERA) for the Delmarva Shorebirds (BAL) 7:05 ET

• Robby Snelling (3.86 ERA) for the San Antonio Missions (SDP) at 6:35 ET

• Hurston Waldrep (5.68 ERA) for the Mississippi Braves (ATL) at 7:35 ET

• Sean Sullivan (2.87 ERA) for the Spokane Indians (COL) at 9:35 ET