Beck's Minor League Threecap: 7/4/2024
Beck breaks down three major things you need to know from yesterday's MiLB action.
Happy Fourth, all! I’m going to do my best not to be offended if readership is low on this particular edition of the Threecap. I hope you can spend your day with friends and family enjoying good food and drink, ideally outside. If there were ever a time to ignore baseball during the season, today might be the best. I’m still here for those of you who are hopelessly addicted, so let’s dive in!
[9PM Beck tapping in here] Woah, folks. Maybe got a little ambitious writing this morning thinking I could put this out earlier in the day. Same sentiment about having a great day and hopefully ignoring baseball in favor of family and friends, but this time past tense.
Yanquieling Me, Smalls.
It hasn’t been the most impressive year thus far for Yanquiel Fernandez (COL), but in many ways it’s been an encouraging step forward. He blasted through High-A last year and earned a midseason promotion to Hartford where he really stumbled. He’s back at Double-A this season and has a few markers that give reason for optimism. He’s chasing less out of the zone (really it would be difficult to chase more than he did last year, but it’s still a nice development) and he’s striking out far less often than he did last year (19.0% in 2024 vs. 25.3 in 2023). His power output is still mostly intact and greatly improved from the outage we saw at the end of last season. He has plenty of bat to ball and well above average juice, so there’s still a lot to dream on should he really hem in the approach – it just doesn’t look like it’ll be sustainable against big league pitching at present. He was 4-for-5 with a home run and a walk on Wednesday.
I love the Threecap because I often get to do the whole ‘hey, remember that guy’ schtick. That’s the case with Warming Bernabel (COL), a player who caught some serious buzz in early 2022 after torching Single-A. Everything since then has been pretty downhill and he’s probably not worth rostering even in the deepest of formats. I’d recommend giving his baseball reference page a visit if you’re skeptical of that stance. In any event, he had a very nice night on Wednesday with two home runs in a 3-for-6 night. That performance evoked a ‘Chris Paul hits a huge three to cut the lead to 42’ kind of response from me.
Bubba Chandler Strikeout Co.
Remember pre-season when River Ryan (LAD) was all the rage? Both Keith Law and Eric Longenhagen threw him way up their prospect lists, placing him 33rd and 19th, respectively, on the back of his outstanding athleticism and big stuff. He missed a little over four months after being placed on the 60-day IL ahead of spring training with what the Dodgers referred to as ‘shoulder fatigue’ and finally made his return to the mound in early June. He’s made five starts since and has been simply excellent in that time, pitching to a 1.76 ERA and striking out 21 batters over 15.1 innings. He’s still building up – I’d have to imagine Los Angeles will play it safe with him – and has yet to crest the 60 pitch threshold or go deeper than 4.0 innings in any given start. Still, the stuff looks pretty good and he’s getting results, most recently on Wednesday as he went 4.0 scoreless with just three baserunners (two singles and a walk) and struck out four. I may not be as high on him as Keith and Eric, but I do value their opinions and think he’s a really great buy-low candidate right now.
I traded away Bubba Chandler (PIT) very recently, so it’s only natural that he’s shoving over his last six starts. In that time he’s thrown 33.0 innings (over 5.0 per outing), struck out 42 batters (33.9%), and walked just three (2.4%) en route to a 1.91 ERA. The performance has been great, but what’s caught my eye even more is his comfortability on the mound and the length he’s going. He had not eclipsed the 80-pitch threshold in any of his first 11 starts but has done so in each of the last four, which is an awesome development. The Pirates remain four games out of the NL Wildcard, and while I don’t think this is their year (they’re under .500, that’s not a controversial statement) they may be gearing up to get Bubba to the show by the end of this season. I think a promotion to Triple-A is imminent and I can’t wait to get my hands on some public pitch data. He went 7.2 scoreless innings and struck out seven on Wednesday.
Wichrowski Will We Get?
Boy, this sure is easier when I’ve prepped a viewing guide. Instead we’re doing the same song and dance as yesterday – just picking the lines I think are interesting from notable pitching prospects. Brett Wichrowski had his second nice outing in a row, Zebby Matthews continued his campaign against free passes, and Jarlin Susana notched his third scoreless outing in as many appearances.
Here’s Friday’s viewing guide with my recommendations italicized as usual:
Nolan McLean (6.07 ERA) for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) at 6:10 ET
Carson Palmquist (3.68 ERA) for the Hartford Yard Goats (COL) at 6:10 ET
Josh Knoth (3.38 ERA) for the Carolina Mudcats (MIL) at 6:30 ET
Jackson Jobe (2.16 ERA) for the Erie SeaWolves (DET) at 6:35 ET
George Klassen (3.46 ERA) for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (PHI) at 7:05 ET
Charlee Soto (6.58 ERA) for the Fort Myers Mussels (MIN) at 7:05 ET
Chase Petty (5.16 ERA) for the Chattanooga Lookouts (CIN) at 7:15 ET
Caden Dana (3.09 ERA) for the Rocket City Trash Pandas (LAA) at 7:35 ET
Thomas White (3.27 ERA) for the Beloit SkyCarp (MIA) at 7:40 ET
Marco Raya (4.75 ERA) for the Wichita Wind Surge (MIN) at 8:00 ET
Winston Santos (16.88 ERA) for the Frisco RoughRiders (TEX) at 8:05 ET
Jack Leiter (3.67 ERA) for the Round Rock Express (TEX) at 8:05 ET