OKC Dodgers

The AAA OKC Dodgers just finished up a good home series with Round Rock where they went 4-2. The AAA Dodgers are still in first place in the PCL East by 5 games over El Paso and have the best record of any team in either league, the PCL or the International League.

Jake Lamb continues to be the best offensive player on the team as he leads OKC in average and on-base percentage, and, of the regulars that have been with the club for the entire year, he leads the team in home runs. Michael Busch is the overall leader in home runs, but he has not been in AAA all year. Jason Martin is having a great offensive year as well and leads the club in doubles, triples, slugging percentage, and OPS. Miguel Vargas leads the team in hits and RBIs, Drew Avans leads the team in steals and Ryan Noda leads the team in walks.

OKC is at El Paso this week to take on the Chihuahuas, the AAA affiliate of the Padres, in a big 6-game series between the top 2 teams in the PCL East.

Great Finish: What a way to end the weekend for OKC with this exciting play to end the game with Round Rock Rock!

Justin Bruihl: Justin Bruihl tossed his 4th straight scoreless performance Sunday going 2 innings, striking out 2, and walking none.

Ryan Noda: What a weekend for Ryan Noda. Friday night he had 2 home runs, today he had 3 hits, and over the weekend he went 5 for 10 with 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 11 total bases! Atta boy Ryan keep up the good work! Time for a great 2nd half! To see him in action, click on the picture, for his full feature, including an interview with Noda, click on his name.

Michael Busch: Michael Busch hit his 18th homer of the year which leads the entire organization, including LA. Busch hit 3 homers in that series alone, has his avg. up to .273, and his OPS is at .937. To see him in action, click on the picture, for his full feature, including an interview with Busch, click on his name.

Yadier Alvarez: Yadier Alvarez has been with the Dodgers since 2015 & made it to AA Tulsa by 2017, but has fought injuries, the restricted list, & the cancelation of the 2020 season, then more injuries in 2021. He threw 2.1 scoreless innings Sunday for OKC and looked good. Although he’s been with the club for a long time, he’s just 26, so he still has plenty of time to carve out a good career with the Dodgers.

Jake Lamb: Lamb leads OKC in average at .290., and on-base percentage at .395. He’s been playing more 3rd base as of late and has been doing very well at the hot corner. Check out this play where he went behind the bag, back-handed the ball & threw it across the diamond for the out. In the game he played previously at 3rd he made a great play coming in on a do-or-die ball, now this, plus his great offense. Lamb just recently snapped a 14-game hit streak and has hits in 15 of his last 16 games. Click the picture to see Lamb in action, click on his name to see the interview with him.

Jose Adames: Adames got called back up just recently to AAA OKC. The former 1st round draft pick has big stuff and is really good when he’s throwing strikes. He gave up no runs on 1 hit, 3 K’s, and 2 walks in his 1.2 innings on Sunday. See for yourself by clicking on the picture.

Dellin Betances: Here’s a look at the scoreless inning that 4-time all-star, Dellin Betances threw Saturday night for OKC. His breaking stuff was sharp and he has really good reach with his fastball. Exciting to have this guy in the org.

Marshall Kasowski: Here’s a good look at the stuff of Marshall Kasowski. Kasowski is having an incredible year as he hasn’t allowed an earned run in 9 of his last 10, 13 of his last 15, has an ERA of 2.35, and a WHIP of 1.29.

Michael Grove: I got to see Michael Grove for the first time in person in 2022 on Wednesday, so that was fun and he was on point! His first pitch of the night was 95, and his stuff popped. He got out of a 3-2 bases-loaded Jam and went 5 scoreless and struck out 5. To see him in action, click on the picture, for his full feature, including an interview with Grove, click on his name.

Miguel Vargas: Vargas played 2 games in left field this past week and made some nice plays. He leads OKC in hits and is creating versatility on the defensive side.

AA Tulsa Drillers:

The Drillers clinched the 1st half Texas League North championship this week which qualifies them for the playoffs regardless of how the 2nd half goes. Tulsa went 4-2 on the week at Midland against the AA affiliates of the A’s. Leonel Valera leads the team in average, but only has 72 AA at-bats so far, so, of the regulars who have been there all year, James Outman leads the team in average. He also leads the team in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs, RBIs, walks, and hits and is 2nd in stolen bases. Jeren Kendall leads the team in stolen bases with 9.

Tulsa plays host to Arkansas this week for a 6 game series at home at OneOk.

Tulsa Clinches: 

Devin Mann: Mann is the focus of this week’s feature and is a very talented & versatile player that was drafted in the 5th Round of the 2018 draft out of Louisville. He has a long, lanky frame, versatility on defense, and power and discipline at the plate. Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Mann himself.

Landon Knack: Knack had his best performance of the year Sunday, IMO. He had 10 K’s & 0 walks. Wow! He gave up a couple of runs in 6 innings, but he was in total control, he was big-time on the fastball control, & was landing all of his secondaries. He did some real pitching! Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Knack himself. 

James Outman: Outman hit his 16th home run and 45th and 46th RBIs of the year Sunday, both of which lead the team, and it went away into the West Texas sky! Outman leads the team in average at .296, on-base percentage at .396, slugging percentage at .556, OPS at .952,  RBIs at 45, home runs at 16, doubles at 17, hits at 76 and runs at 59. Wow! To see him in action, click on the picture, for his full feature, including an interview with Outman, click on his name.

Andy Pages: Andy Pages hit his 12th home run of the year Sunday to put Tulsa up 1-0, and it was a blast! Enjoy the long ball by clicking the picture!

Kevin Malisheshki: Congrats to Kevin Malisheski for a very well-deserved promotion. He is still listed as being promoted to AAA OKC, but it’s possible that he will land in AA Tulsa instead, but either way, being promoted is a great thing. Malisheski hasn’t allowed an earned run this month and has an avg. against of just .122 & a WHIP of just 1.06. The Pride of Wauconda, Wauconda, Il. is headed somewhere in Oklahoma, so I Can’t wait to see him pitch!

Abiatal Avelino: Avelino had his 2nd 2 hit night in a row for Tulsa on Saturday, which, at the time, increased his average to .258 since being acquired via free agency on June 8th from the Gigantes de Cibao. Avelino is a 27-year-old 3rd baseman that has been with the Cubs, Giants, and Yankees organizations.

Cameron Gibbens: Welcome back Cameron Gibbens who had his first 2 outings this year off of the IL. In his 2nd outing, the 6’8 Australian struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced and looked like he was rounding back into form. Great job Cameron, excited to watch you pitch the rest of the year! Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Gibbens himself.

John Rooney: Rooney had a great outing his last time out on Saturday. The lefty out of Hofstra went 4, gave up no runs, struck out 6, and walked just 1. Rooney has a WHIP of just 1.28 and a batting average against of just .245. Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Rooney himself.

College World Series: The College World Series ended this week, so I thought I would share the first home run in the history of TD Ameritrade. It has a Dodger flavor to it!

Clayton Beeter: Beeter was wipeout dominant his last time out on Thursday. His stuff has as much swing & miss to it as anyone in the organization. In fact, he’s K’d 66 in 37.1 innings, which is almost 2 per inning. He went 4 scoreless Thursday, K’d 6 walked just 1. Watch the last 3 pitches! Wow! Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Beeter himself.

Jordan Leasure: Leasure is trying to set a record in June that can never be broken. He has yet to allow a run this month! In fact, he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 10 outings and 13 of his last 14. His WHIP is down to 1.12 and his average against is .191.

Hunter Feduccia: I just featured Hunter Feduccia so if you haven’t had a chance to check it out, click on his name and it will take you to the article. He had a huge night Tuesday with a home run a double, 2 runs scored & 6 total bases. Believe me, this guy is good!

Carson Taylor: Tuesday might have been Carson Taylor’s best game as a pro. He had 2 hits right-handed, 1 hit left-handed, threw a runner out trying to steal 3rd, & caught & called a game where Drillers pitching gave up just 4 hits. That was impressive to watch! Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Taylor himself.

Guillermo Zuniga: Zuniga has the most amount of innings for Tulsa, and he is 7 for 7 in save opportunities. He also just hit 100 for his first K of the in this video. Enjoy the Heat! For the interview with Zuniga to hear from him, click his name.

High A Great Lakes Loons

The Great Lakes Loons completed their miracle comeback and clinched the Midwest League East Division title and a spot in the post-season playoffs. Diego Cartaya leads the team in Average at .314 with Alex DeJesus nipping at his heels and .313. Cartaya also leads the club in on-base percentage and OPS at .943. Johnny DeLuca continues to lead the team in home runs with 17, RBIs with 42, stolen bases at 10, and runs scored at 45.

The Loons have a home series this week with Dayton, the team they just caught and passed to win their Division, so this week surely will be very intense.

Celebration: Gotta start the video section with the celebration for the Loons on the night they clinched their playoff birth.

Alex DeJesus: DeJesus had another 2-hit day on Sunday and has his average all the way up to .280 and his OPS is up to .888. He’s hitting .315 in June and has a 10-game hit streak and has hits in 13 of 14 and 17 out of his last 19 games. Wow!

Eddys Leonard: Leonard had his 2nd consecutive 2-hit day in the Loon’s 11-3 win on Sunday and extended his hit streak to 5 games. He is 5 for his last 13 with 7 total bases and has played an awesome shortstop.

Imanol Vargas: Vargas continues to play very good offense for the Loons and had another 2 hit day on Sunday. Vargas is hitting .307 in June with an On Base % of .442. His on-base % in May was .425, so not only can this guy hit, he knows how to get on base.

Jorbit Vivas: Vivas had a big day for Great Lakes on Sunday with 3 hits, 2 RBI, and 3 total bases. Vivas extended his hit streak to 5 games and is 5 for his last 11. He’s hitting .301 in June with an OPS of .878. Vivas is an explosive young left-handed hitter.

Jose Ramos: Ramos had a huge day Sunday with 2 hits, a double and a home run, 3 RBIs, and 6 total bases. He has homered in 2 games in a row extending his hit streak to 4 games, a stretch where he is 6 for 16. He’s hitting .265 with an OPS of .881.

Carlos Duran: Duran needed just 30 pitches in 3 scoreless innings on Sunday. He has yet to allow an earned run since he has returned off the IL and features a unique mix of a tall frame at 6’7, a big fastball w/vertical drop to it, unique timing to his motion & the big breaking ball. Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Duran himself.

Johnny DeLuca: DeLuca tripled in the top of 3 for Great Lakes and later scored to give them a 1-0 lead on Sunday. He is tied for the team lead in triples (2), leads the team in home runs with 17, and also leads the team in stolen bases (10). DeLuca can beat a defense in every which way!

Ben Harris: Harris made his debut with Great Lakes after just recently getting promoted! Harris is a lefty out of Georgia that was picked in the 8th round of last year’s draft and has a lot of potential.

Ismael Alcantara: Alcantara had 2 hits for the Loons on Saturday, including this double that gave them the lead that they never gave back. At the time, Alcantara had hits in 4 of his last 5 games and had multiple-hit games in 2 of his last 4.

Lael Lockhart Jr. : Lockhart Jr. gave up 1 in 4, had 4 K’s, & just 1 walk in his last outing on Thursday. Lockhart’s ERA is all the way down to 2.19, his WHIP is just 1.22, & he has only allowed more than 1 run in an outing just twice in his 13 outings, and in those 2 outings he gave up just 2. Talk about Reliable! Click on the picture or his name for the full feature including an interview where you can hear from Lockhart himself.

Kyle Hurt: Hurt had a good outing on Thursday as he allowed 1 Earned Run in 4 innings w/ 4 K’s. The Earned Run he gave up was his 1st in June, & if you erase his May 25 outing, which was an outlier, he has given up just 3 ERs in his other 10 outings which spans 33 innings. The dude has been money!

Cole Duensing: I’ve said a couple of times that he reminds me of Gossage so I wanted to put them side by side throughout the motion. He still hasn’t allowed a run in June which spans 6 outings now. In those outings, he has 12 K’s to just 3 walks, & since his first outing in June, on the 2nd, he’s given up just 3 hits. His fastball has been on point & everything else is playing off of it.

Diego Cartaya: had a 2 hit night Tuesday. He leads the Loons in Average (.315), on-base and OPS at .943. He is a great player that is living up to the billing!

Low A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes:

The Quakes just finished a high-scoring series with Lake Elsinore in which they went 2-4. Damon Keith continues to impress as he had 3 hits in Saturday’s game and leads the Quakes in Avg. at .308, Home runs (9), Doubles (17), RBIs (46), Slugging % (.527), and OPS at .958. Wow! Austin Gauthier leads the Quakes in on-base percentage at .452, has his average at .274, and his OPS at .873. He had hits in 4 of the 6 games this past week and reached base in all 6 games. In fact, Gauthier reached safely 17 times in this past series, had 8 RBIs, 13 Total bases, and scored 11 runs. He is a great young offensive player out of Hofstra.

Ronan Kopp had a great performance on Friday as he struck out 5, walked just 1, and gave up just 1 hit en route to 2.2 scoreless innings. Kopp has an average against of just .175, his WHIP is down to 1.33, and his ERA is down to 2.51. Madison Jeffrey had a great week as he continued his scoreless streak and increased it to 4 games spanning 5.2 innings. Jeffrey is a late-inning, high leverage reliever out of West Virginia with big stuff and supreme confidence.

Rancho hosts Visalia this week at home for a 6 games series.