Ryan & Ryan Shove, Elite Outfield Prospects Elite
The Dodgers’ farm system produced an offense-heavy night on Friday, highlighted by huge offensive nights from AA Tulsa Drillers and High A Great Lakes Loons. Ontario lost to Inland Empire & Triple-A Oklahoma City lost 7-6.
Tulsa pounded out 18 hits in a 14-2 rout of Wichita to improve to 26-17. Great Lakes continued its strong first half with a 13-4 win over Wisconsin behind great offensive showings from Charles Davalan, Eduardo Quintero, Jose Hernandez, and Jose Meza. Ontario, meanwhile, dropped a 17-3 decision to Inland Empire despite collecting 13 hits.
River Ryan
Gonna start this article with a dedicated section on the outing from River Ryan on Thursday. It was AWESOME! Ryan retired the final 11 hitters he faced, and he only allowed 3 base runners, and no one past 2nd.
5IP | 0R | 2H | 7Ks | 0BB 62 pitches, 43 strikes, one pitch away from his season high
We got to see the power early with the 99 MPH high riders, the 93-95 cutters, and the SUWEET changeups later, and he also threw an 83 MPH curveball. Whoever put this plan together, in terms of his pitch map, obviously knows what they’re doing, because we saw his entire velo band, every shape, to both lefties and righties, and the top-end power. Honestly, he’s throwing the ball so well, I’m not sure what he has left to do in AAA other than maybe continue to ramp his pitch counts. But, velo band is 83-99, his 4-seam is riding, his curveball is 12-6, his changeup is tumbling, his slider is getting in on lefties, and his cutter is bridging ALL of that and stealing strikes. BIG BIG Time stuff!
Oklahoma City Comets: Late Rally Falls Short in 7-6 Loss to Reno
The Comets dropped a back-and-forth game to Reno, who jumped on Charlie Barned for 4 runs in the 2nd inning. That 4-spot was highlighted by a three-run homer from Luis Urías after Tommy Troy opened the scoring with an RBI single.
Zach Ehrhard, who finished the game with 2 RBIS, drove home a run, Tyler Fitzgerald hit a third-inning two-run bomb, but Reno added another 3-spot in the 4th, and, as it turned out, that would be all they needed. Although OKC did make a run, scoring 2 in the 6th & 1 in the 7th, but couldn’t pose a threat after that.
Noah Miller made another really nice play moving to his right. He made a really good play to his left on Thursday and continues to make difficult plays look routine.
Tyler Fitzgerald continued his strong recent stretch, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk. Over his last four games, Fitzgerald is hitting .400 with a 1.177 OPS. Zach Ehrhard also contributed two RBIs, while Enrique Hernández added a hit and scored twice.
Ryder Ryan was AWESOME in relief, knocking down innings 4-7, and stabilized the game long enough to give OKC the chance to make a comeback. He faced a minimum of 12 batters in 4 scoreless innings and was in complete control. Of the 12 hitters he faced, he threw a strike 1 on 10 occasions. He was in the 94 range and paired that with a good slider.
Top Offensive Performers
Tyler Fitzgerald: 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Zach Ehrhard: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
Kiké Hernández: 1-for-4, 2 R
Pitchers
Chris Barnes: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 5 K
Antoine Kelly: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER
Ryder Ryan: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Ronan Kopp: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Keynan Middleton: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Drillers Started Hitting & Never Quit
AA Tulsa pounded the Wichita Wind Surge, the AA affiliates of the Twins, 14-2, and improved their record to 26-17. Tulsa pounded out 18 hits and went 9-for-20 with runners in scoring position while scoring in six different innings.
Zyhir Hope singled home Kendall George in the first inning. George got a base hit on the first pitch of the game, then stole 2nd on the 3rd pitch in the game, and ended with 2 hits and a stolen base. He has 26 stolen bases on the year, which leads the Texas League, and he’s hitting .345 with an on-base percentage of close to .500. Elijah Hainline had a double and hit his 6th home run of the season, and had 5 RBIs. Griffin Lockwood-Powell also had a big night, going 3 for 5 with 3 Ribeyes of his own.
Josue De Paula led the attack with a four-hit night, continuing his torrid week in Wichita, where he is hitting .429 with a 1.262 OPS in the series. Hainline drove in five runs and homered for the sixth time this season, while Lockwood-Powell collected three hits and two RBIs.
On the mound, Adam Serwinowski delivered his best outing of the year, striking out 10 across seven innings while allowing just one run. Big Ski worked the armside corner with his fastball and slider, then had his big sweeper/slurve working all night. He’s off to a slow start, but that won’t last because he’s too talented. Look for him to rip off a heater in 3…2…1.
Top Offensive Performers
Josue De Paula: 4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Elijah Hainline: 2-for-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI
Griffin Lockwood-Powell: 3-for-5, 2 RBI
Zyhir Hope: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Kendall George: 2-for-6, 3 R, SB
Pitchers
Adam Serwinowski: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 10 K
Christian Ruebeck: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K
Maddux Bruns: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Great Lakes Loons: Davalan Leads Another Offensive Explosion in 13-4 Win
High A Great Lakes improved to 27-15 with a dominant performance in chilly Midland, Michigan. The Loons won 13-4 over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and, after falling behind 2-0, took control of the game with 8 combined runs in the 4th and 5th innings, then cruised to the finish line from there.
Charles Davalan was ridiculously productive. From his leadoff spot, he had 2 hits, including a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases, and 4 RBIs total on the night. He also stole two bases and scored four runs, so it doesn’t get much better than that from your leadoff spot. Kole Myers, who was playing his first game back with Great Lakes, had 2 hits, including a two-run single. Myers was sent back down from AA Tulsa after Mike Sirota was promoted. Tough blow, no doubt, just gotta chip away again and reset.
Jose Meza had a two-run single in the fourth and finished with two hits and three RBIs, and Jose D. Hernandez hit his 1st home run of the season, a 2-run shot in the sixth, and he had 3 hits total and 2 RBIs.
Christian Zazueta was the starter on the mound, and while it wasn’t his best outing of the year, he did settle down nicely after the first inning, allowing just two runs across five innings while striking out five to earn the win.
Top Offensive Performers
Charles Davalan: 2-for-3, 2 BB, 4 RBI, 4 R, 2 SB
Jose Meza: 2-for-3, 2 BB, 3 RBI
Kole Myers: 2-for-4, 3 RBI
Jose D. Hernandez: 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
Eduardo Quintero: 3-for-5, 3 R, 3 SB
Jose Izarra: 2-for-5, triple, 2 R
Pitchers
Christian Zazueta: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K
Nicolas Cruz: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 K
Dilan Figueredo: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K
Ontario Tower Buzzers: Defensive Issues Doom Ontario in 17-3 Loss
Single A Ontario fell to 21-22 with a 17-3 loss to Inland Empire. They did get 13 hits, Ontario, but committed four errors, and struggled to contain a 66ers’ offense that scored in seven different innings.
Ontario was shut out through eight innings before finally breaking through in the ninth when Easton Shelton lined an RBI single to left field, before Anson Aroz added a two-run double to avoid the shutout.
Chase Harlan continued his productive stretch with a three-hit game, while Shelton added two hits and an RBI. Javier Herrera also recorded two hits before later pitching a scoreless inning in relief.
Top Offensive Performers
Chase Harlan: 3-for-5
Easton Shelton: 2-for-4, RBI, BB
Anson Aroz: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2B
Javier Herrera: 2-for-5
Pitchers
Jesus Tillero: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 7 ER
Seamus Barrett: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER
Angel Cruz: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER
Ricardo Montero: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER
Javier Herrera: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
