Tuesday was a slow day in the organization, but action picks up again Wednesday. Durham, Montgomery, Bowling Green, and Hudson Valley all begin their postseasons, and Princeton faces a must-win Game 2 in its championship series.
Also on Tuesday, the one of the DSL Rays teams won their championship series against one of the DSL Rangers squads. That’s a 44-team league, so emerging as the best team was no easy feat.
With the minor league regular season behind us, who would you choose as the organization’s minor league player and pitcher of the year? There’s no shortage of players to choose from.
Triple-A Durham Bulls (79-60)
Durham was off.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (79-61)
Montgomery was off.
Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (90-49)
Bowling Green was off.
Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (45-30)
Hudson Valley was off.
Rookie Princeton Rays (2-2)
Princeton faces another elimination game after dropping Game 1 of the Appalachian League Championship to Elizabethton, 7-4. For the third time in four postseason games, Princeton allowed a multi-run first inning, falling in another early hole. A two-run homer off Wanderson Linares gave Elizabethton the lead, but Princeton went ahead in the second. Roberto Alvarez hit an RBI triple, and Jake Palomaki’s two-run home run made it a 3-2 game. However, Elizabethton scored five of the final six runs to go ahead for good.
SS Wander Franco: 1-for-4
1B Carlos Vargas: 1-for-4, 3 K
2B Jake Palomaki: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
RHP Wanderson Linares: 2 2⁄3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Joe Peguero: one-third IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Wednesday’s games (probables courtesy of milb.com)
Durham @ Toledo 6:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Ryan Weber (9-6, 2.73) vs. Ryan Carpenter (2-8, 5.07)
Best-of-five semifinal (Series tied, 0-0)
Montgomery @ Jackson 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
J.D. Martin (8-10, 4.49) vs. Taylor Widener (5-8, 275)
Best-of-five semifinal (Series tied, 0-0)
Bowling Green @ Lansing 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA
Best-of-three quarterfinal (Series tied, 0-0)
Hudson Valley @ Auburn 6:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA
Best-of-three semifinal (Series tied, 0-0)
Princeton @ Elizabethton 7 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA
Best-of-three championship (Princeton trails, 1-0)
*Listed as TBA on milb.com
Scouting the opposition
Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit)
73-66
Offense: 577 R (8th) .707 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 4.05 ERA (10th) 1.32 WHIP (8th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Daz Cameron (6), OF Christin Stewart (9), RHP Kyle Funkhouser (11), RHP Spencer Turnbull (12), OF Mike Gerber (14), RHP Bryan Garcia (16), LHP Ryan Carpenter
Jackson Generals (Arizona)
75-64
Offense: 627 R (3rd) .719 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.76 ERA (4th) 1.25 WHIP (1st)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Jon Duplantier (1), IF Domingo Leyba (11), LHP Jared Miller (17)
Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto)
80-60
Offense: 720 R (1st) .730 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 4.18 ERA (15th) 1.40 WHIP (14th)
Top-30 prospects: SS Kevin Vicuna (25), RHP Emerson Jimenez (31)
Auburn Doubledays (Washington)
41-35
Offense: 351 R (3rd) .688 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.71 ERA (10th) 1.26 WHIP (4th)
Top-30 prospects: None
Elizabethton Twins
3-1
Offense: 375 R (5th) .776 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 4.11 ERA (3rd) 1.41 WHIP (4th)
Top-30 prospects: SS Wander Javier (2), 2B Yunior Severino (14)
Daily news and links
MiLB.com previewed the Southern League playoffs.
At Baseball America, Josh Norris wrapped up Princeton’s series win over Bluefield.
BA also definitively answered where pro players come from in the U.S.