Top stories
Turner fires shutout in best start of the season: Jacob Turner‘s season has been marred by a shoulder injury and poor performance so far, but lately he’s shown signs of turning it around. Saturday’s start was the most positive sign when he threw a complete game shutout against Louisville in Toledo’s 3-0 win. He was incredibly effective and efficient, striking out six and only allowing three hits on the night with no walks. He only needed 102 pitches to get through nine innings, and 73 of them were for strikes. Detroit’s starting staff is only 7th in the AL in ERA, and they would love if Turner could come up and give them a boost in the second half.
Markakis socks a pair in rehab: Without Nick Markakis, the Orioles have gone just 16-21 and are in danger of sliding back into irrelevancy. Their offense is just 17th in the league in runs, and they could use their solid right fielder back badly. Markakis moved a step closer to making that happen with his first rehab appearance in Bowie, and he did it in style. Batting second as their right fielder, he hit two homers, drove in four, reached base via walk, scored three runs and threw out a runner at third base. Power can be difficult to get back after a wrist injury, so even though it’s just a minor league game, the Orioles are probably happy to hear it.
Hamilton promoted: Less than a week after reaching the 100 steal plateau and beating last year’s total of 103, Billy Hamilton learned he would be heading for AA Pensacola after the Futures Game today. It seems a bit aggressive, but Hamilton has made clear strides in Bakersfield that indicate he’s on his way to reaching his potential. His plate approach has improved and he’s making better contact, very dangerous ingredients for Reds opponents in coming years. Going from A to AA is the hardest transition in minor league baseball though, and he’ll have his work cut out for him.
Big home runs hit in GCL: Two players each hit their first career home runs in the Gulf Coast League Saturday; one people were probably expecting, and the other one not so much. Byron Buxton has struggled so far in the GCL, posting a .479 OPS in his first 13 games. In Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Red Sox affiliate, not only did Buxton hit his first home run, he stole his first base. He has six hits in his last five games, so he has been showing some improvement as of late. The other player with his first pro homer has only started hitting recently, Pittsburgh’s Stetson Allie. After completely flopping as a pitcher with control issues, he’s now playing corner infield positions. He was a solid high school hitter, but his pitching is what earned him the bonus he got.
Zunino wins Golden Spikes: After taking home awards for the best college catcher and college player, #3 overall pick Mike Zunino won the big prize in amateur baseball, the Golden Spikes Award. In addition to being strong behind the plate for the Gators, he was one of the nation’s best hitters with a .322 average, 19 home runs and a 1.024 OPS. He’s the first player to win the award for the Gators program. The last nine winners have gone onto MLB success or are destined for it, and the future looks bright for Zunino.
AZL Brewers use 17 first inning runs to win blowout: The ball flies in Arizona, but the AZL Brewers took that to an extreme in their 23-8 win over the AZL Royals. They scored 17 runs in the first inning against three pitchers who only recorded an out each, and they were aided by defensive miscues. Nine of the runs were unearned thanks to two first inning errors. Only one run was scored before the first out was recorded, and 10 of them were scored after the Royals got the second out of the inning. Jose Pena had three hits in the inning, and Tyrone Taylor and Clint Coulter each had a pair of hits. After that, the Royals did outscore the Brewers 8-6. Major League rehabber Juan Gutierrez was charged with the first five runs, and Christian Witt added eight unearned runs to his record.
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Top Hitters | Aff. | H/AB | R | XBH | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB |
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Alfredo Lopez | JUP | 3/4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Beau Mills | PEN | 2/4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Brett Newsome | HAG | 4/5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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Chris Coghlan | NO | 3/5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Cole Gillespie | REN | 3/3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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Drew Robinson | HIC | 2/3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
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Fernando Perez | AZSD | 3/5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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Gift Ngoepe | BRA | 2/4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Jalen Goree | AZSD | 2/2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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Jared Clark | MOD | 2/4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
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Kellin Deglan | HIC | 2/3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Luke Montz | NO | 3/4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Mycal Jones | LYN | 3/5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Reginald Lawson | PUL | 2/5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
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Steven Souza Jr. | HAG | 2/3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
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Tony Bryant | GCSL | 3/5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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Tyrone Taylor | AZMI | 4/7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Vinnie Catricala | TAC | 3/4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Wander Ramos | AUB | 2/3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Yazy Arbelo | VIS | 4/5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Top Pitchers | Aff. | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
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Adam Morgan | CLE | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
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Austin Brice | GBO | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
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Austin Malinowski | GCMI | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
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Benjamin Hughes | TCNW | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
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Cody Martin | LYN | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
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Cory Mazzoni | BIN | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
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David Rollins | LNS | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
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Donn Roach | SA | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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Ivan Pineyro | GCWA | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
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Jacob Turner | TOL | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
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Jim Fuller | SAV | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
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Matthew Wisler | FW | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
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Robby Rowland | WV | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
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Ryan Carpenter | BG | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
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Shawn Hill | LV | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
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Tayler Scott | BOI | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
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Taylor Siemens | VIS | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
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Tony Cingrani | PEN | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
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Tyler Melling | BAT | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
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Wander Marte | PUL | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
On tap today
Futures Game in Kansas City
Danny Hultzen takes the mound again for Tacoma
Zach Lee looks to rebound after rough start
Barret Loux has chance for win #13
Bryan Brickhouse hopes for second consecutive positive start
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