TWitM: Vaz on a power surge, Peña earns honors

Peña was named the Carolina League Player of the Week

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

This Week in the Minors: Tuesday, June 11 to Sunday, June 16

AAA Omaha Storm Chasers (47-20, 1st Place, International League West)

Omaha continues their scorching start to the season. They went 5-1 on the week and can clinch a playoff spot with a win on Tuesday. Who else to lead the offense but CJ Alexander? He had nine hits last week, including two doubles and a triple. He slashed .409/.435/.591 to continue what has been an outstanding 2024 season to date. Nate Eaton and Devin Mann each had eight hits apiece. Mann’s seven RBI led the Storm Chasers.

Outfielder Tyler Gentry continues to work his way back after an extremely slow start. He slashed .438/.526/.625 on the week with three doubles, three walks, and three strikeouts. Catcher Logan Porter was traded to the San Francisco Giants, clearing the way for a promotion for fellow backstop Rodolfo Durán. Durán appeared in just one game so far for Omaha.

On the bump, Walter Pennington continued his dominance. He didn’t allow a run over 4.1IP and struck out six. Steven Cruz (2.2IP) and Will Klein (3.0IP) each pitched scoreless weeks. Noah Murdock, fresh off a promotion from Northwest Arkansas, pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of his own last week. The 6-8 RHP touches the upper 90s with his sinker. An under-the-radar arm, Anthony Simonelli has turned in a handful of strong performances since his midseason promotion to Omaha. Last week, he didn’t allow a hit over three scoreless innings.

The rotation in Omaha remains solid. Chandler Champlain earned his first Triple-A win, allowing just one run over 5.2 IP. Kris Bubic has looked solid since transitioning his rehab assignment to Omaha and continued that with just two runs allowed in his lone start on the week. Jonathan Bowlan led the Chasers with seven strikeouts, working around three walks and four hits across 5.0 IP in his start.

AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals (31-32, 3.5 GB, Texas League North)

The Naturals put together an outstanding 6-0 week last week behind a handful of strong offensive performances. None stood out more than Javier Vaz, who quietly has put together yet another impressive minor league season. Vaz had seven hits last week — one double and three home runs — en route to a .350/.381/.850 slash line. He’s really started to turn a corner of late in the extra-bases department and could find his way to Omaha by the end of the season.

Outfielder Diego Hernandez has had a pretty rough season overall but finished last week with a .888 OPS and five RBI. Gavin Cross is back from the injured list and slashed .400/.400/.800 in just three games. He continues to be eased back in after struggling with some back spasms that put him on the injured list for a short time.

Reliever Cruz Noriega looked great last week. Noriega touches the upper 90s with his fastball but is an older minor leaguer at now 26 years old. He landed on the 60-day IL back in 2021 and missed all of the 2022 season. He had five strikeouts last week across five scoreless innings.

Lefty Tyson Guerrero tossed six scoreless innings in his lone start last week. He struck out three without a walk and scattered four hits. Beck Way and Jacob Wallace each went without allowing a hit last week. Way (2.0 IP) didn’t allow a run and struck out one. Wallace (2.2 IP) struck out three.

A+ Quad Cities River Bandits (27-35, 12.5 GB, Midwest League West)

The River Bandits went 2-3 on the week, as they continue to slide in the Midwest League Standings. Starter Steven Zobac put together what was his best start of the season thus far. He allowed just two hits across six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks allowed. Oscar Rayo continues to pitch in a long-relief role. He didn’t allow a run across 4.2 IP. Lefty Frank Mozzicato didn’t allow a run in his start. Over six innings, he struck out two and walked three. His ERA on the season is down to 2.59, although his strikeout totals this season are way down to just 6.8 per nine innings.

Hunter Patteson made his High-A debut but was only able to get one out before ending his day with four earned runs allowed. On offense, it was a bit of an abysmal week for the River Bandits. The offense has been the reason for many of their losses this season and that continues to be the case. Carter Jensen led the team with five hits and his .708 OPS was good for second on the team last week.

Trevor Werner hit a three-run home run, his lone hit on the week in three games. Second baseman Justin Johnson led the Bandits with a .896 OPS, thanks mostly to five walks against one strikeout.

A Columbia Fireflies (34-27, 4.5 GB, Carolina League South)

The Fireflies went 4-2 on the week, and are starting to make their way back up the standings. Flies pitchers looked strong on the week, including 2023 draftee Ethan Bosacker. Bosacker notched eight strikeouts against just one walk in five innings of work. He worked around six hits and allowed three earned runs. Emmanuel Reyes pitched in relief in what was a “piggyback” start of sorts. He went five full innings and allowed two earned runs. It’s the seventh consecutive outing for Reyes in which he’s gone at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs.

Blake Wolters continues to develop on the mound. He had just two strikeouts in four innings of work but allowed just two runs to keep the Fireflies competitive in his lone start on the week. Logan Martin was second on the week with five strikeouts. He allowed two earned runs across five innings of work in his start. Martin throws a devastating slider that misses a lot of bats. It has the makings of a true plus pitch and his fastball has good life up in the zone as well.

The offense last week was led by outfielder Erick Peña. Peña was named the Carolina League Player of the Week after slashing .333/.478/.778 with a double, two triples, and a home run. He finished just a single shy of the cycle in one game last week. Blake Mitchell had just two hits in four games but walked seven times against four strikeouts on the week.

Infielder Daniel Vazquez continues to make a case for a promotion to High-A. He slashed .375/.450/.375 with three walks and five strikeouts.