Cusick led a strong Midland rotation with six scoreless innings.
The first full week of minor league action is in the books, and for the Oakland Athletics we got our first long looks as their top prospects along with some graduates who have returned to the minor league level. Esteury Ruiz and Tyler Soderstrom have been fantastic down in Las Vegas, while Gunnar Hoglund and Ryan Cusick have gotten a strong start to potential comeback campaigns.
Game Results
Record: 5-9, 5th in PCL West, 5.5 GB
Vegas saw their week get off to a rough start, and by Thursday they fell to 2-9 on the season. However they stormed back over the weekend, taking the final three games from the Salt Lake Bees to split the series.
Season stats
Top Performers
Las Vegas has scored fewer runs than every other team in the Pacific Coast League this season, but the positive takeaways from the team have been some of the hitters. Esteury Ruiz in particular has come down and made an immediate impact on the roster, posting excellent numbers in every facet of the game. Ruiz has looked comfortable with regular playing time, and though he only drew one walk last week he clubbed two home runs and has a 148 wRC+. Hopefully this promotion as an injury replacement isn’t going to interrupt his development and he will be able to get more playing time than earlier this year after doing everything he can to prove he can get on base at a high clip, though I am not optimistic.
Esteury Ruiz adds to the excitement with a solo homer, sending a fly ball soaring over left field! The Aviators are closing in, now trailing 7-3. Every run counts as we head into the late innings! ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/erOH9lIf5e
— Las Vegas Aviators (@AviatorsLV) April 12, 2024
Tyler Soderstrom has been even better this season, though the numbers may not reflect that overall, averaging a 94 mph exit velocity and a 53% hard hit rate. These numbers have largely translated to the field, where last week he put up his best performance yet. Strikeouts have been a bit of a concern early in the season for Soderstrom, but last week he had as many extra base hits as he did strikeouts and posted a 1.361 OPS in four games. On the other end it was the worst week of the season for Max Muncy as he went just 2-12, but it’s hard to be frustrated with his performance overall this spring. He is the only 21 year old position player in the Pacific Coast League, and so far it’s fair to say he’s exceeded all expectations. He has just a 16.7% strikeout rate in 48 plate appearances and a 121 wRC+, though there are a couple of caveats to that. His whiff rate is actually slightly above the Triple-A average at 24.4%, though I still see that as exceeding the expectations for a player that young who has been pushed to Triple-A as quickly as Muncy has. 28 year old Osvaldo Bido has been the roster’s top pitcher, and last week he pitched five scoreless innings while striking out nine batters.
Soderstrom launches a homer! The Aviators' bats are on fire today, putting on an impressive offensive display! pic.twitter.com/ZLKobrdbnn
— Las Vegas Aviators (@AviatorsLV) April 14, 2024
Game Results
Record: 7-2, t-1st TL South, 0 GB
Midland’s pitching staff excelled over the weekend, getting them the final two wins of the series and a 4-2 series win over Amarillo.
Season stats
Top Performers
Here is some good news: Jacob Wilson hit his first home run of the season last week, a grand slam no less, and overall has a 198 wRC+. Now for the bad news: He left early in Friday’s game and did not return to play over the weekend. Wilson has not been placed on the injured list, but his status at the moment is up in the air and will be closely monitored this week. His absence was made up for in excess by Colby Thomas, who had a phenomenal week and now leads all A’s minor leaguers with a 257 wRC+. Thomas has hit safely in eight straight games, and last week added on two home runs with an OPS of 1.383. Brennan Milone also carried weight with a home run and seven hits last week, scoring at least one run in five of six games. There have been some signs of resurgence from Denzel Clarke after a home run and a laser double last week, though the rust is still apparent as his strikeout rate is hovering around 50%. He struck out three times in three of his five games last week and has six such games so far this season. In my viewings of Clarke he has managed to hit the ball solidly when making contact, but it seems we’ll have to be patient as he gets back into form. Daniel Susac has been notably absent, playing in only one game last week, and though the transaction has not officially posted it seems he is on the 7-day injured list.
Midland’s pitching staff has been excellent this season, and in total they lead the Texas League with a 2.44 ERA. No player early this season can claim as much success as Ryan Cusick, whose six scoreless innings in Saturday’s game earned him Texas League pitcher of the week honors. Cusick has allowed just one hit across ten scoreless innings this season, showcasing a form long-awaited since he was acquired. The two other main focuses from the rotation also had success last week, with Gunnar Hoglund going five innings and striking out eight batters. Hoglund had one poor inning where he allowed four hits and three runs but has been otherwise untouched this season. He is the clubhouse leader with a 2.63 FIP in his two starts this season. Royber Salinas has had slightly more trouble than the other two mostly in regards to command early this season, but his stuff has been overwhelming and he struck out seven batters across 4 2⁄3 innings in his start last week. Salinas has struck out 33% of the batters he has faced this season while also being the roster’s youngest pitcher.
Game Results
Record: 3-6, 5th in MWL East, 3 GB
Lansing dropped each of their final three games in this series, and the offense has struggled out of the gates. The Lugnuts have the second-lowest OPS in the league and are one of only two Midwest League teams still stuck on two home runs.
Season stats
Top Performers
Lansing has struggled to find any bright spots on the offensive end, and much of that revolves around the struggles of Henry Bolte. Bolte has just not been good this season, and last week struck out ten times in 16 plate appearances. Bolte’s contact shortcomings certainly weren’t any sort of secret coming into the year, but the level to which he has had problems and the issues with contact quality when he does have led to a poor start to the year. Bolte is hitting everything he does make contact with on the ground and is in major need of an adjustment in the coming weeks. 2023 15th round pick Will Simpson has really been the team’s main offensive contributor, with nine RBIs in nine games. He has relied heavily on his experience and is running a 28.9% walk rate that has let him post a .500 on base percentage and 193 wRC+. Simpson will need to improve his contact rates and he struck out seven times in 20 plate appearances last season, but he is one of those guys that looks to have an eye that is a bit too advanced for High-A pitching. James Gonzalez is the pitcher for Lansing who is off to the hottest start with seven scoreless innings to start the year, although last week he only appeared in a two inning relief stint after his scheduled start was pushed back due to rain. Jacob Watters didn’t even complete an inning in his outing, allowing four runs on two hits and three walks.
Game Results
Record: 2-5, 4th in CAL North, 3 GB
Stockton took their opening game against Rancho Cucamonga, but lost the next three as the offense went cold. Both weekend games were cancelled due to rain.
Season stats
Top Performers
It was a shortened week for Stockton, and not a particularly good one, with Darlyn Montero being the only hitter that really did much at the plate. Montero went 5-10 in the three games he played, though he struck out for four of those five outs. Ryan Lasko had what I wouldn’t call a resurgent week, but it was certainly much better than his opening salvo. Lasko drew as many walks as strikeouts and had a .357 on base percentage, though the hits weren’t quite falling for him and he hasn’t yet produced power at the plate. Still, it’s nice to see better contact for him and hopefully he can turn that into some momentum and Stockton as a whole can improve moving forward. Myles Naylor had a poor week at the plate with five strikeouts in 14 plate appearances, and didn’t produce much with a .453 OPS. Naylor has been overall solid in a small sample to start the year, with a 25.8% walk rate to a 22.6% strikeout rate. Stockton’s pitching has been able to keep them in a couple of games early, with two older prospects as the standouts early. Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang made his season debut on Wednesday and was fantastic for Stockton. He struck out six batters and walked none over three scoreless innings, though the innings ended up being meaningless as the offense got shut out in a 4-0 loss. Last season’s 13th round pick Will Johnston has been absurd in his two outings this season, and on Friday faced nine batters and retired them all including seven strikeouts. Johnston has struck out 57.7% of batters faced this season, by far the system leader among pitchers with five or more innings pitched. Only one other qualified pitcher in minor league baseball has a higher strikeout rate,
Roster Moves:
4/9 - Stockton Ports place SS Nelson Beltran on 7 day IL
4/9 - RHP Zach Jackson outrighted to Las Vegas Aviators
4/10 - RHP Tyler Baum promoted from Midland to Las Vegas
4/10 - Las Vegas Aviators active C Yohel Pozo
4/10 - Las Vegas Aviators transfer C Carlos Perez to Development List
4/10 - Las Vegas Aviators place RHP Adrian Martinez on 7-day IL
4/10 - Las Vegas Aviators place RHP Danis Correa on 7-day IL
4/10 - Las Vegas Aviators activate RF Stephen Piscotty
4/11 - Oakland Athletics select contract of 2B Max Schuemann
4/11 - Lansing Lugnuts place SS Joshwan Wright on 7-day IL
4/12 - Midland Rockhounds activate C Mario Gomez
4/12 - Midland Rockhounds release RHP Trayson Kubo
4/13 - 3B TJ Schofield-Sam assigned to ACL A’s from Midland
4/13 - SS Jose Escoche assigned to Lansing Lugnuts
4/14 - OF Esteury Ruiz recalled from Las Vegas Aviators
Final note: These are my plans for the format of the weekly recaps going forward this season, but I would love to get input from everyone who reads. If there is any information you are interested in and think I should include, or improvements you think I can make this is certainly a fluid template and I welcome any feedback.
