Triple-A power surge

[Tom Servo]

https://tht.fangraphs.com/big-league...ague-stadiums/

Pretty good little article that happens to have a specific focus on the Bats

In 2018, International League teams scored 4.16 runs per game and Pacific Coast League teams scored 4.97 runs per game. This year, it’s 5.20 and 5.65, respectively. Yeah, the ball is carrying farther. The Bats have had a couple of players with breakout power years as at least a partial result of the new ball. Josh VanMeter, in 131 plate appearances, was one homer short of his career best in this, his seventh season as a pro, when he was called up by the Reds. Notably, he’s made changes to his approach that can be seen in his second-half numbers from last year, but he never had shown power on this level.

Brian O’Grady has had similar results. His 14 homers in 189 PAs match his career high. He also hit 14 last year — in 386 PAs. As with VanMeter, there were other adjustments, but that didn’t account for all of it. “There’s definitely times you can notice,” O’Grady told me. “I hit a double the last night that went farther than I thought it was gonna.” When I talked to him, he clearly liked the new ball. “I think the ball plays more true. I think before there were a lot of times when guys hit balls and they went like nowhere. Now, if you hit it, you get rewarded for it.”

[OGB]

https://www.apnews.com/4612e61bd4cb4a5e8bce900fcb688063

This is an old article and I remember reading this type of thing once or twice over the last month.

AAA is using the juiced MLB ball. Home runs are up an astonishing amount. To the average fan, is this creating a tier of fools gold prospects?

Here's a worrisome thought: How the hell is Schebler still struggling so bad facing AAA pitching with a juiced ball? Is he done?

Are Aquino, VanMeter, Longhi, and OGrady real C level prospects? Can we believe anything with these guys?

It'll be interesting to see what kind of a power boost we see from Siri, Trammell, and Stephenson when they get promoted.

[Burger Beer]

Is the AAA baseball juiced, or are the balls used at the lower levels just...bad?

“I think the ball plays more true. I think before there were a lot of times when guys hit balls and they went like nowhere. Now, if you hit it, you get rewarded for it.” --O'Grady

[JaxRed]

https://www.apnews.com/4612e61bd4cb4a5e8bce900fcb688063

This is an old article and I remember reading this type of thing once or twice over the last month.

AAA is using the juiced MLB ball. Home runs are up an astonishing amount. To the average fan, is this creating a tier of fools gold prospects?

Here's a worrisome thought: How the hell is Schebler still struggling so bad facing AAA pitching with a juiced ball? Is he done?

Are Aquino, VanMeter, Longhi, and OGrady real C level prospects? Can we believe anything with these guys?

It'll be interesting to see what kind of a power boost we see from Siri, Trammell, and Stephenson when they get promoted.

Schebler now out with oblique so we won't see him for a month.

[Tom Servo]

Here's a worrisome thought: How the hell is Schebler still struggling so bad facing AAA pitching with a juiced ball? Is he done?

Are Aquino, VanMeter, Longhi, and OGrady real C level prospects? Can we believe anything with these guys?

It'll be interesting to see what kind of a power boost we see from Siri, Trammell, and Stephenson when they get promoted.

Yeah it's a bad sign for Schebler, I think he's probably toast. I suspect that shoulder injury last year was the turning point.

It's hard to say with the guys who have produced this year. O'Grady is clearly pretty good but I get a Danny Dorn vibe from him, I could see him still hammering AAA pitching 3 years from now. Would love to be wrong about that though. Van Meter to me is the best of the bunch because he showed some real improvement last year in AA and then the last month plus in AAA, before this new ball situation. Longhi and Aquino are where it gets murky because both were pretty mediocre in AA though they have some obvious tools (Aquino's power, Longhi's contact ability).

This is particularly staggering: the highest team ERA last year in the International League was 4.34. So far this year the lowest ERA in the International League is 4.31.