4/19 Minor League Scores

[Bourgeois Zee]

AAA Louisville Bats v. Iowa Cubs
Louisville has stolen Chattanooga's thunder and decided they too won't tell who might be starting tonight. Might be kinder to just spring it on the pitcher, considering how badly the Bats' offense has played so far this season. Lorenzo Cedrola and company are at home, at least. Game begins at 6:05.

AA Chattanooga Lookouts v. Mississippi Braves
The Lookouts are hot and are just over .500 for the season at 5-4. Matt McLain was named Southern League Player of the Week. That's a phenomenal honor. The game starts at 7:05, but you have to be in Mississippi.

High A Dayton Dragons v. The West Michigan Whitecaps
It's a battle of the titans. Both teams stand astride the division like twin colossi (colossuses?) at 6-3. The Whitecaps turn to Wilmer Flores (no, not that one-- the other one), while the Dragons counter with everyone's favorite Fighting Irish, Joe Boyle. Boyle is a giant of a man from Oldham County, Kentucky, just an hour and change from Cincinnati. But he's not the biggest kid to ever make the major leagues out of Oldham County. Who was the tallest player from that neck of the Kentucky woods to make the major leagues? That's today's trivia question, folks. Good luck. Don't cheat. The game's at home and starts at 7:05 sharp. Unless rain. Then maybe not.

Low A Daytona Tortugas v. Bradenton Marauders
That's kind of clever, to name minor league teams as synonyms of the parent club. Pirates--> Marauders. I like it. What would the Reds do if they decided to move in that direction? Synonyms of the color red? Javi Rivera starts for the 'Tugas tonight. He's been kind of meh this season in limited innings. 13.5 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, but 9 H/9 and a 4.50 ERA. He's a 20th round 2021 draftee from Florida Atlantic. Already 22, it's time to dominate, Javi! The game starts at 7:05. Get there early and enjoy the Florida humidity.

[icehole3]

Rauch?

[Bourgeois Zee]

Rauch?

Oldham County's own Jon Rauch is indeed one of the tallest pitchers in baseball history at 6'11".

Correct!

[Bourgeois Zee]

Louisville is the cure for what ails other AAA teams. Need a win? Come to the River City, folks! The Iowa Cubs are beating our Bats, 7-1. Trey Amburgey has two of Louisville's three hits on the night including his first HR of the season.

The AA Lookouts trail, 1-0 in the top of the fourth. Francisco Urbaez has the only safety for the Lookie-Loos. Perhaps that gets him untracked. (And just as I say that, TJ Hopkins gets a second Chattanooga hit.) Carson Spiers went two innings and gave up a run. Good to see him back.

Dayton is up 1-0 in the top of the fifth. They've managed three hits and one run. Singles for Elly De La Cruz and Mat Nelson were nice, but Mitch McGarry's 3rd HR is the highlight of a rather quiet offensive night so far. On the mound, the highlight was the dominance of Joe Boyle. Boyle was magnificent-- 4 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 10 K. Manuel Cachutt is in now with 1 IP of 0 H, O ER ball. That may prove interesting later on.

Javi Rivera hasn't quite matched that dominance, but he hasn't given up a run yet in Daytona. 3 IP so far, and the 'Tugas lead, 2-0. Austin Hendrick is officially on a streak. He's got a hit. So do Hayden Jones and Danny Lantigua. Jay Allen has a hit and his 6th SB of the season. That's a whole bunch, considering the season's only 9 games old. Hendrick has an RBI.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Chattanooga just took the lead on consecutive doubles by Isiah Gilliam and Matt Lloyd (after the TJ Hopkins single). The good guys are winning, 2-1.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Elly De La Cruz popped his second hit of the game, a triple. He came around on an Allen Cerda double. Cerda then scored on a wild pitch.

Michael Cachutt is on in the top of the 7th, and there is nothing happening in Dayton.

[Bourgeois Zee]

And there goes the no-no.

Cachutt gives up a single on an infield hit.

Ouch.

Tortugas still lead, 3-0.

[Bourgeois Zee]

TJ Hopkins is a prospect.

I don't care what anyone else says.

I like the kid.

He hit his 2nd HR of the season to knot the Chattanooga game at 3. He's hitting .333 for the year with an OPS over 1.000. After tonight, his AA OPS (including last season) will be over 800. He can play all three OF positions and has some speed too.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Elly De La Cruz doubled (his 3rd), then promptly got caught stealing 3rd base. His 3-4 day has him over .300 for the season and a HR short of the cycle. (It's the 8th inning, so probably not.)

[Mitri]

Elly doing things. Just get that K% rate down, bruh.

[JCM11]

Boyle is certainly an interesting prospect. In a limited amount of college and minor league innings he pretty much leads the universe in SO/9. If he gets the walks under control then we could have something here. Nice to see Elly start to rake.

[icehole3]

First time seeing Boyle. He is so imposing. Looks like a RH version of Kershaw IMO. Has the over hand FB that is 96+ with a looping curve ball. Looks like he's working on a changeup. He unhittible in A ball needs to move up.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Boyle is certainly an interesting prospect. In a limited amount of college and minor league innings he pretty much leads the universe in SO/9. If he gets the walks under control then we could have something here.

Definitely needs to fix his BB rate, but to play devil's advocate:

I wonder, since his H/9 is low incredibly low, if Boyle might be a Tanner Rainey type in the bullpen. Tons of BBs, tons of Ks, but overall, pretty effective. I'd be tempted to move him through the minors quickly, just to have that arm in my pen.

[JCM11]

Definitely needs to fix his BB rate, but to play devil's advocate:

I wonder, since his H/9 is low incredibly low, if Boyle might be a Tanner Rainey type in the bullpen. Tons of BBs, tons of Ks, but overall, pretty effective. I'd be tempted to move him through the minors quickly, just to have that arm in my pen.

I would let him start until he shows he can't. Boyle has less than 100 IP in college and the minors combined and is still only 22. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he learns to repeat his delivery and gets the walks under control over the next few years. If we're looking like contenders in a year or two, and his arm would make a difference in the Reds bullpen then make the move.