All four affiliates have gone through the entire rotation now for the first time, so pitchers are now getting their second looks. Included among them today is the top prospect in the system, Gerrit Cole. He looked great early on in his first start, then struggled in the fourth inning, leading to an early exit. Also going today is Clay Holmes, the 11th ranked prospect in the system. Take note of the morning start time for West Virginia and early afternoon game time for Indianapolis. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here
AAA: Indianapolis (4-2) VS Toledo (1-5) 1:35pm
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (0-1, 6.75)
Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 3 Toledo 2 in 10 innings
Gerrit Cole will make his second start of the season tonight. He pitched at home against Columbus last week, starting the game with three shutout innings, before a very rough fourth inning that got him knocked out of the game. His final line was three runs on five hits, no walks and he struck out two batters. Last year between three stops, Cole went a combined 9-7, 2.80 in 26 starts, with 136 strikeouts in 132 innings. An Indianapolis team preview can be viewed here.
AA: Altoona (3-3) @ Akron (2-4) 6:35pm
Probable starter: Casey Sadler (1-0, 1.80)
Yesterday’s Result: Altoona 14 Akron 6
Casey Sadler threw five innings in his debut at Erie, allowing one run on six hits, a walk and he struck out three batters. He recorded 11 outs on the ground. Last year for Bradenton, Sadler went 4-6, 3.73 in a combined 17 starts and 15 relief appearances, with 93 strikeouts in 130.1 innings. He had a .255 BAA and a 1.52 GO/AO ratio. An Altoona team preview can be viewed here.
High-A: Bradenton (0-5) @ Charlotte(2-3) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Robby Rowland (0-0, 3.60)
Yesterday’s Result: Charlotte 6 Bradenton 2
Robby Rowland will make his second start of the season tonight. He pitched five innings in his season debut against Fort Myers. Rowland allowed two earned runs on four hits, four walks and he struck out two batters. Last year for West Virginia, he was 9-5, 3.30 in 19 starts and one relief appearance. He threw a total of 106.1 innings, striking out 62 batters, against just 23 walks, while posting a 1.71 GO/AO ratio. A Bradenton team preview can be viewed here.
Low-A: West Virginia (1-5) VS Charleston (4-2) 10:30am
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (0-0, 9.82)
Yesterday’s Result: Charleston 10 West Virginia 7 in 11 innings
Clay Holmes will make his second start of the season tonight. He threw 3.2 innings in his debut against Asheville, allowing four earned runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out six hitters. Last year for State College, the 20-year-old righty was 5-3, 2.28 in 13 starts. He had 34 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Holmes kept the ball on the ground and in the ballpark, posting a 1.56 GO/AO ratio while allowing only one home run. Batters hit just .176 against him last year. A West Virginia team preview can be viewed here.
