Prospect Watch: Rehab Starts From Gerrit Cole and Ryan Vogelsong

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Altoona went down 3-0 in the second inning and scratched their way back for a 7-3 win. Ryan Vogelsong started this game, his first outing since suffering multiple facial fractures back in mid-May when he was hit by a pitch. Vogelsong allowed three runs on six hits and no walks, with all three runs coming in the second frame. He gave up a two-run homer to Corey Jones for most of the damage. Vogelsong had just one strikeout, but he was throwing a lot of strikes. Of his 60 pitches on the day, 43 went for strikes. He isn’t eligible to come off the disabled list until July 23rd, so he will have at least two more rehab starts, though it could be more since rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days.

Kevin Newman had his 17-game hit streak snapped with an 0-for-5 day. It’s just his second hitless game in Double-A. Reese McGuire had three hits and drove in three runs. He hit his 13th double and also drew a walk. McGuire’s career high for doubles is 15, which was set last year. Harold Ramirez had a walk and two hits, including his 15th double. He also scored two runs. Stetson Allie had a single, two walks and scored a run. Barrett Barnes singled to extend his hit streak to six games. Eric Wood hit his 11th home run of the season, which matches what he hit in his last three seasons combined.

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BRADENTON, Fla. – For the second day in a row, the Marauders had a walk-off winner in extra innings. Today’s walk-off came on a hard hit ball from Jordan Luplow, which was booted by the shortstop with a runner going in front of him, allowing Jerrick Suiter to score the winning run from second in the 11th inning. But the Marauders might not have won had it not been for a spectacular play by Pablo Reyes in the top half of the inning.

With one out, and runners at first and second, Reyes ranged deep to his left on a ball that reached the outfield grass. He made the pick, with his momentum carrying him to the outfield, and no chance of getting the runner at first. The runner from second was rounding third and trying to score at the same time. Reyes fielded the ball, spun around to his left, and fired a perfect strike home, preventing the run at the plate and keeping the score tied.

It’s a good thing to see for Reyes, who spent most of the last month on the restricted list, due to a disciplinary reason. Bradenton Manager Michael Ryan didn’t give a specific reason for the placement when it happened, just saying that Reyes wasn’t living up to the organization’s expectations. But things have been much better since Reyes has returned.

“Since he’s been back, he’s been spectacular,” Ryan said. “Attitude, effort, the way he’s going about his work day. He’s been a good teammate. It’s showing on the field. Just to have the awareness of that play, just shows number one, that he’s in the game, number two, how talented he really is. When he wants, he can be the best player on the field.”

Reyes also came up big at the plate on two occasions. Elvis Escobar led off with a single in the fifth, with the Marauders down by two runs. After Escobar stole second, Reyes hit a double to center field, bringing in a run. He later came up with no outs and runners at first and second in the 7th, with the Marauders down 4-2. After a wild pitch let the runners advance to scoring position, Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run, in a three run inning for the Marauders.

The seventh inning was almost a four run inning, and would have prevented extra innings had a bad call gone the other way. With the bases loaded and one out, a wild pitch was thrown. Cole Tucker raced in from third and slid, but was blocked by the pitcher’s leg. Tucker’s foot didn’t touch the plate, but it appeared the rest of his leg hit the plate. The pitcher then received the ball and tagged him, getting the out call. That would have made the score 6-4, and might have avoided extras.

Tucker also had a good day at the plate, although it didn’t show up in the stat line. He went 1-for-6 with a double, but had several hard hit balls right to fielders. He came through in the 7th with a double, putting Tito Polo on third base, and setting him up to score the go-ahead run.

Yeudy Garcia got the start today, and began with two efficient innings, throwing a combined 28 pitches and not giving up a hit. Earlier in the season, Garcia was averaging over 20 pitches per inning, so the reduced workload was significant early. He started struggling after some poor fielding in the third, and his command was off in the fourth. That led to an early exit, with 96 pitches after 4.1 innings, and three runs allowed on six hits.

Both Ryan and Pitching Coach Jeff Johnson chalked up his late struggles today to adjusting to the heat and pitching in the afternoon. There have been a lot of positives with Garcia lately, including his fastball getting back up more consistently in the 93-95 MPH range, rather than the 90-92 range earlier in the season. He’s getting stronger now, and is finally in “season shape” after taking the off-season to rest from his big workload last year.

Elias Diaz made another rehab start, going seven innings for the second time. I talked to Diaz after the game, and will have an update on him tomorrow morning. – Tim Williams

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LAKEWOOD, NJ – The Power won the last game of a four-game series in Lakewood by a 4-1 score on Sunday afternoon. Bret Helton started and allowed one run on five hits and two walks over 6.2 innings. He threw 89 pitches on the day, 52 for strikes. Julio Vivas followed him with 1.1 scoreless innings and Julio Eusebio picked up his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

Helton was throwing a lot of strikes, working mostly fastballs. He hit 92 once and 91 once, but everything else was 86-90, so the velocity wasn’t impressive. He was throwing inside and did a decent job of keeping the ball down, though the 6:6 GO/AO ratio doesn’t reflect that. He mixed in a few changeups coming in at 80 MPH and he had two different breaking balls, with a loopy curve coming in at 72 MPH that he used for a strikeout once and a couple called strikes early in the count. He also threw a harder curve at 76-77 MPH that didn’t do as well.

Casey Hughston had a good day with a little help from the wind. He went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt, scoring two runs and stealing two bases. Hughston hit a high fly ball to deep right that looked like it was coming up just short of the warning track with the outfielder camped under it, but the stiff wind kept the ball going and it just barely cleared the wall for Hughston’s fifth homer. He now has ten steals on the season.

Ke’Bryan Hayes went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk. He really didn’t have a great series despite a three-hit game at the start. Two of the hits during that game were infield hits. He did hit the ball well once in Sunday’s game, with a long line drive to left field that was caught.

Carlson Munoz drove in two runs with two line drive hits. Logan Hill created a run in the eighth with a hard hit ball off the second baseman that was ruled an error. Hill then stole second and moved to third base on the errant throw. He scored on a Logan Ratledge single. – John Dreker

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Morgantown lost 5-3 to drop to 10-13 on the season, which includes a 4-13 stretch in their last 17 games. Starter Danny Beddes allowed four runs in his 3.1 innings, giving up three hits and three walks, while striking out three batters. He was followed by Scooter Hightower, who surrendered one run over 3.2 innings. He also had the trifecta of three hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Eighth round pick Dylan Prohoroff finished off the game with two shutout innings, striking out four batters.

The offense got on the board in the first inning, as third round pick Stephen Alemais had an infield single to start the inning. He stole second base, then scored on a Jordan George single. In the fourth, a double by Chris Harvey scored Ty Moore from first base. Harvey then scored on a Clark Eagan triple. After the fourth inning, a double and single by Kevin Mahala were the only hits by the Black Bears.

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Bristol was leading Sunday’s game 4-2 through the middle of the fifth inning before starter Nicholas Economos faltered and then reliever Geoff Hartlieb let the game get out of hand, as the Pirates lost 13-4 to Princeton. Economos allowed six runs (four earned) on four hits and three walks, while picking up four strikeouts. He has a 5.94 ERA in four starts this season. Hartlieb came on in the eighth and was charged with six runs while recording just two outs. The Bristol defense committed six errors, with six players contributing to that total.

Adrian Valerio had a nice day on offense, collecting three hits, including his sixth double. He has a .323 average in 16 games. Garrett Brown went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a sacrifice fly. He is now hitting .360 in 13 games. Alexis Bastardo had two hits and his second stolen base. Raul Siri stole his fifth base, but he is just hitting .145 this season after an 0-for-5 in this game.

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The GCL Pirates were off on Sunday

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The DSL Pirates were off on Sunday