Esmerlyn Valdez and Jhonny Severino each hit two homers on Wednesday, leading the Bradenton Marauders to victory.
Valdez has been a leading power hitter for the Marauders all season. He has 21 homers on the year, after a two-run shot in the first inning, and a solo shot in the seventh. He is batting .222/.343/.455 with 17 doubles to go with his 21 homers.
Severino has only been with the Marauders for a little over a month. He began his season in the FCL, where he hit .291/.373/.545 with 10 homers and 12 doubles. Severino hit his fourth and fifth homers in Single-A on Wednesday, with a solo homer in the second, followed by a two-run homer in the third. He also has six doubles and three triples at the new level.
Severino is the number 13 prospect in the system, while Valdez ranks 29th overall.
Read on for Wednesday’s minor league action, including a doubles contest in Indianapolis, a report on Bubba Chandler’s start, a great game all around in Greensboro, and the rest of the Marauders victory.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 9-6
- RHP Bubba Chandler: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 8 K
- DH Joshua Palacios: 4-for-5, 4 2B, SB, 4 R
- 2B Nick Yorke: 3-for-6, 3 2B
- RF Matt Gorski: 3-for-5, HR, RBI, SB
- CF Ji Hwan Bae: 2-for-4, 2 BB
Joshua Palacios hit four doubles, and Nick Yorke hit three more, helping to lead Indianapolis to a high scoring win. Matt Gorski hit his 21st homer of the season, while stealing his 13th base of the year. Bubba Chandler got the start, and had control issues, walking five batters, which led to three earned runs. Chandler has a 1.93 ERA through five starts at the Triple-A level, with this being his worst outing.
STATCAST HEROES
Hardest Hit: Malcom Nunez (112.2 MPH, 5th Inning Single)
Gorski Homer: 105.9 MPH, 379 feet
All those Doubles, Ranked by Exit Velo: Nick Yorke 104.7 MPH, Joshua Palacios 103.4 MPH, Joshua Palacios 102.5 MPH, Nick Yorke 100.9 MPH, Nick Yorke 99.8 MPH, Joshua Palacios 86.6 MPH, Joshua Palacios 73.3 MPH
Chandler Fastball: 96.1 MPH average, 92.9-98.6, 54 pitches, 23 swings, 6 Whiffs (26%), 24% CSW
Chandler Changeup: 88.9 MPH, 86.6-90.4, 19 pitches, 6 swings, 2 Whiffs (33%), 21% CSW
Chandler Slider: 86.4 MPH, 83.5-88.6, 16 pitches, 4 swings, 0 Whiffs, 31% CSW
Chandler Curveball: One Pitch. One called strike. 80.4 MPH. One-hundred percent CSW.
Chandler Recap: Hitters weren’t chasing the fastball and changeups out of the zone from Chandler, leading to a high walk rate. He used his slider for five called strikes, making up for a below-average called strike total on the changeup. He got 8 Whiffs on 29 Swings combined (27.6%) against the fastball and changeup. His stuff was effective enough for eight strikeouts on the day. That limited the five walks that came from the combination of being out of the zone with his fastball (46% Zone) and his Changeup (21% Zone) combined with below-average chase rates (21% Fastball, 27% Changeup). Chandler has been working on his changeup all year, which has looked great at times early in his Triple-A outings. It wasn’t thrown in the zone enough on Wednesday to be effective.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 6-5
- 1B Nick Cimillo: 3-for-3, 2 2B, BB
- LF Sammy Siani: 1-for-2, BB
- RF Jase Bowen: 1-for-3, SB, 2 RBI
- CF Matt Fraizer: 1-for-5, SB
- RHP Grant Ford: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Nick Cimillo is starting to hit for more consistent power at the Double-A level. After hitting two doubles on Wednesday night, he has five doubles in his last eight games. Jase Bowen stole his 19th base of the season. Grant Ford shut down the offense with two scoreless innings and five strikeouts, after the fifth run of the game scored in the fifth inning.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 2-1
- C Omar Alfonzo: 2-for-3, HR, 2B, BB
- RHP Carlson Reed: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
- RHP Carlos Jimenez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- 3B Jack Brannigan: 1-for-3
- DH Shawn Ross: 1-for-4, HR, RBI
Omar Alfonzo hit his fourth homer of the year in the fourth inning, giving Greensboro their first run of the game. Alfonzo also hit his second double. Shawn Ross hit his 23rd homer of the year in the eighth inning, putting the Grasshoppers in the lead. The pitching in this game was dominant. Carlson Reed took a perfect game into the seventh, before allowing a solo homer with one out. Carlos Jimenez came on to shut things down through the eighth inning, picking up the win after the Ross homer. Jack Brannigan returned from the injured list and played five innings.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won 8-6, led by the homers from Esmerlyn Valdez and Jhonny Severino.
- LHP Connor Wietgrefe: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- RHP Peyton Stumbo: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
- LF Andrew Patrick: 1-for-4, 2 SB
- SS Keiner Delgado: 1-for-5, SB
- 2B Carlos Caro: 1-for-2, BB
Seventh round pick Connor Wietgrefe made his fifth appearance of the season. He’s got an 0.90 ERA in 10 innings, with a 13:2 K/BB. Andrew Patrick, drafted in the 17th round, stole two bases, giving him four on the season. Keiner Delgado stole his 23rd base of the year. Peyton Stumbo pitched the final four shutout innings, and set a career-high with seven strikeouts.
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 6:35 PM – RHP Thomas Harrington (3-1, 3.81)
- Double-A: Altoona, 7:10 PM – RHP Po-Yu Chen (4-10, 4.08)
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:30 PM – RHP Wilber Dotel (9-5, 5.49)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:35 PM – RHP Antwone Kelly (1-6, 4.36)
