Morning Rundown: MiLB Preview - Week Ending 9/17
And then there were two, for one more week
Indianapolis Indians: 30-32 (9.5 GB)
Opponent: Omaha (Royals)
Team OPS: .798
OPS Rank: 10th of 20
Team ERA: 5.45
ERA Rank: 16th of 20
Quick Overview:
The Indianapolis Indians technically aren’t eliminated yet with two weeks left. They’ll take on the Kansas City Royals Triple-A affiliate, and it’s a farm system that has been diminished after they spent 2022 promoting every highly touted prospect they had to the majors. The top prospect on the Omaha Storm Chasers is 2020 third rounder Tyler Gentry. If you’re interested in some old friends, reliever Taylor Hearn is with the Storm Chasers after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves for Nicky Lopez.
Tyler Gentry | OF | 8
Anthony Veneziano | LHP | 16
Will Klein (7-Day IL) | RHP | 25
Devin Mann | INF | 27
Altoona Curve: 29-32 (7.0 GB)
Opponent: Akron (Guardians)
Team OPS: .703
OPS Rank: 8th of 12
Team ERA: 3.93
ERA Rank: 2nd of 12
Quick Overview:
Every time the Altoona Curve face the Akron Rubber Ducks, it makes me sad to list Daniel Espino knowing they won’t get to face the injury-riddled right hander. That being said, Juan Brito finds himself recently added to Baseball America’s Top 100. The infielder was acquired in the off-season in a one-for-one swap of Nolan Jones with the Colorado Rockies. Brito has had an excellent season, with an .830 OPS that would rank top five in the Eastern League if he qualified.
Daniel Espino (60-Day IL) | RHP | 3
MLB Pipeline Top 100: #80
Baseball America Top 100: #71
Juan Brito | INF | 6
Baseball America Top 100: #98
Tanner Burns | RHP | 19
Petey Halpin | OF | 20
Doug Nikhazy | LHP | 26
Will Dion | LHP | 27
Milan Tolentino | INF | 29
I remember watching a specific scouting video of Hearn maybe 2080 Baseball (is that still around?) and it was the most bowel-loosening stuff I'd ever seen. Yet he's just a dude, barely able to hold down a big league job. Baseball is impossibly hard.
I like Triolo and think he has a good chance to break camp with the Pirates next season. Watching him play, I see a little DJ LeMahieu, a little Neil Walker. But he needs to hit more. .393 BABIP with an 81 wRC+ isn't exactly a recipe for success. Maybe if he cuts the k's down to the mid 20's, he could make it work. Walk rate is good, but the rest is empty and lucky. At the end of the day, with his defensive versatility, he might just be the next Sean Rodriguez.