Morning Rundown: MiLB Preview - Week Ending 6/9/24

Commonwealth battle between both A-ball levels this week

Photo Credit: WTM

Indianapolis Indians: 24-31

Last week: 1-6

Opponent: Columbus (Guardians)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .775

• OPS Rank: 11th of 20

• Team ERA: 5.51

• ERA Rank: 19th of 20

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Quick Overview:

Last week started great, with the Indianapolis Indians throttling the Omaha Storm Chasers on Memorial Day, but it quickly dissipated down through the system. The Indians lost the next six games against the Kansas City Royals affiliate.

This week, they’ll take on the Cleveland Guardians Triple-A affiliate, who have also had a rough go this year, currently holding down the worst record in the International League. The biggest listed top 30 prospect for the Columbus Clippers would be Daniel Espino, but he is once again shelved for the rest of the season. There are some other once top 100 regarded prospects, such as George Valera, but the bigger draw might be rehabbing starter Gavin Williams, who made his first appearance of 2024 last Wednesday.

The Indians will also be losing one of their top bats, Henry Davis, who has been recalled back to the big leagues. Otherwise, it will mostly be a battle between cups of MLB coffee minor vets battling it out this week, including former Pittsburgh Pirates 20th-round pick Adam Oller.

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• Daniel Espino (Full-Season IL) | RHP | 5

• Juan Brito | INF | 6

• George Valera | OF | 7

• Angel Martinez | INF | 9

• Johnathan Rodriguez | OF | 16

• Jose Tena | SS | 22

• Andrew Walter | RHP | 24

• Will Dion | LHP | 25

• Jhonkensy Noel | OF/1B/3B | 26

• Franco Aleman (7-Day IL) | RHP | 27

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Altoona Curve: 16-35

Last week: 2-4

Opponent: Richmond (Giants)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .630

• OPS Rank: 12th of 12

• Team ERA: 3.90

• ERA Rank: 4th of 12

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Quick Overview:

After running into some of the best offenses that the Eastern League has to offer, the Altoona Curve pitching staff will get a bit of a reprieve going up against the league-worst offense with the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

The top San Francisco Giants prospect rostered is right-handed pitcher Hayden Birdsong. He was a 6th-round pick in 2022 and boasts a 2.28 ERA across 43.1 IP for the 4th-ranked pitching staff in team ERA.

The Curvs rank 10th in team OPS, but one of the worst team ERAs (11th out of 12). It could be a good week for some of the Curve starters to get back on track, but it might lead to quite a few low-scoring affairs. Having said that, it’ll likely be a week of high-octane offense now.

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• Hayden Birdsong | RHP | 6

• Grant McCray | OF | 13

• Vaun Brown | OF | 15

• Victor Bericoto | OF/1B | 19

• Adrian Sugastey | C | 23

• Jairo Pomares | OF | 26

• Carson Ragsdale | RHP | 30

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Greensboro Grasshoppers: 29-21

Last Week: 3-2

Opponent: Jersey Shore (Phillies)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .712

• OPS Rank: 4th of 12

• Team ERA: 3.88

• ERA Rank: 6th of 12

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Quick Overview:

Beginning with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Pirates’ two A ball affiliates will each face off against their Philadelphia Phillies organization counterpart. The Jersey Shore Blueclaws have the second highest ranked prospect between the two matchups in Justin Crawford. He was a 2022 first-round pick (17th overall) who tormented the Bradenton Marauders for most of 2023. The son of former MLB outfielder Carl Crawford hit for as much power this year so far but has a .282 batting average in 41 games while stepping that up to .318 in his last ten games.

The Blueclaws sit 1.5 games behind the Grasshoppers for the first place in the South Atlantic League North division. The first half is nearing conclusion, so it would behoove the Hoppers to take care of business this week.

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• Justin Crawford | OF | 4

  • MLB Top 100: #62

  • Baseball America Top 100: #48

• Bryan Rincon (7-Day IL) | SS | 7

• William Bergolla | SS/2B | 11

• Wei Hun Pan (60-Day IL) | RHP | 13

• Emaarion Boyd | OF | 16

• Hendry Mendez | OF | 22

• Samuel Aldegheri | LHP | 22

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Bradenton Marauders: 21-30

Last Week: 1-5

Opponent: Clearwater (Phillies)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .755

• OPS Rank: 1st of 10

• Team ERA: 3.96

• ERA Rank: 6th of 10

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Quick Overview:

In the second of two matchups against Phillies’ affiliates, the Bradenton Marauders see the Clearwater Threshers, who would be running away with the Florida State League West division if not for the Lakeland Flying Tigers. The 2023 first-round pick (27th overall) is having a standout season with a nearly 1.000 OPS in his first full season. 2023 6th rounder (193rd overall) pick George Klassen is, for some reason, still in Low-A with a 0.26 ERA through 34.0 IP. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was bumped up and ended up facing Greensboro.

The Marauders currently hold a 2-13 record against teams with an above-.500 record and the Threshers' offense is taking no prisoners, with a league-best OPS that is well above the second-place team, Lakeland (.724 OPS).

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• Aidan Miller | SS/3B | 2

  • MLB Top 100: #47

  • Baseball America Top 100: #72

  • ESPN Top 100: #29

• Devin Saltiban | SS/2B | 6

• Alex McFarlane | RHP | 14

• Raylin Heredia | OF | 19

• Kehden Hettiger | C | 21

• George Klassen | RHP | 28

• Nikau Pouaka-Grego | 2B/3B | 29

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Braxton Ashcraft outlook, draft eligible players standing out in NCAA Tournament

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