Morning Rundown: MiLB Preview - Week Ending 6/23/24

Final week in the minor league first half, with one affiliate still in title contention

Photo Credit: WTM

Indianapolis Indians: 29-38

Last week: 3-3

First Half Standings (Ends 6/23): Eliminated

Opponent: Iowa (Cubs)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .801

• OPS Rank: 4th of 20

• Team ERA: 5.12

• ERA Rank: 14th of 20

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Quick Overview:

The minor leagues are coming up to the end of their first half this week, with the Triple-A and Double-A first half ending Sunday, June 23rd. Neither the Indianapolis Indians nor Iowa Cubs are in contention for the International League first-half champion, but that doesn’t make this matchup any less of a draw.

The Chicago Cubs affiliate visits Indianapolis with one of their two consensus top 100 prospects healthy. The 7th overall pick in the 2022 draft and Cubs top prospect Cade Horton has been shelved with a subscapular strain since the beginning of the month. Second on the list is the 2020 second-round pick of the San Diego Padres, acquired by the Cubs for Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini, Owen Caissie. Currently carrying a .878 OPS through 61 games, it’s been a strong campaign for Caissie.

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• Cade Horton (7-Day IL) | RHP | 1

  • MLB Top 100: #17

  • Baseball America Top 100: #25

  • ESPN Top 100: #32

  • Fangraphs Top 100: #15

• Owen Caissie | OF | 2

  • MLB Top 100: #35

  • Baseball America Top 100: #38

  • ESPN Top 100: #22

  • Fangraphs Top 100: #51

• Michael Arias | RHP | 9

• BJ Murray Jr. | 3B/1B | 11

• Luis Vazquez | SS | 13

• Brennen Davis | OF | 22

• Porter Hodge | RHP | 23

• Kohl Franklin (Full-Season IL) | RHP | 25

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Altoona Curve: 24-39

Last week: 4-2

First Half Standings (Ends 6/23): Eliminated

Opponent: Bowie (Orioles)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .690

• OPS Rank: 7th of 12

• Team ERA: 3.98

• ERA Rank: 5th of 12

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Quick Overview:

The Altoona Curve have also long been eliminated from the first-half division title, but over the last ten games, they have the best record (8-2) in the Eastern League. The Bowie Baysox are still within reach of the Southwest division first-half title, but they’d have to jump three teams to get there.

Double-A is where we’ll see the most complete — and healthy — opposition this week. 19-year-old international catcher Samuel Basallo is having a solid season, slashing .281/.331/.460 through 58 games. The team is also full of recent draft picks: 2022 Competitive Balance-A pick Dylan Beavers, 2022 Competitive Balance-B Jud Fabian, 2022 2nd Rd pick Max Wagner, 2022 5th Rd pick Trace Bright, 2021 3rd Rd John Rhodes, and 2021 19th Rd Alex Pham.

Of note is 3B/1B prospect Coby Mayo is rehabbing with Aberdeen IronBirds, the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. After playing four games last week, there’s a possibility he makes a stop in Double-A, or the Orioles may jump him straight back to Triple-A.

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• Samuel Basallo | C/1B | 2

  • MLB Top 100: #13

  • Baseball America Top 100: #18

  • ESPN Top 100: #16

  • Fangraphs Top 100: #5

• Dylan Beavers | OF | 7

• Seth Johnson | RHP | 10

• Jud Fabian | OF | 12

• Max Wagner | 3B/2B | 14

• Trace Bright | RHP | 16

• John Rhodes | OF | 22

• Alex Pham | RHP | 24

• Frederick Bencosme | SS | 27

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Greensboro Grasshoppers: 36-26

Last Week: 5-1

First Half Standings (Ends 6/20): 1st place, 0.5 Games Ahead

Opponent: Hudson Valley (Yankees)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .749

• OPS Rank: 3rd of 12

• Team ERA: 3.51

• ERA Rank: 2nd of 12

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Quick Overview:

This is where the most excitement will be due largely to the fact that the Greensboro Grasshoppers are the lone Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, which is still in first-half title contention. After losing four straight games to the Jersey Shore Blueclaws to fall a half-game behind the Claws, the Hoppers took five of six and moved a half-game back into the lead. Even with A Ball's first-half final day being Thursday the 20th (no idea why they chose a mid-week day), it will come down to the wire.

Hudson Valley Renegades isn’t full of New York Yankees’ top 30 prospects, but that hasn’t stopped them from being one of the better South Atlantic League clubs. The top ranked player comes in at 11th, Yankees 2023 3rd round pick Kyle Carr. Hasn’t been a strong showing for him, with a 6.07 ERA across 46.0 IP.

I would imagine this is a good point in the season to keep an eye out for promotions. I’ve held the belief that the Pirates wanted to let the Greensboro first-half play out in order to give them a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a first-half title. So, it’ll be interesting to see if any players of note (Charles McAdoo or Hunter Barco, for example) get promoted after the 20th and before the following Tuesday.

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• Kyle Carr | LHP | 11

• Roc Riggio | 2B | 18

• Jared Serna | 2B/SS | 19

• Anthony Hall (7-Day IL) | OF | 26

• Jace Avina | OF | 28

• Justin Lange (60-Day IL) | RHP | 30

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Bradenton Marauders: 28-35

Last Week: 3-3

First Half Standings (Ends 6/20): Eliminated

Opponent: Lakeland (Tigers)

Opponent Stats:

• Team OPS: .710

• OPS Rank: 2nd of 10

• Team ERA: 3.92

• ERA Rank: 5th of 10

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Quick Overview:

Almost in the complete opposite fashion of the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Lakeland Flying Tigers have only three ranked top 30 prospects, two of which are healthy, but both of those two are top 100 ranked prospects.

The Bradenton Marauders will see the Detroit Tigers’ first two picks of the 2023 MLB draft. Max Clark (3rd overall pick) and Kevin McGonigle (37th overall) were both selected out of the prep ranks and are having strong campaigns for the West division-leading Flying Tigers. Max Clark was a consensus top 100 pick to start the year and boasts a .297/.350/.459 over his last 10 games. McGonigle began the year on the injured list but hit the ground running when he debuted to begin populating top lists. He has slowed down a bit as of late, with a .238/.289/.333 batting line over his last 10 games.

To the Marauders’ credit, they’re only seven games under .500 after an abysmal start to the year.

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• Max Clark | OF | 2

  • MLB Top 100: #12

  • Baseball America Top 100: #29

  • ESPN Top 100: #21

  • Fangraphs Top 100: #29

• Kevin McGonigle | SS/2B | 4

  • MLB Top 100: #98

  • Baseball America Top 100: #67

  • ESPN Top 100: #50

• Josue Briceno (7-Day IL) | C/1B | 17

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Eddy Rodriguez adding 'toughness' to Bradenton lineup