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The starting pitchers were noteworthy on Sunday. Adam Kloffenstein pitched well for Buffalo but wasn't around for the walk off win. Juaron Watts-Brown also did well for New Hampshire but was only good for four innings. Khal Stephen struck out eight over 5.1 innings and just gave up one run, a run that got him the L. Johnny King had command issues in a game that was suspended.

Lehigh Valley 3 Buffalo 4 - 11 innings

New Hampshire 5 Hartford 7

Tri-City 1 Vancouver 0

Bradenton 3 Dunedin 3 - game suspended


Three Stars

Third Star - Josh Rivera

Second Star - Khal Stephen

First Star - Will Robertson


Boxes


NOTES


Will Robertson singled in the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh. Earlier Josh Rivera hit a three run home run.


Adam Kloffenstein went six innings, six K's, two runs on four hits.


Juaron Watts-Brown threw four shutout innings with five K's. He only went four innings because he needed 77 pitches, 47 strikes and 30 balls. The bullpen blew the game for the Cats.


Ryan McCarty had two more hits. Dasan Brown also had two hits but not enough to get his average over .200.


Khal Stephen was the hard luck loser for Vancouver. He pitched into the sixth inning but left with a bunt single and a walk aboard. The bunt single player came around to score off the bullpen and that was enough for the loss. Stephen struck out eight in his 5.1 innings.


The C's had just five hits, two of them were in the ninth inning and with a hit by pitch the C's had the bases loaded with one out. But Aaron Parker hit into a double play to end the game.


Johnny King made his first start in A ball and was a little wild, 32 strikes and 32 balls. He walked four. When he wasn't walking hitters he was excellent, six K's and just one hit allowed. Silvano Hechavarria went 4.2 innings and Bradenton took him deep three times, all solo shots.


Alexis Hernandez homered and singled. Edward Duran doubled and singled.

Starting Pitchers Make Headlines | 20 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
GabrielSyme - Sunday, June 29 2025 @ 10:28 PM EDT (#462572) #
Nice outing for Stephen, but lots of balls in the air, which has been a trend both for him and for Yesavage. Stephen was neutral in Dunedin, but a pronounced fly-ball pitcher in Vancouver; Yesavage was a ground-ball pitcher in Dunedin and Vancouver, but has been a fly-ball pitcher in his brief time in New Hampshire. Given the characteristics of their fastballs, perhaps a tendency to flyballs is inevitable. Some pitchers can be great while producing lots of flyballs - Scherzer is an example.

Interestingly, the most pronounced fly-ball starting pitcher (min 800 innings) of the past twenty years was not Marco Estrada, but Chris Young, of whom I recall almost nothing.
uglyone - Monday, June 30 2025 @ 10:38 AM EDT (#462574) #
Asterisk = promoted
Double Asterisk = demoted


AAA

Excellers

OF Roden (25): 83pa, 10.8b%, 8.4k%, .371bip, .361avg, .222iso, 177wrc+
OF Robertson (27): 216pa, 15.3b%, 24.5k%, .330bip, .287avg, .281iso, 153wrc+
IF Stefanic (29): 204pa, 13.2b%, 11.3k%, .347bip, .314avg, .107iso, 138wrc+
OF Schreck (24): 32pa, 9.4b%, 12.5k%, .200bip, .231avg, .269iso, 137wrc+
C Clarke (27): 83pa, 14.5b%, 12.0k%, .328bip, .309avg, .132iso, 131wrc+
CF Clase* (23): 106pa, 13.2b%, 23.6k%, .438bip, .315avg, .056iso, 126wrc+
1B Tirotta (26): 238pa, 12.6b%, 29.4k%, .380bip, .277avg, .180iso, 123wrc+
IF Jimenez (24): 60pa, 15.0b%, 18.3k%, .351bip, .271avg, .063iso, 120wrc+

Nice to see Jimenez start to heat up after a slow start. Not far away from his usual level now. He could be a quick callup if they see him as more defensively useful than Schneider (this would mean more Barger in the OF).

I wouldn't be surprised to see Roden promoted in the not too distant future again, especially if Lukes/Straw continue to scuffle, and this time in more of a fulltime role.


Average

OF Pinango (23): 100pa, 16.0b%, 14.0k%, .227bip, .226avg, .214iso, 114wrc+
IF Wagner* (26): 79pa, 10.1b%, 15.2k%, .286bip, .268avg, .183iso, 113wrc+
1B Nunez (24): 201pa, 8.5b%, 22.9k%, .352bip, .285avg, .140iso, 113wrc+
OF Loperfido (26): 297pa, 7.7b%, 21.9k%, .342bip, .273avg, .142iso, 109wrc+
UT Schneider* (26): 160pa, 15.0b%, 28.7k%, .310bip, .226avg, .165iso, 104wrc+
IF Rivera (24): 185pa, 14.1b%, 29.7k%, .370bip, .255avg, .121iso, 104wrc+
UT McCarty** (26): 28pa, 7.1b%, 28.6k%, .313bip, .240avg, .200iso, 103wrc+
C Sanchez (28): 159pa, 8.8b%, 24.5k%, .313bip, .259avg, .147iso, 98wrc+
UT Barger* (25): 45pa, 11.1b%, 28.9k%, .250bip, .211avg, .211iso, 95wrc+

Pinango still going strong at 100pa into his AAA career, even without any babip help. Kid might be good.

Still waiting on Nunez' power to turn him into a real prospect.

Wagner's overall numbers are only ok but he was up around 130wrc+ since his return so no surprise at his promotion.


Strugglers

IF Martinez (23): 268pa, 9.7b%, 29.1k%, .238bip, .191avg, .169iso, 71wrc+
1B Palmegiani (25): 138pa, 13.0b%, 26.8k%, .222bip, .156avg, .073iso, 68wrc+
C Bethancourt (33): 116pa, 6.9b%, 22.4k%, .149bip, .147avg, .147iso, 32wrc+
IF Kasevich (24): 0pa

Starting to look pretty dire for Orelvis unfortunately.



AA

Age-Appropriate

IF Paulino (22): 209pa, 7.7b%, 24.9k%, .295bip, .237avg, .168iso, 109wrc+
OF Martinez (22): 103pa, 10.7b%, 17.5k%, .247bip, .200avg, .056iso, 64wrc+
IF Harry (22): 141pa, 10.6b%, 23.4k%, .191bip, .153avg, .073iso, 48wrc+

Paulino's cooled down since his hot streak but still having a solid season.

Martinez and Harry have completely fallen off the pace though.


Slightly Old for Level

OF Pinango* (23): 192pa, 14.1b%, 21.9k%, .357bip, .298avg, .224iso, 170wrc+
C Gilliland** (23): 7pa, 14.3b%, 57.1k%, 1.000bip, .200avg, .200iso, 156wrc+
OF Bohrofen (23): 275pa, 10.5b%, 33.5k%, .301bip, .213avg, .184iso, 105wrc+
IF McAdoo (23): 236pa, 7.6b%, 29.7k%, .317bip, .231avg, .134iso, 93wrc+
OF Brown (23): 147pa, 10.2b%, 29.3k%, .280bip, .197avg, .063iso, 68wrc+
IF Dejesus (23): 92pa, 6.5b%, 38.0k%, .333bip, .200avg, .094iso, 59wrc+
C Stone (23): 47pa, 6.4b%, 14.9k%, .171bip, .163avg, .093iso, 48wrc+
C Sharp (23): 116pa, 5.2b%, 26.7k%, .229bip, .158avg, .020iso, 41wrc+

McAdoo has been coming on strong since his midseason break and might not be a write off.

Bohrofen holding onto some relevance. Brown not looking good. Sharp having a disaster year.


Old for Level

UT Hornung (24): 25pa, 4.0b%, 36.0k%, .714bip, .478avg, .174iso, 225wrc+
OF Schreck* (24): 169pa, 15.4b%, 23.7k%, .311bip, .266avg, .252iso, 167wrc+
1B Williams (24): 262pa, 8.8b%, 30.5k%, .291bip, .216avg, .131iso, 86wrc+
UT Doughty (24): 151pa, 5.3b%, 21.2k%, .306bip, .245avg, .086iso, 81wrc+
IF Rivera* (24): 46pa, 6.5b%, 52.2k%, .333bip, .163avg, .093iso, 40wrc+

Hornung with a scorching start but mostly babip. Doughty's hot streak did turn out to just be a babip fluke after all.


A+

Very Young for Level

IF Nimmala (19): 314pa, 10.8b%, 20.1k%, .276bip, .244avg, .193iso, 107wrc+

wow he's fallen off. Still an impressive line for his age but he's gotta turn it around if he's actually an elite prospect.


Age Appropriate

OF Arias (21): 264pa, 11.0b%, 21.2k%, .372bip, .293avg, .138iso, 124wrc+
IF Coffey (21): 272pa, 11.0b%, 26.8k%, .373bip, .274avg, .127iso, 110wrc+

Arias still not jumping up to the level i expected from him, but still a very good line. Coffey not far behind.


Slightly Old for Level

IF Pinto (22): 85pa, 9.4b%, 16.5k%, .264bip, .284avg, .324iso, 160wrc+
IF Harry* (22): 52pa, 9.6b%, 19.2k%, .314bip, .277avg, .213iso, 124wrc+
3B Keys (22): 288pa, 16.0b%, 21.9k%, .253bip, .216avg, .182iso, 111wrc+
C Parker (22): 238pa, 8.4b%, 19.7k%, .280bip, .248avg, .178iso, 99wrc+
OF Martinez* (22): 65pa, 10.8b%, 24.6k%, .333bip, .236avg, .073iso, 92wrc+
C Deschamps (22): 40pa, 7.5b%, 52.5k%, .417bip, .152avg, .091iso, 53wrc+

Keys and Parker still having passable seasons but not much more than that.


Old for Level

OF Micheletti (23): 253pa, 16.2b%, 17.4k%, .212bip, .212avg, .222iso, 116wrc+
IF Goodwin (23): 203pa, 13.8b%, 21.2k%, .246bip, .229avg, .199iso, 116wrc+
UT Orf (23): 78pa, 21.8b%, 25.6k%, .282bip, .186avg, .068iso, 96wrc+
C Gilliland (23): 39pa, 15.4b%, 46.2k%, .400bip, .194avg, .032iso, 55wrc+
C Stone* (23): 63pa, 6.3b%, 17.5k%, .222bip, .185avg, .074iso, 48wrc+
IF Arnold (23): 10pa, 10.0b%, 50.0k%, .000bip, .000avg, .000iso, -67wrc+

Micheletti's line the only intriguing one here for me, due to the low babip and his lack of pro experience.


A

Age Appropriate

UT Shaw (20): 241pa, 18.3b%, 18.7k%, .310bip, .263avg, .180iso, 145wrc+
UT Chirinos (20): 236pa, 10.2b%, 26.3k%, .326bip, .246avg, .113iso, 102wrc+
OF Joseph (20): 187pa, 2.7b%, 21.9k%, .268bip, .227avg, .163iso, 91wrc+

Shaw just keeps on keeping on being very good. Chirinos and Joseph holding their own.


Slightly Old for Level

OF Munoz (21): 71pa, 9.9b%, 29.6k%, .417bip, .323avg, .323iso, 189wrc+
C Duran (21): 262pa, 9.9b%, 21.0k%, .353bip, .286avg, .161iso, 135wrc+
IF Toman (21): 244pa, 7.8b%, 27.0k%, .360bip, .263avg, .106iso, 104wrc+
IF Beltre (21): 266pa, 11.7b%, 14.3k%, .285bip, .246avg, .082iso, 97wrc+
OF Aponte (21): 233pa, 6.9b%, 32.2k%, .293bip, .212avg, .151iso, 81wrc+

Duran having an all around excellent year. Could be promoted at any time.

Toman and Beltre not awful but really need to add a bit of power to their game to be interesting.


Old for Level

IF Freethy (22): 103pa, 21.4b%, 22.3k%, .309bip, .231avg, .154iso, 135wrc+
OF Hernandez (22): 141pa, 14.2b%, 22.0k%, .321bip, .254avg, .144iso, 126wrc+
C Tibbitts (22): 82pa, 12.2b%, 29.3k%, .326bip, .246avg, .200iso, 123wrc+
IF Rodriguez (22): 85pa, 15.3b%, 20.0k%, .283bip, .225avg, .127iso, 109wrc+

all these lines have a bit of hope in them. Would rather see them at a higher level to see if there's anything there, but maybe they're just org guys there to help Vancouver.
mendocino - Monday, June 30 2025 @ 11:36 AM EDT (#462580) #
BA Mock Draft 5.0

1. Nationals — Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
2. Angels — Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
3. Mariners — Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
4. Rockies — Ethan Holliday, SS, Stillwater (Okla.) HS
5. Cardinals — Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) HS
6. Pirates — Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS
7. Marlins — Billy Carlson, SS, Corona (Calif.) HS

8. Blue Jays — JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis (Miss.) HS
Like with the Marlins, I am hearing a lot of prep shortstop noise with the Blue Jays. In this scenario, JoJo Parker is the best available. It sounds like Parker’s range could easily be in the 7-12 bucket, and more and more people have told me lately they don’t expect him to get out of the first 10 picks. If Parker isn’t the pick or if he’s off the board, Kyson Witherspoon is a name that makes a lot of sense. If Liam Doyle gets this far, he could be a fit, as well.

9. Reds — Ike Irish, C/OF, Auburn
10. White Sox — Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
hypobole - Monday, June 30 2025 @ 12:31 PM EDT (#462586) #
I know teams usually go slower with catchers, but does anyone have any idea why Duran is still in A ball?
Gerry - Monday, June 30 2025 @ 01:22 PM EDT (#462590) #
Trey Yesavage is going to the futures game.
uglyone - Monday, June 30 2025 @ 02:22 PM EDT (#462595) #
hypo i've mentioned it before but I think it's mostly because they have a logjam of Cs they like that kind of all deserve to be in A+ but none deserve to be in AA or A. And they're probably fine with Duran spending a full year at his current level.

But they can't let the likes of Parker and Sharp hold up Duran indefinitely.

John Northey - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 11:22 AM EDT (#462674) #
Just thinking about pitchers in the Jays minor league system.
  • 10+ Starts: 14 guys, 5 have played at multiple levels, from 55 IP to 76 2/3 (Grant Rogers A+/AA)
  • K/9: ignoring silly stats (sub 10 IP) Nate Garkow (27 in A+/AA) at 16.3 is tops (27 IP in 17 G). Johnny King at 18 (Rk/A) has 15.7 in 27 IP (8 G 6 Starts).
  • BB/9: same conditions, Sann Omosako (19 rookie) 30 IP 1.2 BB/9 but 40 H led to a 5.10 ERA. Ouch. Tommy Nance in AAA is the best for AA/AAA at 2.1 BB/9 over 30 IP (25 G) with 12.0 K/9 - might be worth a look again (was up last year 102 ERA+ over 22 relief innings).
  • 5 saves leads the Jays minors. Yuck. Probably not working on training guys to be closers, but rather on getting regular pitching time if they have talent.
  • Rafael Sánchez has that oddity of 2 complete games this year. One a 6 inning game, the other a 7 inning no-hitter. A shame his overall ERA is 5.68 (allowed 5+ runs 3 times, just 6 times threw 5+ innings), used out of the pen 3 of his last 4 games (all after his no-hitter, weird way to reward a guy for having one of those), but at 25 in AA odds are this is as far as he goes. The majors is unlikely for him.
  • Trey Yesavage 104 K's to lead the Jays minors, 15.0 K/9. Wow. His 3.9 BB/9 needs to go down a bit, but his H/9 is at 4.2, HR/9 0.7 (often high K guys seem to have high HR totals against).
  • Kai Peterson leads with 8 HBP (A+, 22) in 28 IP. Yikes. Batters better not dig in when he is on the mound. Jimmy Burnette is even more wild - 19 2/3 IP, 6 HBP, 23 BB, 28 SO. Fielders get to nap when he is pitching (AA/AAA age 26).
Fun looking at extremes in the minors.
mendocino - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 05:16 PM EDT (#462704) #
Toronto Blue Jays recalled SS Leo Jiménez
LF Jonatan Clase to Buffalo
Buffalo released RHP Connor Overton
LHP Kendry Rojas assigned to New Hampshire
RF Je'Von Ward assigned to New Hampshire
2B Jay Harry assigned to Vancouver
LHP Amir Garrett to Dunedin
OF Braden Barry to FCL Blue Jays.
uglyone - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 06:05 PM EDT (#462722) #
Rojas right to NH is good to see. AA is where he needs to be.

and too bad but Harry had to go down.
Gerry - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 07:32 PM EDT (#462743) #
SP's making the wrong headlines tonight. Trey Yesavage got wild in the third inning, walked a couple, threw a wild pitch, then gave up a home run on the tenth pitch of the at-bat. Night over.

Landen Maroudis walked too many and hit a batter and he was gone in the second inning.
greenfrog - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 08:04 PM EDT (#462746) #
This may be irrational, but I'm liking Khal Stephen more than Yesavage at the moment.

Here are Stephen's stats in June (in high-A):

3-1, 0.95, 28.1 IP, 18 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 33 K

That is elite performance. He is 22 years old (will be 23 in December).

BA: "Stephen’s heater sits 93-95 mph and touches 97-98 at peak with between 19-21 inches of induced vertical break on average. His ability to ride the fastball at an elite rate has allowed him to continually generate whiffs despite only average velocity. In addition to the fastball, he also features a cutter, slider and changeup."
uglyone - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 08:20 PM EDT (#462747) #
would anyone have any idea of it's any particular pitch that's giving Yesavage command problems or if it's just in general?
Marc Hulet - Tuesday, July 01 2025 @ 10:28 PM EDT (#462760) #
Stephen has been nowhere near the upper 90s and I've seen a number of his starts and have also seen a lot of Statcast. He's typically 93-94 with a bunch of average offerings. His ceiling really is more of a No. 4 with no real strikeout pitch right now. Rojas is closer to being the superior pitching prospect.

Yesavage struggles with his fastball command, which makes it less likely that hitters will chase his splitter, which isn't really ever in the strike zone. And he isn't using a third pitch much. It's why I said earlier in the year that he was going to be really challenged at AA.

Maroudis and Barriera have looked really bad (McElvain has been underwhelming, as well). Toronto's going to need to rethink their rehab program. Manoah, Bastardo, Perry, and Tiedemann coming up...
scottt - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 10:40 AM EDT (#462772) #
28.1 IP, 18 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB and 33 K.

That's a lot of Ks given that he's got no real strikeout pitch and doesn't issue a lot of walks.
Marc Hulet - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 01:46 PM EDT (#462783) #
In A ball, you don't need a swing-and-miss offering to strike guys out. Above-average command of multiple pitches will get you the Ks. There is a huge history of soft-tossers with incredible K numbers in the low minors that hit the wall in AA and AAA.

Most pitching prospects start their careers in High-A. Stephen started in Low-A where many hitters are below NCAA talent level.
scottt - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 03:22 PM EDT (#462791) #
Yeasavage started in A-ball as well and both have a better line in Vancouver than in Dunedin.
Marc Hulet - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 03:37 PM EDT (#462794) #
We're dealing with small sample sizesso numbers don't tell us that much but both actually dropped in results at high-A.

Yesavage walk rate went from 6.34% to 15.9%... his homer rate also went up... but he was helped buy a .130 BABIP which is about .150 below average.

Stephen saw his walk rate increase, K rate drop... and his 1.74 ERA is offset by a 4.36 xFIP. A 26% K rate by a 22-year-old in A+ is fine but by no means electric.

I've also seen both of them multiple times and the eye test supports Yesavage > Stephen...
uglyone - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 03:49 PM EDT (#462796) #
Yesavage still putting up an excellent K rate in AA, tho nowhere near to the insane rate at his previous 2 stops.

But for the second level in a row, his BB rate is kinda out of control. Just not good enough.

Adding to his issues is that in AA so far he's not inducing any grounders - what was a ~50% groundball rate the last 2 stops has turned into a lowly 22% rate in AA.
scottt - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 03:49 PM EDT (#462797) #
Right, but I think staring in A-ball has more to do with the facility and the weather being better there than anything else.
Gerry - Wednesday, July 02 2025 @ 09:09 PM EDT (#462837) #
Yesavage is halfway through his first season. ost pitchers don't come out of college ready formed, they need time to refine their pitches and when to throw what. A couple of less good starts in AA doesn't kill his prospect status.
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