Road to Blake Street Newsletter #4 - Week of 4/26 to 5/1
Road to Blake Street Newsletter #4 - Week of 4/26 to 5/1
Of course, the one week Aaron misses all season is the week 4, yes four players in the Rockies system were named “Player of the Week” in their respective divisions.
The future is BRIGHT!!!! Congrats to these guys:
Adael Amador in Fresno, Eddy Diaz in Spokane, Ezequiel Tovar in Hartford and last but not least, our man, WYNTON BERNARD in Albuquerque.
Be sure to follow the whole Banter Team on Twitter for more Rox affiliate content!
Tyler - @roxdontrake
James - @JustKeatingBSB
Aaron - @radioofam
Albuquerque Isotopes - Series Record: 3-3 | Season Record: 10-14
Per usual, as the weather got hot in Albuquerque, the bats followed suit. Against the Sacramento River Cats, there were a combined 108 runs scored (18 per game). Good luck to pitcher ERAs -- unless your name is Jake Bird.
Name an Isotopes hitter and I can almost guarantee they raked this week. Ryan Vilade? Check. Brian Serven? HUGE check. Sean Bouchard? Check. And the list goes on and on. The series was capped off on Sunday with an especially huge offensive showing with Ryan Vilade accumulating 5 hits, Taylor Snyder 4, Coco Montes 3, and Brian Serven getting on base 5 times, courtesy of 2 HBP. Still, this wasn’t the biggest headline from the week. First, Ryan Feltner made his MLB season debut against the Phillies, pitching a dominant 4 innings after a rough first. Still, even bigger, Elehuris Montero made his MLB debut and notched two solid singles against the Reds. Feltner and Montero took a flight from Denver to Oklahoma City to reunite with the Isotopes as the team prepares for their second series against the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate this season.
Friends of the Pod:
Wynton Bernard - .391 BA, 1.330 OPS, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
Taylor Snyder - .400 BA, 1.204 OPS, 1 HR, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K
Frank Duncan - 33.75 ERA, 1.1 IP, 1 HR, 2 BB, 1 K
Coco Montes - .500 BA, 1.319 OPS, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K
Top Prospects:
#4 Elehuris Montero - .412 BA, 1.000 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI (MADE HIS BIG LEAGUE DEBUT!)
#9 Ryan Vilade - .400 BA, .871 OPS, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
#23 Colton Welker - DNP
#21 Ryan Feltner - 7.20 ERA, 5.0 IP, 2 BB, 7 K (Made MLB Season Debut)
Fire Performance:
Brian Serven - .462 BA, 1.919 OPS, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Brian Serven is serving up some taters. That's his second homer of the day and fifth in his last four games! 💪 B6: Isotopes 8, River Cats 2Sean Bouchard - .450 BA, 1.500 OPS, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K
Jake Bird - 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 0.50 WHIP (2 HBP), 0 BB, 6 K
Hartford Yard Goats - Series Record: 3-3. Overall Record: 11-10
The Yard Goats continued their kangaroo season as they went 3-3 this past week. The highlight of the week once again came off the electric bat of one Ezequiel Tovar. Tovar blasted two long dingers to center field, one measuring 444 ft. Tovar is on another planet at the moment and he is walkoff two weeks ago remains one of the top moments for the affiliates this season. Friend of the pod Willie MacIver also mashed two homers this week, one in heroic fashion in 5-4 win against Harrisburg. Willie Mac leads the team with 7 homers on the early season. The great story to follow in the coming months is the return of Riley Pint. In case you're unaware, Pint was a first round draft pick but retired due to control issues. Pint unretired this season and is trying to remake himself into a high leverage reliever. So far so good, Pint had a lucky but good week. But luck is just a byproduct of good work habits after all. Pint owns a 1.74 ERA in 10 appearances with 14 Ks on the year. On a fun note, friend of the pod Hunter Stovall JACKED his first homerun of the year.
Friends of the Pod:
Hunter Stovall - .357 BA, .971 OPS, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Willie MacIver - .200 BA, .823 OPS, 2 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 SB
#28 Karl Kauffman - 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 0.67 WHIP, 1 BB, 7 K
#26 Noah Davis - 16.20 ERA, 3.1 IP, 2.10 WHIP, 3 BB, 4 K
Dugan Darnell -6.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 0.67 WHIP, 0 BB, 4 K
Nick Bush - 9.82 ERA, 3.2 IP, 1.36 WHIP, 0 BB, 2 K
Top Prospects:
#7 Brenton Doyle - .250 BA, .863 OPS, 2 HR, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K, 2 SB
#6 Ezequiel Tovar - .478 BA, 1.469 OPS, 2 HR, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 4 SB
#19 Aaron Schunk - .125 BA, .336 OPS, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
#8 Michael Toglia - .067 BA, .406 OPS, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 9 K
Fire Performance:
Riley Pint - 0.00 ERA, 3.1 IP, 2.10 WHIP, 2 BB, 4 K
Jameson Hannah - .316 BA, .855 OPS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
Spokane Indians - Weekly Record: 4-2 - Overall Record: 11-10
It was a great team week in Spokane with some awesome individual performances. Top prospects Zac Veen and Drew Romo continued to impress with great individual weeks, while friends of the pod Grant Lavigne, Shelby Lackey and Luke Taggart showed out. It was Ronaiker Palma, Eddy Diaz and Will Ethridge that led the winning ways however. Palma put up a ridiculous 2.067 OPS with 6 RBIs while Eddy Diaz is shaking his bad form and hit .407 with 8 RBIs on the week. Ethridge led the staff with an impressive 6 inning win that yielded no runs and 5 ks, but a concerning 6 walks. If Diaz can continue rounding into good form, it is going to be a really fun race to see who will win the organization’s stolen base crown between him, Veen and Braiden Ward in Fresno.
Friends of the Pod:
Grant Lavigne - .400 BA, 1.030 OPS, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K
Shelby Lackey - 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 0.43 WHIP, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 SV
Joe Rock - 9.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1.40 WHIP, 1BB, 8 K
Luke Taggart - 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 0.43 WHIP, 0 BB, 2 SO
Top Prospects
#1 Zac Veen - .318 BA, .938 OPS, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 5 K, 2 SB
#2 Drew Romo - .316 BA, 1.067 OPS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 CS
Fire Performance
Ronaiker Palma - .833 BA, 2.067 OPS, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 0 K, 1 SB
Eddy Diaz - .407 BA, 1.045 OPS, 2 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 SB, 1 CS
Will Ethridge - 1 W, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 1.33 WHIP, 6 BB, 5 K
Fresno Grizzlies - Weekly Record: 6-0 (!!!) - Overall Record: 13-8
What a week it was for the Grizzlies as they swept the Stockton Ports in the 6-game series. It seems like every hitter was scorching hot but Adael Amador, Hunter Goodman, and Warming Bernabel really carried the freight, combining for 9 home runs in the series. On the mound, the 6-man rotation all pulled their weight but Case Williams turned in the best start -- and certainly the most significant one. The young Douglas County native has found success difficult to come by but sometimes, all it takes is one really good outing to build lasting confidence. Evan Shawver also delivered another quality 5 innings along with Victor Juarez. The bullpen, loaded with 2021 draft picks, was also lights out, allowing just 5 runs (4 earned) in the series. The Grizzles will catch a bus back home to face off with the Modesto Nuts (Seattle affiliate).
Friends of the Pod:
Zach Kokoska - .286 BA, .786 OPS, 1 HR, 0 BB, 4 K
Top Prospects:
#3 Benny Montgomery - .000 BA, .000 OPS (2 AB)
#10 Adael Amador - .423 BA, 1.462 OPS, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K19-year-old @Rockies prospect Adael Amador has been named the CA League Player of the Week. The @FresnoGrizzlies SS batted .423 with 4 homers to lead a six-game road sweep over Stockton. Amador ranks 1st in homers (6), 1st in total bases (51), 1st in hits (28).#16 Yanquiel Fernandez - .211 BA, .632 OPS, 1 HR, 0 BB, 6 K
#20 Hunter Goodman - .348 BA, 1.174 OPS, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K
#14 Warming Bernabel - .316 BA, 1.090 OPS, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 3 SB
#24 Juan Guerrero - .269 BA, .783 OPS, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Fire Performance:
Braxton Fulford - .588 BA, 1.456 OPS, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K
EJ Andrews - .350 BA, 1.059 OPS, 1 HR, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SB
Tyler Ahearn - 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 0.50 WHIP, 1 BB, 5 K
Case Williams - 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 2 BB, 8 K
Friends of the pod on the IL
Chris McMahon
Sam Weatherly - returning soon, starting to throw off a mound this week!
Blake Goldsberry