Matt Koch has continued to pitch well for the surging Arizona Diamondbacks who have not lost a series yet this season. In his second consecutive start in the Big Leagues, Koch picked up the win and 4 strikeouts in another 6 inning start. Josh Rogers is continuing to dominate as he goes 7 innings of 2 hit baseball for Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Cole Sturgeon in the Red Sox organization is on fire at the plate.
Lincoln Henzman has settled into the starting role nicely for the Kannapolis Intimidators, and Brendan McKay is continuing to be an incredible baseball player, both on the mound and at the plate.
Statistics are from 4/22-4/29
Major Leagues
Adam Duvall slugged 4 doubles and another homerun this week for all 5 of his hits. It was a strong slugging week while he steadily works to bring his average up above that .200 mark. Now that they are at full health again, the Reds are implementing a 4 man rotation in the outfield which may lead to less chances for Duvall as we get into the month of May. For the season he is batting .177/.259/.645 with 8 doubles, 3 home runs, 15 RBI’s and 2 stolen bases.
Adam Engel collected 3 hits this week for the White Sox, including a triple, and 2 stolen bases. With the Sox completely in rebuilt mode, expect to see Engel continuing to get opportunities. He has shown glimpses of being a strong hitter both in the Arizona Fall League and Big League Spring Training. Going into May, Engel is slashing .159/.229/.435 with 1 double, 1 triple and 3 stolen bases in 4 attempts.
Chad Green made 3 appearances this week throwing 3 innings, striking out 3 and giving up only 1 earned run. “Jolly” has become the model of consistency in the middle of the Yankees bullpen and just continues to quietly go about his business. In 13 innings pitched this season, Green has 19 strikeouts, given up a total of 10 hits and 3 earned runs for a season ERA of 2.08, a WHIP of 1.08 and a 2-0 record.
Matt Koch got another start for the red hot Diamondbacks and again went 6 strong innings, this time adding a W to the win column. He struck out 4, gave up 6 hits and 2 earned runs in this start and looks to be a great back of the rotation option for the Diamondbacks who are continuing to beat up on their competition. In 3 appearances with the Diamondbacks this year, Koch is 1-0 through 14.1 innings, with 11 strikeouts, an ERA of 1.93 and a WHIP of 0.86.
Nick Burdi: The Pirates have placed Nick on the 60 day Disabled List to start the season
AAA
Kyle McGrath had 3 appearances this week, with each one going 1 or 1.1 innings for a total of 3.1 innings pitched. In those three games he struck out 2 and gave up 1 earned run. Through 7.1 innings with El Paso, McGrath has 5 strikeouts and has given up 3 earned runs for a season ERA of 3.68 and a WHIP of 1.36.
Josh Rogers was absolutely lights out in his fourth start of the 2018 season. He dominated through 7 innings, only allowing 2 hits while striking out 7 hitters, and giving up 0 runs. In four starts this year, Rogers has been a commanding force on the mound totaling 24 innings, 27 strikeouts to just 3 walks, and an ERA of 3.00 with a WHIP of 1.04. The Yankees have a loaded pitching staff and bullpen so it may be a little while before we see Rogers wearing the Pinstripes.
Jeff Arnold tallied 2 hits in 4 games this week with the River Cats, but he is continuing to find his way on base via the walk. Through 12 total games between two levels this year Arnold is hitting .200/.333/.583 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s.
Chris Dominguez was placed on the 7 day Disabled list this week.
Zack Burdi: The Burdi brothers are starting this season on the Disabled List as they recover from Tommy John Surgery.
AA
Derek Self pitched in 2 games this week compiling 2 innings, 2 strikeouts and 2 earned runs; the earned runs coming off of a homerun. To this point in the season the Harrisburg Senators reliever has 8.2 innings pitched, 9 strikeouts to just 2 walks, an ERA of 3.12 and a WHIP of 0.92.
Jeff Thompson also saw action in 2 games this week totaling 2 innings with 2 strikeouts and 2 earned runs. In 8 games this year for the Sea Wolves, Thompson has 11 strikeouts in 10.2 innings to go along with a 3.38 ERA and 1.78 WHIP.
Cole Sturgeon is still with the Portland Sea Dogs and still dominating. He only played in 3 games this week but had at least 1 hit in each of those games. His totals for the year are approaching video game status as he is batting .369/.447/1.017 with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 9 RBI’s and 5 stolen bases.
Kyle Funkhouser has gone a little farther in each outing so far this season. This week he went deeper into the 6th, finishing with 5.2 innings pitched, accompanied by 5 strikeouts but 4 walks. On the year, Funk is 0-2 with an ERA of 4.00 through 4 starts. He does have 23 strikeouts in 18 innings to go along with a WHIP of 1.56.
Nick Solak hit safely in all but one game this week. He collected 8 hits, including 1 double and his first home run of the campaign. Solak now has 25 hits on the year and is slashing .313/.420/.845 with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run.
Will Smith closed out the week on an active 4 game hitting streak that included 2 more doubles and 4 RBI’s for the Dodgers # 9 prospect. KCD’s finest now has 19 hits on the season including 6 doubles and 2 home runs to go along with a slash line of .275/.342/.791.
Corey Ray had a tough week going 4/31 at the plate. However, 2 of those hits were doubles and he was able to swipe a base later in the week. Almost through April, Ray is hitting .243/.297/.705 with 25 total hits, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, 9 RBI’s and 6 stolen bases.
Grant Kay: Due to an injury Kay is starting the season on the 7 day DL.
Dace Kime: With the Akron Rubberducks of the Eastern League, Kime is currently on the 7 day Disabled List.
Joe Filomeno was released on 4/23 by the Texas Rangers.
Dean Kiekhefer was released by the Reds on Thursday 4/26.
A Advanced
Jared Ruxer only pitched once this week and went 2 innings striking out 1 while giving up hits and 2 earned runs. Rux is posting a 4.85 ERA through 13 innings with 12 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.15.
Drew Ellis hit safely in 5 of the 6 games this week including 2 home runs. Ellis is slugging through the early part of the year and is hitting .215/.303/.746 with 6 doubles, 4 home runs and 13 RBI’s.
A
Blake Tiberi had a colder week this week, only collecting 3 hits in 22 at bats. On the season Tiberi is slashing .282/.411/.795 with 5 doubles and a home run.
Drew Harrington threw 4 innings in 1 appearance this week collecting 3 strikeouts and 4 earned runs. So far this season, Harrington has pitched in 5 outings totaling 11.1 innings pitched, 7 strikeouts, 10 earned runs and an ERA of 6.92 and a WHIP of 1.85.
Kade McClure had his shortest outing of the season this week only going 4.2 innings and not collecting a strikeout. However, he only gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits. McClure continues to look strong during this early stretch of the season and I am sure he will make his way up the latter soon this year. So far, McClure has posted a 2-0 record in 29 innings with 29 strikeouts, 8 earned runs, a batting average against of .245, and an ERA of 2.48 with a WHIP of 1.31.
Lincoln Henzman pitched twice this week earning a win and a no decision in his two starts. Henzman went 11 innings, struck out 9 and gave up just 2 earned runs between both starts. The Lexington, Kentucky native has transitioned well into the role of starter and has posted an ERA of 2.88 in 25 innings with 20 strikeouts to 3 walks.
Colby Fitch started the year not seeing much action but played in 6 games this past week where he had 5 hits including a home run and a double. In 11 games this year, Fitch has 10 hits including 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and is slashing .238/.319/.795.
Brendan McKay only had 2 hits this week in 15 at bats bringing his season totals to .268/.474/.766 with 1 double and an incredible 16 walks in 14 games. On the mound, McKay went 5 innings and struck out 9. Through 14 innings this year, the Rays #3 overall prospect has 24 strikeouts, an ERA of 1.93 and a WHIP of 0.57. However, i’m not sure which is the more impressive stat, 16 walks in 14 games a hitter, or 24 strikeouts to just 1 walk as a pitcher.
Devin Hairston has played in 3 games this year and currently sits on a 3 game hitting streak to start his season. In 12 at bats the smooth fielding shortstop has 4 hits including a double, with 6 RBI’s. Hairston also has 1 stolen base to go with a slash line of .333/.385/.801.
Rookie Level
Logan Taylor: The White Sox have assigned Logan Taylor to start the season at Rookie Level but he has not played in any games to this point.
