Corey Ray has been demolishing the pitching in AA this year. He is either the leading hitter or in the top 3 for most major offensive categories and just needs 5 more home runs to reach the 30, 30, 30 club. The Chicago native plays outfield which is a logjam in the Brewers organization, especially after the guys they added at the big league club this past offseason.
Adam Engels twitter handle is @ManofSteal_15 and in the last couple of weeks he has really lived up to that Superman montra in the outfield for the White Sox, robbing 3 home runs and having a solid week at the plate.
Weekly statistics are from the week of 8/6/-8/14/2018
Major Leagues
Adam Duvall is hitting .111/.200/.311 with 2 hits in 11 games for the Braves since being traded to a playoff contender.
Adam Engel robbed another home run and then in the same game hit a home run this week for the White Sox. The Ohio native has become a mainstay on SportsCenter lately and that is much deserved. On the season Engel is slashing .224/.272/.602 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs and 12 stolen bases.
Chad Green was used 4 times this week by the Yankees as the playoff push continues to heat up. He was strong in all but one outing where he gave up 2 earned runs to the Rangers. In total this week he threw 3.1 innings, gave up 2 earned runs and struck out 4 batters.
AAA
Matt Koch took the loss in both starts this week for Reno. He managed a total of 8.2 innings, struck out 5 and only gave up 1 earned run in each outing.
Kyle McGrath pitched once for El Paso, throwing .2 of an inning and striking out 1 hitter.
Josh Rogers was strong again on the mound for Norfolk going 5 innings, striking out 7 and giving up 1 earned run. Joining the Tide after the trade, Rogers is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.
Cole Sturgeon hit safely in 5 of 6 games this week adding one more double to his total for Pawtucket. With Pawtucket this season, Sturgeon is slashing .226/.286/.288 with 5 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs.
Dean Kiekhefer pitched twice this week and had almost identical outings. In both he went 1 inning, gave up 1 hit and 0 runs, and struck out 0 hitters for Nashville. As Oakland makes a playoff push look for them to add the Oldham County native to their extended roster since he offers them big league experience out of the bullpen.
Chris Dominguez had 3 hits and 1 RBI for Syracuse in 5 games.
Will Smith had 4 hits in 5 games for Oklahoma City and is really settling in nicely since his promotion to AAA on August 1st.
Kyle Funkhouser went down with a fractured foot after stumbling over a broken piece of sidewalk and unfortunately, his strong season has come to an end prematurely. Between AA and AAA this year, Funk was 4-7 with a 3.96 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and had 96 strikeouts in 97.2 innings.
Zack Burdi is on a rehab assignment in the Arizona League for the White Sox.
AA
Jeff Arnold had 1 hit in 3 games for Richmond and is now hitting .174/.283/.275 this season.
Derek Self had 3 strong outings where he surrendered 2 earned runs and struck out 3 across 5.1 innings for Harrisburg.
Nick Solak had a big week, and even though his hitting streak came to an end, he still had 9 hits, including a triple, home run and 6 RBI’s. After 112 games, Solak is averaging .276/.377/.429 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 15 home runs, 66 RBI’s and 21 stolen bases.
Corey Ray continues to terrorize pitchers in the Southern League this season and he is getting ever closer to the 30,30,30 club, a very exclusive club. This week, Ray had 1 double, 1 triple and 2 more home runs for Biloxi this week bringing his totals to 30 doubles, 7 triples, 25 home runs, 32 stolen bases and 68 RBI’s while hitting .254/.342/.512.
Nick Burdi has been placed back on the 60 day DL by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Grant Kay was placed on the 7 day DL at the start of the season.
Jared Ruxer was released on 5/23 by the Kansas City Royals
Joe Filomeno was released on 4/23 by the Texas Rangers.
A Advanced
Drew Ellis collected 3 hits, including a home run this week for Visalia. Ellis is continuing to have a powerful year as he is now up to 32 doubles, and 13 home runs this season.
Lincoln Henzman threw in one game this week and struck out 3 batters in 3 innings of work for the Dash.
Devin Hairston recorded 4 hits in 7 games for Carolina. With the Mudcats, Hairston has 6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 10 RBI’s while hitting .224 /.281/.291.
Brendan McKay the hitter had 5 hits in 5 games, including 1 double, 1 triple and 1 home run. At the plate this season, McKay is hitting .229/.380/.383 with 7 doubles, 1 triple and 6 home runs and 39 RBI’s. On the mound, he continues to dominate and is now 5-2 with a 2.28 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts in 71 innings. The most amazing thing is that these are great numbers as a hitter or as a pitcher. I’m sure the Rays will have some decisions to make this offseason.
Blake Tiberi only had 2 hits in 7 games this week for the St. Lucie Mets
Jeff Thompson was released by the Detroit Tigers on July 21st.
A
Colby Fitch collected 4 hits in 5 games and has hit safely in his last 3 games. On the year the backstop is hitting .259/.372/.420 with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs 26 RBI’s.
Drew Harrington took the loss in both of his starts this week. His first outing was a strong 6 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 4. His second start, however, only lasted 1.2 innings after he gave up 7 earned runs on 8 hits.
Devin Mann had 5 hits in 7 games this week for the Loons. On the season he is hitting .246/.355/.323 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 19 RBI’s.
Kade McClure was placed on the 7 day DL on May 14th.
Dace Kime retired from professional baseball on June 16th.
A Short Season
Josh Stowers had 4 hits in 5 games with 1 double. He is now slashing .286/.396/.450 with 11 doubles and 4 home runs to go along with 22 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases for Everett.
Adam Wolf started 1 game, went 3 innings, gave up 1 hit and struck out 2 for the Connecticut Tigers.
Riley Thompson threw 3 innings and struck out 4 this week without allowing an earned run. After 6 games, Thompson is 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA, 1.58 WHIP to go along with 8 strikeouts in 12 innings.
Rookie Level
Liam Jenkins pitched a total of 3.2 innings this week, striking out 6 and giving up 3 earned runs.
Austin Conway pitched twice this week, 2 innings each time out, he struck out 2, one each outing and gave up 2 earned runs in the second outing. At this point, he is 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
2018 Draft Picks
*Josh Stowers was selected in the 2nd round, 54th overall, to the Seattle Mariners.
*Adam Wolf was drafted by the Detroit Tigers at 135 overall, in the 5th round.
*Devin Mann was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers, 164th overall, in the 5th round.
*Riley Thompson was taken in the 11th round by the Chicago Cubs with pick number 338.
*Sam Bordner was drafted by the Miami Marlins, 477 overall in the 16th round.
*Liam Jenkins was drafted in the 17th round, 523 overall, by the Cleveland Indians.
*Austin Conway was taken 918 overall in the 31st round by the Chicago White Sox.
Bryan Hoeing was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 36th round, 1066 overall.
* players who have signed professional contracts
