It was a difficult month of May for the Quad Cities River Bandits. The team finished the month with a 6-21 record and is now 9.0 games back of first-place Wisconsin. The River Bandits won consecutive games just one time all month, a result mostly of very poor offensive output. The Bandits scored more than three runs in less than half of their May contests. Despite some signs of a turnaround here or there, many of the best prospects on the roster simply haven’t gotten going this season.
River Bandits hitters continue to struggle as we move now into June
Spencer Nivens suffered a hamstring injury which sidelined him for part of this season, but he’s stumbled to a .075 average over his first 22 games this season. Justin Johnson (.192), Trevor Werner (.158), and Carson Roccaforte (.193) are all hitting below the Mendoza Line as well. Catcher Carter Jensen continues to anchor the offense as one of the few bright spots in 2024. This season, he’s posted a .933 OPS and continued his strong season with a strong month of May. In May, Jensen posted a team-high 27 hits. He slashed .281/.377/.500 on the month with 14 extra-base hits.
Shortstop Jack Pineda had a strong month as well. The 2022 12th-round pick out of Baylor hit .286 on the month with 13 RBI. He’s up to 38 hits on the season, tied with Carson Roccaforte for third on the team’s roster. Also of note within the Quad Cities lineup is outfielder Jared Dickey. Dickey, last year’s 11th-round pick, has slashed .243/.365/.407 so far in his first two months at High-A. His five home runs this season trail only first baseman Brett Squires amongst River Bandits hitters.
May Hitter of the Month: 1B Brett Squires
Speaking of Brett Squires, the Sooner Alumnus is our hitter of the month for May. He finished the month with five home runs, tied with Kale Emshoff for the team-high. Squires also brought in 19 RBI and walked 11 times en route to a .910 OPS on the month. That mark led all River Bandits hitters. The Royals were able to acquire Squires as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 Amateur Draft. He went undrafted, mostly a result of a hand injury that sidelined him in the College World Series just weeks prior. He finished his debut season with Low-A Columbia with a 133 wRC+ and 15 home runs. This season, he’s followed that up with a fantastic 142 wRC+.
River Bandits pitchers find regression after a scorching hot start to 2024
Entering the month of May, the River Bandits were the best pitching team in all of High-A. That changed some in May, as many of the team’s starters struggled. The leading arms in the rotation — Frank Mozzicato and Ben Kudrna — were no exception. Kudrna started the month extremely strong but pitched to very hard contact over his final two starts in May. He led the team with 22 strikeouts on the month but allowed four home runs over five starts with a 5.47 ERA. Mozzicato started strong much like Kudrna, but walks started to get the best of him rather quickly. He walked 19 against 17 strikeouts over five starts on the month. Opponents hit just .218 against him but he still pitched to a 4.94 ERA in May.
The 2023 draftee, Hunter Owen, was the rock in the rotation as he’s been all season for Quad Cities. Over four starts, Owen owned a 3.13 ERA. He struck out 14 while surrendering seven walks and holding opponents to a .200 batting average. Oscar Rayo has pitched more as a reliever than a starter this season. He pitched 14.1 innings across five outings in May and looked great. Rayo allowed just three walks while striking out 15. His ERA in the month of May was 3.77.
May Pitcher of the Month: LHP Ryan Ramsey
While other arms were struggling, lefty Ryan Ramsey continued to shine as he has all season. In May, Ramsey made four appearances (one start) and pitched in 15 innings in all. He struck out 17 in that sample while walking just four. He allowed only five hits (.109) en route to a microscopic 0.60 WHIP on the month. The result was a team-best 1.20 ERA. That mark wasn’t too much better than Ramsey’s season mark of 1.73. He’s been fantastic so far after a strong debut campaign in 2023. The Royals drafted Ramsey in the 13th round of the 2022 draft out of Maryland. He set the Fireflies franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings last season. This season, he’s struck out 33 batters, posting an 0.85 WHIP in the process.