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Triple-A Omaha
Noah Cameron: 6.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 1BB, 6 SO
Noah Cameron continued his dominant stretch since moving up to Triple-A for the first time in his pro career. He now owns a 1.40 ERA for the Storm Chasers. He worked up to 93 pitches today, firmly up to full arm strength now post-injury. The spin rates on his arsenal are still inconsistent but flash above average at times. He limited opponents to an 81.2 average exit velocity today. The changeup was working nicely, garnering a healthy 44% whiff rate.
John Rave: 1/4, HR
Rave hit his 17th home run of the season. That sets a new season-high for his pro career, surpassing 2022. Rave has been very solid for Omaha for quite some time now. I’m not really confident he’s got the tools to be an everyday big leaguer, but there’s certainly some fourth-outfielder bench intrigue there.
Nick Pratto: 0/3, 3 K
We’ve entered non-prospect territory at this point with Nick Pratto. The one-time first-round pick simply hasn’t found a way to cut down the strikeouts enough. He also hasn’t rediscovered the prodigious power output that put him back on the map back in 2021.
Dan Altavilla: 0.1IP, 0H, 3ER, 3BB, 1 SO
It’s rehab work for Altavilla, so it shouldn’t be seen as too concerning that he had a rough go of things. He continues to work back from injury and should be activated from his rehab assignment in the coming week or two.
Andrew Hoffmann: 1.0IP, 3H, 5ER, 3BB, 1 SO
Hoffman pitched in relief to get some work in. His fastball averaged 93mph but the spin rates were more or less average. He was a bit of a one-pitch pitcher tonight with really only the slider working well. On 14 swings, he garnered just three whiffs. All three came on six swings against the slider.
Double-A Northwest Arkansas
Javier Vaz: 2/3, 2B, 2 BB, SB
Javier Vaz continues to do what he’s done his entire minor league career. He’s posted a 120 wRC+ this season at Double-A. Compared to last season’s strong showing with Northwest Arkansas, Vaz is striking out less (yes, possible somehow), walking more, and hitting the ball harder. Vaz has raised his line drive rate by eight percent and continues to use all fields well. It would be nice if he could land in the extra-base column a bit more often, but Vaz continues to be very steady and very solid at the plate.
Dillan Shrum: 3/4, HR
Shrum is 26 years old now with some serious swing-and-miss concerns. Despite those, he’s well on his way to setting a career-high in home runs. Tuesday’s home run tied his 2022 mark with 16. With so many strikeouts, it is unlikely that Shrum will be able to get into his hefty raw power, but it’s still worth noting such a solid day at the plate.
Steven Zobac: 5.0IP, 0H, 0ER, 3BB, 7 SO
Zobac is on a phenomenal stretch since moving up to Double-A. He’s reached 29.1 IP with the Naturals. In that span, he has 43 strikeouts against just five walks. His ERA with the Naturals is down to 2.15. At the onset of the season, I was convinced that Zobac was set to become a reliever long-term. Nowadays, I’m not so confident in that assessment. He’s come along very nicely this season and should be seen as one of the better pitching prospects in the entire organization.
Peyton Wilson: 1/4, HR
Entering Tuesday, Wilson’s .732 OPS was good for a 110 wRC+ in a somewhat repressed offensive environment in the Texas League. His strikeout rate isn’t all that bad at all this season, but a high swinging strike rate gives some cause for concern. Despite that, his home run Tuesday gives him 12 for the year. Like some others, he’s now close to setting a career-high. He hit 14 in 2022 with Quad Cities. Wilson has lifted the ball much more this season than last, dropping his groundball rate by ten percent compared to a year ago.
High-A Quad Cities
Jac Caglianone: 1/4
The transition period continues for Caglianone, who has shown some flashes of brilliance in his short pro career thus far. He’s now hitting .167 with the River Bandits, but with such a small sample that could change rather quickly. The player passes the eye test, all that’s left now is for the process to start coming through in the results.
Carson Roccaforte: 1/4, HR
A difficult first two months of the season for Roccaforte gave way to some progress in June. That fell back down to Earth in July when Roccaforte slashed .146/.211/.159. Entering Tuesday, Roccaforte had really come along in August. Through ten games, he had slashed .308/.386/.590 in August. That was before adding his eighth home run of the season on Tuesday. It’s been a difficult season for Roccaforte, but I’m not out on him by any means. He’s still a high-floor outfielder thanks to his speed and defensive prowess. The raw power is starting to come through, we just need to see it with more consistency.
Ryan Ramsey: 6.0IP, 2H, 0ER, 0BB, 8 SO
Ramsey is a bonafide pitching prospect, no matter what anyone tries to tell me. He has again posted above-average strikeout totals this season, after setting the Fireflies franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings a year ago. His ERA dropped to 2.30 on the season after his dominant showing on Tuesday. Now, over his last three outings, Ramsey has compiled 15.0IP. In that span, he’s allowed seven hits, two walks, and 19 strikeouts. At now 23 years old, it seems more than time for Ramsey to get a chance in Double-A to see just how well the stuff will play in the upper levels.
Low-A Columbia
Blake Mitchell: 3/5, 2B, RBI
Mitchell’s double gives him 34 extra-base hits on the season. The strikeouts have trended back up of late, but he profiles as the type of hitter who is always going to swing and miss a large amount. With his on-base talent and prodigious raw power, that’s a trade-off the Royals should be willing to take. Mitchell is up to 54 on MLB Pipeline’s midseason update to the Top 100 prospects. Tuesday marks his 23rd multi-hit game this season.
Erick Torres: 2/5, HR, 2 RBI, SB
Torres has found his power stride of late, with four home runs over his last 29 games. If not for Carson Roccaforte and Spencer Nivens holding down the outfield in Quad Cities, we might start asking why Torres is spending the full year in Columbia. It’s worth remembering he’s still just 19 years old and should make his way to High-A to open next season. Not too different from Javier Vaz, Torres is an intriguing contact-first hitter with great speed. He should stick in center field long-term and just needs to hit the ball hard enough to make an impact at the plate.
Daniel Vazquez: 3/5, RBI
Three hits for Daniel Vazquez marks an impressive return from the injured list. If not for the injury, I expect he’d have already found his way to High-A. He’s now hitting .280 on the season in what’s been a solid showing, even if the power hasn’t come through any further. Vazquez reminds me an awful lot of Maikel Garcia, but the lack of health this season has been a serious hindrance to his season.
Carter Frederick: 2/3, BB, 2B, RBI
Tuesday was a heck of a debut for Carter Frederick. In his first game with Columbia, he notched two hits including a double. He was an intriguing 20th-round pick by the Royals and fell quite a bit due to injury. He was a four-year senior who missed the end of the NCAA season with a wrist injury. That situation reminds me a bit of Brett Squires (ironically also a former Sooner) and it will be interesting to see how Frederick develops at the next level.
Josh Hansell: 5.0IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 8 SO
Josh Hansell has transitioned from the bullpen into a starting role of late. He started 2024 with one or two-inning appearances. That became three or four, and on Tuesday he reached five full innings for the first time this season. He was on a hot stretch entering Tuesday. Over his last three outings, he had piled up 13 strikeouts over 11.0IP while holding opposing hitters to a .158 average. He was a bit of an unassuming 16th-round pick in 2023, but there’s good strikeout stuff to like.
Nicholas Regalado: 2.0IP, 2H, 0ER, 0BB, 4 SO
Regalado entered Tuesday with a 30% strikeout rate on the season and didn’t do anything to drop that. He’s been a solid reliever all season for Columbia. His 4.10 ERA on the season doesn’t incite a ton of excitement, but his pure stuff is pretty solid and worth monitoring. He’s probably an organizational depth arm, but if the strikeout stuff lasts into the upper minors he has a chance to be a notable relief prospect.
