Another week of baseball is in the books. Let’s look at some news and notes. I will start by listing a few players who have been hot over the last week.
Who’s hot?
Jordan Brewer – Brewer was a breakout choice of mine and he had a monster week. The 2019 3rd round pick hit .500 (7-for-14) with 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB this week showing off his power/speed combination that led to him being drafted so high. He is already 24, but if he continues to put it together he could move up to Double-A quick.
Enmanuel Valdez – Valdez flew under the radar a bit in 2021 but he’s picked up where he left off in Double-A starting out the season well. Through the first two weeks, he leads the Astros system in hits with 12. He is hitting .412 with 5 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI in 8 games in 2022.
Ross Adolph – Adolph was acquired by the Astros in the trade that sent JD Davis to the Mets. He has been in the system a few years but is off to a hot start this year. He leads the Astros system in walks with 10 and hit .500 this week with 6 walks in 5 games.
Wilyer Abreu – Another outfielder for the Hooks, Abreu had a monster week hitting .438 with 2 HR, 5 RBI in 6 games this week. He also drew five walks and helped lead the Hooks to a couple wins. Abreu could be a breakout candidate this season if he keeps this up.
Sugar Land Space Cowboys
The Space Cowboys are sitting 3-9 this season, but the lack of offense has been the problem. The pitched has had some strong performances led by Hunter Brown this week who went 5 scoreless innings and struck out 7. Jonathan Bermudez was great in his one start allowing 1 run over 6 innings. Bielak also had a strong outing striking out 6 over 4 innings. Enoli Paredes, Shawn Dubin and Zac Rosscup have all been great in relief and have yet to allow an earned run.
The offense has a few bright spots like J.J. Matijevic who is hitting .297 with 7 XBH (4 HR) in 10 games this season. David Hensley is hitting .333 with 6 RBI. Korey Lee also connected on his first Triple-A HR earlier in the week. The Space Cowboys will be back in action tonight at 8:05 PM.
Corpus Christi Hooks
The Hooks are currently 3-6. The pitching has had a rough go of things with guys like Robaina, Garcia and Deason struggling. Tamarez made his Double-A debut this week and tossed 3 scoreless with 6 strikeouts. Joe Record continues to do well in relief not allowing an earned run over 4 appearances. Jose Bravo also had a good start.
On offense, the Hooks were led by a few guys I mentioned up top, Ross Adolph (hitting .353 with .607 OBP), Wilyer Abreu (.375 with 1.240 OPS) and Enmanuel Valdez (.412 with 7 XBH in 8 games). Joe Perez has yet to get consistent time down there and is back up with the Astros again. Yainer Diaz and Justin Dirden also started picking things up this week. The Hooks are back at it at 6:35 PM tonight.
Asheville Tourists
Really rough week for the Tourists who currently sit at 1-8. The pitching has really struggled with a 7.62 ERA in 9 games this season. Aaron Brown has been solid striking out 13 in 9 innings this season. Taveras has also pitched well striking out 8 in 6 innings and allowing just 1 run. Derek West has been basically unhittable in relief striking out 7 over 3.1 innings.
The offense was better, with Jordan Brewer really getting things going. Will Wagner is off to a solid start hitting .308 with 3 HR, 9 RBI in 8 games. Nerio Rodriguez and Michael Sandle have started to heat up too with both guys having 4 RBI this season. The Tourists are on the road this week with first pitch tonight at 5:35 PM.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
The Woodpeckers have struggled a bit too but did have a better week picking up two wins. The pitching has struggled with a 6.98 ERA and 79 walks in 86.1 innings. Ernesto Jaquez has been great striking out 14 in 11 innings with a 1.64 ERA. Alex Santos had a good outing this week striking out 6 over 3.1 scoreless innings. DeLabio, Cobos and Batista have been solid in relief.
The offense had some solid contributors, like Quincy Hamilton who hit 2 HR this week. He is hitting .314 through 8 games. Logan Cerny leads the team in HR (3), RBI (10) and SB (5) so far. Joey Loperfido had a 2 HR game and Leosdany Molina has 2 HR, 8 RBI so far this year. The Woodpeckers are also on the road this week with first pitch at 6:05 PM.
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