This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”
Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (23-28, 13 games back)
The Storm Chasers had perhaps their best week of the year, taking five of six from Columbus, including a ridiculous 23-7 drubbing. MJ Melendez, Harold Castro, and Drew Waters each hit two homers in that game. Castro was named International League Player of the week for a second consecutive week by hitting 14-for-25 (.560) with three home runs, four doubles, and 14 RBI. He’s hitting .467/.500/.907 with nine home runs in 18 games this month. Jac Caglianone hit two homers, giving him a total of 24 across all professional levels this year. MJ Melendez hit three homers, going 8-for-18 (.444) with four doubles. Isan Díaz hit 6-for-21 (.286) with three home runs.
Chandler Champlain picked up a win on Tuesday with six innings and just two runs allowed. John Gant improved to 4-3 with a five-inning start, allowing just two runs. Chazz Martinez struck out three in two shutout innings of relief. Jonathan Bowlan picked up two saves with three shutout innings. Ben Kudrna gave up five runs in 5.1 innings in his Triple-A debut.
Jacob Wallace came off the Injured List. The Royals granted Dallas Keuchel his release to try to join another club before the post-season deadline.
Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals (27-24, 3 games back)
The Naturals took four of six against Tulsa, including two walk-off wins. Pitcher Nicholas Regalado was promoted from Quad Cities. Speedster Colton Becker was 7-for-15 (.467) with three walks and two steals. He’s hitting .404 in 17 games since being promoted to Double-A. Spencer Nivens hit .421 (8-for-19) with a home run and 6 RBI. Rudy Martin drew seven walks and stole four bases, upping his total to 38. Catcher Julio Rodriguez was 5-for-12 (.417) with two doubles and 6 RBI. Justin Johnson hit .294 (5-for-17) with three doubles and four walks. Gavin Cross homered twice to give him 13 for the year, also stealing four bases to give him 18.
Ethan Bosacker tossed a shutout inning of relief early in the week, then tossed four more shutout innings in a start, allowing just one hit. Hunter Owen allowed just one run and two hits in five innings in a start. Oscar Rayo threw five shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit in a 12-inning win on Friday. Henry Williams struck out eight in five innings in a win, improving to 5-5 on the year. Shane Panzini improved to 5-0, allowing one unearned run and striking out six, earning a promotion to Omaha.
High-A Quad Cities River Bandits (27-27, 3.5 game back)
The River Bandits split their six games with the Great Lakes Loons to stay at .500 in the second half. Derlin Figueroa homered twice on Monday, and went 6-for-18 (.333) with 7 RBI for the week. Carter Frederick hit .400 (6-for-15) with three doubles and a triple. Sam Kulasingam stole two bases and drew five more walks to give him a team-high 56. Daniel Vazquez was 6-for-18 (.333) with two doubles and three walks. Trevor Werner hit his eighth home run of the year and Chris Brito went yard for the third time this year.
Drew Beam won his sixth game, giving up two runs in six innings. Mason Miller finally gave up an earned run at High-A, but just one in four innings, giving him a 0.34 ERA. Felix Arronde continued to pitch well with eight strikeouts and one walk in five innings with three runs allowed. Dennis Colleran was dominant, striking out 10 of the 13 batters he faced, with four shutout innings of relief. Tommy Molsky gave up a run in four innings of relief with three strikeouts. Zachary Cawyer struck out five in four shutout innings of relief, earning his tenth save.
Pitchers Max Martin and Hunter Albertini, both 2025 draft picks, joined the team.
Low-A Columbia Fireflies (21-31, 16.5 games back)
The Fireflies began to right the ship, taking five of six from Augusta. Jose Cerice hit 8-for-17 (.471) with two doubles and 4 RBI. Tyriq Kemp hit .267 (4-for-15) with a double and 4 RBI in his second week of professional action. Luke Nowak hit 8-for-18 (.444) with five doubles and five walks. He has a hit in nine of his first ten pro games, four of them multi-hit games. Ramon Ramirez hit .348 (8-for-23) with two doubles, two triples, and his 12th home run of the year. Asbel Gonzalez drew six walks, scored six runs, and stole four bases. He set club records for runs scored (70) and stolen bases (69) in a season.
David Shields continued his impressive run at A-ball with 5.1 innings and five strikeouts allowing two unearned runs to drop his ERA to 1.43. Kendys Chourio also pitched well, giving up one unearned run and one hit in three innings with six strikeouts. Dash Albus tossed five shutout innings with seven strikeouts, earning his seventh win. Reliever Nick Conte retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, six by strikeout. Julio Rosario struck out four in two hitless innings.
Infielder Connor Rasmussen, who was a 15th-round pick this summer, joined the team. Catcher Angel Acosta landed on the Injured List.
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