Did you have a nice Memorial Day? Good. I spent mine putting together this news and notes and top plays roundup from throughout the minor leagues. It’s so jampacked, I’m not going to waste any more time on the intro. Enjoy.
• All hail Kerry Carpenter, who is a dude now. Previously, the 24-year-old was a 19th-round draft pick of the Tigers in 2019 out of Virginia Tech. He swatted 15 home runs at Double-A Erie last year but only managed a meager .752 OPS. He’s back with Erie this year and seems to be a completely different hitter. He’s already surpassed his 2021 total for home runs, having hit 16 through 41 games. (That’s the third most in the minors.) His strikeout rate has jumped — although his swinging strike rate is only 12.6 percent — and nearly 40 percent of his fly balls clear the fence. Over his last 10 games, he’s hit .450 with eight homers and a 1.686 OPS. Surely, Triple A is beckoning.
Kerry Carpenter goes deep again, this time to center field. It’s his 16th home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/0y229B3VTj
— Tigers Minor League Report (@tigersMLreport) May 29, 2022
• Joey Cantillo was a 16th-round draft pick by the Padres out of a Hawaii high school in 2017, and then he was part of the package that netted San Diego ace Mike Clevinger from Cleveland. And now, Cantillo looks like another interesting pitching prospect in a system that has produced many of them. The 22-year-old Cantillo hasn’t allowed a run in his last five starts at Double-A Akron, spanning 22 innings. In his last three starts, a 13-inning span, he’s allowed just three hits. During that scoreless streak, he’s struck out 42 percent of his batters. He’s sitting 92-95 mph, a jump of about two ticks from last year. The Guardians seem to be slow-playing him, though — Cantillo has yet to throw more than 83 pitches in a game.
🌟🌟🌟LHP Joey Cantillo (SP, Akron): 5IP, H, BB, 7K – Cantillo ran 92-95, had good fastball command, got some ugly swings, some called strike three's. Another impressive outing. He didn't allow a run in the month of May in 22 innings with 33 strikeouts pic.twitter.com/0iOERED7rb
— Justin L. (@JL_Baseball) May 27, 2022
• All Royals prospect Vinnie Pasquantino has ever done is hit. The 24-year-old former 11th-rounder out of Old Dominion owns a career .980 OPS across three minor-league seasons. He hit 24 dingers last year between High A and Double A. He’s now with Triple-A Omaha and he’s already on pace to set a career high in home runs. Through 46 games, Pasquantino has 14 home runs and a 1.063 OPS. He has four homers in his last five games. He has nearly as many walks as strikeouts, and he swings-and-misses just 8.4 percent of the time. Kansas City’s first baseman, Carlos Santana, has a .545 OPS in the majors. Maybe it’s time to give Pasquantino a shot.
Vinnie Pasquantino. HR #13. 408 feet. Must not have been that particular pitch in that particular location. 🤷🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/FYMwlQl28E
— Royals Farm Report (@RoyalsFarm) May 28, 2022
• Blue Jays right-hander Sem Robberse is only 20 years old, hails from the Netherlands and is pitching in the High-A Northwest League, where he’s more than three years younger than the average player. He also hasn’t given up a run in four starts, a span of 25 innings. He’s not a strikeout machine, but his 2.8 percent walk rate is seventh in the entire minor leagues, and his 50.5 percent groundball rate is eighth best of all High-A pitchers. The command is a particularly notable area of improvement for Robberse, who walked 12 percent of his batters in the same league a year ago.
#BlueJays Sem Robberse finishes his night with an uber efficient outing: 7IP 0ER 2H 4K. With his last game (6IP 3H 1BB 2K), he has thrown a combined 13 scoreless inning, 5 hits and 6Ks with 133P-99S. That's a 74% strike rate 👀👀 #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/gpDqZYgMzw
— BabyJays Breakdown (@BabyJaysBD) May 25, 2022
• Like so many players, Landon Stephens went undrafted in 2020. But the former Miami RedHawk is proving to be one of the more intriguing undrafted free agents from that year. After signing with the Braves, Stephens has clubbed 35 homers in 146 career minor-league games. He hit 21 bombs a year ago at Low A, and he’s already two-thirds of the way to that total with 14 home runs through 39 games with High-A Rome this year. He still strikes out 27 percent of the time, but that’s eight points down from his strikeout rate last season.
Landon Stephens doing Landon Stephens things.
Longball got all of that one and we’re out in front over the Renegades. pic.twitter.com/WnbRcdbnAv
— Rome Braves (@TheRomeBraves) May 25, 2022
It’s promotion-palooza! We’re nearly two months into the season, so the overperformers are getting jumped a level. Here are some of the more notable moves from the last week:
• The Cardinals did some roster shuffling, promoting three intriguing prospects to Double-A Springfield. Shortstop Masyn Winn, a second-rounder in 2020, earned the call after breaking out with a .970 OPS with 15 stolen bases — and no caught stealings — at High-A Peoria. He’s joined by right-hander Gordon Graceffo, a fifth-rounder from a year ago who owned a 0.99 ERA and had walked only four batters against 56 strikeouts for Peoria, and Michael McGreevy, the 18th pick in last year’s draft. McGreevy had a 2.58 ERA in eight starts with Peoria.
• He’s only 20, but Giants pitching phenom Kyle Harrison is out of the Northwest League and now with Double-A Richmond, where he struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings in his debut with the club. Taking his spot with High-A Eugene is Mason Black, a third-round pick from last year who’d posted a 1.57 ERA with Low-A San Jose. His debut with his new club? Six innings, one run, 10 strikeouts.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong, whom the Cubs received in the Javy Baez trade nearly a year ago, also had a perfectly even 1.000 OPS at Low-A Myrtle Beach — thank you, guys, this is much easier to type — and Monday was bumped up to High-A South Bend. And Nelson Velazquez can now call himself a big leaguer after raking his way through Triple A.
• César Prieto, one of Baltimore’s more intriguing recent signings out of Latin America — they got him for $650,000, which may turn out to be a bargain — outclassed High-A Aberdeen so much with a perfectly even 1.000 OPS that he is now with Double-A Bowie.
• After being slowed by a shoulder impingement in spring training, third baseman Xavier Edwards — who just missed Keith Law’s Top 100 — was activated from the injured list and assigned to Triple-A Durham.
• Matt Gorski, a second-rounder of the Pirates’ in 2019 and the current minor-league home run leader with 18, is no longer a problem for pitchers in the High-A South Atlantic League. He is now the concern of pitchers in the Double-A Eastern League.
• The Reds’ top pick in 2020, Austin Hendrick, hadn’t been impressing at Low-A Daytona, where he owned a .698 OPS. But he gets to drop that final letter anyway after a promotion to High-A Dayton, where he’s off to a better start with an .879 OPS through five games.
• Former Twins third-rounder Spencer Steer posted a .976 OPS through 35 games with Double-A Wichita, and now the Twins have steered the infielder to Triple-A St. Paul, where he’s already hit two homers in his first seven games. You can read more about Steer in this piece by Aaron Gleeman.
And, as there always are, there were some injuries:
• Diamondbacks prospect Jordan Lawlar, the No. 6 pick in the 2021 draft who was off to a scorching start with Low-A Visalia, is on the injured list with back troubles. He’s awaiting more tests in Phoenix, although the team has described his injury as not overly serious.
• Also waiting for news is Angels pitching prospect Sam Bachman, who pulled himself from a game last week after experiencing back spasms. That’s an ailment that also delayed the start of Bachman’s season, although he hasn’t been placed on the IL yet.
Here is the last pitch Sam Bachman threw before being taken out of the game. Speculate away #Angels pic.twitter.com/PuvRSxybvL
— Jared Tims (@Jared_Tims) May 28, 2022
• In happier news, top Guardians pitching prospect Daniel Espino is working his way back to the mound and is set to throw a bullpen session today. He’s missed a month with knee tendinitis, although he was one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers in the minors before that.
Tell me which second base web gem you prefer. We have this play by former Orioles first-rounder Cadyn Greiner …
Smoove move by @Kdyn2Cadyn and a sharp scoop by @Kelvingutiz to make a #SCTop10 play!!!#Birdland #RisingTide pic.twitter.com/im4trB5OQF
— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) May 26, 2022
… or this one by journeyman infielder Juniel Querecuto.
Juniel Querecuto has RANGE 👀#GoBatsGo🦇 pic.twitter.com/9FoKx3e1n7
— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) May 29, 2022
Despite what my internet friend Doug Gray says here, I’m not sure the camera angle here definitively shows the runner getting doubled up. But you can’t deny that Allan Cerda went all out for the catch.
Seriously, look at this catch (please don't come after me MiLBtv for sharing this clip) pic.twitter.com/LqBnE6bxyw
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) May 28, 2022
Look, if you steal home as Diamondbacks prospect Tim Tawa did here, you make this roundup.
HOLY @tim_tawa STEALING HOME WHAT CAN’T HE DO pic.twitter.com/qxT0EQQ17l
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) May 29, 2022
Finally, this from Blue Jays catcher Chris Bec may be my favorite play ever. As a father, I know this move well. It’s called the “I Don’t Want To Go To Bed and You Can’t Make Me.” Props to the Fisher Cats for adding the music.
We've recovered audio from last night, and it's prettaaayy, prettaaaayyy, prettaay good.
A round of applause for @ChrisBec03, please. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/EJdw9hxnEY
— New Hampshire Fisher Cats (@FisherCats) May 28, 2022
• A couple of hitting shoutouts: First, to Diamondbacks outfielder Dominic Fletcher, who recorded a hit in 30 consecutive starts — the lone blemish was one unsuccessful pinch-hit appearance — between Double- and Triple A. Hitting streaks can be flukey, but Fletcher’s has not been. He’s batting .351 with a 1.001 OPS (so close, man, come on, let’s keep it even) between the two levels. Even flukier than hit streaks are cycles, but that doesn’t mean Orioles prospect Isaac Bellony shouldn’t be thrilled to the eyeballs with hitting a natural cycle Sunday for Low-A Delmarva.
Single, double, triple, home run. Yep, #Orioles prospect Isaac Bellony has hit for a natural cycle for the @shorebirds. pic.twitter.com/Vkdxc91ISA
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 29, 2022
• There have been so many no-hitters this year, it’s becoming ho-hum, but at least these two guys did it alone. Connor Jones, a former second-rounder the Mariners signed to a minor-league deal this offseason, tossed a seven-inning no-no for Double-A Northwest Arkansas against Amarillo on Thursday. He hasn’t allowed a run in three starts, a span of 22 innings. Then 20-year-old Yankees right-hander Yorlin Calderon, making his 2022 debut after being promoted from extended spring training, twirled a seven-inning no-hitter of his own for Low-A Tampa against Lakeland. He struck out seven.
RHP Yorlin Calderon gets called up to Tampa and makes quite the first impression in his first start of the season!
Calderon blanked the Lakeland Flying Tigers with a complete game no-hitter.
His final line: 7.0IP, 7K, 2BB, 0H pic.twitter.com/nVD8C9Ixvj
— Tampa Tarpons (@TampaTarpons) May 26, 2022
• You see something new every day. This time it’s a home run off a camera in center field, the ricochet sending the ball into the outfielder’s glove. Nice try selling the catch, Jaylen Palmer. We have replay. The camera giveth, and it taketh away.
It's a home run for the @BGHotRods!
Or is it a catch by the @BKCyclones?
Home run, it is: https://t.co/TKWVAziw69 pic.twitter.com/SSiBxkhcb9
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 26, 2022
• You want more? Are you not entertained? Well, fine. Here are two notebooks on Giants prospects, from me and from Melissa Lockard. And here are some notes on a few Cubs prospects. Want to know when Caleb Kilian will be in the big leagues, North Siders? Patrick Mooney is asking that question. And finally, I’d be grateful if you’d read this story about Rockies catcher Colin Simpson, who can perform a very unlikely trick.
(Photo of Kerry Carpenter: Andrew Woolley / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)