Tom Brennan - Low A Ball Isn't Major League Ball

Guppies are Fun to Watch!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

You see some greater extremes in the low minors than you do in the majors.

In the majors, we get tight, boring 2-0 games (memo to Mets: we need to win those, or any Mets games for that matter).

In low A you get games where St Lucie in the first 6 1/3 innings last night scored 18 runs on 11 hits and 15 walks.   

Tilien, Villalobos, and Salazar combined for 4 hits - and scored 11 runs.

That kind of game.

Meanwhile, their pitchers fanned 15 batters.  Which is not particularly unusual in the Florida State League, where strikeouts are a pandemic.

In fact, FSL teams on average have fanned 240 batters in 210 innings.

St Lucie has fanned "just" 207 in 205 innings, but also walked 137, or 5.7 per 9 innings.  Which is part of the reason they are 6-18.

19 year old SS Wilfredo Lara was activated the other day, and is 5 for 10 with a HR and 5 RBIs.  Way to jump out of the gate.

A lefty I've not heard of, 21 year old Felipe de la Cruz, had a very nice game, going 5.2 innings, allowing one hit and no runs and fanning 7.   Let's keep an eye on de la Cruz.

While we are at it, let's keep our other eye on 20th (and final) rounder in 2022, Eli Ankeney.  He threw 2 innings of the perfect king, and fanned 6.  So far, in his short pro career, the 22 year old lefty has pitched like a top overall first round draft pick:

10.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 19 Ks.  That is "WOW" stuff.

Just one game, an 18-4 win, but some interesting stuff.