Minor League Baseball Daily Thread for April 12, 2022
Minor League Baseball Top Performers
After one week of minor league baseball (one weekend for non-Triple-A leagues), there have been plenty of impressive performances at all levels. On a weekly basis, I intend to produce this list on Tuesdays rather than a regular daily performers list to highlight the weekly performers.
The statistics are through Sunday for each player, and the intention will be that any player highlighted in the hitter or pitcher of the week will only get the honor once in the season in order to highlight as many players as possible throughout the season (though if a player is worthy of multiple hitter/pitcher of the day recognition notes, that’s another thing).
Let’s check out the top performers for the week of April 5 – April 10!
Hitter of the Week
The Twins drafted Christian Encarnacion-Strand out of Oklahoma State in the fourth round last summer. He had hit for average and power in JuCo and college, so there were few questions about his bat. That has shown true to start the 2022 season as Encarnacion-Strand has absolutely pelted the ball, with reports of more than a dozen balls exceeding 100 MPH exit velocity over Cedar Rapids’ first three games. He’s gone 10-14 with two doubles and three homers to open the season, driving in an incredible 15 batters. He’s even stolen a base for good measure, putting up a .714/.714/1.500 slash line. The biggest question is where he will fit defensively as Encarnacion-Strand has the arm to handle third but has struggled with the glove at times. Regardless, the bat is certainly showing out to open 2022!
Pitcher of the Week
While there were a number of excellent pitching performances in the first week, Julian Aguiar’s performance Sunday for Daytona against St. Lucie stood out as he tossed five perfect innings while striking out seven. Aguiar got plenty of buzz due to his performance in spring training after the Reds selected him in the 12th round in 2021 out of Cypress College. Aguiar can touch triple digits with a lively fastball, and his slider was absolutely filthy in his first start. The change ranks as an average pitch, but he commands all three pitches very well, and his ability to pound the zone with all three pitches could allow him to advance quickly through the Cincinnati system.
Hitting leaders (min. 10 PA for rate stats)
Minors
AVG – John Rhodes .857
OBP – John Rhodes .900
SLG – Hudson Haskin 1.583
R – Three with 8
RBI – Christian Encarnacion-Strand 15
HR – Seven with 3
SB – Johan Rojas 5
wRC+ – Christian Encarnacion-Strand 516
AAA
AVG – Leody Taveras .476
OBP – Ryan Noda .591
SLG – Cam Duzenack .895
R – Three with 8
RBI – Franchy Cordero 11
HR – Four with 3
SB – Four with 4
wRC+ – Cam Duzenack 276
AA
AVG – Chase Pinder .667
OBP – Chase Calabuig .727
SLG – Hudson Haskin 1.583
R – Chase Pinder 7
RBI – Jonah Bride, Zack Gelof 8
HR – Hudson Haskin 3
SB – David Hamilton 4
wRC+ – Paul McIntosh 492
High-A
AVG – John Rhodes .857
OBP – John Rhodes .900
SLG – Christian Encarnacion-Strand 1.500
R – Anthony Prato 7
RBI – Christian Encarnacion-Strand 15
HR – Jonny DeLuca, Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3
SB – Johan Rojas 5
wRC+ – Christian Encarnacion-Strand 516
Single-A
AVG – Misael Gonzalez .625
OBP – Brainer Bonaci .778
SLG – James Wood 1.250
R – Micah Bello 6
RBI – DJ Gladney 9
HR – Twelve with 2
SB – Dru Baker 3
wRC+ – James Wood 339
Pitchers (5 IP to qualify for rate stats)
Minors
GP – numerous with 2
IP – Nick Allgeyer 11
ERA – numerous with 0.00
FIP – Brett Kerry 0.01
WHIP – Julian Aguiar 0.00
K – Three with 13
AAA
GP – numerous with 2
IP – Nick Allgeyer 11
ERA – Sixteen with 0.00
FIP – Cole Sands 0.33
WHIP – Cole Sands 0.20
K – Three with 13
AA
GP – Eight with 2
IP – Simeon Woods Richardson, Bryan Hoeing 5 2/3
ERA – Eight with 0.00
FIP – Brett Kerry 0.01
WHIP – Brandon Walter 0.20
K – Bryan Hoeing 10
High-A
GP – numerous with 1
IP – Three with 6
ERA – Six with 0.00
FIP – Aaron Brown 0.90
WHIP – Michael McGreevy 0.20
K – Adam Macko 11
Single-A
GP – Freylin Garcia 2
IP – Ernesto Jaquez, Kyle Virbitsky 6
ERA – Six with 0.00
FIP – Michael Morales 0.76
WHIP – Julian Aguiar 0.00
K – Royber Salinas 11
Today’s games
AAA
Lehigh Valley @ Worcester
Sacramento @ Reno
Buffalo @ Rochester
Syracuse @ Columbus
Norfolk @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Jacksonville @ Durham
Memphis @ Charlotte
Nashville @ Gwinnett
Louisville @ Omaha
Indianapolis @ St. Paul
Toledo @ Iowa
Round Rock @ Sugar Land
Tacoma @ Albuquerque
Las Vegas @ Salt Lake
Oklahoma City @ El Paso
AA
Springfield @ Arkansas
Portland @ Harrisburg
Erie @ Somerset
Altoona @ Richmond
Hartford @ New Hampshire
Bowie @ Binghamton
Reading @ Akron
Birmingham @ Chattanooga
Corpus Christi @ Midland
Pensacola @ Rocket City
Tennessee @ Montgomery
Mississippi @ Biloxi
Amarillo @ Tulsa
Frisco @ San Antonio
Wichita @ Northwest Arkansas
High-A
Bowling Green @ Hickory
Lansing @ West Michigan
Dayton @ Lake County
South Bend @ Fort Wayne
Greenville @ Asheville
Greensboro @ Winston-Salem
Hudson Valley @ Rome
Jersey Shore @ Brooklyn
Wilmington @ Aberdeen
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities
Great Lakes @ Peoria
Wisconsin @ Beloit
Vancouver @ Tri-City
Everett @ Hillsboro
Spokane @ Eugene
Single-A
Carolina @ Fredericksburg
Clearwater @ St. Lucie
Delmarva @ Lynchburg
Dunedin @ Tampa
Daytona @ Palm Beach
Lakeland @ Bradenton
Kannapolis @ Down East
Jupiter @ Fort Myers
Augusta @ Myrtle Beach
Salem @ Fayetteville
Columbia @ Charleston
Visalia @ Lake Elsinore
Inland Empire @ Rancho Cucamonga
Fresno @ San Jose
Modesto @ Stockton
Benjamin Chase
After 6 years of writing for FanSided on various sites and offering contributions to various other websites, family changes have encouraged me to start this site. I spend a ton of time watching baseball at all levels, but I love watching minor league baseball on milb.tv as I'm hours away from the closest minor league team. This is an effort of all those games I enjoy on a daily basis!
