Minor League Baseball Players of the Week for July 12, 2022
Minor League Baseball Weekly Top Performers
As minor league baseball heads into draft week, with a host of new players coming into the fold from the draft, those who are currently on rosters did their level best to impress. Let’s check out who took home top honors for the first full week of July:
Hitter of the Week
A 2018 signee by the Reds out of the Dominican, Elly De La Cruz began drawing plenty of prospect attention last season when he made his stateside debut and simply crushed the ball, tallying 35 extra-base hits in just 61 games between complex ball and the Florida State League. The Reds promoted the 6’5″ 20-year-old to High-A to open 2022, and April was a bit of a struggle, slashing .254/.288/.476 with a 3/24 BB/K. However, De La Cruz has absolutely tortured Midwest League pitching ever since, with a .318/.381/1.031 slash line, 17 home runs, and 22 stolen bases. De La Cruz still has plenty of swing and miss to his game, and the Reds are working on his final defensive home as he’s played the left side of the infield as his primary positions in 2022, though his arm would work well in a corner outfield spot. Most midseason prospect lists will have De La Cruz as one of their fastest risers, and he should soon have the chance to prove himself against upper minors pitching. For now, he continues to torture High-A arms, as he did this past week, to the tune of a .467/.556/1.467 line with five home runs and three steals, and he even posted an excellent 3/1 BB/K rate over the week.
Pitcher of the Week
From the time he was first scouted for the 2017 draft as a prep pitcher in Georgia, DL Hall was known for his impressive curveball. The Orioles drafted him 21st overall, and it’s been an adventure since. Hall has struggled with health and command in his time in the minors, though when he’s maintained health, he’s tended to only get better and sharper with his command as he gets deeper into a season. After a stress reaction in his elbow ended his 2021 and delayed the beginning of his 2022, Hall has seemingly hit his stride in Triple-A with Norfolk and could be headed to Baltimore soon. The Orioles would be excited to get his frontline combination of stuff from the left side at the major league level, as Hall works in the mid-90s with his electric fastball, showing late rise through the zone, and he can reach back for upper-90s and has even touched triple digits late into starts. He offsets the fastball with a plus slider that has overtaken his curve as his best – and most consistent – secondary pitch, though the curve is still a plus offering. He also works in a change that is at least average and has flashed much better on his best days. While Hall struggled with command in his final two starts in June, he has bounced back in July, and against Jacksonville this week, he tied a personal high by striking out 14 hitters, going six innings, allowing one run on three hits and walking two.
Hitters
AAA
Gosuke Katoh, Syracuse – .400/.478/.950, 4 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3/5 BB/K
Jarred Kelenic, Tacoma – .389/.560/1.056, 6 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 6/3 BB/K, SB
Nick Pratto, Omaha – .353/.560/.882, 5 R, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 8/4 BB/K
AA
Livan Soto, Rocket City – .556/.667/.778, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 6/2 BB/K
Izzy Wilson, Portland – .500/.550/.889, 6 R, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 8 RBI, 2/2 BB/K
High-A
Elly De La Cruz, Dayton – .467/.556/1.467, 6 R, 5 HR, 5 RBI, 3/1 BB/K, 3 SB
Dariel Lopez, Greensboro – .600/.625/.933, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 1/2 BB/K
Noelvi Marte, Everett – .500/.640/1.222, 11 R, 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 5/2 BB/K, SB
Single-A
Heston Kjerstad, Delmarva – .692/.778/.923, 3 R, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 5/2 BB/K
Daniel Mateo, Down East – .500/.533/1.214, 5 R, 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0/3 BB/K, 4 SB
Rodolfo Nolasco, Bradenton – .500/.625/1.333, 9 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 6/3 BB/K
Patrick Romeri, Palm Beach – .563/.632/1.250, 6 R, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3/2 BB/K
Complex Leagues
Oliver Carrillo, DSL Padres – .538/.632/1.231, 4 R, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5/4 BB/K
Rafael Cruz, DSL Twins – .458/.519/1.292, 8 R, 2 2B, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 3/6 BB/K
Felix Reyes, FCL Phillies – .467/.500/1.000, 9 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1/1 BB/K
Ricardo Toro, FCL Astros Blue – .455/.647/1.273, 6 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4/2 BB/K
Rosman Verdugo, ACL Padres – .286/.412/.857, 2 R, 2B, 2 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 3/5 BB/K
Pitchers
AAA
Matt Dermody, Iowa – 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
DL Hall, Norfolk – 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 14 K
AA
Michael Baird, Hartford – 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Eury Perez, Pensacola – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
High-A
T.J. Sikkema, Hudson Valley – 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
Tyler Uberstine, Greenville – 5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Nick Zwack, Brooklyn – 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Single-A
Reid Johnston, Lynchburg – 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Complex Leagues
Luis Perales, FCL Red Sox – 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Edwar Polimir, DSL NYY Bombers – 8 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 16 K
Miguel Pozo, DSL NYY Bombers – 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Juan Querecuto, ACL Mariners – 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Statistical leaders across minors (qualified min. 125 AB or 60 IP)
Hitting
AVG – Jancarlos Cintron .359, Vaun Brown .354, Jordan Lawlar .337, Jacob Gonzalez .336, Alec Burleson .336
OBP – Esteury Ruiz .467, Niko Kavadas .461, Austin Gauthier .451, Max Schuemann .447, Logan Porter .445
SLG – Moises Gomez .664, Matt Gorski .664, Corbin Carroll .655, Kerry Carpenter .641, Vaun Brown .639
HR – Jhonkensy Noel/Moises Gomez 25, Kerry Carpenter/Matt Gorski/Nicholas Northcut/Hunter Goodman/Sean Roby 23
SB – Esteury Ruiz 60, Max Ferguson 53, Omar De Los Santos/Wilderd Patino 47, Mike Antico 43
wRC+ – Niko Kavadas 194, Vaun Brown 177, Matt Gorski 172, Corbin Carroll/Kerry Carpenter 171
Pitching
GP – Zach Lee 37, Zach McAllister 34, Kaleb Ort/Miguel Del Pozo/Fernando Cruz 33
IP – Peyton Battenfield 97 1/3, Gordon Graceffo 92, Caleb Boushley 91 2/3, Victor Santos 90 1/3, Zane Mills 90
ERA – Gavin Stone 1.34, Taylor Dollard 1.40, Taj Bradley 1.51, Gavin Williams 1.64, David Festa 1.76
WHIP – Jack Leftwich 0.84, Gordon Graceffo 0.86, Casey Lawrence 0.86, Taj Bradley 0.87, Ricky Tiedemann 0.87
K – Royber Salinas 120, Kyle Harrison 119, Brandon Pfaadt/Mason Montgomery 118, Brayan Bello 114
FIP – Jack Leftwich 1.94, Gavin Stone 2.08, Ricky Tiedemann 2.41, Gavin Williams 2.42, David Festa 2.51
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!
