Ethan Workinger will look to build off his monster performance from Thursday
The weekend is here and with it comes a plethora of minor league action to take in as you sit back and relax.
(12-18) Gwinnett Stripers, (17-13) Nashville Sounds
Probable starters
GWN: Nathan Wiles — 0-1, 1.42 ERA
NAS: Logan Henderson — 3-1, 2.70 ERA
After splitting a doubleheader on Thursday, Gwinnett will look to push their “winning streak” to two games on Friday.
Nathan Wiles gets the start, and while he’s been sort of yo-yo’d back and forth between Gwinnett and Atlanta, the 26-year-old righty has been sharp when he’s pitched at triple-A. In four starts this season, Wiles has posted a 1.42 ERA while striking out 21 in 19 innings of work.
Carlos Rodriguez had a very productive Thursday, going 3-6 with an RBI and two runs scored, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep that offensive momentum going. On the opposite end of the batting spectrum, Jarred Kelenic went hitless in his six plate appearances against the Sounds in the two games. He did, however, walk twice. Kelenic will look to get back on track on Friday.
(9-14) Columbus Clingstones, (12-12) Biloxi Shuckers
Probable starters
COL: TBD
BIL: Alexander Cornielle — 1-0, 0.51 ERA
Can Ethan Workinger follow up his eight-RBI, three-homer performance on Thursday with an even better outing on Friday? It may be ridiculous to hope for more, but hey, we can dream, right?
Workinger’s massive day at the plate against Biloxi kicked his May off in spectacular fashion, as the 23-year-old boosted his season OPS to a Columbus-leading .912 this season. Workinger is making a strong case to get the bump up to triple-A and if he’s able to string together a few more performances along the lines of Thursday’s, he’ll be calling Gwinnett home sooner rather than later.
Workinger received most of the attention on Thursday — and rightfully so. However, David McCabe also continued his strong start to the season, as he went 2-4, raising his OPS to .871 which is second-best for the Clingstones.
Columbus hadn’t named their Friday starter by the time this article was published, while Biloxi will counter with Alexander Cornielle.
(13-11) Rome Emperors, (14-10) Hub City SpartanBurgers
Probable starters
ROM: Herick Hernandez — 0-0, 5.14 ERA
HUB: David Davalillo — 1-0, 1.10 ERA
Rome will look to get back into the win column on Friday, as Herick Hernandez takes the mound for his fifth start of the season. Hernandez so far has a 5.14 ERA and while that may not be the most encouraging number, he has struck out 21 batters in just 14 innings of work. He has, however, walked seven batters this season as well.
At the plate, things have been rather stagnant for Rome in recent games. Limited to just five hits in the shutout loss on Thursday, the Emperors will look to rebound against Hub City. One player at the plate to watch will be Ambiroris Tavarez. He has cooled off considerably in recent games, but he has shown a willingness and capability to go deeper into counts and lay off bad pitches, so we’ll see if that’s able to translate over the length of an entire season.
(13-11) Augusta GreenJackets, (14-10) Kannapolis Cannonballers
Probable starters
AUG: Owen Hackman — 1-0, 5.40 ERA
KAN: Gabriel Rodriguez — 0-1, 5.40 ERA
Much like their high-A counterparts, Augusta is aiming to get back on the winning side of things after dropping a close one on Thursday.
Owen Hackman will make his fifth start of the year for the GreenJackets in this one. Through 16.2 innings, Hackman has struck out 19 batters en route to posting a 5.40 ERA in those starts. Hackman’s main issue has been giving up too many hits, as he has allowed 19 of them in less than 17 innings of work. On the other hand, he’s only given up one long ball, so hopefully he can rectify that one thing and take the next step in his development.
Meanwhile, Isaiah Drake has somewhat come back down to Earth following his strong beginning. While his overall numbers have dipped down — most notably his .685 OPS — he is still putting up strong at-bats every night. Hopefully things start to break right for the young outfielder.