Saturday is Herick Hernandez day, while David McCabe is set for a very intriguing matchup.
Saturday the Atlanta Braves system has five games with Columbus playing a double header. Obviously the headliner for the system is Herick Hernandez making a start, but it could also be very interesting to watch Reds elite prospect Chase Burns challenge David McCabe with his high-end velocity.
Schedule
Gwinnett Stripers Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6:35 PM ET
Probable Starters
GWN: Davis Daniel (0-2, 4.63 ERA)
JAX: Janson Junk (2-2, 3.28 ERA)
A day after being shut out on just five hits, the Stripers head back into action against big league depth piece Janson Junk, who has pitched for a couple teams in the last three seasons. The Carlos Rodriguez and Bryan De La Cruz outfield is going to be the duo to watch for Gwinnett as always, with Rodriguez being the most intriguing hitting prospect on the roster and De La Cruz as the team’s most talented bat with some recent big league production.
Columbus Clingstones at Chattanooga Lookouts 5:15 PM ET – Game 1
Probable Starters
COL: TBD
CHT: Chase Burns (N/A)
Columbus gets a test in the first game of the day, facing one of the top pitching prospects in the game in Chase Burns. This is Burns first Double-A start after three good starts in High-A. Pipeline’s #24 overall prospect was the second overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft after a standout college career at Tennessee and Wake Forest. It should be interesting to watch his elite velocity matching up with Braves prospect David McCabe – a player who some have had questions about facing premium velocity.
Columbus Clingstones at Chattanooga Lookouts Time TBD – Game 2
Probable Starters
COL: TBD
CHT: Ryan Cardona (0-1, 13.50 ERA)
This is the second game of the double header for Columbus, making up previous rain out. The player to watch here is David McCabe, who had two more hits yesterday – half of the total that the Clingstones managed as a team on Friday night.
Rome Emperors at Winston-Salem Dash 6:30 PM ET
Probable Starters
ROM: Herick Hernandez (0-0, 2.13 ERA)
WS: Seth Keener (0-1, 10.03 ERA)
Rome’s player to watch is going to be Herick Hernandez, last year’s fourth round pick who has started the season with 19 strikeouts over his first 12.2 innings of work. The talented lefty showed some positive signs in a tiny sample size last season after signing, and he is off to a very strong follow up in the early going this season. Seth Keener is opposing him, and he is a third round pick out of Wake Forest from the 2023 MLB Draft, so both of these pitchers are worth watching.
Augusta GreenJackets vs Delmarva Shorebirds 7:00 PM ET
Streaming | Radio
Probable Starters
AUG: Rayven Antonio (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
DEL: Sebastian Gongora (0-1, 11.57 ERA)
Mac Guscette continued his hot streak last night by hitting already his seventh double of the year and remains a player to watch while he is red hot. It’s also worth mentioning that after a slow start to the season Douglas Glod had a pair of hits, including a homer yesterday. Glod has dropped a bit in the prospect rankings over the past 18 months, but maybe finding some success yesterday can give him a push in the right direction.