The 11 strikeouts that Levi Sterling put up in his last start were not only a personal best, but also the most in Bradenton Marauders franchise history. It’s been a bit of an up and down season for Sterling, but things appear to be coming together.
He has apparently adjusted the arsenal a bit, as according to statcast, he leaned heavily on the slider and four-seam fastball this past outing. After adding a two-seamer in the offseason, it had been the primary fastball he threw for the majority of the season.
This time around, however, it was the four-seamer that he used more at a near 30% rate. He didn’t miss many bats with either of the fastballs, but they did help set up both the slider (48.1% whiff rate) and curveball (66.7%), which did the majority of the damage when it came to missing bats.
Sterling wasn’t alone in having a strong pitching performance this past week for Bradenton, as Reinold Navarro put together perhaps his best start of the season over the weekend.
The left-handed Navarro retired the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a single. He would retire the next batter, facing one over the mininum over five innings pitched, walking none and striking out six.
Although he didn’t strike any batter out the final two innings, he remained in control, and posted a near 40% whiff rate with his fastball, which he threw nearly two-thirds of the time.
Those outings will be the last start they have for Bradenton, as it was announced that both would be promoted to High-A Greensboro.
Axiel Plaz is starting to pick up more attention in the national media, climbing up prospect lists, and even being included on FanGraphs updated Top 100.
He flashed a bit of why he’s starting to be held in a higher regard, slugging four home runs this past week against Winston-Salem, with five of his six hits going for extra bases.
Plaz kicked the week off with a pair of home runs on Tuesday, one to each side of the field. He would then finish up by homering in each of the final two games of the weekend.
With some of the most impressive raw power in the system, Plaz is up to 14 home runs on the season, which it’s worth noting he did miss some time after getting hit in the face by a pitch.
On top of the home runs, he is also maintaining a near .300 average this season, and is striking out under 20% of the time.
LHP Jacob Bimbi, Greensboro
1-0, 5 IP, H, 7 K
Thrusted into a starting role, Bimbi has responded well, but was fantastic this past week in tossing five shutout innings while striking out seven batters.
RHP Dariel Florentino, DSL Pirates
Last Week: 1-0, 2/0, 5 IP, H, BB, 7 K
There haven’t been too many great pitching performances down in the Dominican, but Florentino put together five shutout innings with seven strikeouts over two appearances this past week.
2B/OF Dylan Palmer, Greensboro
Last Week: 7-16 (.438/.524/.500), 3 R, 2B, RBI, 4 BB, K, SB
One of the fastest players in the system, Palmer put together a strong week against Winston-Salem, walking four times compared to striking out once, reaching base over half the time, and even walking off a game (through a reach by error).
INF Yordany De Los Santos, Greensboro
Last Week: 7-23 (.304/.333/.348), 7 R, 2B, 8 K, 5/7 SB
For the second straight season, De Los Santos has hit the 40 stolen base mark, and will have a couple of weeks to reach 50, which he also did last year. He stole five this past week, as well as scored seven runs.
RHP Seth Hernandez, Greensboro
Last Week: Did not pitch, IL
OF Edward Florentino, Greensboro
Last Week: 5-23 (.217/.357/.391), 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, 1/1 SB
RHP Wilber Dotel, Indianapolis/Pittsburgh
Last Week (Majors): 1/0, 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Last Week (Minors): 1/0, 2 IP, H, ER, BB, K
RHP Khristian Curtis, Indianapolis
Last Week: 1/0, 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K
C Easton Carmichael, Altoona
Last Week: 3-14 (.214/.250/.214), R, RBI, BB, 4 K
3B Murf Gray, Altoona
Last Week: 5-18 (.278/.409/.278), 5 R, RBI, SB, 3 BB, 6 K
SS Wyatt Sanford, Greensboro
Last Week: 3-19 (.158/.320/.368), 3 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K, 1/1 SB
C Axiel Plaz, Greensboro
Last Week: 6-20 (.300/.364/.950), 5 R, 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, BB, 2 K
INF Duce Gourson, Indianapolis
Last Week: 5-20 (.250/.286/.300), 2 R, 2B, BB, 7 K, 1/1 SB
Rafael Flores Jr., Pittsburgh
Last Week: 7-15 (.467/.500/1.067), 4 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, BB, 5 K
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