by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
May 1, 2023
LAS VEGAS AVIATORS (AAA)
Record: 13-14
Team OPS: .883 / Team ERA: 6.27
JJ Bleday, who’s established himself as the Aviators’ everyday center fielder, has also been the team’s best hitter and most valuable player during the first month of the season. The 25-year-old former 1st-round draft pick leads all A’s minor leaguers in walks (20) and runs (28) and is tied for the organizational lead in home runs (7) while also sporting the best on-base percentage (.429) among A’s minor leaguers with at least 70 at-bats and boasting the best OPS (1.072) among those with at least 50 at-bats. Right fielder Cody Thomas has been nearly as good. The 28-year-old leads A’s minor leaguers in hits (33), doubles (9), extra-base hits (18) and RBIs (33) and is tied for the organizational lead in home runs (7) with Bleday while also putting up the best slugging percentage (.644) among those with at least 50 at-bats. The Aviators’ other starting outfielder, left fielder Trenton Brooks, who was signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason, has also been one of the team’s top hitters. The 27-year-old is slashing .288/.418/.562 with 11 extra-base hits and 15 walks through the season’s first month. Shortstop Nick Allen and second baseman Zack Gelof have both been doing a great job of getting on base since joining the team midway through the month. Allen is batting .339 with 8 doubles in 14 games, while Gelof is boasting an on-base percentage of .431 with 12 walks and 7 stolen bases through just 13 games. Top prospect Tyler Soderstrom, who’s been splitting time between catcher and first base, has been flexing his muscles with 13 extra-base hits and a .518 slugging percentage in 20 games, while catcher Kyle McCann has been coming on strong lately and is now slashing .302/.377/.491 through his first 16 games. The pitching staff has had its struggles, but starting RHP Luis Medina has notched 11 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings while posting an ERA of 3.86, and starting RHP Colton Eastman has struck out 18 in 19 frames while putting up an ERA of 2.84. In the bullpen, RHP Rico Garcia has averaged 11.7 K/9 with a 2.19 ERA, while RHP Billy Sullivan has averaged 11.3 K/9 with a 2.61 ERA, and RHP Austin Pruitt has averaged 9 K/9 with an ERA of 2.57 for the Aviators.
MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS (AA)
Record: 11-10
Team OPS: .782 / Team ERA: 5.41
Third baseman Brett Harris has been the RockHounds’ best hitter and most valuable player in April. The 24-year-old infielder leads the team with 8 extra-base hits and has been solid across the board, batting .328 with a .459 on-base percentage (best among A’s minor leaguers with at least 25 at-bats) and a .537 slugging percentage while putting up an OPS of .996. Outfielder Denzel Clarke, who has appeared in just 4 games this season since returning from the injured list, was awarded Texas League Player of the Week honors on Monday after going 8 for 16 with 4 home runs, 3 doubles, 3 walks and 9 RBIs to compile an OPS of 2.016 during an impressive 4-game run. After getting off to a somewhat slow start, outfielder Lawrence Butler has really been heating up and now leads the RockHounds in both hits and runs while also boasting the best batting average (.329) among all A’s minor leaguers with at least 75 at-bats. 21-year-old shortstop Darell Hernaiz has also overcome a slow start and is now slashing .313/.366/.453 with 5 stolen bases in 16 games. Outfielder Greg Deichmann leads the squad with 13 walks, while outfielder Chase Calabuig is tied for second on the team with 7 extra-base hits. Utility man Max Schuemann was boasting an on-base percentage of .400 before his promotion to Las Vegas, and second baseman Cooper Bowman leads the Texas League with 14 stolen bases in his first 17 games. Despite a number of more high-profile starting pitchers on the RockHounds roster, RHP Royber Salinas, who was acquired from Atlanta in the Sean Murphy trade, has been Midland’s most impressive hurler in April. The 22-year-old leads all A’s minor leaguer pitchers with 29 strikeouts, while issuing just 5 walks in 18 1/3 innings and posting an ERA of 3.44. 21-year-old starting RHP Joey Estes, who came over from the Braves in the Matt Olson deal, has notched 16 strikeouts in 17 innings of work while putting up a 3.71 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.88. RHP Ryan Cusick has compiled an ERA of 3.18 despite issuing 15 walks in 17 frames, while RHP J.T. Ginn has allowed 13 runs in 13 innings of work for Midland. RHPs Shohei Tomioka and Chase Cohen have impressed out of the bullpen. Tomioka has notched 13 strikeouts and allowed just 1 earned run over 9 frames, while RHP Chase Cohen has struck out 12 and allowed just 2 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings of relief for the RockHounds.
LANSING LUGNUTS (A+)
Record: 11-9
Team OPS: .699 / Team ERA: 4.55
Outfielder Lazaro Armenteros has been putting on a bit of a power display so far this season in Lansing. The 23-year-old leads the Lugnuts with 6 home runs in just 47 at-bats while also leading the squad with 7 stolen bases and boasting the best slugging percentage (.723) and OPS (1.127) among all A’s minor leaguers with at least 40 at-bats. Center fielder Caeden Trenkle, the A’s 9th-round draft pick last year, has been a spark plug atop the Lansing lineup. The 21-year-old leads the team in walks (14) and runs (14) while also sporting the team’s best on-base percentage (.425). Outfielder Jonny Butler leads all A’s minor leaguers with 4 triples while posting an on-base percentage of .353. Last year’s top draft pick for the A’s, catcher Daniel Susac, has been showing some pop, and the 21-year-old is tied for the team lead in extra-base hits with 8 while putting up a slugging percentage of .435. Backup backstop CJ Rodriguez is batting .310 in 29 at-bats. After getting off to a hot start, shortstop Max Muncy has cooled off a bit of late and is currently slashing .232/.321/.362 for the Lugnuts. Meanwhile, last year’s 5th-round draft pick for the A’s, RHP Jack Perkins, has been the team’s top starting pitcher. The 23-year-old has allowed just 1 run and struck out 17 in 15 1/3 frames over his first 3 starts. RHP Christian Fernandez, who was acquired from Tampa Bay last year in the Christian Bethancourt trade, has also impressed in the early going, allowing just 2 runs while notching 13 strikeouts over 13 1/3 frames for the Lugnuts. RHP Grant Holman has looked solid in short stints since returning from the injured list. 2021’s 6th-round pick out of Cal has struck out 10 while throwing 7 scoreless frames. LHP Kumar Nambiar has allowed just 1 earned run in 9 innings of relief, while RHP Jorge Juan has also allowed just 1 earned run and notched 16 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings while working out of the bullpen.
STOCKTON PORTS (A)
Record: 3-18
Team OPS: .609 / Team ERA: 5.70
The Ports lineup hasn’t shown a lot of pop in the early going, but center fielder Brayan Buelvas been the team’s top slugger in April. The 20-year-old leads the squad with 3 home runs, 9 extra-base hits and 6 stolen bases while also sporting Stockton’s best slugging percentage (.500) and OPS (.879). Outfielder Clark Elliott has done a good job of getting on base and leads the squad in walks (15) and runs (12) while also boasting the team’s best batting average (.290) and on-base percentage (.427). Outfielder Colby Thomas has also been productive for the Ports, leading the squad with 11 RBIs while also tying for the team lead in doubles with 4. Meanwhile, 20-year-old shortstop Robert Puason has gone 6 for 49, while 19-year-old outfielder Henry Bolte has gone 2 for 20 in April. On the pitching front, RHP Jose Dicochea has been impressive after missing most of last season. The 22-year-old has notched 18 strikeouts while throwing 13 2/3 scoreless innings over his first 3 starts. Last year’s 17th-round draft pick for the A’s, RHP Jake Garland, has also been solid out of Stockton’s starting rotation, striking out 20 in 20 1/3 innings while posting a 2.21 ERA. The bullpen hasn’t provided much relief for the Ports, but RHPs Aaron Cohn (2.35 ERA) and Carlos Guarate (3.60 ERA) have been a couple of the more reliable options in the early going for Stockton.
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