Baby Jays Recap - Soggy night ruins Jacob Waguespack’s start

It was a wet night in the North East so there weren’t a lot of completed ball games to discuss, but the Baby Jays did see a 1-2 record with a suspended game and a postponed game.

Buffalo (12-7) - Game suspended in the Top of 4. Buffalo is leading 2-0

Buffalo took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning as Nash Knight homered and then Richard Urena reached on a fielders choice, went first to third on a Breyvic Valera single and scored on a wild pitch. Jacob Waguespack started and looked good through 3, allowing a single and hit a batter, while striking out 4. Buffalo will need 6 innings from the bullpen to complete this game.

New Hampshire (7-12) - Rained out

Vancouver (12-8) - Lost 7-3 to Everett

CJ Van Eyk started this one and struggled to miss bats, as his final line shows 4 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings. Van Eyk struck out 2 and had an almost equal mix of groundouts and flyouts. The contact was limited to 6 singles and a double, but that was enough to take the loss. Marcus Reyes pitched 3 innings of relief and allowed his first earned runs of the year. Reyes allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Cobi Johnson pitched 2 scoreless innings, walking 2 and striking out 3

At the plate Vancouver picked up 6 hits and 9 walks, but going 1-13 with runners in scoring position was the downfall. Davis Schneider hit his 2nd HR in 2 starts in the 4th. Tanner Kirwer had a double and a walk. Luis De Los Santos picked up 2 singles. Tanner Morris & Sebastian Espino each had a hit and a walk. Phil Clarke walked twice, while Cameron Eden had a walk and stole his 15th base of the year. Eden is 15 for 17 (88%) so far on the bases.

Dunedin (7-14) - Split a doubleheader with Tampa. Lost game 1 7-1 & won game 2 4-3

In Game 1, Jol Concepcion started and gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in the first inning, and then settled in. Final line was 4 innings pitched for Concepcion, the 2 runs allowed on 5 hits and 3 walks. Concepcion struck out 1, had a wild pitch and got 6 ground outs. Patrick Murphy made his second appearance of 2021, giving up a a run on 3 hits. The inning started double, single, single, then Murphy struck out the next two, had a wild pitch, walked a batter and then struck out the 3rd out. Jiorgeny Casimiri pitched the final 2 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. The big hit was a 3-run HR.

Offensively the D-Jays had 4 hits and 8 walks, but went 0-8 with runners in scoring position in game 1. Leo Jimenez had a single, scored the only run and walked twice. Jhon Solarte had 2 walks. Addison Barger had a double and a walk. Orelvis Martinez and Miguel Hiraldo both singled and walked once.

In the night cap, Dunedin was able to bust out of the gates with a 4-run 1st inning and then held on for a one-run win. Zach Britton hit a 2-run HR in the first inning, followed by Addison Barger doubling, scoring on a Jhon Solarte single, who then scored on a Jose Ferrer single after a MacKenzie Mueller walk. Barger added a single later in the game. Miguel Hiraldo had 2 hits in the game. Britton added a walk and was hit by a pitch later in the game. Hiraldo (5), Solarte (2), Berroa (4) each had a stolen base in the game.

On the mound, Alejandro Melean started and threw 3 shutout innings. Melean allowed 3 hits and a walk, while striking out 3. Julian Valdez allowed 3 runs, (1 earned) on 2 hits, a walk, a hit batterer and a strike out in his inning of work. Adrian Hernandez then threw 3 shutout innings of relief, allowing no hits, 2 walks and striking out 6. Hernandez has now struck out 29 batters over 14.2 innings this year, showcasing some significant swing and miss abilities, but as also walked 12 batters.

A deeper dive into Hernandez’s arsenal shows that he throws a fastball, a curve ball and a change up. The change up is the main offering, as he has thrown it 49% of the time. The fastball is thrown about 35% of the time, and comes in at an average of 91 MPH. It has reached 94, but also been as low as 85.4. Of the 130 change ups thrown, it has generated 66 swings. Looking at all the swings, 44 were whiffs, for a 67% whiff rate. Only 10 of the change ups have been put in play.

Hernandez’s change up comes in at an average of 81.5 MPH with an average spin rate of 2431 RPM. The average exit velocity on the change up is 79 MPH. To give some context to Hernandez’s change up, a quick review of MLB Statcast numbers, the highest spin rate in 2021 is Danny Duffy’s 2302. The best whiff rate on a change up in MLB is Patrick Sandoval’s 59.6%. Ultimately, if Hernandez can improve his fastball command, that change up will give him a good opportunity to be someone of interest. Perhaps he can grow to become the second coming of Marco Estrada

Today’s Probables

Buffalo - Will complete Wednesday nights game, leading 2-0 in the top of 4. Followed by a 7-inning night cap, where Nate Pearson will get the ball.

New Hampshire - Now scheduled for a doubleheader. Maximo Castillo will start game 1 at 4:30. No word on who is following in game 2 yet

Vancouver - Looking to get back in the win column as they take on Everett again at 10:05. Starter is TBD while Everett is sending 2020 6th overall pick Emerson Hancock to the mound for his 4th start of the year.

Dunedin - Take on Tampa but no starter has been listed for this one. First pitch is 6:30