Athletics Prospects: Jacob Wilson stays hot for Midland

Wilson has been a standout for the Double-A squad that leads the league standings.

SWitch to K% etc

Las Vegas Aviators

Game Results

Record: 12-14, 3rd in PCL West, 6.5 GB

Season stats

• Logan Davidson - 12 G, 38 PA, 0 HR, 2.6% BB, 42.1% K, .222/.263/.222, 22 wRC+
• Jordan Diaz - 18 G, 75 PA, 1 HR, 9.3% BB, 22.7% K, .209/.293/.299, 50 wRC+
• Stevie Emanuels - 4 IP, 6.75 ERA, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 4.99 FIP
• Joey Estes - 24 ⅓ IP, 5.55 ERA, 8 BB, 20 K, 7 HR, 7.20 FIP
• Brett Harris - 24 G, 97 PA, 3 HR, 14.4% BB, 24.7% K, .309/.423/.494, 132 wRC+
• Darell Hernaiz - 6 G, 23 PA, 1 HR, 13.0% BB, 21.7% K, .211/.304/.421, 72 wRC+
• Max Muncy - 18 G, 71 PA, 2 HR, 8.5% BB, 23.9% K, .274/.366/.452, 105 wRC+
• Tyler Soderstrom - 22 G, 97 PA, 6 HR, 10.3% BB, 26.8% K, .238/.340/.536, 107 wRC+

Top Performers

Sunday was a big day for injury returns for the Aviators, with starter Joey Estes making his first appearance after a short injured list stint and J.D. Davis heading to Vegas for the start of his rehabilitation assignment. Davis wasn’t so hot at the plate in the game, but he was able to get four plate appearances in at designated hitter before being pulled late and had a double. On that double Davis got tied up inside on a 100 mph fastball, but managed to check swing a soft liner down the line. In Estes’s case he had by far his best outing of the season, and although he was limited to just 72 pitches he got through five innings scoreless. Estes did tend to miss up and out of the zone with his fastball and has really needed to reign in command all season, but he managed to avoid in-zone mistakes and was able to avoid the home runs and hard hit balls that have been plaguing him all year. On the other end of the spectrum Max Muncy played just one game this week before hitting the injured list, as he was jammed on an inside fastball and left the game after injuring his hand.

Brett Harris had a strong week at the plate, and ended it in the biggest way possible as he led the team in OPS this week. Early in the week Harris had a couple of good days including a three hit performance on Thursday, but Saturday he opened up the weekend with a bang by hitting a leadoff home run. He then capped off the week for the Aviators by blowing their Sunday win wide open, hitting a ninth-inning grand slam for his third home run of the season. Harris had some strikeout problems in the first couple of series, but since then he has been a machine, striking out less than 20% of the time and posting an OPS of .961 over the past 17 games. Tyler Soderstrom had his first really rough week at the plate, as he wasn’t hitting the ball hard as consistently as we’ve come to expect so far this season. Outside of a home run in the opener there wasn’t much to write home about, as he ended the month of April on a bit of a slide in what was overall an impressive month for him. Lazaro Armenteros hit his first home run of the season on Wednesday and then struck out in 11 of his other 15 at bats.

Midland Rockhounds

Game Results

Record: 13-8, 1st TL South, +1 GA

Season stats

• Cooper Bowman - 20 G, 90 PA, 2 HR, 14.4% BB, 26.7% K, .160/.284/.267, 61 wRC+
• Denzel Clarke - 18 G, 80 PA, 1 HR, 6.3% BB, 46.3% K, .151/.225/.205, 24 wRC+
• Ryan Cusick - 10 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 BB, 11 K, 0 HR, 2.57 FIP
• JT Ginn - 19.1 IP, 5.12 ERA, 5 BB, 16 K, 0 HR, 3.20 FIP
• Gunnar Hoglund - 26 ⅔ IP, 4.39 ERA, 9 BB, 25 K, 5 HR, 5.42 FIP
• Brennan Milone - 19 G, 78 PA, 2 HR, 9.0% BB, 26.9% K, .261/.333/.420, 108 wRC+
• Royber Salinas - 21 ⅓ IP, 2.11 ERA, 11 BB, 28 K, 2 HR, 4.18 FIP
• Daniel Susac - 10 G, 40 PA, 1 HR, 2.5% BB, 47.5% K, .158/.200/.237, 20 wRC+
• Colby Thomas - 20 G, 89 PA, 5 HR, 5.6% BB, 21.3% K, .316/.382/.582, 160 wRC+
• Jacob Wilson - 16 G, 64 PA, 2 HR, 1.6% BB, 14.1% K, .417/.438/.633, 191 wRC+

Top Performers

Jacob Wilson just keeps hitting for the RockHounds, and his performance at the top of that lineup is a big reason why Midland is leading their division. Wilson has been spraying line drives across the field, and has been able to turn in nine extra base hits in 16 games as well. He has been just as advertised, and struck out just once last week. Over his past twelve games he has four strikeouts in 46 plate appearances, but he also hasn’t drawn a walk since the second game of the season. His early count aggression has been notable, though there seems to be some effort being made for him to focus on waiting to ambush good fastballs rather than any pitch in the zone. Colby Thomas has likewise been a big contributor for Midland, and after a rough week against Northwest Arkansas he got started early with a double in his first at bat this past week. Thomas had hits in his first five games and on Friday jumped on a fastball in the first inning for a three-run home run — his team-leading fifth of the season.

It’s been objectively a tough season for Daniel Susac so far, as he has struggled mightily to start the season and spent time injured. Finally on Sunday, in the final at bat of the week for him we saw a glimpse of what was hoped for Susac as he hit a mammoth grand slam to tie the game. Midland would ultimately lose in extra innings, but the big swing from Susac put a bow on the week and can hopefully get him moving in the right direction. Cooper Bowman is another player in need of good stretch of play, and he unfortunately went hitless this past week. He wasn’t without impact, however, as he drew six walks and stole three bases.

Gunnar Hoglund appeared twice for Midland last week, and appearing on normal four day rest and still looking strong is a fairly big deal. Hoglund’s first outing of the week was his worst, as he struggled to put away Corpus Christi hitters and wasn’t particularly sharp. The Hooks batters jumped all over him throughout the game and he never had a clean inning, allowing two big home runs and four total runs. Sunday was better in terms of his overall look — he located better and was able to get in positive counts and finish off hitters. Unfortunately hard hit balls were still an issue, as two home runs spoiled his outing and he has now allowed five over his past three starts. None of Hoglund’s pitches have shown the ability to be consistent out pitches for him, and that has been a problem for him early this season, though his sinking fastball has been the most effective in regards to forcing weak contact. Royber Salinas has been the picture of consistency early this season, and for the fourth straight time he struck out seven batters. Salinas’s stuff looks sharp and he seems to have put his injury issues from last season well in the past, but his command has not really made progression and while he is still only 23 he hasn’t done much in April to answer the lingering concerns about a bullpen outcome.

Lansing Lugnuts

Game Results

Record: 10-11, 3rd in MWL East, 4 GB

Season stats

• Henry Bolte - 19 G, 88 PA, 3 HR, 9.1% BB, 39.8% K, .256/.341/.462, 119 wRC+
• Brayan Buelvas - 20 G, 94 PA, 3 HR, 14.9% BB, 24.5% K, .241/.351/.418, 112 wRC+
• James Gonzalez - 18 ⅓ IP, 2.45 ERA, 2 BB, 23 K, 2 HR, 3.21 FIP
• Wander Guante - 14 IP, 5.14 ERA, 4 BB, 13 K, 4 HR, 6.96 FIP
• Will Simpson - 19 G, 86 PA, 2 HR, 22.1% BB, 24.4% K, .375/.512/.594, 198 wRC+
• Jacob Watters - 13 ⅓ IP, 4.73 ERA, 7 BB, 9 K, 0 HR, 4.04 FIP

Top Performers

Will Simpson’s walk rate took a tumble this week as Dayton pitchers seemed a bit more willing to challenge him in the zone, so all he did to respond was go 10-21 with two triples. Simpson has been an absolute machine, maintaining an on base percentage above .500 and finding ways to hit balls hard when he makes contact. The contact rates are still a bit below where you would like to see from a college bat in High-A, but early returns on him this year are trending upwards. The same could be said for Henry Bolte, who got off to an awful start at the plate but now seems to be finding form. Bolte struggled with his pitch selection in the first couple of weeks of the season, but now is working more towards driving good pitches in the zone and was able to have an impact all week. Bolte utilized his speed with five stolen bases last week, drew five walks, and only struck out six times in 25 plate appearances. There is likely always going to be an element of swing-and-miss to Bolte’s game given the holes in his swing, but if his pitch recognition takes a leap forward and can be similar to his showing last week then he can mitigate those issues and hopefully continue to hit for the power he has early this season.

Really there isn’t a significant prospect for Lansing that can say they had a poor week, and even the fringe guys like Brayan Buelvas have been hitting well. Buelvas has looked much more comfortable at the plate in comparison to year’s past, and added on four extra base hits this week. James Gonzalez may be pushing for a promotion in the near future given his play, though that Midland rotation is hard to crack at this point in time. Gonzalez is finding the zone at a rate far higher than at any point in his career, and even with his walk rates diving off of a cliff he has managed to strike out batters at a high rate. At 23 Gonzalez will really need a bigger test before any grand conclusions can be made, but his starts are worth keeping an eye on going forward. His fastball has legitimate life up in the zone, and when he is putting it there consistently and matching it with a solid breaking ball he can get through an A-ball lineup with relative ease.

Stockton Ports

Game Results

Record: 5-14, 4th in CAL North, 9 GB

Season stats

• Cole Conn - 18 G, 83 PA, 0 HR, 20.5% BB, 21.7% K, .250/.451/.333, 133 wRC+
• Nathan Dettmer - 9 ⅔ IP, 10.24 ERA, 4 BB, 11 K, 2 HR, 5.72 FIP
• Will Johnston - 14 IP, 1.93 ERA, 8 BB, 26 K, 0 HR, 2.07 FIP
• Ryan Lasko - 18 G, 84 PA, 0 HR, 19.0% BB, 28.6% K, .197/.369/.242, 86 wRC+
• Nate Nankil - 17 G, 73 PA, 2 HR, 11.0% BB, 17.8% K, .259/.411/.431, 135 wRC+
• Myles Naylor - 17 G, 76 PA, 2 HR, 22.4% BB, 26.3% K, .136/.329/.271, 76 wRC+
• Tzu-Chen Sha - 13 ⅔ IP, 6.59 ERA, 7 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 6.70 FIP
• Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang - 12 ⅔ IP, 1.42 ERA, 2 BB, 18 K, 0 HR, 1.70 FIP

Top Performers

Ryan Lasko has not been good at all to start this year, but this past week was by far the best performance he has put out there as he drew more walks than strikeouts in his 25 plate appearances. Lasko’s inability to make contact has been a finer point in a largely underwhelming Stockton offense, but each passing week has been a bit better than the last and there is certainly some momentum to take into May. Myles Naylor has been on a similar spectrum, posting solid on base numbers this season especially relative to his age, but the impact contact hasn’t been there at all for him. Naylor has largely not found the sweet spot of the barrel, hitting ground balls or pop ups with a regularity that makes it difficult for him to find gaps in the defense. Last week was a particularly rough showing as he had only one hit, though again he is making contact at a rate above what was expected of him given his amateur profile. Should the contact quality improve he certainly has the physical toolset to put up big numbers.

Pitching standouts for Stockton are the same two as all season. In two outings last week Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang struck out ten batters across 7 ¹⁄₃ innings, with no walks and only one total run allowed. Zhuang has been fantastic for a player who hasn’t pitched since June of 2022, and with his age he will likely be among those the A’s target to push in the coming weeks even if he is still working back to full form. Will Johnston is another of the older pitching prospects featured on this roster, and he has been posting absurd strikeout rates all season. This past outing Johnston faced ten batters in relief, struck out six of them, and allowed just one hit. Johnston’s utilization has been weird this season as he has two outings of 75+ pitches and two others throwing fewer than 40, and it’s unclear if the A’s are going to have him move forward as a reliever or starter. Likely his role will be as a reliever, where he is able to work around his command issues and in six innings as a reliever has allowed one baserunner and struck out 13 batters.

Roster Moves:

4/23 - Las Vegas Aviators activated RHP Gerardo Reyes from 7-day IL
4/24 - 1B Quincy Nieporte assigned to Midland Rockhounds
4/24 - Las Vegas Aviators place SS Max Muncy on 7-day IL
4/24 - Oakland Athletics recall SS Darell Hernaiz from LV Aviators
4/25 - Las Vegas Aviators activated SS Logan Davidson
4/26 - LHP Diego Barrera assigned to Las Vegas Aviators from Stockton Ports
4/26 - C Jose Mujica assigned to Midland Rockhounds from Lansing Lugnuts
4/26 - LHP Garrett Irvin assigned to Midland Rockhounds from Lansing Lugnuts
4/28 - LHP Diego Barrera assigned to Stockton Ports from Las Vegas Aviators
4/28 - Oakland Athletics sent 3B JD Davis on a rehab assignment to Las Vegas Aviators
4/28 - Las Vegas Aviators activated RHP Joey Estes from the 7-day IL