TWitM: Waters wins Player of the Week, Chazz Martinez shines

Plus, the Royals drafted a home run hitter somewhat ironically named Jac.

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

This Week in the Minors: Tuesday, July 9 to Sunday, July 14

AAA Omaha Storm Chasers (10-8, 3.0 GB, International League West, 1st half Division Champs)

The Storm Chasers got back on track this week, heading into the All-Star Break on a 5-1 stretch. Outfielder Tyler Gentry led the way with nine hits and just one strikeout. He’s struggled with the strikeouts this season but slashed .529/.600/.765 on the week. Fellow outfielder Drew Waters took home International League Player of the Week honors. He led the league with 22 bases on the back of four doubles and three home runs. His 1.548 OPS on the week led Omaha’s lineup.

Catcher Brian O’Keefe had a solid week with six hits despite appearing in just three games. On the mound, starter Daniel Lynch IV made two starts, leading Omaha with eleven strikeouts on the week. He did work around six walks however but maintained a solid 0.79 ERA on the week. RHP Jonathan Bowlan made one start, going six scoreless innings with no walks and five strikeouts. He held opposing hitters to just a .227 average on the week.

Reliever Evan Sisk didn’t allow a hit over his 2.2 innings of work but did work around two walks while striking out four. Tyler Duffey didn’t allow a run over 3.1 IP, striking out three without walking a batter.

AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals (8-10, 4.0 GB, Texas League North)

It was a 3-3 week for the Naturals against Frisco. Javier Vaz led the way for the offense with eight hits across all six games. He had three doubles and a home run en route to a nice .320/.433/.560 slash line. First baseman Josh Lester hit .300 on the week, slugging 700 thanks to two doubles and two big home runs this week.

Outfielder Gavin Cross appeared in just four games this week but attended the Futures Game for Kansas City in Texas. He went 0-for-1 in the Futures Game and now only time will tell if he returns to Northwest Arkansas, or heads north to Omaha.

On the mound, lefty Noah Cameron continues to get back on track after a brief trip to the injured list earlier this season. In his lone start this week, Cameron pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, working around a walk and five hits while striking out nine. Tyson Guerrero worked around six hits, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight in his start this week. Reliever Jacob Wallace allowed just one base runner over 4.2 innings of work, striking out seven over that span.

Last year’s Pitcher of the Year in the Royals farm system, Mason Barnett, allowed just one run to score over five full innings of work in his start, walking two and striking out three. Finally, Eric Cerantola didn’t allow a hit or a walk over two appearances of work, striking out two over two full innings.

A+ Quad Cities River Bandits (9-12, 5.5 GB, Midwest League West)

It was a difficult 2-4 week for the River Bandits as they continued to sink down the Midwest League standings. Despite the losses, there were quite a number of notable performances on the week. Perhaps none were better than Chazz Martinez, who led the Bandits with nine strikeouts across two outings this week. He pitched 4.2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit. Frank Mozzicato got back on track in his start, allowing just one run over six innings, earning a quality start. He struck out five and walked two.

Lefty Hunter Owen pitched five scoreless innings in his start this week, working around two hits and a hit batter while striking out four. In what was his High-A debut, Ethan Bosacker allowed just one earned run over 5.1 innings of work. He struck out four and walked two.

The offense was rather quiet this week, but Carter Jensen led the Bandits with six hits. Two of those hits were home runs, giving him a .522 slugging percentage on the week. Third baseman Trevor Werner has started to come alive of late. He slashed .273/.320/.318. The power that we saw from him last season hasn’t quite shown back up against High-A competition. Outfielder Spencer Nivens came alive this week, leading the Bandits with a 1.009 OPS, including five hits and one home run. He walked as many times as he struck out — five times apiece.

There was no video feed for Quad Cities this week, so enjoy a Jac Caglianone home run instead.

A Columbia Fireflies (10-9, 3.5 GB, Carolina League South)

The Fireflies went 2-4 on the week against Charleston. The offense was all but absent all week, outside of Austin Charles and Jhonny Perdomo. Charles led the team with seven hits, slashing .389/.476/.722. He had a double, triple, and home run on the week as well as a stolen base. Perdomo has started slow this season but slashed .467/.467/.733 on the week with his first home run of the year.

On the mound, starters struggled for the week as well, making for a pretty poor combination in the win column. Emmanuel Reyes did alright, allowing two earned runs across four innings of work. He allowed just one hit but walked three. He struck out five. Reliever Jesus Rios went 3.1 scoreless innings across two outings.

Jarold Rosado was perfect over two innings of work with two strikeouts. Finally, Ben Hernandez has started to find his groove as a reliever. He was nearly perfect this week, allowing just two baserunners over five innings of work. He didn’t have a single strikeout, however.