TWitM: The Columbia Fireflies are first-half champs!

Columbia runs into a playoff spot behind Asbel Gonzalez’ 50 stolen bases

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?”

Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (31-43, 13.5 games back)

The Storm Chasers finished off the first half by losing six in a row in a sweep at the hands of the Durham Bulls to finish in ninth place among ten teams in the West Division. Cavan Biggio was 7-for-18 (.389) with a home run and four walks. Diego Castillo was 4-for-15 (.267) with a home run. Harold Castro returned from injury to go 6-for-11 (.545) with a home run. Cam Devanney and Joey Wiemer each hit a pair of home runs. Luca Tresh was 3-for-8 (.375) with his sixth home run of the year.

It was a pretty rough week for the pitchers. Evan Sisk had three outings, giving up just one unearned run in three innings. Jacob Wallace gave up just one run in five innings of relief with five strikeouts. Junior Fernandez gave up one run in three innings with three strikeouts.

Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals (33-36, 10 games back)

The Naturals won the first game of their series against Amarillo, but then dropped five in a row to finish in fourth place in the five-team North Division. Diego Hernandez was 5-for-17 (.294) with two doubles and a triple. Brett Squires was 5-for-18 (.278) with two doubles. Javier Vaz was 5-for-19( .263) with three walks and a steal. Carter Jensen hit 6-for-23 (.261) with a home run and two steals, earning a promotion to Triple-A. At age 21, he will be the third-youngest hitter currently at that level, after hitting .292/.360/.420 in 68 games for the Naturals.

Ethan Bosacker gave up just two runs in five innings in a relief performance on Friday. Ryan Ramsey tossed four hitless shutout innings of relief on Thursday with four strikeouts. Beck Way gave up just one run in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings of relief with five strikeouts, earning the only win of the week. Oscar Rayo gave up one run in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings with four strikeouts.

High-A Quad Cities River Bandits (39-27 first half, 1 game back)

The River Bandits fell one game back of the Cedar Rapids Kernels for the first-half division title. Overall, they split their six games with Lansing, winning two of three to begin the second half. Carter Frederick was 8-for-18 (.444) with two doubles. Carson Roccaforte was just 3-for-14, but all three hits were homers, giving him eight on the year. He also walked three times to give him 42 free passes for the year, the fifth-most in the Midwest League. Daniel Vazquez continues to be on a tear, hitting 12-for-24 (.500) with a double, triple, homer, steal, and three walks. He’s hitting .394 in the month of June with a 1.095 OPS.

Drew Beam was a hard-luck loser on Tuesday, despite giving up just one run over seven innings, then lost again on Sunday, giving up one earned run, but four unearned runs in four innings. Hunter Patteson gave up two runs in five innings, striking out four on Thursday, and he leads the league with a 1.99 ERA. Logan Martin improved to 6-3, allowing one run and two hits over five innings. Felix Arronde gave up just one run over 4 ²⁄₃ innings on Saturday. Patteson and catcher Omar Hernandez were promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Low-A Columbia Fireflies (36-30 first half, division champs)

The Fireflies clinched their first playoff berth in club history and will host a playoff series later this September.

They then dropped their first three games to start the second half, losing four of the six games overall with Carolina. Angel Acosta was 8-for-20 (.400) with three doubles and two steals. Brennon McNair hit a double and two triples to go with two steals. Josi Novas was 4-for-10 (.400) with 2 RBI. Colton Becker was 5-for-19 (.263) with four steals. Asbel Gonzalez had a three-hit, four-stolen base performance on Saturday. He had three walks and eight steals for the week, and his 54 steals overall are second-most in the minors.

David Shields gave up just two runs in five innings to earn his second win. The 18-year-old has a 2.39 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 26 ¹⁄₃ innings through seven starts. Yunior Marte struck out six in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings, allowing just two runs. Hiro Wyatt struck out seven in five innings with just one run allowed. Fraynel Nova gave up one run and one hit in three innings. Elvis Novas threw three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks. Mason Miller struck out 7 of the 12 batters he faced, without allowing a hit in 3 ²⁄₃ innings.

Joining the Fireflies roster is shortstop Yandel Ricardo, an 18-year-old shortstop who was hitting .342/.438/.533 in the Arizona Complex League. Also joining the roster are catchers Aldrin Lucas and Jorge Hernandez. Pitcher Blake Wolters was placed on the Injured List. Former first-round pick Blake Mitchell will begin a rehab assignment in Arizona.