There may be no more relatable example of the way the combination of BB&T Ballpark's cozy confines and the Triple-A baseball are warping the numbers of Charlotte Knights hitters than Adam Engel.
Engel had another big night on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a homer in the Knights' 8-5 win over Gwinnett.
That's boosted Engel's June line to .304/.360/.529, and when you combine that with his defense, there's a case that he's a more playable option in center than either Charlie Tilson or Ryan Cordell.
And then you look at his splits at Triple-A:
- Home: .330/.387/.608, 7 BB, 21 K over 97 ABs
- Road: .190/.244/.369, 3 BB, 26 K over 84 ABs
Engel may still be the most suitable option for center field when Leury García's not out there, but this is why it's incredibly difficult to judge anything any Charlotte hitter is doing. Keep that in mind while enjoying Yermin Mercedes' two-homer game.
Charlotte 8, Gwinnett 5
- Seby Zavala singled and struck out thrice.
- Yermin Mercedes went 3-for-4 with two homers.
- Danny Mendick was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Dylan Cease had another start stunted by rain: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 12 of 25 pitches for strikes.
More:
*Mercedes' blasts:
Birmingham 6, Mobile 2
- Luis Robert returned to the lineup after a day off and looked refreshed, going 3-for-5.
- Nick Madrigal was 1-for-5.
- Blake Rutherford's hot streak continued: 2-for-5 with a homer and two strikeouts.
- Luis Gonzalez is picking up the pace as well: 3-for-4 with a double.
- Gavin Sheets went 3-for-4 with two doubles.
- Laz Rivera was 1-for-4.
- Lincoln Henzman: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP
Salem 5, Winston-Salem 4 (10 innings)
- Steele Walker was 0-for-5.
West Virginia 4, Kannapolis 3 (10 innings)
- Lenyn Sosa went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Bryce Bush, 3-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Corey Zangari was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Romy Gonzalez, 0-for-5 with a K.
- Amado Nunez struck out in his only plate appearance.
- Jason Bilous out of nowhere: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
AZL White Sox 4, AZL D-backs 2
- James Beard went 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Samil Polanco went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Jose Rodriguez, 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- DJ Gladney went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and an HBP.
- Bryan Ramos doubled, singled twice and struck out.
- Misael Gonzalez, 0-for-4 with a K.
- Yoelvin Silven: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
DSL White Sox 7, DSL Reds 6
- Alberto Bernal went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Cesar Jimenez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
