The Winston-Salem Dash's final game against Bowling Green this season was cancelled due to an over-saturated field, so I made the drive for nothing.
Mostly, I wanted a second look at Brooks Baldwin, who is having a counterintuitively good time with the Dash. Not only is he doing his best work at the plate over his first 15 games at the new level ...
- Kannapolis: .245/.338/.445, 34 BB, 61 K over 283 PA
- Winston-Salem: .328/.379/.443, 5 BB, 13 K over 67 PA
... but he's also playing shortstop full time, after making just one appearance there with the Cannon Ballers. He played mostly second base and the outfield UNC-Wilmington before the White Sox selected him in the 12th round of the 2022 draft, so it's not like he was temporarily squeezed out of his primary position.
I saw him play on Wednesday, when he went 1-for-5 with a sharp single, a stolen base and two strikeouts, while handling the few plays, all routine, that found him in the field with ease. He's a switch-hitter, but he faced all righty pitchers. He possessed a knowledge of the zone, although the two times he expanded the zone came on two strikes. The first was a high and away 3-2 fastball he regretted offering towards while it was happening, and the other was a quality 0-2 slider that darted out of the zone over the heart of the plate.
Baldwin turned 23 a couple weeks ago, and considering he was Colonial Athletic Association's Player of the Year, it's not the biggest shock to see him thriving in A-ball. Double-A is usually where those third-day draft picks can be pressed into something more ordinary.
Memphis 7, Charlotte 5
- Adam Hackenberg went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Luis Patiño: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Rocket City 9, Birmingham 7
- José Rodríguez went 3-for-5 with his 17th homer, 27th stolen base and a strikeout.
- Colson Montgomery was 2-for-5 with his second homer.
- Alsander Womack, 0-for-5 with a K.
- Wilfred Veras went 1-for-3 with a double, walk and strikeout.
- Tim Elko, 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and a strikeout.
- Terrell Tatum was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Luis Mieses, 0-for-4.
- Jake Eder: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
- Jared Kelley: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Kannapolis 14, Myrtle Beach 10 (completion of Saturday's game)
- Jordan Sprinkle doubled, singled, walked twice, struck out twice and stole two bases.
- Calvin Harris went 3-for-5 with a K.
- Rikuu Nishida entered midgame and went 2-for-3.
- Peyton Pallette before the delay: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 20 of 33 pitches for strikes.
Myrtle Beach 7, Kannapolis 1 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Calvin Harris went 1-for-3 with a K.
- Seth Keener's A-ball debut: 1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 2 WP, 16 of 32 pitches for strikes.
