Although the results of Birmingham's rotation have been lackluster at best, each one of their starters is interesting for one reason or another. I didn't pencil out the scheduled turns before driving down I-65, so I've found out the scheduled starter when I've arrived at Regions Field, and for at least each of the last two days, I've looked forward to seeing what that guy is all about.
That interest could prove fleeting in short order if the 5.00 ERAs continue, but it'll at least carry through the rest of the Double-A season, which ends after next week.
Jonathan Cannon cruised through the Biloxi lineup the first time through on Saturday, but Jackson Chourio greeted him with a triple to the right-center gap to start the fourth, and that started a slew of hard-hit balls over the course of 30 pitches, including a second triple that scored the third and final run of the inning.
Once he got the third out -- a smoked liner that Colson Montgomery snagged -- the Barons responded with a two-run inning of their own, and Cannon regrouped well enough. He ended up holding the line on a quality start, although he had to strand the bases loaded in his final inning to get there.
He hit 97 with his fastball and reached 95 with it even in the late innings, so velocity isn't the problem. But he's tinkered with his breaking balls and the order of his arsenal over the course of his pro career, and that doesn't quite look like a finished product yet. He could throw them for strikes, but quality chase pitches proved tougher.
For Mason Adams, velocity could potentially be an obstacle as he tries to tackle Double-A.
The 2023 season has already been a smashing success for him. The Sox selected him out of Jacksonville University in the 13th round of the 2022 draft, and he's cleared 100 innings over three levels in his first full pro season:
| Level | G | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 17 | 77.2 | 74 | 6 | 18 | 94 | 3.36 |
| A+ | 3 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 2.50 |
| AA | 2 | 8.2 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 2.08 |
| Total | 22 | 104.1 | 94 | 8 | 28 | 124 | 3.25 |
Not bad for a guy who started the year serving as a bulk pitcher picking up innings behind bigger names.
Adams pitched on Friday, and I happened to see him walk four batters for the first time all season, and over just 3⅔ innings.
That suggests a guy who couldn't find the zone, but that wasn't the case. He threw 56 strikes out of his 89 pitches, and all of his walks took at least six pitches to issue. That was similar to his Double-A debut, when he walked three over five innings while throwing a decent percentage of strikes (52 out of 82).
Regarding Friday, the Biloxi lineup fouled off a lot of pitches, and Adams didn't want to come into the center of the zone, so they kind of battled each other to a draw. He couldn't complete four innings, but he also allowed just one run.
Adams worked 90-93, threw two kinds of breaking balls and a changeup as well. He seems to have a good idea of what he wants to do, and that worked for him as he conquered both levels of A-ball at 23. The question is whether Double-A hitters will allow him to do what he wants to do, and that's probably easier to answer more definitively when watching a fresh Adams at the start of the 2024 season, rather than one who's closing out a career-high workload at a career-high level.
Durham 11, Charlotte 3
- José Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Carlos Pérez, 2-for-4.
Biloxi 4, Birmingham 3
- Alsander Womack went 0-for-5.
- Colson Montgomery went 1-for-3 with a double, walk and strikeout.
- Bryan Ramos was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Wilfred Veras knocked out the hard part of the cycle while going 2-for-4.
- Edgar Quero singled once and struck out thrice.
- Tim Elko also wore the silver sombrero while going 0-for-4.
- Luis Mieses singled, walked and struck out twice.
- Yoelqui Céspedes, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Jonathan Cannon: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 WP
Highlights:
*Wilfred Veras' opposite-field homer:
*Here's a little animation I stitched together from photos of Montgomery's double:
Lynchburg 6, Kannapolis 5
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-5.
- Eddie Park, 3-for-5.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Calvin Harris, 0-for-5.
- Jordan Sprinkle, 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Peyton Pallette: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 42 of 64 pitches for strikes.
