Besides putting the Barons in a position to win more often not while boosting stocks of individual prospects and the farm system as a whole, the everyday success of Birmingham's five-man rotation has also made life pretty easy for the relievers.
Take Adisyn Coffey, the 2020 third-round pick who hadn't really experienced any sort of sustained, noteworthy success in his two full seasons, especially when accounting for age and level. After a rough introduction to Double-A last year followed by a disastrous 24.00 ERA in the Arizona Fall League, Coffey opened this season with his best work as a pro: 17 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 15 K.
Because the Barons seldom need more than three relievers in a single game, it's allowed Coffey's usage to be fairly regimented. Not only had he not pitched in back-to-back games, but he only pitched twice in a three-game period on two occasions.
Coffey isn't alone in experiencing newfound success in the wake of the rotation's dominance. Josimar Cousin and Plainfield's Jordan Mikel have taken it to new levels, Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa has been mostly excellent in four outings since the Robbie Grossman trade, and Anthony Dalquist and Gil Luna have been able to wend around a lot of walks for their best run-prevention work yet. It's all good news, but it makes Birmingham feel like Pitching Disneyland, while Charlotte looks an awful lot like Kamp Krusty.
The stark contrast was evident on Friday night. At the same time Jake Eder threw 6 ⅓ scoreless innings and left the rest of the shutout for Hoopii-Tuionetoa and Cousin, the Charlotte bullpen had to cover six innings after Sean Burke's three-inning rehab start, and the wheels came off in the seventh.
Coffey, the fourth Knights pitcher of the day and pitching on just one day of rest, entered the game with a 3-1 lead and, after a flyout to center, loaded the bases on a single and two walks, then gave up a Bobby Dalbec double that tied the game. He threw just 11 of 28 pitches for strikes.
Deivi Garcia replaced him and walked his first batter before leaving the bases loaded with a strikeout, but it foreshadowed further trouble in the eighth. He started by allowing six of the first seven batters to reach on a hit by pitch, two double and three walks, and finished having thrown just 13 of 36 pitches for strikes. The Knights led 3-1 through six, then needed outfielder Wynton Bernard to finish the game.
Perhaps Coffey was going to be in a turbulent adjustment period because that's how it often goes for pitchers on the fringe, but it's worth watching how he and his colleagues fare if and when they're promoted to Triple-A. If it looks this ragged on a too-frequent basis, it bolsters the notion that the Sox might try to press their luck promoting from Birmingham, at least whenever they feel like breaking up the team.
Worcester 13, Charlotte 4
- Colson Montgomery went 3-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Luis Robert Jr. was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Oscar Colás, 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- Bryan Ramos went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Zach DeLoach was 2-for-4 with a double.
- Sean Burke's return to Triple-A: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
- Adisyn Coffey's Triple-A debut: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Notes:
*Charlotte pitchers combined for 14 walks over nine innings.
Birmingham 5, Rocket City 0
- Terrell Tatum went 1-for-3 with two walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Jacob Gonzalez and Edgar Quero both were 1-for-4 with an HBP and a K.
- Brooks Baldwin, 2-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Tim Elko was 0-for-3 with a sac fly.
- Jacob Burke went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Jake Eder's best work: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Hickory 4, Winston-Salem 1
- Eddie Park was 0-for-4.
- Calvin Harris, 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Wes Kath was 0-for-3 with an HBP and a strikeout.
- Samuel Zavala had the same line, without the strikeout.
- Loidel Chapelli went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Peyton Pallette: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 47 of 74 pitches for strikes.
- Shane Murphy: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 39 of 56 pitches for strikes.
Kannapolis 4, Columbia 0
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Ryan Burrowes singled twice, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Grant Taylor: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 39 of 58 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*Baseball Prospectus' Ben Spanier was in attendance for this one.
ACL Brewers 8, ACL White Sox 4
- Javier Mogollon singled, got plunked, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Adrian Gil went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- George Wolkow wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Abraham Nunez went 2-for-3 with a triple, walk, strikeout and two stolen bases.
