It was not a good day for the organization in terms of wins. In addition to the White Sox losing in Houston, all four minor league affiliates lost on Saturday. Of the minor league clubs, only Charlotte scored more than one run. The Knights lost a marathon in 13 innings. On the upside, all four starting pitchers were notable prospects and most of them had solid performances.
Norfolk 7, Knights 6 (13)
Micah Johnson 1-5, K, SB #1
Jordan Danks 2-4, HR #3, 2 BB, 2 K
Matt Davidson 2-6, 2B, 4 K
Erik Johnson 5 IP, 3 R, 2 K, 3 BB, 9 H
Erik Johnson’s struggles with the White Sox were a minor surprise, but his just above average showing in AAA Charlotte is more surprising and also maybe a sign that something is wrong. In previous starts he was struggling to hit 90 with his fastball, which is below what he was reportedly hitting last year (low 90s more regularly). In four starts with the Knights Johnson has 24 IP, 9 ER, 19 K, 5 BB, 26 H. Tonight’s 2 strikeouts were a season-low (in AAA) and the 3 walks were a season-high so it’s not like he’s getting better either.
The other Johnson, Micah, stole his first base in 5 AAA games. He’s 11-for-19 between AA and AAA. He’s hitting .318/.348/.364 in 23 plate appearances.
Huntsville 4, Barons 0
Trayce Thompson 1-4, BB, K, SB #5
Miguel Gonzalez 2-4
Michael Earley 3-4, 2B
Myles Jaye 5 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 5 BB, 4 H
Frederick 5, Dash 1
Tim Anderson 2-4, 2B, K
Courtney Hawkins 0-3, BB, 2 K
Jason Coats 0-4, 2 K
Keon Barnum 0-4, 2 K
Joey DeMichele 2-3, 2 2B, BB, K
Braulio Ortiz 4 IP, R, 6 K, 0 BB, 7 H
Hickory 4, Intimidators 1
Cleuluis Rondon 1-3, BB, SB #10
Thad Lowry 5 IP, R, 4 K, 0 BB, 3 H (season and Low-A debut)
Kanny had just 3 hits
Star of the day: Thad Lowry
Lowry, who is now officially listed as Thad Lowry instead of Thaddius, made his 2014 debut and full season debut tonight with a fine start. He was the hard-luck loser (example #1214512450 why wins and losses are meaningless for pitchers), but displayed solid control and racked up four strikeouts in five innings. Lowry, who replaced the recently promoted Tyler Danish in the Kannapolis rotation, pitched around a two-out triple in the second and allowed a solo homer in the fourth, but was otherwise in command.
The 2013 fifth round pick out of Texas had 30 strikeouts and 22 walks in 44.2 innings for Bristol last season so hopefully this start is a sign that he has improved his control in the offseason and at extended spring training.