KANNAPOLIS, NC — For the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the offense came heavy early, but couldn’t hold up the pitching and defense to win against the Down East Wood Ducks on Wednesday evening.
MIXED PERFOMANCE IN KELLEY’S PROFESSIONAL DEBUT
White Sox top pitching prospect Jared Kelley made his professional debut following his 2nd round selection in the 2020 MLB Amateur Draft. The hype around the 19-year-old righty was apparent as the crowd was buzzing as he took the bump.
Kelley’s outing was somewhat of a mixed bag. He was able to flash his pitch mix early, topping out around 97 mph on the fastball and sat 85-88 mph on his off-speed stuff.
While it was great to see a highly touted prospect take to the mound, it was rough to see his day end early on some bad luck. After allowing a single and Luisangel Acuna (younger brother of Ronald) to reach on a dropped third strike, Kelley balked in a run. He then allowed an RBI triple to fall behind 2-0 early. Kelley rebounded to strike out the next batter, but lost the subsequent two to walks.
Kelley’s day was done from there as his final line read: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K on 35 pitches (19 strikes). The exit for Kelley seemed similar to how last night played out for Andrew Dalquist, as he left after recording five outs. Obviously, its early in the season and pitchers need to get into game shape following the 615 day layover from the missed 2020, so look for both Kelley and Dalquist to have longer outings as they work into form.
OFFENSE STRONG EARLY, COOLS LATE
On the back of Kelley’s struggle of an outing and some costly errors in the field, the Cannon Ballers were down 6-0 heading into the 3rd inning when suddenly the switch was flipped. The offense came from an unlikely source in center fielder James Beard, who smacked a grand slam that narrowly cleared the right field fence. The outfielder is known more for his legs than his bat, as scouts rated him with 80-grade speed out of the draft, but the power stroke served as a nice beginning to his first full professional season.
The Beard home run was able to bring the Cannon Ballers within range of the Wood Ducks as third baseman DJ Gladney and catcher Daniel Millwee were each able to knock in a run, tying the contest at six runs apiece.
Jose Rodriguez and Chase Krogman kept their hot starts going in the right direction as they each secured two hits on the evening. The aforementioned Beard was able to score himself, aside from his homer, on a Bryan Ramos force out giving the Cannon Ballers the lead in the 4th inning, 7-6.
DEFENSIVE WOES CARRY OVER
On Opening Night, the Cannon Ballers were scored with four errors on the night and would go on to match that same tally Wednesday. The miscues, similar to the offense, came early for Kannapolis. Particularly from Millwee who accounted for two errors, which resulted in two runs for the Wood Ducks. Another error came off an errant throw by second baseman Samil Polanco, which led to another two runs for the Ducks.
The fate of the evening for Kannapolis fell on an error in the ninth. With a runner on second and two outs, a Keyber Rodriguez chopper headed for Gladney at third. The throw from Gladney pulled first baseman Sam Abbott off the bag and just missed the tag on Rodriguez. While confused at the call and looking to the umpire for reasoning, Abbott didn’t realize that runner from second had taken off toward the plate. As a result, the runner scored what ended up being the game-winning run, sending Kannapolis to an 0-2 start to 2021.
NOTABLE PERFROMANCES
One Cannon Baller that stood out on the pitching front was that of southpaw relief pitcher Trey Jeans. The Arkansas native came into the game for Kannapolis in the 4th and was able to pitch a commanding inning, striking out the side.
Opposite of Kelley, Jeans was heavy on his off-speed. He was able to get batters to chase down in the zone with an effective low-80 mph change-up and mid-70 mph curveball that dropped off the table. While he was knocked around in the 5th for three hits and run, the 25-year-old looked effective in his 2021 debut.
BACK IN ACTION
The Cannon Ballers will look to take a game away from the Wood Ducks Thursday as the team nears the mid-way point for the season opening homestand. Expect No. 6 White Sox prospect Matthew Thompson to take the mound for first pitch at 7:05 pm ET.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
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