Following a series split against the division-leading Carolina Mudcats, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers took to the road to take on the Down East Wood Ducks. The Cannon Ballers took four of six games from the Wood Ducks en route to the team’s first series win in 2021.
Kannapolis has been trending in the right direction lately as the offense is finding its rhythm and barreling up the ball solidly. The Cannon Ballers averaged nearly 5 runs per game despite getting outscored in the six-game series 34-31. While the offense was solid throughout the series, the pitching had highs and lows throughout, including a game where the Wood Ducks compiled 15 runs on 19 hits in a 15-2 rout of Kannapolis.
The Offense
Some bats that contributed to the cause for Kannapolis success were filled with youth and looking to find their footing in K-Town. Bryan Ramos has been a staple of the Kannapolis offense since the start of the season and this stretch was a coming out party of sorts for the Cuban. Ramos hit for a strong .333 average with four home runs and five runs batted in.
One thing that had been killing Ramos was strikeouts and his aggressive approach at the plate to mash the ball. He was able to come down to two strikeouts on the entire six-game stretch. The cut-down in strikeouts shows that the 19-year-old is adjusting to Low-A ball very fast and he’s looking for better pitches to hit. Despite not being able to draw a walk on the stretch, Ramos is showing that he can mash when he barrels up the ball and he’s able to sit on those pitches he’s looking for.
Two bats who came down to Kannapolis by way of Winston-Salem were Luis Mieses and Harvin Mendoza. Both had underperformed up until this road-trip with Mendoza and Mieses both batting .174 and .147 respectively since being called down to Kannapolis at the start of June.
Mieses’ raw stats stood out slightly further than Mendoza, but the two combined to go 19-for-49 with a home run a piece and five doubles. The duo were in sync during a 5-3 Kannapolis win on June 17 where they drove in or scored four of the teams five runs with Mendoza putting on a three-hit performance. Stretches like this for the pairing is important to settling into a new situation, like getting called down. Look for them to continue the stretch when Kannapolis comes back home this week.
As some Cannon Ballers shined, others had a struggle with little to show for in their performances. Chase Krogman and D.J. Gladney had been spark plugs for the good guys in the previous series against the Mudcats. This go against the Wood Ducks was not favorable as they both struck out nine times and only mustered four hits.
This was a slight step back for these players that had hype around them and brought energy to the plate and field. They’ve both performed well at home and will try to move on from this rough road-trip. Another Cannon Baller who has been the most consistent at the plate is that of Jose Rodrgiuez. The shortstop finally had some off days as he only played in half the series and hit right around his season average of .288.
The Pitching
With the offense providing a solid amount of run support, it was up to the Cannon Ballers pitchers to keep them in the game. One arm who had a rough go of it was Angel Acevedo. His turn in the rotation came up twice against the Wood Ducks to open and close the series. Both outings were not pretty as Acevedo gave up 12 runs in the series (5 earned) across 6.1 innings pitched, including the series closing game where he surrendered 5 runs in a Mudcats 6-0 final shortened in the fifth inning due to rain. The Venezuela native has yet to make it four innings in any of his six outings. If you’re boasting a season-to-date 1.70 WHIP and averaging almost two walks per outing like Acevedo is, it will be hard to keep the opposition off the board.
While Acevedo struggled, there were many bright spots for the Kannapolis pitching staff. White Sox top-25 prospect Bailey Horn had his most dominant outing of the year on June 19. The southpaw collected win No. 1 on the season after going a solid five innings of one-hit ball, silencing the Wood Ducks bats with nine strikeouts along the way. Horn has shown that he’s capable of producing at the Low-A level, it’s just that his results have not showcased how well he has pitched this season. With his ability to attack the strike zone and get ahead of hitters, Horn is due for more outings similar to this as the season progresses.
The Bullpen
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the bullpen stepping up this stretch of game for Kannapolis. This has been a blemish for the team throughout the season as the bullpen has imploded many times, giving teams numerous wins that seemed achievable to hold onto. In the first three games of the road trip, the bullpen shoved and kept the Wood Ducks in check with an impressive line: 14.2 IP, 4 H, 21 K, 3 BB, 0 R. Outside of the 15-2 rout on June 18, the bullpen has proven that they can get it done.
Manager Guillermo Quiroz is starting to find some consistency in the bullpen with a handful of names, such as Ty Madrigal, McKinley Moore, Jordan Mikel, and Martin Carrasco. All four of these relievers balled out tremendously against the Wood Ducks, showing signs that they can keep a lead in-tact or hold their opponents from scoring.
Looking Ahead
Kannapolis sits at 11-30 on the year. While the record may not illustrate the turnaround for the team, their performances are showing that their series against the Carolina Mudcats was not a fluke and that they can compete for wins on a nightly basis. Of course there is always room for improvement with this team, but they’re going to be a problem for their opponents when they have games where everything clicks. .
The Cannon Ballers return home to kick off a two-week homestand against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers and Charleston Wood Dogs. One player who won’t be a part of the rotation for the first set of games with Fayetteville will be White Sox top-5 prospect Matt Thompson, who landed on the IL on June 18. Thompson has been sidelined with a leg injury from his June 12 outing. The team was hoping to avoid an IL-stint, but did so recently. Hopefully this time off for the stud pitcher will give him time to reset and come back shoving, as his last couple outings didn’t go to plan.
Photo credit: Michael Guariglia/FutureSox
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