The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers brewed momentum into the final week of the 2021 campaign. The form comes after a six-game split with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in their final homestand of the season.
Series W-L: 3-3
Season W-L: 35-77, 33 GB of the Down East Wood Ducks
Batting: .213/.330/.367 Slash, 27 R, 40 H, 17 XBH, 30 BB, 74 K, 16 SB
Pitching: 54 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, .201 OPP BA, 29 R (27 ER), 37 H, 45 BB, 60 K
KROGMAN KRUSHED, HACKENBERG HACKED
Chase Krogman and Adam Hackenberg played the offensive catalysts for the Cannon Baller offense this week. Both collected seven hits apiece, knocked in four or more runs, and scored twice or more.
Krogman brought a new approach to the dish this week and the early returns are promising. His high leg kick changed in favor of a smaller kick and more direct approach to the plate. I previously mentioned that his swing had so many intricacies that needed to go right for success. Seeing this swing in person showed that new approach scrapped many concerns with the swing.
Swing aside, the 2019 34th-round selection had stand out games this week. His three hit, three RBI performance on September 11 wasn’t enough to get Kannapolis over the hump in a 9-8. It was chilling to see the outfielder run across the field with the American flag to remember the tragic events of 9/11, 20 years later.
Krogman crushed two home runs in back-to-back contests on September 8 and September 9. The latter home run helped put Kannapolis ahead for good in a 3-1 victory, their first of the series. On the downside, he did strikeout on nine occasions, something that will still need work heading into the offseason.
Hackenberg is an under-the-radar selection from the White Sox 2021 draft. The 18th-round draftee was another Cannon Baller to excel this week. At the plate, he hit safely in all six contests and strung together a multi-hit performance. That multi-hit contest came in a 6-2 win on September 12 to close out the series and the year at Atrium Health Ballpark. Hackenberg collected two of his four RBIs in that contest.
Defensivley, Hackeberg showed off his cannon of an arm. He gunned down four Woodpeckers on the base paths, two of which came in the series finale. The throws he made were on the money and had plenty of time to spare. Not only is he a force to be reckoned with in the batter’s box, he is dependable behind the dish. He’s throwing out Low-A East runners at an astounding 45% clip.
KANNAPOLIS RUNS RAMPANT
While Adam Hackenberg was controlling the base path, the Cannon Ballers were taking advantage of the Woodpeckers on them. As a club, Kannapolis swiped 16 bags which was tied for the lead in the Low-A East this week. The main beneficiary of the aggressive base running was Caberea Weaver who managed to swipe half of the 16 bags on his own.
It’s puzzling to see the uptick in base running aggressiveness this late in the going with the speedsters who have dawned a Cannon Baller uniform this year. James Beard and his 80-grade speed only have nine stolen bases heading into the final week. Jose Rodriguez was on pace to surpass 30 stolen bases before his impressive advancement through Winston-Salem, landing in Birmingham before playoff time.
LATE ADDITIONS BOLSTER KANNY PITCHING
The Cannon Ballers have welcomed a handful of pitching prospects to get a taste of Low-A baseball before the end of the year. Right-hander Sean Burke continued his strong form with 3.1 clean innings of work on September 8. He recorded five strikeouts, adding to his impressive 15.55 K/9 ratio in his 11 innings of work.
Southpaw Brooks Gosswein backed Burke the following day with four frame of one-run baseball and three strikeouts of his own. Recent call-up from the Arizona Complext League Everhett Hazelwood made his debut for Cannon Ballers later in the contest. The California native picked up his first career Low-A East win behind two innings of no-hit work with four strikeouts.
One of the newer arms with some hype is that of Gil Luna Jr. He’s one of the latest 2021 draftees to make the club. Like Hazelwood, the Arizona native threw two strong frame of relief in Kannapolis’ September 10 6-3 win. These bullpen additions have created excited for what the Kannapolis arms will look like next year. If some of the higher-status prospects in the rotation (Kelley/Thompson/Dalquist) get another year at the Low-A level, look for a strong year on the mound for Kannapolis in 2022.
OTHER NOTABLES
Bryan Ramos homered and collected three multi-hit performances across the week. Ramos walked six times, tied for the team-lead with Shawn Goosenberg for the week. His season-to-date .346 on-base-percentage ranks in the top-25 among qualified player in the Low-A East ranks.
Hello, D.J. Gladney. The Illinois native had two multi-hit contests across his four outings against Faytetteville. His strongest game came on September 10 when he went two-for-four with two doubles, four RBIs, and zero strikeouts. This was Gladney’s first contest without a strikeout since July 31 as he sits in the top-10 in the Low-A East ranks with 119 strikeouts on the year. His season has been a struggle, but this will be a contest to look back on for the 20-year-old.
Relievers Theo Denlinger and Zach Cable recorded save No. 2 and No. 3 respectively while allowing a combined two runs in 6.1 innings of work. As previously mentioned, these two are part of the brigade that excites me fore the 2022 campaign with Denlinger’s composure and Cable’s electric fastball.
LOOKING AHEAD
Is it really the finally week of the 2021 season already? Alas, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers will finish their year in Columbia as they take on the Fireflies, the Low-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. There is still hope for the club to break the 40-win threshold this week and end the season on a high.
Photo credit: Michael Guariglia/FutureSox
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