Mariners minor league daily wrap up: June 6th, 2024
By Berlin Kofoed, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Back to action with the Seattle Mariners minor league affiliates with a past full day of games to look at for Thursday, June 6th, 2024, Circling Seattle Sports writer and M’s contributor Berlin Kofoed has your wrap up as we approach the end of the week! Teams continue to roll along into early June, even thought there are no transactions to report for this past day.
Mariners minor-league transactions
No roster moves at time of writing.
June 06, 2024 Wrap-Up
Dominican Summer League
DSL Mariners (0-3) - DSL Angels (3-0)
1 - 5
W: Dioris De La Rosa (1-0)
L: Juan Cazarez (0-1)
The DSL Mariners are still struggling to put together enough runs to pull off a win in these early days, but with a lineup that rotates new players, it’s hard to really get anything going. Juan Cazarez got his first career start, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits, but striking out 2. Ball control seems to be a bit of an issue for Cazarez, with two wild pitches allowing runners to advance each time. While the DSL Angels starting pitcher saw 3 or 4 batters in each inning, Cazarez saw 4-7 batters.
Cazarez’s final line: 4.0IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K, 0ER, 6.75ERA
The DSL Mariners drew a total of 6 walks through 32 at bats, which is a good sight to see. Walking is preferable to seeing the guys striking out left and right, because it shows that there is some level of plate discipline already being enforced at this level.
Much like in game 2, the DSL Mariners were shutout until the final inning, leaving 10 on base throughout the 9 innings. Still going to be interesting seeing how the team shapes up through the games, as it’s just too early to really make any opinions on these players.
Dominican Summer League notes
YESTERDAY: The DSL Mariners lost 5-1 to the DSL Angels yesterday…Joshua Francis went 1-for-2 while registering 1 RBI and 2 walks…Gustavo Beltran recorded the only run for the Mariners…Zeus Nunez tallied 2 walks…on the mound Juan Cazarez pitched 4.0 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 8 hits with 0 walks and 2 strikeouts.
TODAY: The DSL Mariners will take on the DSL Giants Orange…due to rain the game is postponed until further notice.
Arizona Complex League
ACL Mariners (12-13) - ACL Diamondbacks (16-8)
4 - 13
W: Anderson Cardenas (1-0)
L: Aneury Lora (0-1)
In a dominant show from the ACL Diamondbacks, the ACL Mariners fall behind .500 and remain at 3rd in the ACL West. The team struck out a painful 13 times in 31 plate appearances, which is rough to see. Many of the guys on this team are young and new, so plate discipline is something that still needs to be learned, so I hope that throughout the season the strikeout amounts lessens considerably.
Aneury Lora got his 1st start of the season (his 5th game), going 1.2 innings and earning himself 6 runs against his ERA, which fell to 6.59. Lora was only able to strike out one batter, which is definitely low for his record. This is his worst game of the season, only allowing four runs throughout the month of May across 12.0 innings. Hopefully, Lora is able to get the control he’s shown back in upcoming games. It isn’t a good sign that his first actual start was so rough, especially if they are hoping to run him as a starting pitcher going forward.
Lora’s final line: 1.2IP, 6H, 6R, 6ER, 2BB, 1K, 0HR, 6.59ERA.
Falling behind 0-6 in the bottom of the 2nd inning was a tough challenge to overcome and, unfortunately for the ACL Mariners, they weren’t able to beat it. They weren’t even able to put anything up until the top of the 5th, when a single from Carlos Jimenez scored Bryant Mendez. The ACL Diamondbacks answered back, running up a total of 13 before the ACL Mariners could get another one. Courtesy of a fielding error, George Feliz made it on base while Ricardo Cova scored. Dervy Ventura homered (4) on 2 outs to bring himself and Feliz home. Despite their efforts, the ACL Mariners lose 4-13.
Arizona Complex League notes
YESTERDAY: The ACL Mariners lost 13-4 against the ACL D-backs yesterday…Carlos Jimenez went 2-for-4 while recording 1 RBI and 1 walk…marks as his 11th multi-hit game of the season…Dervy Ventura recorded a 2 RBI outing with 1 run…Ricardo Cova, George Feliz and Bryant Mendez all tallied a run.
TODAY: The ACL Mariners will take on the ACL Rockies at Peoria Stadium Complex with first pitch at 5:00 pm (PT).
HIGHLY RANKED: Carlos Jimenez currently ranks highly in the ACL in RBI (2nd, 23), runs (T-2nd, 24), OBP (2nd, .491), hits (2nd, 29), home runs (T-2nd, 4), OPS (2nd, 1.076), total bases (3rd, 48), walks (T-3rd, 21), average (3rd, .354) and SLG (4th, .585).
Low-A: Modesto Nuts
Modesto Nuts (37-15) - Fresno Grizzlies (30-23)
3 - 2
W: Will Schomberg (6-1)
L: Austin Emener (0-3)
S: Jesse Wainscott (4)
Game 03 (2-1)
Will Schomberg started things off for game 03 against the Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies), and once again he impressed. While his season high strikeout number is an astounding 10 in 6.0 innings, he hit 8 in this game in 5.0 innings. I’ll be curious what his total number of SO is in the month of June - the second full month of the season - and how it will compare to his 43 SO across 30.0 innings in May. If he can keep up this power, I fully expect talk of promotion to start popping up soon.
Schomberg’s final line: 5.0IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 8K, 1HR, 2.55ERA, 74-48.
Jesse Wainscott picked up his 4th save of the season. Through 10 pitches, he threw 7 strikes, struckout 1, and only allowed 1 hit. His ERA lowered to 4.50 thanks to his performance.
A low scoring, 1-run win game started off quickly when the Grizzlies got on the board with a 2-run home run against Schomberg. That would be the only time that Schomberg and any of the following pitchers for the Nuts would allow a run. The offense stepped up as soon as they were given the chance, with Jonny Farmelo getting on base from a single, and stealing his 17th base. On a fielding error, Michael Arroyo reached first, and then he also decided to steal (6) a base for himself. A sac-fly from Lazaro Montes brought in Farmelo, but Arroyo would be stranded.
Much like the 1st, Farmelo got himself back onto first base in the bottom of the 3rd, and then stole his 18th base. This time, when Arroyo singled on a line drive, Farmelo scored. The third out came with Arroyo attempting to steal once again. The final run would come in the next inning, and then it was a defensive game for both teams. Connor Charping tripled (3) on a line drive, coming home on a Luis Suisbel sac-fly.
Modesto Nuts notes
YESTERDAY: Won 3-2 over the Grizzlies yesterday…Michael Arroyo, Lazaro Montes and Luis Suisbel each recorded a 1 RBI outing…Arroyo had a multi-hit game marking his 11th of the season…Jonny Farmelo registered 2 runs…on the mound Will Schomberg pitched 5.0 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 home run) on 2 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts.
TODAY: Modesto will face Fresno in the 4th game of the series with first pitch at 7:05 pm (PT)…Elijah Dale (3-1, 4.01) is expected to make the start for the Nuts.
PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Lazaro Montes won the Player of the Month Award for May in the California League after he batted .369/.447/.602 and led the league in average (.369), hits (38), RBI (32) and total bases (62). He was second in home runs (six), slugging percentage (.602) and OPS (1.049) and was fifth in runs (21) and walks (17). His 32 RBI led the Minor League Baseball and were 11 more than anyone in the league…he posted 11 multi-hit games and had separate hitting streaks of five, six and seven games…right-hander Will Schomberg won the California Pitcher of the Month for May after he went 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six starts as he allowed five earned runs on 16 hits and 11 walks over 30.0 innings…he struck out 43 (fourth-most in MiLB in May) and held opponents to a .145 average.
HE’S EVERYWHERE: Lazaro Montes continues to climb league rankings…he leads the California League in average (.328), RBI (59), total bases (106) and hits (66)…he also ranks 2nd in slugging (.527), 2nd in home runs (9), 2nd in extra-base hits (21), T-2nd in runs (39), 4th in OPS (.951), T-4th in doubles (11), 6th in OBP (.424) and 8th in walks (34).
HOT STREAK: In 27 games so far this season Connor Charping has a 23-game active on base streak from 4/16-c which is the longest active streak in the California League…he is trailed by Adrian Placencia-Ie with a 19-game active on base streak…Charping is also on a 12-game active hit streak from 5/11-c which is the longest active streak in the California League.
High-A: Everett AquaSox
Everett Aquasox (25-28) - Vancouver Canadians (24-25)
5 - 1
W: Michael Morales (6-1)
L: Connor O’Halloran
Game 03 (2-1)
Michael Morales is throwing absolute heat, continually hitting 93 mph all evening in game 03 against the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays). It proved to be a challenge for the Canadians to hit against, with Morales striking out 10 (tying his career high from May 18, 2024) vs 23 batters faced. Striking out nearly half of the batters he faced is astounding, especially for how young he is. Morales was drafted out of high school in 2021 in round 3, spending the 2022 season with the Modesto Nuts.
Morales’s final line: 6.0IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 10K, 1HR, 2.55ERA, 78-55.
In the bottom of the first, there were back-to-back hits by pitch against Brock Rodden and Bill Knight, plus a wild pitch, which was not a strong start for Canadians’ pitcher Connor O’Halloran. The Frogs weren’t able to capitalize on the guys getting on to base in the 1st, but they kept Vancouver from getting any runs going for themselves. It was the 3rd inning when the runs rolled in.
Things started off when Colin Davis made it to first on yet another hit by pitch. Rodden walked. Knight struck out. But then Josh Hood homered (5) on a fly ball out of center field, clearing the bases and putting the AquaSox up by 3. Following that, Jared Sundstrom knocked his first triple on a line drive to center field, scoring when RJ Schreck hit the ball into a groundout for him at first base.
The Canadians' one run came from a solo homerun from Jamari Baylor, but the AquaSox made sure to add one more run of insurance in the 6th just to keep that distance. An amazing play in the 7th would get Baylor out in his next at-bat, when he singled on a fly ball to Knight. Knight was able to field and throw that ball back infield quickly, getting it to Axel Sanchez and tagging Baylor when he tried to turn his single into a double.
In the 9th, with 2 outs up for Vancouver, a powerful shot into left field looked like it almost left the stadium, but instead was caught by Schreck in an astounding play. The defense in this game was very strong, and everyone was working like a well-oiled machine. It was great to see, given the rough start that they had at the start of the season. Hopefully, they can keep this up and begin to collect more wins.
Everett AquaSox notes
YESTERDAY: Everett defeated the Canadians by a 5-1 score yesterday…Josh Hood started it off for the AquaSox with a 3rd inning homer with 2 on…marks his 5th home run of the year…Hood also had a 3 RBI outing with 1 walk…Brock Rodden went 1-for-2 while recording 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 walk…Jared Sundstrom went 2-for-4 with 1 double and 1 RBI…marks his 11th multi-hit game of the season…on the mound Michael Morales pitched 6.0 innings while allowing 1 run on 4 hits, 1 walk with 10 strikeouts…marks as his 5th quality start and his 10 strikeouts ties his career best (last: 5/18).
TODAY: The Aquasox play game 4 of their 6-game set with Vancouver…first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm (PT)…Marcelo Perez (0-3, 6.98) is expected to make his 10th start tonight.
GETTING ON BASE: Gabriel Moncada is riding a 9-game on-base streak entering play today…he has a .371 on-base percentage and a .618 OPS…he has walked in 7 of the 9 games and walked a total of 9 times during the streak.
BEST OF THE BEST: Brock Rodden has continued to hit Northwest League opposition this season, he ranks highly across a majority of stats in the league…he is 1st in average (.309), OPS (.895), hits (64), walks (33), total bases (99), runs (37), tied for 1st in extra-base hits (20), 2nd in OBP (.417), slugging (.478), tied for 3rd in home runs (6), RBI (28) and stolen bases (17).
AA: Arkansas Travelers
Arkansas Travelers (30-23) - Springfield Cardinals (32-22)
6 - 10
W: Wilfredo Pereira (3-0)
L: Reid VanScoter (2-4)
S: Matt Svanson (9)
Game 03 (1-2)
This was a batter’s game, with each team going up against each other and racking up double-digit hits and double-digit strikeouts. Reid VanScoter took the mound for his 11th start of the year against the Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals), unfortunately picking up the loss at the end of the game. This was his shortest appearance so far this season, allowing 5 runs through 2.2 innings and his ERA falls to 4.50. Last year on the AquaSox in his first full season, VanScoter pitched 25 games, with his record going 10-6 and an ERA of 3.27. Given that he started this season off with an immediate promotion to Double-A, it was expected to be a bit of a curve until he found his groove once again. I greatly enjoyed watching him run the show in 2023 and am hopeful that he’s going to get to that level once again this year.
VanScoter’s final line: 2.2IP, 4H, 5R, 5ER, 4BB, 4K, 0HR, 4.50ERA, 64-39.
After taking an early 1-run lead, the Travelers fall behind and never manage to recover. In the bottom of the 6th, Morgan McCullough helped to close the gap with a 2-run homerun (3) scoring Ben Ramirez. The Cardinals answered back with 2 runs of their own, making the final runs that Arkansas scored in the 7th and 9th not enough. Springfield piles more on in the final inning, winning the game 6-10.
Arkansas Travelers notes
YESTERDAY: Arkansas lost 10-6 against Springfield yesterday…Alberto Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI…marked his 12th multi-hit game of the season…Morgan McCullough went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI, 1 walk and hit a homer in the 6th inning for his 3rd home run of the season…Cole Young scored 3 runs off his 3 hits…Ben Williamson registered his 15th double of the season.
TODAY: Arkansas will continue the series against Springfield in the 4th game with first pitch starting at 7:05 pm (CT)…Juan Mercedes (2-2, 2.79) is expected to make the start for the Travelers.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Right-hander Logan Evans won the Texas League Pitcher of the Month Award for May…he went 4-1 with a 0.63 ERA in five starts as he allowed two earned runs on 16 hits and four walks over 28.2 innings, while striking out 33…he held opponents to a .163 average and did not allow an earned run in four of his five starts.
WALKING IT: Arkansas’ Harry Ford (2nd, 36) and Spencer Packard (4th, 33) are each ranked in the top-5 of the Texas League in walks this season…across all of Double-A the team ranks as the 5th-most walked team (222 BB)…they also stand with the 5th-best on-base percentage (.344), 7th-best batting average (.249), 10th-most total bases (659) and 11th-most home runs (44).
STAYING CONSISTENT: Harry Ford is dominating the Texas League…he currently ranks in the top-10 in walks (2nd, 36), stolen bases (T-4th, 15), extra-base hits (T-6th, 19), runs (T-7th, 32), total bases (T-8th, 79) and OBP (10th, .383).
TOP RANKED: Logan Evans continues to shine across Double-A…in 10 starts, and 1 relief appearance, this season his 1.18 leads the Double-A…he is also ranked T-2nd in wins (6) and 6th in WHIP (0.98).
AAA: Tacoma Rainiers
Tacoma Rainiers (32-28) - Reno Aces (29-31)
3 - 4
W: Austin Pope (3-2)
L: Carlos Vargas (0-2)
S: Scott McCough (2)
Game 03 (2-1)
Casey Lawrence started off game 3 against the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks), coming up with no decision despite going 6.2 innings. The lead swapped back and forth several times this game, making for an exciting watch where each run could be the one that won it. In the 7th inning, when Carlos Vargas swapped in, he allowed the one run that kept the Aces in the lead, and earned his second loss.
Lawrence’s final line: 6.2IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 5K, 1HR, 4.79ERA, 101-71.
Vargas’s final line: 1.1IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 1K, 0HR, 3.05ERA, 17-12.
Cody Bolton took over for the final inning, striking out 3 and keeping his ERA at 0.00 since arriving in Tacoma.
Bolton’s final line: 1.0IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, 0HR, 0.00ERA, 18-14.
In the bottom of the 5th, behind by 2, Tyler Locklear continued to show how much he deserved his promotion by shooting a double (2) deep into center field, scoring Michael Papierski and Luis Urias. This ball had an exit velocity of 108.6 mph. Locklear absolutely destroyed an 83.7 mph slider from pitcher Chris Ellis, and it is so fantastic to see. In 41 games at the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, Locklear was impressive with an average of .291. He’s gone 9 games so far in Triple-A and is currently running an average of .306.
In the 7th inning, Cade Marlowe singled on a line drive to right field, and then stole his 29th and 30th base before the next batter even advanced. Marlowe stole a total of 29 bases in Triple-A Tacoma and 4 at the major league level with the Seattle Mariners last season, and has already stolen 33 with Tacoma. If there is one thing that can be said about Marlowe, it’s that he is fast and will do his best to bring himself home. A single from Urias brought Marlowe in for the 3rd run.
After Reno adds one more in the 8th, Tacoma can’t come together to tie and take the lead once again, and they lose, 3-4.
Tacoma Rainiers notes
YESTERDAY: Tacoma fell 4-3 against Reno yesterday…Tyler Locklear went 1-for-4 with 1 double and 2 RBI…Luis Urías went 2-for-3 with 1 run, 1 double, 1 RBI and 1 walk…registered his 4th multi-hit game of the year…Cade Marlowe went 1-for-5 while scoring 1 run…Michael Papierski recorded a walk and a run on the evening…on the mound Casey Lawrence made his 11th start and pitched 6.2 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 ER, 1 home run) on 6 hits, 1 walk with 5 strikeouts.
TODAY: The Rainiers continue their series with the Aces…first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm (PT)…Emerson Hancock (1-1, 2.74) is expected to make his 5th start.
KEEP IT COMING: Both Tyler Locklear and Luis Urías are currently riding a 7-game active hit streak from 5/30-c...tied for the 3rd longest active streaks in the Pacific Coast League…Urías is currently batting .313 (10x32) with 11 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI, 13 walks, 9 strikeouts and has a .511 OBP…Locklear is batting .294 (57x194) with 34 runs, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs, 32 RBI, 29 walks, 58 strikeouts and has a .404 OBP.
RUNNING HARD: As a team this season, Tacoma have totaled 121 stolen bases…this is the most in the Pacific Coast League and Triple-A, as well as the 6th-most in all of the minor leagues…as a team they stealing 74.4% of attempted bases.
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Check out our previous CSS Futures articles here.
Check out our previous Seattle Mariners articles here.
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Cover photo by Dan Rogers.
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