Like one of those years where a pitcher finishes higher in MVP voting than Cy Young, Micker Adolfo was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for April when his teammate got the monthly nod for the best position player performance in the organization earlier in the week.
Adolfo excelled, of course. He hit .308/.369/.549 with a league-leading five homers and 21 RBIs. He missed Wednesday's game after getting drilled in a shin by a pitch the game before, but he reentered action on Thursday and hit his sixth homer of the season.
Luis Alexander Basabe had received the White Sox' organizational accolade by beating Adolfo in the triple-slash lines (.313/.400/.615). Whatever the case, both kept it going by homering on Thursday night.
Columbus 4, Charlotte 2
- Jose Rondon went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and was caught stealing.
- Charlie Tilson was 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a sac bunt.
- Kevan Smith was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning (Welington Castillo precaution?).
- Casey Gillaspie went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.
Tennessee 8, Birmingham 5
- Tito Polo went 1-for-5, and was picked off/caught stealing.
- Zack Collins is still rolling: 2-for-3 with two walks.
- Eloy Jimenez went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Seby Zavala, 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Matt Rose went 1-for-4 with a double, walk and two strikeouts.
- Spencer Adams: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 4 HR
- Ian Hamilton: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
More:
*James Fegan provides an update on the Collins-Zavala battle.
Like Collins, though, Zavala has faced his own defensive questions. With five passed balls already this season, he has more than nearly every other team in the Southern League, and his throwing arm has been described as “fringy,” though his caught stealing rates have taken a turn for the better since the Arizona Fall League (42.8 percent since October). Zavala has always been revered for his game calling, and curtailing the running game matters less than ever these days, so a league scout who recently watched him expressed confidence he could stick behind the plate if he becomes more of a bat-first guy. Which again raises the question of how real this unfathomably hot start to 2018 really is.
Winston-Salem 5, Lynchburg 3
- Luis Alexander Basabe hit his fifth homer, walked and struck out twice.
- Alex Call went 1-for-4, and was caught stealing.
- Blake Rutherford, 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Micker Adolfo hit his sixth homer, singled and struck out twice.
- Gavin Sheets went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Ti'Quan Forbes, 0-for-2 with a walk.
Kannapolis 7, Hickory 5
- Luis Gonzalez avoided striking out for just the second time in 23 games, going 1-for-4 with a double.
- Justin Yurchak went 0-for-4.
- Evan Skoug, 1-for-4 with a homer and two strikeouts.
- Carlos Perez was 1-for-4 with a double.
- Lincoln Henzman: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP
