After lighting up the Carolina League in April and June as a 24-year-old, Joel Booker is getting a more age-appropriate challenge in the Southern League with the Birmingham Barons.
That said, it's not posing much of a problem. Through five games, Booker is 10-for-22 with three doubles, a homer and two walks, which translates to .455/.500/.727. James Fegan said that during a down May, Booker apparently learned how to pull the ball.
But by May, Carolina League pitchers had had enough. They had become focused on trying to jam Booker at every opportunity until he showed the ability to pull the ball with authority, and it was stymying him to a .192/.323/.333 line for the month. Booker has set personal goals to get promoted at the halfway point throughout each professional season, but it was looking bleak in late May.
“Right now I’m probably more comfortable going the opposite way,” Booker said in May. “I don’t feel comfortable right now at all pulling. I like to get the hands extended, work the opposite field.”
At some point since then, he seems to have figured it out.
Charlotte 2, Durham 1
- Jose Rondon went 1-for-4 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Eloy Jimenez, 0-for-4 with a K.
- Michael Kopech: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 63 of 95 pitches for strikes.
- Ian Hamilton: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K on 12 pitches.
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*Kopech details from Baseball America's Kyle Glaser:
His curveball was the best of his secondary offerings, sitting 81-84 mph and landing on the outside corner to righthanded hitters for strikes at its best, although it wasn’t always consistent. [...]
Kopech’s slider, down to 85-88 mph from 90-92, frequently bounced in the dirt and didn’t draw any swings and misses. He threw his changeup just twice, a pair of firm offerings at 91-92 mph.
At the end of the day, it was his fastball he leaned on. Kopech threw his fastball on 76 of 95 pitches, and each of of his nine strikeouts came on his heater.
Montgomery 8, Birmingham 7 (10 innings)
- Joel Booker went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and strikeout. He was also picked off/caught stealing.
- Luis Alexander Basabe went 1-for-4 with a triple, walk and two strikeouts.
- Zack Collins, 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Danny Mendick homered, walked and struck out thrice.
- Jameson Fisher went 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Dylan Cease's Double-A debut: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR
- Ryan Burr: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
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*Montgomery ran wild on the Cease-Collins battery, going 6-for-6. They added one more with Brian Clark on the mound.
Winston-Salem 19, Frederick 2
- Luis Gonzalez went 3-for-6 with a double.
- Luis Robert, 1-for-2 with a walk, sac bunt and HBP.
- Blake Rutherford went 1-for-6 with a double and two strikeots.
- Micker Adolfo, 3-for-5 with a double and two walks.
- Gavin Sheets went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Ti'Quan Forbes went 3-for-6 with a strikeout.
- Yeyson Yrizarri was 1-for-5 with a grand slam, walk and strikeout.
- Laz Rivera had an Arby's night: 5-for-5 with homer and two doubles.
- Blake Battenfield: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 1 WP
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*The game was scoreless through four innings, yet Winston-Salem somehow set a Dash record with runs.
Greensboro 7, Kannapolis 1 (6½ innings, rain)
- Luis Curbelo singled and struck out twice.
- Michael Hickman went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Justin Yurchak, 1-for-2 with a double and an HBP.
- Carlos Perez was 0-for-3 with a K.
Great Falls 6, Billings 4
- Lenyn Sosa went 1-for-5 with a K.
- Romy Gonzalez singled twice, struck out twice and stole two bases.
- Amado Nunez went 1-for-4 with a K.
- Jonathan Stiever posted the exact same line as his first outing: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
AZL White Sox 7, AZL Reds 2
- Cabera Weaver struck out and got plunked.
- Luis Mieses replaced him, going 0-for-3.
- Kelvin Maldonado went 1-for-2.
- Camilo Quinteiro replaced him, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. He also stole a base.
- Lency Delgado was 0-for-4 with a K.
- Sam Abbott doubled twice, singled and struck out.
- Josue Guerrero went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Anthony Coronado walked, got plunked and struck out twice.
- Brayant Nova went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and a strikeout.
DSL Reds 12, DSL White Sox 6
- Jose Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Jefferson Mendoza, 1-for-3 with two walks.
- Jerrick Francees was 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout. He was also caught stealing.
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*Between the White Sox committing seven errors and the pitching staffs issuing a combined 23 walks, this was a very DSL game
