At this point, the checklist jokes as they pertain to Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech are getting sad. That's no fault of the people making them -- gallows humor and all -- but at some point the task presented shifts from absurd to Sisyphean.
Jimenez is now batting .365/.409/.683 after hitting his 10th homer of the season for Charlotte on Saturday night (and 20th overall, in just 84 games). It was a ridiculous swing, and look where the ball ended up.
The Knights shut out Rochester 8-0 behind another strong start by Kopech, who allowed just five hits and a hit batter over seven innings, striking out nine. He threw a whopping 69 of 96 pitches for strikes.
It's Kopech's sixth straight strong start, over which he's 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA and 50 strikeouts to 32 hits and four walks over 38 innings.
At this point, Jimenez and Kopech are no longer allowed to "force the issue," to use Rick Hahn's parlance. They can only hope that they don't backslide for one reason or another, so we're not really following a prospect's progress anymore.
Charlotte 8, Rochester 0
- Charlie Tilson went 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Ryan Cordell, 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- Eloy Jimenez, 2-for-5 with a homer.
- Jose Rondon, 3-for-5.
- Seby Zavala, 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Michael Kopech: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K, 1 HBP
- Carson Fulmer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Montgomery 8, Birmingham 1
- Luis Basabe went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Joel Booker, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Zack Collins went 1-for-4.
- Alex Call, 1-for-4 with a double.
- Danny Mendick went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and was caught stealing.
- Kodi Medeiros: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 1 WP, 1 HBP
Winston-Salem 4, Potomac 0
- Luis Robert went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Luis Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with two doubles.
- Nick Madrigal, 1-for-4, although he was picked off/caught stealing.
- Blake Rutherford was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, and was caught stealing.
- Gavin Sheets, 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Laz Rivera went 2-for-3.
- Ti'Quan Forbes, 1-for-3.
- Alec Hansen's start was effectively a rehab outing: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP
- Lincoln Henzman: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
More:
*Robert made a fine diving catch in center field.
Our man in Winston-Salem Jonathan Lee also shared video of Robert reaching on an error.
Idaho Falls 12, Great Falls 10
- Romy Gonzalez went 1-for-6 with a double and three strikeouts.
- Lenyn Sosa went 2-for-5 with two doubles and an HBP.
- Bryce Bush, 1-for-3 with two walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Amado Nunez walked once and struck out four times.
- Gunnar Troutwine wnet 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.
- Konnor Pilkington: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
- Davis Martin: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
DSL Reds 9, DSL White Sox 2
- Sidney Pimentel went 2-for-3 with a walk.
- Jose Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Jerrick Francees was 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Wilber Perez bleeds: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP
