Yhoiker Fajardo once again did some heavy lifting for the Dominican Summer League White Sox affiliate on Saturday by throwing five shutout innings, allowing just five baserunners while striking out seven. It's the second time that Fajardo has thrown five shutout innings in a start, and the fourth time he's allowed fewer than two earned runs.
His 3.71 ERA doesn't reflect that kind of frequent excellence due to a couple of rough outings that reflect that he's indeed 17 years old, but the Venezuelan backed up the performance that landed him on Ben Badler's list of 30 prospects who have stood out over the DSL season thus far.
Signed for $400,000, Fajardo pitches with his fastball anywhere from 90-95 mph and throws all of his pitches for strikes. He’s 17 and has more space to add weight to his 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame, so there should be another velocity jump coming.
He’s a good athlete with an easy delivery that he repeats well from a consistent release point on all of his pitches. His low-80s slider isn’t a particularly high-spin pitch, but it has short, late break that has been able to miss a lot of bats. He’s mainly a fastball/slider pitcher with an occasional hard changeup that’s still in its early stages of development.
Rocket City 4, Birmingham 1
- Jacob Gonzalez went 0-for-4.
- So did Wilfred Veras, who struck out twice.
- Tim Elko was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Terrell Tatum went 1-for-3.
- Noah Schultz: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 45 of 61 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 6, Hickory 4
- Eddie Park went 1-for-5 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Ryan Galanie, 0-for-4 with a K.
- Wes Kath tripled, doubled, walked and struck out.
- Calvin Harris was 1-for-4.
- Davis Martin: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 43 of 60 pitches for strikes.
Fayetteville 11, Kannapolis 9
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
- Ronny Hernandez was 2-for-4 with a double, walk and strikeout.
- George Wolkow went 2-for-4 with a homer, triple and strikeout.
Highlights:
*The Daily Wolkow features a terrific pitcher reaction.
ACL White Sox 5, ACL White Sox 4 (7 innings)
- Abraham Nunez went 0-for-2 with an HBP.
- Adrian Gil was 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Stiven Flores, 1-for-3.
DSL Arizona Red 4, DSL White Sox 2
- Christian Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a double, and was picked off/caught stealing.
- Jehancarlos Mendez was 1-for-4.
- Jesus Premoli hit his first professional homer during a 1-for-4 day, striking out once.
- Yhoiker Fajardo: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Charlotte vs. Jacksonville, PPD
Notes:
*Ky Bush was officially added to the Charlotte roster on Sunday, with Carlos Pérez moving to the developmental list to make room.
*There will be no minor league games on Sunday because the MiLB schedule shifted the holiday week's series from Tuesday-Sunday to Monday-Saturday. The four full-season affiliates will then be off on Monday as usual, so at least I'll get a little more time to crank out a Farm Fortnight.
