While the timing of Noah Schultz's Charlotte debut didn't catch him on a heater in Birmingham, he looked a lot more like his typical self in his first Triple-A start. It's not necessarily reflected by the line, but by the arsenal and the way it all looked.
Schultz gave up six runs on eight hits and a walk over 5⅓ innings in the Knights' 8-1 loss to Gwinnett, but unlike so many of his starts at Birmingham, he wasn't the one who got himself in trouble. He pounded the strike zone with a simplified arsenal and forced the Stripers to beat him, and to their credit, they did. As is typical of his starts, a lot of the hits were short of ringing, but given that Schultz benefited from two thwarted stolen-base attempts and a terrific diving catch by Dru Baker in center, the luck evened out.
His first set of complete Statcast data looked healthy, led by a sinker that averaged 95-96 over 86 pitches, and a slider that led the way with six whiffs (6) and a decent 38 percent called/swinging strike percentage (Statcast called it a curveball, but everybody around Schultz calls it a slider, so don't let the machines win). He threw very little else -- eight four-seamers and five changeups. Two other pitches were classified as sliders, but my guess is that they should be classified with the sliders, since his cutter registers in the high-80s.
The stripped-down arsenal also laid bare the impetus behind developing a third pitch to better neutralize righties. James McCann went 2-for-2 with a couple of line drives, and Sandy Leon launched a hanging slider over the left field wall, so Schultz's first Truist Field homer allowed wasn't a cheapie.
Still, the best version of Schultz is one who attacks, and by throwing 60 of 86 pitches for strikes, he stayed aggressive despite the results. It was an OK outing in terms of Schultz gettting back to basics, but that approach could hit its ceiling against the most advanced hitters he's seen, so let's see where he goes from here.
Gwinnett 8, Charlotte 1
- Brooks Baldwin went 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Bryan Ramos pinch-hit for him and grounded out.
- Colson Montgomery was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Tim Elko singled and struck out thrice.
- Dru Baker was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Noah Schultz: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 60 of 86 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 8, Columbus 4
- Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-5 with a strikeout.
- William Bergolla was 2-for-4 with a sac bunt and two stolen bases.
- Ryan Galanie, 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 1-for-3 with an HBP.
- DJ Gladney was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Riley Gowens: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 52 of 83 pitches for strikes.
Charleston 5, Kannapolis 1
- Javier Mogollón was 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Ronny Hernandez went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow wore the golden sombero.
- Ryan Burrowes went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Lyle Miller-Green singled twice, walked and struck out.
- Abraham Nuñez wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Blake Shepardson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 9 of 15 pitches for strikes.
ACL White Sox 11, ACL Dodgers 4
- Adrian Gíl singled, walked, was hit by a pitch, struck out twice and stole a base.
- Alexander Albertus was 0-for-1 with two walks.
- Angelo Hernandez went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jurdrick Profar, 0-for-4.
DSL Blue Jays Blue 5, DSL White Sox 1 (7 innings)
- Christian Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Frank Mieses was 1-for-3.
- Eduardo Herrera, 1-for-3 with a double.
- Alejandro Cruz, 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
