Minor League Ball Morning Report: Thursday, June 21st, 2018

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Minor League Ball Morning Report for Thursday, June 21st, 2018.

****Yesterday’s Gameday discussion thread is here.

THE RUNDOWN

****Continuing to experiment with the Morning Report format, here’s a quick look at the starters we highlighted yesterday.

Luiz Gohara, LHP, Atlanta Braves: Went 3.1 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett, allowing five hits and one walk, two runs, while fanning seven. The strikeouts are nice to see but this has obviously been a disappointing season for him starting with his spring training ankle injury. I still believe in his long-term potential.

Ariel Jurado, RHP, Texas Rangers: Five innings, nine hits, two walks, five runs, one strikeout for Double-A Frisco. One of his worst outings of the season, unfortunate coming off an excellent game in his last start on June 14th. Overall has a 3.88 ERA in 67 innings for the RoughRiders, giving up 73 hits with a 34/14 K/BB. Control remains a strong attribute but he just doesn’t get the ball past hitters often enough to give me much confidence in him as a starter any longer.

Mitch Keller, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates; Six innings, four hits, one walk, zero runs, four strikeouts for Double-A Altoona. Another solid outing, now has 3.00 ERA in 78 innings, 70/30 K/BB, 63 hits. Personally I’d love a few more whiffs or a few fewer walks but overall it is hard to argue the results.

Jacob Nix, RHP, San Diego Padres: Seven innings for Double-A San Antonio, four hits, one run, zero walks, eight strikeouts. Excellent performance after starting the season late with a lat injury, 1.27 ERA in 28.1 innings, 20/6 K/BB, 14 hits. Results have never quite matched the stuff in past campaigns but that looks to have changed this year and he’s always thrown strikes. Could be a true breakout.

Joey Lucchesi, LHP, San Diego Padres 1.2 innings, three hits, two walks, four runs, three strikeouts against the Oakland Athletics. Poor results in his first start back after missing a month with a hip injury and the worst outing of his major league career so far. I wouldn’t read much into it until he’s further away from the injury.

“I guess I felt a little off, maybe a little rusty… I don’t want to make any excuses. I just wasn’t myself today. I just have to work hard the next few days to get ready for my start in Texas.”

Jonathan Loaisiga, RHP, New York Yankees 3.2 innings, six hits, two walks, three runs, four strikeouts against the Seattle Mariners. A far cry from his first MLB start but hey, he has a grand total of 25 Double-A innings and zero Triple-A frames on his resume.

Tyler Mahle, RHP, Cincinnati Reds Six innings, five hits, two walks, four runs, eight strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers. Now has a 3.89 ERA in 81 innings, 76/32 K/BB, 80 hits. Strikes me as his genuine talent level, with further plausible down the line if he can lower walks a bit.