Jake Burger and Gavin Sheets have started their ramping-up process in Arizona, and Evan Skoug is a good bet to join them — or replace one of them, maybe -- soon enough in the Fire League.
Scott Merkin talked to Skoug in between signing and starting, providing a good overview of how he fell from a second-round pick to the seventh round, and why the strikeouts doubled on him in his junior season:
Skoug's home runs jumped from 16 combined in his first two seasons with TCU to 20 as a junior, while driving in 71. Skoug also went from 97 strikeouts combined in those same two years (against 62 walks) to 98 in '17, which might have affected his Draft status.
"Early in the year, if you cut that part out of my season, my numbers are completely different at the end," Skoug said. "I was getting away from the basics and putting myself in a position where I physically couldn't make contact with the baseball. My track record says I don't do that very often."
Top prospects at a glance
- Yoan Moncada: 1-for-3, BB, K
- Jordan Guerrero: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
- Luis Alexander Basabe: 3-for-4, 3B, 2B
- Jake Burger: 0-for-4.
Durham 8, Charlotte 4
- Yoan Moncada went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Tyler Saladino went 2-for-3.
- Nicky Delmonico, 1-for-3 with a homer, walk and strikeout.
- Rymer Liriano continued his hot streak by going 2-for-3 with two homers and a walk.
- Jacob May went 0-for-1 as a late-game replacement.
- Tyler Danish: 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP
Birmingham 4, Jackson 3
- Eddy Alvarez was 1-for-3 with a homer, walk, sac fly and strikeout.
- Jake Peter went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Nick Basto was 2-for-5 with a double.
- Courtney Hawkins went 1-for-2 with a walk and an HBP.
- Trey Michalczewski was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Jordan Guerrero: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Winston-Salem 7, Down East 4
- Joel Booker went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Jameson Fisher was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Luis Alexander Basabe was 3-for-4 with a triple and a double.
- Danny Mendick was 1-for-4.
- Jimmy Lambert: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
More:
*The Dash started cutting together game highlights:
HIGHLIGHTS! @Breezy_Conleezy, @__piece36, @dmendick01 and Luis Basabe lead the offensive charge in #YourHomeTeam's 7-4 win on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ZKpip3S4n0
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 6, 2017
Hickory 7, Kannapolis 4
- Luis Gonzalez was 0-for-5.
- Micker Adolfo went 1-for-4 with a homer, walk and two strikeouts.
- Aaron Schnurbusch was 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Blake Hickman: 5 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Missoula 6, Great Falls 5
- Franklin Reyes went 2-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Justin Yurchak was 1-for-4.
- Felix Mercedes went 1-for-3 with an HBP.
- Hanleth Otano, 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Craig Dedelow went 2-for-4 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Ricky Mota, 2-for-4.
- Tyler Johnson: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
AZL Brewers 6, AZL White Sox 3
- Jake Burger went 0-for-4.
- Gavin Sheets, 3-for-4 with a homer.
- Alex Call went 0-for-5.
- Jose Colina went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Sam Abbott, 1-for-2 with two walks.
- Edinxon Arias: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 HR
DSL White Sox 6, DSL Mariners 2
- Luis Mieses went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Kleyder Sanchez was 2-for-4.
- Josue Guerrero went 0-for-2 with a walk, sac bunt and strikeout.
- Anderson Comas singled twice and struck out twice.
- Santo Vasquez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, a sac fly and an HBP.