- Peoria gets another pitcher for the top UTRMinors performer of the day. Seijas has only found his name called on these pages twice since becoming an International signee in 2016, August 2017 and April 2018. A closer review as to why, finds that the 6′ 1″ 175 lbs right-hander should have remained in the DSL to gain innings, before arriving in the United States. This is uncharacteristic for the Cardinals’ organizational, but in their defense, Seijas was touted amongst other pitchers in his International class. In his state-side debut with Johnson City, the right-hander posted a 4.97 ERA and 11.2 H9 rate, but promising 2.8 BB9 and 9.0 K9 rates as an 18-year old. The next season saw those bad peripherals remain steady and the sharp decline where he excelled while in the Appy League, including a 39.9 % groundball rate. One would have looked for a demotion to State College, when the short-season kicked off in June, but the Cards struck with the young Venezuelan native, to provide him a full season at Peoria. Lessons learned perhaps, as Seijas threw six shutouts innings late night with six strikeouts, the most since late July 2018. Sejias is still listed as one of the youngest arms in the Midwest League…so patience is in order.
TOP AL UTR PITCHING PERFORMANCE
RHP Michael Baumann (HiA Frederick – Baltimore) 23 years old 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K- Baumann enjoyed a breakout season in 2018 and was nearly perfect during his HiA debut. The 6′ 4″ 225 lbs right-hander was my 2018 Orioles #2 UTR Organizational All-Star and, at the time of its writing, I thought the 23 year-old would crack Baltimore’s Top 10 prospect list. Baseball America lists him at the #21 slot and MLBPipeline at #26, on the top go-to sites. Its evident that his lack of control is the missing component. Baumann matched his career-high last night with 10 K’s over 5 innings, and only allowing one hit. The 3rd round pick from 2017 possesses a mid 90’s 4-seamer with sink and command.
HiA Mentions – Starters RHP Tyler Phillips (HiA Down East – Texas) 21 years old 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, Win 1-0 RHP Spencer Howard (HiA Clearwater – Philadelphia) 22 years old 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, Win 1-1 LHP Tarik Skubal (HiA Lakeland – Detroit) 22 years old 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
National League – Relief RHP Nick Mears (LoA Greensboro – Pittsburgh) 22 years old 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K American League – Relief RHP Shawn Semple (LoA Charleston – New York Yankees) 23 years old 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K
- The Charleston rotation is currently full with 6 pitchers making starts thus far. Semple has made two appearances and has posted this line: 9 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 21 K, 1-0, 1.00 ERA. The 11th round pick from 2017 made 10 starts in 2018 across 3 levels.
Under The Radar Minors 