Akron’s not coming back to Manchester this year and the Fisher Cats won’t be going back to Richmond this year. How did those two series go? As of June 16, 2017, here’s the state of things on the path 400 miles to Toronto and beyond.
Who’s Hot
Batters – Danny Jansen: Between platooning and routine call-ups/downs, the Fisher Cats have had a carousel of catchers this season. Despite that cluster of men behind the mask, Jansen is beginning to make his mark in Manchester.
Jansen’s batting .348 in his 19 games so far this year for New Hampshire. After getting the call-up from Dunedin on May 16, Danny reached base safely in his first six games, and came back from an O-fer breaking that streak with a 3-4
performance against Reading.
That Reading game preceded a short slump, but the Wisconsin native produced another six-game hitting streak, snapped against Richmond on Thursday during a game where all of New Hampshire’s bats were cold.
In the past two series, Jansen’s a steady 6-for-15, highlighted by a homer against Akron and a double against Richmond.
Starting Pitchers – Chris Rowley and Connor Greene: Glenn Sparkman had a great start against Richmond on Tuesday, but he’s on a rehab assignment, so it might not be fair to compare him with two other starters that had a great week.
Both Chris Rowley and Connor Greene posted excellent performances against Akron and Richmond respectively.
Rowley went seven innings against Akron on June 9, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out six RubberDucks.
The U.S. Military Academy alum lost the Eastern League ERA lead thanks to a run in a short appearance on Thursday, helping recovering teammate Francisco Rios after his early departure.
Unlike Rowley, Green doesn’t have the bonafides to be in contention for an Eastern League All-Star selection in a few weeks, but he bounced back from a tough loss to Erie with a strong performance against Richmond in the first half of Thursday’s doubleheader.
Outside of the opening series against Binghamton, so far he’s pitched at least five innings in every single appearance this year.
Relief Pitchers – Jose Fernandez and Tim Mayza: Much like the catcher position, the ‘Cats are also have no one person holding down a defined setup man or closer role.
Lefty Tim Mayza wants to make his claim to the setup position, and made his case with a pair of strong performances over the last two series. There, he recorded eight outs, seven coming from strikeouts, and allowed just one batter to reach base under his watch.
Jose Fernandez didn’t allow any batters to reach in his two appearances over the past week, getting seven outs and earning his second save of the year on Thursday against the Flying Squirrels.
Who’s Here
Last week saw the end of Steve Pearce’s rehab time in New Hampshire, as he was transferred to Triple-A Buffalo to continue his road back to the majors on Tuesday.
Kender Villegas also returned after just over two weeks back in Advanced-A Dunedin. Villegas made way for Fisher Cat alum John Stilson, whose lingering injury issues have seen him bounce up and down the Toronto Blue Jays organization for the past few years.
Stilson went back to Buffalo on Tuesday, allowing two runs off four hits in his five innings of work during this latest stint with the Fisher Cats.
The past week also saw yet another shakeup when it came to catchers. Michael DeLaCruz was called back down to Michael DeLaCruz on Saturday, with Alex Monsalve coming down to New Hampshire from Buffalo that day.
What’s Next
The Fisher Cats return to Manchester on Tuesday to start a seven-game homestand against Harrisburg and Binghamton. First though, they need to finish their southern swing with a three-game set against the Bowie Bay Sox this weekend.
