Vlad’s departure continues, a spate of western showdowns and…. pretty much the same quality baseball from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
It’s June 15, 2018, here’s what’s going on here on the path 400 miles to Toronto.
Overview
Vs. Bowie
Friday, June 8 – New Hampshire 4, Bowie 2
Saturday, June 9 – Bowie 4, New Hampshire 1
Sunday, June 10 – New Hampshire 7, Bowie 5
At Akron
Tuesday, June 12 – New Hampshire 6, Akron 1
Wednesday, June 13 – Akron 8, New Hampshire 2
Thursday, June 14 – New Hampshire 3, Akron 0
This week’s inter-divisional series mirrored each other somewhat, with the ‘Cats winning the bookend games against Bowie and Akron while dropping the middle game of each series.
Perhaps the biggest difference was New Hampshire’s near no-hitters during the Akron wins, with Jon Harris pitching six no-hit innings and TJ Zeuch giving up just two hits over eight innings on Thursday.
Fisher Cats manager John Schneider says that his starters have limits of 100 pitches with very few exceptions, with both Harris and Zeuch going 89 pitches during their gems.
Along with those eye popping starts, perhaps the biggest thing to note is that Vladimir Guerrero is now expected to miss most of June hasn’t had a significant impact on the offensive output most nights.
Sure, he’s still leading the league in a variety of offensive categories, speaking to his value for New Hampshire, but there are plenty of other Fisher Cats up there too, and now they’re picking up the slack.
“Of course, when you lose arguably one of the best, if not the best, hitters in the minor leagues, it’s a bit of a downer,” said Schneider. “But it really serves as an opportunity for a few guys too. The mood has been fine, this is a good group. The guys miss having Vlady around, both having him on the field and everything he does in the clubhouse, so it was tough for a few days, but I think now it’s business as usual, really.”
Perhaps the most notable non-Vlad hot streak has come from Gunnar Heidt, who grabbed hits in four of the six games this week, including three multi-hit games. Sure, there have been other strong offensive performances, but Heidt got off to a cold start.
The 2017 Eastern League All-Star is batting .324 in his last 10 games while continuing to serve as Schneider’s positional Swiss Army knife, starting at third base on Friday, first base on Saturday, third base again on Sunday, first base again on Tuesday and Wednesday, and second base on Thursday. Oh yeah, he’s also had three outfield appearances and four shortstop appearances this year too.
Fisher Cats of the Week
Batting: Jon Berti – As hot as Heidt’s been, the recently demoted Jon Berti has been even hotter, returning to from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday to immediately collect hits in his past five games.
Berti played for the Fisher Cats in 2016, spending last year between Buffalo and Class A-Advanced Dunedin before being traded to the Cleveland Indians organization earlier this year. Toronto reacquired him recently and he’s making a good case for an International League return, going .286/.348/.429 with eight RBI, a pair of extra base hits and three stolen bases during that stretch.
Starting Pitching: TJ Zeuch – In addition to Thursday’s masterpiece, Zeuch also had a strong start on Friday, giving up two walks and four hits in seven innings of work. With the promotion of Sean Reid-Foley and Jordan Romano’s recent slide, one could say that Zeuch has become the new staff ace, if such a thing exists in Double-A.
Relief Pitching: Jose Fernandez – The Fisher Cats bullpen had three saves this week and two of them came from Fernandez, with Jose getting his fifth hold of the year during that other save. And he allowed no hits, let alone runs during those three appearances.
Around the Horn
Along with the addition of Berti, the Fisher Cats also saw the Dusty Isaacs from Buffalo, with Josh DeGraaf and Schneider rejoining the team in Akron after their suspensions following last weekend’s beanball related altercation in Binghamton.
On Deck
The Fisher Cats continue their western road trip, playing this weekend in Altoona followed by a three-game series against the Erie Sea Wolves before returning to Manchester next Friday.
