Full-A (Greenville Drive)
Yoan Aybar had another great week. The potential is there people. Aybar threw four innings this week. The 22-year-old lefty allowed one hit and one walk without giving up a run. He struck out four in that time. Aybar has lowered his ERA to 4.73 and his WHIP to 1.42. Meanwhile, his BAA is a ridiculously low .165 and he has 62 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings.
Chase Shugart has gotten hit pretty hard in his last two outings. This rose his ERA to 2.67 – still incredibly strong. The 22-year-old righty has thrown 70 2/3 innings this year. Due to that, he could still change his numbers in any direction pretty heavily. Smart money is on him improving though – he’s really good.
Brayan Bello has struggled a little in two starts this week. His 6.15 ERA isn’t great either. However, Bello’s still just 20 and has shown a lot to make anyone excited. The biggest of those is his sheer arm talent as the righty has struck out 94 batters in 90 2/3 innings.
Cole Brannen hasn’t shown to be much of a hitter so far. However, the 21-year-old has a lot of talent with his speed (23 steals this year) and is solid defensively. Now things are looking up a little with the bat. He’s on a four-game hitting streak, raising his average to .204. On Monday Brannen hit his first professional homer.
Triston Casas is down to .247 and hasn’t had an RBI in 13 games. However, that just means he’s due to go on a tear soon. The 19-year-old still has strong numbers on the year, including 17 home runs and 68 RBI.
Tyler Esplin is hitting .234 with a strong 23 doubles. He’s driven in 34 runs and scored another 45. The 20-year-old has a lot of potential in nearly every facet of the game. No, he likely won’t be an elite base stealer but he can swipe a few. His defense is improving and he is proving he can be an offensive threat.
Kole Cottam is slashing .258/.383/.416 with 19 doubles and six home runs. He’s driven in 32 runs and scored 40 more. So far, the catcher has proven that he’s extremely talented offensively and it should only help raise his stock as the season goes on.
Devlin Granberg is hitting .288 and has 19 doubles, five triples, and eight home runs. He’s driven in 45 runs and scored 57 more, stealing six bases. The first baseman is far from the flashiest prospect but he’s proving that he is extremely reliable and there’s plenty of reasons to believe he could be a very solid hitter at the next level.