TWitM: Alexander, Waters shine while Double-A arms continue to rack up Ks

How much longer will CJ Alexander be in Omaha?

This Week in the Minors’ is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

This Week in the Minors: Tuesday, April 30 to Sunday, May 5

AAA Omaha Storm Chasers (19-11, 1st Place, International League West)

The Storm Chasers had four straight games postponed late last week. The first game of this week’s slate was also postponed on Tuesday and made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. Omaha went 5-1 on the week in Iowa, led by a quartet of surging hitters.

Nick Pratto led the way with a team-leading eight hits on the week. The strikeouts are still a concern — he struck out seven times against just one walk. However, he hit a triple and two home runs en route to a 1.118 OPS on the week. Utilityman Devin Mann led the way with a .467 average on the week. He slashed .467/.579/.867 with four walks and five strikeouts.

Drew Waters and CJ Alexander both continued to make their case for a promotion to Kansas City sooner rather than later. Both hitters have been hot for the entire season thus far. Waters slashed .389/.450/.667 on the week with a home run and two doubles. Alexander finished just a single shy of the cycle Thursday and had a 1.017 OPS on the week.

Rehabbing Royals accounted for nine of the 18 runs allowed by Omaha on the week. Carlos Hernández allowed five runs to score over 2.1 innings pitched as he continues to work back from injury. Alec Marsh fared much better in his rehab start on Sunday. He allowed just one hit and one walk over four scoreless innings. Lefty reliever Walter Pennington continued his dominant 2024 campaign, striking out four while allowing zero walks over 2.1 innings without an earned run this week.

AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals (12-13, 5.5 GB, Texas League North)

The Naturals finished the week 3-2, playing just five games as a result of Sunday’s postponed game. A trio of arms tied for the team lead with seven strikeouts on the week. Eric Cerantola has been pitching a mixture of bullpen and starting innings this season and made just one outing — a start — this week. He allowed four walks and two hits over four scoreless innings.

Mason Barnett struck out seven of his own over five innings. He allowed two runs to score but only walked one batter on the night. Chandler Champlain continues to get back on track nicely after a rough debut start on the season. He struck out seven while walking just one over five innings. Reliever Beck Way continues his fantastic bounce-back season in the bullpen. He’s allowed just one earned run all season. Last week he didn’t allow a run to score over 2.1 IP in relief. He owns a 13.1 SO/9 this season.

The offense this week was led by top prospect Gavin Cross. Cross started the season somewhat slow in the power department but launched his first two homers of the season this week. In all, he slashed .409/.409/.773 this week with 11 RBI. Third baseman Cayden Wallace wasn’t too far behind with seven hits of his own this week. He slashed .333/.318/.524 this week with five RBI. Javier Vaz had five hits and seven walks to finish his week with a .565 OBP.

A+ Quad Cities River Bandits (17-10, 1st Place, Midwest League West)

The River Bandits went 2-4 this week in Beloit. Three of their losses were by one run and the offense simply couldn’t get over the hump. It was a slow week all around for Quad Cities hitters, but first baseman Brett Squires and Kale Emshoff did their best to lead the way. Squires had eight hits on the week, including two home runs, and walked five times. He slashed .444/.565/.833 on the week.

Emshoff had five hits in just three games for the River Bandits. He finished the week with a team-high five RBI and a 1.250 OPS.

Starter Shane Panzini was impressive on Sunday. He had great life on his fastball and finished his day allowing just one run over six innings pitched. He struck out seven. Lefty Hunter Owen allowed just one hit and two walks over six scoreless innings of his own this week. Opponents hit just .056 against him on the week.

In the bullpen, River Bandits relievers continued to shine. Oscar Rayo pitched two perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts. Chase Wallace wasn’t quite perfect over his 3.2 innings of work, as he allowed a single walk. He didn’t allow a hit on the week while striking out four. Despite how strong those performances were, Brandon Johnson was the best reliever of the week. Over 2.1 IP he didn’t allow a base runner and struck out five.

A Columbia Fireflies (13-11, 1.5 GB, Carolina League South)

The Fireflies went just 1-3 on the week. Saturday’s game was suspended for rain in the fifth inning. A scheduled doubleheader on Sunday was also rained out. It was a difficult week for offense, and only one Fireflies hitter had an average of over .300 this week. Outfielder Erick Torres led the team with five hits, slashing .357/.412/.429 on the week.

Starter Felix Arronde was masterful in his start this week. Arronde struck out ten Mud Cats hitters over six innings of work. He allowed just one hit on the day but did walk two hitters. Blake Wolters allowed just one run over four innings in his start. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter while scattering six hits across the day. In the bullpen, reliever Doug Kirkland struck out three over two perfect innings this week. Luis Polanco allowed one hit over two scoreless innings of relief but finished the week second on the team with five strikeouts.