Missions v Travelers May 4, 2024
Missions v Travelers
May 4, 2024
Author: 3-1Count.com
First and foremost, tonight was Mystery Bobblehead Night at Dickey-Stephens Park. Admittedly, I love bobbleheads - but only if I get them at the gate on game day. Tonight I scored a Julio Rodriguez bobblehead dedicated to his 2022 ROY campaign. A nice get!
And now the table setter for the game. This is the first game for the Missions after the Luis Arraez trade emptied their roster of 3 players during their Fri night game. You can imagine how that must have landed in the clubhouse and my expectation coming in was that the Missions would be reeling a bit and likely not at their best. And that’s exactly what played out.
The Travelers easy won the game 6-0, jumping out to a 4-0 lead by the 3rd inning. The Missions starting lineup had several veteran minor leaguers like Ripken Reyes (27yo), Ray-Patrick Didder (29yo), and Zach Reks (30yo). This being a reflection of the trade and to a lesser degree the Padres farm system atm.
Victor Lizarraga, currently the #11 Padres prospect according to MLB.com, was on the mound for the Missions. He was knocked out of the game in the 4th after giving up 8 base runners and 4 runs. Jared Kollar did a solid job mopping up from there and finished the game only giving up one more earned run.
Two other notes for the Missions. They struck out 15 times and did not muster an extra base hit. The Padres do have talent likely on the way to AA later this year - including Ethan Salas C A+, Dylan Lesko RHP A+, and Homer Bush Jr. OF A+. Each a top 10 prospect in the system. So when the Missions return to face the Travelers in mid July their lineup is likely to look quite different.
For the Travelers, each of their big prospects delivered. Cole Young built on his strong game the night before going 2 for 4 with an RBI.
And Harry Ford, who I am really buying into as a well rounded player, went 1 for 2 with a BB, a HBP, a RS, and 3 steals. So he was on base 3 of 4 AB’s, raising his BA to .261, his OBP to .425, and his OPS to .914. Ford’s last two weeks have been electric and it’s important to keep in mind that at 21yo he is still young for AA.
Tyler Locklear had the sole home run of the night, a very long shot to LF that can be seen below. Locklear was the 58th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He’s listed 6’2 210 and is every bit of that. Locklear’s K rate is lower than you might expect for a power guy and currently sits at 21% with a walk rate consistently over 10%. The raw power is big and game power may be starting to catch up.
Logan Evans was very effective on the mound. Going 6 IP and only giving up 1 hit against 9 K’s. It was my first live look at Evans, who has been really good so far - particularly given he was a 12th rd pick last year out of Pittsburgh. His outing did not seem quite as dominant to the naked eye yet the results built upon a strong start to his career.
The Travelers are likely to be rained out tomorrow and then hit the road for Tue in Wichita. The next home series starts May 14 and I hope to catch several games that week. Until next time.
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