It’s the Jackson Generals’ league and everyone else is just another victim in this week’s look at the Southern League of minor league baseball. Your Seattle Mariners farm hands tore their way through the Tennessee Smokies (Chicago Cubs) this week, with a 4-1 series win. The Generals only dropped the last game, an old-school 2-1 battle between pitchers Ryan Yarbrough (6-2) for Jackson and Brad Markey, who pitched six solid innings but didn’t end up with the decision for the Smokies.
That honor belonged to beleaguered relief pitcher Josh Conway (1-5), who pitched one inning, but still gave up two walks to make it interesting. Corey Black, who was in the starting rotation just a year ago, has turned into a solid closer, picking up his seventh save of the season.
This Jackson squad is in a class by itself this year. They’re 37-19 and nine games up on the Montgomery Biscuits (28-28) in the Southern League North. In fact, they’re the only team in the North with a winning record.
#Mariners #6 prospect D.J. Peterson homers, extends hit streak to 16 for @jacksongenerals. https://t.co/nTSx68nk1R pic.twitter.com/ROagnTlCC1
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 6, 2016
In the South, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati Reds) continue to barely hold on to a one-game lead over the Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers). The Blue Wahoos (32-23) and Shuckers (31-24) are the only teams in the South to have winning records. The gap between the haves and the have nots is wide.
Make it seven homers in six games for Brandon Dixon of @BlueWahoosBBall. https://t.co/dp9XhLf8Ri pic.twitter.com/NE7axMF6bx
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 5, 2016
With every team outside of those three kind of flailing, the fan must instead turn his or her attention to the prospects because there are some pretty damn good ones coming through. If you slept on the Birmingham Barons this year than you’ve already missed Nicky Delmonico. Delmonico was a local product to me specifically. I covered him a few times in high school when he played at Farragut in Knoxville, Tenn. He had a hiccup when he got busted for Adderall without a prescription a few years ago when he was in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
After hitting .338 with 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 36 RBIs in his second Double-A season, Delmonico got the call on on May 24 to head to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in the International League. He’s been there 12 games and hitting .283 with three doubles, one homer and five RBIs. His career is back on track and the White Sox basically had a future All-Star handed to them.
NICKY!!!!! RBI DOUBLE by Nicky Delmonico & the #CLTKnights have a 4-2 lead in the 6th! #LetsGoKnights
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) June 4, 2016
The Mississippi Braves are a consistent bottom-rung team in the Southern League over the last few seasons, but there’s a lot to be excited about with this year’s team. Starting pitcher Chris Ellis (6-2) has the second best record in the league, right after Jackson’s Brett Ash (7-1). Ellis has 11 starts this season with a 3.00 ERA. He’s only given up two home runs this season and struck out 51 batters. His 26 walks are hanging on him and will keep in Double-A for longer than his record might show. Ellis is the only non-Jackson pitcher in the top four pitchers in the league.
https://twitter.com/HearKyleTait/status/738412206942003200
For the Smokies, Markey has been a bright spot since moving from the bullpen to the starting line up. He’s 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA. He’s not had a dominant game on the hill stat-wise, but the hits he does give up don’t seem to do much damage and he can get himself out of trouble when he needs to. He went 7-0 last season with the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans and hasn’t dropped his performance since beginning this season in Double-A.
Markey & Staff Toss Four-Hitter in Win, 5-1: RHP Brad Markey carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, while… https://t.co/BFYVO72cU8
— JoeCamel (@JoeCamel_Sports) May 30, 2016
For the Jacksonville Suns (Miami Marlins), this is rare territory being in the middle of the pack. They aren’t as in deep a hole as the teams in the North, but they’re still a good 6.5 games behind Pensacola in the South with just 14 games to go. Their best hitter right now is Moises Sierra from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and he should be, since he’s made it to the big leagues multiple times with multiple teams. Beginning with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012, Sierra played 49 games for the major league club, then 35 for them in 2013. He was back in the majors again for a while for 13 games in 2014 before they cut him. He was picked up by the White Sox who played him for 83 games before cutting him loose.
Moises Sierra with a monstrous home run to the playground area beyond centerfield, a 448 FT shot that extends hitting streak to 11 games.
— Roger Hoover (@Roger_Hoover) June 2, 2016
He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 2015 and spent that whole season with the Triple-A Omaha Stormchasers. Now he’s with the Suns/Marlins and bumped down to Double-A. It’s hard to see a long-term plan for Sierra after all that, but he’s still just 27 years old. The Marlins may get the best out of him yet.
