Ethan Hearn – Photo by Todd Johnson
This will be the last hot list of the year. Myrtle Beach and South Bend finish their seasons on September 8th, while Tennessee finishes its regular season on the 15th, but it looks like they will make the playoffs. Iowa is done on the 22nd. The Arizona Fall League begins in early October, but the Cubs have not yet announced the names of the players they are sending.
August is usually a strange month for the hot list, as there is a lot of movement in every organization to make room for draft picks and promotions.
Let’s look at the list first. All statistics are valid until August 15th.
Iowa
Clayton Mortensen told me about Kevin Alcantara (when they were both in South Bend last year) that Kevin takes on challenges. That’s just the way he is. What Clayton meant was that Kevin performs better when the stakes are higher, like when he’s up against tougher competition. Whether it’s a slump or he’s getting to a higher level and more competition, he gets better every time. It usually takes him a while to figure some things out, but he’s off to a good start in Iowa, which really bodes well for him. Darius Hill and Chase Strumpf are also having good months. Hill is batting .417 with a .940 OPS, while Alcantara is .942 with a .321 average. As for Strumpf, he’s Mr. Clutch in August with 10 RBI, a .300 average, and a .389 OBP and a .922 OPS.
Tennessee
Some guys really stepped up in Tennessee after moving to the middle of the lineup going to Iowa. Both Fabian Pertuz and Luis Verdugo came off the bench to become full-time players this month and both have stepped up. But it’s Johnny Long who is dominating at an extremely high level. After Thursday, he had a .375 batting average for the month with a .516 OBP and a .974 OPS. In addition to his hits, he has issued a system-leading 14 walks. Pertuz has a .848 batting average with a .296 average, while Verdugo has a .340 batting average with a system-leading 11 RBIs for the month and an .884 OPS. Christian Franklin has walks over 20% of the time, as in 12 games as the leadoff player he has 11 walks for a .429 OBP.
Southern Bend
If you follow me on Twitter, I’ve been talking about Ethan Hearn really taking off since early July. That has continued in August as he seems to have finally figured some things out at the plate. Ethan is swinging a little earlier and faster than the ball, and he’s significantly lowered his K rate, down nearly 20% this month. It used to be well over 35%. Jordan Nwogu has also been on a tear this month, hitting .357 with an .837 OPS and 10 RBI in 12 games. Andy Garriola has been very good on two levels. Garriola is hitting .333 with 3 HRs and 9 RBI and a wRC+ of 223!
Myrtle Beach
The Pelicans basically missed an entire week of baseball due to Hurricane Debby, so their stats are a little odd, since they didn’t even play 10 games. So we can use these stats with that caveat. My guy, Eriandys Ramon, has a .333 batting average with a .412 OBP and a 1.012 OPS, thanks largely to a night of 4 doubles. Meanwhile, catcher Miguel Pabon has a .294 batting average with a .412 OBP. Carter Trice has a .353 batting average with a .476 OBP and a 1.358 OPS in just 5 games. I’m excited to see these stats stretch out this month.
As for pitching…
This tweet from yesterday sums it all up.
Nico Zeglin, Nazier Mule, Caleb Kilian, Jaxon Wiggins, Grant Kipp, and Jimmy Endersby are the frontrunners as they are all under 2.00! I still think we should talk more about Nazier Mule as a big player. I can’t believe Pipeline didn’t have him on their latest top 30 list. I also wonder if Kilian will return to Chicago and if Nico Zeglin will be moved to Tennessee to pitch in the playoffs. Also, Jaxon Wiggins will be a beast in 2025. Instead of rehabbing this winter, he will be working on his arsenal. Watch for him!
As for the relievers, the fact that the Smokies have five bullpen players who haven’t allowed a single earned run this month is a clear sign and shows why Tennessee is pulling away and winning the division. It’s also cool to see Tyler Santana and Chase Watkins pitching so well, and Brad Depperman coming out of retirement and throwing well!
As I said, two weeks is a long time. We’ll see who makes it to the All-Stars in just over two weeks!
