Phil Connors?!

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Top 100 Prospect List Published

BNN Top 10
1) Aparimeya Jagder (21, SP, Jacksonville, last year: 2) Jacksonville 1st round (1st overall) pick in 2023.
2) Manny Martinez (18, CF, Columbus, last year: ineligible) Columbus 1st round (2nd overall) pick in 2024.
3) Colin Mahoney (19, C, Charlotte, last year: ineligible) Charlotte supplemental (27th overall) pick in 2024.
4) Ron Sims (22, 3B, Jacksonville, last year: 65) Jacksonville supplemental (25th overall) pick in 2022.
5) Jesus Ortiz (23, 3B, Columbus, last year: 34) Trade from Jacksonville 12/22.
6) Howard Gunn (24, RP, Indianapolis, last year: 11) Trade from Madison 11/23.
7) Martin Ware (23, SP, Madison, last year: 7) Madison 1st round (3rd overall) pick in 2023.
8) Quintiliano Jcome (21, C, Jacksonville, last year: 40) Trade from Newark 12/23.
9) Daniel Barnes (22, SP, Columbus, last year: 12) Columbus 1st round (8th overall) pick in 2021.
10) Jesus Romero (20, SP, Columbus, last year: 43) International FA from Venezuela, signed by Columbus 4/21.

Madison Players in the top 100

7) SP Martin Ware: 22, a 2023 1st round pick by Madison, he will start the year in AA
11) SS Armando Nunes: 22, a 2024 1st round pick by Madison, he will start the year in A
13) SP Jud Sargent: 22, acquired from San Antonio 7/23 for SP Jimmy Dixon, C Julio Hernandez and others, he will start the year in AAA
22) SP Kirby Smith: 21, a 2022 4th round pick by Madison, he will start the year in AA
40) RP Juan Diaz: 22, acquired from Columbus 6/23 for 2 minor leaguers, he will start the season in AAA
72) SP Miguel Silva: 20, a 2023 4th round pick by Madison, he will start the year in SA
83) CF Mike McGeary: 22, a 2022 3rd round pick by Madison, he will start the year in AA
84) SP Juhamatti Skytta: 25, acquired from Boise 11/24, he will start the year in AAA
91) C Tomas Gracia: 24, acquired from Virginia Beach 7/19, he will start the season in the ABL
96) 1B Eduardo Cota: 23, a 2022 6th round pick by Madison, he will start the year in AA
97) CF Jorge Torres: 21, acquired from Boise 11/24, he will start the year in A
99) SP Richard Walters: 25, acquired from Colorado Springs 11/22, he will start the year in AAA

In my next tier of prospects, I have #106 RP Kenny Ellis, #114, SP Jose Roman, and #117 CF Francisco Gomez.

My minor league system is ranked 3/24 (down from 2/24 last year). 12 players in the top 100 is impressive. (league average is 4.17) But Columbus has more high end talent with 4 players in the top 10, 5 in the top 20, and 8 in the top 100. They are also 2nd to my 12 in total prospects in the top 100. Omaha is the only team without a player in the top 100.

[PhilledUp]

Projected Lineup

vs RHP
L Augusto Medina CF
L Rafael Deleon LF
R Junior Corral 3B
L Fernando Gonzalez 1B
L Victor Bautista RF
R Raul Sanchez C
R Glenn Fields 2B
R Jing Huang SS

vs LHP
L Augusto Medina CF
R Jorge Avila LF
R Junior Corral 3B
L Victor Bautista RF
R Raul Sanchez C
R Gabor Lindemans 1B
R Glenn Fields 2B
R Jing Huang SS

Waivers

There are 96 players on waivers, 60 hitters and 36 pitchers. I put in 2 claims. Both are out of options and are intended to be minor league depth if I am awarded the claim.

[PhilledUp]

April 1, 2025: Player Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Continuing a regular feature, I will profile a player on the Greenies Roster

Vicente Martinez, SP
Vicente ‘Melanoma’ Martinez is a 28 year old SP starting his 9th season in the ABL. He has the prototypical pitchers build, and stands 6’5”, 235. He has well above average pitching skills across the board. He uses a well above average 93-95 mph sinker to generate groundballs 69% of the time. He complements it with an outstanding slider, an above average splitter, and an average changeup. In his 8 seasons in the ABL, he has accumulated a 115-69 record, 2.87 ERA, and 7.83 K/9 over 1545.1 IP. He has one of the more interesting nicknames in the ABL. According to Martinez, he earned the nickname ‘Melanoma’ by refusing to wear sunscreen during his high school days playing summer league games in the Texas sun.

Martinez, who was born in Puerto Rico, was the latest in a long line of high school phenoms drafted out of Texas when he was selected first overall out of high school in 2015 by Wichita. His career got off to a rocky start, as he was suffered shoulder soreness in August of that year. Perhaps due to changed mechanics due to the injury, in his first start back from the injury, he tore his flexor tendon in his elbow and missed most of the 2016 season. That didn’t dim his already bright status though, and he was named the #2 overall prospect heading into the 2016 season. After dominating A and 3 starts in AA that season, Wichita had seen enough to promote him to their big league team to start the 2017 season. He proved them right by going 16-14 with a 2.74 ERA and narrowly missed winning the rookie of the year award, losing to Jorge Pujol, who batted .390 in 68 games.

Martinez continued to pitch well throughout his tenure in Wichita, earning 4 pitcher of the month awards, 5 shutouts, and 3 all-star selections 2022-2024. He twice put off free agency, first by agreeing to a 1 year extension in May 2022, and then again with a 4 year contract extension signed in April 2023. However, facing a tight budget, Wichita opted to trade him to Madison following the 2024 season. They assume the final 3 years of his contract at a rate of $16.4M per year. In addition to his obviously steady success on the mound (WAR 7.6-7.8 the last 4 years, finishing 1st twice and 2nd twice), GM Phil Connors cited his personality as a reason for acquiring Martinez. “Vicente has a reputation for working as hard as anyone. That and the fact that he’s been such a good mentor over his career were important characteristics for us. We have a young staff and that sort of professionalism will hopefully rub off on the young guys.”

Early in his career, Martinez struggled with injury problems. He missed 4 months in 2018 with shoulder inflammation, 3 months in 2020 with a herniated disc, and the first few weeks of the season in 2022 with shoulder soreness. Despite being 4 years removed from his last serious injury, he still carries the ‘fragile’ label. He gave the Madison front office a scare this spring training when his elbow felt tender. However, it was nothing more than some early season soreness, and he missed less than a week. Madison hopes that he can continue to avoid the injury bug for the remainder of his contract.

Scheduled to face a potent Anchorage lineup that is projected to finish 2nd to Madison in runs scored this year, Martinez was calm. He said, “I was excited and nervous the first time I got to pitch opening day. It’s still a humbling honor to be selected, but I’ve learned to control my emotions and that if I pitch like I know how, the game is just like any other.”

[PhilledUp]

April 14, 2025: Week 1
6-1 overall; 1½ game lead (6-1 this week)
Runs Scored: 42, 1st in NL Runs Allowed: 24, 3rd in NL, Zone Rating: 0
Power Rankings: 1 (from 6)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 72 (from 72)
Last Week: vs Anchorage (3-0), vs Newark (3-1)
Next Week: 2 vs Omaha, 3 @ Boise
Player of the Week NL: Mauro Parra (Portland) SL: Matt Miller (San Antonio)

Game Notes
Game 1: Madison 7 Anchorage 5 W McClellan (1-0) L Williams (0-1) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (2-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Anchorage: Sanchez (1), Galvan (1) Madison: Bautista (1), Medina (1)
Madison plated 3 in the 3rd to take a 3-1 lead. They added a run on a groundout and one on a solo HR to take a 5-2 lead going into the ninth. McClellan allowed the first 2 men to reach base before striking out 2. But he allowed a game-tying 3 run HR to prove that his struggles from last year may have carried over to this year. However, in the bottom of the 9th, Victor Bautista laid into a 2 out, 2-2 pitch to walk off with the opening day victory.
Game 2: Madison 6 Anchorage 3 W Dixon (1-0) L Woods (0-1) – Player of the Game: Raul Sanchez, Madison (2-5, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Anchorage: Scurry (1) Madison: Sanchez (1)
Madison pushed a run home in the 1st with a bases loaded walk but couldn’t manage more. Dixon returned the favor in the 3rd. Sanchez broke a 2-2 tie with a 2 run HR in the 6th, and the offense added 2 more to secure the victory.
Game 3: Madison 7 Anchorage 4 W Wiley (1-0) L Taylor (0-1) S McClellan (1) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI)
HR Anchorage: Scurry (2) Madison: Bautista 2 (3), Corral (1), Lindemans (1)
Facing ex-Greenie Aaron Taylor, Madison used some big hits to take the lead. They hit 2 solo HRs and Avila had a 2 RBI triple (11th all-time) to give Madison a 5-2 lead. They padded their lead with 2 more runs in the 7th before McClellan pitched a perfect 9th to secure the sweep.
Game 4: Madison 4 Newark 2 W Moore (1-0) L Moreno (0-1) S McClellan (2) – Player of the Game: Emery Moore, Madison (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K)
HR Newark: Kelley (2) Madison: Bautista (4), Sanchez (2), F. Gonzalez (1)
Bautista continued his hot start to the year with a solo HR in the 2nd. Sanchez added a 2 run shot, and Moore left after 10 K’s in 7 IP with a 3-2 lead. The standard O’Dell, McClellan took care of the rest.
Game 5: Newark 8 Madison 7 W Bixler (1-0) L Sawyer (0-1) S Nava (2) – Player of the Game: Lewis Perkins, Newark (2-5, HR, 4 RBI)
HR Newark: Perkins (1), Lopez (1), Kelley (3), Benjamin (2) Madison: Lindemans (2)
Sawyer walked 5 and allowed a grand slam as he battled nerves in the 1st inning of his 1st career ABL start. The opposing pitcher walked 4 batters of his own and allowed 2 runs in the bottom half. Sawyer allowed 2 more HRs and 3 runs through 6. Madison pulled within 1 with a 4 run 6th. They traded runs in the 9th and Madison was narrowly defeated.
Game 6: Madison 2 Newark 0 W Martinez (1-0) L Robertson (0-2) S O’Dell (1) – Player of the Game: Vicente Martinez, Madison (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K)
Martinez pitched 7 shutout innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. The pinch hitter delivered a single to break the scoreless tie. Madison added an insurance run in the 8th and O’Dell pitched 2 innings for the save.
Game 7: Madison 9 Newark 2 W Dixon (2-0) L Hill (1-1) – Player of the Game: Junior Corral, Madison (3-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI)
HR Newark: Perkins (2), Kelley (4) Madison: Corral (2)
The game was close until a 3 run bomb by Corral put Madison up 5-1. They scored 4 more in the bottom of the 8th to put the game out of reach. The victory was Dixon’s 100th of his career.

Thoughts
It’s great to start the year so hot. Bautista’s hot spring training carried over into the season. It’s too early to worry about slow starts by Corral (.231) or Fields (.125). Martinez almost missed a win in both starts this week, but luckily a pinch hit single allowed him to earn his much deserved first win with Madison. Hopefully it’s the first of many.

Team Transactions
4/8: Madison signed 16 year old SP Gabriel Pina from Venezuela.
4/9: Madison claimed C Chris Hawkins on waivers from New Orleans, CF Jack Bond on waivers from San Jose, and C Cristobal Ibanez on waivers from Boise. Ibanez was assigned to AAA Laredo. Hawkins and Bond were placed on waivers.
4/12: C Chris Hawkins and CF Jack Bond cleared waivers and were outrighted to AAA Laredo.

League News
4/8: Omaha LF Cesar Perez suffered a sprained elbow and will miss 6 weeks.
4/12: Birmingham signed SS Jon Davidson to a 1 year contract worth $5.8M. In doing so, they forfeited their 1st round pick. Davidson was the last free agent available with compensation tied to a signing.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Victor Bautista 2
Junior Corral 1
Vicente Martinez 1
Emery Moore 1
Raul Sanchez 1

[PhilledUp]

April 15, 2025: Prospect Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Kirby Smith, SP
Kirby Smith is a 21 year old SP who began the year at AA Laurinberg. His stuff and movement grade out as above average, while his control currently lags behind but should develop into above average skills once he learns to repeat his delivery. Just 6’0”, 175 lbs, he succeeds by living down in the zone with his average to above average fastball that comes in at 92-94 mph. He also has an above average sinker, a well above average curveball, and a screwball that he will throw a few times again. His pitches are already very well defined and will get a ½ a tick better at best. The assortment of pitches all have downward action and help him to get a 71% groundball rate. All in all, he has the makings of a top flight starter.

Kirby Smith was drafted in the 4th round (89th overall) by Madison in 2022 out of high school in Washington. That draft class also included top 100 prospect Eduardo Cota (6th rd) and 2 relievers knocking on Madison’s door, George Melton (1st rd) and Burt Broderick (2nd rd). Smith started his career in rookie ball and held his own, but didn’t light the league on fire. He spent all of 2023 in SA Rosemead and again performed well, but was not overly impressive. He continued his stepwise advancement in 2024 and spent the whole season in A Providence. He made big strides through the year. An improved fitness routine helped add 3-4 mph to his fastball and make it a weapon. Kenny Wiley, a native of Connecticut, returned home for the birth of his child in early May and also found time to stop at a Providence game. Smith seized the opportunity and added the screwball to his repertoire. Though it is only a below average pitch, it gives opponents a 4th pitch to think about. His strong year earned him a A all-star berth and the league’s Outstanding Pitcher Award. Unfortunately, his season ended in early September with elbow tendinitis, leaving him unavailable for the playoffs.

On the strength of his superb 2024 season, Smith vaulted up the prospect charts all the way to the #22 prospect in the ABL. In 2 starts this year, he has done nothing to change that impression. His mechanics are in line early in the season, as he has allowed only 1 walk and 1 run in 13.2 IP this year. Though his youth and a bevy of young starters in AAA may keep him in AA all year long, Smith can make the Madison front office reconsider their conservative approach with a strong few months at AA. After the season, he will be eligible for the rule V draft. Regardless of the front office’s handling, it appears that he has a part in the team’s future plans.

[PhilledUp]

April 21, 2025: Week 2
8-4 overall; 1 game lead (2-3 this week)
Runs Scored: 63, 3rd in NL (from 1st) Runs Allowed: 40, 2nd in NL (from 3rd) , Zone Rating: -0.3 (from 0)
Power Rankings: 3 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 72 (from 72)
Last Week: vs Omaha (1-1), @ Boise (1-2)
Next Week: 3 @ Indianapolis, 4 vs Buffalo
Player of the Week NL: Arturo Monterio (Newark) SL: William Stevenson (Tucson)

Game Notes
Game 8: Omaha 3 Madison 2 W Graham (1-1) L O’Dell (0-1) S Reyes (2) – Player of the Game: Larry Graham, Omaha (8 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K)
HR Omaha: Cabrera (1), Lazzarini (3) Madison: Bautista (5)
Wiley let up a leadoff triple but recovered to hold Omaha scoreless in the 1st. He didn’t allow another HR until allowing a leadoff HR in the 7th that cut Madison’s lead in half. Omaha scored another in the inning to tie the game. In his 2nd inning of work, O’Dell allowed a HR to give Madison a 3-2 lead, and Madison couldn’t score in the bottom half.
Game 9: Madison 10 Omaha 2 W Moore (2-0) L MacDonald (1-1) – Player of the Game: Junior Corral, Madison (3-4, HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: Huang (1), Fields (1), Bautista (6), Corral (3)
Madison hit a pair of 2 run HRs in the 5th to take a 6-1 lead. That was more than enough for Moore, who was dominant in 8 innings.
Game 10: Boise 3 Madison 1 W Eagan (1-2) L Martinez (1-1) S Takahashi (4) – Player of the Game: Jesse Eagan, Boise (7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
HR Boise: Peterson (2), Hilliard (2)
Reigning Hitter of the Year Dale Peterson hit a 2 run homer in the 1st to give Boise the early 2-1 lead. Madison had 10 hits, but couldn’t come through with the big one.
Game 11: Madison 2 Boise 1 W Gilmore (1-0) L Wheeler (0-2) S McClellan (3) – Player of the Game: Jimmy Dixon, Madison (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)
HR Boise: Moore (2)
Former Greenie Abraham Moore hit a solo HR to give Boise a 1-0 lead in the 3rd. The game stayed that way until Bautista singled home 2 runs in the 8th to give Madison the narrow victory.
Game 12: Boise 7 Madison 6 (11) W Baker (1-1) L Gilmore (1-1) – Player of the Game: Fernando Gonzalez, Madison (4-5, BB, 1 R, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (7) Boise: Hollingsworth (2), Brewer (2)
Madison had a man on 3rd with no outs in the 2nd and the bases loaded with no outs in the 3rd and couldn’t manage even a run. They finally broke through with 4 runs in the 5th to tie the game at 4. Wiley struggled with his control (6 walks in 5 innings) but left with the game tied. Madison scored 2 in the 7th to take a 6-4 lead, and 4 relievers held Boise scoreless until McClellan allowed 2 runs to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th. The game stayed that way until former Greenie Steven Hollingsworth delivered a walkoff HR in the bottom of the 11th.

Thoughts
McClellan is frustrating me. Again. There is no reason for him to be this bad. O’Dell could conceivably close and new acquisition Shaw has closed in both of his years in the ABL. It’s too early to make a switch yet, but McClellan is on a short leash.

The 3 game set with Boise was the first 3 of 20 straight games. I have to make sure I keep an eye on my starters and not tire them out (or hurt them) so early in the season.

Team Transactions
none

League News
4/16: Charlotte 1B Santiago Garcia, the 2024 Hitter of the Year, suffered a fractured thumb and will miss the next 6 weeks.
4/16: Buffalo SP Bryan Boyce suffered an elbow injury that will require elbow reconstruction surgery. He is not expected to return until June 2026.
4/17: Jacksonville SP Joe Connall allowed 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2 in a 7-0 shutout over Charlotte. It was the 1st shutout in only the 2nd career start for the longtime reliever.
4/17: Wichita signed RP Dan Wright to a 1 year contract extension worth $5.5M. Wright, a 31 year old veteran, was traded by Madison to Wichita in the trade for SP Martinez. He spent all of 2024 in the minor leagues and has totaled 7 games in the ABL in the past 3 seasons.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Victor Bautista 2
Junior Corral 2
Jimmy Dixon 1
Fernando Gonzalez 1
Vicente Martinez 1
Emery Moore 1
Raul Sanchez 1

[PhilledUp]

April 28, 2025: Week 3
12-7 overall; 1½ game lead (4-3 this week)
Runs Scored: 96, 2nd in NL (from 3rd) Runs Allowed: 69, 3rd in NL (from 2nd), Zone Rating: 0 (from -0.3)
Power Rankings: 4 (from 3)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 72 (from 72)
Last Week: @ Indianapolis (1-2), vs Buffalo (3-1)
Next Week: 3 vs Las Vegas, 4 @ Columbus
Player of the Week NL: Denis Asbury (Omaha) SL: Jose Diaz (San Antonio)

Game Notes
Game 13: Madison 3 Indianapolis 0 W Moore (3-0) L Guerrero (0-1) S Shaw (1) – Player of the Game: Emery Moore, Madison (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 K)
Moore worked around 5 walks to shut out Indianapolis for 6 innings. On offense, Madison ran into trouble (3 CS, 1 out at the plate), but managed to score 3 in the 7th to secure the victory.
Game 14: Indianapolis 6 Madison 5 (13) W Gunn (1-0) L Gilmore (1-2) – Player of the Game: Augusto Medina, Madison (2-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: Medina 2 (3), Deleon (1)
Medina delivered a 3 run HR in the 2nd to help Madison jump out to a 3-0 lead. Indianapolis came back with 2 in the 5th and 1 in the 6th to tie the game. It stayed that way until the 13th when Madison hit back to back solo HRs against former prospect Howard Gunn. But the bullpen, tired from a busy week, gave up 3 runs in the bottom half to lose a heartbreaker.
Game 15: Indianapolis 9 Madison 3 W Salazar (2-1) L Martinez (1-2) – Player of the Game: Leonardo Calderon, Indianapolis (3-3, BB, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Corral (4) Indianapolis: Calderon 2 (5), Caine (1), Rea (2)
Martinez allowed HRs to lead off the 1st and 2nd and a 3 run HR in the 3rd. Gamely trying to absorb innings for an exhausted bullpen, he pitched 5 innings and allowed 9 runs (7 earned) in a blowout.
Game 16: Buffalo 5 Madison 0 W Aguirre (1-2) L Dixon (2-1) – Player of the Game: Alonso Aguirre, Buffalo (8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K)
HR Buffalo: Hernandez (1)
Dixon allowed 2 in the 1st and 1 in the 8th but was dominant in between. Unfortunately Madison’s bats were quieted by Aguirre.
Game 17: Madison 5 Buffalo 2 W Wiley (2-0) L Reyes (1-1) S McClellan (4) – Player of the Game: Raul Sanchez, Madison (1-3, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Sanchez (3)
Sanchez kicked off the scoring with a 2 run HR in the 2nd, but Buffalo countered with a 2 run double in the 3rd. Wiley again struggled with control, allowing 6 walks in 6 innings, but escaped allowing only those 2 runs. Madison took the lead with a run in the 4th and added 2 insurance runs in the 7th to seal the victory.
Game 18: Madison 12 Buffalo 3 W Moore (4-0) L Bernard (2-1) – Player of the Game: Jing Huang, Madison (2-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Huang (2), Bautista (8)
Facing SP Felipe Bernard, who they wooed in free agency, Madison arrived angry. Bautista hit a 1st inning grand slam and Madison batted around in taking an early 4-0 lead. They greeted the bullpen by scoring 6 more runs and batting around again in the 2nd. From there they coasted to the 12-3 victory.
Game 19: Madison 5 Buffalo 4 W Gilmore (2-2) L Marino (0-3) – Player of the Game: Stephen Starks, Buffalo (8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
HR Buffalo: White (2), Hernandez (2) Madison: Huang (3) F. Gonzalez (2)
Fresh off a blowout, the Madison offense was shut down for 7 innings. They scored 1 in the 8th and tied the game in the 9th with a 3 run shot. A Jing Huang 2 out single later in the inning delivered the walk-off victory.

Thoughts
The stretch of extra inning games and short starts by my starters put a strain on my bullpen. I don’t know if its advancing age, more ‘fragile’ players, or bad luck, but it seems like it takes this year’s bullpen longer to bounce back. It’s something I will have to be cognizant of moving forward. Maybe it means I have to play fewer matchups.

Team Transactions
none

League News
4/23: 27 year old Nashville SP Michael Moody allowed 2 hits and 3 walks in a 8 K, 8-0 shutout over Birmingham. It was his 1st career shutout.
4/27: 31 year old New Orleans SP Earl Morrison allowed 2 hits and 1 walk en route to a 7 K, 7-0 shutout over Wichita. It was his 4th career shutout.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Victor Bautista 2
Junior Corral 2
Jimmy Dixon 1
Fernando Gonzalez 1
Jing Huang 1
Vicente Martinez 1
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 2

[PhilledUp]

May 1, 2025: Player Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Continuing a regular feature, I will profile a player on the Greenies Roster

Glenn Fields 2B
Glenn Fields is a 25 year old 2B enjoying his 2nd full season in the ABL. If the lanky 6’4”, 205 lbs man doesn’t look like a prototypical 2B, it’s because he’s not. A natural outfielder and outstanding left fielder, Fields was part of the wide open spring training competition for 2B in 2024. He won the job and earned the right to stay there, even if he is a subpar defender. Besides LF, Fields can also play 1B and CF better than 2B, and has played SS and RF in a pinch. At the plate, most scouts say he possesses only average skills. Rodsjo has a slightly better outlook, and told me he complements average contact and ability to avoid the K with slightly above average gap and home run power. He walks slightly less than the league average. However, he is prone to streaks and demonstrated so with the one he went on last summer. On the basepaths, Fields is an above average runner, and takes advantage of that and his smarts to be an outstanding base-stealer and world-class base-runner.

Fields went east from his Texas home to Wake Forest. After 3 years there, he was drafted by Madison in the 2nd round (40th overall) of the 2020 draft. He spent most of the summer in R ball before a quick 13 game stint in SA to finish the year. In 2021, he started the year in A Providence and dominated, earning a A all-star berth and a promotion to AA. He started and spent most of the season in AA. After earning a midseason promotion to AAA, he suffered a pair of injuries that caused him to miss a month of time each. He fractured his thumb and within days of returning, strained his oblique. Upon his return, Fields was a late season call-up in a lost season for Madison, but failed to impress, hitting only .140 in 57 ABs.

With a new regime in place to start the 2023 season, Fields started all the way down in A ball. He didn’t let that affect him though, and continued to use his strong work ethic to progress to AA after a month, and to AAA at the trade deadline after a series of trades thinned the upper levels of the minors. He earned a player of the week award at each stop. After the conclusion of the AAA playoffs, he earned a late addition to the ABL squad and played in 3 games.

Fields made the final cut after a 2024 spring training battle between him and Pepe Gonzalez. The offense minded Bob Miller said at the time that he preferred the speed that Fields offered on the basepaths. Fields did more than that. He twice earned the rookie of the month award on the way to a starting nod at the All-Star game and the NL Rookie of the Year award. Among other highlights during the season, Fields had a 3 HR and 2 HR game in the same week to earn a player of the week award. Despite the phenomenal season, Fields still wears #55 as a reminder of the work he had to put in to have such success.

This year, Fields has gotten off to a slow start. He still has his fair share of naysayers and hopes to prove them wrong. Asked about the slow start, he said, “I just have to keep grinding out at bats. ‘Nando (Hitting Coach Fernando Carrillo) is really earning his keep this year. I’ve been taking extra batting practice every day. We just noticed a small hitch compared to last year, so I’ve gotta keep getting the reps to iron that out.” He may be on his way. He has had 2 hits in each of the past 2 games.

[PhilledUp]

May 5, 2025: Week 4
18-8 overall; 3½ game lead (6-1 this week)
Runs Scored: 138, 1st in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 88, 1st in NL (from 3rd), Zone Rating: +1.7 (from 0)
Power Rankings: 1 (from 4)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 73 (from 72)
Last Week: vs Las Vegas (3-0), @ Columbus (3-1)
Next Week: 3 @ Colorado Springs, 3 vs San Jose
Player of the Week NL: Vicente Rivera (Omaha) SL: Stanley May (Virginia Beach)
April Player of the Month NL: Chang-wei Sun, Las Vegas (.317, 9 HR, 20 RBI, 18 R) SL Steve Jackson, New Orleans (.333, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 16 R)
April Pitcher of the Month NL: Emery Moore, Madison (4-0, 1.93 ERA, 28 IP, 29 K, 4 GS) SL: Alex Williams, Oklahoma City (4-0, 0.28 ERA, 32 IP, 25 K, 4 GS)
April Rookie of the Month NL: Denis Asbury, Omaha (.314, 22 H, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 17 R) SL: Fletcher Allen, Charlotte (.282, 4 HR, 16 RBI)

Game Notes
Game 20: Madison 3 Las Vegas 2 W Jones (1-0) L Sawada (0-1) – Player of the Game: Skip White, Las Vegas (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K)
HR Las Vegas: Sun (9) Madison: Bautista (9), Sanchez (4)
Martinez allowed a solo HR and an unearned run in 8 innings, but left in a 2-0 hole. Bautista provided 9th inning heroics with a game tying 2 run shot and Sanchez followed that up with a walk off solo HR.
Game 21: Madison 4 Las Vegas 3 W Dixon (3-1) L Ferreira (2-1) S McClellan (5) – Player of the Game: Ruben Hinojosa, Las Vegas (2-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI)
HR Las Vegas: Hinojosa (4)
Madison scored 2 in the 1st, 2 in the 5th, and Dixon pitched 7 solid innings to pick up the W.
Game 22: Madison 14 Las Vegas 3 W Wiley (3-0) L Wright (2-2) – Player of the Game: Gabor Lindemans, Madison (2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: Lindemans 2 (4)
Madison scored 4 unearned runs in the first 2 innings before adding 7 more in the 5th in a sloppy game that featured 5 errors and several misplays.
Game 23: Madison 4 Columbus 3 W Shaw (1-0) L Ames (0-1) S McClellan (6) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista 2 (11) Columbus: Uribe (1)
Madison scored 2 in the 1st but left men on 2nd and 3rd. Moore pitched 6 strong innings of 1 run ball, but left because he had a particularly taxing last start. Shaw came on in the 7th and allowed a game-tying 2 run HR to deny Moore his league-leading 5th win. But Bautista responded with a solo HR in the 8th to retake the lead, and O’Dell and McClellan shut down Columbus to vindicate Shaw.
Game 24: Columbus 5 Madison 2 W Barker (2-1) L Sawyer (0-2) S Thornton (5) – Player of the Game: Curt Armstrong, Columbus (2-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Corral (5) Columbus: Armstrong (3)
Sawyer allowed 3 run in 6 innings and left trailing 3-2. Shaw came on and let up a 2 run HR, and the offense couldn’t manage any more runs. Madison’s win streak was snapped at 7 games.
Game 25: Madison 11 Columbus 0 W Martinez (2-2) L McVurich (1-2) S Reyes (1) – Player of the Game: Fernando Gonzalez, Madison (3-4, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB)
HR Madison: Bautista (12), F. Gonzalez (3)
Martinez continued to recover from last week’s horrid outing and pitched 6 shutout innings. Madison backed him with 11 runs, including 6 in the 4th.
Game 26: Madison 4 Columbus 3 W Dixon (4-1) L Romero (1-2) S McClellan (7) – Player of the Game: Millard Allen, Madison (1-4, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Huang (4), Allen (1)
In a spot start, Millard Allen got the scoring started with a 3 run HR in the 2nd. Dixon was solid, and allowed 3 runs, including 2 in the 8th, to pick up the one.

Thoughts
Lost in the 15-7 April was the fact that we only played 6 games on the road. 18/28 of the games in May are on the road, so we will see if we can keep it up. We finish the 20 game stretch with 3 against Colorado Springs. They’re not quite the pushover they’ve been the last 2 years – this year they stand 12-13.

Team Transactions
none

League News
4/28: Oklahoma City signed former Madison RP Talos Kalergi to a minor league contract.
4/28: Charlotte RP Juan Cintron earned his 500th save. Manuel Gonzalez, his nearest competition at 474, is currently on the DL.
4/29: 27 year old Buffalo SP Felipe Bernard walked 4 and struck out 3 while allowing 4 this in a 4-0 shutout over Newark. It was his 7th career shutout.
5/2: Nashville SP Armando Alavartido had 6 strikeouts and walked 0 in a 4 hit 5-0 shutout over Virginia Beach. It was the 28 year old’s 1st career shutout.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 3
Junior Corral 2
Jimmy Dixon 1
Fernando Gonzalez 2
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 1
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 2

[PhilledUp]

May 12, 2025: Week 5
22-10 overall; 5 game lead (4-2 this week)
Runs Scored: 162, 4th in NL (from 1st) Runs Allowed: 106, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +3.1 (from 1.7)
Power Rankings: 1 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 74 (from 73)
Last Week: @ Colorado Springs (1-2), vs San Jose (3-0)
Next Week: 3 @ Portland, 4 vs Boise
Player of the Week NL: Dale Peterson (Boise) SL: Steve Jackson (New Orleans)

Game Notes
Game 27: Colorado Springs 7 Madison 6 W Gibson (2-0) L Gilmore (2-3) S Guerrero (2) – Player of the Game: Junior Corral, Madison (2-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Fields (2), Sanchez (5), Corral (6) Colorado Springs: Myers (3)
Wiley let up a HR to lead off the game but settled down to shut down Colorado Springs until a costly error allowed 2 runs to score in the 6th. Madison was still in the lead 5-3 at that point though. Another error let 2 more runs in in the 7th, cutting Madison’s lead to 6-5. 2 more (earned runs) scored in the 8th, and Colorado Springs won.
Game 28: Colorado Springs 4 Madison 3 W Villarreal Jr (1-2) L Reyes (0-1) S Barnes (7) – Player of the Game: Luis Villarreal Jr, Colorado Springs (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 4 K)
HR Madison: Lindemans (5), Gracia (1) Colorado Springs: Wright (3)
Moore let up 2 runs in 6 innings. But Madison was held scoreless by Villarreal, who came into the game having allowed 21 ER in 24 IP, until a pinch-hit 2 R HR by Gracia tied the game with 2 outs in the 7th. Madison returned the favor in the bottom half and fell again.
Game 29: Madison 1 Colorado Springs 0 W O’Dell (1-1) L Rivera (0-1) S McClellan (8) – Player of the Game: Kerry Sawyer, Madison (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)
HR Madison: Deleon (2)
Sawyer emerged as an unlikely stopper. He pitched 7 shutout innings, but was denied a decision when he left with the game still knotted at 0. Deleon led off the 9th with a HR to break the stalemate and allowed Madison to avoid the sweep from former pincushion Colorado Springs.
Game 30: Madison 4 San Jose 2 W O’Dell (2-1) L Truswell (1-3) S McClellan (9) – Player of the Game: Vicente Martinez, Madison (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 8 K)
HR San Jose: Allen (3) Madison: Deleon (3)
Through 7.5 innings, each team had only managed one run on a sac fly, but Deleon pummeled a fastball for a 2 run HR in the 8th to give Madison the lead and ultimately extend San Jose’s losing streak to 9 games.
Game 31: Madison 7 San Jose 3 W Dixon (5-1) L Johnston (2-1) – Player of the Game: Jimmy Dixon, Madison (8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K; batting 1-3, 2 RBI)
HR San Jose: Dominey (4) Madison: Sanchez (6)
Dixon had an RBI in each of his first 2 at bats to help his own cause. On the mound, he didn’t allow his 1st hit until the 5th, and allowed only 1 run on a groundout in 8 innings to pick up the win.
Game 32: Madison 3 San Jose 2 W O’Dell (3-1) L Aragon (0-2) – Player of the Game: Eric Fletcher, San Jose (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K)
HR San Jose: Craig (1), Allen (4) Madison: Avila (1), Lindemans (6)
Wiley allowed only a solo HR in 7 IP, but Madison managed only the same before he left. Brought in to face a string of lefties, San Jose countered Vic May by pinch-hitting a RH batter. He promptly hit a HR and took the 2-1 lead. However, Lindemans hit a walk-off 2 run HR in the bottom of the 9th for the Madison win, the sweep, and to extend San Jose’s losing streak to 11 games.

Thoughts
It felt like we were involved in a bunch of pitcher duals this weekend. Not that it’s a problem if we come out on top, but I prefer blow outs. Less reflux. It’s mostly because the offense is in a little bit of a lull. I have full confidence that they will pull out of it though. It has, however, made me consider a few lineup changes. I will evaluate the situation more fully at the quarter pole, but CF Medina (.225) is in danger of losing his leadoff spot, and Fields (.211) and Huang (.213) may get a few games on the bench to clear their heads.

Team Transactions
5/8: Madison signed 16 year old C Rafael Salinas out of the Dominican Republic.

League News
5/7: Portland SP Jon Walton struck out 6 and walked 2 in a 4 hit, 8-0 shutout over Buffalo. It was his 3rd career shutout.
5/9: Las Vegas SP Javier Ramirez struck out 2 and walked 3 in a 3-hit, 9-0 shutout over Omaha. It was the 24 year old’s 1st career shutout.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 3
Junior Corral 3
Jimmy Dixon 2
Fernando Gonzalez 2
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 2
Kerry Sawyer 1

[PhilledUp]

May 15, 2025: Prospect Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Mike McGeary
Mike McGeary is a 23 year old CF currently playing in AA Laurinberg. He has above average speed and is an above average fielder in both CF and LF, but a weak arm keeps him from being a candidate to play RF. McGeary currently is an average hitter with average discipline and ability to avoid strikeouts, but all of these skills have room for growth and stand to be above average tools once he finishes developing. His 6’2”, 200 lbs frame is nearly fully developed though, so he will likely never be more than a slap hitter with occasional gap power. Scouts don’t project him to ever get out of the single digits in HRs in a season. McGeary uses his above average speed well, and is a fantastic baserunner and base-stealer.

McGeary was a Madison’s 3rd round pick (66th overall) in the 2022 draft out of the University of Washington. He spent his first year beating up on less polished competition in R ball, and earned a fielding award for his play in CF. After spending all year in SA in 2023, McGeary moved up the ladder much quicker in 2024. He started the year in SA but finished in AA despite mediocre numbers in A. His raw skills were apparent to scouts though, and he entered the 2025 season as the #83 prospect in the game. He started this year repeating AA and appears to have developed a level of comfort that escaped him last year. He is batting .357 through the team’s first 32 games and on Monday was named the AA hitter of the week.

McGeary faces competition in his quest to make it to the ABL. In AAA, Juan Jose Guzman is a more polished CF prospect, though with perhaps a lower ceiling, and the Madison OF is stocked with talented young players. Expect him to spend the majority of the year in AA barring a series of injuries or trades. If he keeps producing, he will force Madison’s hand one way or another to get to the big leagues.

[PhilledUp]

May 19, 2025: Week 6
28-11 overall; 5½ game lead (6-1 this week)
Runs Scored: 201, 2nd in NL (from 4th) Runs Allowed: 139, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +5.5 (from 3.1)
Power Rankings: 2 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 76 (from 74)
Last Week: @ Portland (3-0), vs Boise (3-1)
Next Week: 3 @ Anchorage, 3 vs Indianapolis
Player of the Week NL: Daniel Lopez (Newark) SL: Joe Sellers (Oklahoma City)

Game Notes
Game 33: Madison 7 Portland 3 W Moore (5-0) L Adams (1-2) – Player of the Game: Marcos Castellanos, Portland (2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB)
HR Madison: Fields (3), Bautista (13), Corral (7), Lindemans (7) Portland: Castellanos 2 (5)
After Moore let up a 2 run HR to tie it in the 6th, Bautista regained the lead with a solo shot. The offense scored 3 more in the 9th to pad the lead and ensure the victory. Moore has started the year with 7 consecutive quality starts.
Game 34: Madison 11 Portland 9 (10) W McClellan (2-0) L Adams (1-3) S Reyes (2) – Player of the Game: Ruben Nunez, Portland (3-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Sanchez (7), Medina (4), F. Gonzalez (4) Portland: Peters (4), Nunez 2 (11), Stout (6), Griffin (6)
Madison scored 4 in the 1st to give Sawyer an early lead. The offense added 5 more, but the bullpen allowed 2 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to put the game in extra innings. But facing an exhausted and depleted bullpen that pitched 8 2/3 IP, Madison scored 2 in the 10th to take the victory.
Game 35: Madison 6 Portland 4 W Gilmore (3-3) L Lujan (1-1) S McClellan (10) – Player of the Game: Raul Sanchez, Madison (4-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Huang (5), Sanchez (8), Deleon (4) Portland: Griffin (7)
Martinez allowed 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game, but Huang hit a solo shot in the top of the 8th to regain the lead. After Portland re-tied the game in the bottom of the 8th with a HR, Sanchez hit a 2 run HR in the 9th to retake the lead for good.
Game 36: Madison 2 Boise 0 W Dixon (6-1) L Calderon (2-3) S McClellan (11) – Player of the Game: Jimmy Dixon, Madison (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K)
Dale Peterson hit his 54th career triple in the 1st to move into 15th place on the all-time list despite being only 26 years old. Dixon continued his early season dominance with 6 shutout innings and helped his own cause with a 2 run double in the 5th. Those were the only runs scored in the game.
Game 37: Boise 11 Madison 2 W Wheeler (2-3) L Wiley (3-1) – Player of the Game: Mario Ruiz, Boise (3-5, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI)
HR Boise: Peterson (13), Ruiz (5), Brewer (4) Madison: Lindemans (8)
Wiley couldn’t make it out of the 5th, and the offense managed only 2 runs, snapping an 8 game winning streak. Huang was also injured in the 8th in a collision at 2nd base and will miss 6-7 weeks with a bruised kneecap.
Game 38: Madison 6 Boise 2 W Moore (6-0) L Ramerez (0-1) – Player of the Game: Glenn Fields, Madison (3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI)
HR Boise: Davila (2) Madison: Sanchez (9), Corral (8), Fields (4)
With Peterson getting a rare day off and facing Emery Moore, Boise could only manage 2 runs, including a meaning 9th inning one. Madison scored 2 runs each in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th for the win.
Game 39: Madison 5 Boise 4 W Walters (1-0) L Kirkland (0-2) – Player of the Game: Richard Walters, Madison (8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
HR Boise: Peterson (14) Madison: F. Gonzalez (5), Allen (2), Corral (9)
In his 1st ABL start, on short rest no less, Walters allowed only an infield single through 6 innings before giving up a HR to Peterson in the 7th. He left with a 5-1 lead after 8. O’Dell pitched the 9th and made things interesting by allowing 3 runs, but ultimately escaped.

Thoughts
Kerry Sawyer was hurt in the 6th inning of Tuesday’s start. The diagnosis was not immediate. Sargent is due back from the DL by the end of the week, but I would like him to have a start in AAA before coming up if Sawyer’s injury is serious. Walters is on the 42 man roster and nearly on the same rotation, so there is a decent amount of flexibility.

As it turned out, Sawyer’s injury was a case of mild elbow soreness. He will miss one start. Huang’s injury happened at the ‘perfect’ time. It enabled me to call up Walters for a spot start while going short-handed at SS for a day. I initially called up Harris because Nieto was out with a day to day injury. He recovered in time for Tuesday’s game though and will be on the roster then.

After a strong spring training carried over to a blazing start for Bautista (.299, 12 HRs on 5/5), he has suffered a major cooldown, including a 7 game hitless streak. He currently sits with 13 HRs and a .232 avg. I am going to give him a few days to clear his head.

We went 6-1 but lost a position in the power rankings because Oklahoma City went 6-0, has won 7 straight, and only lost 2 this month. Oh well.

Team Transactions
5/16: 19 year old CF Francisco Gomez, the prize of the Ames/Arnold deal in 2023, is off to a torrid start in A (.369, 16 HR) and was promoted to AA.
5/17: Madison placed SS Jing Huang on the 11 day DL retroactive to 5/16 and recalled SS Fred Harris from AAA Laredo to take his place on the roster.
5/18: Madison recalled SP Richard Walters and optioned SS Fred Harris to AAA Laredo.

League News
5/12: Oklahoma signed 27 year old SP (near-ace) Juan Lopez to a 1 year extension for $9M. I mention this because he was going to be a free agent at the end of the season, though he currently has only 5.066 days of service. I wouldn’t call it a bug per say, but I think the coding for players in their 5th year of service time can be improved to avoid these types of 1 year extensions. Perhaps we should assume any arbitration and pre-arbitration eligible players will spend from that point in the season forward in the major leagues for the purposes of next year’s budget estimates (and salary negotiations).
5/14: Las Vegas signed SP Skip White to a 3 year $31.25M contract extension that buys out his remaining 3 years of salary arbitration. It also includes a player option worth $12.3M.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 3
Junior Corral 3
Jimmy Dixon 3
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 2
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 3
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1

[PhilledUp]

¼ Season Report



We've jumped out to a pretty strong lead. The NL West looks like it will be very competitive.



Gonzalez is all over the leaderboard with on base statistics, but still behind annual Hitter of the Year Dale Peterson in WAR. Bautista is among the leaders in several power categories and Corral is quietly having a good year.



We have several players among the leaders in wins and saves, but that has more to do with a strong team. Moore and Dixon have both had great starts to the year and narrowly missed out on the ERA leaderboard.



The batting has been rock solid all year. As a team, we lead in most key categories and could only improve in walks (9th). But hey, we like swinging.



The pitching has improved drastically since last year. The bullpen is only middle of the pack as McClellan has Jekyll and Hyde days, but otherwise they are at the top of most categories. We rank near the bottom in walks (10th, blame Dixon), and HRs allowed (12th), but that hasn’t stopped the team from getting results.

Minor League Records
AAA Laredo: 22-19 1 GB
AA Laurinburg: 23-18 2 game lead
A Providence: 28-13 12 game lead
SA Rosemead: season begins 6/24
R Long Beach: season begins 6/24

Minor leagues: The minor league teams look good. I was surprised with how well A Providence has been playing, but considering the tear CF Gomez was on before he was promoted, I guess it makes sense.

Leaders in the minor leagues
AAA: 1B Jose Alvarez is 1st in avg, WAR, HR, RBI, XBH, and TB, 2nd in H, 3rd in slg, 4th in OPS, and 5th in wOBA and R. There is no place for him on the big-league club and I think it’s more of a hot stretch than a sudden skill acquisition. Maybe I can take advantage of the hot streak and trade him. For pitchers, Sargent is off to a slow start (and missed 2 weeks with injury), but SP Richard Walters made an appearance on the leaderboard at t-2nd in K/BB and 3rd in BB/9.

Alverez and Walters both are what they are right now – depth/back-ups that could contribute to a lesser club.

AA: C Ruben Carlos is 2nd in 2B and XBH, 3rd in TB, 4th in RBI and ISO, and 6th in HR, WAR, and SLG, RF Emilio Perez is 4th in BB, 1B Eduardo Cota is 6th in H, 2B Jose Hernandez is 3rd in 2B, and CF Xavier Gonzalez is t-2nd in SB. SP Martin Ware is 2nd in ERA, 4th in BAA and WHIP, and 5th in H/9, SP Charles Edwards is 1st in SO, WHIP, and WAR, 2nd in FIP, and 5th in K/BB and IP, SP Burt Broderick Jr is 5th in HR/9, SP Kirby Smith is 2nd in K/BB, 3rd in BB/9, and 4th in FIP and WAR.

I consider Ware a near can’t miss prospect, Smith is close behind, Hernandez has a chance to be a regular, Broderick has a chance to stick in the bullpen, and Carlos, Cota, and Edwards are fringe-y type prospects.

A: Despite being promoted a week ago, CF Francisco Gomez is 1st in avg, slg, OPS, wOBA, H, HR, ISO, and TB and 2nd in WAR, RBI, R, and XBH. C Ramon Caraballo is 2nd in avg, 4th in OBP, and 5th in wOBA, SS Marius Gavallo is 5th in 2B, and SS Armando Nunes is 2nd in BB. SP Ruben Ramos is 1st in W and 4th in IP and SP Jody Hamilton is 3rd in H/9 and 5th in BAA.

Everyone is still too far away to realistically assess, but each player that is on the leaderboard has a high enough ceiling to be an ABL player.

[PhilledUp]

May 26, 2025: Week 7
31-14 overall; 5½ game lead (3-3 this week)
Runs Scored: 239, 3rd in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 179, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +7.2 (from 5.5)
Power Rankings: 3 (from 2)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 76 (from 74)
Last Week: @ Anchorage (1-2), vs Indianapolis (2-1)
Next Week: 3 @ Newark, 3 @ Omaha
Player of the Week NL: Chang-wei Sun (Las Vegas) SL: Antonio Rodriguez (Jacksonville)

Game Notes
Game 40: Madison 11 Anchorage 10 W Reyes (1-1) L Perez (3-2) S McClellan (12) – Player of the Game: Alfonso Galvan, Anchorage (3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (14), F. Gonzalez (6) Anchorage: Galvan 2 (12), Sanchez (8)
Madison jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Martinez allowed 7 runs before recording an out in the bottom of the 4th. Madison took the lead with a 4 run 6th but Anchorage re-tied the game in the bottom half. Unfazed, Madison scored 3 more runs before allowing 2 to hold on and nip the Caribou.
Game 41: Anchorage 8 Madison 6 W Woods (2-2) L Jones (1-1) S Stimpson (6) – Player of the Game: Fernando Gonzalez, Madison (3-5, HR, RBI)
HR Madison: F. Gonzalez (7) Anchorage: Galvan (13), Sanchez (9)
Dixon entered the game with a 1.94 ERA in 55.2 IP but wasn’t nearly that sharp. He allowed 4 runs in 5 innings. After Anchorage took a 4 run lead, Madison scored 2 in the 9th and threatened to tie but couldn’t come through. Avila and Gilmore were both hurt during the game.
Game 42: Anchorage 5 Madison 4 W Lindsey (4-1) L Shaw (1-1) S Stimpson (7) – Player of the Game: Rafael Deleon, Madison (2-3, 2 2B, R, RBI)
A pair of sac flies scored 2 in the 1st. Wiley wasn’t sharp at all. He needed 65 pitches to get through 2 innings and only lasted 4, allowing 4 runs. The bullpen allowed a run in 7th to provide the margin of victory for Anchorage.
Game 43: Indianapolis 6 Madison 3 W Martinez (3-1) L Moore (6-1) S Gallagher (6) – Player of the Game: Bryan Harmon, Indianapolis (1-4, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Indianapolis: Harmon (3), Rea (5)
Moore tied a Madison franchise record by walking 8 in 5 innings. He left with a 6-1 deficit. Madison threatened in the later innings several times, but could only close the gap to 6-3 before time ran out.
Game 44: Madison 9 Indianapolis 8 (10) W McClellan (3-0) L Gunn (2-2) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (3-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)
HR Indianapolis: Calderon (8) Madison: Deleon (5), Bautista 2 (16), Stephens (1)
Madison led 4-0, 6-2, and 7-6, but needed a HR in the bottom of the 9th to bring the game into extras and HR in the 10th to win the game.
Game 45: Madison 5 Indianapolis 3 W May (1-0) L Younger (1-1) S McClellan (13) – Player of the Game: Tomas Gracia, Madison (2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Corral (10), Gracia (2)
Trailing 3-0 in the 6th, Gracia hit a HR to bring Madison to within 1. In the 8th, a Corral HR tied the game, and 2 more runs scored to give Madison the lead. McClellan nailed down the 9th for the save.

Thoughts
I used Huang’s injury to make some line-up changes. Medina (.253, .318 obp) was bumped from leadoff to #6. Despite his speed, he is more of a power threat. Deleon (.330/.422/.543) was elevated to the leadoff spot. The lineup is now: LF Deleon, 1B Gonzalez, 3B Corral, RF Bautista, C Sanchez, CF Medina, 2B Fields, SS Nieto. Gonzalez will also frequently sub in for Nieto as I try to balance offense (Gonzalez) with defense (Nieto).

On 5/21, LF Avila was lost for 3 weeks with a strained oblique. RP Gilmore had an injury that was initially pending but was later diagnosed as shoulder inflammation and he will have to push to be back for the playoffs. He suffered a ratings hit to both his movement and control right away, so I knew it was serious. At least it gives me a chance to try out RP Melton and/or RP Diaz. They could have realistically been in the ABL at this time last year.

Starting today, we embark a 13 game road trip 5/26 - 6/8. So far we’ve been worse on the road (10-9 vs 21-5 at home), so we have to make sure we play well and at least stay above .500 on the trip.

Team Transactions
5/19: Madison optioned SP Richard Walters to AAA Laredo.
5/20: Madison recalled SS Fernando Nieto from AAA Laredo.
5/22: Madison placed LF Jorge Avila on the 11 day DL retroactive to 5/21 and purchased the contract of RF Millard Stephens from AAA Laredo.
5/23: Madison placed RP Bill Gilmore on the 60 day DL retroactive to 5/21 and purchased the contract of RP George Melton.

League News
5/23: Portland 1B Tony Stout went 0-3 to snap a 22-game hitting streak. The ABL record is 29.
5/24: Louisville SP Martin Wynn allowed 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 in a 5-0 shutout over Albuquerque. It was the 29 year old’s 9th career shutout.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 4
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 1
Jimmy Dixon 3
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 3
Tomas Gracia 1
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 3
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1

[PhilledUp]

June 1, 2025: Player Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Continuing a regular feature, I will profile a player on the Greenies Roster

Fernando Gonzalez, 1B
Fernando Gonzalez is a 24 year old 1B in his 2nd full season in the ABL. The hulking 6’6”, 230 lbs man excels in the batter’s box. He is above average at every hitting skill, though he walks less than the league average. This season, he has seen early success, and his batting average has hovered around .400 all year long. It sits exactly at that mark today. Gonzalez has little foot speed, but makes up for it by being an above average baserunner and can be an excellent base-stealer if the pitcher and catcher fall asleep on him. For all of his grace in the batter’s box, Gonzalez is not a natural in the field. He struggles in the field and is limited to being a well below average first basemen. Nonetheless, in an effort to get his and Lindemans bats in the lineup at the same time, Miller has started Gonzalez in LF on a few occasions this year.

Gonzalez was one of the most sought after international free agents out of his native Mexico during the 2017 season, and signed with Indianapolis for $1.84M as a 16 year old. He spent the rest of that season and 2018 honing his skills in their international complex. In 2019, he came stateside and began his career in R ball. Madison caught a glimpse of him and immediately liked what they saw. They traded young SP Jon Harris straight up for Gonzalez. Harris pitched well down the stretch, but Indianapolis missed the playoffs by 3 games and he was traded after the season.

Once in the Madison system, Gonzalez did nothing but hit at every level. As he continued to fill out, he displayed more power potential than was initially thought. Among the highlights from his minor league career include hitting for the cycle (7/4/20), a 27 game hitting streak (7/1/21), 3 player of the week awards, 1 player of the month award, and 3 all-star appearances. After spending all of 2022 in AAA Laredo, making the AAA all-star team, and batting .327, he got a late season call-up for his first experience with the big club. Because of a logjam at 1B, was used mostly as a pinch hitter and only accumulated 18 ABs. That offseason, Madison dealt 1B Steven Hollingsworth and kept 1B Jorge Ortiz. That meant Gonzalez was once again ticketed for AAA. He responded by unanimously winning the AAA Hitter of the Year crown with a .344 average and 41 HRs. Like the previous season, he spent the last few weeks in Madison. However, the monster year in AAA forced Madison GM Phil Connors’s hand, and Jorge Ortiz was dealt in the offseason to give him sole rights to the 1B job.

2023 was frustrating for Gonzalez on a personal level. He missed 2 weeks with a concussion after being hit by a pitch, and shortly after returning, was hit with another pitch and missed 1.5 months with a fractured thumb. In between, he still managed to put up solid numbers to help Madison make the playoffs for the 1st time since 2017. Waiver claim 1B Gabor Lindemans impressed in Gonzalez’s absence and seems to have found his niche as RH platoon partner and defensive replacement.

On a young team, Gonzalez is considered one of the leaders. He commands the respect of his teammates. His production at the plate certainly can’t hurt the cause. Like many of his teammates, Gonzalez is making the minimum this year and will not be eligible for arbitration until after the 2026 season. The young building block has flirted with .400 all year long. Though a long way off, he has a chance to break the ABL record of .389, set by Maximo Castillo in 2016.

[PhilledUp]

June 2, 2025: Week 8
35-16 overall; 6 game lead (4-2 this week)
Runs Scored: 271, 2nd in NL (from 3rd) Runs Allowed: 209, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +6.1 (from +7.2)
Power Rankings: 2 (from 3)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 76 (from 76)
Last Week: @ Newark (3-0), @ Omaha (1-2)
Next Week: 3 @ Las Vegas, 4 @ Buffalo
Player of the Week NL: Clint White (Buffalo) SL: Leonardo Gonzalez (Wichita)
May Player of the Month NL: Dale Peterson, Boise (.400, 12 HR, 33 RBI, 31 R) SL: Jose Diaz, San Antonio (.360, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 28 R, 11 BB)
May Pitcher of the Month NL: Patrick McClellan, Madison (13 G, 12.2 IP, 2-1, 10 Sv, 12 K, 2.84 ERA) SL: Armando Alavartido, Nashville (5-0, 2.03 ERA, 29 K, 44.1 IP)
May Rookie of the Month NL: Keith Crouch, Colorado Springs (.400, 6 HR, 16 RBI) SL: Eric Kerr, Virginia Beach (.301, 25 H, 8 HR, 11 R, 19 RBI)

Game Notes
Game 46: Madison 5 Newark 4 W Melton (1-0) L Nava (1-1) S Shaw (2) – Player of the Game: Don Kelley, Newark (1-4, HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: P. Gonzalez (1) Newark: Kelley (14)
A Corral error extended the bottom of the 3rd and allowed Newark to hit a grand slam to take a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile, Madison had only 2 hits through 7 innings and both were eliminated with a double play. They scored 3 on a HR in the 8th to get to 4-3 and scored twice in the 9th to nip Newark.
Game 47: Madison 9 Newark 7 W Wiley (4-1) L Gardner (1-1) S McClellan (14) – Player of the Game: Don Kelley, Newark (2-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Sanchez (10), Fields (5), Medina (5), Nieto (1), Corral (11) Newark: Kelley (15)
Madison used a pair of 2 run HRs in the 1st and 2nd to take a 4-0 lead. After Wiley let up 4 to tie the game, they responded with 3 runs on 2 more HRs to retake the lead, 7-4. After scoring another run, O’Dell made things interesting by allowing 3 runs in the 8th, but Madison prevailed.
Game 48: Madison 5 Newark 4 W Reyes (2-1) L Welch (4-4) S Shaw (3) – Player of the Game: Manuel Bautista, Newark (7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
HR Madison: Corral (12)
Moore recovered from his previoius start to pitch 6 innings of 3 run ball, but the offense left him in a 3-1 hole. The offense continued its late game heroics as Corral hit a 3 run HR to take a 4-3 lead in the 8th. They scored an insurance run in the 9th, which turned out to be crucial.
Game 49: Madison 6 Omaha 4 W Sawyer (1-2) L Downey (2-2) S McClellan (15) – Player of the Game: Fernando Gonzalez, Madison (3-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI)
HR Omaha: Perez (3), Williams (6)
Omaha led 1-0, 2-1, and 4-2, but each time the lead never lasted an inning. Madison finally took the lead 6-4 with a 4 run 7th, and never looked back. Sawyer finally notched his 1st career win in his 8th start of the year.
Game 50: Omaha 6 Madison 5 (11) W Downey (3-2) L McClellan (3-1) – Player of the Game: Gastone Lazzarini, Omaha (2-6, HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: Deleon (6), F. Gonzalez (8) Omaha: Lazzarini (9)
Martinez didn’t allow his first hit (or run) until the 6th inning. Leading 5-1 in the 9th, Madison surrendered a game-tying grand slam to bring the game into extras. In the 11th, they allowed a run to complete Omaha’s comeback.
Game 51: Omaha 5 Madison 2 W Taylor (2-2) L Dixon (6-2) S Reyes (11) – Player of the Game: Darrel Taylor, Omaha (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
HR Omaha: Thomas (6), Lara (2)
Madison scored in the 1st and 4th on RBI doubles, but each time Omaha responded with a solo HR. A costly error in the 5th led to 3 runs and gave Omaha a 5-2 lead. There were no late-inning heroics today, and that score held up.

Thoughts
McClellan earning pitcher of the month was a bit surprising. Maybe they did the voting before his loss on the last day of the month. At that point he had a 2.25 ERA and 10 saves for the month. That’s still not overly impressive, but I guess since earned a save or factored in the decision in all 13 games its ok. Still, it must have been a down month for pitchers in the NL.

The amateur draft will be held Thursday. Madison will have the 15th overall selection. Due to last year’s success, this will be the 1st time picking outside the top 10. It appears that both of the previous 2 first round picks (#3 and #8 overall) are making good progress, but it will be harder this year picking later in the round. The pick would have been several slots lower, but a few teams lost their 1st round picks this year after signing high profile free agents.

Team Transactions
none

League News
5/30: Columbus SP Trevor Barker allowed 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 in a 2-0 shutout over Buffalo. It was the 35 year old’s 8th career shutout.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 4
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 1
Jimmy Dixon 3
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 4
Tomas Gracia 1
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 3
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1

[PhilledUp]

June 5, 2025: ABL Draft

The Greenies made the following selections

1 (15) CF Colm McNeill (18, HS) An outfielder, he projects as above average for most tools, though there is significant growth that needs to occur. He is not a natural fielder, and will likely end up in RF as he progresses up the organizational ladder.
1s (25) C Adrian Ramos (18, HS) He has average to above average receiving skills, but projects to be above average contact, HR power, and eye. Inability to avoid the K may hold him back. He’s a baseball rat.
2 (48) 1B Bradley Silver (18, HS) Not very big (6’0”, 200) or athletic, he is likely stuck at 1B. He fits the prototype with well above average power potential, but likely will never be more than average at avoiding the K or getting hits.
3 (75) CF Wilson Cain (18, HS) A local product, he has speed but that’s it. He will need to learn how to play the OF better, and be better than an average contact hitter (his current ceiling) to make the bigs.
4 (99) CF Terry Cornett (19, HS) very similar skillset to Cain, but profiles as a better fielder.
5 (123) SP Marcos Rocha (18, HS) He has a pretty low ceiling for a high school arm. 3 pitches and good stamina, so if he can improve on his pitching skillset, he could move up in the system.

As I negotiate with my draft picks, I also like to extend the contracts of any coaches that I want to keep around. My ABL bench coach is set to have his contract expire. He’s not very good, and was hired to be a stopgap because there were no attractive options, so I will let him go. The team trainer’s contract is also set to expire. While I am generally happy with our good luck with injuries, I go almost strictly by ratings here. I think I can do better and will try to upgrade in the offseason. The managers for AA, A, SA, and R, the hitting coach for AAA, AA, and R and the pitching coach for SA all are set to have their contracts expire. None are rated as ‘good’ or better so I will let all of them walk. That strategy didn’t work last year, I was forced to hire mediocre coaches, but there are so many mediocre options it’s not worth it to extend one and risk missing out on truly talented coach.

With the R and SA seasons set to start in 2 weeks and the R roster at 54 players, we will need to make 30-40 cuts to enable new draftees and players I will promote from the international complex if the players are good enough and can get adequate playing time.

[PhilledUp]

June 9, 2025: Week 9
39-19 overall; 6 game lead (4-3 this week)
Runs Scored: 293, 4th in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 233, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +1.6 (from +6.1)
Power Rankings: 2 (from 2)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 76 (from 76)
Last Week: @ Las Vegas (1-2), @ Buffalo (3-1)
Next Week: 3 vs San Jose, 3 vs Portland
Player of the Week NL: Paco Sanchez (Anchorage) SL: Antonio Rodriguez (Jacksonville)

Game Notes
Game 52: Las Vegas 4 Madison 3 W Ferreira (3-2) L Wiley (4-2) S Joardar (4) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (3-4, HR, RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (17), Corral (13)
Wiley started slow and allowed 4 runs in the first 2 innings. The offense made a comeback attempt, but fell short. Madison’s losing streak ties their season high at 3 games.
Game 53: Madison 5 Las Vegas 4 W Moore (7-1) L Sawada (2-3) S McClellan (16) – Player of the Game: Ronnie Sheffield, Las Vegas (2-3, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (18), Corral (14) Las Vegas: Sheffield (4)
An error allowed 3 Las Vegas runs to score in the 1st, but Moore was sharp from then on out. He allowed only 1 more run, and the offense slowly crept back until taking the lead in the 8th. Medina strained his hamstring on a triple in the 2nd.
Game 54: Las Vegas 6 Madison 2 W Ramirez (6-3) L Sawyer (1-3) – Player of the Game: Javier Ramirez, Las Vegas (8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)
HR Madison: Bautista (19), Sanchez (11) Las Vegas: Escobedo (2), Wheeler (3)
Sawyer allowed 4 runs in the first two innings. A late pair of solo HRs (including one by Bautista, his 3rd straight game with a HR) prevented a shutout.
Game 55: Buffalo 3 Madison 0 W Bernard (4-5) L Martinez (2-3) S Marino (2) – Player of the Game: Felipe Bernard, Buffalo (8.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K)
Former fielder of the year Junior Corral had 2 errors that led to the only 3 runs of the game. Offseason heart throb Felipe Bernard left with 2 outs in the 9th, narrowly missing the shutout.
Game 56: Madison 4 Buffalo 2 W Dixon (7-2) L Starks (4-5) S McClellan (17) – Player of the Game: Rafael Deleon, Madison (2-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Deleon (7)
Dixon pitched 7 innings of 2 run ball and Deleon did the heavy lifting on offense with a 3 run HR to allow Madison to even the series.
Game 57: Madison 1 Buffalo 0 W Wiley (5-2) L Hurt (6-1) – Player of the Game: Kenny Wiley, Madison (9 IP, 10 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
With a AAA lineup supporting him, Wiley needed to be nearly perfect. He was, as he scattered 10 hits in 9 shutout innings.
Game 58: Madison 7 Buffalo 5 W May (2-0) L Escobar (2-3) – Player of the Game: Tomas Gracia, Madison (1-1, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Gracia (3)
Trailing 3-2 in the 8th, Madison scored 2 to take the lead and Gracia added a pinch hit 3 run HR to put the cherry on top.

Thoughts
We finished the road trip 8-5, thanks largely in part to a sweep over Newark to start things off. We accomplished our goal though. The offense is in a bit of a mini slump. Fernando Gonzalez has ‘slipped’ to a .378 average, which is still tops in the league. Fields continues to struggle. Those only magnify the absence of Medina and Huang from the lineup. They will each be out about 3 more weeks. However, Avila is due back this week and will hopefully help the OF production.

I finally got tired of Kerry Sawyer’s predictably mediocre starts. That, combined with Jud Sargent’s good performance since returning from the DL (5 ER in 30.1 IP in 4 GS) and the service time considerations makes now the perfect time to introduce Sargent to the pitching rotation. If everyone produces and stays healthy, it should be a very solid unit.

Team Transactions
6/4: Madison placed CF Augusto Medina on the 11 day DL and purchased the contract of CF Jack Bond.
6/5: Madison optioned SP Kerry Sawyer to AAA Laredo.
6/6: Madison signed 16 year old SP Jorge Vela from the Dominican Republic.
6/7: Madison recalled 2B Jose Reyna from AAA Laredo.
6/8: Madison optioned 2B Jose Reyna to AAA Laredo.
6/8: Madison signed 4th round pick CF Terry Cornett to a contract and assigned him to R Long Beach.

League News
6/3: Boise signed 3 time batter of the year and 2 time triple crown winner LF Dale Peterson to a 1 year contract extension worth $9M. He was due to be a free agent for the first time at the end of the season.
6/7: Madison SP Kenny Wiley allowed 10 hits and walked 1 while striking out 4 in a 1-0 shutout over Buffalo. It was the 28 year old’s 2nd career shutout.
6/8: Colorado Springs traded 25 year old CF Tony Bowers and 24 year old minor league 2B Tim Nelson to Columbus for 25 year old LF Martin Costa. Bowers will play CF against LHPs while Costa will be the full-time LF for Colorado Springs.
6/8: San Jose traded 25 year old SP John Yates to Charlotte for 19 year old minor league 1B John Piper and 20 year old minor league 3B Jesus Rincon. Yates will be the #4 SP for Charlotte. Piper was the preseason #24 prospect.
6/8: New Orleans traded 32 year old RP Ramon Ocampo to Wichita for 20 year old minor league SP Jose Romero, 21 year old minor league SP Mario Alvarez, and 24 year old minor league 1B Steve Moreau. Ocampo, who has 1 more year left on his contract after 2025, will close for Wichita.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 5
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 3
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 4
Tomas Gracia 2
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 3
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 1

[PhilledUp]

June 15, 2025: Prospect Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Charles Edwards, SP
Charles Edwards is a 23 year old SP currently pitching in AA Laurinberg. He makes up for average stuff and movement with above average control. He has 3 pitches: an above average cutter that sits at 93-95 mph, an above average change, and a developing splitter that should top out as a league average pitch. He has little projection left. As an extreme fly-ball pitcher (GB 41%), Edwards relies on control to be effective. He is an extremely hard worker and fights to stay in the game without thought of his pitch count.

Charles Edwards was drafted in the 2nd round (41st overall) by Boise in 2021 out of high school in Missouri. 9 starts into his 2022 campaign, spent mostly in SA, he was traded with another young pitcher to Colorado Springs. For his strong start to the year, he was elected to the SA All-Star team, though he was traded just before and wound up wearing a new team’s uniform. After completing the season, he was again traded, this time with RP Manny Reyes, to Madison for 2 players. That offseason, a better workout program added another mph to his cutter velocity. He split the 2023 season between SA and A before spending most of 2024 in A ball.

This year, he has spent most of the year in AA. He has pitched well and earned his first career shutout in a dominant 11 K performance in early May. After the season, he will eligible for the Rule V draft. His prospect status has slipped from #115 in 2023, to #191 in 2024, to unranked entering this season, so it will be interesting to see if he is added. He is viewed as the type of low-ceiling pitcher that will forever be on the fringes of the ABL. With several more advanced higher potential arms already in AAA, Edwards will likely spend 2025 in AA trying to earn a look from another team or a spot on the Madison 42 man roster.

[PhilledUp]

June 16, 2025: Week 10
43-21 overall; 7 game lead (4-2 this week)
Runs Scored: 320, 3rd in NL (from 4th) Runs Allowed: 252, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +0.9 (from +1.6)
Power Rankings: 1 (from 2)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 76 (from 76)
Last Week: vs San Jose (1-2), vs Portland (3-0)
Next Week: 3 @ Indianapolis, 4 vs Colorado Springs
Player of the Week NL: Scotty Williams (Omaha) SL: Lawrence Young (Virginia Beach)

Game Notes
Game 59: San Jose 6 Madison 4 W Harris (3-5) L Sargent (0-1) S Aragon (12) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (20)
Sargent battled his nerves early in his first ABL start. He walked 4 and threw 2 wild pitches en route to a 5 run, 46-pitch 1st. He settled down and didn’t allow another run, but only lasted 4 innings due to the damage incurred in the 1st. Madison eked out 4 runs and threatened to overtake San Jose several times, but ultimately couldn’t come through.
Game 60: San Jose 7 Madison 6 W Johnston (4-2) L Martinez (2-4) S Aragon (13) – Player of the Game: Miguel Barron, San Jose (2-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI)
HR San Jose: Antonio (3), Dominey (8) Madison: Sanchez (12)
San Jose again got off to a quick start, scoring 3 in the first inning. Madison scored 1 in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd, and 2 in the 3rd to tie the game before Martinez let up a solo HR in the 4th to put Madison behind again, 5-4. Madison again kept it close and threatened, but fell short.
Game 61: Madison 2 San Jose 1 W Dixon (8-2) L Springer (1-2) S May (1) – Player of the Game: Jimmy Dixon, Madison (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K)
2 straight 2-out errors by 3B Barron allowed Madison to score a run in the 3rd and take a 2-1 lead. Dixon and the bullpen made that lead hold up and Madison avoided the sweep.
Game 62: Madison 4 Portland 1 W Wiley (6-2) L Black (4-5) S McClellan (18) – Player of the Game: Kenny Wiley, Madison (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
HR Madison: Lindemans (9)
Wiley followed up his shutout with 7 innings of 1 run ball. The offense scored 2 early to give him a narrow lead, and added 2 more in the later innings for a more comfortable margin of victory.
Game 63: Madison 8 Portland 2 W Moore (8-1) L Ortega (0-3) S McClellan (19) – Player of the Game: Tomas Gracia, Madison (2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (21), Deleon (8), F. Gonzalez (9), Gracia (4)
Tied 2-2 in the 7th, Madison scored 2 to take the lead. They added 4 insurance runs in the 8th to turn a close game into a blowout.
Game 64: Madison 3 Portland 2 (12) W O’Dell (4-1) L Romano (2-2) – Player of the Game: Jud Sargent, Madison (7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K)
HR Portland: Stout (8)
Facing ABL legend, 11-time all-star, and 8-time pitcher of the year Dave Levinson, Jud Sargent was up to the task. He scattered 8 hits through 7 innings, allowed 1 run, and left with a 2-1 lead. However Von Jones, pressed into duty with Vic May unavailable after pitching 3 of the last 4 games, gave up a solo HR to tie the game. The game remained deadlocked until the 12th, when Bautista took a close 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.

Thoughts
On LF Jorge Avila’s first day of rehab, he was involved in a brawl and suspended 9 games. Good riddance. The 9 game stretch includes 3 days off for the AAA All-Star Game. That delays his comeback 2 weeks.

We suffered another injury, with Pepe Gonzalez going down with a torn hamstring. His doctor must be magic because he is only expected to miss 4 weeks. We’ve had pretty bad luck with injuries so far in the positions effected, not the number. Going into the season, the team had the strongest backups behind the plate, at 1B, and in LF. So naturally, the team has suffered injuries at SS, CF, and backup IF. Both SS Huang and CF Medina should be back soon though and we are still winning at a fairly impressive rate, so things could definitely be worse.

Team Transactions
6/10: Madison purchased the contract of SP Jud Sargent from AAA Laredo.
6/13: Madison signed supplemental pick C Adrian Ramos to a contract and assigned him to R Long Beach.
6/14: Madison signed 3rd round pick CF Wilson Cain to a contract and assigned him to R Long Beach.
6/15: Pepe Gonzalez was diagnosed with a torn hamstring and was placed on the 11 day DL retroactive to 6/13. He is expected to miss 4 weeks. In his place, Madison recalled 2B Jose Reyna.

League News
6/10: Omaha LF Don Thomas suffered a torn labrum and was forced to retire. In 1172 career at bats, the 26 year old hit 36 HRs and had a slash line of .223/.334/.386.
6/11: New Orleans traded 30 year old RP Noel Hunter to Albuquerque for 22 year old minor league RP Juan Arias, 19 year old minor league SP Thomas Thomas, 24 year old minor league C Miguel Guzman, and 24 year old minor league 3B Adrian Vasquez. Arias entered the season as the #45 prospect, while Hunter was signed in the offseason to a 2 year contract.
6/13: Portland traded 31 year old SP Jon Walton to Jacksonville for 32 year old C Clint Dunbar and 21 year old minor league LF Travis Wallace. Dunbar, who will start at C, is a free agent after the season. Walton, who will be the #2 SP in a depleted Jacksonville rotation, is signed through 2026 at $14.45M per year and has a player option for the same in 2027.
6/15: Jacksonville traded 28 year old 2B Carlos Rivera to Indianapolis for 29 year old RF Cooper Francis. Rivera and Francis are in their first seasons of arbitration eligibility, though Francis is signed for an additional year. Francis will start in LF for Jacksonville and Rivera will start at 2B for Indianapolis.
6/15: Louisville traded 30 year old LF Roberto Hernandez to Portland for 18 year old minor league 3B Danny Parker and 22 year old minor league LF Travis Wallace. Hernandez, who was just signed to a 4 year $60.8M contract this offseason, will backup in the OF.
6/15: Virginia Beach SP Paul Witt pitched a no-hitter against Birmingham. He allowed 5 walks and struck out 3 in the 99-pitch effort. The no-hitter was also the 32 year old’s first career shutout.
6/15: San Jose won a 22 inning thriller over Omaha 6-5. Both teams scored in the 17th to extend the marathon. Combined, the teams had 44 hits in 170 at bats.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 6
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 4
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 4
Tomas Gracia 3
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 3
Jud Sargent 1
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 2