Down on the Farm - 5/5/23

Christian Encarnacion-Strand & Matt McLain have big nights for Louisville, Will Warren (NYY) strikes out 8, Noelvi Marte (CIN) hits a pair of homers, Ricky Tiedemann (TOR) exits early with an injury

The Rundown ⭐️

There’s been a fair amount of coverage of the Louisville Bats this season here at Down on the Farm, and we’re not stopping now. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (23) - CIN (AAA) smoked three home runs and Matt McLain (23) - CIN (AAA) hit for the cycle in a 12-10 bloodbath win over Omaha. Both of these Reds top prospects are surging in their first taste of the International League, and Encarnacion-Strand’s homers, in particular, look like they belong in the Great American Ballpark, not Werner Park.

Keeping it Ohio-adjacent, Gavin Williams (23) - CLE (AAA) looked sharp yet again against the Iowa Cubs, fanning five in five innings and allowing only one run one one hit–a homer for Jake Slaughter (26) - CHC (AAA)–against a dynamic Cubs offense. Unfortunately for the big righty, it wasn’t enough to take home the W, as the Cubs pulled it out, 2-1. To add insult to injury, despite the solid performance, the one earned run lifted Williams’ seasonal ERA to 0.87.

Another tremendous pitching performance came from Will Warren (23) - NYY (AA), who leveraged his filthy slider to blank the Rumble Ponies in a 10-0 romp. Warren, who may well be the Yankees’ top pitching prospect, threw 92 pitches over six innings and struck out eight, while allowing one walk and four hits (all singles).