While several Rice Baseball alums are producing at the highest level, others are working their way up the ladder. Here’s the latest on the MiLB Owls.
Triple-A
Jon Duplantier (Diamondbacks) has been back and forth between AAA and the Major Leagues this season, but most recently made a brief appearance with the AAA club on July 10. He faced one batter. Prior to that outing, his later appearance came on June 13 with the Diamondbacks.
Duplantier’s AAA teammate, Kevin McCanna, began the year on the injured list. He got his first action of the year this month, making three appearances and two starts. He has a 1.50 ERA with six strikeouts and three hits allowed across six innings. Opposing batters are hitting .136 against him thus far.
Jordan Stephens (Indians) has been a reliable closer for his club, earning saves in three of his last six appearances, including a multi-inning save on June 24. He has an ERA of 5.40 on the season, with incredible home/road splits. His home ERA is 0.77 while his road ERA sits at 11.57.
Glenn Otto (Yankees) was promoted from AA to AAA this month. He pitched 4.1 innings in his debut, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out four. He left the game with the score tied and did not receive a decision, but Scranton did go on to win the game.
TRANSACTION | The @Yankees have announced the following moves for Somerset:
– Glenn Otto transferred from Somerset to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
– Brandon Lockridge transferred from Hudson Valley to Somerset (@Brandon_Lock2) pic.twitter.com/M2JNzHdqY5
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 13, 2021
On July 3, Tony Cingrani (Cubs) signed a minor league deal with the Cubs after opening the year with the Atlantic League’s Lexington Legends. He’s made two relief appearances so far, allowing one unearned run in 1.2 innings with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.
At the plate, Tristan Gray (Rays) has tallied multiple hits in four of his last nine games, bumping his batting average up roughly 30 points in the process. He’s hitting .234 this season with 12 extra-base hits. His OPS is .686 and he’s driven in 15.
Double-A
Ford Proctor (Rays) has improved at the plate in each month of the 2021 season. He hit .152 in May and .203 in June before opening July on a blistering pace. He started the month with back-to-back three-hit games, riding his hot bat to a .382 average for the month, raising his season average to .220 and his OPS to .740 (thanks to a 1.170 OPS this month).
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Ricky Salinas (Indians) has been working to settle into AA after making the jump in mid-May. He’s been back and forth with his consistency, highlighted by his two most recent games. He allowed 10 runs (two earned) in 1.2 innings of work on July 9 before rebounding to work 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in his next outing. His AAA Era is 3.89.
Single-A
Matt Canterino (Twins, High-A) hasn’t appeared in a game since the end of May, currently residing on the injured list. Before he stepped off the rubber, Cantero was dealing, striking out 35 of the 68 batters he faced, posting a staggering 17.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
Dane Myers (Tigers, High-A) was placed on the injured list shortly after moving to High-A in June. His last appearance came in June 6. He’s hitting .283 this season in games across Low-A, High-A and AA.
Trei Cruz (Tigers, Low-A) mashed his first home run of his minor league career in July in his game after moving from the Tigers’ High-A to Low-A club. He’s reached based safely in all eight of his games at the Low-A level thus far and holds a .231 average since the move.
Rookie
Evan Kravetz (Reds) moved from Single A to rookie league at the beginning of the month after posting a 1.64 ERA at that level. He’s made two appearances in rookie ball, both starts, racking up seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.
