The Other Side of Baseball: A Look at Non- MLB Play Ed. 1

Logo for The Other Side of Baseball: A Look at Non- MLB Play

Hey folks, welcome to the first installment of a new series, The Other Side of Baseball: A Look at Non- MLB Play. Some written by me; some by ChatGPT, edited by me. You’ll know the difference as I will point out the ChatGPT section.

My work comes first.

Let’s check in on two teams in the Daytona Beach, Florida area: The Daytona Tortugas and New Smyrna Beach Gnarlies.

Daytona Tortugas

The Cincinnati Reds-affiliated Daytona Tortugas and their fans can breathe easier as the team has won five of nine to start the second half of the season. This hot start comes after a disastrous last-place 21-45 first half in the Low-A Florida State League’s East Division.

The losing didn’t come without some highlight performances, though.

On offense, I direct your attention to utility player Jacob Friend. He was promoted to the High-A Dayton Dragons on June 2. Whilst in Daytona, Friend hit .307 with an OPS of 1020. He has not slowed in his first month at the higher level. In 24 games, 101 plate appearances, he is touting a stat line that includes a .260 avg and 945 OPS for the Dragons.

Will Friend become a utility player in the mold of Seattle’s Brendan Donovan? During his four years in St. Louis, Donovan played between 95 and 106 games, taking the field everywhere but center field, pitcher and catcher.

Friend is trending like Donovan did in The Lou. He has played Catcher, first base, left field, right field and designated hitter over the course of 134 minor league games.

As an aside, Donovan was traded to Seattle during the off-season. The Mariners had hoped he’d be a regular at third base, but a left groin strain has kept him out of action.      

Brady Afthim pitching for the Daytona Tortugas in April.

Back to Tortugas highlights. On the pitching side, Tortugas righty reliever Brady Afthim stands out. He has pitched 27 innings, including 1 1/3 in the second half.

For the year, Afthim has a 2.33 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. This is his first full season in Daytona. I expect he will stay with the Tortugas for a bit longer. However, if he keeps up the good mound work, he could be joining Friend in Dayton before the season is over.

This week, Daytona is visiting the Bradenton Marauders to play the standard six-game set against the Pirates affiliate. Bradenton improved to 4-6 in the second half after taking game one on a two-out walk-off single by Cristian Jauregui. The 20-year-old outfielder is hitting .225 with a .634 on the season.

New Smyrna Beach Gnarlies

The NSB Gnarlies are one of four teams in the Orange State League. A new wood-bat summer league featuring collegiate players. The other three teams are the Cocoa Tailgators, Palm Coast Big Buoys and St. Augustine Sardines.

I took in a home game at the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex and loved the experience. The pace of play and the enthusiasm the collegiate players brought to the game was exciting.

So far, it’s been a rough go in the standings as Gnarlies check in with a 2 – 6 last-place record. They are losing games by an average score of 12.1 to 10.4.

The St. Augustine Sardines pace the Orange State League field, sitting in first at 9-1. They are also the hosts of the All-Star Game, which was to be played at St. Joseph's Catholic Academy on June 27. However, Mom Nature had different plans as the rain came and washed out the game; it will now be played on July 1.

The rest of the OSL standings are as such: Second place belongs to the Palm Coast Big Buoys (3-4), and in third is the Cocoa Tailgators with a 3-6 record.

If you live in the vicinity of any of the towns above, I encourage you to head out to the park. The scene at the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex, right next to a regional airport with no scheduled commercial flights, makes for a delightful evening, eyeballing the private planes coming and going as a backdrop to the game.

For the rest of the week, the Gnarlies are home to play the Cocoa Tailgators on Wednesday and the St, Augustine Sardines on Thursday. Game time for both is 7 p.m.

Staten Island FerryHawks

Let’s take a moment to congratulate Wally Backman! Recently hired as the new skipper of the Atlantic League’s Staten Island FerryHawks, Backman collected his first win on June 25, beating the Long Island Ducks 11-4.

Staten Island was 8-40 when Backman took over. Since then, they have lost 11 of 13, residing in last place within the Atlantic League's North Division.

Backman promised a better team for the remainder of the season. Change certainly is in the air and on the transaction wire for the FerryHawks. Between June 24–30, they signed nine players and released eight. The most recent signing is righty  Wilbur Perez. He has spent time in the Brewers and White Sox minor league organizations as well as a handful of independent leagues, amassing a 4.99 ERA in 165 games, mostly as a relief pitcher.

Two FerryHawks notes:

• Their hitting coach, David Valdez, was a regular on The Opinion Guy’s Tuesday night baseball show until he was hired by Staten Island. I hope he is back once the season is over. Here is my interview with David. He was drafted by the Mariners and played pro ball for 10 years.

  
  

• A source, not David Valdez, to be clear, said Backman to the Mets is something to watch.

Wally Backman during the June 15 presser announcing his managership of the Staten Island FerryHawks.

ChatGPT Highlights Chicago Cubs Prospect Jefferson Rojas

(I edited for clarity and context)

Scouts believe Rojas has the talent to be a major leaguer.

On June 24, Chicago Cubs No.1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Jefferson Rojas produced one of the more explosive offensive nights in the minor leagues this season with a multi-home run performance.

Rojas is primarily a shortstop who plays some second and third base for the Cubs AA Knoxville Smokies.

He powers the ball to all fields. By hitting two home runs and knocking in five, he provided much of the offense in the June 24 that Knoxville won 10-4 over the Birmingham Barons.

His performance showcased why evaluators continue to project Rojas as one of Chicago’s rising young infielders. His combination of bat speed and plate discipline has helped fuel a first-place first half for Knoxville in the Southern League's North Division. They are keeping pace in the second half with a 6-1 start and, once again, in first place. Overall, Knoxville is 44-32.

The 21-year-old Rojas is hitting .291 with an 854 OPS for the Smokies. Both numbers are above his career averages.

Some scouting reports credit Rojas with a strong arm and the ability to make all the throws required of a shortstop.

MLB pipeline is slightly critical of his defense, suggesting he is an “average defender at short,” yet his  “quick hands and a solid arm” enable Rojas to make throws from a variety of angles.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the new format for baseball and deeper coverage!

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read. 

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Photo Credit: ChatGPT, Nadia Zomorodian-Daytona Beach News Journal, NY Post, USA Today

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