TWitM: Carson Roccaforte is rockin’ the bat

The outfielder has been on fire this month.

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (5-13, 9.5 games back)

The Storm Chasers won in a 13-7 blowout on Wednesday, but lost every other game to Toledo, including the last four in a row.

Carter Jensen enjoyed a five-RBI day on Thursday, and was 5-for-11 (.545) for the week with his sixth home run in 13 games for Omaha. MJ Melendez continues to heat up, going 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles and two home runs. He’s hitting .304/.377/.522 in the month of July. Nick Pratto hit 5-for-18 (.278) with a double and his fourth home run. Drew Waters homered on Sunday in his first week back with Omaha. Peyton Wilson was 4-for-13 (.308) with two home runs.

Rich Hill had a rough start on Tuesday, but struck out ten in five innings on Sunday, allowing just one run. John Gant tossed five shutout innings with just three hits allowed on Thursday. Thomas Hatch threw six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. Dallas Keuchel gave up two runs in four innings in his Omaha debut. Stephen Nogosek did not allow a run in three relief outings covering 3 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Catcher Kyle Hayes and pitcher Chazz Martinez were promoted to the Storm Chasers from Double-A.

Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals (8-10, 5 games back)

The Naturals took four of six from Midland to inch towards .500 in the second half. Jordan Groshans was 7-for-30 (.350) with a triple. Justin Johnson homered twice to give him six, hitting 7-for-18 (.389) with three walks. Sam Ruta was 4-for-14 (.286) with a home run and three doubles. Former big league infielder Isan Díaz, who was signed last week, went 7-for-16 (.438) with three home runs and four walks. He was named Texas League Player of the Week.

Hunter Patteson picked up his first Double-A win by allowing two runs in five innings on Tuesday. Henry Williams allowed just one run in six innings on Wednesday with five strikeouts. Shane Panzini improved to 3-0 with five innings and just one run allowed. Frank Mozzicato made a relief appearance in his last game before appearing in the Futures Game, striking out one in a scoreless inning. Ben Kudrna exited his start after just one inning, but Ethan Bosacker picked him up with seven innings of relief, allowing just two hits and two runs.

The Naturals activated first baseman Brett Squires and placed Jack Pineda on the Injured List. Catcher Dionmy Salon and pitchers AJ Causey and Marlrin Willis were promoted to the Naturals.

High-A Quad Cities River Bandits (12-8, tied for first)

The River Bandits split their six games with Fort Wayne, maintaining a tie with Beloit for first place. Carter Frederick hit 6-for-18 (.333) with a home run and seven RBI. Sam Kulasingam hit 8-for-26 (.308) with a double and triple this week. Callan Moss hit 7-for-22 (.318) with two doubles and a steal. Former first-round pick Blake Mitchell was activated by the River Bandits after missing the first half of the season with a wrist injury. He went 3-for-4 on Thursday with a home run. Carson Roccaforte is heating up, hitting 11-for-23 (.478) this week with two home runs, three doubles, and a triple. He’s batting .442 this month with 5 of his 13 home runs coming in July, and was named Midwest League Player of the Week.

Logan Martin earned his eighth win with five shutout innings on Wednesday. Felix Aronde was a tough-luck loser after allowing just one run over four innings to lower his ERA to 2.77. Drew Beam allowed just three hits and two runs over four innings. Mason Miller, just promoted from Columbia, did not allow a run in four innings over two outings. Tommy Molsky struck out five in four shutout innings in relief.

The River Bandits sent Trevor Werner on rehab assignment to the Arizona Complex League.

Low-A Columbia Fireflies (7-13, 8.5 games back)

The Fireflies had to play around some rain this week and dropped three of five to Charleston. The wet weather made the bats soggy, as the Fireflies managed to get just 22 hits over five games. Hyungchan Um hit his second home run of the year. Yandel Ricardo hit 4-for-18 (.222) with a double, two steals, and four RBI. Gabriel Silva went 3-for-9 (.333) with an RBI. Asbel Gonzalez was 5-for-18 (.278) with three steals to give him 61 for the year.

Jordan Woods gave them four shutout innings on Tuesday, then three more shutout innings on Sunday. Emmanuel Reyes also provided four shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks. Nick Conte retired all six hitters he faced, five by strikeout. Dash Albus struck out four in two shutout innings, and Yunior Marte also provided two shutout innings.

Catcher Ramon Ramirez began a rehab assignment in Arizona after missing the last six weeks with an injury.