If anything was going to make Sunday night easier for Toledo manager Anthony Iapoce, it was Saturday night’s version of Reese Olson.
Iapoce was speaking Sunday from Omaha, Neb., site of an evening Triple-A game against the Storm Chasers, after which Iapoce and his Mud Hens players could settle onto a sleeper bus for a long, long trip back to Toledo.
Ah, the joys of minor-league baseball.
But, back to Saturday night: Iapoce’s gang had whipped Omaha, 4-1, thanks mostly to some superb work from Olson, who tossed five innings of scoreless one-hit baseball, walking two and striking out nine. He had 13 swings-and-misses, many on his fastball, which sat 94-95.
“What you saw (Saturday) night is what everyone’s been talking about,” Iapoce said, referring to a right-handed starter, 23, who, along with Erie’s Ty Madden, probably ranks as the young farmhand most likely to pitch in Detroit in 2023.
“Those swings-and-misses on his fastball — and location. Also, he got early contact on his fastball, which was good for outs, and it kept his pitch count down (74, with 47 for strikes).
“It was really good seeing him put away guys with those first few pitches,” Iapoce said, mentioning that the quick outs also were of the routine-contact variety. “It was good to see him stay in a rhythm last night, with good body language.
“It was his best outing of the year.”
In fact, Olson of late has been looking more like the guy promoted from Double A in 2023 to a rotation spot at Toledo, and less the pitcher who still owns a 7.11 ERA and ugly 1.89 WHIP.
His previous start, May 14 at Iowa, featured 4.1 innings and a solo run allowed, although five hits, four walks and three strikeouts speak to where Olson’s stuff has been in 2023 — at least before Saturday.
Almost always with Olson, it’s about the fastball. He owns probably the best change-up on the Tigers’ farm. But, the four-seamer has missed too many quadrants, which is behind those 38 hits and 22 walks in 31.1 innings.
“You can see some steady progression there,” Iapoce said. “He knows what he wants to do. He’s getting to work.”
Malloy’s May moments
In April, he owned: .341 batting average, .469 on-base percentage, .997 OPS.
April, he owned: .341 batting average, .469 on-base percentage, .997 OPS.
In May, he’s been more of a tenant: .224/.375/.789, with baseball’s oppressors treating Justyn-Henry Malloy to a kind of semi-confinement at home plate.
“He’s kind of cooled off, but he’s still been pretty hot,” Iapoce said, noting Malloy’s on-base percentage in May (.375) and his three home runs.”
On most days for the Mud Hens, Malloy plays third base. He also has worked in 12 games as Toledo’s designated hitter.
“He’s still getting his walks,” Iapoce said. “And yet, he’s not up there to take walks. He’s ready to hit every pitch. The league takes notice of guys who do that, and he’s getting pitched a little tougher.
“He’s seeing a lot of off-speed pitches in hitter counts, which he’s been able to lay off. You’re going to get from him five great at-bats every night.”
If there’s a true peculiarity to Malloy’s numbers, it’s his splits against pitching. A right-hand batter is hitting .343 against righties, .182 against lefties.
“Sometimes,” Iapoce said conceding the splits’ weirdness, “things like that happen early in the season.”
Meadows making strides
Parker Meadows is dealing with Triple-A life at Toledo and finding it’s indeed a rung above Double A.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing for a man, 23, who needs to see all the junk and pitch-placement Triple-A pitchers tend to throw youngsters who dream of big-league work.
Meadows, a left-handed batter who is 6-foot-5, 205 pounds and runs as if something scared him, is batting only .227, with a .3198 on-base percentage, .719 OPS, and five home runs.
He was thought at season’s start to be on a possible march to Detroit in 2023. That isn’t happening, not unless people get hurt — and even then, probably not if Meadows can’t handle Triple-A pitching with more authority than he’s shown during 41 games.
But, that’s what the minor leagues are for: learning and toughening.
“He’s been using the whole field, tapping into his power,” Iapoce said of a hitter who, in his 41 games, has 22 walks and 44 strikeouts. “He’s still a young guy, and strikeouts are going to be part of his game.
“But, he’s not getting overpowered or over-matched. I think it’s more important for him not to necessarily work on his two-strike approach, but to take care of stuff early in the count — to get his pitch early and hit it.”
Defensively, of course, there’s no deficit. Meadows is a natural center fielder with feet and range that make him a pitcher’s best buddy, even when he occasionally shifts to a corner spot.
“Tough defender,” Iapoce said. “In all three outfield positions.”
Short hops
- Colt Keith is sticking with a diet of rocket fuel at Erie: Eight home runs in 35 games to go with a .297 batting average and .911 OPS. He also has eight doubles and two triples that account for a monstrous ISO of .248. Keith, of course, bats left-handed and entered 2023 as the Tigers’ No. 1 farm prospect. He was a fifth-round pick in 2020.
- Trei Cruz continues with one of the most stunning turnarounds of any prospect anywhere in the Tigers chain — all while playing plenty in his new spot, center field. Cruz, 24, a third-round pick in 2020, is batting .254/.353/.509/.862, with six home runs. Cruz, who was exclusively an infielder ahead of 2023, last season batted .231 with a .709 OPS, splitting time between West Michigan and Erie.
- Major developmental disappointment through the early season: Jermaine Palacios, 26, an infielder who last season played 30 games for the Twins and who in 104 games at Triple-A St. Paul batted .283 with an .804 OPS. The Tigers grabbed him off October’s waiver wire and were thinking a right-handed batter who could play anywhere in the infield might press for work in Detroit. But, in 25 games with the Mud Hens, Palacios is batting .184/.232/.368/.599.
- More premium work from RJ Petit, the 6-foot-8, 300-pound right-hander who has been working over hitters at both West Michigan and now at Erie. In a combined 12 games and 16 innings at both stops, Petit has a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He’s allowed 11 hits, has walked five and struck out 16. He was a 14th-round pick in 2021 from Charleston Southern University.