Zia-Ball.com

An in person look at opening weekend

Patrick Weigel was the starting pitcher for the Isotopes–a 32 year old who has made four appearances in the majors with the last in 2021 for the Brewers. He doesn’t have great control but will also strikeout a good number of batters as well. He has over 150 games in AAA but an ERA over 5.00. So, “effectively wild” isn’t really an apt term here for Weigel because he hasn’t been all that effective in his career.

Opposite Weigel is MLB veteran Merrill Kelly who is on a rehab assignment with the Aces from the Diamondbacks. He definitely looked like a guy who has had success in the majors as he cruised through five innings yielding just a pair of hits and a pair of walks, presenting as a good opportunity for the Isotopes to show they may be worthy at the next level. Not many did so, however.

Weigel did make a statement by striking out the Diamondbacks top prospect, and number 34 on Keith Law’s top 100 list, Ryan Waldschmidt. Weigel blew it by him too. Waldschmidt would go on to show some signs of why he is highly regarded. He ripped a loud single off Ryan Miller who has MLB experience. He added a solid opposite field single in the seventh, too, showing off that nice swing against 27-year-old Carson Skipper. Skipper has shown some promise in the minors but got touched up a bit in this one.

Luken Baker of the Aces is really out of shape. He has had cups of coffee in the majors over the past three seasons as his AAA numbers are good. He was fooled badly in second AB for a strike but ended up walking due to Carson Palmquist’s wildness. Palmquist came in to pitch the 4th. He has MLB experience but didn’t look great. Was kind of wild, got bailed out by a bad bunter, the number nine guy turned around on him for a fly out and then he struck out Waldschmidt on a really bad pitch. He was all over the place on that AB vs Waldschmidt and he got him to swing at a bad pitch. 25-year-old Palmquist has had nine appearances with the Rockies last year–none of them were pretty. He certainly isn’t the first pitcher to have a rough go of things in his first taste in the majors but he is going to have to improve upon his nearly six walks per nine in his third season in Albuquerque if he wants another shot.

2023 draft pick Cole Carrigg had a nice drive in the first inning that was caught; he hit it well though. He then had a nice running catch in CF in and out of shadows. He reached for a bad pitch and weakly grounded out in his second AB. He walked in his third AB. I came to the realization that he is a show pony. It is a term I learned last year listening to Trevor Plouffe on a Minnesota Twins podcast. The term isn’t meant to be pejorative. He is kind of flashy on purpose, as show ponies are, and I’m here for it. Baseball is supposed to be entertaining and he seems to be an entertaining player. Side note: in the next day’s game, which I did not get to see in person but wish I had, he entered as a pinch runner, stole second, advanced to third on the errant throw and then completed a straight steal of home. Carrigg did participate in the World Baseball Classic with Team Israel, who faced Venezuela, The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and The Netherlands–so some real competition in there. He was just 2-15 at the plate, but getting some experience in that event can only be a plus at his age.

Conner Capel ripped one right at the second baseman. So at least the 0-4 night had that. Conner has exceeded the maximum plate appearances for rookie status (150) and hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2024–but did show a propensity to get on base. He is now on his sixth major league organization and the last time he showed those skills is getting to be a long time ago now.

Tommy Troy of the Aces hit what seemed like at least a bit of a park aided deep fly out to CF. He also beat out a DP I thought for sure was going to be an easy twin killing. He seems to have good speed. He has played mostly second base, but played in CF in this one. With his speed, a move to CF could utilize what I saw as good speed. He is regarded as one of the Diamondbacks fringe top ten prospects. His on-base skills seem to be real in the minors and pairing that with good speed means that walks or singles turn into doubles or triples with his steal skills. He was 24 of 29 on steal attempts last year between AA and AAA.

Welinton Herrera pitching on his birthday made me notice him; well, not because of it being his birthday–his stuff just stood out from others on the mound that night. He definitely threw with some juice but was a bit wild at first. He loaded the bases then had to throw to the seven hitter who ripped a ground single. He then gave up another; pulled after 0.2 IP. But I saw the talent there and it doesn’t hurt that he is a lefty.

Adael Amador is who he is. That means not someone I’m overly excited about as a hitter. He did put up some numbers in Albuquerque last year but that should be taken with a grain of atomic energy, err, salt that comes with the thin air in Duke City. I wouldn’t normally put a lot of stock in winter league stats especially when the effort to get more work should be applauded, but (you knew a “but” was coming) when you slash .182/.323/.273 in the Dominican Winter League it is at least worth mentioning. He didn’t strikeout a ton so there could be some batted ball bad luck in there, but again worth mentioning. He also looked bad striking out against Kade Strowd in this contest.

30-year-old Ryan Miller got squared up a handful of times including a three run HR that maybe was a bit of a PCL homer due to how high it was hit, but wasn’t a wall scraper either. Miller had a 13 game stint with the Angels a few years ago and has been a decent AAA player over three seasons, previously in Salt Lake City and Toledo.

Vimael Machin hit a very loud and very long foul in the sixth. Then squared up another on a line that AB right at the RF. He has played 116 unremarkable MLB games across four seasons but he should still be a test for opposing pitchers as a seasoned player who has played at the highest level.

Andrew Knizner also squared up a rocket right at CF on a line. Similar to Machin but with almost 1,000 MLB plate appearances, Knizner will be a good litmus test for PCL pitchers on other teams. Knizner is a catcher and was charged with two passed balls, so that isn’t what major league teams want.

Reno’s A.J. Vukovich hit the three run opposite field HR off Ryan Miller and nearly had a second in his next AB off Carson Skipper on a long fly to LF–from where I was sitting that looked like it was going to be more of a HR than the one he did get out. It was a cool night in Albuquerque so perhaps that was a factor. Then he ripped a single opposite field again in the ninth. He hit the ball hard all night. Vukovich is 24 years old and slashed .284/.355/.498 in a full season at Reno last year, actually hitting more of his HR away than at home (Reno is great for hitters) but other PCL parks are also favorable.

LuJames Groover went 4-5 but nothing really caught my eye other than one nice line single and him having an awesome name–on my all-name team for sure. He just gets on base with nothing flashy–just kind of workmanlike approach that makes him a pest for other teams. Once he is on base, he doesn’t do much with it; he has only attempted 12 steals in 224 minor league games, so that isn’t part of his toolbox. He had a very nice year in AA Amarillo in 2025, and I mean that literally. His home splits were much more favorable than away and he seemed to benefit from batted ball luck with a BABIP of .347. He doesn’t strikeout much, which I love to see, but does hit the ball on the ground often. I’m not sure that recipe is going to play but I’m pulling for him. He isn’t quite 24 years old yet and this is his first taste of AAA so it will be interesting to see if he can continue finding success.