Columbia Fireflies Roster Moves and Game Notes July 22 vs Augusta
July 22, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Kansas City Royals have made the following changes affecting the Columbia Fireflies active roster.
RHP Tim Holdgrafer has been released
C Felix Familia has been placed on the Fireflies active roster
The Fireflies active roster sits at 29 with one on the development list and two on the injured list.
The team has made the following jersey number changes: Familia will wear jersey #38. Jaswel De Los Santos will wear jersey #9. Jonatan Bernal will now wear jersey #35. Oscar Rayo will wear jersey #27.
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Columbia kicks-off the post-All-Star Break slate with a three-game series vs the Augusta GreenJackets beginning tonight at 7:05 pm at Segra Park. RHP Luinder Avila (5-6, 4.44 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia while Augusta counters with RHP Luis Vargas (3-4, 3.89 ERA).
Tonight is a Freebie Friday at Segra Park! The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a free yellow henchmen t-shirt presented by Southern Medical Pediatrics. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES HIT ALL-STAR BREAK ON HIGH NOTE: Ben Hernandez was phenomenal, twirling 5.2 one-hit innings as the Fireflies downed the Down East Wood Ducks 7-4 Sunday afternoon at Grainger Stadium. The righty fanned three batters without walking any. It was Ben Hernandez's (W, 1-4) longest outing of the season and left the bullpen with little work to do as the offense had already given them a four-run lead. Columbia inched ahead in the top of the ninth to provide cushion for Luis Barroso (S, 7) who recorded the final three outs. First, Jean Ramirez laid down a sacrifice bunt that allowed Joshua Rivera to come around and double Columbia's lead to 6-4. Next, Carter Jensen singled to shallow left field to score Jaswel De Los Santos.
MAKING MY WAY DOWN TOWN: Fireflies outfielder River Town is on a roll. When he singled in the first inning of Saturday's game, Town reached base safely in his 31st-consecutive game, which is the longest active streak in Class-A baseball. He owns the fifth-longest active streak in Minor League Baseball. Colson Montgomery has reached safely in 50 games dating back to April 24 and owns the longest streak. The longest on-base streak in A-ball this season belonged to Denzel Clarke of the Stockton Ports. The outfielder reached safely in 37 games from April 14-June 11. Town now owns the Fireflies franchise record on-base streak. He passed Jeremy Vasquez who had a 28-game mark in 2018.
EVERYONE WANTS TO BE APART OF A TURN-AROUND: RHP Ben Hernandez's splits say it all this year. After starting the season 0-1 with a 6.28 ERA in four starts in April, Columbia's starter has been rolling down hill, cruising to where he is, playing the best baseball of his professional career. In May, his ERA was 4.26 across a trio of games that included a stint on the injured list. Then he came back for a handful of starts in June where he rocked a 3.45 ERA with 17 punchouts in 15.1 innings. As July comes to a close, the Royals' 13th-best prospect according to MLB.com has a 1.72 ERA in three starts, including his longest start of the season, a 5.2 inning masterpiece in Down East right before the All-Star Break.
JENSEN'S JULY: Columbia's backstop Carter Jensen is catching on in the month of July. For the month, the Missouri native is slashing .362/.500/.574 in 15 games. He has smacked two homers and driven in 11 while scoring 13 runs in July. His pace has been particularly torrid in his last 10 contests where the 19-year-old is hitting .375 with nine walks to help guide him to a 1.106 OPS.
AMAZING AVILA: Righty Luinder Avila is the only qualifying pitcher for the Columbia Fireflies this season. Last week, after working six innings without allowing an earned run and punching out nine GreenJackets hitters, he earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors. In Avila's last four starts, dating back to June 25, he has tallied 23 innings while only allowing three earned runs (1.17 ERA). During the run, he has punched out 23 hitters while walking only a pair.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC: The Columbia Fireflies are tied for first place in the South Division second-half standings with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers after 21 games in the second-half. At the moment, Kannapolis owns the tie-breaker (overall record), so Columbia's magic number to clinch the playoffs stands at 46.
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