Game Info: Tuesday, June 10 vs. Pensacola: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

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SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Tuesday, June 10 vs. Pensacola: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

June 10, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Tuesday, June 10, 2025 - 6:35 PM - Toyota Field - Madison, Alabama

Matchup: Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (21-34, 4 th SL North, 9.5 GB) vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos - MIA (29-28, T-2 nd SL South, -6.0 GB)

Pitching Matchup: LHP Samuel Aldegheri (2-2, 4.34) // RHP Jacob Miller (1-4, 3.45)

GAME: 56 of 137 - Home Game: 27 of 69

TV/Radio: WAAY MORE-TV 31.6 - Bally Live - MiLB.tv - ESPN WZZN 97.7 HD-2

Today's Promotions:

Tuesday, June 10 | First Pitch: 6:35 pm | Gates Open: 5:30 pm | Trustmark VIP Gates: 5:00 pm

Hendrick's Gin Cup Giveaway & Drink Specials: The first 1,500 fans, 21 and over, will receive a Gin Cup from Hendrick's Gin Cups. Enjoy Clyde Mays Whiskey in the Rock Porch and Hendrix Cucumber Lemonade in the Stadium Club for $6 ($1 donation to Hurricane Relief).

Reeds Jewelers Ladies Night: Ladies in attendance can enter to win prizes all game long at the Sun Cruiser Guest Services booth behind Section 5. Additionally, canned wine will be available for $5 for all fans 21 and older.

Marshall County Hometown Throwdown: Support The Foundation for Marshall Medical Centers with an optional donation when purchasing tickets HERE ! At the end of the Hometown Throwdown Series, the Trash Pandas Foundation will present an additional donation to the Hometown Community Spotlight based on the number of fans who attended!

FOR STARTERS: The Rocket City Trash Pandas open their longest homestand of the 2025 season tonight with game one of a six-game series against the Miami Marlins affiliate Pensacola Blue Wahoos ... The Pandas are coming off a 3-3 series split in Birmingham, which included a 1-0 win in the Rickwood Classic on June 4 ... This is the final series between the two clubs in 2025, with the Wahoos going 4-2 in the series at Blue Wahoos Stadium, May 13-18 ... Pensacola has dominated the all-time series 37-13.

HURTADO, HOMERS IGNITE ROCKET CITY'S WIN ON SATURDAY: Former Baron Oscar Colás went 3-for-4, but the Rocket City Trash Pandas fell to the Birmingham Barons 3-2 in their series finale at Regions Field. The Barons jumped to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning. The Trash Pandas tied the game in the third, but the Barons regained the lead in the fourth and held on for the win. Despite their eight hits, Rocket City struggled with runners in scoring position, finishing 2-for-8. The game marked the end of Nelson Rada's 16-game on-base streak, while Mac McCroskey had a solid 2-for-3 outing.

19 and "Rada-cal": CF Nelson Rada, the youngest player in the Southern League at 19 years and 8 months, leads the Southern League and is T-1st Double-A with 27 stolen bases this season, including 19 in May. Rada ranks among the league leaders in stolen bases (1st, 27), OBP (2nd, .407), batting average (3rd, .289), walks (4th, 34), and hits (T-5th, 54).

ON-BASE STREAK ... Rada reached base safely in 16-straight games from May 21 to June 7 ... During the streak, he hit .364 (20-for-55), with six runs, 10 steals, 10 walks, and a .470 OBP ... He's been on base in 24 of 26 games since May 10, leading the league by batting .333 (30-for-90), with a .450 OBP.

STREAKS THIS SEASON ... Rada's streaks this season (9-game hit streak, 5/21-30), (10-game on-base streak, 5/8-18), (16-game on-base streak, 5/21-6/7).

MULTI-HIT GAMES ... Rada has recorded a team-best 15 multi-hit games, including four three-hit games.

GETTING THE SEASON ON TRACK: Since May 26, the Trash Pandas are 7-5 and have posted a 2.47 ERA, which ranks fifth in all of Double-A. During the 4-2 series win over the Shuckers at Toyota Field, May 27-June 1, the pitching staff posted a 1.98 ERA, plus struck out 50 to only 16 walks, and had the second-best WHIP in Double-A baseball, 0.88.

Southard's Direction? Straight Dominance: Trash Pandas reliever Jared Southard made his 20th appearance on Saturday night, and recorded his fourth save. The right-hander out of Texas hasn't allowed only one baserunner over his last six outings, 7.2 innings pitched, no walks, and 11 strikeouts.

THE "GUZ" IS LOOSE: The 21-year-old has 14 RBI over his last 21 games, T-3rd in the Southern League since May 15. He now ranks among the Southern League leaders in RBIs (T-6th, 29), doubles (T-7th, 10), and extra-base hits (T-9th, 16).

PUTTING THE HURT ON 'EM: Starter Joel Hurtado leads the club with six quality starts and leads the Southern League with 61.2 innings pitched. He also ranks among the Southern League leaders in starts (T-1st, 11), wins (T-3rd, 5), ERA (8th, 3.06), and WHIP (9th, 1.23).

RICKWOOD CLASSIC WIN ON WEDNESDAY: The Trash Pandas shut out the Birmingham Barons 1-0 during the Rickwood Classic on June 4. The game honored the history of baseball and the Negro Leagues, with Rocket City playing as the Negro Minor League's Huntsville Stars and Barons as the Birmingham Black Barons. Starting pitcher Walbert Ureña led the Trash Pandas with a dominating performance, allowing only four hits over six shutout innings. The game's lone run came in the fifth inning when Mac McCroskey drove in Cole Fontenelle.

YOU BETTER GRAB A NEW ROSTER: The Angels made seven roster moves impacting the Trash Pandas roster last week. On June 2, LHP Sam Aldegheri was recalled by the Angels and joined the club in Boston. He made one appearance and was optioned back to Rocket City on June 7. INF Travis Blankenhorn was sent on a rehab assignment to the ACL Angels. On Tuesday, the Angels released INF Sonny Dichiara and placed C Jaxx Groshans on the Development List. The Angels signed INF Evan Edwards, assigned him to Rocket City, and transferred the recently signed and former White Sox prospect Oscar Colás to Rocket City.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE TIME: Oscar Colás appeared in 66 games for the Barons in 2022 and 2025, posting a .200 batting average for the Barons this season in 15 games ... Evan Edwards appeared in 68 games for the Montgomery Biscuits in 2022 and 2023, batting .234 with 27 home runs, 101 RBIs, and .350 OBP.

Ureña-ble to Touch Him: RHP Walbert Ureña has won his last two starts and has pitched 13.0 innings, allowing only one earned run, with nine hits, four walks, and 11 strikeouts. Ureña took the mound for the Rickwood Classic against the Barons and pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out three. On May 30, Ureña turned in another excellent outing against Biloxi, going a complete seven innings while giving up only one earned run on five hits, striking out eight, and walking just one. He ranks among the league leaders in opponents batting average (10th, .230, and Innings Pitched (10th, 52.1).

TOPPING THE LEAGUE IN ATTENDANCE: The Trash Pandas have led the Southern League in attendance in each of the team's first four seasons, and there are no signs of it slowing down. Through the first two months, and despite two brand new ballparks, Rocket City leads the league by averaging 4,424 fans per game.

MAY WAS A GOOD MONTH FOR BROWN AND RADA: Over 26 games in May, Sam Brown finished 4th in the league in batting at .301 (28-for-93), with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs, and Nelson Rada finished 2nd in batting at .325 (27-for-83), and 2nd in OBP (.467). Rada led all of Double-A and was 3rd in MiLB with 19 stolen bases.

HOMECOMING FOR MITCH DALY: On May 20, the Trash Pandas added INF Mitch Daly, who attended Madison's Bob Jones High School (2.6 miles from Toyota Field). He was a four-year starter at shortstop and ranked as the top shortstop in Alabama, signing with Texas and eventually finishing his college career at Kentucky. Daly moved eight times as a kid, was born in Fort Hood, TX, and was the son of a four-star General in the United States Army, Edward Daly. Mitch logged his first-ever hit at Toyota Field on May 28.

JERSEY-PALOOZA: The Trash Pandas just finished an eight-game stretch, May 28 to June 4, in which they wore different jerseys in each game, including last week's six-game homestand against Biloxi and the first two games in Birmingham. On Wednesday, May 28, they sported the home white jersey. On Thursday, May 29, they wore a camo jersey for the first game and a throwback pinstripe jersey for the nightcap. On Friday, May 30, the team showcased the Oat Milkers jersey. Saturday, May 31, featured a Harry Potter-themed jersey, and on Sunday, June 1, donned their Copa identity as the Lunáticos de Rocket City. In game one of the series in Birmingham, they sported the Halo Blue tops and wore Huntsville Stars Negro Minor League jerseys for the Rickwood Classic.

PROSPECTS WITH A HALO: The Trash Pandas roster features four of the Angels' top 10 prospects and nine of the top 25; included in the top 10 are RHP George Klassen (3), LHP Sam Aldegheri (5), OF Nelson Rada (6), and INF Denzer Guzman (9). The other members of the roster included in the Top-30 include LHP Samy Natera Jr. (16), RHP Walbert Ureña (17), RHP Joel Hurtado (19), RHP Camden Minacci (20), and INF Cole Fontenelle (23).

C-MO TO TRIPLE-A: The LA Angel's top prospect and eighth-overall pick in the 2024 draft, Christian Moore, was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake on May 20. The former All-American at Tennessee heads west riding a seven-game hitting streak and has been on base in 16 of his last 17 games, batting .302 (19-for-63).

MLB EXPERIENCE: The Tash Pandas boast seven players on the roster with Major League experience after the recent additions. Sam Aldegheri made his MLB debut on August 30, 2024, for the Angels, vs. Seattle, and made three starts for the Angels over the remainder of the season. Kelvin Cáceres made his debut for the Angels on September 27, 2023, vs. Texas, and appeared in two total games that season. Jesus Cruz made his MLB debut for on August 18, 2020 for the Cardinals, and has appeared in eight games between the Cardinals ('20) and Braves ('22). Jordan Holloway made his MLB debut on July 26, 2020, for the Marlins, and appeared in 15 games (4 starts) for Miami from 2020-2023, posting a 3.29 ERA. Sean Poppen made his MLB debut on June 19, 2019, for the Twins and has appeared in 63 games for the Twins (10), Pirates (3), Rays (1), and Diamondbacks (49) since 2019, posting a 5.08 career ERA. José Quijada made his MLB debut for the Marlins on April 24, 2019, against Cleveland, and has appeared in 140 games for the Marlins (34) and Angels (106) since 2019, logging a 4.64 ERA and eight saves. The only position player with MLB experience is Travis Blankenhorn, who made his MLB debut on September 15, 2020, for the Twins against the White Sox. Overall, he's played in 49 career games for the Twins (2), Mets (24), and Nationals (23) since 2020.

THE YOUNG GUNS: The Trash Pandas have three of the nine youngest players in the Southern League. For the second-straight year, OF Nelson Rada is the youngest player in the Southern League at 19.6 years old (8/24/05). INF Denzer Guzman is the eighth-youngest at 21.2 years old (2/8/04), and RHP Walbert Ureña is the ninth-youngest,, just 14 days older than Guzman, born on 1/25/04 at 21.2 years old (1/25/04). Rada had a fantastic spring with the Angels, batting .333 over 11 games, a .370 on-base percentage, and six RBI. The Venezuela native spent the 2024 season in Rocket City, hitting .234 with 13 extra-base hits in 123 games. The 19-year-old was seventh in the Southern League with 35 stolen bases as the youngest player in the league. Guzman was promoted to Rocket City on May 7, collecting six home runs, nine doubles, and 30 RBI in 83 games. The 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic had his season highlighted with a walk-off grand slam on May 25, leading the Trash Pandas to a win over Montgomery.

DARRELL-HICKS, QUERO, FERMIN, AND RANGEL LAUNCHED TO THE LEAGUE:

The Philadelphia Phillies recalled right-hander Alan Rangel on June 6, and made his MLB debut on June 7 against the Pirates, becoming the 40th player to play for the Trash Pandas, and be "Launched to the League." He pitched 3.0 innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits, issuing two walks, and striking out 1-his first MLB strikeout coming in the 5th inning (Nick Gonzales). Having spent over a decade in the minors, Rangel pitched for Rocket City in 2024, making four starts, going 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA across 20.2 innings, posting 25 strikeouts. Rangel was placed on the IL on May 14, and released by the Angels on July 1.

The Los Angeles Angels called up right-handed reliever José Fermin from Rocket City, becoming the 39th player promoted from Rocket City to the Majors. Fermin, third this season, and 13th to bypass Triple-A. Fermin was 3-0 record and a 1.13 ERA in six relief appearances this season, and was the first Southern League pitcher to earn three wins. A native of the Dominican Republic, he began his professional career in 2024 and advanced through the Angels' minor league system.

The Chicago White Sox promoted Edgar Quero from Triple-A Charlotte, and he made his MLB debut on April 17 vs. Oakland. He picked up his first hit on April 18 at Boston. Quero, a 22-year-old switch-hitting catcher from Cienfuegos, Cuba, was acquired by the White Sox in a 2023 trade with the Los Angeles Angels involving pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López. Quero skipped High-A and joined Rocket City in 2023. In 60 games, he posted a .242 batting average with 2 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 35 runs scored. His on-base percentage stood out at .378, thanks to 45 walks.

Former Trash Pandas pitcher Michael Darrell-Hicks had his contract selected by the Angels on April 6 but was optioned back to Triple-A Salt Lake on April 7. The Angels recalled Darrell-Hicks again on April 11 from Triple-A Salt Lake and made his debut that day against the Houston Astros. In his debut appearance, he pitched one inning, allowing four earned runs on three hits and issuing three walks ... He was 6-4 with a 1.73 ERA over 30 relief outings in 2024 for the Trash Pandas, earning eight saves in ten chances and 46 strikeouts to eight walks over 41.2 innings. Overall, Darrell-Hicks had a 6-7 record in Rocket City over 33 games and three starts, striking out 58 and walking 13 over 53.2 innings in 2023 and 2024.

FONTENELLE'S CYCLE: Not only was Cole Fontenelle's cycle on April 8 vs. Knoxville the first in Trash Pandas history, but it was the first in the Southern League since former Smokies star Moises Ballesteros did it on June 15, 2024, at Biloxi. Fontenelle led off each at-bat, which has only been done once in MLB history, by Todd Helton in 1999 against the Florida Marlins. The last LA Angels' minor league player to hit for the cycle was José Rojas, who hit for the cycle on May 11, 2018, while playing for the Double-A Mobile BayBears. Rojas completed his cycle with a grand slam in the eighth inning, leading the BayBears to a 14-3 win over the Mississippi Braves at Trustmark Park.

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Southern League Stories from June 10, 2025


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