HVR Game Notes - April 23, 2022
April 23, 2022 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release
Brooklyn Cyclones (8-5) vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (6-7)
RHP Carlos Ocampo (0-1, 8.10 ERA) vs. LHP Edgar Barclay (2-1, 2.08 ERA)
| Game 14 | Home Game 5 | Dutchess Stadium | Wappingers Falls, NY | April 23, 2022 | First Pitch 6:05 p.m. |
HOME, SWEET HOME: After a nine-game road trip to start the season, the Hudson Valley Renegades continue their first home series of the year tonight against the Brooklyn Cyclones. Tonight marks game five of a 12-game, 13-day homestand as Brooklyn and Wilmington visit The Dutch. Tuesday's home opener was the earliest regular-season Renegades game ever played at Dutchess Stadium, coming 22 days earlier than the May 11 opener in 2021. Before last season, the franchise had never played a game before June as a member of the Class Short Season-A New York-Penn League. The Renegades and Cyclones have split the first four games of the series.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: The Cyclones never trailed as they defeated the Renegades 6-4. They took the lead three batters into the game against Blas Castaño and eventually led 4-0. Hudson Valley crept back to 4-3, but the Cyclones responded to expand the lead and hang on for the win. Austin Wells, Cooper Bowman, and James Nelson each went 2-for-4, with Nelson driving in his third run in three games.
BOWMAN STARTING STRONG: Renegades infielder Cooper Bowman has an 11-game on-base streak to start the season, tied for the third-longest by a High-A player this season. In 2021, the Renegades had 10 on-base streaks of 11 games-or-more, including season-best 24-game streaks by Josh Breaux and Ezequiel Duran.
STRIKEOUTS STACKING UP: Hudson Valley pitchers combined to strike out 56 Brooklyn batters in the first four games of the current series, setting a new season-high for the staff in each of the first two nights (17 Tuesday, 18 Wednesday). In 2021, the Renegades struck out 17-or-more batters in a game five times, including a season-high of 18 three times. Notably, two of those three games came against Brooklyn (5/22 @ BRK, 9/9 @ HV). In 2021, the Renegades struck out 408 Cyclones, a rate of 11.81 K/9. With 152 strikeouts through 13 games, Hudson Valley ranks third among all High-A teams in strikeouts, trailing only Aberdeen (166) and Rome (163).
HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELLS: After a slow start to the season, Austin Wells has put together four straight strong games at the plate. Since Sunday's series finale with Rome, the catcher is 8-for-15 in his last three games, with a double, three walks, two strikeouts and two stolen bases. With the outburst, he has raised his season batting line from .148/.273/.222 to .286/.404/.357, a 266-point jump in OPS. Wells is the Yankees No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, who also ranks him as the No. 95 prospect in MiLB, and the No. 10 overall catching prospect.
LAST FRIDAY NIGHT: Last Friday night marked an historic day for the South Atlantic League and across Minor League Baseball as it was the first game in which the new pitch clock rules were enforced. In the first night under the rules, game times across Minor League Baseball plummeted, with nearly 30 minutes shaved off the average game, according to numbers run by J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Through Tuesday's action, average game times have been cut by approximately 20 minutes, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. However, MLB has temporarily suspended the pitch clock at Dutchess Stadium until further notice.
OFF TO THE RACES: Through 13 games, the Hudson Valley Renegades are second among High-A teams in stolen bases with 35.
- Jersey Shore (PHI) has 40 to pace all High-A clubs, while Hillsboro (ARZ) of the Northwest League is the next-closest team, with 26. The Gades has been caught stealing seven times, leading to a success rate of 84.1%.
- Across all levels of the minors, the Renegades have the second-most steals, with Fayetteville (A, HOU) of the Carolina League having stolen 34 bases on their tails.
- The Renegades have stolen the most bases of any team in the Yankees organization, with Somerset (AA) ranking second with 25 swipes.
- With 35 steals through 13 games, the Renegades are stealing an average of 2.69 bases per game, which puts them on pace for 355 on the season, which would obliterate the previous franchise record of 149 in 2021.
- Cooper Bowman leads the team with nine steals, which is tied for second in the SAL. Bowman has stolen multiple bases in a game three times this season. Aldenis Sánchez is tied for fourth in the circuit with seven swipes.
- The Renegades have stolen six bases in a game as a team twice this season.
RUMFIELD'S PINSTRIPED DEBUT: In his first year in the New York Yankees organization, T.J. Rumfield has impressed with his performance on the field. During the season-opening road trip, Rumfield hit .412/.487/.735 with five doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs. He ranks among the top 10 in the South Atlantic League in AVG (7th), SLG (7th), OPS (10th), RBIs (t-7th), XBH (t-4th), TB (8th) H (6th), and 2B (t-3rd). Rumfield was drafted by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Virginia Tech, and was traded to the Yankees in a November deal which sent RHP Nick Nelson and C Donny Sands to Philadelphia.
RECORD-SETTING SEASON: To nobody's surprise, the Hudson Valley Renegades set 19 new franchise hitting records during the 2021 season, the first in team history as a full-season affiliate. The team and individual players set 19 new single-season hitting records, and 20 new single-season pitching records. Among the most ludicrous was the single-season mark for most team home runs hit (156 -- previous record, 53 in 1999 and 2002), and most strikeouts recorded by the pitching staff (1,308 -- previous record, 693 in 1998).
South Atlantic League Stories from April 23, 2022
- Five-Run Eighth Seals Come-From-Behind Win - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Winston-Salem 'Pen Shuts Door to Win Fourth Straight over Greenville - Winston-Salem Dash
- Mendoza Walks It off for a 3-2 Blue Rocks Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Greenville Falls to Winston-Salem 7-6 as Comeback Efforts Fall Short - Greenville Drive
- Cyclones Get One Hit in Hudson Valley, Fall 2-0 - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Arms again the Story as Renegades Pitch Way to 2-0 Victory - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Abel Fans Nine; Claws Win Third Straight 4-2 on Saturday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Gaither's Strong Start Impressive Despite Defeat - Asheville Tourists
- Hot Rods Game Notes 42322 - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- HVR Game Notes - April 23, 2022 - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Rocks' Offense Rolls to 10-3 Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Aberdeen Hands Hoppers Fourth Loss in a Row - Greensboro Grasshoppers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
