CarL1 Down East Wood Ducks

June 13 Transactions and Game Information

Published on June 13, 2019 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Down East Wood Ducks News Release


Today the Texas Rangers announced the following transactions affecting the Down East Wood Ducks

+ OF Bubba Thompson reinstated from 7-day IL

- LHP John King placed on 7-day IL

Down East (47-19) continues its road trip against Myrtle Beach (20-43) tonight at 7:05 p.m. Left-hander Sal Mendez (2-0, 2.47) will make the start for the Wood Ducks, opposed by Pelicans righty Erich Uelmen (1-1, 4.60). The broadcast will begin at 6:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online at 960thebull.com as well as the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio apps. Complete game notes are attached.

LAST TIME OUT: John King fired nine innings, allowing just one unearned run, to lead the Wood Ducks to a 4-1 win over the Nationals to take the rubber game of the series. King earned his first Carolina League win, and retired the final 17 batters he faced in the ballgame. Down East struck for four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from JP Martinez.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Wood Ducks 47-19 (.712) record is the best in all of Minor League baseball, as is their +113 run differential, while their 25 road wins are tied for the most in MiLB with El Paso and Rancho Cucamonga.

MERRY CLINCHMAS: The Wood Ducks will be heading to the Carolina League playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The Wood Ducks won a share of the Mills Cup in 2017 when they claimed the second half crown with a record of 38-32.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Down East has won 46 games this season, with six games to play. The all-time Carolina League wins record for a half is 51, set by the Peninsula Pilots in 1980, and only five times in Carolina League history has a team finished a half with a winning percentage of .700 or higher. No team has won more than 47 games in a half since the Wood Ducks joined the league in 2017.

KING OF THE HILL: John King has been outstanding for the Wood Ducks since being promoted on May 10. King picked up his first win Wednesday with a complete game, allowing just one unearned run against Potomac. King has struck out 32 while walking just four (8.0 K/BB) in six starts this year, while opponents are hitting just .176 against him. King's complete game was the first 9-inning complete game in the Carolina League this season, and second by a Wood Duck all-time, with the other coming from Richelson Pena, May 26, 2017 at Winston-Salem.

MASHING MARTINEZ: JP Martinez blasted his seven home run for the Woodies, and eighth overall this season Wednesday against Potomac. Martinez has now hit six homers over his last 16 games played, raising his slugging percentage from .239 to .369 over that span. Martinez now sports an isolated power of .179, despite hitting for a .190 average. Last year Martinez homered eight times in 60 games for Short-Season Spokane.

THE LATZ EFFECT: After struggling to start with the Wood Ducks, Jake Latz has turned it around, giving up just two earned runs over his last 33.2 innings of work, and winning his last five starts. He has lowered his ERA from 10.38 to 1.93 over that stretch, and has struck out 40 while walking just 11 in his las six outings. The Woodies are 7-2 overall in his 9 starts. He was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for May 27-June 2.

BAHR NONE!: Jason Bahr has been incredibly consistent for the Wood Ducks this season, giving up two earned runs or fewer in all 11 starts. He picked up his sixth win of the season on Tuesday to lead all Wood Ducks starters, and his 1.71 ERA leads the Carolina League, as does his 1.09 WHIP. Bahr was named a Carolina League All-Star on Tuesday.

STINGY STAFF: The Wood Ducks pitching staff has worked to a 1.55 ERA in the month of June, allowing just 17 earned runs in 11 games. They have combined to strike out 82 while walking just 28. The Woodies have only twice allowed more than two runs in a game this month.

POZO PROVIDES THE PUNCH: Woodies catcher Yohel Pozo has put the ball in play all season, striking out just 15 times in 47 games played this year, the fewest strikeouts for any Wood Duck who has played in at least 25 games. His strikeout rate is just 7.9% this season, the third lowest mark in the Carolina League.

HOME RUN HAPPY: After starting the year slowly in the power de-partment, the Wood Ducks have now hit 17 home runs in their last 22 games, including five games with multiple home runs. Down East now is fourth in the Carolina League in home runs with 40.

GOING STREAKING: Leody Taveras saw his 19-game on-base streak come to a close last night, going 0-3 at the plate. The Wood Ducks as a team this season have put together three on-base streaks of 15+ games, including a 25-game streak from Yonny Hernandez, and a 19-gamer from Ryan Dorow. Diosbel Arias is currently riding a 14-game on-base streak, hitting .367, with a .475 OBP over that stretch. It is the longest active streak in the Carolina League.

MAGNIFICENT MAY: The Wood Ducks finished the month 20-9, their highest win total in a month in franchise history. They wrapped up the month 21 games above .500 and with a 7.5 lead in the Southern Divi-sion. They enjoyed three win streaks of 4+ games during May, including six straight victories to close the month.

SHOWTIME: Former Wood Duck Joe Palumbo made his Major League debut for the Texas Rangers, Saturday, going four innings, and giving up four runs on six hits, while striking out four. Peter Fairbanks was also called up by the club, Saturday, and made his debut Sunday, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out three in relief. They are the fifth and sixth Wood Duck in franchise history to make their Major League debut, joining Ricardo Rodriguez, Jeffrey Springs, C.D. Pelham, and Brett Martin.

RAGS AT THE HELM: Corey Ragsdale takes over as skipper for the Wood Ducks in 2019. Ragsdale will remain the Rangers Minor League Field Coordinator, while assuming a managerial seat for the first time since 2015, when he led the Hickory Crawdads to a South Atlantic League Championship, the second of his career.

TOP-30 in Kinston: The Woodies now have seven Top-30 prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline: 2. J.P. Martinez, 4. Anderson Tejeda, 5. Bubba Thompson, 6. Leody Taveras, 19. Diosbel Arias, 20. A.J. Alexy, and 21. Sam Huff.

Check out the Down East Wood Ducks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from June 13, 2019


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