Smokies Series Preview
SL Knoxville Smokies

Smokies Series Preview

Published on June 30, 2026 under Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release


KNOXVILLE, TN - After a dominating series win against Birmingham to open the second half, the Knoxville Smokies return home to host the Columbus Clingstones for the first time this season. This will mark the second meeting between the Double-A affiliates of the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. The first matchup was a back-and-forth, nailbitting series between the two clubs in mid-May. The Smokies and Clingstones split the series, but a lot has changed since then.

After the Smokies jumped out to a roaring 5-1 start against Birmingham last week, they sit firmly in first place in the Southern League North and hold the best record in the entire Southern League. Columbus split their first series of the second half against Rocket City, leaving the Clingstones a game behind both Biloxi and Pensacola for first place after the first week of games.

The main difference between these two teams right now is that Knoxville has already clinched a playoff spot after winning the North in the first half while Columbus fell short. For Columbus, getting off to a hot start could really turn things around in the second half.

Columbus finished 29-35, 5.5 games behind Biloxi for the first spot in the Southern League South in the first half and the only team under .500 in the South. With the South having already been a tight division throughout the first half, and with Biloxi already clinching a playoff spot, the door is open for just about anyone to win the South in the second half. For Columbus, getting off to an early lead in the South could make a difference in the dog days of summer.

First pitch of the series is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.

Knoxville is finishing up a remarkable month of June. With just one game left to play in the month of June, Knoxville holds the best record in the Southern League at 17-8 (.680) with a +41 run differential which is the highest run differential in the Southern League over that span. Both sides of the ball have been locked in during the month of June. On offense, the Smokies are second in all of Double-A in batting average (.284), fourth in OPS (.833), third in stolen bases (49), and tied for fifth in runs scored (154).

Owen Ayers has been the best hitter in Double-A in the month of June. Slashing .455/.551/.830, he leads all Double-A hitters with at least 50 at bats in each of those categories while blasting seven home runs (tied for the most in the Southern League) and driving in 20 RBIs.

Ayers hasn't been the only Smokie raking in June. Hayden Cantrelle, Jefferson Rojas, Carter Trice, Andy Garriola, and Alex Ramirez have all been within the top 20 of multiple offensive categories among hitters with at least 50 at bats as well including average, home runs, RBIs, and total bases.

This month hasn't just been all offense for the Smokies, however. In June, the Smokies hold the third best team ERA at 4.05 while also striking out a league-leading 250 opposing hitters over a league-leading 220 innings.

In June, the Smokies have had four pitchers who have pitched in at least five games with an ERA under 2.00. Jace Beck leads the pack and is the only starter in that group with an ERA of 0.47 over five games (three starts) and 19 innings pitched. Dawson Netz and Grant Kipp were also great starters, posting a 3.12 ERA and a 3.75 ERA respectively.

The relievers as a whole were fantastic for Knoxville in June. In 25 games, the Smokies bullpen went 12-3 with a 3.69 ERA while striking out 138 hitters while walking just 62 over 127 innings.

Overall, the Smokies could not have had a better month of June as a team.

Columbus seemed to take a page out of the Smokies' book in June as well. After posting a 5.45 team ERA and a 1.57 team WHIP in April and May, Columbus started to make some adjustments on the mound. In June, Columbus had the second lowest team ERA at 3.97 and dropped their team WHIP down to 1.36. Columbus has leaned more heavily on their starters, as they have thrown a majority of the innings (92.1) and have a much better ERA (3.51) in June.

More recently, the Clingstones have made a handful of changes to their roster over just the last couple of weeks. Columbus recently had INF Jordan Groshans return from the 7-Day IL. Groshans, a big leaguer with the Marlins for a brief time, is hitting .279 with a .909 OPS this season over 56 games for Columbus this year.

Columbus also made a flurry of moves going into the second half, including releasing RHP Jacob Wallace, and OF Ethan Workinger, calling up RHP Isaac Gallegos and OF Dalton McIntyre from High-A. Big leaguers Kyle Farmer (INF) and Danny Young (LHP) are also on Columbus' roster this week on rehab assignments.

Players to Watch

Knoxville's player to watch is a bit of an unfamiliar face. Koen Moreno was called up to Double-A just last week and made his debut in the final game of the series against Birmingham on Sunday. The 24-year-old made his Double-A debut as he started on the mound for the Smokies as they looked for the series sweep in Birmingham.

His first start was eventful. Moreno gave up three runs, two earned, over four innings, but there were other factors that limited him to that final line. In the first, Moreno generated lots of weak contact, but some poor defense and situational hitting by the Barons allowed Birmingham to plate two runs in the first. In the second, an error in the outfield allowed an unearned run to score to give the Barons an early 3-1 lead, but Moreno was soon able to settle in.

Moreno faced the minimum in the third and the fourth innings. He went back out to start the fifth, but after getting ahead on the leadoff batter 2-1, Moreno signaled to the dugout and was removed from the game with an apparent injury.

Still, Moreno did not let up much hard contact at all and was able to generate multiple groundball double plays to limit the opposing offense when needed. Moreno was 1-3 with a 4.84 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) in South Bend and will look to play a big role in the starting rotation, especially with Grant Kipp getting called up to Triple-A. Moreno is scheduled to make his second Double-A start on Sunday this week.

In the other clubhouse, Lucas Braun has been one of the main factors in Columbus' starting pitching success in June and over the course of the season. Braun has been back and forth between Triple-A and Double-A within the Braves organization this season. Despite the seemingly constant movement, Braun has been a strong point for the Clingstones when he has been down at Double-A.

In seven games (six starts) at Double-A this season, Braun is 2-4 with a 4.04 ERA. In the month of June, Braun has been even better. In four appearances (three starts), Braun is 2-1 with a 1.77 ERA. Braun gives up a decent amount of baserunners with a WHIP of 1.51 in June, but relies on strikeouts to get him out of jams - 21 over 20.1 innings pitched in June. Braun is slotted to start Game 3 against the Smokies this week and will be looking to shut a red hot Smokies offense down.

Probable Pitching Matchups

6/30 Tuesday, 7:00 PM ET

RHP Connor Schultz (0-3, 5.56 ERA) vs RHP Brett Sears (2-2 2.97 ERA)

7/1 Wednesday, 7:00 PM ET

RHP Brooks Caple (2-1, 3.63 ERA) vs RHP Cedric DeGrandpre (1-1, 11.57 ERA)

7/2 Thursday, 7:00 PM ET

RHP Nick Dean (5.2, 4.35 ERA) vs RHP Lucas Braun (2-4, 4.04 ERA)

7/3 Friday, 7:00 PM ET

RHP Dawson Netz (4-1, 2.40 ERA) vs LHP Julio Robaina (1-2, 2.97 ERA)

7/4 Saturday, 7:00 PM ET

RHP Jace Beck (6-2, 3.02 ERA) vs LHP Herick Hernandez (0-2, 2.70 ERA)

7/5 Sunday, 2:00 PM ET

RHP Koen Moreno (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs RHP Brett Sears (2-2 2.97 ERA)

Wrap Up

Knoxville is coming off of two very impactful series wins against Chattanooga and in Birmingham and have been riding a hot month of June on both sides of the ball. It looks like nothing can stop them, but if Columbus wants to get into the playoff conversation, they're going to have to prove that they can get hot and win against a good team like Knoxville.

Columbus will look to ride on the backs of their starting pitching, the way they have all month and Knoxville looks to continue riding their high from June.

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Southern League Stories from June 30, 2026


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.

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