Louisville Bats Mid-Season Player Notes

With the All-Star break in full effect, let’s take a look at what each member of the 2017 Louisville Bats has done in the first half of the season.

Barrett Astin | Relief Pitcher | #48

Louisville Totals: 15g, 32.1ip, 2–2, 6.68era, 1.98whip, .336avg, 19bb, 34k
Cincinnati Totals: 6g, 8.0ip, 0–0, 8.75era, 2.00whip, .290avg, 7bb, 2k

Notes:

• Made his Major League debut on 4/3 against Philadelphia, pitching a third of an inning
• Struck out a career-high seven batters as a reliever on 5/19 against Columbus
• Recorded a strikeout in 14 of his 15 appearances with the Bats

Alex Blandino | Infielder | #5

Pensacola Totals: 62g, .259 (51-for-197), 6hr, 31rbi, 31r, .374obp, .462slg
Louisville Totals: 13g, .195 (8-for-41), 0hr, 3rbi, 3r, .327obp, .244slg

Notes:

• Ranked 1st in doubles (22), 7th in OPS (.836) and T-9th in walks (32) in the Southern League prior to his promotion to Triple-A on 6/22
• Collected his first career Triple-A hit (single) on 6/23
• One two-bagger shy of tying a career high in doubles (25) set in 2015

Lisalverto Bonilla | Relief Pitcher | #33

Louisville Totals: 12g (7gs), 45.0ip, 3–4, 4.60era, 1.53whip, .275avg, 20bb, 49k
Cincinnati Totals: 8g (4gs), 32.0ip, 1–3, 7.59era, 1.66whip, .288avg, 17bb, 25k

Notes:

• Ranks 9th in swinging strike rate (13.4%) among the 90 International League pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings pitched
• Allowed a career-high 10 hits and three home runs on 4/27 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
• Posted the 2nd highest game score (78) of his career on 7/2 against Indianapolis (previous high was 87 on 7/6/11)
• Limiting Triple-A opponents to a .216 average (11-for-51) with RISP

Alejandro Chacin | Relief Pitcher | #10

Louisville Totals: 31g, 52.1ip, 0–3, 2.92era, 1.41whip, .267avg, 20bb, 43k

Notes:

• Thrown the most innings (52.0) of any International League reliever
• Allowed no earned runs in a career-high 18 consecutive innings in June (previous high was 15.1 in 2014)
• Tossed a career-high four innings in relief on 5/19 against Columbus
• Pitched multiple innings in 14 of his appearances, tying a career high set in 2014

Brandon Dixon | Infielder | #7

Louisville Totals: 73g, .256 (65-for-254), 8hr, 34rbi, 33r, .329obp, .433slg

Notes:

• Leads the Bats in home runs (8), doubles (17) and strikeouts (69)
• His .256 batting average going into the All-Star break is the highest it’s been at any point this season
• Hit the Bats’ first grand slam on 5/3 against Columbus since Steve Selsky on 5/6/16
• First Bats player to record three straight multi-walk games (6/6–6/8) since Anderson Machado in 2007
• Owns the 10th highest on-base percentage (.393) in the International League since June 1, reaching base safely in 25 of his 28 games during that span
• Had more walks in June (12) than he did in April and May combined (11)
• Hitting .338 (22-for-65) vs. left-handers as opposed to .228 (43-for-189) vs. right-handers

Sebastian Elizalde | Outfielder | #9

Louisville Totals: 83g, .296 (97-for-328), 2hr, 36rbi, 26r, .351obp, .384slg

Notes:

• Ranks 3rd in hits (97), 3rd in triples (6, career high) and 6th in batting average (.296) in the International League
• Leads the Bats in multi-hit games (29) as well as three-hit games (9)
• Reached base safely in 70 of his 83 games
• Hit .319 (36-for-113) in June (36 hits were the second most in the IL)
• Had as many RBI in June (16) as he did in April and May combined
• Batting .325 (27-for-83) with RISP

Phillip Ervin | Outfielder | #6

Louisville Totals: 75g, .250 (68-for-272), 5hr, 32rbi, 32r, .315obp, .368slg

Notes:

• Made his Major League debut as a pinch-hitter on 4/22 against the Chicago Cubs
• Had eight stolen bases in June, most for a Bats player in a month since Billy Hamilton stole 11 in August of 2013
• Drew 14 walks in June, the 2nd highest total in a given month in his career and most by a Bats player in 2017
• Knocked in five runs 0n 7/4 against Toledo, becoming the first Bats player to record a five-RBI game since Kyle Waldrop on 7/4/16
• Hit safely in a career-high nine straight games from 6/28–7/7
• Batting .319 (23-for-72) with RISP

Amir Garrett | Starting Pitcher | #27

Louisville Totals: 4gs, 20.0ip, 1–1, 4.95era, 1.40whip, .256avg, 8bb, 21k
Cincinnati Totals: 12gs, 58.1ip, 3–6, 7.41era, 1.56whip, .271avg, 29bb, 49k

Notes:

• Tossed six scoreless innings in his Major League debut on 4/7 against St. Louis
• Tied the Reds’ single-game franchise record for most strikeouts (12) by a left-handed rookie on 4/19 against Baltimore
• Allowed a career-high 11 hits on 7/4 against Toledo

Jimmy Herget | Relief Pitcher | #19

Pensacola Totals: 24g, 29.2ip, 1–3–16, 2.73era, 1.15whip, .202avg, 12bb, 44k
Louisville Totals: 8g, 10.0ip, 0–0–4, 1.80era, 0.70whip, .147avg, 2bb, 11k

Notes:

• Named a mid-season Southern League All-Star and was selected to the Futures Game
• Ranked 1st in saves (16) and 6th in strikeouts (44) among Southern League relievers prior to his promotion to Triple-A on 6/18
• Entered the game in a bases loaded, no out situation in his Tiple-A debut on 6/19 against Columbus and proceeded to strike out the next three hitters
• Converted all four of his save opportunities with the Bats
• Limiting Triple-A right-handed hitters to a .091 average (2-for-22)

Dilson Herrera | Infielder | #15

Louisville Totals: 64g, .261 (61-for-234), 7hr, 39rbi, 30r, .310obp, .393slg

Notes:

• Leads the Bats with 39 RBI
• Was 1-for-20 in five games from 4/10–4/18, matching the worst 20 at-bat stretch of his career during 6/16–6/23 of 2015 with the New York Mets
• Hit safely in 22 of his 26 games since 5/28, raising his season average from .222 to .261 during that span

Hernan Iribarren | Infielder/Outfielder | #2

Louisville Totals: 63g, .294 (75-for-255), 4hr, 26rbi, 33r, .343obp, .420slg

Notes:

• Ranks 8th in batting average (.294) in the International League
• Tied for the team lead in runs scored (33) with Brandon Dixon
• Collected the fifth most hits (69) in the International League since May 1
• Had a career-high five straight multi-hit games from 5/9–5/13
• One of three Bats players (Winker, Dixon) to record four hits in a game this year (4-for-7 on 6/17)
• Hitting .323 (64-for-198) vs. right-handers as opposed to .193 (11-for-57) vs. left-handers

Tyler Mahle | Starting Pitcher | #38

Pensacola Totals: 14gs, 85.0ip, 7–3, 1.59era, 0.87whip, .190avg, 17bb, 87k
Louisville Totals: 3gs, 14.1ip, 0–3, 5.02era, 1.60whip, .322avg, 4bb, 16k

Notes:

• Named a mid-season Southern League All-Star
• Threw the Southern League’s first perfect game in 47 years on 4/22 against the Mobile BayBears
• Selected as the Southern League Player of the Month for April after going 4–0 with a 0.55 ERA in five starts
• Ranked 1st in innings pitched (85.0), 1st in WHIP (0.87), 2nd in ERA (1.59), 2nd in strikeouts (87), 2nd in opponent batting average (.190) and 3rd in wins (7) in the Southern League prior to his promotion to Triple-A on 6/22
• Threw one and one-third innings in his start on 7/7 against Charlotte, the shortest outing of his career

Kyle McMyne | Relief Pitcher | #26

Louisville Totals: 32g, 51.0ip, 3–1–1, 5.82era, 1.69whip, .294avg, 27bb, 36k

Notes:

• Ranks 2nd in innings pitched (51.0) among International League relievers
• Has the third highest ground ball rate (58.4%) among the 65 International League pitchers with a minimum of 50 innings pitched
• Made his first start since 2011 on 5/31 against Gwinnett
• Allowed nine runs in a third of an inning on 7/7 against Charlotte, becoming the first Bats pitcher to give up that many runs without recording a full inning since at least 2005
• First Bats reliever to allow multiple runs in five consecutive appearances (6/27, 7/1, 7/4, 7/5, 7/7) since at least 2005

Evan Mitchell | Relief Pitcher | #31

Louisville Totals: 22g, 33.2ip, 2–4, 3.21era, 1.54whip, .312avg, 9bb, 27k

Notes:

• Owns the lowest walk rate (5.9%) among Bats relievers
• Allowed no earned runs in 13 consecutive innings in April, the second highest streak of his career (17 in 2015)
• Tossed a career-high three innings in relief on 4/20 against Scanton/Wilkes-Barre

Adrian Nieto | Catcher | #17

Pensacola Totals: 41g, .250 (31-for-124), 3hr, 15rbi, 11r, .306obp, .387slg
Louisville Totals: 7g, .250 (7-for-28), 0hr, 1rbi, 5r, .276obp, .321slg

Notes:

• Only catcher to hit multiple triples (2) in the Southern League
• Promoted to Triple-A after catcher Rob Brantly was released on 6/29

Juan Perez | Infielder | #11

Louisville Totals: 22g, .300 (24-for-80), 4hr, 8rbi, 9r, .398obp, .538slg

Notes:

• Reached base safely in 20 of his 22 games
• Named International League Batter of the Week for 4/17–4/23
• Hit safely in a career-high 12 straight games from 4/10–4/23, the longest hitting streak by a Bats player in 2017
• Logged his second career multi-home run game on 4/20 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (other came on 8/12/12 with Dayton)
• One of the two home runs mentioned above was an inside-the-parker, becoming the first Bats player to hit such a home run since Perez himself back on 8/21/16 against Indianapolis
• Prior to Perez, the last Bats player to hit an inside-the-park home run was Billy Hamilton on 6/3/13 against Toledo
• Ranked 3rd in stolen bases (6), 5th in OPS (.946), T-5th in home runs (4) and T-8th in total bases (43) in the International League prior to his elbow injury that has sidelined him since 5/6

Cody Reed | Starting Pitcher | #25

Louisville Totals: 12gs, 61.2ip, 2–5, 3.21era, 1.54whip, .245avg, 38bb, 65k
Cincinnati Totals: 7g (1gs), 14.0ip, 1–1, 6.43era, 1.64whip, .174avg, 15bb, 15k

Notes:

• Leads the Bats with 65 strikeouts
• Allowed three or fewer earned runs in 10 of his 12 starts with the Bats
• T-3rd in strikeouts (39), 4th in opponent batting average (.179) and 5th in ERA (1.64) in the International League in June
• First Bats pitcher to allow one or fewer earned runs in five consecutive starts (6/3, 6/8, 6/14, 6/20, 6/25) since Greg Reynolds in 2013
• Posted the 2nd highest game score (83) of his career on 6/8 against Columbus (previous high was 84 on 8/5/15 with Pensacola)
• Allowed a career-high six walks in his last start on 7/5 against Toledo

Sal Romano | Starting Pitcher | #24

Louisville Totals: 9gs, 47.0ip, 1–3, 3.06era, 1.30whip, .261avg, 14bb, 28k
Cincinnati Totals: 2gs, 8.0ip, 1–1, 4.50era, 1.75whip, .290avg, 5bb, 8k

Notes:

• Made his Major League debut on 4/16 against Milwaukee, allowing two earned runs in three innings pitched
• Allowed three or fewer earned runs in eight of his nine starts with the Bats
• Ranked 4th in ERA (1.23) and 6th in WHIP (0.91) in the International League in April
• On 6/29 against Norfolk, Romano became the first Bats pitcher to throw at least eight innings without recording multiple strikeouts since Michael Lorenzen on 8/16/15 (9 IP, 1 K)

Kevin Shackelford | Relief Pitcher | #40

Louisville Totals: 29g, 39.0ip, 3–0–11, 1.85era, 1.13whip, .201avg, 16bb, 49k
Cincinnati Totals: 1g, 2.2ip, 0–0, 13.50era, 2.25whip, .385avg, 1bb, 3k

Notes:

• Selected to the International League All-Star team
• Made his Major League debut on 6/29 against Milwaukee, allowing four runs in two and two-thirds innings
• Ranks 2nd in saves (11), 3rd in opponent batting average (.201) and T-7th in strikeouts (49) among International League relievers
• Tied a career high with 11 straight scoreless appearances from 4/25–5/23
• First Bats reliever to record a strikeout in 21 straight appearances since at least 2005 (previous record was 20 held by Brad Boxberger in 2011)
• Recorded a strikeout in 26 of his 29 appearances
• Owns the eighth highest swinging strike rate (15%) among the 150 International League pitchers with a minimum of 30 innings pitched
• Limiting opponents to a .136 batting average (6-for-44) with RISP

Jackson Stephens | Starting Pitcher | #20

Louisville Totals: 15gs, 83.0ip, 5–4, 4.55era, 1.55whip, .287avg, 35bb, 62k
Cincinnati Totals: 1gs, 5.0ip, 1–0, 5.40era, 1.40whip, .300avg, 1bb, 8k

Notes:

• Leads the Bats in innings pitched (83.0), quality starts (7) and wins (5)
• Made his Major League debut on 7/1 against the Chicago Cubs, allowing three runs in five innings
• Became the first Reds pitcher to record a win, hit and RBI in a Major League debut since John Roper on 5/16/93
• Allowed a career-high six walks on 6/7 against Columbus
• First Bats pitcher to allow five or more walks in consecutive starts (6/7 & 6/13) since Daniel Corcino on 8/16 & 8/22 of 2013

Robert Stephenson | Starting Pitcher | #44

Louisville Totals: 6gs, 34.1ip, 1–2, 3.15era, 0.90whip, .160avg, 12bb, 37k
Cincinnati Totals: 13g, 24.2ip, 0–2–1, 8.03era, 1.99whip, .320avg, 16bb, 27k

Notes:

• Ranked 1st in opponent batting average (.136), T-2nd in WHIP (0.91) and 9th in ERA (2.73) in the International League in June
• First Bats pitcher to allow one or fewer hits in three consecutive starts (6/4, 6/9, 6/15) since at least 2005
• Allowed no walks in back-to-back starts on 6/28 & 7/3 for the first time since 7/19 & 7/24 of 2013 with Bakersfield (happened twice that year)
• Threw 110 pitches on 6/28 against Norfolk, tying a career high set on 7/29/14 with Pensacola
• Made his second career minor league relief appearance on 7/7 against Charlotte (other came on 4/5/14 with Pensacola)
• Tied a career high with 10 hits allowed on 5/29 against Toronto

Darnell Sweeney | Infielder/Outfielder | #29

Oklahoma City Totals: 38g, .227 (27-for-119), 4hr, 15rbi, 17r, .290obp, .412slg
Louisville Totals: 37g, .289 (44-for-152), 3hr, 12rbi, 24r, .361obp, .434slg

Notes:

• Traded from the Dodgers to the Reds for future considerations on 5/28
• Reached base safely in 33 of his 37 games with the Bats while recording a hit in 29 of 37
• Tied for 10th in hits (42) in the International League since June 1
• Recorded four straight multi-hit games from 7/3–7/6 for the first time since 5/2–5/6 of 2016 (career high is five set in 2014)

Zach Vincej | Infielder | #3

Louisville Totals: 64g, .283 (63-for-223), 1hr, 20rbi, 22r, .336obp, .350slg

Notes:

• Had the fourth highest batting average (.359) among International League hitters in June
• His season average has jumped from .216 to .283 since June 1
• Struck out in 10.6% of his plate appearances, fourth lowest percentage in the International League
• Hitting .312 when behind in the count compared to .276 when ahead in the count
• Batting .300 (18-for-60) with RISP

Chad Wallach | Catcher | #47

Louisville Totals: 41g, .194 (27-for-139), 6hr, 13rbi, 18r, .263obp, .353slg

Notes:

• Tied for 5th in home runs (6) among International League catchers
• Hit his 3rd home run on 5/16, joining Rob Brantly as the fastest duo of Bats catchers to hit three home runs apiece in a given season, reaching that mark four days quicker than Corky Miller and Wilkin Castillo did in 2010
• Hit a home run in consecutive games on 7/3 & 7/5 for the second time in his career (4/27 & 4/29 of 2014)

Jesse Winker | Outfielder | #23

Louisville Totals: 73g, .305 (78-for-256), 2hr, 37rbi, 26r, .386obp, .391slg
Cincinnati Totals: 6g, .231 (3-for-13), 0hr, 4rbi, 1r, .231obp, .385slg

Notes:

• Selected to the International League All-Star team
• Recorded his first big league hit with a two-run double on 4/15 against Milwaukee
• Ranks 4th in both batting average (.305) and on-base percentage (.386) in the International League
• Leads the Bats with 34 walks
• Failed to get on base in consecutive games on 4/10 & 4/11 for the first time since 5/16 & 5/17 of 2015 (fourth time it’s happened in 554 career games)
• Has as many four-hit games in 2017 (2) as he did the previous two seasons combined
• Batting .333 (23-for-69) with RISP