The Aberdeen IronBirds headed into their match-up with the Brooklyn Cyclones off the back of a dominant five games to one series victory the week before. However, this series would not play out the same for Aberdeen.
Through six games this week, the IronBirds would come out victorious in just two of those six games. Luis Sánchez earned the win on the mound in game two during his relief effort, and Yaqui Rivera would earn the other IronBird victory in game three.
It’s starting to become like clock work each week about the players who constantly produce week in and week out. Creed Willems had another series of at least five hits, while Matthew Etzel led the charge this week with six of his own. Tavian Josenberger notched four hits as well, with three RBIs.
Elio Prado is actually the one who stole the show offensively this week. The 22-year-old netted a team-leading seven hits for the series, with a double and four RBIs.
For Willems, it is becoming clearer by the series that his time of being challenged in High-A ball are over. His five hits this series put him at 24 on the season in just 81 at-bats, with an average of .296 and an OPS of .946.
This is all coming from a catcher who also excels on the defensive side as well. This week saw Willems’ sixth and seventh doubles, as well as the best on-base celebration in minor league baseall.
Josenberger hasn’t looked too hot per the stat sheet in 2024, but paying attention to the last two series shows the 2023 third-round pick is beginning to piece it together at the plate. Five games played in this series saw hits in three of those games, including a multi-hit effort in game two. Josenberger now has nine hits in his last 10 games.
The pitching overall was good in this series and kept the IronBirds in each game minus the first. Another good series by Juan De Los Santos and Deivy Cruz should continue to help their confidence at this level, while Moisés Chace and Juan Nuñez simply don’t stop dominating at the High-A level.
Chace came into this series with insane strikeout numbers that were also slightly haunted by high walk numbers as well. In his start this week, the 20-year-old limited himself to just one walk with four strikeouts in four innings of work. This was paired with another outing of no runs allowed, as his season ERA is now 0.95.
Zach Fruit again was solid on the mound for the IronBirds, even though his outing resulted in a loss. Fruit pitched five innings in his game four start, allowing no runs on just three hits with seven strikeouts.
Once again, it was another hard fought series where the IronBirds were only able to muster out a couple of close victories. Here are the final scores from this week.
Game 1: ABD 2, BKC 9
Game 2: ABD 6, BKC 2
Game 3: ABD 7, BKC 1
Game 4: ABD 0, BKC 2
Game 5: ABD 0, BKC 4
Game 6: ABD 2, BKC 5
Aberdeen will return to action on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. EST, as they will match up at home against the Hudson Valley Renegades, the High-A affiliate for the New York Yankees.
Who stood out to you for Aberdeen this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
Represent The Baltimore Battery and show off your fandom with our official merchandise! Reasonably-priced attire made just for you! Visit our official shop site by clicking here!
Like Justin’s content? Follow him on X – @orioles4life96
THE BALTIMORE BATTERY 
Leave a comment