For the series running June 27th – July 3rd
by David Welch • @dcwelch_24 • July 4th, 2022
Each week we will recognize the top hitting and pitching performances from our Indiana Hoosier alum who are playing professional baseball at both the affiliated and independent, major and minor-league levels. We will also highlight other notable performances of the week and pass along other Hoosier related news and notes.
Alumni Position Player of the Week
Cade Bunnell
Mississippi Braves (AA) – Atlanta Braves
| AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR |
| 16 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| R | RBI | BB | SB | AVG |
| 5 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.375 |
| OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 0.565 | 0.813 | 1.378 |
Last week, the Mississippi Braves had a need for infielders, so the Braves organization called up Cade Bunnell from the Advanced A Rome Braves to AA for the second time this season.
In Cade’s first stint with Mississippi in mid-May he went 3-for-8 (.375) with 2 singles and a double in the two games he played.
This go-round Bunnell showed the previous exposure to AA pitching was no fluke. Over the last series with the Biloxi Shuckers, Cade has maintained that .375 batting average, going 6-for-16 with 2 more singles, a double, a triple, and a home run. The highlight came in Sunday’s series finale which saw Bunnell fall a single shy of the cycle.
In games 1 and 2 of the series, Cade had three hits, including a double. Saturday Bunnell tied a career high with 4 walks. In 23 plate appearances in the series, he’s reached base 17 times good for a series On-Base Percentage of .565.
Other Notable Hitting Performances:
Alex Dickerson – Gwinnett Stripers (AAA – Atlanta Braves)
| AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R |
| 17 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| RBI | BB | SB | AVG |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | .412 |
| OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .474 | .706 | 1.180 |
Craig Dedelow – Birmingham Barons (AA – Chicago White Sox)
| AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R |
| 25 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| RBI | BB | SB | AVG |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | .360 |
| OBP | SLG | OPS |
| .467 | .480 | .947 |
Hitter Notes:
- Prior to his injury, Matt Gorski lead all of minor league baseball with 23 home runs.
- Alex Dickerson tallied his 2nd triple of the season last week, but it’s a far shot from the 9 triples he had in 2015 for the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Alumni Pitcher of the Week
McCade Brown
Fresno Grizzlies (A) – Colorado Rockies
| W | L | ERA | IP | TBF |
| 1 | 0 | 1.50 | 6 | 20 |
| H | R | ER | BB | SO | K/9 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12.00 |
| BB/9 | K% | AVG | WHIP |
| 0.00 | 40.0% | 0.174 | 0.17 |
McCade Brown didn’t join the Fresno Grizzlies until early May, and it took a few starts to make the adjustment to his new assignment. Once settled in, Brown has established himself as one of the top pitchers in the Fresno rotation.
Last week, McCade pitched 6 innings of one hit baseball, while striking out 8 and walking no one. Brown has steadily made necessary adjustments which were getting him in difficult situation early in his call up. Brown has steadily showed why the Rockies took him in the 3rd round of last year’s draft.
Other Notable Pitching Performances:
Scott Effross – Chicago Cubs
| W | L | ERA | Hold | IP | TBF |
| 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 3.1 | 11 |
| H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| K/9 | K% | AVG | WHIP |
| 10.80 | 35.7% | .090 | 0.30 |
Andrew Saalfrank – Hillsboro Hops (A+ – Arizona Diamondbacks)
| W | L | ERA | IP | TBF |
| 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 4.2 | 17 |
| H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| K/9 | K% | AVG | WHIP |
| 13.50 | 41.2% | .125 | 0.43 |
Pitcher Notes:
- In his last outing, Gabe Bierman pitched a season high 6.1 innings.
- Scott Effross continues to be one of the top relievers in the National League. He currently ranks 2nd in Inherited Runners Scored with only 4 of 24 (16.7%) runners he’s inherited scoring.
- Tommy Sommer was named the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers’ “Star of the Month” and the Instagram account, “ChiSoxCenter” honored Tommy as their “Organizational Pitcher of the Month”.
- McCade Brown was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Month for the Colorado Rockies.