Game 1 – vs. Perth Heat

After not giving up more than four earned runs in any of his starts last season, Aces starting pitcher Mark Hamburger gave up six in his first start of the 2017/18 season in a disappointing opener for the team overall.

The majority of the damage came on a sixth inning opposite field home-run from Heat second basemen, Luke Hughes (who added another solo shot in the 8th inning off of Matt Beattie), but Hamburger was being hit hard by his fastball all night – although he also struck out five batters looking, primarily with the heater. Weird night.

Hamburger loaded the bases in the 6th after uncharacteristically walking back-to-back batters (en route to another high in walks for his ABL career) and probably should have been yanked (he was up over 100 pitches by this stage) but it’s hard to pull him with an inexperienced bullpen going on the opening night.

The Aces went on to lose 9-1.

Player notes

Aces manager Jon Deeble managed to place four catchers in the field but it was the opposing team’s catcher, Zacrey Law (who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays as an outfielder), who had the most impressive night with two solo home runs to left field capping a strong showing at, and behind, the plate. He has a nice, smooth, quick swing that shows a lot of pop when he makes contact, though discipline could be a query.

As for the man calling the shots for the Aces, Selibu Lions import Tomoya Mori had a mixed night, striking out three times but also throwing out two runners going for second base on the evening. It’s actually been his defense that had been called into question in the past and yet it’s his swing that leaves a lot of room for error. He seemed to settle down as the night wore on and became a little more selective with his pitches, drawing a walk in his final at-bat.

Liam Bedford manned third base but it was the switch-hitting Brett Cumberland, a top catching prospect from the Atlanta Braves organisation, playing in right field that was the shining light for the Aces tonight. A flyball hitter, Cumberland sent one over the right field wall (as a right-hander) that plated the Aces only run of the night. After moving up a grade last season in the minors, Cumberland lost all his power and he’ll be hoping to re-ignite it this summer at Melbourne. He also through out a run heading for third with a strong throw form right field. One to keep an eye on.

Opposing pitcher Alex Boshers had a tremendous night on the rubber, fooling Aces right-handers on a number of sliders down and away while also generating a lot of whiffs with the fastball.

Perth’s other Tampa Bay prospects (who both rank in the top 20 in system for the Rays) also showed glimpses of the future. Garret Whitley has a calm stance and a quick swing through the zone, and though he didn’t show much of his power tonight I’ll be keeping an eye on him over summer. His quickness is matched by fellow outfielder Jake Fraley, though he was thrown out at 2nd by Moya early in the game. A level swing (though perhaps a pull hitter judging by the shift put on him) the predominantly groundball-hitting centre fielder notched an opposite field off of reliever Matt Beattie in the 8th that should do wonders for his confidence.

Speaking of Beattie, he looked a little shaky tonight but possessed some great life on his fastball and will be hoping to hone in his command as the season progresses.

And last of all we can’t not mention the beast that is Delmon Young. I caught some of his batting practice and was blown away by his seemingly nonchalant power he was generating. The practice pitcher was stopping after every pitch to see where they were landing. That said, come game time, Young was back to his old tricks. And not the good kind. He was chasing a lot of pitches out of the zone and aside from a shot to deep left-centre field form the very first pitch he saw, Young didn’t leave the batter’s box except for when he was retired. Here’s hoping this isn’t a trait for the remainder of the season.