It was another big week for the red-hot Everett AquaSox.
The AquaSox rode their high-powered offense to another series win this past week, taking five of six games from the Vancouver Canadians at Funko Field to surge into first place in the High-A West.
Everett, which also went 5-1 in its previous series against Tri-City, has won nine of its last 10 games.
After entering the week just one-half game out of first place, the AquaSox leapfrogged Eugene and moved atop the six-team High-A West. Everett (34-18) now holds a 1.5-game lead over second-place Eugene and an eight-game lead over third-place Vancouver.
The AquaSox pounded out 27 extra-base hits and scored 47 runs in the six-game series against the Canadians. They opened the series with an eight-run first inning en route to a 15-10 win last Tuesday, and they reached double digits again with an 11-5 victory on Saturday.
Everett has scored double-digit runs 12 times this season and 15-plus runs five times. To put that in perspective, the AquaSox reached the 15-run mark just three times over the previous eight seasons combined.
With another dominant week, Everett improved its league-best run differential to plus-148. The next-best run differential in the High-A West is Eugene’s plus-29 mark.
Some more impressive numbers: The AquaSox are averaging 6.9 runs per game, which is 1.6 runs more than any other team in the High-A West. And they’re allowing just 4.1 runs per game, which is nearly 0.7 fewer than any other team in the league.
DELOACH NAMED PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AquaSox outfielder Zach DeLoach was named the High-A West’s player of the month for June.
The 2020 second-round draft pick out of Texas A&M University batted .363 in 21 games during the month of June, with one home run, one triple and 12 doubles. He had 10 multi-hit games over that span, along with a .442 on-base percentage and .549 slugging percentage.
DeLoach, ranked by MLB.com as the No. 11 prospect in the Seattle Mariners’ organization, has reached base safely in 22 consecutive games and has recorded a hit in 21 of his last 22 games. In last week’s series against Vancouver, he went 9-for-20 with one triple and five doubles.
The left-handed hitting DeLoach is batting .303 this season, with five home runs, two triples and 19 doubles. He has the second-highest batting average in the High-A West and the sixth-highest slugging percentage (.495).
OTHER HOT-HITTING AQUASOX
As a team, Everett batted .308 in this past week’s series against Vancouver. In addition to DeLoach, here are some other AquaSox hitters who stood out:
Austin Shenton: The Bellingham High School alum and 2019 fifth-round draft pick went 7-for-25 in the series, with two home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs. For the season, the Mariners’ No. 17-ranked prospect is batting .283 with seven homers, two triples and 20 doubles. He leads the High-A West in extra-base hits (29) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.518) and fifth in on-base percentage (.408).
Jack Larsen: The 26-year-old former undrafted free agent went 4-for-5 with three doubles in last Tuesday’s 15-run barrage and finished the series 6-for-19. He’s batting .297 this season, with five home runs, one triple and 17 doubles. He ranks third in the High-A West in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage (.411) and seventh in slugging percentage (.494).
Connor Hoover: The 2017 21st-round draft pick extended his hitting streak to eight games while going 8-for-19 in the series, with one triple and four doubles. Over the course of his hitting streak, he’s raised his batting average from .134 to .179.
Carter Bins: The 2019 11th-round draft pick went 5-for-13 with six walks and seven RBIs in the series, while reaching base in 11 of his 19 plate appearances. For the season, he’s batting .290 with seven home runs and eight doubles. He ranks fourth in the High-A West in batting average, second in on-base percentage (.421) and fourth in slugging percentage (.500).
KIRBY, BRASH DELIVER STRONG OUTINGS
AquaSox starting pitchers George Kirby and Matt Brash both had strong performances this past week.
Kirby, the Mariners’ 2019 first-round draft pick and MLB.com’s No. 72 overall prospect, tossed five scoreless innings on Saturday. He struck out eight of the 20 batters he faced, while allowing three hits and two walks. Kirby has a 2.84 earned-run average in 31⅔ innings this season, with 39 strikeouts and seven walks.
Brash, a 2019 fourth-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres, pitched six scoreless innings last Wednesday. He struck out three batters and yielded four hits and two walks. The Mariners’ No. 26-ranked prospect has tossed 10 consecutive scoreless innings over his last two starts. He has a 2.45 ERA in 36 ⅔innings this season, with 51 strikeouts and 22 walks.
MORE ZEROES FOR ELLINGSON
AquaSox reliever David Ellingson extended his streak to 14 ⅔consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
Aside from yielding two earned runs on May 15, Ellingson hasn’t surrendered an earned run in any of his other 13 appearances this season.
The 2016 34th-round draft pick has a 0.84 ERA in 21⅓ innings this year, with 28 strikeouts and five walks. He has a 0.98 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched).
HANCOCK, J-ROD TAPPED FOR FUTURES GAME
AquaSox pitcher Emerson Hancock and recently promoted outfielder Julio Rodriguez have been selected to the All-Star Futures Game on July 11 at Coors Field in Denver.
The Futures Game, part of MLB All-Star Week, showcases baseball’s top minor league prospects. The MLB All-Star Game takes place two nights later at Coors Field.
The Mariners will be well represented at the Futures Game, with three players from their organization on the American League’s 25-man roster: Hancock (High-A Everett), Rodriguez (Double-A Arkansas) and outfielder Jarred Kelenic (Triple-A Tacoma). The Colorado Rockies are the only other organization with three players selected to the Futures Game.
Hancock, the No. 6 overall pick in last year’s MLB draft, is ranked by MLB.com as the No. 23 overall prospect in baseball. The 22-year-old right-hander has a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings pitched with the AquaSox this season, along with 25 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Rodriguez, MLB.com’s No. 5 overall prospect, started the season on the AquaSox before earning a promotion to Double-A Arkansas last Monday. In 28 games with Everett this season, the 20-year-old phenom from the Dominican Republic batted .325 with six home runs, two triples and eight doubles. At the time of his promotion, he led the High-A West in both batting average and slugging percentage (.581) and ranked third in on-base percentage (.410).
UP NEXT
The AquaSox travel to face Eugene in a six-game road series between the High-A West’s top two teams. The series begins Tuesday night and runs through Sunday. Everett returns home to Funko Field on July 13, when it opens a six-game series against last-place Tri-City.
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