There’s some new energy at the top of the Everett AquaSox’s lineup.
Victor Labrada is back with the Sox, and his return injected a valuable dose of speed and personality into Everett, both on the field and in the clubhouse.
“With (Victor) the biggest thing he brings is that energy and clubhouse presence just to start,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “We’re also able to put him at the top of the lineup, where he gets on base and hits balls hard, and he can play center field every day, especially with Walking Cabrera (thumb ligaments) being hurt. But the biggest thing is the energy. When he’s in the locker room he’s the lifeblood.”
Labrada, a 23-year-old center fielder from Cuba, spent the majority of last season with Everett, when he was considered a top-30 prospect in the Seattle Mariners system largely because of his speed. In 111 games with the Sox he batted .232 with 10 home runs, 31 RBI and 27 stolen bases.
However, a shoulder injury forced him to miss the first two months of this season. He returned to the field on June 6 and played three games for Seattle’s team in the rookie Arizona Complex League before being promoted to Everett at the beginning of last week.
Labrada hit the ground running. In his first game back with the Sox he went 3-for-4, and last week as a whole he batted .353 with four runs and two steals in four games. He also added a speed element at the top of the batting order that was missing since Jonatan Clase was promoted in early May.
“A lot of our guys will feed off having a guy like Labrada or Clase at the top of the lineup who are able to go out there and run,” Scott said. “I feel some of our players kind of felt like they lost their freedom to run and be aggressive on the basepaths after Clase was promoted. I think having V.J. there at the top of the order and setting the tone that way will be really good for the guys for getting us running more as a team.”
Scott said Labrada, who played every-other day in Arizona and just four of Everett’s six games last week, would continue to be eased back into action. However, Labrada will not be limited when he is on the field.
Labrada’s return helped the Sox go 4-2 in their road series against the Tri-City Dust Devils and improve their record to 31-32. Unfortunately for Everett, the Sox were still eliminated from the race for the Northwest League’s first-half championship as Vancouver clinched the first half — along with the spot in the Northwest League Championship Series that comes with it — with its 5-1 home win over Hillsboro on Sunday. The second half of the season begins Friday.
Players of the week
Hitter: Hogan Windish. The Sox scored 25 runs in their six-game series against Tri-City. Windish, a 24-year-old infielder who was selected by the Mariners in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, drove in nine of them, and he had RBI hits during the decisive rallies in three of Everett’s four victories. Windish also hit Everett’s only home run during the series as his 1.076 OPS was more than 250 points better than any other hitter on the team.
Pitcher: Reid VanScoter. It was a good week for the entirety of Everett’s pitching staff, but there’s no question who’s been the Sox’s most reliable starter. VanScoter, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft, continued that last week, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out six in six innings of Wednesday’s 4-1 victory. VanScoter leads the Northwest League in innings (68.0) and strikeouts (68), ranks second in wins (six), and is third in ERA (3.04) among pitchers with at least 40 innings.
The week ahead
Everett remains on the road for a second straight week as the Sox travel to face the Hillsboro Hops in a six-game series beginning Tuesday. The Hops are deep in the Northwest League’s cellar at 24-39, but have played .500 ball against Everett as the teams split their first 12 meetings. Hillsboro has lost three straight, and the Hops dropped five of six in last week’s series at Vancouver.
Hillsboro, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has been outscored by 110 runs, which is propping up the rest of the league as the other five teams all have a positive run differential. The Hops have scored the fewest runs in the league (4.22 per game), but boast one of the league’s top power hitters in Ivan Melendez (.263, 12 homers, 31 RBI), who’s ranked by MLB.com as the Diamondbacks’ seventh-best prospect, as well as one the league’s top base stealers in Wilderd Patino (.275, 24 steals), who’s ranked No. 13 in the Arizona system.
Hillsboro’s top pitcher has been left-hander Yu-Min Lin (3.38 ERA, 16 walks and 53 strikeouts in 42.2 innings), who’s ranked No. 10 in the Diamondbacks’ system.
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