Live Looks: Tacoma Rainiers at Albuquerque Isotopes, 5/20 Doubleheader

Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate stopped in the land of enchantment to squeeze in some baseball, when rain permitted. The plus side of that is I got to catch a doubleheader after May 19th’s game was postponed. While most of the Mariners’ top prospect talent is in Double-A Arkansas, a pair of tooled up outfielders head the Rainiers’ lineup in Cade Marlowe & Zach DeLoach.

On the Isotopes side, they’ve got a couple bats worthy of attention in Nolan Jones & Aaron Schunk and a bullpen featuring several high-octane arms, of which Riley Pint and Tommy Doyle were on display.

Cade Marlowe, CF/RF | 1-7, 2 K

Game 1 was one of those that passed Marlowe by at the dish. Dinelson Lamet and Phillips Valdez attacked the zone, got ahead early, and then didn’t leave the door open for Marlowe to attack in all three of his PAs. He sandwiched a weak groundout with two strikeouts—both swinging with one on a Lamet slider in and the other a Valdez sinker that ran away from Marlowe. Overall, Marlow logged three whiffs on 11 pitches seen.

Cade Marlowe lines out (96.3 mph EV)

Defensively, Marlowe made a pretty routine but rangy play on a 1st inning flyball to retire Yonathan Daza but was unable to make a tougher play on a would-be Nolan Jones triple in the 4th. The speed and range is quality, and Marlowe will undoubtedly be able to man center field at the next level but the expectation should be that he’s a fringe-average center field and potentially above-average to plus corner outfielder.

Game 2 saw a more involved Marlowe. He put four balls in play with three of them registering over 94 MPH off the bat. Ironically, his one hit came in much softer than that. Marlowe also only whiffed once in game 2, however he showed a reluctance to secondary pitches after struggling to read them and get quality swings off in game 1.

Speaking of Marlowe’s lone hit on the day, it came on an infield single where he bursted for a roughly 4.15 time up the line, an easily plus time. Physically, Marlowe’s size is impressive. His frame isn’t overly large but it is about maximized, meaning he’ll likely hold his speed into his late-20s. The complete picture is an intriguing blend of power, speed, and subsequent defensive upside. There should be legitimate skepticism on how much he’ll hit, though because, he doesn’t seem very comfortable handling breaking balls.

Zach DeLoach, RF/CF | 3-7, 2B, 3 k

DeLoach turned in a productive pair of games, getting on base in both, including a double in game 2, though the three strikeouts are a blemish on the record. The key highlight of the doubleheader for DeLoach was an excellent ranging catch in center field in game 2 on a fading line drive that looked like a hit off the bat.

With the stick, DeLoach impacted the ball multiple times with two of his hits coming off the bat at over 96 MPH and a lineout at 100 MPH. Ironically, like Marlowe’s lone hit, DeLoach’s double was hit pretty softly. The consistency in creating hard contact is promising. DeLoach also shows he can use his lower half well, getting deep into his legs and efficiently transferring weight throughout his swing. Not only should this help keep his swing operation in sync, but it allows him to generate quality contact and leverage.

Zach DeLoach pulls a double off former Orioles & Nationals starter Josh Rogers

DeLoach was a bit swing happy, trying at 15 of the 30 pitches he saw, and there is a fair amount of movement in his upper body load that may create some whiff issues. DeLoach was completely out of his timing when he saw breaking balls and managed for all four of his whiffs to come against sliders, despite only seeing six of them. This almost sounds like a rehash of the Marlowe report; DeLoach brings surefire power and speed with decent center field ability, but the handling of breaking balls may hamper him significantly as he looks to make the jump to the big leagues.

Nolan Jones, 1B | 1-2, 3B, BB

Jones only played the first game but made a clear impact. In his first PA, Jones drew a 5-pitch walk, flashing the plate discipline that has always boosted Jones’s prospect stock. Jones maintained a particularly tight zone all game, taking all but two of the 13 pitches he saw, lacing a triple in the 4th and lining out at 96.1 the inning before. On his triple, Jones ended up at 3rd in right about 12 seconds, including a slow start out of the box where he may have thought he was flying out and a put-on-the-brakes trot into third when it was clear he was standing up. His strides are long, and he’s a quality athlete. As of now, it’s comfortable average speed, and I’d be inclined to say it’s above-average.

For a player with long levers, the 6’4” Jones has a very controlled and simple swing. He has a very subtle knee bend in his stance with his hands chin height which allows them to remain quiet with a direct path to drive through his swing. There will always be some swing and miss because of Jones’ size, the might with which he swings, and the fact that his bat-to-ball skills are not exactly a strength of his game, but most of his strikeouts come from working counts deep. He figures to run a roughly average strikeout rate in the big leagues to match the prodigious power.

Jones looks extremely comfortable at the plate, perhaps as comfortable and confident as ever. He has dominated the Pacific Coast League, leading the league in OPS, and frankly, I’m not sure why I was able to see him over the weekend as he should be starting everyday in the Rockies lineup. Jones has primarily played right field and third base, with plenty of innings at first base and some in left field.

Aaron Schunk, 3B | 2-6, 2 2B, K

Schunk has re-emerged after a somewhat difficult return to Minor League Baseball following 2020’s absence. While the Pacific Coast League is a helper of hitters, Schunk has always possessed legitimate power and enough pure hitting ability to flash it.

Schunk was hyper-aggressive in both games, not taking any chances by waiting at the dish. He was rewarded with two doubles in game 1 at 106.5 and 108.1 MPH off the bat, respectively. The approach and lack of plus bat-to-ball skills may lead to extended slumps, but if Schunk continues to consistently mix in extra-base hits, he’ll get by as a lightning rod utility player.

At third, Schunk’s internal clock and arm strength are great assets, especially his arm which used to have him close out games in the SEC. Schunk’s nimble feet will also allow him to be a force defensively, whether at third base or second base, where he has logged extended time in recent years.

With Brendan Rodgers sidelined this year, Schunk’s resurgence gives him a chance at cracking the Rockies’ MLB roster and pick up some playing time at second base.

Riley Pint, RP | 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 14 pitches (5 strikes)

As long as Pint plays, he’s worth giving attention to. The former 4th overall pick has tremendous arm talent and typically brings the best stuff in any game he enters.

Unfortunately, Pint’s body doesn’t seem linked up throughout his delivery. His plant foot lands pretty wide, opening up his hips just as his arm swing begins, leaving his arm to do an awful lot of the work, disfavoring any sort of precision.

Riley Pint pitches to Zach DeLoach who slaps a single

It’s still easy mid-90s velocity, touching up to 98 MPH with an upper-80s slider but, when his offerings are mostly in non-competitive places, their effectiveness is diminished. Pint got to crack the big league roster for a quick MLB debut, but the current mechanical flaws cast serious doubt on a future MLB role.

Tommy Doyle, RP | 1.0 IP, 12 pitches (7 strikes)

Back in 2020, Doyle made his MLB debut for the Rockies. Since then, he’s pitched just 20 innings, including his work Saturday. Not a lot of detail is required here other than noting Doyle is back on the map. He appears fully healthy and back to mixing his mid-90s fastball and high-80s slider. The arm action is extremely deceptive and the location of his pitches was effective.

Watch out for Doyle to catch back on with the big league club, at some point.