TRENTON- It is not often that the top prospect in all of Minor League Baseball makes an appearance in Trenton. Thursday night, though, as the Thunder hosted Harrisburg in the rubber game of their series, that is exactly what the fans in attendance, and the Thunder players, got to see. Lucas Giolito was on the hill for the Senators, in...
TRENTON- It is not often that the top prospect in all of Minor League Baseball makes an appearance in Trenton.
Thursday night, though, as the Thunder hosted Harrisburg in the rubber game of their series, that is exactly what the fans in attendance, and the Thunder players, got to see.
Lucas Giolito was on the hill for the Senators, in what may be the final chance for area fans to see the pitcher before he eventually makes the jump to the Washington Nationals. While it is exciting for the fans in attendance, it is also a great opportunity for the Trenton players to face a starter with big-league stuff.
But it was Chance Adams, the recent call up from Tampa, that stole the headlines Thursday night. Adams, making his Double A debut, worked 5.1 innings of shutout baseball, for his first win with the Thunder.
"I heard it is a step up, kind of a jump from Single A," Adams said. "I was excited to pitch, and just went out there and pitched my game."
"I commanded my fastball really well, and I felt comfortable with most of my off-speed pitches," Adams said. "Usually my changeup is the one that is either on or off, but I felt pretty comfortable with that tonight. Curveball was good, slider was alright, it was just a little more sideways than up and down. But it did the job that I needed it to."
"I was pretty amped up," Adams said. "I am excited to be at a new level, with new competition. I have great team mates behind me. They got three double plays behind me, which is always nice. It cuts down on pitches. (Sebastian) Valle was calling a great game. I think I only shook him twice. It feel great to be up here."
Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell was impressed by his young debutant.
"I liked him a lot," Mitchell said. "He throws hard, and the ball has late life. You can tell it gets on hitters in a hurry, and he uses it a lot. His secondary stuff is good too. I know that he is working on improving his changeup, and he threw some good ones."
"But from what I have heard, that is his fourth best pitch," Mitchell said. "He had to throw a certain amount in the game, but he did a good job of using it, and getting some swings and misses."
"That is the pitch I have really been working on," Adams said of his changeup. "In spring training, they cut off my slider, and I was only allowed curveball and changeup. I really worked on it, and I feel like that is the big reason I have been really comfortable with it this year."
HIGASHIOKA BACK WITH THUNDER, BUT NOT FOR LONG?
Mitchell was excited to see how his squad fared against Giolito, the 6-6, 255 pound righty with a big-time fastball.
"He came as advertised, that is for sure," Mitchell said. "He pitched out of some jams, and it is almost like he turned it up a notch. I don't think he did, but he made some real good pitches in those situations to work out of it."
"I think we were fortunate to win, because we had opportunities the whole game, and we didn't really cash in," Mitchell said. "But our pitching comes through a lot, and they came through tonight."
"I thought last night, the guy they had didn't throw hard, but he moved it around," Mitchell said of Tyler Mapes, who threw a complete game shutout in Harrisburg's 1-0 win over the Thunder. "He threw a lot of sliders, and sometimes those are the guys you don't hit. We always talk about, at this level, and if you are going to move up, you have to be able to hit a fastball."
"You have to, because there are going to be some guys throwing pretty darn hard at Triple A and the big league level," Mitchell said. "So if you can hit a fastball here, and learn to lay off breaking balls that are out of the zone, and be able to hit the hangers, you are going to be a pretty good hitter."
The Thunder scored three runs off Giolito, who went five innings for the Senators. He gave up six hits, including a long home run in the bottom of the second from Lane Adams, to give the Thunder (39-27) an early lead, on the way to a 3-1 victory. Trenton took two-out-of-three from Harrisburg (35-30).
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Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean