Once he got through a troubling first inning on Friday night, Cardinals prospect Ian Bedell delivered the longest of his three Class AAA starts and earned his first win with Memphis.
Bedell completed six innings, allowed four runs, and struck out four batters while walking four as he improved to 1-0 in Class AAA Memphis’s 7-4 over Nashville. All four runs allowed by Bedell came in the first inning on a two-out grand slam from Francisco Mejia after three walks from the right-hander loaded the bases. The 24-year-old righty followed the 32-pitch first inning by keeping Nashville to one walk and one hit — the latter being a double that came with one out in the sixth inning — across his final five innings in the road start.Â
The start was the fourth this season that Bedell, a Mizzou product and fourth-round pick from the shortened 2020 draft, has completed six or more innings. Bedell allowed one run or fewer in each of those three previous starts and completed seven innings in two. All three starts came while the 24-year-old was assigned to Class AA Springfield.
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Before his promotion to Class AAA on June 20, Bedell had a 4.73 ERA, 79 strikeouts, and completed 64 2/3 innings in 12 games (10 starts) for Springfield. Since making his debut in Triple-A, Bedell has allowed seven runs, three home runs, and struck out 11 batters while walking 12 across 15 2/3 innings.
Here are other notable Cardinals minor league performances:
Outfielder Lars Nootbaar, Class AA Springfield (rehab assignment): Nootbaar started in right field and went two-for-five with a solo home run as he played all nine innings in Springfield’s 4-3 loss against Northwest Arkansas. The game was Nootbaar’s sixth in a rehab assignment for an oblique strain that has kept him out of the Cardinals lineup since May 29. Friday marked Nootbaar’s third full game and second time playing the field for a full nine innings.
Catcher Ivan Herrera, Class AAA Memphis (rehab assignment): Herrera went one-for-three with a three-run home run and a walk as Memphis’s designated hitter against Nashville. The 24-year-old catcher’s rehab appearance was his second since beginning his assignment on Thursday. Herrera, who has been on the injured list since June 22 because of lower back tightness, caught five innings on Thursday for Memphis and remained in Friday’s game until the eighth inning.
Outfielder Victor Scott II, Class AAA Memphis: The speedy center fielder collected two hits — a bunt single and a double — and stole his 23rd base at the Triple-A level as Memphis’s leadoff hitter. With the performance, Scott has reached base safely with a hit in 13 of his last 14 minor league games. The 23-year-old is 18-for-62 (.290) during that stretch, which includes five multi-hit games. Since getting optioned from the majors on April 21, Scott has batted .215 and posted a .285 on-base percentage in 57 games for Memphis.
First baseman Luken Baker, Class AAA Memphis: An inning after Herrera supplied Memphis with three runs, Baker belted a 423-foot solo home run in the sixth that tied the score at four runs apiece. The home run was Baker’s 25th of the year. He leads the International League in that category and is eight home runs shy of matching a career-high 33 home runs he set in 84 games last year. Through 75 games this season, Baker is batting .241 with a .571 slugging percentage, and a .912 on-base plus slugging percentage. Along with leading his league in home runs, Baker leads in RBIs (61) and is fifth in slugging percentage.
Right-handed pitcher Chen-Wei Lin, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Lin allowed three runs on four hits and walked two batters while striking out five in four innings for Palm Beach. The three runs allowed by Lin all came in his second inning of work. After beginning the frame with back-to-back swinging strikeouts, the 22-year-old righty allowed back-to-back walks followed by three consecutive singles. Once he escaped the inning, Lin retired the next six batters he faced in order. Lin’s workload in Palm Beach’s 5-4 win against Jupiter pushed his innings total to 72 over 14 starts. The 6-foot-7 righty has maintained a 3.13 ERA, notched 67 strikeouts, and allowed 1.13 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) during his first full minor league season.
Right-handed pitcher Inohan Paniagua, Class High-A, Peoria: Paniagua continued a solid June by not allowing a hit across six scoreless innings in his start for Peoria. The 24-year-old limited opposing hitters to two walks and struck out four batters on 86 pitches — 54 of which were strikes — before he was replaced by Tanner Jacobson to begin the seventh inning. Jacobson hit a batter to begin his relief outing and gave up a two-run home run that broke up the combined no-hit bid with one out in the seventh. With six hitless innings, Paniagua lowered his ERA to 3.20 and batting average allowed to .208. Before posting a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings during June, Paniagua’s ERA sat at 4.02 through 10 games (six starts) to begin the season.