Brooks Hatch Blog: Alum Nick Madrigal Promoted to Triple-A

Happy Wednesday, everyone, from the world-wide headquarters (WWHQ) of the Corvallis Knights.

Alum Nick Madrigal (2015) continued his meteoric rise through the Chicago White Sox system on Wednesday when the former Oregon State infielder was promoted to the Charlotte Knights of the Class A International League.

A second-year pro who was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 draft,  Madrigal began the season at Winston-Salem of the Class A Carolina League, where he hit .268 (52-194) in 50 games, with two homers and 27 RBIs.

That earned him a bump to Birmingham of the double-A Southern League. He hit .351 (60-171) in 44 games with the Barons, with no homers and 18 RBIs.

Now it’s on to Charlotte. Nick, who earned all-WCL honors the summer before his freshman year at OSU, has struck out just 16 times in 520 at-bats since turning pro.

Congrats to Nick!

Also, Arizona sent pitcher Matt Andriese (2009) to the Arizona Rookie League Diamondbacks on injury rehab. The former UC Riverside ace has been on the injured list since July 20 with a bruised foot.

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Our WCL schedule continues at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against the Portland Pickles at Goss Stadium. Corban’s Jackson Arnsdorf (4-1, 1.40) will start for the Knights on Wednesday; Bend’s probable is undetermined.

Thursday’s finale matches Mesa CC’s Michael Hartsell (1-3, 4.73) for the Elks and UC Riverside’s Abbott Haffar (1-0, 2.70) for Corvallis.

Tuesday’s crowd of 1,788 raised the season total to 42,752 in 27 openings, an average of 1,583 per date. That’s an increase of 3,010 over last year though a corresponding number of dates.

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We clinched the first-half South Division title on July 6, earning an automatic playoff berth and home-field advantage in the best-of-3 divisional round, which begins on Aug. 13. The best-of-3 Championship Series begins on Aug. 17.

Our first home playoff game will be Wednesday, Aug. 14. We will host Game 3 on Aug. 15, if necessary. Playoff tickets are available by clicking here.

The Championship Series starts on Aug. 17 and resumes on 19, following a travel day. A Game 3, if needed, will be Aug. 20. The team with the best regular-season record will earn home-field advantage.

The Knights have qualified for the playoffs every season since the current divisional postseason format began in 2007. We have won six championships, the last three in a row.

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Durham (AAA International, Rays) first baseman Dalton Kelly (2015) was 3-for-5 with two runs, raising his average to .291, in a 7-6 loss to Gwinnett on Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He played at UC Santa Barbara.

Honorable mention goes to:

• Frederick (A Carolina, Orioles) pitcher Cameron Bishop (2015-16) allowed four hits and no runs and had five strikeouts in a 3-1 win over Myrtle Beach. He was not involved in the decision. He played at UC Irvine.
• Aberdeen (A New York-Penn, Orioles) catcher Adley Rutschman (2016) was 2-for-4 with a run and a walk in a 5-3 win over Mahoning Valley. He played at Oregon State.

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Our 2019 regular season is two-thirds completed but there are still five more home games! Our next home game is Wednesday against the Bend Elks.

The starting time for Monday-Saturday games is 6:30 p.m. Sunday games will start at 3 pm. Our final Fireworks game will start at 7:05 p.m.

Reserve the best seats in the house for the 2019 season now by emailing [email protected] or by calling (541) 752-5656. Here’s the remainder of the 2019 schedule:

JULY: 31, Bend.

AUGUST: 1, Bend. 2-4, at Cowlitz. 6-8, at Bellingham. 9-11: Wenatchee.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

The West Coast League’s Moss Adams Player and Pitcher of the Week for July 22-28 were Cal State Fullerton infielder Cameron Repetti of the Ridgefield Raptors and Mesa Community College pitcher Michael Hansell of the Bend Elks. For more details, please click here.

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That’s all for today. See you again next Wednesday!