From lightning storms that knocked out scoreboards to walk-off wins - you name it, it's happened for the Trenton Thunder as they've made their way through the MLB Draft League season in 2023. After a dominant first half, the second half has been nothing short of a rollercoaster that continued with a series against the Frederick Keys at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. Now with that series behind us, let's recap the series that was and look at the road ahead for the Trenton Thunder.
The series started off with a promising pitching matchup on Tuesday night, but errors compounded early leading to a three-run second inning that the Thunder could not recover from, resulting in a 5-2 loss. Now we take a look at the three stars of the series.
First Star - Alec Sanchez
The lefty bat infielder from Florida International burned the Trenton Thunder with a 2-for-4 performance on Tuesday night, driving in two of the Keys' five runs on the night and bumping his batting average up to .295 in the process. He showed great pop in his bat and decent power to all fields, especially to the pull side of the outfield. If he can limit his fly ball outs and focus more on line drive hits above swinging for the fences, he'll find a place on a Major League roster in due course.
His MLB player comparisons are a pair of Chicago White Sox - Luis Robert Jr. and Tim Anderson.
Second Star - Logan Thomason
The second star of the series is the Keys' shortstop Logan Thomason - the right-handed infielder out of Eastern Kentucky. He went 1-for-4 on Tuesday night, but that one hit proved to be a big difference-maker as it was his third home run of the season to deep left center field in the top of the 6th inning. Thomason is more of a power bat, but he can deal even more damage on the basepaths with his speed and defense. Look for him to get snapped up by a Major League squad as a depth piece at some point after the season.
His MLB player comparisons include Randal Grichuk of the Colorado Rockies and Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers.
Third Star - Anthony Abbantine
Local product Anthony Abbantine out of St. Peter's University is the lone Trenton Thunder player to make the three stars of the series and for good reason - his 3-for-4 performance on Tuesday night. He didn't drive in any runs and struck out once, but he provided a much-needed spark for the Thunder offense and kept his team in the game where the defense struggled mightily. He's a tough player who can grind out at bats and can burn pitchers if they let him hang around in an at bat too long.
His MLB player comparison is Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets.
Who's Hot
Anthony Abbantine
As mentioned earlier, the St. Peter's product Anthony Abbantine went 3-for-4 on Tuesday night, pushing his average up to a respectable .246 with an OPS of .694. He grinded out at bats regularly and burned pitchers who leave him hanging around at bats one pitch too many. He has decent speed as well which can help turn base hits into extra bases. The Trenton Thunder will be needing that punch to help drive them towards their second Draft League title.
Who's Not
Trenton Thunder Defense
Two words - FIVE. ERRORS. The Thunder defense made five errors in the loss Tuesday night. That's a trend that just can not continue if the Trenton Thunder hope to be successful in the final weeks of the season heading for the Championship Game at Trenton Thunder Ballpark Labor Day weekend. This can not be stressed enough, but the Thunder need to cut down on the errors if they want to hoist the Draft League trophy come Labor Day.
The Road Ahead
The Thunder will go on the road to face the West Virginia Black Bears in a potential preview of the Draft League Championship game for a three-game weekend series starting Friday night before returning home on Tuesday to start a six-game homestand against the State College Spikes and these same Frederick Keys at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
- 2024 NFL Playoffs: What to watch for in the NFC bracket - January 12, 2024
- 2024 NFL Playoffs: What to Watch for in the AFC bracket - January 11, 2024
- Trenton Thunder end of season superlatives - August 27, 2023
